July brought one of the biggest announcements in Village Media’s history, as we shared plans to bring our community-first journalism model to 15 communities across the United States.
We also continued to accelerate our local events and awards programs, covered important local stories and partnered with meaningful community initiatives, continuing to make an impact in the communities we serve. Here’s a look back at what happened in July.
We added five new team members in July, including:
Community Tools & Partnership Coordinator Natasha James
Digital Operations Coordinator Alicia Baxter
GuelphToday Community Partner Specialist Raeanne Paul-Fensom
GuelphToday Community Partner Specialist Reyan Rajan
GuelphToday Community Partner Specialist Ruhi Suvarna
Welcome, all! 👏
And longtime Niagara-on-the-Lake Local editor Penny Coles has officially retired. Congratulations and best of luck on your next chapter, Penny!
Village Media is expanding into the U.S.
July marked an exciting milestone for Village.
We announced a significant investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to support the expansion of our local journalism model into 15 communities across the United States.
The project is a defining moment for our company.
Village is built on a simple belief: when communities have access to trusted local journalism, they are stronger, more connected and better equipped to thrive.
The Knight Foundation's investment is a meaningful endorsement of that vision and of the sustainable model our team has worked to build.
This investment will help bring trusted, community-first journalism to even more communities, while accelerating the next chapter of Village Media's growth.
To every team member at Village Media, thank you. This milestone belongs to our journalists, product teams, sales professionals, community builders and everyone who works each day to strengthen the communities we serve.
The future of local journalism is worth building. We're proud to be helping lead the way.
And on that note, we have an update on our expansion to the United States, from Village Media Ltd. President, Kate Elliott:
Team Village,
As we work to rebuild trust, social capital, and civic agency across local communities, I am thrilled to share an update on our cross-border collaboration bringing the Village Community Operating System (COS) to the United States.
Thanks to the relentless dedication of our headquarters teams and local partners, we are making rapid, tangible progress as we prepare for our flagship launch in Appleton, Wisconsin!
Headlines & major wins
- A launch-first for Village with all 5 pillars active from day one: AppletonToday will mark a first for Village Media: we are launching all five pillars of the Community Operating System from day one! We are leaning heavily into our Cares initiatives right at the outset to establish Village as a deeply rooted, high-impact community partner from the moment we go live.
- Sites live behind the scenes: Both AppletonToday.com and villagemedia.us are officially live! While they have not yet been announced publicly, our digital foundation is in place and undergoing final setup. Shoutout to Eric Moss for all your hard work!
- Leadership in-market visit (week of August 17): Part of our executive leadership team, including Jeff Elgie, David Turkstra, Richard Gingras and Kate Elliott, will be on the ground in Appleton during the week of August 17 to meet our local team, connect with civic leaders and immerse ourselves in the community.
Key Leadership & newsroom hires
Please join me in extending a warm welcome to our newest newsroom and regional leaders:
- Hillary Hallows — Regional Community Lead for Wisconsin (joining August 17): Hillary will spearhead local community relationships, partner networks and regional engagement across our Wisconsin cluster. Note: “Community Lead” is analogous to “Community Partner Specialist”
- Ryan Hoffman — Editor, AppletonToday (joining August 24): Ryan joins us as the local newsroom anchor for Appleton, bringing dedicated editorial leadership to guide daily local reporting and community news coverage.
HQ champions
A massive thank you to our HQ colleagues who have been driving the back-end engine to make these milestones possible:
- Steph Bifano: Endless gratitude to Steph for her tireless, non-stop effort recruiting top-tier talent across newsroom, sales and community roles.
- Mike Purvis: Huge thanks to Mike for his thoughtful, rigorous interviewing approach in evaluating newsroom candidates and helping build our local editorial standards.
- Tech, Sales, Design & Operations teams: Thank you to Jake C., Trudi A., Tracy S., Josh P., Leah J., Danielle F., Jasmyn R., Mike P., and Danaé I. (and too many more to name) for building out our branding, ad decks, directory structures, CMS configurations and Cares/SPACES onboarding assets.
Talent referral call — we need your help!
While our leadership team is set, we still urgently need to fill three critical roles in Appleton to ensure our newsroom and community engine are fully staffed for launch:
- Local Reporter (2 positions)
- Community Engagement Coordinator (SPACES/Cares Lead)
Please spread the word across your networks! If you know outstanding journalists or passionate community organizers who would thrive in a community-impact environment, please connect them directly with Steph Bifano or me.
What’s next?
- Accelerating interviews to fill our remaining reporter and community coordinator roles.
- Counting down to Q3 launch by finalizing the site, directory profiles and Cares/SPACES launch programming.
Thank you all for your passion, hard work and support as we build the future of local media together.
With gratitude,
Kate Elliott
SPACES continues to bring community together, IRL 🌎
This month, the SPACES community came together through three unique events that encouraged people to explore new ideas and build local relationships.
In Collingwood, SPACES host Annette Sandberg led an Après-Hike Hangout, where participants enjoyed a scenic group hike before gathering at a local café for complimentary coffee and pastries — a perfect opportunity to unwind and connect with fellow community members.
In Sault Ste. Marie, SPACES partnered with the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre to host Tech on Tap, an evening that brought together local innovators and entrepreneurs. Guests had the opportunity to enjoy a local brew while hearing from an entrepreneur who showcased their latest AI technology and shared insights into its real-world applications.
SooToday SPACES also welcomed members back to Canopy at Village Media for its monthly SPACES Book Club. The gathering marked the group's fourth meeting as members continue making their way through the Harry Potter series, with an engaging discussion focused on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
These events are just a glimpse of how SPACES is bringing people together through shared interests, conversations and memorable experiences. If you're interested in hosting a SPACES event, reach out to the team to get started: Alexa@spaces.ca, Andrew@spaces.ca or Gabriella@villagemedia.ca
In other event news: Canopy was also the venue for Village hosting the July Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce Take 5 event. The packed event allowed us to shine a spotlight on Breaking Away, a nonprofit in the Sault dedicated to supporting adults with developmental disabilities.
✨ Spotlight on sponsorships ✨
We sponsored 20 community events in a dozen communities in July 💛
AuroraToday
SpeedStaff Golf Tournament
BarrieToday
Barrie Ribfest, Glowing Hearts Charity
BradfordToday
Simcoe Music Festival
BurlingtonToday
The Levie Initiative- ABSURD, Canadian Food Truck Festivals
GuelphToday
Team Addy 3x3 Tournaments
MiltonToday
100 Women Who Care Milton
NewmarketToday
Canadian Food Truck Festivals
Oakville News
Canadian Food Truck Festivals
OrilliaMatters
Orillia Scottish Festival
SooToday
Go North Music Festival, Village of Hilton Beach Summer Events, Rotaryfest, DNM Group Christmas in July, Festival of Colours, HealthyHabits/StrongCommunities Batchewana First Nation, WestFest, Play 4 Purpose Charity Golf Tournament, Bushplane Heritage Centre's Dock Launch
Sudbury.com
NLFB, Sudbury Greek Fest
TorontoToday
Canadian Food Truck Festivals
Meet Thyme, Julie Slack’s foster fail extraordinaire!
She comes from the far north region of the province, where she was rescued by the non-profit Julie fosters with, Team Cat Rescue.
She is often spotted on Julie’s shoulder during meetings; it’s her favourite spot. She is content to travel around the house perched on a shoulder and stands up when she’s ready to be picked up. No wonder she stayed permanently! 😻
Proud pet parent: Julie Slack
Until next month!
