Q: Our school board just accepted the resignation of a trustee. Then the board went into executive session to discuss his replacement citing “personnel.” How can that be? The replacement is not an employee of the school district, so how could this person be considered personnel? If the exception allows for closed-session discussion of an appointment to what would otherwise be an elected position, that’s so wrong.

Well, we just wrapped up what I like to call the Texas Press Association’s very first “international conference” — the TPA Summer Leadership Retreat in Ruidoso, NM. Heck, we were even in a different time zone!
As always, the gathering was a great success. It featured great programs and discussion. And it gave us the opportunity to offer a huge “Thank You!” to outgoing TPA President Randy Keck for the stellar job he did for the organization this past year.

Jaklewicz named news director for Abilene Reporter-News
Greg Jaklewicz is the new news director of the Abilene Reporter-News.
The change was announced June 15 by Tim Archuleta, the regional editor for the USA TODAY Network’s five Texas papers.
“The news director job is the top editor in in our newsrooms,” Archuleta said. Jaklewicz succeds Doug Williamson, who retired last month.

Staff changes at Texas newspapers

Kaley Branch
Gatesville Messenger
GATESVILLE – Kaley Branch recently joined The Gatesville Messenger staff as a reporter covering general news assignments and features.
Raised in Arlington, Branch studied journalism and broadcasting at Tarrant County College. She previously worked as an analyst for XTO Energy in Fort Worth and was a recruiter for MMC Strategic Staffing in Dallas. She and her husband, Taylor, who is a Gatesville High School graduate, moved their family to Gatesville 18 months ago.

Florentino ‘Tino’ Duran
Florentino ‘Tino’ Duran of San Antonio, owner, former publisher and CEO of the bilingual biweekly newspaper La Prensa, died Sunday, June 25.
Born in 1934, Duran grew up “a tough Alazan Apache Courts kid,” according to a Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame biography. After graduating from Lanier High School, he served in the U.S. Air Force before returning home to attend San Antonio College. There, he worked on the school paper, The Ranger, and eventually earned his bachelor’s in political science and master’s in public administration from St. Mary’s University.

RUIDOSO, NM — TPA members attending the 2017 Summer Leadership Retreat celebrated innovation and success while sharing ideas and strategies for facing challenges in the newspaper industry.
The retreat at the Inn of the Mountain Gods featured a number of round table sessions. Members brainstormed and discussed topics ranging from ideas for increasing revenue to ethics in news coverage and legislative concerns, especially in relation to publication of public notices in newspapers.

RUIDOSO, N.M. — Mike Forman, a veteran sportswriter for the Victoria Advocate, was honored with the Fred Hartman Excellence in Sports Writing Award on June 17 at the Texas Press Association Summer Leadership Retreat at Inn of the Mountain Gods.
Forman was presented with a plaque and a $1,000 cash award by outgoing Texas Press Association President Randy Keck, on behalf of the Hartman family, sponsor of the award.

RUIDOSO, NM — Texas Press Association has named Jim Moser the 2017 recipient of the prestigious Frank W. Mayborn Award for Community Leadership. 
The presentation was made at Inn of the Mountain Gods in Ruidoso, New Mexico, during the association’s annual Summer Leadership Retreat on June 17. 

RUIDOSO, NM – The 2017 Texas Better Newspaper Awards were announced during the awards brunch at the Texas Press Leadership Retreat held this year at the Inn of the Mountain Gods.
This year, 143 newspapers submitted 1,410 entries in the contest. The results are published annually in the TPA Winners’ Circle and a list of winners by newspaper is available now by clicking here.

CANTON – When a series of deadly tornadoes touched down in Northeast Texas on the afternoon of Saturday, April 29, news professionals at the Canton Herald were looking out for their readers as well as themselves. 
At 5:27 p.m. the newspaper issued its first ominous post on Facebook: “Severe weather in the area. Tornadoes have been confirmed. A slow-moving storm is headed towards Canton. A tornado warning is in effect. Listen for sirens and take cover.” 
At 6:18 p.m. the Herald reported: “Prepare for a third storm to pass over Canton around 6:30.”