On April 15, 2019 a very special man, Jess Allred, passed from this earth, leaving behind his loving wife Roxie (married for 56 years) two sons, Jay and Joseph, both of which he was very proud of, two daughters-in-law Amy and Juliette, that he loved as if they were his own and two grand-daughters, Elmore and Margaret that he cherished dearly.
He also left behind a legacy of community service tied to his stellar newspaper career. Jess relocated his family a total of 15 times that took him from apprentice printer, to publisher to President of a Newspaper Group.
Along his career path Jess sowed the seeds of community journalism and community service at every stop along his journey.
I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity early in my newspaper career to work for Jess at the News-Journal in Mansfield, Ohio. I was 28 years-old when Jess gave me the opportunity to be the Advertising Director at what was then a robust 50,000 circulation daily newspaper with a USA Today commercial printing contract.
To me, Jess Allred was bigger than life. His drive and creative thinking set a standard of excellence for every one who worked there. He taught me more about the newspaper industry in my three and one-half years under his tutelage than most people are privileged to learn in a lifetime. I was his protege and he was my mentor.
The News-Journal excelled under his leadership, both in terms of journalistic excellence, circulation growth and revenue performance. Jess made sure that we were active in the community in every way possible. From supporting the Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts, Schools, Economic Development, Soap Box Derby, The Carousel and so much more.
It was fun, it was exciting, it was a great time to live, work and play in North Central Ohio. Heck, they even filmed “The Shawshank Redemption” in Mansfield at the time.
Thomson Newspapers, the third largest newspaper publisher in North America owned the paper at the time and was investing heavily on setting up strategic marketing groups (clusters of newspapers in a geographic region) to share operational efficiencies for production, distribution and administrative functions while leveraging original local content and sales & marketing opportunities.
When the opportunity came, Jess volunteered The News-Journal to be the first Strategic Marketing Group of eight that Thomson would form in the U.S. Mansfield was the natural hub for the Central Ohio Strategic Marketing Group (SMG) which included newspapers in Marion, Newark, Lancaster, Zanesville and Coshocton. All operating around the fringes of the Columbus metro market.
Jess Allred was the obvious choice to function as the CEO of the SMG and lead us on this cutting-edge adventure which would help define the operations of Newspapers for the foreseeable future. Much of which is the industry standard today.
Keep in mind that this was 1994, well before the Internet, websites, Google and FaceBook would drastically change the media landscape. I can only imagine what Jess would have done with a multi-media company (Print, Digital, Social Media) that we have today.
But, in a sense I don’t have to imagine because Jess’s oldest son Jay has made it all a reality through Richland Source and current Mansfield residents are the benefactors. As I observe from afar (Clarksburg, WV) I can see Jess’s influence on much of what Jay has done with community Journalism and community service via Richland Source. Of course, Jay has certainly added to and improved on those principals updated for today’s technologies and reader interests.
I was fortunate to visit with Jess and the family on a Saturday back in January. Jess knew that his cancer was malignant at the time. Unfortunately, it had been 24 years since I left Mansfield for my first Publisher’s job in Pennsylvania and hadn’t made the journey back to visit. Jess and Roxie did make a surprise visit to Fairmont to visit me at The Times West Virginia once. Jay had contacted me a few times via e-mail.
We spent the afternoon together reminiscing about good times. We shared many memories of people, places and things. We discussed the current state of the newspaper industry and I shared examples of how I applied the concepts that Jess taught me at different stops along my own newspaper career. Thanking him again and again for all that he taught me.
We live a very fast-paced and hectic lifestyle. The more technology we gain it seems like the more demands that we have on our lives and the less time we have for the people in our lives that matter the most. FaceBook and cell phone calls aren’t an effective replacement for spending quality time with the people that you love.
Although you are gone from this earth, Jess your memory and legacy lives on. You have left your mark on this world in a positive way. Thank you for making such a positive difference in my life and the lives of so many others. May you rest in piece in all of God’s Glory.
(Editor’s Note: Andy Kniceley is the Publisher of NCWV Media which publishes The Exponent Telegram of Clarksburg, WV; The State Journal, Charleston, WV; Blue & Gold News, Morgantown, WV; The Fairmont News, The Bridgeport News, The Preston News & Journal, The Weston Democrats The Garret Co. (MD) Republican; Your Bulletin Board and NCWV Life Magazine.)
