After I launched a job search last year upon deciding to relocate from Connecticut to Happy Valley, David Pencek was the first person I met with.
More accurately, David was the first person who made time to meet with me.
We discussed freelance opportunities, because there were no positions open at Town&Gown when we met in late April 2016. A bit more than a year later, things have changed for both of us — a lot.
David, as he wrote last month, is opening an important new chapter in his life as he prepares to head to seminary school. With his departure as editorial director of Town&Gown, I have the honor of moving in to the editor’s role.
I have big shoes to fill.
Town&Gown has always been synonymous with Happy Valley to me, capturing the heartbeat of Penn State and the communities that surround it. I came to love this area after arriving at PSU from Rhode Island as a grad student in the early 1980s. As a frequent visitor since then, the magazine was a must read; it was one of the first things my wife and I picked up when we hit town for a weekend, whether it was to visit our oldest daughter when she was at Penn State, for a football game (we’re die-hard tailgaters) or just for an escape.
As editorial director since 2005, David played a leading role in making Town&Gown a compelling read, telling the stories of the people, businesses, organizations, and institutions that help define our community. That leadership included a constructive approach to addressing the challenges faced by both town and gown.
It’s a role the magazine has played in the community for more than 51 years now.
I’ll do my best to help uphold that legacy and, with remarkably talented colleagues, keep moving it forward. I’ve been around the Barash Media offices on South Allen Street for eight months now as editor of Town&Gown’s sister publication, The Centre County Gazette. That’s given me the chance to get to know the dedicated people responsible for both publications, and to write about some of the many people who make this community special.
I’m lucky that as I get started in this new role, David (who stayed on part-time) and other colleagues have been extremely patient and helpful as I’ve peppered them with questions about the ins and outs of things like Blinkplans (it’s an online tool to create a magazine layout).
I’m relatively new to the media scene here, but I’ve been around the business a while. I spent 30 years at the New Haven Register in Connecticut. My time there included 18 years as managing editor and the last two as executive editor of Digital First Media/ Connecticut, which included the Register, two other daily papers, eight weeklies and Connecticut Magazine. While Connecticut holds special memories for us, my wife and I decided Happy Valley was the place we wanted to be, so we bought a home in Bellefonte in November 2015 and moved here last summer.
That’s my story. But we’re about your stories. Drop me a note at mbrackenbury@barashmedia.com, or give me a call at (814) 238-5051, and let’s talk!
