The International Regional Media Association (IRMA) is seeking nominations to fill volunteer board positions.

IRMA is a volunteer-driven organization, and service at the board level ensures the continued success of our association.

Why Join?
IRMA exists to strengthen the industry by connecting members through their passion for publishing and their communities. Members of the board benefit from introductions to other highly-placed magazine professionals across North America. It is an opportunity to hear what others are doing, build relationships and contribute in a positive way to the health of our industry.

In addition to oversight of the association (financial controls, governance), directors of IRMA contribute to the ongoing conversation about member benefits, activities of the organization, and other ways to help members meet their publishing goals. They assist in recruitment and retention of IRMA Members, selection of conference location, and setting strategic priorities that grow and sustain IRMA and its members. Read more about IRMA’s Mission, Vision and Values on the IRMA website.

– The board is comprised of directors representing between our 21 member magazines, as well as at-large members (such as committee chairs) and the Presidents Council (past Presidents of the Board).
– The board meets regularly by Zoom, as well as in person at the annual IRMA Conference. Board members are expected to attend the annual conference and Annual General Meeting.
– Elections by voting members take place annually at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of members, on the final day of the IRMA conference.
– Each member magazine has one vote.
– Each director’s term of office is up to four (4) years.
– There are four officer positions, President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, which are voted on at the annual meeting.

To nominate someone for a director’s position or an officer position, or for more information, please email the Nominating Committee in care of the Executive Director, info@irmamagazines.com

Committees
Other activities of IRMA are managed and advised on by committees. We welcome interest from members in being part of the Awards, Conference, Membership and Communications Committees. Please message us to learn more, info@irmamagazines.com

Notice of Annual General meeting of IRMA, September 18, 2026

Please join us for the Annual General Meeting of the International Regional Magazine Association on Friday, September 18, 2026 at 1:00 pm in Calgary, Alberta at the annual conference of IRMA members.

All IRMA members are encouraged to attend, and each member magazine title can vote once. Voting members, if you are unable to attend, please assign your proxy to a delegate at your magazine, to a board member, or any other voting member by assigning your proxy by Monday, September 14. You may assign your proxy using an email. An agenda will follow.

See you in Calgary in September,

Joyce Byrne

IRMA Executive Director

IRMA Board and Staff, 2025-2026
Executive Officers
President: Kathe Lemon
Vice President: Edward Graves, CEO, New Mexico Magazine
Secretary: Annie Stoltie, Editor, Adirondack Life
Treasurer: Andrea Lin, Publisher, Texas Highways

Directors
Michelle Kelly, Editor and VP Content, Cottage Life
Kelly Mero, Publisher, Arizona Highways, Past President
Manu Keggenhoff, Publisher and Creative Director, The Yukon Magazine
Errol Laborde, Editor, Louisiana Life

Ken Smith, SFG Sponsor Board Member

Joyce Byrne, Executive Director

Presidents Council
2020/2022 President: Mark Mahorsky, Creative Director, Texas Highways
2019/2020 President: Shawn Dalton, Creative Director, Saltscapes
2018/2019 President: Errol Laborde, Editor-in-Chief, Louisiana Life/Acadiana Profile
2017 President: Penny Caldwell, Publisher, Cottage Life
2015-16 President: Chris Amundson, Publisher, Colorado Life and Nebraska Life
2012-2014 President: Win Holden, Publisher, Arizona Highways (Retired)
2010 President: Danita Allen Wood, Publisher, Missouri Life
2008 President: Jim Gourlay, Publisher, Saltscapes
2007 President: Joan Henderson, Publisher, Oklahoma Today
2001 President: Al Zikovitz, President/Publisher, Cottage Life Magazine

Hosted by Edward Graves of New Mexico Magazine and Käthe Lemon of Avenue Magazine, this IRMA Connection is a chance to learn and share about successful awards and recognition programs being run at IRMA magazines. We’ll talk about how these programs spring from editorial content, community partnerships, how they relate to events, advertising, sponsorship and more.

If you run an awards program or are looking to expand or start one, this will be an hour well spent!

IRMA Members only, all staff are welcome. You will be sent a Zoom link to add to your calendar.

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/…/irma-connection-february…
Questions? Message Joyce Byrne info@irmamagazines.com.

In Remembrance

Elizabeth “Betsy” Folwell

Blue Mountain Lake, New York

January 20, 1953 – January 5, 2025

Elizabeth Folwell paddles Blue Mountain Lake. From the 50th Anniversary issue (2019) of Adirondack Life.

We were saddened to hear today that Elizabeth “Betsy” Folwell, journalist, community advocate, and past editor of Adirondack Life, died of cancer this past Sunday at the age of 71.

Betsy and her husband, Tom Warrington, are well-known to our IRMA family. Betsy served as a board member through 2012, and she and her husband were regular attendees at the annual IRMA Conference.

Betsy’s loss will be felt deeply in the communities she was active in, particularly by our friends at Adirondack Life.

In an article published today by North Country Public Radio, Folwell is remembered not only as an accomplished editor and mentor, but as someone deeply devoted to the Adirondacks, to the arts, to the people around and in Adirondack Park, and to the beautiful environment that she wrote about.

Folwell joined Adirondack Life in 1989 as assistant editor, eventually taking over as editor, then creative director and publisher. She transitioned away from the magazine 25 years ago, mentoring her successor Annie Stoltie, now editor-in-chief and co-publisher of Adirondack Life.

In the interview with NCPR, Annie explains, “There’s just so many facets to who [Betsy] was and she cast such a wide net, she knew so many people. It’s tough, but from my perspective, she was Adirondack Life magazine. Her way of teaching me about the Adirondacks was to send me out of the office. She’d say, ‘Go drive around, hike this mountain, meet these people, go to this event, observe, participate, and then write about it.’ In other words, she’d say, ‘Go live this place.’ And that’s what she did and that’s how you get to the heart of this place.”

She was also involved in reviving the Indian Lake Theater, establishing the Adirondack Center for Writing, and served on board of the Adirondack Land Trust.

She was the author of the book Short Carries, the first five editions of The Adirondack Book, and co-author, with Amy Godine, of Adirondack Odysseys. She lived in Blue Mountain Lake since 1976.

She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Tom Warrington, her dogs Hartlyn and Scout, her brother-in-law Gus Kasapis and and her three nieces: Cally Marcuson, Nikki Halle, and Stephanie Zeckelman, all of Arizona.

Donations in Betsy’s memory may be made to the Adirondack Foundation’s Small Wonders Fund for the Central Adirondacks, or to any of the organizations that she supported, including the Adirondack Center for Writing, The Adirondack Land Trust, AARCH, and the Steamboat Tuscarora Preservation Project.

We join Annie Stoltie and the team at Adirondack Life in celebrating and mourning Betsy Folwell. We are deeply sorry for your loss.

NCPR’s full interview:

Betsy Folwell’s 2019 column in the 50th Anniversary issue, Following a Thread.

Sign the tribute page

Published January 8, 2025