The much anticipated Maine Press Association annual conference on Oct. 19 is a month away, but conference registration and the deadline for hotel room reservations is only a week away, Friday, Sept. 27.

Don’t miss out on this year’s conference, which will include a day full of workshops for almost everyone involved in newspaper operations, as well as a keynote talk with former Maine resident and New York Times Assistant Managing Editor Rebecca Corbett, the Hall of Fame induction, the annual auction and the evening dinner and awards ceremony.

Here’s a look at the day’s schedule:

9:30 – 10 a.m.  Annual business meeting

10 – 11:30 a.m.  Concurrent Sessions:
* Unlock the Secrets of Successful Selling
Hear from sales veterans on how to get from no to yes. Review the tried and true strategies and pick up some new tips.
* Newsroom Bootcamp
30-minute mini-sessions on: 1) Dealing with a combative public; 2) Winning the battle over open records; 3) The Training Ground: A look into the world of college newspapers with editors from three Maine college papers

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.  Concurrent Sessions:
* Design Workshop
Advice from veteran designers on ways to update the look and features of your print pages and websites.
* Reporter Roundtable
Join a free-flowing conversation with veteran reporters about issues of the day, solutions reporters have created to handle the challenges they face, and the best journalism advice they’ve received.

12:30 – 1:45 p.m. Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon
Join MPA members and guests as we hear from the 2018 Journalist of the Year, J.W. Oliver of The Lincoln County News, and induct the 2019 MPA Hall of Fame nominees: Stephen Fay, who recently retired after 23 years as the managing editor of The Ellsworth American; Marian McCue, former editor of The Forecaster; and the late Chris Cousins, who was a reporter at the Bangor Daily News. (See below for brief bios of this year’s inductees.)

2 – 2:45 p.m. Keynote Conversation
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times Editor Rebecca Corbett, who helps lead the paper’s investigative teams and who started her career at the Morning Sentinel after graduating from Colby College, sits down for a conversation with Sentinel Reporter Amy Calder.

2:45 – 4 p.m.  Driving Audience Engagement and Consumer Revenue
Revenue leaders from Maine newspapers talk about ways to engage readers and boost revenues; and the Portland Press Herald will share findings from its participation with Google in a national six-month “Digital Subscriptions Lab” aimed at improving revenue strategies.

5 – 6:30 p.m.  Scholarship Auction & Reception
Join your MPA comrades and guests at this rousing reception and auction, where you can bid on super items like stays in Maine vacation cottages, whale watch tickets, golf passes, restaurant gift certificates, ski lift tickets, and member swag — all to benefit Maine students pursuing careers in the newspaper industry.

6:30 p.m.  2019 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet

Sign up today: The conference will be at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland. We’ve negotiated a super hotel rate ($109) for the nights of Oct. 18-19 for MPA members and guests at the DoubleTree.

To book your room, call the DoubleTree at 1-800-774-1500 and reference Maine Press Association. For online bookings, go to portlandme.DoubleTree.com and use group code MPR (yes, MPR). Hotel reservation deadline is Friday, Sept. 27. The hotel will try but cannot guarantee group rate and room availability beyond this date.

You can find conference registration information and a registration form on the MPA website at www.mainepressassociation.org (look for the 2019 Fall Conference tab on the top left). Conference registration deadline is also Friday, Sept. 27.

OTHER CONFERENCE NEWS:

In Memoriam: A number of people connected to Maine’s newspaper industry have died over the last year. As we’ve done the last couple of years, the MPA will take time during this year’s evening awards ceremony to honor those who have passed. If you would like to make sure someone who passed in the last year is honored, please send a sentence or two about their connection to the industry and a photo, if possible, to ceremony master of ceremonies Greg Rec. He can be reached at grec@pressherald.com.

Bylaw change: MPA board members will vote at the annual business meeting on a bylaw change that will add language addressing termination of membership. The bylaws currently have no such language. While there is no request for termination before the board and the board hopes it does not have to make use of the proposed language, a question arose this past year that led the board to research the issue of removal and develop the amendment based on language from other press organizations. A vote of membership is required for a bylaw change. The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. at the conference on Oct. 19.

This year’s Maine Press Association annual conference will offer something for everyone — reporters, editors, ad reps, designers, publishers, as well as the family and colleagues of this year’s three Hall of Fame inductees and anyone interested in hearing about the internal workings of the New York Times. And more!

Sure to be memorable for the awards ceremony alone and the honoring of Maine newspapers’ best work in 2018-2019, this year’s fall conference will also offer:
• A newsroom bootcamp on three topics: 1) Dealing with a combative public and threats 2) An open records primer 3) A look into the world of today’s college newspapers, hosted by Maine college newspaper editors
• A session on design, for both print and web
• An advertising workshop on successful selling
• A reporters’ roundtable offering free-flowing discussion on issues of the day
• A look at the Portland Press Herald collaboration with Google and newspapers across the U.S. developing new strategies for boosting readership and revenue through digital subscriptions
• A keynote talk by Maine native and New York Times Assistant Managing Editor Rebecca Corbett

Of course the conference will also feature the popular Hall of Fame luncheon, an address by last year’s Journalist of the Year J.W. Oliver of the Lincoln County News, the delightful and raucous scholarship fundraising auction, and many opportunities to talk with other journalists from across the state.

The conference is set for Oct. 19 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Portland Hotel, 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland. We’ve negotiated a super hotel rate ($109) for the nights of Oct. 18-19 for MPA members and guests at the DoubleTree.

To book your room, call the DoubleTree at 1-800-774-1500 and reference Maine Press Association. For online bookings, go to portlandme.DoubleTree.com and use group code MPR (yes, MPR). Hotel reservation deadline is Friday, Sept. 27. The hotel will try but cannot guarantee group rate and room availability beyond this date.

You can find conference registration information and a registration form on the MPA website at www.mainepressassociation.org (look for the 2019 Fall Conference tab on the top left). Conference registration deadline is also Friday, Sept. 27.

Three new members will enter the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame on October 19. Stephen Fay, Marian McCue, and the late Chris Cousins were selected by the MPA’s Hall of Fame Committee and will be inducted during the association’s annual Fall Conference at the DoubleTree by Hilton in South Portland.

Stephen Fay

Stephen Fay started out as a news reporter in 1974. He became an editor in 1976, working in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont before settling at the Ellsworth American in 1996.

Fay retired May 31 after 23 years as the managing editor of the American. Well respected by his colleagues and the community, Fay worked closely with reporters to ensure stories that were well-sourced, organized, and written in a way the average reader could understand. A story should “sing,” he was often quoted as saying. Dozens of reporters and interns have benefited from his mentorship over the years.

His self-deprecating humor shone in his long-running “Cheers” column. Purportedly a review of cheap wine, it was as likely to contain show tune lyrics and musings on married life as it was references to “aftertaste” or “hints of oak.” A brilliant writer, his column and stories had heart.

His work, and that produced by his newsroom, have won numerous state, regional and national awards over the years.

Marian McCue

Marian McCue purchased a small fortnightly local town tabloid mailed directly to residents in 1990 and eventually turned it — with great foresight and a singular journalistic duty — into what would become arguably “the” community newspaper of record for the greater Portland area.

At the helm of what became simply The Forecaster, was a dyed-in-the-wool muckraker with a nose for scoops coupled with a devotion to truth, balance and fairness.

In 2003, knowing she was only a steward of the paper, McCue sold it to the Costello family, agreeing to stay on as editor to launch the Portland edition the same year and the Mid-Coast edition two years later.

In 2006 she handed over the reigns of the newspaper to her trusted and capable managing editor, Mo Mehlsak, but never really left journalism. Instead, McCue lent her reporting talents to many Maine newspapers on a freelance basis and for the last four and a half years has been writing a monthly column for The Forecaster focusing on issues at the State House.

Christopher Cousins

Fresh out of college, Christopher Cousins went to work for the Advertiser Democrat, a weekly newspaper that served the town of South Paris where he grew up. By holding elected leaders accountable and ensuring that school and municipal officials abided by public meeting laws, he made it a better, more open place. In 2005 the Nieman Foundation agreed and awarded him a fellowship for community journalism.

No story was too big or too small, and his signature response to even the most impossible assignment was: I am not afraid. He truly wasn’t.

As a general assignment reporter for The Times Record, and later the Bangor Daily News, Cousins explained arcane education and corrections policies by talking to students and inmates about how lawmakers’ decisions changed their lives. When he moved to the State House in 2013, he made it a better place by giving as much voice to regular folks affected by politics as he did to government officials and paid political operatives.

Cousins died unexpectedly on August 15, 2018, at the age of 42.

The MPA Hall of Fame, established in 1998, honors newspaper people with Maine connections who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Its members are on the MPA website, at http://mainepressassociation.org/hall-of-fame/

Tickets to the Hall of Fame luncheon are available by contacting MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com or 691-0131.

Most of us take public notices for granted. Which is understandable. After all, they’ve been running in newspapers for hundreds of years. So we tend to forget about them.
But when you really think about it they’re kind of amazing. Federal and state governments actually passed laws requiring themselves—and politically powerful private interests—to disclose information about their plans and activities.
They represent the best of self-government. Along with open-meeting and freedom of information laws, they’re an important part of the three-legged stool of government transparency. They ensure citizens have access to information they need to participate in the governance of their communities. They’re an essential element of our fragile democracy.
Unfortunately, proposals that would drastically revise our public notice laws put their vital role in our democracy at risk.
This pamphlet will explore the origins, purpose and defining characteristics of public notice in the U.S., and will address the present threat and how we can avert it.

Full Presentation Here

More than 130 members and guests attended Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner and Banquet at Sunday River resort

Thanks to everyone who attended the Annual Fall Conference on October 20 at Sunday River. We were pleased to host 63 attendees at the 2018 Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon, and 132 MPA members and guests at the Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet.

The jam-packed conference featured engaging sessions including a fast-paced keynote address by Maine Chief Justice Leigh Saufley, wonderful comments by our three Hall of Fame Inductees, and the opportunity to celebrate the 2018 contest award winners and this year’s Unsung Hero, Bob Drake Young Writer, Advertising Person of the Year, and Journalist of the Year.

The full 2018 Contest Winner’s list has been posted on the MPA website and can be found by clicking on the “MPA Contest/2018 Contest Winners” tab at www.mainepressassociation.org.

Join members of the Maine Press Association as we gather at Sunday River Resort on October 20 to exchange ideas and celebrate the year’s achievements. A full day of informative and engaging sessions is being planned, including a general session with keynote speaker, Leigh Saufley, Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Here’s an overview of the day’s events:

Morning

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.   | Annual Business Meeting

9:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. | Newsroom Mini Bootcamp | Parts 1 and 2 

Three half-hour, jam-packed sessions focused on the needs of reporters but relevant to all who are interested in libel, copy editing or safety inside and outside the newsroom.

• 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.| Libel, Copyright and Privacy Rights Workshop: How to stay out of libel trouble. Panelists will bring plenty of examples. Please bring yours. With Sig Schutz, libel czar at Preti Flaherty, Lisa Haberzettl, universal desk editor at MaineToday Media Today, and Matt Kaiser of Portland, who works for Global Sports Advocates and has experience defending the intellectual property rights of athletes.
• 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.| Copy Editing Bootcamp: Get your copy as clean as can be: Get tips from the pros and learn to think like an editor. Bring your questions and examples. With Carol Semple, non-swimming editor at The Portland Press Herald; Mary Delamater, Sun Journal word dominatrix; and Scott Paida, copy editor extraordinaire at The Ellsworth American.

9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Revenue Innovations

• The Ellsworth American’s rate card and rating strategy have been recognized best in New England – for all newspaper categories – for several years. Learn from General Manager Terry Carlisle how the American changed its rating strategy and developed effective ad packages.
• We’ve all heard the term “sponsored content” in digital, but what about print? Melissa Pritchard, Creative Services Director at MaineToday Media, will describe MTM’s learnings and successful approaches to sponsored content, from concept to sales to execution.

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | Growing Consumer Revenue

Peter Doucette, former Chief Consumer Revenue Officer for The Boston Globe and current member of FTI Consulting’s Technology, Media & Telecom practice, unlocks the mystery of growing subscription revenue and acquiring and retaining customers. Doucette has spent the last decade studying industry best practices and testing innovative ideas on consumer-centric business models. With advice for newspapers large and small, don’t miss this important session focused on the largest growth area for our industry. Driving engagement to attract new subscribers requires the involvement of all departments in a newspaper. It’s not just a marketing thing. If you’re interested in the future of newspapers, catch this session!

 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon

Join MPA members and guests as we hear from the 2017 Journalist of the Year, Matthew Stone, of the Bangor Daily News, and induct the 2018 MPA Hall of Fame nominees: R. Nathaniel W. Barrows, in his 50^th year as publisher and editor of Penobscot Bay Press; Kathryn Olmstead, a writer, editor, and publisher who has been affiliated with Maine journalism since the late 1970s; and the late Winifred French, founder (and reporter, editor, publisher and distributor) of The Quoddy Tides in 1968 when Eastport had no newspaper.

 Afternoon

1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Keynote Address: The State of Maine’s Judiciary Branch, Maine Chief Justice Leigh Saufley

Chief Justice Saufley, a graduate of both UMaine and UMaine Law School — is Maine’s first female chief justice, known for her candor, energy , sense of humor and commitment to improving access to justice. Now in her third 8-year term, she has overseen the streamlining of Maine’s business and consumer courts, implemented a mediation program to better resolve residential foreclosures, and her Juvenile Task Force has pushed for laws and programs that have contributed to a substantial decrease in the number of youths being incarcerated. In addition, the buck stops at her desk when it comes to suggested changes to court access and the recording of court procedures by the media. She will share information regarding the Maine Judicial Branch and general matters of justice. She will be available for 45 minutes, including remarks and questions from the audience.

2:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Cross-Platform Packaging Workshop

Today’s newspaper journalist is being asked to do multiple jobs effectively. It’s no longer enough to simply provide text – good visuals and video are becoming increasingly important. In this workshop, veteran photojournalist Russ Dillingham (Sun Journal) and University of Maine professor Mike Socolow will go over the basics of creating effective imagery and videos in a timely and efficient manner. Using examples from his career, Dillingham will demonstrate how to frame and structure images so that they report an accurate and engaging narrative, and how your smartphone can be as important as your DSLR and offer more interactive storytelling with your audience. He will also go over the dangers and pitfalls of broadcasting live video as news unfolds.

2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Newsroom Mini Bootcamp | Part 3

Safety in the Field | Keeping it real (safe) on the street and in the building: With William DeLong, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s protective security adviser assigned to Maine and an expert on workplace security in all fields.

 5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. | Scholarship Auction & Reception

Join your MPA comrades and guests at this rousing reception and auction, where you can bid on super items like stays in Maine vacation cottages, whale watch tickets, golf passes, restaurant gift certificates, ski lift tickets, and member swag—all to benefit Maine students pursuing careers in the newspaper industry.

 6:30 p.m. | 2018 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet

Three new members will enter the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame on Oct. 20. Nat Barrows, Kathryn Olmstead and the late Winifred French were selected by the MPA’s Hall of Fame Committee and will be inducted during the association’s annual Fall Conference at the Sunday River Resort in Newry.

Nathaniel “Nat” W. Barrows is celebrating 50 years as owner, publisher and editor of Hancock County’s Penobscot Bay Press newspapers.

He began his Maine career in October 1968 with the purchase of Penobscot Bay Press and Island Ad-Vantages in Stonington. In 1981, he purchased The Weekly Packet, based in Blue Hill, and in 1990 he added the Castine Patriot. His newspapers cover 10 towns on the Blue Hill peninsula, Deer Isle and Isle au Haut.

Barrows has received numerous awards for his news stories, photography and editorials. In 2007, he was honored as Maine Journalist of the Year for his fearless coverage of the discovery, arrest and conviction of a serial pedophile who had elevated standing in the community.

He served two terms as president of the MPA, from1989-91, and was a director of the New England Press Association.

Winifred French started publishing The Quoddy Tides in 1968, when Eastport and the surrounding communities did not have a newspaper. “Lubec and Eastport weren’t covered by the press at that time and, in Eastport, the council had their meeting around a kitchen table,” French recalled on her retirement in January of 1995. “I thought people should know what was going on.”

Although she had no experience in journalism, she did research and spoke with numerous editors and publishers before launching the newspaper. She was the twice-monthly paper’s editor, publisher and distributor, while being helped by a team of staff members and freelance writers that she assembled.

French quickly earned the respect and admiration of her contemporaries. She was named the MPA’s Journalist of the Year in 1979, and was inducted into the New England Newspaper Association’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

Kathryn Olmstead began her affiliation with Maine journalism in the mid-1970s as a correspondent for the Bangor Daily News. In 1977, she went to work for the Aroostook Republican & News in Caribou, first as a reporter, then the editor.

Olmstead served U.S. Sen. William S. Cohen as northern Maine field rep from 1979 to 1984 before joining the journalism faculty at the University of Maine. Her career at UMaine spanned 25 years, including six as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

In 1988, she co-founded Echoes: Rediscovering Community, a quarterly magazine focused on Aroostook County. She edited, designed and managed Echoes until its final edition in 2017. She also wrote a column about life in Aroostook County for the Bangor Daily News from 2010 to 2017.

In 1993, Olmstead founded the Maine Center for Student Journalism, to foster the practice and teaching of journalism in secondary schools. In 2002, she was honored for that work with a special award from the New England Scholastic Press Association.

The MPA Hall of Fame, established in 1998, honors newspaper people with Maine connections who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Its members are on the MPA website, at http://mainepressassociation.org/hall-of-fame/

Tickets to the Hall of Fame luncheon are available by contacting MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com or 691-0131.

Join members of the Maine Press Association as we gather at Sunday River Resort on October 20 to exchange ideas and celebrate the year’s achievements. A full day of informative and engaging sessions is being planned, including a general session with keynote speaker, Leigh Saufley, Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Here’s an overview of the day’s events:

Morning

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.   | Annual Business Meeting

9:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. | Newsroom Mini Bootcamp | Parts 1 and 2

Three half-hour, jam-packed sessions focused on the needs of reporters but relevant to all who are interested in libel, copy editing or safety inside and outside the newsroom.

• 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.| Libel, Copyright and Privacy Rights Workshop: How to stay out of libel trouble. Panelists will bring plenty of examples. Please bring yours. With Sig Schutz, libel czar at Preti Flaherty, Lisa Haberzettl, universal desk editor at MaineToday Media Today, and Matt Kaiser of Portland, who works for Global Sports Advocates and has experience defending the intellectual property rights of athletes.
• 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.| Copy Editing Bootcamp: Get your copy as clean as can be: Get tips from the pros and learn to think like an editor. Bring your questions and examples. With Carol Semple, non-swimming editor at The Portland Press Herald; Mary Delamater, Sun Journal word dominatrix; and Scott Paida, copy editor extraordinaire at The Ellsworth American.

9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Revenue Innovations

• The Ellsworth American’s rate card and rating strategy have been recognized best in New England – for all newspaper categories – for several years. Learn from General Manager Terry Carlisle how the American changed its rating strategy and developed effective ad packages.
• We’ve all heard the term “sponsored content” in digital, but what about print? Melissa Pritchard, Creative Services Director at MaineToday Media, will describe MTM’s learnings and successful approaches to sponsored content, from concept to sales to execution.

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | Growing Consumer Revenue

Peter Doucette, former Chief Consumer Revenue Officer for The Boston Globe and current member of FTI Consulting’s Technology, Media & Telecom practice, unlocks the mystery of growing subscription revenue and acquiring and retaining customers. Doucette has spent the last decade studying industry best practices and testing innovative ideas on consumer-centric business models. With advice for newspapers large and small, don’t miss this important session focused on the largest growth area for our industry. Driving engagement to attract new subscribers requires the involvement of all departments in a newspaper. It’s not just a marketing thing. If you’re interested in the future of newspapers, catch this session!

12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon

Join MPA members and guests as we hear from the 2017 Journalist of the Year, Matthew Stone, of the Bangor Daily News, and induct the 2018 MPA Hall of Fame nominees: R. Nathaniel W. Barrows, in his 50^th year as publisher and editor of Penobscot Bay Press; Kathryn Olmstead, a writer, editor, and publisher who has been affiliated with Maine journalism since the late 1970s; and the late Winifred French, founder (and reporter, editor, publisher and distributor) of The Quoddy Tides in 1968 when Eastport had no newspaper.

Afternoon

1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Keynote Address: The State of Maine’s Judiciary Branch, Maine Chief Justice Leigh Saufley

Chief Justice Saufley, a graduate of both UMaine and UMaine Law School — is Maine’s first female chief justice, known for her candor, energy , sense of humor and commitment to improving access to justice. Now in her third 8-year term, she has overseen the streamlining of Maine’s business and consumer courts, implemented a mediation program to better resolve residential foreclosures, and her Juvenile Task Force has pushed for laws and programs that have contributed to a substantial decrease in the number of youths being incarcerated. In addition, the buck stops at her desk when it comes to suggested changes to court access and the recording of court procedures by the media. She will share information regarding the Maine Judicial Branch and general matters of justice. She will be available for 45 minutes, including remarks and questions from the audience.

2:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Cross-Platform Packaging Workshop

Today’s newspaper journalist is being asked to do multiple jobs effectively. It’s no longer enough to simply provide text – good visuals and video are becoming increasingly important. In this workshop, veteran photojournalist Russ Dillingham (Sun Journal) and University of Maine professor Mike Socolow will go over the basics of creating effective imagery and videos in a timely and efficient manner. Using examples from his career, Dillingham will demonstrate how to frame and structure images so that they report an accurate and engaging narrative, and how your smartphone can be as important as your DSLR and offer more interactive storytelling with your audience. He will also go over the dangers and pitfalls of broadcasting live video as news unfolds.

2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Newsroom Mini Bootcamp | Part 3

Safety in the Field | Keeping it real (safe) on the street and in the building: With William DeLong, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s protective security adviser assigned to Maine and an expert on workplace security in all fields.

5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. | Scholarship Auction & Reception

Join your MPA comrades and guests at this rousing reception and auction, where you can bid on super items like stays in Maine vacation cottages, whale watch tickets, golf passes, restaurant gift certificates, ski lift tickets, and member swag—all to benefit Maine students pursuing careers in the newspaper industry.

6:30 p.m. | 2018 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet

The Maine Press Association’s Annual Fall Conference will be held this year on October 20 at the Grand Summit Resort Hotel & Conference Center at Sunday River.

A full day of conference events is planned, including informative and interactive sessions, the Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon, annual Scholarship Auction & Reception, and the 2018 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet.

Regarding those awards, decisions are flying in as we approach the September 7 judging deadline. Once most decisions are in hand, we’ll review, sort and release to members.

As always, we’ve negotiated super hotel rates for the nights of Oct. 19-20 for MPA members and guests at the Grand Summit Resort. Choose from a Standard Room (2 queen beds) for $109, Studio Deluxe (1 queen murphy, 1 sleep sofa & kitchenette) for $129, or a 1 Bedroom Suite (1 queen bed, 1 sleep sofa & kitchenette) for $129.

To book your room, call the Grand Summit Hotel reservation line at 1-800-207-2365 and reference Maine Press Association and group code 85t3ji. Hotel reservation deadline is October 1. The hotel will try but guarantee group rate & room availability beyond this date.

In the meantime, we’re excited about this year’s lineup of sessions, put together by our Programming Committee using feedback from last year’s conference.

Sessions include:

• Newsroom Mini Boot Camp, three sessions focused on the needs of reporters but relevant to all who are interested in libel, copy editing or safety inside and outside the newsroom
• Revenue Innovations, from rate card strategy and structure to sponsored content
• Growing Consumer Revenue: unlocking the mystery of growing subscription revenue and acquiring and retaining customers
• Doing It All: Adding Creative Imagery & Compelling Digital Video to Your Newspaper Articles

You can find Conference Registration information and a registration form on the MPA website at www.mainepressassociation.org (look for the 2018 Fall Conference tab) or by clicking here. Conference registration deadline is Friday, October 5.

Mary Frances Dodge Brewer, 77, of Murray Hill, East Boothbay, died July 15, 2018.

She was born in Damariscotta, Maine Jan. 19, 1941 to Harry A. Dodge and Ernestine Munro Dodge.

In her preschool years, they made their home in Schenectady, New York, where her father was a pharmacist. He died when she was very young, and she and her mother returned to make their home with her maternal grandparents, John and Laura Gamage Munro, in Round Pond.

In 1951, her mother married Frank S. Dodge of East Boothbay and they moved to his family home on Main Street, just a few doors down from the East Boothbay school which she attended.

After graduation from Boothbay Region High School, she attended the University of Maine in Orono and Katherine Gibbs School in Boston.

During college, she spent summers as an editorial assistant at the Boothbay Register and upon graduation became editor. She remained at the newspaper for 50 years, working under publishers Roy E. Kelley, Dan DeRepentigny, Howard Cowan, Marylouise Cowan and A.R. Tandy, retiring as managing editor.

During her career she won many awards, including being named Maine Press Association Journalist of the Year. She also served on the board of directors and as president of the organization. In 2013 she was inducted into the New England Press Association Hall of Fame.

Locally, she had been active in a number of organizations, including the Fishermen’s Festival and Fishermen’s Memorial Fund, the Chamber of Commerce and many others. The Boothbay Region YMCA honored her with their Character Development Award in 2012, and the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club presented her with their Lifetime Service Award in 2015.

She purchased her home on Murray Hill on Linekin Bay in 1962 and had lived there ever since. Whenever possible, she enjoyed going fishing with her husband.

Surviving are her husband, Thurlow “Butch” Brewer; a daughter, Sarah Morley and her husband, Andrew Morley; grandchildren, Hannah and Nicholas Morley; a brother, F. Munro Dodge and his wife, Mary D., of Boothbay; and several nieces and nephews.

There will be no funeral services. A celebration of life will be held in August.

Friends who wish may make donations to Rebuilding Together, 203 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538 or the Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund, P.O. Box 293, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.