Leelyn Osborn
My name is Leelynn Osborn. In many avenues, I go by Lee. My father was an actor. He moved here from New Orleans (my birthplace) when I was barely 4 years old to do an 8-week run of a show at the Alhambra Dinner Theater.
There was no intention of staying or going afterward. But during the run, the marketing director of many years retired. My dad took his place and stayed for 23 years. It was there that I started working at 11 years old. I was a stagehand, busboy, light board operator, soundboard operator, stage manager, and actor at one time or another. These years instilled in me a fierce work ethic that is a huge part of me today.
Anything special going on for this summer?
I will be competing in First Coast Dancing with the Stars on September 21st and am actively preparing for that with my awesome instructor, Olivia Card, who as of a month ago became a Theater Arts World Champion at Blackpool.
Additionally, one of our agency’s (LionsBridge Talent) biggest clients is Nurse Blake and his conventions, NurseCon at Sea and NurseCon Orlando for which I’m the Emcee and Activities Director. NurseCon Orlando is 4 days and begins Sunday September 22nd the night after Dancing with the Stars. My wife Danielle and I are actively preparing events, games, shows and activities for those events with Blake and his team. Additionally, Danielle just returned from a site visit aboard Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas preparing for NurseCon at Sea next April.
Any hobbies or interests worth telling us about?
Danielle and I are very active with our event band Empire East. We are the vocalists and bandleaders and enjoy doing corporate events, weddings and fundraising events. We both teach music lessons through our teaching entity LionsBridge Arts. We also have four kids each of whom are in their own extra-curricular activities. All of this keeps us incredibly busy.
What’s one thing (funny, different, cool) that many might not know about you?
I spent my entire life in entertainment. That is to say almost everyone around me was affiliated with music and theater to one degree or another. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. In 2020, like many, our agency lost many thousands of dollars in income. I was home with nothing to do. I did not want to dive deeper into social media and create content in that fashion. I used to make a joke during live shows on stage whether singing, emceeing or otherwise when something would go wrong. “I should’ve been an accountant.” Starting in September of 2020 and doing it entirely from home, I studied and passed my Series 7, Series 63, and Series 66 exams. And since then I have spent about 20 hours of my week having meaningful financial planning conversations with my clients. I find it incredibly fulfilling. As mentioned earlier, growing up in theater, retirement planning, investing, and saving were never a topic of conversation. Just when is the next gig. Through a lot of hard work I’ve achieved something that when I was younger I thought was nearly impossible; to be an entertainer and also have a family and long-term plan.
How do you like living on the First Coast?
After living here almost my entire life and finding myself in front of and around many people whom I’ve gotten to know.. Jacksonville/St Augustine certainly feels smaller and smaller. And there is comfort in that. I jokingly call it Sesame Street. I love going to an event and seeing that I have a long rich history with many people in the room. The First Coast has given me so many amazing opportunities and for that I’m forever grateful.
Anything else that you would like to tell the community?
Support the arts. And support education.
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Mike is a native First Coaster and was a leading figure in surfing and skateboarding for most of his life. After promoting music for many years on the local music scene, Mike now brings a unique perspective to FirstCoast.Life as a contributing writer.
