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City of Sarasota Logo
NEWS RELEASE
City Hall
1565 First Street
Sarasota, FL 34236

For Immediate Release: October 26, 2007

NEW VAN WEZEL
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR APPOINTED

Sarasota, FL: The City of Sarasota is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Mary Bensel as the new Executive Director of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. “I’m excited about the opportunity of bringing a high quality professional to this position,” said City Manager Robert Bartolotta. “She has the experience, expertise and the personality to raise the organization to its full potential.”

Ms. Bensel currently is the Director of Touring and Sales for Troika Entertainment in Gaithersburg, MD. She previously served for ten years as the General Manager at the Barbara Mann Performing Arts Hall in Ft. Myers, FL. “Ms. Bensel brings a wide variety of strengths to this position,” said Bartolotta. “I am particularly pleased with her background in programming, fiscal discipline and community outreach.”

Ms. Bensel will begin her new position December 10, 2007. Her salary will be $130,000 per year. Her first task will be to access the current organization’s strengths and needs, programming for 2008-09, and the elimination of the deficit over the next three years.

The Citizens Advisory Screening Committee, with representation from the Van Wezel Foundation, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Board, the Florida West Coast Symphony, and the Sarasota Opera, chose Ms. Bensel as one of the top three candidates for the position. The final decision was made by the City Manager.

Ms. Bensel has a Master of Arts degree in acting and directing from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Science degree in communications, speech, theatre and English from Mansfield University.

 

For more information, please contact:
Jan Thornburg, Public Information Officer (941) 954-2613
jan.thornburg@sarasotagov.com