She’s covered crime and corruption and met key politicians and famous musicians. But perhaps she is best remembered for her connection to the community, for ensuring community news never goes untold. And she has told the story of Suwannee County.

After almost 30 years as a journalist Suwannee Democrat Managing Editor Susan K. Lamb is retiring from a job that’s meant so much to her and her community.

During her career she has served as a correspondent, reporter and editor for several newspapers and other publications. Lamb served as the managing editor for the Suwannee Democrat twice, including the last 11 years.

Being a reporter wasn’t something Lamb set out to do. It just happened. In 1978 when her son entered kindergarten, she needed something to do in the mornings before picking him up. One day Lamb took a trip to the Suwannee Democrat to visit her friend Janie Murphy, then editor. She asked her friend, “Janie, I need something to do in the morning. You got anything?”

Murphy’s response was quick. “Yeah, I’ll make a reporter out of you,” she said.

Soon after, Lamb was given her first writing assignment — a feature story about a man whose friends were helping make his life-long dream a reality. The man, 70-something, was sick and was not expected to live long. His dream was to float down the Suwannee River on a raft, and his friends were determined to make that happen.

Lamb visited the man’s home and watched while his friends built the raft in his front yard. It was her first chance to connect with the community as a reporter. To touch a life she may never have been able to know or reach.

Lamb had never written before, other than to submit community events to the newspaper.

“I was hooked at that point,” she said of her first few writing experiences.

After only three months she received a phone call from the editor of the Tallahassee Democrat with the offer to be a correspondent.

“He called me and said, ‘I need a freelance reporter over here, and I’ve been reading your stuff.’ And I was hired,” she said.

When Lamb first became a correspondent she was paid only $8 per story, averaging about $300 a month. And she earned every penny.

“Sometimes the stories would take 10-12 hours to do” depending upon the story, she said.

The job as a freelancer paid off in other ways by giving Lamb the opportunity to stay at home with her four children.

Her hard work paid off, too.

It was only about a year after Lamb had chosen the profession, that she was faced with covering two of the biggest criminal cases she says were handled by the Third Circuit Court. Ted Bundy, a serial killer, had escaped from prison and made his way to Tallahassee and then to Lake City. Bundy raped and killed a 12-year-old girl from Lake City and brought her to Live Oak to dump the body.

The case began at the Suwannee County Courthouse before being moved to Orlando. Lamb remembers the tight security surrounding the courthouse, the numerous reporters the case drew and the look in Bundy’s eyes.

Shackled, Bundy glanced around the room, making sure he made eye contact with everyone there.

“Our eyes met. It was like there was nobody home when you looked into his eyes,” she remembers.

As a correspondent, Lamb didn’t write the initial stories on the Bundy case. But the trust she’d developed with her sources in the community was perhaps the only way the other reporters could gain information for the stories.

“You (reporters) came in here and people here weren’t going to do anything for you or tell you anything. I was the ‘go to’ person who provided a lot of that information,” she said.

Lamb covered several stories about Bundy after the trial, including his execution in 1989.

She also covered a string of stories for the Tallahassee Democrat and the Gainesville Sun about the murder of Austin Dewey Gay, who was an agriculture inspector in Columbia County.

Even as a young reporter, Lamb had learned the art of developing the trust of her sources. She quickly won the friendship of law enforcement officials, attorneys and judges and could often get the scoop when many reporters were left searching for answers.

She remembers the time she was in the office chatting with a former Suwannee County sheriff when a reporter from out-of-town “came waltzing in and said, ‘There’s not any news today, is there?’”

“He (the sheriff) looked at her and he said, ‘nope.’ We were talking about a murder case,” said Lamb. “When she left, I kind of smiled and giggled a little bit.”

Over the years Lamb has covered many hard-hitting events. She remembers the day she came in to work and heard then Deputy Jessie Tucker announce the over scanner, “I’ve been shot.” She and Jayne Graham, then editor of the Independent Post, reacted quickly. Graham went to the hospital where Tucker was being taken. Lamb went to the sheriff’s office and spent the entire afternoon with the chief deputy to get the story.

Tucker, who was shot by a group of people attempting to rob a bank in Branford, survived the gunshot wound.

Lamb remembers the time I-10 had a 22 car pile up that killed four people. She got busy and did what journalists do. She requested that Suwannee Democrat Publisher Myra Regan call for a plane to get photos.

“Even under a pressure-filled situation, Sue was able to think forward enough to make sure we had air-coverage of this huge accident,” said Regan. “A newspaper in our group worked quickly to get a photographer in the air. They were there within the hour.”

Lamb described the event as “the most awful thing I have seen in my life.” She remembers being devastated after seeing a man buried under a truckload of lumber, a man who had just gone over to help. She remembers praying with a truck driver who was sitting in his semi wringing his hands in dismay.

Lamb took the opportunity to bring the tragedy of Sept. 11 down to a local level. There were about eight or nine Suwannee County people directly affected by the event. One of the biggest heroes of the Pentagon tragedy was Lt. Col. James Cusic, who helped drag numerous people out of the building. Cusic’s family lives in Live Oak. An actual resident from Live Oak was scheduled to be in the Twin Towers on 9/11, but overslept.

“They woke up in the hotel to the news,” she said.

Lamb remembers when the local National Guard, the 269th Engineer Company (now the 868th), was deployed to Iraq in 2003. She also remembers their return. Lamb was involved in organizing a community parade to honor the 269th upon their return the next year. She remembers the community being surrounded by American flags, yellow ribbons and television crews. She also remembers the joy on the faces of family and friends when they saw the 269th march bravely through town.

Though the job forced her to cover many stories that seemed grim, Lamb considered that an opportunity to make a difference in the community. If it was a court case or drug bust, she saw it as an opportunity to further justice or comfort those involved.

“There were times when I walked to the back room where the defendant was and we hugged and cried because it was a terrible thing that this person was going to prison,” she said. “I may have loved that person very much and hated to do it, yet I had to do my job.”

If it was a car crash involving injury or death, she saw it as an opportunity to impact the lives of victims and their families.

She said once the scanner sounded with news of a car crash “I immediately prayed for the people going to the accident, the people at the accident and the families of the people in the accident … that God might spare the life of someone who might die.”

She would often say that going to vehicle accidents gave reporters a chance to come in contact with those they may never have met otherwise to make a difference in a time of difficulty.

Lamb had many opportunities to cover positive stories as well. There were annual festivals, socials and teas, high school graduations, parades and ball games to name a few. These gave her a chance to connect with the community and assure them she cared about Suwannee County and its goings on. She made sure civic and other organizations were well represented. Parades and festivals always got a prominent spot in the paper. And Suwannee County athletes were highlighted in the sports section each edition.

The job has given Lamb the opportunity to meet politicians, music stars and locals who she considers just as important. Among the list of politicians are Gov. Bob Graham, the late State Sen. Pete Skinner, the late State Rep. Wayne Hollingsworth, Gov. Charlie Crist and Congressman Allen Boyd, to name a few.

Lamb remembers eating dinner with Bob Graham with several other journalists at the Dixie Grill to talk about issues were thought were important to the area.

“He was very interested in what we had to say. He was the consummate politician. He really listened,” she said.

The list of music stars she has met is as long. Among them are Toby Keith, John Anderson, Dolly Parton, John Berry and Jerry Clower.

Lamb had the chance to meet and interview Jerry Clower before a performance at Wild Adventures. She asked him about his life and how he generated his stories.

“He saw humor in things and just went out and talked about them. And they were just as funny on stage as they were in the coffee shop,” she said.

Despite Lamb’s numerous list of VIPs she’s had the opportunity to meet, she considers the average, everyday people of Suwannee County among her favorites to have known. To her, covering pilau dinners has been just as important as covering politics.

She’s constantly had her finger on the pulse of the community.

“Sue’s been an asset to this community,” said Mayor Sonny Nobles. “Not only has she reported the news, she has had a role in influencing the direction our community has taken on many issues.”

Lamb credited the people of Suwannee County and God for her success.

“It was not about me but about the community. But, I couldn’t have done it without the Lord,” she said.

“I’ll miss all the wonderful people I’ve worked with. I appreciate all the kindness people have shared with me over the years,” she said.

Lamb is retiring to allow time for family and gardening. She will miss the newspaper but will still be around.

Lamb’s last day on the job is today. The Democrat will announce the new managing editor in an upcoming edition.