Keith Rathbun appointed to ONA board
Keith Rathbun, publisher of The Budget in Sugarcreek and chairman of the ONA Weekly Newspaper Committee, has been appointed to the ONA board of trustees. Rathbun will fill an unexpired term that goes to February 2010. ONA president Ken Douthit made the appointment to fill the vacancy left by Bob Robbins, who earlier this year left his position as CEO of the Newspaper Network of Central Ohio to become publisher of the Gannett newspaper in his hometown of Richmond, IN.
In addition to serving as a community weekly newspaper for Sugarcreek and eastern Holmes County, The Budget is distributed nationally and internationally to Amish and Mennonite communities across the United States, Canada and overseas.
Before joining The Budget, Rathbun edited and published SCENE, a Cleveland alternative entertainment weekly, for 26 years. After selling SCENE in 2000, he moved to The Budget. “While the two papers are seemingly worlds apart,” Rathbun says, “it’s all community journalism, just covering two disparate communities.”
Calling himself a “proud graduate of Ohio University,” Rathbun received his BSJ degree in 1974. At home, he serves as secretary of both the Sugarcreek Business Association and Rotary Club as well as chair of the Downtown Revitalization Steering Committee. In his role with ONA, he also serves on the Convention Committee.
In announcing the appointment, Douthit indicated his intention to fill the remaining two board vacancies prior to the Oct. 10 board of trustees meeting. Based on the recent approval of bylaws amendments, Douthit will appoint a trustee representing daily newspapers of 10,000 to 50,000 circulation and a trustee representing daily newspapers under 10,000 circulation.
