At the end of 2012, with the retirement of Founding Director Charles Chiarchiaro, the Owls Head Transportation Museum Board of Trustees began an effort to reimagine the future of this unique institution, hiring Russ Rocknak as the museum’s new Executive Director.

With his history of proven effectiveness in marketing, Rocknak brought a new vision to the then 38-year-old museum, and over the course of the ensuing three years he was responsible for a renewal of the Museum’s physical setting, injecting an entrepreneurial spirit throughout the organization, and opening this regional institution to a broader national audience.

Looking to the future, the Museum’s Board of Trustees found that now is the time to take the next step toward a more rounded management model, incorporating the previous financial format in concert with the Museum’s new outward-looking spirit, according to a news release from the museum.

“ With this, Mr. Rocknak has chosen to take his entrepreneurial know-how on to his next project,” the museum said. “The Board of Trustees accepted his decision on October 13, and wish him the very best in all future endeavors.”