KITSAP COUNTY — Kitsap News Group Publisher Terry Ward has been promoted to vice president of Sound Publishing, Inc.

Ward will continue to serve as publisher of the Bainbridge Island Review, North Kitsap Herald, Central Kitsap Reporter, Port Orchard Independent, Kingston Community News and the Kitsap Daily News, as well as Sound’s newspapers on the Olympic Peninsula and Grays Harbor. He will be responsible for Sound’s soon-to-be-acquired properties in Juneau, Kenai and Homer, Alaska.

“I’m honored and humbled by the trust placed in me to take on this new leadership role with Sound Publishing,” Ward said.

“Although I’m looking forward to this new role, I’m equally excited to continue my involvement as publisher of our Kitsap and Olympic Peninsula newspapers. I’m proud of the work we’ve accomplished in the last few years advancing our print and digital reach in our communities and looking forward to continuing our growth.”

The move is related to the appointment of Josh O’Connor to the position of president-publisher of Sound Publishing, said Rick O’Connor, president and CEO of Black Press Group Ltd., which owns Sound Publishing.

Former Sound Publishing President Gloria Fletcher left to accept the position of publisher of the Tulsa World in Oklahoma and vice president of the Southern Newspaper Division for the Berkshire Hathaway Media Group.

In his new role, Josh O’Connor will be responsible for Sound Publishing operations and will continue to be the publisher of the Daily Herald in Everett. After joining Sound Publishing in 2007, he was originally the publisher of the East Sound community newspaper group and was appointed publisher of the Daily Herald in May 2013.

As vice president of newspaper operations for Sound Publishing, Josh O’Connor was responsible for five community newspapers, as well as Sound’s press and mailroom operations in Everett. He had joined Sound’s parent company, Black Press Group Ltd., in Surrey B.C. as a sales executive in 1998 and progressed to a series of management roles in Surrey, Richmond and Abbotsford, B.C.

Josh O’Connor enjoys the challenging dynamics of building successful community publications, Rick O’Connor said, adding that he coaches a commitment to delivering relevant, local news that directly affects the lives of those who raise families and work in the communities that Sound serves.

Josh O’Connor is an active contributor to many community organizations throughout Puget Sound and lives with his family in Issaquah.

Ward joined Sound Publishing as group publisher overseeing the Olympic Peninsula News Group in September 2015 and was appointed regional publisher in April 2016, adding Sound Classifieds and the Kitsap News Group to the list of publications he leads for Sound Publishing.

Ward was previously the CEO of KPC Media Group, a regional family-owned media company with 22 publications in northeast Indiana. Prior to his time at KPC Media Group, Ward was the director of sales and digital for GateHouse Media’s Community Newspaper Division where he worked in a leadership capacity with publishers, advertising directors, sales managers and their teams.

Ward takes Sound Publishing’s role as a community partner seriously and actively participates in community advancement serving as a board of director for organizations in several Western Washington communities, Rick O’Connor said.