The Wilmington area, now more in the spotlight than ever with President-elect Joe Biden, will need a new leader to promote it.

Sarah Ridgway Willoughby, General Manager of the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau since 2008, is leaving the position in June.

Willoughby is moving to Hernando, Florida with her husband, Gary, who retired last summer.

The news came shortly after Biden left Delaware Tuesday afternoon to become the nation’s 46th President. Biden did not leave the Wilmington station that bears his name but from the Delaware National Guard Center at New Castle, named after his late son who died at the age of 46.

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Biden didn’t travel much during election season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The president-elect stayed in Wilmington and brought him the world.

Wilmington and the state have been featured on national and international news and television events in the past few months. Today more people know about Delaware than ever before.

The Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, founded in 1978, acts as the marketing organization for New Castle County’s travel destinations. It also promotes the region’s tourist offer for travelers and planners of meetings and conventions.

Willoughby, formerly director of tourism development at the Winterthur Museum, has been with the office since 2004.

She said she was “very proud of the marketing accomplishments we have achieved over the years”.

“Sarah is an asset to our tourism community. We are very sorry to see them go, “said Bill Sullivan, chairman of the board of directors of the bureau, in a prepared statement.

Sullivan said the board of directors formed a search committee to fill the position. The job will be published this winter.

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The applications are checked and the application process begins in spring. The board plans to appoint a new executive director in June so Willoughby can help with the transition.

In 2018, Willoughby helped save the office from closing when the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) cut funding for the state’s Convention and Visitors Bureau without notice.

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @ Pattytalorico