The HSPA board of directors welcomed two new members and appointed officers for the coming year at its April meeting.
Bill Masterson Jr., publisher of The Times of Northwest Indiana (Munster), joined the board to represent daily papers. Shannon Williams, president and general manager of the Indianapolis Recorder, will represent nondailies.
Williams is dedicated to journalism to ensure that the voiceless have a voice, and HSPA contributes to that mission, she said.
Williams started in marketing and circulation at the Recorder and went on to be editor and vice president of editorial and production before her current role.
Masterson has been involved in the newspaper business most of his life and is a former president of the South Dakota Newspaper Association.
“By getting involved with the board I hope to make a positive contribution in helping identify revenue opportunities that all HSPA-member newspapers can benefit from,” he said.
New officers installed during the meeting are President Tim Timmons, The Paper of Montgomery County (Crawfordsville) and The Times (Noblesville); Vice President Greg Morris, IBJ Corp., Secretary Robyn McCloskey, Pharos-Tribune (Logansport) and Kokomo Tribune; and Treasurer Jon O’Bannon, The Corydon Democrat.
Former board President Don Hurd presided over his final HSPA meeting. Hurd accepted a position with a media marketing operation. He had been president and group publisher of Kankakee Valley Publishing since 2005 and a member of the HSPA board since 2007.
The board’s biggest objective this year will be to ask questions and listen, Timmons said.
“We’d like to hear from newspapers about how HSPA can help papers even more,” he said. “How can we add value to conferences and other services and events? Are there revenue ideas out there we can pursue?”
The new board configuration comes as HSPA is experiencing a gradual rebound in its advertising programs, which struggled during the economic downturn, said Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel.
“I look forward to working with the board to strengthen HSPA’s value as a partner to Indiana newspapers’ efforts to successfully serve their communities,” Key said.
