PARKERSBURG - A former Parkersburg resident who has had experience performing on stage and working with non-profit organizations is slated to take the top position at Artsbridge.
Mark Lanyon is expected to be announced as the new executive director of Artsbridge, replacing John Hoffman who recently retired, at 4 p.m. today at the Blennerhassett Hotel. Lee Rector, president of the Artsbridge Board, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Lanyon, 44, is a 1986 graduate of Parkersburg High School. He attended the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and studied musical theatre.
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Lanyon
He also attended California State University where he is working to complete a degree in bio-medical engineering. He has performed on Broadway with parts in "Grease" and "Babes in Arms," was in a national touring production of "Grease" and various performances in regional theatre.
He spent the last several years working for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles as the program director in its medical divison doing outreach work. He created and directed the Early Intervention Program, identifying and helping newly diagnosed individuals access healthcare services.
He also came up with a way to show how services were impacting patients and show what kind of return these programs were having and demonstrated how their programs were lowering infection rates, increasing health benefits for the patients and helped bring in new revenues to the Foundation as he could show where the money was going and the kind of impact it was having. He was selected to be a presenter at the North American Conference on AIDS in Chicago last year, because of the success of the program.
Lanyon wants to bring what he has learned in California to Parkersburg.
''About four to five months ago I decided it was time to return home,'' he said. ''I wanted to take the lessons I learned and bring that experience back here.''
The Artsbridge board of directors has many important ideas that will need to be implemented, he said.
''One of my goals is to set those wheels in motion,'' he said.
He is planning to step into the position in early January and evaluate what needs to be done.
''Artsbridge has an important mission,'' Lanyon said. ''The purpose of Artsbridge is to improve the quality of life in the Mid-Ohio Valley by promoting and supporting the arts through financial and technical support, and arts education in our schools and community.''
