HSPA board of directors President Don Hurd stepped down from his position to take a job with a media marketing company.
Hurd is chief operating officer for Sturgis, Mich.-based HomeTown Welcome Program.
He had been president and group publisher of Kankakee Valley Publishing since 2005 and a member of the HSPA board since 2007.
“It’s hard to leave after 32 years in the newspaper industry, but HomeTown Welcome is something I firmly believe in for newspapers,” Hurd said. “As we all know, creating new revenue streams gets harder each year, but HTW is a program that can produce continued results.”
The company offers marketing programs that connect newspapers and their advertisers to residents in their community.
Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, said the association is sorry to lose Hurd’s services.
“Don has been dedicated to community newspapers for more than three decades,” Key said. “We wish him the best in his new endeavor.”
Hurd has worked as publisher and in advertising and commercial printing management at newspapers in Monticello; Sturgis, Mich.; Pekin, Ill.; and, most recently, in Rensselaer and Watseka, Ill., with Kankakee Valley Publishing.
Hurd’s final day with the company, where he oversaw newspaper operations for 28 publications, was April 15.
HomeTown Welcome founder Fred Gushwa said Hurd’s expertise meshes well with media marketing.
“Don will not only guide our company but also through his past experiences share his excitement for our program with an industry he knows well,” Gushwa said.
