Audience Development Media Alliance announces board of directors, 2022 honorary members and Best of the Best winners

ADMA held its annual conference last week in Las Vegas. With more than 100 attendees, 30 speakers and 23 sponsors, the conference was a huge success. The highlight of the event was honoring Pat Leader from The Spokesman Review and Dayne Turgeon from The Seattle Times, with the Honorary Member award. Leader and Turgeon have dedicated their careers to the betterment of their organizations, to the many leaders they have mentored, to the industry and to their sectional organization and now ADMA.

During the annual meeting of ADMA, a new board of directors was unanimously elected.

• President: Maria Ravera, McClatchy
• Vice President: Dan Fabela, The Seattle Times
• Treasurer: Linda O’Neil, Paxton Media Group
• Membership Chair: Cherisse Johnson, Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Immediate Past President: Jim Wall, McClatchy
• Board Members: Bobby Binkley, Gannett; Trina Hanline, California Times; Saher Merchant, The Dallas Morning News; Robert Rivera, Albuquerque Publishing Company; and Matthew Wolfe, Adams Publishing Group
• Business Partner Liaisons: Jeff Ferrazzano, The Ultimate Print Source, and Kevin Craig, Arena Group / Parade

The winners of the Best of the Best Awards were announced Thursday.

• Print/Digital Acquisition – Aaron Kotarek, Oahu Publications, Inc.
• Print/Digital Retention – Pat Leader and Madeline Happold, The Spokesman Review
• Reader Engagement - Jeff Brinley, Bay Area News Group
• Operational Initiatives/Improvements - Aaron Kotarek, Oahu Publications, Inc.
• Honorable Mention – Corrina Rose, Chicago Sun-Times
• Honorable Mention – Bruce Alder, Las Vegas Review-Journal.

ADMA Vice President Dan Fabela stated, “Looking forward to a great year and even a bigger conference in 2023. I want to thank everyone on the board for their dedication and ‘get-it done’ attitude. I also want to thank all our great sponsors for their support, without which we could not thrive.”

Maria Ravera, ADMA president, said: “It's an honor to continue as president of our new national organization, ADMA. I am so proud of the work that this organization has done in a truly unprecedented time for our industry. Our goal for the coming year is to continue to bring together our media company members and business partners, with programming and engagement opportunities to foster collaboration, inspiration and the leadership to meet the challenges in the year ahead.”

ADMA will be launching a new website and will host a series of webinars this fall. Visit greatwesternaa.org for more information.