The Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, VA, tasked with the preservation and continuance of the old time country music introduced to the world by The Carter Family, has announced the appointment of Ellen A. Stroud as its new Executive Director.
Outgoing Director Rita Forrester, who had helmed the Fold and its non-profit organization since her mother, Janette Carter, passed in 2006, speaks highly of her successor.
“Passing the torch of the Carter Family Fold is one of the most meaningful things I will ever do. Ellen has the heart for this place and the skills to carry it forward. I look forward to seeing everything she will build — and I will be cheering her on every step of the way.”
Ellen has three decades worth of experience in those necessary skills, as founder and CEO of Good Strings Entertainment, a booking and marketing company who represented Carson Peters & Iron Mountain and Lorraine Jordan. She has worked in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, grant management, government relations, and music programming, plus she brings her own connection to the Carter Family Fold and the music it was established to conserve.
Her work history also includes serving as Interim Project Director for North Carolina’s State Opioid Response grant, overseeing $146 million in federal programming across treatment, recovery, and harm reduction. Stroud is a licensed professional counselor with a Master of Arts in Counseling from East Tennessee State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Roanoke College. At one time she worked as Press Secretary and Director of Special Projects for a Member of Congress from Virginia.
Stroud recalls her first visit to the Fold as a young girl, when she watched Johnny Cash and June Carter perform live. It has secured a place in her memory she’ll never forget.
“The Carter Family Fold has long been a place where music brings people together and Appalachian traditions are celebrated and preserved. The legacy that A.P., Sara, and Maybelle Carter built, and that Janette Carter and Rita Forrester have faithfully preserved, needs to continue and to grow.
I look forward to building on the Carter Family Fold’s rich history, welcoming new audiences, and working with our community to ensure the Fold continues to inspire and connect people for generations to come.”
The Carter Family Fold is situated on the ancestral home of the Carter Family, at the foot of Clinch Mountain in Poor Valley, names that resonate deeply with lovers of bluegrass, old time, and original country music. It offers live musical entertainment on Saturday nights in the spring, summer, and fall months.
Full details can be found online.
