PNA Foundation Board of Trustees

CHAIRWOMAN

Cate Barron

Retired, PennLive/The Patriot-News, Harrisburg

catebarron1@gmail.com

_{Cate Barron has spent more than four decades in Pennsylvania journalism, retiring as president of PA Media Group in 2023. Her career began in her hometown of Lewistown as news director at WMRF Radio and, later, as a reporter for The Sentinel.}

_{During her long tenure at The Patriot-News and PennLive, Cate led the challenging conversion from a print-based to a digital newsroom. Today, PennLive.com ranks among the nation’s news and information websites with the highest market reach. She managed myriad news initiatives and was part of the editing team during coverage of the Jerry Sandusky scandal that won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Local News. In 2017, she launched Penn Studios, the company’s Emmy-winning video division.}

_{Cate received PNA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. While working as an editor, she chaired both PSNE and PAPME boards and spent two terms on APME. She treasures the close bonds she formed with many outstanding journalists in these organizations. She currently serves on several community boards, in addition to the PNA Foundation.}

_{These days, Cate describes herself as “semi-retired” and is doing some management consulting and professional mentoring. She and husband Bob Vucic live in Camp Hill but devote much of their time to rehabbing an old hunting camp in Michaux State Forest. She’s enjoying getting together more often with family and friends and has rediscovered the joys of reading — just for the fun of it!}

VICE CHAIRMAN

Scott Blanchard

scottblanchard0407@gmail.com

_{As past director of journalism at WITF, I worked on things like newsroom strategy, culture, ethics, and training; I worked with reporters on stories; and I was deeply involved with our community engagement efforts and collaborations with other news organizations.}

_{My roots in journalism go back to growing up outside Washington, D.C., reading Woodward and Bernstein in my hometown paper, and being drawn to the ideals of freedom of the press and holding the powerful to account. I also idolized the Post’s sports columnists, and in fact, was a sports reporter/editor before I moved to news.}

_{I followed journalism’s call to the University of Missouri, then to jobs in Virginia and Maryland before landing in Pennsylvania, where I spent 16+ years with the York Daily Record. I’ve lived near Gettysburg for more than two decades; residing in rural Pennsylvania helps inform my work as a journalist and my belief that listening is one of the most important things we can do.}

_{If I’m not doing journalism stuff, I may be traveling, bird-watching, or both. Relatedly, right now I’m reading “Normandy ’44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France” by James Holland … because my wife and I are going to Normandy this summer. My wife, Betsy, and I are among the many owners of the fan-owned Heart of Midlothian Football Club which is based at Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh, Scotland.}

SECRETARY

Chip Minemyer

Publisher, The (Johnstown)Tribune-Democrat and The (Sunbury) Daily Item

cminemyer@tribdem.com

_{Chip Minemyer’s four decades working in the media industry has included leadership roles in editing and publishing in several markets, and time in journalism education, across Pennsylvania and into Maryland.}

_{He is a regional executive with CNHI, and publisher of The (Johnstown, Pa.) Tribune-Democrat, The (Sunbury, Pa.) Daily Item, and The (Cumberland, Md.) Times-News.}

_{In addition to his work with the PNA Foundation, he is a former board member and chairman with the Pennsylvania Society of News Editors, now Pennsylvania News Leaders Association.}

_{He has taught jounalism courses at Penn State, Indiana University of Pa., and the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown.}

_{Chip and Amy, his wife of more than 35 years, have two adult children – Paige, who works in digital media, and Brandon.}

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN

William R. Lynett

Retired, Times Shamrock Communications, Scranton

blynett@timesshamrock.com

_{William R. Lynett was publisher emeritus of the Times-Tribune (Scranton) from 2012 to 2023 and served as publisher from 1966 to 2012. He also held the position of CEO of Shamrock Communications from 1972 to 2009 and president of The Daily Review, Towanda, from 1977 to 1984.}

_{Bill is chairman of the PNA Foundation Board of Trustees. He also sits on the University of Scranton Kania School of Management Advisory Board and the Marywood University Board of Trustees.}

_{In 2016, PNA presented Bill, a former PNA board chair, with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.}

_{Bill and his wife, the former Mary Jean Foley, have visited six countries on the African continent and have taken nine safaris.}

PRESIDENT

Bill Cotter

President & CEO · Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association

bcotter@pa-news.org

ASSISTANT SECRETARY

Melissa Bevan Melewsky

Media Law Counsel · Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association

melissam@pa-news.org

ASSISTANT TREASURER

Diane Brinser

Vice President, Finance · Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association

dianeb@pa-news.org

PNA FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Tanya Henderson

Executive Director, PNA Foundation

tanyah@pa-news.org