Kat Larkin of Mathews has been appointed to the position of executive director of the Mathews County Visitor and Information Center. She replaces Emily Allen, who is leaving to become an independent small business assistant.

Larkin, speaking at MCVIC’s temporary location on Brickbat Road, said she intends to continue “all the great things Emily started” while adding some fresh new things once rehabilitation of Sibley’s General Store is completed and MCVIC moves back into its permanent quarters.

“It’ll be fun to start fresh over there,” she said.

A Richmond native, Larkin said she’s been coming to the Middle Peninsula for many years, and to Mathews since her parents moved here in 2006. When the pandemic hit in 2020, she found herself visiting more often and finally decided to move to the county herself with her now 7-year-old son, Nolan.

Larkin graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in communications and public relations. Since then...