16003_TODAY Summer '08.R2 - St. Joseph High School - Saint ...

in the country.Racing at locations such as CypressGardens and Miami Marine Stadiumin Florida, and Great Adventure andoff Jenkinson’s Pier in New Jersey,was a blast.”Thanks to a lucrativesponsorship deal with Anheuser-Busch, these races offered as much as$25,000 in prize money to the winnerseach weekend.Not only did Lauber market theseraces, he also competed in them andwas one of the top rankedprofessional jet skiers in the country.This led to televised exhibitions at SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, on MTV andeven on NBC in 20 foot waves inHawaii. He eventually became thevoice of the growing sport,broadcasting many races on networkssuch as ESPN. His jet ski stunt-ridingeven led him to appear in severalnational TV commercials. Mark alsooperated a water sports rentalbusiness at the luxurious Don CeSarhotel in St. Pete Beach, where he gavelessons to the likes of the Tom PettyBand and James Taylor. And as ifthese accomplishments were notimpressive enough, during his firstfew years in Central Florida, Lauberwas a disc jockey at a night club andhosted a local four-hour morningradio show.“I’ve had a lot of jobs,” Mark says.“But they were always fun and, at thesame time, I made a great income.”Although hard to believe, startingin 1981, Lauber only spent part of theyear in Florida running hisbusinesses. His father, Ed, whopreviously worked in the wineindustry, incorporated Lauber Importsin 1980 and asked his eldest son tojoin him.Mark jokes, “At the time, I thoughtmy dad was only interested in mebecause I owned a van and couldmake deliveries.”For the next 25 years,Mark and his fatherbuilt Lauber Imports,a fine wine wholesalerthat distributes andpromotes wines fromvineyards throughoutthe world in NewYork, New Jersey, andPennsylvania, into oneof the most highlyregarded companiesin the industry. In2004, the familyowned business wasranked the No. 1 wineimporter and distributor in thecountry by Food & Wine magazine.Based in Somerville, Lauber Importswas also named one of New Jersey’smost successful private businesses.“The success of our company hasbeen all about the quality of ourpeople, product, service, andrelationships.”Lauber Imports’ extensiveportfolio of over 5,000 wines from 25countries is sold in over 8,000restaurants and wine shops. Pricesfor Lauber Imports wines range fromover $1,000 a bottle at the finestrestaurants in New York City to $6 abottle in wine shops.“I love my job because no day istypical. I get to meet interesting andsuccessful people from all over theworld. Working side-by-side with myfather also has been a blessing.”In 2005, Lauber Imports receivedan offer to become a division ofSouthern Wine & Spirits, a multibilliondollar company. MarkMark and his Dad toast the successof Southern Wine & Spiritsdescribes the deal as one he and hisfather could not pass up.“It was time to cash in and takethe company to the next level.Southern wanted my father and I tocontinue to run the company as if westill owned it, which is what we havedone.”Similarly, Mark and Chris soldtheir assets in Florida in the mid-90s.For Mark, the decision was the resultof wanting to focus more on his careerin the wine industry, especially afterhe had witnessed a teenage boy die ina horrific jet skiing accident on theirrace course. With the jet skis travelingfaster than ever, the sport had becomemuch more dangerous.As of May 2009, Mark has oneyear remaining on his contract withSouthern Wine & Spirits and is unsureof what adventure he will next embarkupon. However, he does know: “Itwon’t have anything to do with jetskis. I really enjoy what I’m doing nowin the wine industry. And I have toomuch passion and energy to justretire.”Lauber currently resides inNeshanic Station with his wife,Laureen, whom he met in 1998, andtheir four children (all under the ageof nine and includes twin baby girls).Lauber once doubted he would be ableto experience such happiness in lifeafter his first wife tragically lost abattle with cancer in 1993. But now,he hopes that one day his two sonswill be able to attend St. Joe’s like hedid.“St. Joe’s provided an environmentfor goal-setting. It was in high schoolthat I learned the importance ofsetting goals and knowingyou have to work hard toachieve them. Whether inschool, sports, or business,I’ve always wanted to be thebest at what I do.”“St. Joe’s also taught meto be generous and caring,”says Lauber, who hasexemplified those lessons bydonating wine to the FathersClub’s “Taste of St. Joe’s”event in recent years.Who knows what MarkLauber will do next in hisalready action-packed life.But he can guarantee onething: “I’ll be working hard,doing what I love, andfinding a way to makemoney doing it.”5