Marnina Queen will start as the New Hanover County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board CEO on Sept. 1, officials announced Friday.
 
“She has past experience with an ABC board,” New Hanover County ABC Board chairman Robert Martenis said about one of the reasons Queen stuck out among the 64 applicants the group received. He added that her enthusiasm and attention to detail also were points for board members who appointed her to the post.
 
Queen has worked at the Greensboro ABC Board, including as personnel director and assistant manager for more than six years, according to a news release.
 
Queen also spent more than four years as an education specialist with the N.C. ABC Commission and previously served 12 years in the U.S. Air Force, where she was a medical service journeyman, the release stated.
 
The CEO position became vacant when Dan Sykes retired in June as head of the organization.
 
As chief, Queen will oversee daily operations of the eight ABC stores in New Hanover County area as well as the two other stores specifically for bar and restaurant owners.
 
The group’s revenue for the 2014-15 budget year was $37.1 million. Martenis said this year’s goal is $40 million.
 
“I am looking forward to working for the New Hanover ABC Board and embracing a community that has so much to offer its residents,” Queen said in a statement.