MARSHALL — Cassi Weiss said she’s grown to have “a huge passion” for the Marshall community, and she’s seen the recent growth and progress the Marshall Convention and Visitors Bureau has made in building relationships with local businesses. Both of those things were big reasons why she applied to be the new CVB director.

“When the opportunity came, I felt I had to put my name in there,” Weiss said.

Now, she’ll have a chance to put her passion to work. On Wednesday, the CVB board of directors named Weiss as the new CVB director. She will start work on March 30.

“I’m definitely really excited,” Weiss said. She said she’s looking forward to promoting Marshall and organizing new kinds of events to bring people to town.

Weiss will be taking over for former CVB director Lauren Deutz. In January, Deutz resigned to accept the position of Economic Development Director for the city of Marshall.

Weiss has experience working with the Marshall CVB, having spent three years as the organization’s social media coordinator, from 2015 to 2018. Weiss is currently a development associate with Prairie Home Hospice and Community Care in Marshall.

She is a 2015 graduate of Southwest Minnesota State University with a degree in hospitality management with a triple concentration in event planning, hotel management and restaurant management.

“We had a very strong pool of individuals apply for the position and are looking forward to having Cassi take over as director,” said Kelly Loft, chairperson of the Marshall CVB board of directors. “Cassi’s knowledge of the CVB and the city of Marshall, along with the relationships she has built over the years, will be vital in continuing the growth of our community through the regional conference, leisure and sports markets.”

There will be a couple of new opportunities and challenges facing Weiss when she starts her job March 30. On one hand, Marshall recently unveiled a new branding initiative to help promote the city. Weiss said she’s talked with Deutz, who worked with the branding project.

“I’m looking forward to putting our own spin on the branding,” she said.

On the other hand, a lot of sporting and community events are now looking uncertain, as Minnesota seeks to cut down on public gatherings during the COVID-19 threat.

“It will definitely be an interesting first couple of weeks,” she said. But at the same time, Weiss said she wants to continue expanding the special events held in Marshall, and coming up with some new ones.

“I think Marshall’s a great location for sports,” Weiss said, and she’d like to keep building and expanding athletic tournaments in town.