DELAND — After besting 11 other applicants for the job, D. Wayne Carter today will take the reins as the new executive director of the MainStreet DeLand Association.
Carter succeeds Mary Beth Harris, who in early May announced her intention to step down to move to southwest Florida with her family.
Harris’ last day on the job was June 15.
“I think he will do an excellent job and I’m very excited for him coming on board,” Harris said of Carter. She said she’d met him several times before at quarterly and annual Florida MainStreet meetings.
Carter was previously executive director of Eustis MainStreet in Lake County, a position he held for seven years until earlier this year when the organization ceased operation because of lack of funding. He had a hand in organizing events including the Lake Eustis Fine Wine Festival and the Lake County Folk Festival, said Savannah-Jane Griffin, president of MainStreet DeLand’s board of directors.