We Will Miss You Larry…
The ISAC Family must say goodbye to a big part of our team this week. Larry Hunn, our General Manager, is retiring to spend more time with his family. While we are so very sad to see him go, we know that he will be enjoying his grandchildren and the sunny weather in Florida! Larry has been instrumental in helping ISAC to grow as a business, that we wanted to pay tribute to him in our blog this week.
Larry moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the early 1960s to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology (or as we call here, Georgia Tech). During his time in college, Larry became the first (out of three) Chief Noc-a-Homa, the mascot for the Atlanta Braves baseball team. Chief Noc-a-Homa (a play on the words, “knock a homer”) was a legendary local hero who was a big fan favorite. Scott attended his first Braves baseball game when he was just six and half, in the mid 1960s. He saved his popcorn bag, and waited in a very long line to get Chief Noc-a-Homa’s autograph. Unfortunately, the chief had to get back to work as the Braves took the field. Little Scott was incredibly disapointed, but he saved his unsigned popcorn bag as a souviner of the game. Nearly 50 years later, during a casual conversation, Larry mentioned that when he moved to Atlanta for college, he became the first Chief Noc-a-Homa! When the ISAC team found out that Larry had been Chief Noc-a-Homa, Scott found the popcorn bag he had saved and FINALLY got it signed by Chief Noc-a-Homa himself- Larry! Funny how things just work out sometimes, isn’t it?!
Larry, aka Chief Noc-a-Homa, with a fan at the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1965.
Even with the costume and war paint, you can tell that’s Larry!
One more, I just couldn’t resist sharing all of these photos!
After college, Larry decided to call Atlanta home; he stayed for over 50 years. He worked with many major business leaders including Home Depot and Martha Stewart, creating point of purchase merchandise displays.
Discussing the exclusive NL Brand products with Chef Nicholas.
Larry’s interest in cake decorating grew out of a family tradition of creating gingerbread houses for his grandchildren. He wanted to learn how to use rolled fondant as a decorating tool. His search for a top quality rolled fondant and a class to teach him how to use that rolled fondant brought him to Chef Nicholas and the International Sugar Art Collection. In 2008, Larry took his first Nicholas Lodge class! Not surprisingly, he was hooked! Just two years later, in January 2010, Larry became a part time staff member. Scott and Chef Nicholas quickly recognized the weight of Larry’s worth, and in September 2013, Larry had become the ISAC general manager. Heck, Larry has even been Chef Nicholas’ classroom assistant more than a few times!
The 2015 PME Master Class; Larry served as one of Chef Nicholas’ classroom assistants.
“Larry came onboard with ISAC at just the right time. His many talents were instrumental in helping ISAC launch the exclusive Nicholas Lodge Brand of cake decorating tools and equipment. Larry has been much more than just a staff member; he has been a friend and mentor to me and I will miss having my friend at ISAC every day.” -Scott Ewing.
Larry and I started working at ISAC around the same time; we both started as customer service specialists. When I took on the role of Social Media Director in 2014, Larry, in his role as general manager, and I began to work together to make ISAC and Chef Nicholas a force to be reckoned with on the internet and social media. We also worked on projects to make the blog very interesting and to grow ISAC as a business. Much like Scott, I’m really going to miss having Larry there when I need his help on a work project, or even just to joke around with.
Larry making class textbooks. Like a boss.
Maybe goodbye isn’t the right word to use. Even though Larry is retiring and moving closer to his family, he has promised to remain on the ISAC sidelines. He has offered to return as needed when the ISAC team needs his help or assistance with special projects, like the 14-day PME Master Class this fall. Instead of goodbye, we’ll say, “See you real soon, Larry.”
Good luck on your move, enjoy being closer to your family, and have fun with your grandchildren, Larry. Just remember that your family at ISAC- staff, students, clients, and even our guest instructors- will be missing you fiercely. So, see you real soon, Larry…
Love always,
Chef Nicholas, Scott, Stephanie, Molly, Ann, Janet, Carol, and Jamar
