Jun 11, 2020 3 min read

Bridget Vilenica has been in the newspaper industry for 44 years, all near her Greene County roots, all in a business she has embraced.

That will end Thursday afternoon.

Vilenica is retiring as circulation director of the Observer-Reporter and its weekly sister paper, The Almanac of the South Hills. Her successor will be Jeff King, who will assume that position while remaining as circulation director of the Herald-Standard daily newspaper in Uniontown.

“Forty-four years – it’s hard to believe,” she said, laughing. “I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life, but it’s bittersweet to leave my team and company (Ogden Newspapers).”

But after working with King the past two weeks, Vilenica believes she is handing the circulation reins to a capable driver. “I have the utmost confidence in Jeff King and his leadership abilities going forward.”

Her career has been an education, and now she will be sharing the vast majority of her future with a longtime educator. Her husband, Bob, retired last year as a teacher in the Uniontown Area School District. They live in Clarksville and have two adult children, a son and daughter.

King grew up in Uniontown and currently resides there, meaning he will be a short- and long-distance commuter while toggling between duties in Washington and his hometown.

“I’m getting used to it,” he said of the 45-minute one-way commute to the O-R. “I’m looking forward to working with people in Washington County and surrounding areas.”

Vilenica is quite familiar with the southwestern-most corner of Pennsylvania. She was raised in Carmichaels, then began her career in 1976 at the Daily Messenger newspaper in Waynesburg, working in the business office and eventually becoming manager there.

The O-R absorbed that paper 10 years later and Vilenica shifted her workplace to Washington – for good. She started on the switchboard and segued to circulation – for good, as a customer service representative before becoming director in 2008.

In addition to her O-R duties, Vilenica also has been president of the Interstate Circulation Managers Association and chair of the circulation committee of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, and served on local boards of United Way, Salvation Army and the Literacy Council.

A graduate of Uniontown High and Penn State University, King has worked in the Herald-Standard circulation department for about 30 years, the past five as director. He is married and has four children, ages 10 to 16, the two youngest being twin boys.

He said his transition should not be difficult, with similarities at the two Ogden operations, including the same computer system. He realizes that Washington County is relatively new to him, but said Bob Vilenica isn’t the only accomplished teacher in his household.

“We’ve been working hard the last couple of weeks, and I’d like to thank Bridget for giving me guidance.”