The Arkansas Press Association was founded in 1873, making it the oldest professional association in the state. The organization has supported member news outlets by providing information and training opportunities for more than 150 years, and its work includes advocacy, education and fundraising for the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation.
An accomplished organization like APA is only as effective as its leadership, so it stands to reason that with Ashley Kemp Wimberley at the helm, the organization is quite effective. She joined the organization as director of marketing in 2005 and was named executive director in 2018. She had previously served as public relations group manager at Little Rock advertising firm CJRW.
Wimberley said the move to APA from an agency was seamless.
“Public notice and government transparency have been pillars of the association since its earliest days,” she said. “We have to move quickly and nimbly to work with legislators, as well as advocates who join us from all over the state, on both sides of the aisle to protect public notice and freedom of information in Arkansas.”
Since her arrival at APA, the organization has fought to defend against radical changes to the state’s Freedom of Information Act, which is considered one of the strongest in the country. During legislative sessions, it is all hands on deck for Wimberley and her team, and she spends a lot of time at the Capitol building.
Outside of her role for the press association, Wimberley sits on the boards of the Arkansas Better Business Bureau, the Arkansas committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Newspaper Association Managers and the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association. She also serves on the Arkansas Foodbank executive committee and is also the immediate past president of the Arkansas Society of Association Executives.
Wimberley said her advice to anyone starting out in the industry is to remember that success requires passion.
“To be effective, you have to believe in what you are doing,” she said. “I am extremely passionate about freedom of the press, freedom of speech and the public’s right to know, and APA is a leading voice on these issues at the legislature on behalf of both the press and the public at large. The APA staff is very dedicated, and we are going to continue to fight legislatively for government transparency.”
Wimberley said her biggest inspirations are her parents, both of whom are working journalists who met in the newsroom of Russellville’s daily newspaper, then known as the Courier Democrat. They went on to publish several newspapers in north Arkansas and southern Missouri.
“I remember spending long nights in the office on press day as they got the newspaper to bed,” she said. “My brother and I slept on the floor of the newsroom under a desk many times.”
With family being a central part of her life, Wimberley enjoys spending as much time as possible with her two daughters, Anna and Maggie. Her hobbies include kayaking, enjoying the outdoors, travel, Razorback games and going to concerts.
Carrying on the legacy set forth by her parents, Wimberley works tirelessly to protect the causes close to her heart and advocate for newspapers around the state.
“I learned as a small child what it takes to produce a community newspaper, as well as what a newspaper means to a community,” she said. “A good newspaper is an anchor in the community, recording its successes while also holding those in power accountable. As the old saying goes, I got ink in my blood watching their passion for their work and seeing firsthand the importance of journalists to a community.
“While working to maintain democracy and transparency in many ways becomes more challenging each year, it also becomes more rewarding. The work of journalists in Arkansas and around the world has never been more important.”
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