President & Chief Executive Officer
217-241-1300, Ext. 222
Sam Fisher is from Princeton, Illinois. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Before joining the IPA in 2017, Fisher worked for Shaw Media for 34 years. He was publisher of the Bureau County Republican (Princeton), Sauk Valley Media, Putnam County Record and Tonica News. Fisher had been a corporate sales trainer before he was promoted to publisher at the Bureau County Republican in 1993.
Director of Revenue
217-241-1300, Ext. 248
Sandy Pistole's hometown is Walnut, IL. Sandy's prior work experience includes working as advertising director for Bureau County Republican and Morris Daily Herald. She also worked as advertising director for News-Gazette Community Newspapers. She most recently worked as a business consultant for Dale Carnegie Training. She is a graduate of Greenville College with a BS in organizational leadership. Sandy joined the IPA in May 2020.
Director of Foundation
217-241-1300, Ext. 286
Jeff Rogers grew up and worked most of his career in northwest Illinois, having served as editor of daily newspapers in Freeport, Galesburg, Sterling and Dixon over the past 23 years. Jeff also worked at newspapers in Roanoke, Virginia, and Monroe,Wisconsin, where he also served as editor. He joined the Illinois Press in October 2018, and now lives in Springfield. He is a graduate of Bradley University in Peoria.
Clip Department
Lisa Bouvet has worked in the clip department for the Illinois Press Association since 1986. She is from Springfield, Illinois. She is responsible for the media-monitoring of all Illinois newspapers.
217-241-1300, Ext. 225
Lisa grew up on a dairy farm in northwestern Illinois. She joined IPA in May 1996. She is responsible for the media-monitoring of all Illinois newspapers.
Chief Financial Officer
217-241-1300, Ext. 237
Certified Public Accountant Tracy Spoonmore joined IPA in January 2018. Tracy comes from United Cerebral Palsy Land of Lincoln where she was the CFO. Prior to that, she was the audit manager at Sikich. Tracy has a master's degree from Western Illinois University and a bachelor's degree from Quincy University.
Director of Technology
217-241-1300, Ext. 239
Ron Kline joined the Illinois Press Assoication in 2010 as Technology & Online Coordinator. He is credited for assisting in the development and maintaining the publicnoticeillinois.com site as well as the IPA's electronic contest entry system, both systems utilized by many other state press associations. Prior to joining the IPA, Kline was a production system specialist for The News-Journal in Daytona Beach, FL. He also has experience with a variety of specialized computer systems and most recently was a computer operator for Gtech, Inc., which processes the state lottery.
Administrative Assistant & Member Relations
217-241-1300, Ext. 226
Cindy Bedolli is from Williamsville, IL. She worked at The State Journal-Register in advertising for over 12 years. She most recently came from The Hope Institute where she worked in human resources. Cindy is a graduate of Southern Illinois University with a bachelors of science degree in marketing. She joined the Illinois Press in 2015.
Advertising Service Manager
217-241-1700, Ext. 234
Charlene is a long-time resident of Springfield, Illinois. She has worked at the Illinois Press Assoication since 1996.