VanHorn announces plans to retire

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Edward VanHorn, executive director of SNPA and the SNPA Foundation, has announced that he will retire at the end of 2019 after 43 years at SNPA.

"I have enjoyed every minute of my career at SNPA," VanHorn said. "It is a great organization that does important work for an industry that is crucial to the well-being of every person in this country. It has been an honor and privilege to work with the journalists and publishers who run newspapers in communities in the South and all over the United States."

VanHorn's retirement date was set more than a year ago, but it closely coincides with the consolidation of SNPA and the Inland Press Association.  The two organizations merge into a new association on Oct. 1.  VanHorn will work with the CEO of the new association to assure a smooth transition.

"I am proud to be one of the engineers of the merger of SNPA and Inland, because it is an advance for the newspaper industry and the next step in the evolution of SNPA," VanHorn said.  "Combined, SNPA and Inland will speak with a more powerful voice and be a strong champion for the value and contributions that newspapers bring to their communities."

VanHorn was employed by SNPA in 1977, shortly after he graduated from journalism school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Over the years, he wrote and edited SNPA publications, planned SNPA's meetings and conventions, conducted hundreds of seminars for newspaper employees throughout the South, launched SNPA's Traveling Campus and helped establish an endowment for the SNPA Foundation.  He has been executive director of SNPA and the SNPA Foundation since January 2001.

SNPA President PJ Browning, publisher of The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C., said: "Edward has been the heart and soul of SNPA. With many friendships made along the way, he has been an inspiration to many and an important voice to the industry. We will miss his knowledge and his quiet wit."

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