Release Date: April 22,2019
Society sets annual meeting for April 25; former Akron Beacon Journal editor Bruce Winges to speak
The society has set its 95th annual meeting for Thursday, April 25, at the Summit Artspace at 140 E. Market St. Recently retired Akron Beacon Journal editor Bruce Winges will be the speaker.
Society president and CEO Leianne Neff Heppner said the annual meetings are always gala celebrations as members renew friendships and get updated news about the organization.
It also serves as the time of the passing of the leadership of the society’s board of directors. This time attorney and board chair Karen Adinolfi passes the gavel to Dr. Kevin McCauley, of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics.
But this year’s meeting has special significance since society members will be gathering at the old home of the Akron Beacon Journal on East Market, just as the newspaper prepares to vacate its current headquarters at the corner of Exchange and High.
Heppner explained that C.L. Knight, the owner of the Beacon, built the architecturally beautiful building on East Market in 1927 and his newspaper operated there until 1938. Knight purchased the Akron Times Press from Scripps-Howard in 1938 and that newspaper ceased publication. The Beacon then moved into the old Times-Press building on Exchange street.
Bruce Winges, the speaker at the annual meeting, retired from the Beacon Journal earlier this year, after 37 years with the newspaper. A graduate of the University of Kentucky with a degree in journalism and a minor in history, Winges held a number of editing and management positions with the Beacon. During his 12 years as editor, the Beacon was named best newspaper in Ohio by the Press Club of Cleveland and the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. Winges in president of the Akron Press Club and serves on the board of the Ohio Coalition for Open Government.
Wine and sauerkraut balls will be served at 5:30 p.m. followed by a short business meeting followed by dinner and Mr. Winges’ speech. Cost of the dinner is $42 per person or $75 a couple. Make reservations at eventbrite.com or or by calling 330-535-1120.