BIRMINGHAM – Denise DuBois, publisher and managing editor of the Citizen of East Alabama in Phenix City, has been elected president of the Alabama Press Association. DuBois succeeds Darrell Sandlin who became chairman of the board.
DuBois is a native of East Alabama. In 2007, she began her career as a reporter for the Citizen of East Alabama and fell in love with community news.
At 25 years-old, she became the executive editor and co-publisher of the now 70-year-old weekly publication, and led the newsroom through changes, including having a digital presence for readers and rebranding the newspaper into a tabloid-sized paper product that boasted a more modern look.
Denise has served on numerous community boards, including the East Alabama Chamber of Commerce, Young East Alabama Professionals, United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley, the Red Cross, Russell County’s Alabama Bicentennial, Phenix City Art Park, and Miss Phenix City.
She has served on the APA board of directors since 2016, and previously served on the APA Journalism Foundation board.
Today, she also leads the newspaper’s sister companies AMP | Advertising, Marketing, Production and Ch 7, a local access TV station and studio.
Teresa Woodruff, general manager of The Moulton Advertiser was elected first vice president, and Robert Bozeman, publisher of The Evergreen Courant was elected second vice president.
From left to right: Darrell Sandlin, Denise DuBois, Teresa Woodruff, Robert Bozeman
New board members elected were: Catherine Hadaway, senior vice president of Boone Newsmedia; Eddie Dodd, publisher of The Abbeville Herald; Tom Mayer, editor and general manager of The Cullman Times; Tippy Hunter, general manager of The Outlook in Alexander City; and Ashley Trice, co-publisher of The Lagniappe in Mobile.
Members elected for a second two-year term are: Paige Windsor, senior director, Local News for the Montgomery Advertiser/USA TODAY; Jeff Martin, publisher of The Montgomery Independent; and Arlan Blevins, publisher of the Mountain Valley News in Rainsville.
Members remaining on the board are: Brady Cox, editor of the East Lauderdale News in Rogersville; Vince Johnson, publisher of Gulf Coast Media; Robert Blankenship, publisher of The Brewton Standard; and Maury Wald, publisher of the Over The Mountain Journal in Birmingham.
The APA Journalism Foundation elected Barnett Wright, editor of The Birmingham Times, as president. Wright succeeds Gary Maitland, editor of The TimesDaily in Florence.
From left to right: Gary Maitland, Barnett Wright, Anthony Campbell
Wright became editor at The Times in 2016. He previously worked for 15 years at the Alabama Media Group which publishes AL.com and previously The Birmingham News.
He has covered municipal and county government and served as lead reporter on Jefferson County’s historic municipal bankruptcy.
Wright served as lead reporter on AL.com/The Birmingham News coverage of the 50th anniversary commemorations of 1963 civil rights marches and is author of “1963: How the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement Changed America and the World (The Birmingham News Company).”
He also was the lead reporter on “Unseen Unforgotten” the publication of unseen photographs discovered in The Birmingham News archives tracing the progress of the civil rights movement.
The Times has won more than a dozen journalism awards since 2016 from the National Newspapers Publishers Association (NNPA) and the Alabama Press Association including a first place awards from the NNPA for General Excellence.
Anthony Campbell, general manager of The Advertiser-Gleam in Guntersville, was elected vice president of the APA Journalism Foundation.
A new Foundation board member elected was Ashley Remkus, local investigative editor at AL.com.
Foundation board members remaining on the board are: Aimee Wilson, publisher of The Blount Countian in Oneonta; Chris McCarthy, publisher of The Messenger in Gadsden; Shannon Allen, publisher of The Sand Mountain Reporter in Albertville; Jennifer Rash, editor of The Alabama Baptist; Bobby Rice, publisher of The Messenger in Troy; and Jonathan Stinson, editor of The Redstone Rocket; Cindy Fisher, publisher of the Selma Sun; Stephanie Rebman, editor of the Birmingham Business Journal; and Todd Stacy, publisher of Alabama Daily News.