Daniel Williams is TPA’s new president
Daniel Williams, publisher of The Paris Post-Intelligencer, is the new president of the Tennessee Press Association (TPA).
TPA is the trade association of the state’s daily and non-daily newspapers. It is composed of 131 newspapers and online publications.
Williams succeeds Chris Vass, public editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Other officers elected at TPA’s Business Session during the Concurrent Board of Directors Meeting and Business Session on July 12 are Darrell Richardson, advertising director of The Daily Times, Maryville, elected first vice president, Keith Ponder, publisher of The Tullahoma News, elected second vice president; Dave Gould, owner of Main Street Media of Tennessee, re-elected secretary; and Eric Barnes, publisher of The Daily News, Memphis, re-elected treasurer.
Directors elected for two-year terms representing District One are: Calvin Anderson, publisher of The New Tri-State Defender, Memphis; Melanie King, publisher of the McNairy County News, Selmer; and Victor Parkins, publisher of The Mirror-Exchange, Milan.
Directors elected for two-year terms representing District Three are: Sandy Dodson, publisher of The Bledsonian-Banner, Pikeville; Dale Gentry, publisher of The Standard Banner, Jefferson City; and Paul Mauney, The Greeneville Sun.
Also elected to the board are Lindsay Pride, editor of the Herald-Citizen, Cookeville, and Alison Gerber, editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, both to serve one-year terms as District Two directors.
Chris Vass will continue on the board for one year as immediate past president. Also continuing on the board is David Plazas, director of opinion and engagement of The Tennessean, Nashville, who is serving as a District Two director.
The TPA Board of Directors re-elected six trustees to serve on the Tennessee Press Association Foundation (TPAF) Board of Trustees for three-year terms. The re-elected trustees are: Jim Charlet, Brentwood; John Finney, Culleoka; Doug Horne, Republic Newspapers, Knoxville; Victor Parkins, Gibson County Publishing; and Michael Williams, The Paris Post-Intelligencer.
About Daniel Williams
Daniel Williams is a fifth-generation publisher of The Paris Post-Intelligencer, a family-owned newspaper in Paris, Tennessee. He began his newspaper career in 1996 as a newspaper carrier for The P-I where he delivered about 250 papers in downtown Paris five afternoons a week. He continued that bicycle route through high school. He began working as a part time sportswriter in 2001 after obtaining his driver’s license.
After high school graduation, he moved to Henderson, Tennessee to attend Freed-Hardeman University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing. While at FHU, Williams was the editor of the school paper and did some freelance sports reporting and photography for the Chester County Independent, Henderson.
He worked as a newsroom intern at The P-I for a couple of summers during his college years and accepted a position as a general assignment reporter with the responsibility of the education beat for the newspaper in 2009. He later covered crime and sports before moving to the business office in 2011 becoming office manager where he began working more with other departments such as advertising, circulation, and production. After working for several years and growing responsibilities in each department, he became the P-I general manager, where he ran many of the day-to-day operations. He was promoted to publisher earlier this year.
Daniel Williams represents the fourth generation of the Williams family to serve as TPA president. He is married to the former Jordan Shelton of Fruitland, Missouri and they have one son, Sterling, who is 3.
In his spare time he can be found on a golf course, on a driving range or otherwise daydreaming about playing golf.
About TPA
The TPA was founded in 1870-71 for the purpose of creating a unified voice for the newspaper industry in Tennessee. Today, TPA continues to provide assistance to its 131 members by monitoring legislative activities, providing training programs, issuing press credentials, and providing regular meetings and forums to foster the exchange of information and ideas.
The TPA presidency rotates among TPA’s three divisions of Tennessee – East (District 3), Middle (District 2) and West (District 1).