Chronicle: Former Academy of Country Music Exec. Dir. Fran Boyd passed away Saturday (3/9). She was 84. Boyd was hired in 1968 as Exec. Secretary of the then-Academy of Country and Western Music (now ACM) and was the organization's first paid employee. She worked her way up through the organization and served as talent producer for the ACM Awards. In 1995, Boyd became the Exec. Dir. after the passing of her husband Bill. Upon her retirement in 2002, she told Radio & Records, "It has given me great joy to see so many young country artists rise from newcomers to having great careers. The Academy has helped music fans acknowledge country music as the enduring genre it deserves to be.” Boyd was named one of "Country's Greatest Women of the Century" by the magazine in 1999. "Her tireless work and years of dedication to this organization, the Country music industry and its artists cannot be overstated, and her legacy with the Academy will forever live on,” says ACM CEO Damon Whiteside. No word yet on services; see full obituary here. In lieu of flowers, donations may made to Alive Hospice Nashville here or the Alzheimer's Association here.