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Dennis Schick remembered Guest Column: Into the Issues By Al Cross
Arkansas Press Association
Publisher Weekly Vol. 15 | No. 50 | Thursday, December 10, 2020 | Serving Press and State Since 1873
Longtime executive director built legacy at APA C. Dennis Schick, a tireless advocate for the newspaper industry and longtime executive director of the Arkansas Press Association, died Monday, Dec. 7, at his home in North Little Rock. He was 83.
Schick served the APA as director for 25 years, from 1979 to 2004. With an unmatched work ethic and attention to detail, Schick guided the association through some of its most productive times in history and positioned APA for years of continued success. Under Schick, the APA intensified its efforts at the Legislature to protect press freedom and ensure transparency. He oversaw a move to a new office building directly across the street from the Arkansas State Capitol. The library and museum at APA headquarters is named for Schick and his wife, Jan. Jan Schick was perhaps the only person who could match her husband’s focus and tenacity. The Schicks were married for nearly 61 years. She worked as her husband’s assistant the entire time he helmed APA. “Saying the name ‘Dennis’ isn’t quite right,” said Mark Magie, a APA Past President from Cabot. “To be correct, you must say ‘Dennis and Jan’ because they were a power team.” This “power team” came to Arkansas from Texas in 1979 to assume leadership of the organization. In their tenure, “Dennis and Jan” were known for their meticulous planning and implementation of conventions and meetings, owing to their large network of connections within the newspaper industry across the country. He was active in national and regional
Jan and Dennis pose in front of the APA building at 411 South Victory in 2001.
press associations, and he served on the board of the National Newspaper Association for three years. In 2004, he was a recipient of the NNA President’s Award, a rarely presented honor, for distinguished service.
associations in the nation, and he was recognized as a leader in his profession,” said Ron Kemp of Rector, APA president in 1993. “To put it succinctly, Dennis loved newspapers and he devoted his life to their promotion and protection.”
“Through his leadership, the APA became one of the most successful newspaper
Schick spearheaded an ambitious project in 2000 to relocate APA’s offices from the
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