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It looks as if the State
Journal-Register and Friend-in-Deed will
continue to work hand in hand after all. On May 22, the holiday charity organization’s
board of directors announced that the newspaper would continue its support
despite an earlier announcement that Friend-in-Deed would function as its
own separate entity [see R.L. Nave, “Friend-in-Deed in need,”
May 1]. Scott Bowers, SJ-R publisher and Friend-in-Deed board member, says the
board has had several meetings to determine the newspaper’s role in
Friend-in-Deed’s work and made the decision to resume the partnership
for “the foreseeable future.”
“We want to be a part of it as much as we
possibly could,” Bowers says. “We are going through all these
changes with the board of directors, and we felt it was a good time to
regroup.”
Barry Locher, former editor of the SJ-R, recently resigned from the
Friend-in-Deed’s board of directors after 30 years of service. “With the program headed in a new direction,
this is just a natural time for me to offer my seat on the board to a new
member,” he told Illinois Times in an e-mail. Bowers also confirmed that Patrick Coburn, who served
as the paper’s publisher until 2006, recently resigned from the
nonprofit’s board of directors. He says the two vacant spots have not
been filled. Other changes in the Friend-in-Deed program, announced
last week, include the decision to focus 2008 efforts on providing food and
toys for needy families. Clothing will no longer be distributed by the
organization.
Contact Amanda Robert at arobert@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in May 22-28, 2008.
