After six years working for the city of East Lansing, the coordinator of the National Folk Festival will be starting her new job for the MSU Alumni Association today.
Sharon Radtke’s duties will be similar to her previous job as East Lansing’s community events coordinator, but on a much larger scale. Radtke will be the assistant director of special programs for the Alumni Association.
“I will be sad to leave the city, but I will literally only be a block away,” Radtke said. “I will still keep in touch with all of my friends there, and I will still be working with some of the local groups downtown.”
Even though she is changing jobs, her focus will be similar, she said. She will be organizing large events for the association, such as the Patriarch Picnic and a women’s issues seminar.
Keith Williams, executive director for the association, said he is very pleased to have Radtke as part of his staff. He said she went through the interview with flying colors, despite her stiff competition.
“She is certainly qualified for the position, and her organizational skills are phenomenal,” Williams said. “We need a very hardworking person for this position, and she fits the job description perfectly.”
While with the city, Radtke planned events like concert series for children, free movie showings and live outdoor music.
She also worked closely with local nonprofit organizations and helped to organize walks and runs. Besides her involvement with volunteer organizations, her main project, which she adopted two years ago, was the National Folk Festival.
Radtke worked for a volunteer agency six years prior to her job at the city, which is how she established her good contacts with nonprofit groups in East Lansing. The East Lansing City Council then created a position where an individual would focus on bringing more events to the downtown area.
“It was nice because I kind of made up the position as I went along,” Radtke said. “I worked with the PRIDE team, which started events like the farmer’s market and Earth Day cleanup, and expanded to projects like the Ann Street Plaza, which was an outdoor event with live entertainment.”
Radtke said she has been disassociating herself slowly from the city to start training her assistant, Ami Field, in her position. East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said Radtke’s position has not yet been filled and the city is encouraging external applicants as well as internal.
“Sharon took a job that was new and did a wonderful job to diversify events so people from all walks of life can enjoy downtown,” Staton said. “We will begin searching for someone to follow in her footsteps today.”
East Lansing Public Information Administrator Judith Taran said Radtke is a phenomenal organizer and her presence will be sorely missed.
“Sharon was the backbone of the Folk Festival,” Taran said. “She dealt with almost every aspect, from public works, the police, the National Council for Traditional Arts and with the installation of the festival itself.
“She inspired people to do things they never thought they could do.”
