Lindsborg’s Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum will soon be under new leadership. Hayley Samford is the new executive director. 

Samford comes to the museum having most recently served as the Director of Alumni Engagement and Development at Bethany College.

According to the Museum, Samford’s work history includes a proven track record of community engagement, successful fundraising campaigns, and strategic planning.

With deep personal and family roots in Lindsborg and the museum’s dual emphasis on the history of the Old Mill and the area’s Swedish heritage, she was the perfect fit to lead this 64-year-old museum into the next stage of its journey.

“My family and personal connections mean the mission of the mill is very personal,” Samford said. “The Mill and Museum hold generations of memories and have so much to offer Smoky Valley and Kansas as a whole. The growth and success of this complex are the result of many generations’ labors of love—efforts that continue to connect each of us today.”

In addition to her leadership with Bethany College alumni, previous work in her career has included: Marketing and Corporate Engagement at the Salina Family Healthcare Center, Executive Director of the Oak Harbor Main Street Association (Washington state), CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Salina, and Membership and Community Relations Associate with the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce.

An alumna of Smoky Valley High School, Samford holds a bachelor’s of science in business from Baker University and is a 2022 graduate of the US Chamber of Commerce Institute of Management.

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Photo via Jim Turner