Jocelyn Lacey - BRAHM interview - Sept 20, 2025
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This story was submitted on December 4, 2025 by Admin
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- Jocelyn Lacey - BRAHM interview - Sept 20, 2025
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This oral history interview features Jocelyn Lacy, recorded on September 20, 2025, at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum. Lacy, a graduate of East Tennessee State University who grew up in Johnson City, Tennessee, moved to Blowing Rock in December 2023 with her husband (a yacht designer) after living in various coastal locations including Maine, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and the Outer Banks. Ironically, they relocated to the mountains to be closer to family and escape hurricanes, only to experience Hurricane Helene—and a tornado—in their new mountain home. During the storm, Lacy was quarantined with COVID and initially unaware of the severity, while her husband ventured into the community to witness the devastation firsthand, including the complete flooding of Casting Bread, a nonprofit located on a creek below their house that provides food services to the community multiple times weekly.
Lacy and her sister operate a family foundation established by their mother in memory of their father (and now both parents), which provided emergency grants to local nonprofits including Casting Bread, Hospitality House, Western Youth Network, Oasis, Watauga Community Action, and the Hunger and Health Coalition. As a children's book author, Lacy was in the process of publishing "Michael's Journey from Caterpillar to Butterfly," set in the Blue Ridge Mountains and featuring local landmarks like Blowing Rock and Grandfather Mountain's Swinging Bridge. She decided to donate 20% of book sales to Hurricane Helene relief efforts, partnering with local nonprofits to support recovery and help businesses that lost critical October tourism revenue. Lacy reflects on the community coming together despite differences, the challenges of being isolated without cell service while people worried about them, and her gratitude for the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum's listening day to share stories with a wider audience beyond what television coverage could convey. - Spatial Coverage
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