The boards of directors of the Public Notice Resource Center (PNRC) and American Court and Commercial Newspapers (ACCN) announced last month that they have selected the Michigan Press Association (MPA) to manage the joint affairs of the two groups when the contract with their current management company ends on April 2.
PNRC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes government and corporate transparency through research and education focused on how to provide effective official notice to the public. It is the only national organization that monitors and analyzes public notice legislation in all 50 states. ACCN is a trade association that represents local newspapers that report on and provide services to the legal and business communities in which they operate.
PNRC Holds First Conference Devoted to Public Notice
The Public Notice Resource Center’s premier public notice conference packed the room Sept. 22 on the first day of the National Newspaper Association’s Annual Convention in Franklin, Tenn. The half-day symposium featured panels on best practices, legislative strategy and the importance of publishing public notices on the web, and presentations on design and the state of public notice. The conference was sponsored by Tecnavia, Nevada Legal News and the Illinois Press Association.
PNRC President Speaks to County Clerks Group
“Public notice is truly a partnership between newspapers and local government,” PNRC President Bradley Thompson told the Michigan Association of County Clerks at their summer meeting on Aug. 22 in Grand Rapids. “We both have mandates to do it properly.”
Thompson (photo on left courtesy of Michigan Press Association), chairman and CEO of the Detroit Legal News Co., used the remainder of his speech to define what proper public notice entails, and to place it in context as part of the three-legged stool of transparent government: Public notice, open meetings and freedom of information.
PNRC Elects New Board of Directors
The Public Notice Resource Center (PNRC) has named Bradley L. Thompson II to his third full term as president. Thompson is chairman of Detroit Legal News Company and is a founding board member of PNRC, which was established in 2002.
He is a resident of Ann Arbor, MI, and is a member of the fifth generation of his family to lead the publicly-traded Michigan company. The Detroit Legal News Co. publishes 10 newspapers in Michigan. Thompson is also chairman of Printing Industries of America and a director of Michigan Press Association. He has a long history of involvement in civic organizations and currently serves as vice chair of the Clements Library at the University of Michigan.