Owensboro native Francine Marseille has been named the new Friday After 5 Executive Director ahead of the 25th anniversary season of the signature riverfront music festival.
Marseille returned home to Owensboro last year after being away for more than 30 years. She had begun her career at a local radio station before heading west to complete her education, receiving a master’s degree in communications (TV/radio/film emphasis), along with achieving her career goals in the entertainment and music industry.
Marseille’s desire to return home to Owensboro and give back to a community that provided her start was essential to her. She quickly became involved in her hometown and volunteered with Friday After 5 at first opportunity.
Marseille will begin her tenure at Friday After 5 immediately.
“I would like to start by saying that it is an honor to have been chosen as the new Executive Director of Friday After 5,” she said. “In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to working with our Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and our extraordinary volunteers to make the upcoming 25th anniversary season and beyond a resounding success.”
Given the growth of Friday After 5 over the years and preparing for the 25th anniversary next year, the board began searching for a strong team leader in July to take the reins. Working together with their newly established search committee, they received several qualified applicant hopefuls for the position.
“After a very thorough search and the hard work of our search committee, the Board of Directors is delighted to welcome Francine Marseille to lead Friday After 5 into the future,” said Jay Velotta, President of Friday After 5. “Francine comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and an extensive background in entertainment and event management. We are pleased that our search efforts helped us select such a skilled candidate.”
Kirk Kirkpatrick, Friday After 5 founder and historian, said the decision was challenging as they received 20 qualified applicant hopefuls, several of which were highly qualified finalists.
“We are thrilled to work with Francine to forge a brilliant future for Friday After 5,” Kirkpatrick said. “We know Owensboro will discover some of the great attributes we realized during the interview process.”
