Abbie Fink has been
elected as one of the five trustees of the non-profit that owns Independent
Newsmedia Inc. USA. CEO Ed Dulin made
the announcement after the company’s annual meeting, which took place in
Phoenix on Feb. 5-6.
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| Abbie Fink |
Abbie, 51, will serve a
five-year term that will expire at INI’s 2021 annual meeting. She is VP/GM at HMA Public Relations in
Phoenix. She has a master’s degree in
mass communications and a bachelor of arts degree in journalism/public
relations from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication
at Arizona State University. Abbie’s
honors include the Junior League’s Valley Impact Award for her volunteer
efforts in the community; the YWCA’s Philanthropy Woman of the Year; and the
Scottsdale Leadership Alumni Achievement Award.
She is an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University, teaching
Public Relations for Special Events and Social Media Strategies for
Non-Profits. Her specialties include
marketing communications, media relations, digital/social media relations,
special event management, community relations, issues management and marketing
promotions for the private and public sectors, as well as not-for-profit
organizations.
Abbie replaces Gary Edens, 74, whose
five-year term as a non-profit trustee expired at the company’s annual meeting.
Gary owns The
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| Gary Edens |
Hanover Companies, Inc. in Phoenix. From 1984 to 1993, he was chair and CEO of
Edens Broadcasting, which owned radio stations in San Diego, Phoenix, Richmond,
Newport News and Tampa. Prior to that he
was radio group executive for Harte-Hanks, which owned radio, tv stations,
newspapers and shoppers. He still has a
strong belief in the importance of local media and is especially interested in
digital media.
Board chair Joe
Smyth, who in 1991 transferred 100% ownership of INI to the non-profit he had
created to keep the company mission-driven and perpetually independent, welcomed
Abbie and thanked Gary for his years of service.
“It is so gratifying
that this little company has been able to attract so many incredible people to
support our service to our communities,” Joe said. “We may be small, but
we make a huge difference in our communities. The dedication begins with
our local teams, but their work is made possible --- and made sustainable for
the long haul --- by an equally dedicated group of directors and non-profit
trustees.”
INI is unique
because it is a normal tax-paying company that is owned by a non-profit holding
company. There are no stockholders and therefore no dividends are
paid. All after-tax profits are reinvested in the company’s mission of
community service through independent civic-oriented journalism. The five INI
non-profit trustees serve staggered five-year terms. They cannot serve
consecutive terms, so at least one member is replaced each year. The four other
non-profit trustees, in addition to Abbie, are:
- Karny Stefan, 52, is the Chief Development Officer of Make-A-Wish®
Arizona, the founding chapter of Make-A-Wish® (the international wish
granting organization that grants the wishes of children with
life-threatening medical conditions).
She serves on the board of directors of the National Kidney Foundation
of Arizona. Karny has worked in fundraising and/or executive positions
with Boys & Girls Clubs, HomeBase Youth Services, We Deliver Dreams
Foundation, Monarch School for homeless youth, foster care agency Walden
Family Services and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She has a B.A. in political science from
the University of Colorado, and a MPA with an emphasis in Non-Profit
Management from the University of Missouri. In 2012, Karny was elected as trustee to
a five-year term as that will expire at the 2017 annual meeting.
- Chuck Matthews, 53, is the Chairman and CEO of WGM Associates LLC, a
Scottsdale-based company that provides small and medium sized businesses a
wide range of managed services and software solutions designed to
transform information technology into a core strategic asset. His background includes 26 years in
management, finance, real estate and technology. Chuck is a past president
of the FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association, and is on the same
group’s national board of directors.
He is a member of Infragard
and a life member of the Scottsdale Charros. Chuck holds a Bachelor of Science Degree
in Finance from the University of Arizona.
He was elected as a non-profit trustee in 2013, for a five-year
term that will expire at the 2018 annual meeting.
- Chevy Humphrey, 51, is president and CEO of the Arizona
Science Center, which has a mission to inspire, educate and entertain
Arizonans about the wonders of science and technology. In 2011, Phoenix Business Journal named Chevy as one of the Valley’s
Most Admired CEOs. She is the
immediate past board chair of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers (ASTC). ASTC is a 600 member international organization that
represents science centers and museums in 45 different countries. In 2014
she was elected to a five-year term as a non-profit trustee that will
expire at the 2019 annual meeting.
- Lauren (Rosenblum) Hendeles, 27, is a
content marketing consultant with clients spanning retail, real estate and
technology. Prior to launching her own firm, Lauren served as the global
director of corporate communications at IO, a Phoenix-based technology
company. Previous experiences include communications manager at Sprouts
Farmers Market; associate editor at The Huffington Post; and editor for
AOL’s Patch.com. She was named the print journalism student of the year at
USC, where she earned her B.A. in print journalism with a minor in
marketing. Lauren appeared on the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2014 list of
“25 Dynamic Women in Business” and took home a gold at the 10th Annual
Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Elected in 2015, Lauren is serving a
five-year term that will expire at the 2020 annual meeting.
The non-profit
members act as trustees of the company’s mission of community service
journalism, and pledge not to profit personally from their involvement.
They don’t have responsibility for managing the company, but they elect the
directors who bear that responsibility.
At the recent annual meeting, INI’s four directors were reelected to
serve at the pleasure of the non-profit trustees. They are:
- Richard Bricker, 69,
whose career has been as a lawyer, real estate industry executive, banking
industry executive, and business consultant. Consulting activity has
ranged from advising on workouts and capital restructuring, to
acquisitions, dispositions (various industries), strategic planning and
specialized negotiation. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2008
and continues to serve at the pleasure of the Trustees.
- Don Henninger, 60, is principal of DH Advisors, a leadership and
business development consulting group whose clients include the Maricopa
Community Colleges, Accelerent, and Valley Leadership, among others. He was publisher of the Phoenix Business
Journal for 13 years before announcing his retirement in 2014. He served as managing editor of the
Arizona Republic from 1995 to 1997 and served in several editor positions
at the Phoenix Gazette from 1983 to 1995.
Before that, the Pennsylvania State University grad was news editor
of the Yuma Daily Sun; a reporter for the Morning Herald in Uniontown,
Pa.; and a reporter for the Daily Courier in Connellsville, Pa. He was elected to the Board of Directors
in 2015 and continues to serve at the pleasure of the Trustees.
- Alicia Wadas, 60, the chief operating officer at Lavidge, a
full-service advertising, public relations, communications, consulting and
interactive marketing agency in Phoenix. With a strong management team and
Alicia’s leadership, the agency has more than doubled its revenue since
2006. She is also an active volunteer in several community
organizations.
- Joe Smyth, 74, who has chaired INI’s board of directors for more
than 40 years and presided over the company’s printing, publishing and
digital media expansion in Arizona, Delaware, Florida and Maryland.
He is the author of Newsroom Guidelines for Independent Newspapers and Fixing
America’s Broken Politics. In a planned succession, Joe
stepped down as CEO in 2014 but continued as board chair --- and the board
named Ed Dulin as the new CEO.
Joe Smyth, Board Chair
Community Publishing, Printing & Digital Media
