After a nationwide search with more than 25 applicants, it turns out VenuWorks didn’t have to venture far to find the perfect fit for the role of executive director of the Sanford Center in Bemidji.

“Right now, it’s just been really humbling and overwhelming by all the local support that I’ve been receiving,” says Tiffany Vickaryous-Hubbard, the next executive director for the Sanford Center.

Vickaryous-Hubbard has over a decade of experience in the food and beverage and management industry. She was most recently the associate executive director for the Sanford Center, working directly under the previous executive director, Jeff Kossow. She worked with booking events, sales, marketing and the box office in this role.

“I’m just really excited to continue the partnerships that we’ve been working on so much and really building upon those community involvement pieces and continuing the work with BSU, our naming right sponsor, the Sanford Health. I certainly love working with all our partners and all our sponsors here,” says Vickaryous-Hubbard.

When it came to finding the right person to fill the job as executive director, members of the Bemidji City Council expressed to VenuWorks that they wanted someone with a strong connection to the community. Vickaryous-Hubbard has been a Bemidji community member for a few years now, so she seemed to fit the bill.

“I tell people all the time that it’s just so amazing for me to be able to do what I love to do and to be able to be in a community like Bemidji and have a gorgeous facility on the south shores of Lake Bemidji. I just don’t think that I could be anymore blessed as an executive director here at the Sanford Center,” says Vickaryous-Hubbard.

Vickaryous-Hubbard says the community’s response she’s received has been extremely positive. She adds that she’s excited to make the Sanford Center even more community based than it already is.

She says, “Now it’s time to really work with my team and really for us to be able to get together and figure out what is really going to be best for our team and for the Sanford Center and really develop, within the partnerships, different ideas and strategies for us moving forward.”

Vickaryous-Hubbard’s first official day in her new role will be July 1^st.

By — Shirelle Moore