Continuing a legacy that began when his grandfather headed the organization in 1944, Record Publishing Company Publisher and Dix 1898 Board member David Dix was recently presented the Ohio Newspaper Association’s President’s Award at the ONA’s annual convention.
ONA board president Karl Heminger, publisher of The Findlay Courier and the head of Findlay Publishing Co., presented Dix with the award, which is given annually in recognition of exceptional, exemplary service to Ohio’s newspaper industry and to the association.
“I certainly appreciate this honor,” Dix told the convention crowd. “It’s probably the highest honor I’ve ever had, and I will cherish it.”
He expressed gratitude for his involvement with the Ohio Newspaper Association.
“I always thought it was a privilege to serve the ONA as a trustee,” he said. “It enriched me professionally, but it also made me appreciate the quality of the people who get into this game.”
And he reminded the convention audience of Ohio journalists that their work is “really important. These communities still depend on us.”
“What we’re doing is important, we should never forget that,” Dix said. “We should encourage people to get into this business.”
Heminger thanked Dix for his “extraordinary service” and shared his storied career.
“He joined the Board of Trustees in 1998 and worked his way through the leadership ladders to become the fourth member of the Dix family to serve as ONA president, a trend that started when his grandfather, Emmett Dix, served as board chairman from 1944-1953,” he said.
“He started at Record Publishing in 1968 while attending the University of Akron, where he earned a law degree after graduating from Oberlin College, spending two years in India as a teacher and earning a master’s in journalism at Syracuse University,” Heminger continued. “He was named publisher in 1974 at age 33, a role he has held ever since in the company his grandfather and great-grandfather started in 1898 by buying the Wooster Daily Record for $500.”
Dix is publisher of the Record Publishing Company, which includes the Record-Courier, a daily newspaper covering Portage County, Ohio. In addition, Dix is publisher of the newspaper’s weekly division, including the Aurora Advocate, The Gateway News, Stow Sentry, The News Leader, Cuyahoga Falls News-Press, Hudson Hub-Times, Twinsburg Bulletin and Tallmadge Express.