Caroline Neville
Caroline Neville knows the best stories have unexpected twists. Her own took her from prestigious positions at major New York City and Minneapolis publishing firms to a cozy home on the Namekagon River with her fly fisherman husband, Stu, toddler Molly, and Welsh springer spaniel puppy, Rosie.
The 37-year-old Park Center board member admits that the last few years represent a major gear shift for her.
“You just never know where life is going to lead,” she says. “But if you're just open to things and ready to start a new chapter, it can really work out.”
Caroline had nearly a decade of experience in book promotion before love brought her to Hayward in 2020. Her husband, Stu Neville, owns Hayward Fly Fishing Company, the local sponsor of the popular International Fly Fishing Film Festival, a series of short films that showcase diverse stories and fly fishing adventures from around the world. The annual festival comes to The Park for the third time on Saturday, March 21.
The couple’s unique blend of interests and expertise, combined with a desire to be more involved with their new community, brought the annual festival to The Park.
Caroline grew up in Northfield, Minnesota, the daughter of a librarian and a St. Olaf physics professor. After graduating from St. Olaf College in 2011 with a degree in English and media studies, she was hired as a publicist for Henry Holt and Company, a New York City-based subsidiary of Macmillan Publishers.
“I worked in the publicity department of that publisher for three years, and that was where I got my start in the public relations and marketing world,” said Caroline. “But I was eager to move back to the Twin Cities for friends and family — and I just missed the Midwest.”
Her timing was fortuitous. Within months of her return to Minnesota, she was hired to replace the retiring publicist at Graywolf Press, a highly respected independent Minneapolis publisher. She was there seven years, ultimately serving as publicity director before moving to Hayward to marry Stu.
Caroline and Stu had both attended St. Olaf College, where Stu was an Environmental Studies major, but didn’t meet until 2018, at a mutual friend’s wedding. By then, Stu was already a well-established guide for the Hayward Fly Fishing Company. He purchased the company in 2021.
Stu’s close friendship with Ian Finch introduced Caroline to the Park several years ago. Finch was a board member at the time and knew The Park Center wanted to focus more intensely on programming and marketing. He suggested Caroline’s talents would be a perfect fit for their mission.
“I said that sounds kind of interesting because by that point I had been done with my job in publishing for a little while and I was eager to keep that thread going,” she said.
“I thought this could be a really cool way to apply that experience in a different arena,” she said. “There are a lot of similarities between promoting a concert and promoting an author's book tour. What do you need to do to get the word out to the local media? What time do they need to be there? What's the phone number, what are all those nuts and bolts of what it takes to put on a show or an event, that kind of a thing. And so I thought, okay, this could be something cool. I tagged along to a board meeting with Ian, and it was just kind of off and running from there.”
She currently writes and sends press releases about every Park Center event to 40 to 50 contacts. She worked on social media until Molly was born.
“There's so much more I wish I could do, but with a baby at home, there are limitations,” she said. “She's just learned the word no, so we're having a lot of fun with that. But I appreciate that folks accept that everybody just comes to the table with what they can offer.
“I think the Park is an awesome, valuable thing in our community, and I'm just so glad to be a part of it.”