Welcome to 90 Days Of Summer! What’s your name and what fills your time?
My name is Tracy Gaylord Embry. I have had the craziest and happiest life! My family made the best decision of our lives when we moved to the beaches from central Florida when I was in 7th grade. My parents had the Badcock Furniture store at the beaches and were involved in a lot of civic and local organizations. I went to Fletcher Jr and Senior high schools graduating in 1979. Little did I know when we made that move that I would make lifelong friends and fall in love with the beaches and the beach lifestyle. My plan after graduation had been to go to college followed by law school and return to the beach. Life had other plans for me and I wound up in Nashville working in the music business. It turned out that was another great decision as that is where I met Al – my husband – the absolute love of my life. We worked together in the music business for 34 years before his passing in 2019. We traveled the world working with artists and entertainers from all areas of entertainment. It has been an amazing, fun and at times a wild ride!
Anything special happen this summer?
This summer has been a fun and relaxing one. I have spent a lot of time working with pre-school children at my church. It has really just been a summer of friends, family and fun times.
Any hobbies or interests worth telling us about?
In 2003 I went to law school and fulfilled that dream of becoming an attorney. This became very useful in our business. I am pretty much retired but still practice part-time. I spend a lot of my time hanging out with my Australian Shepherd – Dino, who is quite a character.
What’s one thing (funny, different, cool) that many might not know about you?
It has always been fun to see people’s reactions when I tell them that I have 3 grandkids (now grown) and 5 great-grands! Al blessed me with an amazing family!
What’s the best part of living here on the First Coast?
I don’t currently live at the beach…BUT I will be there eventually. I always make it a point to come back a few times a year and I can not wait until the next time. I am looking for that perfect little cottage that will be my part-time home. There is no place like home and I have been fortunate to have 2 of them in my life.
Anything else that you would like to tell the community?
When I moved away to Nashville after graduation I became so engrossed in life and all the entertainment craziness that I was not able to get back home to the beach for 30 years. When our class had our 30th reunion I made sure that we were not on the road and would be able to be there. I was very nervous about going and even told my husband Al that he did not have to go because he would not know anyone and would be bored. He would have no part of staying behind and off we went. One thing I learned from that trip was if you grew up in our wonderful little paradise during the time that we did…You can go home again. When I saw my friends from all those years ago – it was like I had never left the island. Everyone acted like we had never been apart! While many of the buildings have changed, the people and the beach attitude and lifestyle have not. I am so happy that I still have this home and all my lifelong friends and chosen family from this amazing community!
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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.
