René Hardwick has joined the National Onion Association as its Director of Public and Industry Relations.
Hardwick replaces Kim Reddin, who served in that position for 13 years prior to moving to Colorado Corn in February.
“On behalf of the association, we want to welcome René aboard,” said Doug Stanley, president of NOA. “We look forward to working hard and diligently together to move the association forward into new times and to face new challenges.”
Hardwick comes to the NOA via the journalism route, having worked at the Greeley Tribune in Greeley, Colo., for 23 years in various capacities. She most recently served the organization in a multifaceted role: She was the managing editor for the company’s niche publications sector, for which she planned, assigned and edited content to fill three magazines, plus other niche or specialty publications; at the same time, she served as the Tribune’s business editor and business and energy reporter; and she also was a newsroom editor, coaching writers daily and planning and editing all daily newspaper content. She began at the newspaper as a county government reporter in 1994, and eventually moved to covering city government, schools, courts and business. For almost three years in that time, Hardwick also worked as the media relations coordinator at Aims Community College in Greeley, concentrating on college communications from local to national.
“I know I have some big shoes to fill,” said Hardwick, noting Reddin’s storied and successful 13 years at NOA. “I look forward to continuing her efforts and adding a few new layers of social media to put NOA’s story further out into cyberspace while remembering how we got here.
“National Onion Association is only as strong as its membership, and I look forward to meeting and working with each and every member as I move forward in this position. Hopefully, I’ll get to meet many of you at the convention in Bakersfield this summer.”
Hardwick is pursuing her master’s degree in communications management at the University of Denver and expects to graduate in 2019. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Metropolitan State University of Denver.
“We are enthused to welcome René,” said Wayne Mininger, NOA’s executive vice president. “Her extensive experience in journalism and managing communications, coupled with her business and multi-platform media savvy, are expected to fit right into the association’s public and industry relations goals and needs.”
Added Stanley: “As we get ready to go through some transition within the association, with the size and structure and scope of what we do, it’s exciting to have René on board as a part of that change.”
Contact Hardwick at rhardwick@onions-usa.org or call (970) 353-5895.
