Gratitude for John Quinney and welcome to Susan McCullough

On Jan. 23, John Quinney stepped down from The Charlotte News board of directors, marking five years of selfless service to the newspaper. He had ceased volunteering as board chair and publisher a year ago but continued to serve on the board and to lead our fundraising efforts, which set a record in 2024. Thanks to all who donated and our grant partners!

Quinney exemplifies the kind of community service on which Charlotte depends. As I have mentioned in these pages before, the slogan that “Charlotte runs on volunteers” is both true and insufficient to capture the hard work and sacrifice from people like him across our community.

Without these volunteers, the town would lack so much of what comes to mind when residents think about the best of Charlotte, including this newspaper (which appears at no cost in our mailboxes every two weeks), concerts and the summer party at the town beach, hearty meals and social connection at the senior center, parks and trails, and music on the town green, courtesy of the Charlotte Grange, to name just a few.

John Quinney deserves Charlotters’ thanks and gratitude for almost single-handedly keeping the paper afloat after a tumultuous period and for professionalizing the paper’s operations. The latter includes hiring The Charlotte News’s first fulltime editor, launching a new website and putting in place board policies on ethics and conflicts of interest. It is no exaggeration to say that without his efforts, you probably would not be reading these words today.

He also deserves a well-earned respite from the paper. Keen observers around town may have noticed that he bought a pickup truck (and is selling his beloved Prius) so he can tow a camper on trips around the country. No doubt he and Colleen, his spouse, will spend even more time visiting children and grandchildren in warmer climes. John once described himself to me as a “serial entrepreneur.” It would not surprise me to see him jumping into a new project someday with all the passion and private-sector experience he has brought to The Charlotte News.

Our sadness at John Quinney’s departure is balanced by our joy at Susan McCullough’s joining the board in April. She is a development professional, who helped with the paper’s 2024 fundraising efforts. Over the course of her career, McCullough has supported a wide range of nonprofits in Washington, D.C., and beyond and is excited to be able to contribute to the paper.

“I’ve always had a keen interest in journalism. Now more than ever, being active in my home town and supporting local journalism are both deeply meaningful to me,” she said.

Susan McCullough and her spouse, Jay Carpenter, live in her parents’ former home in Charlotte and they have a daughter who attends Champlain Valley Union High. (There is a wonderful article on Carpenter, the former sculptor-in-residence at Washington’s National Cathedral, in a previous edition of the paper.)

We are thrilled to have Susan McCullough as part of The Charlotte News.

Finally, I want to take this occasion to reiterate the newspaper’s interest in hearing from you, our readers. Please reach out to our editor, Scooter MacMillan, with feedback on our coverage, ideas for articles and letters to the editor. We also welcome photos and written contributions. We have an energetic ad manager in Susie Therrien, who would love to work with you to advertise your business to our community.

And feel free to contact me or any board member at any time with your ideas for making The Charlotte News ever more central to the life of this community. You can find our email addresses on the “about” page of our website and in each edition of the newspaper itself.

(Bill Regan is chair of The Charlotte News board of directors.)