Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum Promotes Seven, Including VP & Senior Staff

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Ben Hall, Vice President Of Development at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has promoted seven staffers to leadership positions within the museum’s creative, development, education, museum services and facilities, operations and sustainability teams.

Ben Hall has been promoted to Vice President, Development, and joining the museum’s senior staff team are Paul Kingsbury as Senior Director of Editorial and Interpretation, Luke Wiget as Senior Director of Creative, and Leigh Anne Wise as Senior Director of Facilities, Operations and Sustainability.

A 14-year museum veteran, Hall most recently served as Senior Director of Development. He oversees diverse fundraising initiatives consisting of the museum’s annual fund, major gifts program, planned giving, corporate philanthropy and sponsorships, government contributions, membership and special campaigns. He also manages Country Music Hall of Fame member relations. Hall received a bachelor’s degree from Belmont University and holds a Juris Doctor degree from Nashville School of Law.

In his new role, Kingsbury will manage editorial staff and the development of written content for the museum’s website, exhibits, public programs, publications, educational materials and online offerings. He has written extensively about country music, writing or co-authoring Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World, The Grand Ole Opry History of Country Music and Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop. He also served as the Editor-In-Chief for the museum’s Encyclopedia of Country Music, and Co-Editor for the museum’s pictorial history Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music in America. Before his promotion, Kingsbury served as Managing Editor for the museum. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Vanderbilt University.

In Wiget’s new role, he will guide the museum’s creative and project management teams responsible for producing exhibits, books, videos, education materials, marketing collateral and social media content. He joined the museum in 2016 and, prior to his promotion, served as Director of Creative Content. Wiget holds a bachelor’s degree in English from San Jose State University and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from The New School.

In her new role, Wise will oversee facilities maintenance, building projects, building operations including security, housekeeping and event set up, as well as sustainability initiatives. A 38-year museum veteran, Wise first joined the museum as a tour guide, moving to accounting and then operations. Her most recent position was Executive Director of Operations and Sustainability. A native of Middle Tennessee, Wise attended Middle Tennessee State University and Aquinas College.

In other changes at the museum, Sam Farahmand has also been promoted to Associate Director of Creative Content, Sydney Gilbert has been named Director of Creative Project Management, and Aaron Helvig has been named Associate Director of Music Programs.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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