RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — The Associated Baptist Press board of directors hired an interim development director and filled the position of news editor at their semi-annual meeting Sept. 16-18.
Meeting in Richmond, directors of the independent news service based in Jacksonville, Fla., also affirmed a plan to implement their new strategic alliance of Baptist news organizations, re-elected officers and welcomed new board members to their ranks.
Todd Heifner, managing partner of Charles Heifner Associates of Birmingham, Ala., will work for six-to-nine months as director of development for ABP and the strategic alliance formed between ABP and three Baptist state newspapers, tentatively called NeoVox.
ABP, which has an annual budget of $530,000, has been seeking a development director since the February resignation of Tim Norton, who left to join the ministry staff of First Baptist Church of Knoxville, Tenn.
Heifner's hiring is an “unusual opportunity” for ABP because he “already knows the organization, its constituents and its needs,” said Greg Warner, ABP's executive editor. And Heifner “carries an abiding commitment to the Baptist principles that undergird this ministry,” Warner said. “This will allow him to accomplish much more in a short period of time. In the meantime, we will continue our search for a permanent director of development who can take up where Todd leaves off.”
Heifner, who holds master's degrees in business administration and institutional advancement, previously worked in development for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and Samford University.
ABP directors also promoted Robert Marus, ABP's current Washington bureau chief, to news editor. The position, which went into effect Oct. 1, will involve daily editorial supervision for the news service, which publishes about 700 news and feature articles a year.
“Rob is ready for this challenge,” Warner said. “He does a wonderful job covering the Washington beat, and now he will have a larger role in our national news coverage. And by taking the daily editing load off of me, this will let me focus my time on reporting and writing, supervising the staff and raising money.”
In other business, directors continued to voice their support for the strategic alliance between ABP, the Religious Herald, the Baptist Standard of Texas and Word & Way of Missouri. Organizers say the new “media platform” will use the Internet and other media to provide “a new voice for Baptists and global Christians.”
Marv Knox, editor of the Baptist Standard, said that since the NeoVox launch in April, the collaboration has improved the quality of all three state papers and ABP. And a recent readership survey conducted by Tennessee-based Bryson Consulting provided concrete ideas for improving material and delivery, he added.
“We're almost ready to let a bid on developing our shared website and will make it available to readers in just a few months,” Knox said. “And, so far, we've raised enough money to fund all these advances.”
The next step for Knox and his fellow editors is implementation.
“We'll continue to publish newspapers but also reinvent Internet distribution so that it's more interactive, vibrant and complete,” he said. “And as Baptists see how our ministry can strengthen their faith, build up their churches and expand Christ's kingdom, we believe God will provide the resources necessary to continue to improve and expand.”
In other business, Ron Grizzle, Deborah Carlton Loftis and Bill Webb were elected as new board members. Grizzle has been pastor of Riverchase Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., since 2003. Loftis is a professor of church music at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. Webb is editor of Word & Way, the Baptist newspaper in Missouri. Also re-elected to terms ending in 2010 were: Cheryl Allen, Jimmy Nickell, Mark Sanders, Bob Stephenson and Brian Unger.
ABP's next board meeting is scheduled for April 13-15 in San Antonio, Texas.