Thanksgiving Point’s board of directors has appointed McKay Christensen as president and CEO. Christensen succeeds Mike L. Washburn, who retired from Thanksgiving Point following 18 years of leadership.
“Christensen’s extensive background and business development skills will help Thanksgiving Point strengthen partnerships, develop strategic growth and expand its impacts to the community,” the board said in making the announcement.
“We are so grateful for the leadership of Mike Washburn over the past 18 years,” said Karen Ashton, co-founder of Thanksgiving Point. “Mike has done an amazing job in expanding and promoting the offerings at Thanksgiving Point, and we are excited to welcome McKay Christensen to carry on this important work. McKay brings a wealth of experience that will be a great benefit to us at Thanksgiving Point. The future is extremely bright thanks to these two leaders.”
Christensen joins Thanksgiving Point following several successful executive positions including KLAS Research, Melaleuca, Holiday Inn Worldwide and Procter & Gamble. From 2015 to 2018, Christensen served as the managing director of external relations at Brigham Young University. He remains an adjunct professor at the BYU Marriott School of Management. He earned a Ph.D. in education from the University of Idaho and an MBA from BYU. McKay and his wife Jennifer are the parents of five children and live in Alpine.
“I believe in people and in our community,” said Christensen. “As we look at the potential of what can be done at Thanksgiving Point to support our mission, I am energized by the possibilities ahead of us.”
Thanksgiving Point is a multi-venue entertainment and educational attraction that opened in 1995.