The Harold V. Lucas, Jr. Foundation announced on Friday, June 28, 2024 that broadcast journalist Claire Metz will be a recipient of their annual “Community Icon” award during the 2024 Lucas Fall Ball.  Metz will be honored alongside Lowell and Nancy Lohman and Chief William Anderson, Ret.

MEET CLAIRE METZ

Claire Metz is an award-winning broadcast journalist who recently retired after more than 40 years on Central Florida television. For the majority of her career, she worked for WESH Channel 2.

Claire was a reporter, covering local issues for many of those years. In addition, Claire anchored the morning and noon newscasts for WESH from 1987 until 2005.

Claire moved to our area in 1980 after graduating college from Loyola University in New Orleans. Though Claire was born and raised in Chicago, she met her husband Peter in college and moved with him to Daytona Beach where Peter has an on-going family business.

The television industry was in a real growth spurt when Claire began and she found herself covering many high-profile news events, including numerous tropical storms and hurricanes that dramatically impacted our area. As a resident, familiar with our landscape, Claire brought a very personal touch to coverage our community depended on as we recovered. She has previously said it was an honor to honestly and fairly bring vital information, good or bad, to those who need to know.

While working outside the home, Claire and Peter had a lot going on inside too. They raised four wonderful children and now have two grandchildren they spend time with.

Claire says she has been privileged to work in this area…privileged to watch the community change and grow over the decades…privileged so many trusted her with their stories.

About The Foundation:
The core values of education and service to others were instilled in Harold V. Lucas, Jr. by his father, Harold Sr. In an effort to continue that legacy perpetually, Lucas Jr. formed the Harold V. Lucas, Jr. Foundation on June 8, 2020.

The mission of The Harold V. Lucas, Jr. Foundation is to enhance the historical and cultural advancement of the Daytona Beach Midtown community while continuing the legacy of education, athletics, service, leadership, and philanthropy of Harold V. Lucas, Jr. with a commitment to honor the past and contribute to the future.

The Foundation is housed at The Lucas Center in the Midtown area of Daytona Beach, FL. It sits on the same site where Lucas, Sr. built his home in the early 1920s. In May 2021, the Florida Historical Marker Council designated the site of The Home of Harold V. Lucas, Sr. as a historical site.

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