The mission statement of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Assocation Foundation is to support the sustainability of local news through philanthropy and fundraising, training and recognition of professionals and student journalists.
Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation Board of Trustees
The Association’s Board of Trustees includes members from across Pennsylvania who represent daily, nondaily and digital news media organizations. Executive Committee Officers serve one-year terms; Trustees serve three-year terms.
The 2025 PNA Foundation Board of Trustees meetings are scheduled as follows:
- Tuesday, Feb. 25 at PNA Offices, Harrisburg
- Monday, June 23 at PNA Offices, Harrisburg
- Thursday, Nov. 13 at PNA Offices, Harrisburg
Executive Committee
CHAIRMAN
William R. Lynett
Times Shamrock Communications, Scranton
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.
VICE CHAIRWOMAN
Cate Barron
Retired, PennLive/The Patriot-News, Harrisburg
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!
SECRETARY
Scott Blanchard
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.
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN
Dave Martens
Retired, The York Dispatch
Dave Martens’ 46-year career in York journalism began in 1978 as Publisher of the York Daily Record, and since 2004 as Publisher of The York Dispatch. Significant stories during this time include the Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident, the 50th anniversary of the 1969 York Race riots reporting and the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District Intelligent Design trial.
“I’ve had the wonderful good fortune of working with a long list of good people over the years,” he said recently. “I’ve seen many changes in the business model for newspapers during that time which continues to this day.”
Dave joined the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation Board of Trustees in 2009, serving as chairman from 2021 to 2023. PNA recognized him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Dave also served as a mentor to small businesses through SCORE, a service of the Small Business Administration.
Board of Trustees
Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Board of Directors
The Association’s Board of Directors includes members from across Pennsylvania who represent daily, nondaily and digital news media organizations. Executive Committee Officers serve one-year terms; Directors serve three-year terms.