Passion Play CEO Departs

Joseph Gies, CEO of the Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, has left the organization.

Gies actually worked for the nonprofit Elna M. Smith Foundation Inc., which runs the play that is considered the second-largest tourist attraction in Arkansas and has drawn more than seven million visitors in its 36 seasons.

Gies said he is “parting ways” with the organization because he and the board did not share the same “strategic direction vision for the future.”

Gies joined The Passion Play in March 2002. He established the foundation’s first full-time sales and marketing department and restructured its advertising strategy.

Gies said he is looking for opportunities in Northwest Arkansas. The Passion Play would not say whether Gies would be replaced, although we’ve heard that Marvin Peterson and Ken Smith, who were in charge before Gies, will assume that role again.