Richard Whiting, executive editor of the Index-Journal in Greenwood, has been elected president of the S.C. Press Association after a vote of the Press Association’s membership.

Other officers elected were: Nathaniel Abraham Jr., publisher of Carolina Panorama in Columbia as weekly newspaper vice president; Hal Welch, general manager of The Journal in Seneca as daily newspaper vice president; and Barbara Ball, publisher of The Voice of Blythewood and Fairfield County as treasurer.

Elected to two-year terms on the SCPA Executive Committee were: Jane Alford, editor of The Lancaster News and Carolina Gateway; Stephen Robertson of Conway, publisher of The Horry Independent, Myrtle Beach Herald, Carolina Forest Chronicle and The Loris Scene; and Jonathan Vickery, publisher of The People-Sentinel in Barnwell.

Kyle Osteen, managing partner and co-owner of Osteen Publishing Co., which publishes The Sumter Item, and Community Media Group, LLC, which publishes the Lexington County Chronicle, was elected to a one-year term on the Executive Committee.

Executive Committee members elected to a two-year term last year include: Cliff Harrington, editor of The Herald in Rock Hill and Autumn Phillips, executive editor of The Post and Courier.

Whiting succeeds Charles Swenson, editor of the Coastal Observer in Pawleys Island.

 “I look forward to serving members of one of the strongest and most supportive press associations a state’s newspapers could ask for,” Whiting said. “Moreover, I look forward to serving with a fantastic group of newspaper leaders from across the Palmetto State on the S.C. Press Association board.

“It’s no secret that our industry has been and remains in some incredibly challenging times. We need to remain vigilant in serving our communities to the best of our abilities and support our fellow members of the Fourth Estate. To do so we need each other and this organization.”

Whiting began his newspaper career in 1980 as a reporter with the Telegram in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. There he rose through the ranks to city editor and eventually managing editor. In 1990, he joined the Florence Morning News where he worked in various capacities, including editorial page editor and assistant managing editor. Whiting left the corporate newspaper world and joined the Index-Journal as its managing editor in August 1999. He was named executive news editor in May 2005 and was later appointed the paper’s executive editor in June 2009.

He and his wife, Wendy, have two daughters, two sons-in-law and three grandchildren.

The election came as part of a two-day meeting in Columbia attended by roughly 200 newspaper journalists from across the state.

The press association was founded in 1852 and serves the state’s 15 daily and 70 weekly newspapers.