The Gloucester Main Street Association announced Katherine “Kat” Larkin as its new Executive Director.

Pam Callis-Lett, GMSA board chair, welcomed Larkin to Main Street in a press release, stating “Her energy, vision, and commitment to community make her an outstanding choice to lead GMSA into its next phase.”

Larkin moved to Mathews in 2020, during the pandemic. After spending years visiting her parents who live in the area, she decided to make the move from Richmond.

With a degree from VCU in mass communications, and a concentration in public relations, Larkin most recently was Executive Director for the Mathews County Visitor and Information Center. “That was more tourism-based and tourism-focused, but there’s definitely some overlap,” she said.

While Larkin brings a lot of connections, as well as experience, from her previous role, she is also getting to meet an array of new people.

“I’ve been trying to make an effort each week to go up and down Main Street and meet different business owners, pop into different businesses, look around, meet and talk to people, and introduce myself,” she explained.

As Larkin steps into this new role, she and the association are working on engaging and supporting business owners, and the community. “We’re just trying to be very public and visible, and let people know where they can find us,” she said. “I just want them to know that we want to support them.”

The Gloucester Main Street Association will hold a private welcoming event for business owners and community stakeholders at the Gloucester Brewing Company.