Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/568289
September 10, 2015 Page 3 News in brief Send promotions, announcements, staff changes and other corporate news to mtuley@hspa.com. Foundation friends join motorcycle ride Truth welcomes managing editor KPC Media Group names CEO Postal session scheduled Mark Maley brings over 30 years of journalism experience as The Elkhart Truth's new man- aging edi- tor. Maley, 57, was the public information officer for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. in Madison, Wis., but he is a journalist at heart and missed the news business, according to The Truth. The lifelong Midwes- terner grew up in Chicago and worked in the Chicago area before becoming executive editor of a chain of 23 weekly newspapers in suburban Milwaukee operated by Community Newspapers Inc. After five years there, in 1994 he joined the Milwaukee Journal- Sentinel as its suburban editor, and then became the state and political editor of Wisconsin's larg- est newspaper. In the 16 years he was there, he was the paper's first data- base/computer assisted reporting editor and became involved in its digital operation, oversee- ing 26 local community- based websites. In 2010, he became the regional editor of 15 websites that were part of Patch.com's Wisconsin network. In 2013, AOL laid off 900 of its 1,000 journal- ists, including Maley, and he went to work for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's administration. Pete VanBaalen, gener- al manager of The Elkhart Truth since November, said Maley brings a great combination of print and digital experience. "He has worked hard in community journalism over the years, even being a part of a Pulitzer Prize nominee," VanBaalen said. Randy C. Mitchell, a group publisher for GateHouse Media Inc. with three decades of newspaper manage- ment expe- rience, has been named chief executive officer of KPC Media Group. Mitchell is a solid newspaperman with wide experience and enthusi- asm for the industry, said KPC President Terry G. Housholder. "He knows Indiana, having been a newspaper publisher in Wabash and Peru, and will fit well into our communities," Housholder said. "He has the skills we need to con- tinue to grow our opera- tions and better serve our customers." Mitchell replaces Terry R. Ward, who has taken a group publisher's position with Sound Publishing in Washington state. Ward joined KPC in 2012. Mitchell, 52, who most recently lived in Newton, Kansas, will begin his duties at KPC on Sept. 21. KPC publishes the daily newspapers based in Kendallville, Auburn and Angola, along with the Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly and sev- eral weekly newspapers. Mark your calendars for a postal education seminar in Bloomington, Indiana. The Oct. 21 training event includes food and door prizes along with postal education. The Bloomington Postal Customers Council's Fall 2015 Seminar will be held from 8 a.m. to noon at the Indiana University Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center, 1000 E. 17th St., Bloomington. The workshop costs $20 per attendee. Seminar topics will include: • Direct mail marketing • Mail piece design • USPS update, includ- ing local and national information • Round-table discus- sion. To register or receive registration informa- tion, contact Bloomington Postal Customer Council Co-Chair John Butcher at (812) 331-4228 or jbutcher@heraldt.com. Randy C. Mitchell Mark Maley M ark your calen- dars for Saturday, June 11, 2016, for the Second Annual HSPA Foundation Charity Motorcycle Ride. The inaugural ride Aug. 29 proved successful enough that organizers want to host it again. Allow me to give a nonbik- er's description of the day. Planning to arrive No. 2 right after organizer Dave McChesney parked his new bike an hour before the ride, I learned my second lesson of the day. Almost all of the bikers beat me. When do newspaper people ever come early? They func- tion on deadline. Right? Guess that just works at the office. (My first lesson? Crawfordsville does have one-way streets. I took a little heat about being the city girl who drove the wrong way on one of them.) As I got out of my car, some straddled their bikes as if they were ready to roll. Others walked around munching on their buys from the nearby farmers market. The Simbecks from the LaGrange area traveled far- ther to get to Crawfordsville than they did on the ride – more than 180 miles. Sandra and Charles won the prizes for riding the greatest distance to partici- pate and owning the most- coveted bike. The couple rode a good- looking tricycle. (Did it technically qualify as a bike? Didn't think to ask the rules committee.) I found out later Sandra sometimes drives it too. The group wanted to award McChesney the most- coveted for his asphalt grey 2015 Ural Gear-up sidecar motorcycle. But 1Up! donated the gift certificates for each award, so the company's CEO gra- ciously disqualified himself. The six bikes, plus three passengers, fell a little short of the organizers' aspi- rations, but head biker McChesney said the smaller group worked well for the first outing. It proved the concept will work, and we know others want to join us on a different day. Over the years I planned many events, from weeklong Pan American Games syn- chronized swimming cham- pionships to 10,000-student anti-drug rallies with the Colts in the RCA Dome – but never a motorcycle ride. I appreciate McChesney tak- ing the lead on this one. My assignment seemed appropriate. I drove the safety vehicle with a cooler of bottled water. I threw in some Band-aids and jumper cables. Later I read somewhere if you turn on the car engine when trying to jump-start a motorcycle, you can blow up the bike. And if anyone fell, we would need much more than a stick-on bandage. But I tried to cover the bases. McChesney, on the other hand, added more important extras to his machine – most notably two extra 10-liter jerry cans of fuel. Sometimes his Labrador rides in the sidecar. Since McChesney didn't bring the dog, another biker suggested I ride there. After giving him my best former-school-teach- er glare, I said I didn't bring a helmet. That brings up another point of the day. The roads between Crawfordsville and Dana attract many bikers. Two large groups of riders passed without a single person wearing a helmet. If you have a brain and want to keep it intact, don't ride with these "organ donors." And thanks to this delight- ful day, I now know several hand and foot signals. My favorite involves road- kill. If it's on your left, point down with your hand. On the right you point with your foot. (At that point I would dump the bike trying to spare my fellow riders from the road hazard.) I picked up one signal not on the cheat sheet. When one group of riders passes another, you hold your arm down at an angle – an aerodynamic wave. (I showed the bikers the Jeep wave I learned when driving my son's old vehicle. It took practice to get the flick of the wrist just right.) Once we arrived at Dana we had a private tour of the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum. Whether you visit at the end of a ride or go it alone, you always find fasci- nating information time and time again. Thanks to all who par- ticipated – and those who wanted to but could not this time. We hope to see you next year. Better Newspaper Contest Winners The Foundation will send letters listing winners in the Better Newspaper Contest soon. Watch your mail for an envelope with a bright sticker on the outside noting the contents. Editors and publishers should receive these letters. Some 78 newspapers submitted 2,824 entries in this year's contest judged by the New Jersey Press Association. Karen T. Braeckel is director of the HSPA Foundation. Foundation Front Karen T. Braeckel CORRECTION Bradie Gray worked as a 2015 HSPA Foundation Eugene S. Pulliam intern at the Evansville Courier & Press. This information was incor- rect in the Aug. 13, 2015, edition of The Indiana Publisher.