10:45am | Shaun was Mr. Business. He lived, breathed, and loved business. Business is about relationships, and getting things done. Professionally, these were Shaun’s great loves. His other love was service. Most people knew that he volunteered his time for many worthy causes, but he also served on many boards of local charitable and artistic organizations. I reached out to some of his fellow board members, and asked for memorable anecdotes. Not surprisingly, I received some.

Mike Murray, Director of Government and External Affairs for Verizon, served with Shaun on the board of the Long Beach Education Foundation (LBEF). He shared this:

“Shaun was learning George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’ As I understand it, he had taken some music lessons briefly as a child. His plan was to play the piano — knowing Shaun I’m sure his mentors were George himself or Elmer Bernstein — backed by the symphony, and the proceeds would have gone to the Long Beach Education Foundation for music programs. Not only have I never met anyone with that much chutzpah, I can’t even imagine anyone other than Shaun who would even entertain such a notion.”

Carl A. Kemp, of The Kemp Group, who also served on the board of the LBEF, shared this:

“The first time I played golf with Shaun was at Recreation Park, shortly after he started working at the Chamber. Supervisor Don Knabe, Matt Knabe and Gilbert Canizales we were with us. At that point, Shaun wasn’t the best golfer, but on the 9th hole, he chipped in from the edge of the green for a birdie. During his post-shot celebration, he accidentally stepped down on a sprinkler and thrashed his ankle. As he writhed on the ground in pain, the rest of the group just looked over their shoulder, like, ‘Who brought THIS guy!?’ He was the ‘guy’ we would all later consider our family.

The following Tuesday, he showed up to the council meeting with his laptop and his crutches, ready and willing to laugh at himself. That was Shaun; Not afraid to do something he was new to, then excel at it, and when he fell, perfectly willing to laugh at himself.

Though he was younger than me, he was an inspiration to me. Two days before his untimely death, I left him a voicemail to tell him how much I appreciated him for setting up my website (which he took the time to do for free). He called me back, left a quick message (the kind he always left) and I assumed I’d see him at our table for the State of the County.

He will be missed but never forgotten. ”

Shaun also served on the board of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra (LBSO). LBSO Executive Directer Bob Jones shared this:

“I remember my last lunch with Shaun. We met to resolve any lingering differences from a recent public exchange and determine how to best move forward together in the interest of continuing growth in the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra’s value to a broader constituency. As we were winding up both our filibusters and our filets, Shaun said, ‘I will always state my position passionately but, in the future, I promise to let you know what it is ahead of time, and that I am going to do it, even if I have to text you across the room during a meeting, so you will never be surprised. In return, if you don’t like my position, promise you will tell me.’ We had a deal. And like every deal with Shaun, it was win-win.”

Rick Berry, Director of Marketing for the LBSO had this to say:

“When Shaun joined the LBSO board of directors one of the first things he did was help bring Long Beach high school students to the 2010 Holiday Celebration concerts by soliciting donations for tickets from his extensive community network. As a result, over 200 students had an opportunity to hear live symphonic music that they would not have otherwise heard. It was his determination and drive alone that made this happen.

It was a privilege to work with Shaun on the LBSO Marketing Committee. He always had a great perspective to share, and challenged us to think beyond the norm.”

John Glaza, interim Executive Director for the Arts Council for Long Beach, shared this:

“I remember the first time I had coffee with Shaun. He had been in a board summit I was leading and we made a good connection, so we decided to meet for coffee. During our conversation over coffee about nonprofit board service, I told him that no one could do a reasonable job on more than three boards of directors. At which point he said he was on at least seven…and I asked if he was crazy. If anyone could serve on multiple boards of directors it was our friend Shaun Lumachi. I miss him.“