Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
Each year, Missouri Press members volunteer their time and expertise in service to the Association’s leadership, helping to guide the trade group in representing the interests of more than 200 member publications.
Directors on the MPA Board are elected each year during the business meeting held as part of the Association’s annual convention and trade show. Nominations to serve on the board are accepted until July 1 and are then reviewed by a nominating committee for consideration by MPA’s voting members.
MPA’s newly elected directors this year are Secretary Allen Edmonds, publisher of the North Cass Herald in Belton; and National Newspaper Association Chair Dawn Suggs, digital director of the St. Louis American.
Dawn Suggs grew up in and around the newspaper business. After her father, Dr. Donald Suggs, became publisher of the St. Louis American in the 1980s, the younger Suggs found her first newspaper role in getting the news out to people.
“My first job was delivering newspapers, and later I worked in circulation,” Suggs said.
The first article she wrote for the newspaper was a review of a South African play by Athol Fugard, titled “Master Harold”... and the Boys.
“It was a critique I was passionate about. I loved storytelling from an early age,” Suggs said. “As a teenager and throughout college, my career aspiration was to work in multimedia. There are so many different ways to tell a story or convey an experience, and I never wanted to limit myself.”
Whether it’s writing articles or crafting videos, Suggs enjoys creating content for the American’s audience. But all of that work plays in to what she truly finds most fulfilling: understanding the impact the newspaper has on the community.
“Our goal is to inform and support people in challenging times and uplift them and put a spotlight on their successes and accomplishments, especially when they have overcome daunting obstacles,” Suggs said.
The information might change depending on the year, but the responsibility to help provide relief during difficult times never goes away. During the pandemic, the newspaper shared information about food giveaways and eviction moratoriums. More recently, it has communicated about resources available to those affected by the tornado on May 16, 2025.
“We salute those who have offered support to others on a large scale and on the neighborhood level,” Suggs said. “It’s especially rewarding when readers write letters to the editor or comment online to express their appreciation for an article or video we’ve published and let us know that the information we’ve provided helped them and their families gain a foothold in some way.”
Rising costs for print and shuttering printing facilities are proving to be one of the greatest challenges facing the newspaper industry today, Suggs said.
“Print has become prohibitive for many, particularly as audiences increasingly consume information digitally,” Suggs said. “Pivoting to and embracing new technologies and diversifying revenue streams also present significant challenges for newspapers founded before the last decade.”
Helping other newspapers address their struggles (and celebrate their hard-won victories) was Suggs’ motivation for joining the MPA board. In Missouri Press, Suggs said she discovered a community she never realized she was missing until experiencing it.
“We all deal with the vicissitudes of either working for or owning print publications in this day in age,” Suggs said. “That shared experience connects us, across lines of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion and politics.”
Suggs also said she brings a unique perspective to Missouri Press, having worked and lived on both coasts for much of her life before returning home to St. Louis, as well as having helped to guide the American through a second wave of digital transformation.
“I hope to enhance and help strengthen the MPA’s ecosystem and expand its networks,” Suggs said. “I also want to reinforce that MPA is open and inclusive, and welcoming to anyone who qualifies for membership and wishes to participate and engage.”
Although she works to inform the American’s readers now, Suggs has experience in a different form of storytelling.
“I acted professionally for a few years when I lived in Los Angeles and was featured in the MasterCard ‘Priceless’ print ad campaign,” Suggs said “And I made a guest appearance as a ‘mind reader’ in the Angel television series, a WB spinoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
