Laura South
Her passion, people skills and organizational expertise likely would have made Laura Earwood South a success at anything she attempted. Fortunately, it was the sport of drag racing that realized the greatest benefit over the course of an outrageously diverse career that began with the NHRA, included a 20-year stint as Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the former Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach and continues today through work with charitable and civic organizations in and around Palm Beach County.
A Texas native who admittedly knew nothing about auto racing when she moved to Atlanta in 1974, South got a crash course from Steve Earwood, the former National Media Relations Director for the NHRA to whom she once was married, with whom she briefly owned Atlanta Dragway, helped pen Teas Motorplex, and alongside whom she traveled the national event circuit for 13 years. During that time, she assisted in formulating and executing marketing, publicity and promotional campaigns at NHRA national events from Gainesville to Seattle, New York City to Los Angeles, while at the same time making a host of industry contacts that later would prove invaluable.
Laura was one of the founding members of DRAW (the Drag Racing Association of Women), an organization that today continues to provide assistance to injured racers and their families, she has worked enthusiastically in support of women in all forms of motor racing, including licensing and working on public relations and publicity with Elaine Larsen, the two-time IHRA jet car world champion.
Although she developed and honed her skills in drag racing, South’s success has been anything but one-dimensional. She has worked in the retail, public involvement, fundraising and insurance industries, was involved in the promotion of events in the IMSA road racing series, the SCCA Trans Am series and worked with the late Raymond Beadle’s Blue Max team when driver Rusty Wallace won his only NASCAR Cup championship.
After developing a friendship and working relationship with the late Dick Moroso, for whom she helped coordinate promotions and publicity in support of independent drag racing events (including the Citrus Nationals and the Five-Day Bracket Race) at both Moroso Motorsports Park and Miami-Hollywood Dragway, she was hired by the Hall of Fame racer, manufacturer and track owner as Executive V-P and GM of his racetracks in 1987.
In that capacity, she was directly involved in facility development and maintenance, the initiation of community outreach initiatives, sponsor development, creation of new events and oversight of the marketing, PR and publicity effort while at the same time managing a full-time staff that produced more than 500 diverse events each year. In 2006, MMP entertained more than 650,000 visitors and pumped an estimated $50 million into the local economy, earning the prestigious Providencia Award presented annually by the Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce as a result.
When the family opted to sell the track after Dick Moroso lost his battle with cancer in 1998, South embarked on a new challenge as an independent event planner and advocate for a variety of causes and individuals, serving, among other things, as president of the John Paul Jr. Huntington’s Disease Foundation. She is a past member of the Palm Beach County Business Development Committee, the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the South Florida Blood Banks, and the board of a Palm Beach County Attractions Association that she formerly chaired. She also is a member of three Chambers of Commerce and serves on the Board of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission and Hall of Fame.
As an event planner whose moto is “we take fun seriously,” she has produced concerts, air shows, seminars, conferences and trade shows. Among her favorite were the Wine & Dine on the Boardwalk, an auction, gala and golf tournament benefitting Grassy Waters Preserve, a Wine & Dine event for the Palm Beach Gardens Athletic Association, a College Game Day festival in downtown West Palm Beach and the All About You conference for women that in 2015 and 2016 benefitted Burckle Place (for single, homeless women) and Place of Hope (a haven for abused children and their families).
Married the last 26 years to Regional insurance executive Bill South, with whom she resides in Stuart, Fla., she is active in Peace Presbyterian Church, serving faithfully as both an elder and fellowship leader.