Our people: Lining up events

If you have booked an event at the Clovis Civic Center in recent months, you have probably talked to Julie Surina, the sales and events manager.

Surina returned to Clovis a few years ago, after spending nine years in Lubbock, Texas, where, for the last five years as a Texan she was a coordinator for office and event support at the American Cancer Society.

She was a standout pitcher for the Clovis High School Wildcats softball team, graduating in 2005, and has a degree in Communications and Media Studies from Eastern New Mexico University.

And despite all that, she said, she is primarily known as "the one with the triplets."

Yes. Triplets. Two girls and a boy.

Surina interrupted a vacation on Thursday to talk with The News at the Civic Center about what she does and who she is.

Here are our questions and her responses:

Q. Sorry to interrupt your vacation.

A. That's okay. I love it here.

Q. How long have you worked here?

A. Almost exactly a year ago this month.

Q. What does your job entail?

A. I help the customers decide what they want to do and work with them to design their events.

Q. What do you love most about the job?

A. It's always the same, yet always different. I like making clients happy. I get to meet different and interesting people. There's always hustle and bustle here. A little bit of chaos and I like that. I get to be creative and help people with their dream event or big events. I get the call and help them work out the details, I ask them what their budget is and we build each event to order. There's a team of five of us that puts it all together.

Q. What event has been your favorite?

A. My favorite event is the Special Hearts Prom. It's event that is thrown for anyone with special abilities and their families free of charge to them. All the events are different and unique. I also enjoyed the Mayor's Ball on Nov. 4. They had a jazz band and other wonderful things. The Air Force Ball in September was also fun. It was crazy from start to finish.

Q. What drew you to the American Cancer Society job in Lubbock?

A. There was an opening for an event coordinator, and I've always loved working with events, so I interviewed and got the job. The best part of that job was working with cancer patients and their families at the Hope Center, a place where cancer patients and family members can stay during treatments. I used to help fit patients with free wigs, when they needed them.

Q. And then you came back to Clovis?

A. I quit the Lubbock job when I had the triplets, and came back to Clovis. I was a full-time mom during the COVID-19 pandemic. I couldn't leave the house very much. When that started going away, I found this job a year ago.

Q. What else do you do in the community?

A. I'm a member of the Ambassadors for the Clovis and Curry County Chamber of Commerce (the Ambassadors welcome newcomers to the area, serve as greeters at community events, attend ribbon cuttings ceremonies and help with Chamber events, according to the Chamber's website) I am also in Leadership of Clovis. In this program we get together once a month and learn a lot about the community. We visit businesses and learn what goes on behind the scenes. In January we're going to Santa Fe to visit the state Legislature.

Q. You played softball for Clovis High School. Are you still active in sports?

A. I'm a member of a softball team in the Clovis Softball Association. It's slow-pitch and I play in the outfield. I still practice my fast-pitching once in a while at home. A year after I graduated from ENMU, I served as assistant softball coach at CHS.

Q. Has your experience in sports been valuable to you?

A. Oh, yes. As the pitcher, I was a team leader. The assistant coach job was a manager job. I had to work with the kids and be a role model. When I see some of them now, they still embrace me.

Q. What do you when you have time away from everything?

A. I play softball and I have the triplets. I was in the choir at ENMU, but I don't have time for that now. I would love to learn to play the guitar.

Q. And what about the triplets?

A. They're four years old, almost five now. They had a great Christmas. They used to be afraid of Santa Claus, but this year, they were friendlier. Peyton is the oldest by two minutes, then there's Taylin. They're the girls. Then there's Maxton, my boy. Their last name is Harmon, their father's last name.