Ponder named publisher at GDT

Staff Report
Glasgow Daily Times

July 19, 2008 03:07 pm

— Glasgow Daily Times publisher Pete Mio has been promoted to CNHI’s Tonawanda, N.Y., newspaper. Returning to the Daily Times as publisher is CNHI vice-president and division manager Keith W. Ponder.
Ponder served as GDT publisher from 1998 to 2004, when he was promoted to a division corporate assignment while still based in Glasgow. He will continue to lead the Great Plains Division of 17 newspapers in Oklahoma in addition to his duties in Glasgow.
The Daily Times will join Ponder’s division after spending the past four years as part of the Bluegrass Division.
“Leaving a daily newspaper four years ago was a difficult career decision,” Ponder said. “I left the paper but the paper never left me and I was excited for the opportunity to return to the paper I care so deeply about in a community my family loves.”
While publisher of the GDT, Ponder led the newspaper to record-high daily and Sunday circulation, led the conversion to Glasgow’s leading Web site audience — glasgowdailytimes.com — helped est-ablish CNHI’s highly regarded Kentucky news bureau and led the conversion of the Daily Times to a regional print site for the parent company.
“Much has changed in four years but the underlying focus on Glasgow/Barren County has always remained a cornerstone of this newspaper. I don’t see that ever changing,” he added.
In addition, Ponder served on the boards of United Way of Southern Kentucky, Glasgow/Barren County Chamber of Commerce, Glasgow/Barren County Family YMCA, Glasgow Rotary Club and the Kentucky Press Association. He served as treasurer of the YMCA, president of the noon Rotary Club and for three years chaired First United Methodist Church’s building program.
Ponder, 46, is a native of Newton, Iowa, and is a 1984 graduate of Morningside College. He and his wife, Sharon, are parents of two children, Abby, a freshman at Glasgow High School, and Mitchell, a fourth-grader at Highland Elementary School. They attend First United Methodist Church.
“There are not often encores in our business. I intend to make the most of it and I’m eager to get out in the community. I’m eager to visit some friends I didn’t get to see much in my division role.”
Mio will return to New York, where his family has remained during his more than two years in Glasgow.
“It was a great honor to be the publisher of the Glasgow Daily Times and to have the opportunity to meet the many wonderful people of the communities we serve,” Mio said. “I’m grateful to the members of the community who welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like I was a lifelong resident. Glasgow/Barren County’s recent ranking as rural America’s No. 1 most livable community is a true statement to its resident’s daily hospitality and community pride. It will forever hold a special place in my heart,” Mio said.
“I also would like to give a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all the talented employees of the Glasgow Daily Times who represent their hometown newspaper with pride and distinction. They made my job easier and I will miss them all,” he added.