By Melanie Levi
Mary-Eleanor Joyce smiles in front of posters promoting previous AthFests on April 25, 2023 in her office on East Clayton Street. Joyce wants to ensure that AthFest Educates, displayed on the guitar in her hands, becomes well known by attendees. (Photo/Melanie Levi)
Mary-Eleanor Joyce sits in her brightly lit office above Mellow Mushroom on East Clayton Street. The spunky musician and Athens local sports a loud purple shirt and green pants, and her body language is open and inviting. Her infectious giggle fills the room as she introduces herself. Joyce recalls the accidental encounter that changed the course of her life forever.
“I was down here interviewing with the school of social work for grad school and didn’t know AthFest was happening,” Joyce said. “[I] walked out and one of my favorite bands from high school, Five Eight, was playing.”
AthFest Educates is a local nonprofit organization that is devoted to assisting Athens-Clarke County schools in advancing music and arts education for students K-12. The AthFest music festival was founded in 1997, but became a part of this nonprofit in 2009 to support these endeavors. This year, however, the company has experienced a significant change in leadership.
Mary-Eleanor Joyce’s office is covered in checklists and blueprints at her East Clayton Street office on April 25, 2023. This will be Joyce’s first time organizing a music festival and a marathon. (Photo/Melanie Levi)
Jill Helme, former executive director of AthFest Educates, stepped down after eight years of employment. In January, Joyce stepped in to take over this esteemed role.
“When we’re looking for a director of a nonprofit, we’re also looking for somebody that has major skills in planning events,” said Alicia Nickles, longtime AthFest Educates board member and Flagpole Magazine publisher. “Finding a person that knows how to do all that is a unicorn.”
Although a major change, Nickles is hopeful in Joyce’s abilities because of the new leader’s personal experience with the festival as well as nonprofits. Nickles said that Joyce’s two predecessors were either too festival-focused or nonprofit-focused, but she has the appropriate background to manage both.
AthFest Educates donates approximately $50,000 in grants to the Athens-Clarke County School District yearly. This money is generated partially from the annual AthFest music festival and partially from its sister event, the AthHalf Half Marathon. The funds are provided to strengthen adolescents’ knowledge and participation in music and arts.
Joyce intends to keep the festival’s central cause the same, but plans to implement new ideas to promote this charity.
“The biggest change I want to make is putting the mission first so that everyone that shows up to AthFest, everyone that goes to the AthHalf Marathon, knows this is a fundraiser for AthFest Educates,” Joyce said.
Joyce wants to involve bands in fundraising by asking them to donate the earnings from their performance or incentivizing donations with prizes. She also intends to place banners displaying the fundraiser’s mission with QR codes that provide attendees with a direct link to donate.
As a whole, Joyce wants to make it clear that this free festival is not exactly free; AthFest Educates has a monetary goal with a mission behind it.
“I’ve played AthFest and I didn’t know that it was a fundraiser for a nonprofit. That’s a huge challenge,” Joyce said.
This is the notion that she seeks to combat in the foreseeable future, but it is the challenge that enticed her to want this role of executive director.
“I am impressed that the board waited to find who they felt would be the right person instead of just a person,” said Joyce.
Source Info –
Alicia Nickles, she/her
706-549-9523
Mary-Eleanor Joyce, she/her
(706) 548-1973
Why I Wrote the Story:
I wrote this story to highlight the significant change in leadership of a festival that has been around for decades. As the only paid employee of AthFest Educates, the executive director has many major tasks to handle.