Beat the Clock

"It's a juggling act," says Stephanie Davis of her many responsibilities. As a freelance columnist for The News-Press, she is known as the "Downtown Diva" and attends practically every business and charity dinner, lunch and brunch of note on the Gulfshore. Her other party hats include manager of fundraising and development at the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, professional actress with the Florida Repertory Theater and freelance marketing consultant for a variety of businesses.

"I am generally good at multitasking, but I do tend to put off everything until the deadline," she says. "I need a deadline; that's when I step up to the plate."

Weekdays, Davis reports to the foundation office at 8:30 a.m., and her days stretch long into the evening. What does the Diva do when two events are scheduled for the same night? "I usually try to hit both; I'll do cocktails at one, then dinner at the other," she says. "I do get tired. There are times when I want to escape, turn the phones off and lie around the house."

But Davis adds, "It's fun; I'm lucky."

Out and about every night except Sunday, Davis prefers a low-tech approach to keeping appointments. "I use a simple calendar and write everything down, using different colors of ink for different things," she says.

And Davis often makes business deals in prime time. "I have a lot of happy-hour meetings," she says.

Davis admits she has to force herself to get up the morning. Her secret for staying out late? "When you know you have to get up early, have only two cocktails."