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Susan Lacz, CEO of Ridgewells Catering, speaks with Our Town host Andy Ockershausen about her life and career in Our Town. Hers is a lively interview! By the end, you will understand, if you don't already, why she has been, and continues to be, a successful business woman in Our Town.\n\n\n\nSusan has lived and worked in and around the Washington DC metro for almost 40 years. Originally from North Jersey, \u201ctotally a Jersey girl\u201d, she moved to Arlington in 1978 to attend Marymount University which, at the time, was an all girls school. She has nothing but wonderful things to say about her college experience, and now serves on Marymount\u2019s board of trustees.\n\nSusan attributes much of her success to her parents\u2019 strong work ethic. Through high school, Susan worked Saturday and Sundays and during the week after school at Wyckoff Deli in Wyckoff, New Jersey. When she came to Our Town to attend college she worked at Tino\u2019s restaurant in Arlington, just for the fun of it. She tells Andy she was hooked on the food industry from day one at Wyckoff Deli, and her passion for entertaining came from her Polish roots, more specifically her Grandmother, and upbringing.\n\nAfter college, Susan pursued a career in sales with Wang computers. She really enjoyed selling and was good at it. What lacked was the same passion for it that she had for food and entertaining. So she went about finding a career that captured it all - food, entertaining, sales, and passion.\n\nSusan knew she wanted to work for Ridgewells but lacked the experience they were looking for at the time, so she went to work at Clyde's at Tyson\u2019s Corner, as a catering manager, where she was ultimately fired. Undeterred by that, she went back to Ridgewells and convinced them (after a year and a half!) that she belong there as a member of Ridgewells\u2019 team. After ten years with the company, Susan bought the business with her partners Jose Valado and Thomas P. Keon, currently Ridgewells' COO and President, respectively. \n\nAndy fondly refers to Ridgewells as \u201calways a family affair\u201d. Susan has been with Ridgewells for 30 years and has owned and operated it together with her partners for 20. Ridgewells has grown into a 40 million dollar company and is considered, by the Washington Business Journal, the largest caterer in Our Town. Andy and Susan talk about competition from other caterers. Susan says that only serves to inspire them to work harder and continue to strive to be the very best. \n\nGiving back to the community is important to Susan. She makes every effort to lead her team out into Our Town community and has set Ridgewells apart from the rest. Susan serves on numerous boards including Marymount, Junior Achievement, the Committee for the Hall of Fame, Don Bosco Cristo Rey, and the Greater Washington Board of Trade. Through Ridgewells' work in the community, Susan has set an example for other caterers to do the same. \n\nSusan doesn't miss a beat as she and Andy discuss the role of women in business in Our Town. She has served on boards in the past when she was only one of two or three women sitting around the board table surrounded by "suits". She is thrilled that times have changed and more and more women are visible business leaders in Our Town. She strongly believes that women should support other women. Susan loves seeing more women take top positions in this type of business these days. She surrounds herself with positive females within her own company and gains strength in that support network. Susan is proud to be an honoree of the 2004 Washington Business Journal Women Who Mean Business program.\n\nAndy comments on the quality and service that Ridgewells is known for throughout the DC area. The servers are familiar with their customers which instills continuity and quality that people can rely on time and time again.\n\nAndy inquires about Ridgewells unique and compelling advertising. Susan explains that a few years ago,