PORT ANGELES — A remembrance event for former Peninsula Daily News editor and publisher John Brewer has been set for next month.
The event will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, at Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St. in Port Angeles.
Brewer, 76, led the PDN from 1998 to 2015 and was the publisher of the Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum for the last two years of his tenure. He died April 19 while he was fishing in Montana.
Born on Oct. 24, 1947, Brewer’s first job was with the weekly Upland News in his hometown of Upland, Calif., in 1965.
He spent 19 years as a reporter, editor, bureau chief and executive for The Associated Press in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York.
As Seattle bureau chief, he oversaw coverage of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, which killed 57 people, blasted more than 1,300 feet off the top of the volcano and rained ash for miles around, according to The Associated Press. In Los Angeles, he oversaw coverage of the 1984 Summer Olympics.
For 10 years, he was president, chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of The New York Times Syndication Sales Corp., in charge of The New York News Service, The Times’ features syndicate and New York Times Licensing and Permissions, which handled trademark and merchandise licensing for newspaper.
He also enlisted high-profile columnists, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Martha Stewart and Jimmy Carter, for the Times’ syndicate, according to an autobiographical blog post he published in 2016, The Associated Press reported.
Throughout his career, he was always a hands-on writer, editor and administrator.
“We do more than just carry news and advertising,” Brewer said before he retired, citing support for more than 25 other nonprofit organizations in both Jefferson and Clallam counties, as well as the Peninsula Home Fund.
He was heavily involved in the Port Angeles Business Association, Kiwanis and Nor’Wester Rotary, and he was the former president of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Port Angeles Downtown Association and Community Multi-Cultural Alliance.
Brewer joined Nor’Wester Rotary in 1998 and was integral in managing the maintenance and upgrades for the Port Angeles Downtown Murals, current club president Carmen Geyer said.
Brewer also helped with the Rotary’s Arts in Action, auction fundraisers and Jammin’ in the Park projects, Geyer said.
He was past president of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, a statewide press association, and he served on several community boards, even after retirement.
