Public Communications serves as a communications link between the city of Columbia’s municipal government and the citizens. The Public Communications Office coordinates several programs that are designed to link citizens with their city government.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Bill Watkins, City Manager - (573) 874-6338 or Marie Hunter, Manager, Office of Cultural Affairs - (573) 874-6386 or Toni Messina, Director, Public Communications - (573) 874-7660

City cultural affairs manager to leave position

COLUMBIA, MO (November 22, 2010) - City Manager Bill Watkins today announced that Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) Manager Marie Nau Hunter will resign her position, effective in February 2011. She and her husband B.J. plan to stay in Columbia with their two young sons.

“I am honored to have worked for the City of Columbia and City Manager Bill Watkins,” Hunter said. “I will never forget the opportunities afforded me and feel so very proud to have been a city employee for nearly 14 years.”

Watkins said that Hunter successfully meshed her love for arts and culture with her strong, administrative values. “Marie simply stands out as a unique natural resource in this community. She is not only an accomplished professional but a loving parent, and her family is where she wants to put her attention right now.”

Hunter joined the city staff as a cultural program assistant in 1997, advanced to cultural program specialist and attained her current position in 2001. She holds
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art history and archaeology from the University of Missouri.

During her time with the city, the Missouri Arts Council and state Department of Economic Development designated Columbia the state’s first “creative community.” Hunter received the Missouri Arts Council’s Leadership in the Arts award last February.

Watkins said that he plans to start a search for Hunter’s replacement in the coming weeks. “We will advertise nationally, and I will ask an advisory committee to help with the process.”

-30-