Anthony J. Eagan
Eagan joined Plastics News in February 1989, just prior to the newspaper’s launch, as Philadelphia-based eastern regional sales manager. He relocated to Akron after being promoted to national sales manager three years later. In October 1993 he became publisher, and in May 1995 was named a Crain Communications Inc. vice president. Prior to joining Crain, Eagan worked in sales and sales management for more than 12 years with Centcom Ltd., the sales organization responsible for all advertising in the American Chemical Society publications, including Chemical & Engineering News.

Linda Whelan
Whelan spent 15 years in production, sales and marketing managerial posts at Penton Publishing in Cleveland, prior to joining Plastics News as promotion manager in November 1988. She oversees the newspaper’s promotion, marketing and trade-show activity and was promoted to marketing manager in January 1995 and to marketing director in December 1999. She assumed responsibilities for the company's Plastics Encounter trade shows in July 2000.

Cari Kasner
Prior to joining Plastics News as promotion coordinator in January 2000, Kasner was employed as a communications specialist for six years with the Akron Public Schools. Kasner has worked for a printing company, advertising agency and community newspaper. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Akron, graduating summa cum laude.

Nancy Parks
Nancy Parks joined Plastics News in 1994 as secretary to the publisher, rejoining the work force after a four-year period of being a stay-at-home mom. Prior to that she'd worked for 15 years as a legal secretary. In July 2000 Nancy was promoted to trade show assistant with wide ranging responsibilities for Plastics Encounter trade shows. She attended Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, OH.

Robert Grace
Grace has been editor of Plastics News since its launch in March 1989. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University in 1979 and began his career with Crain Communications Inc. in Akron, Ohio, in 1980 as an associate editor on Rubber & Plastics News. The following year, Crain posted him to London, where he directed the editorial relaunch of the monthly European Rubber Journal and helped start Urethanes Technology magazine. He returned to Akron in fall 1988 to help launch Plastics News. He was named associate publisher in October 1999 and Plastics Encounter Conference Director in July 2000.

Don Loepp
Loepp joined Plastics News in 1991 as a reporter, was promoted to news editor in mid-1993, and became managing editor two years later. After earning a journalism degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 1983, he worked as a reporter for eight years for the Milwaukee Journal and for the Daily Press and Times-Herald daily newspapers in Newport News, Va., before relocating to his native northeastern Ohio to join Crain.

Jeannie Reall
Reall, a 1980 Ohio State University journalism graduate, was one of Plastics News' original reporters. She became a copy editor in 1990, was promoted to senior copy editor in 1996 and was named assistant managing editor in 1997. She joined Crain in January 1989 from the Vindicator daily newspaper in Youngstown, Ohio, where she had been a general assignment reporter. Prior to that, she served as United Press International's Akron, Ohio, bureau manager, and also had covered the West Virginia Statehouse for the State Journal weekly newspaper in Charleston.

Lisa Sarkis Neaville
Neaville was an editorial assistant with Plastics News when the publication started in March 1989. She joined Crain from the University of Akron, where she had taught English composition for three years after earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. She also has a 1985 master of fine arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Neaville became a copy editor at Plastics News in 1990, and then worked for two years as a reporter until returning to the copy desk in February 1997. She was named assistant managing editor in 1998.

Bill Bregar
Bregar had five years of daily newspaper reporting experience and had been an assistant editor of Restaurant Management magazine before joining Plastics News as a reporter prior to the publication's launch. A 1983 journalism graduate from Ohio University, he was promoted to senior reporter in January 1996. Bregar now is responsible for covering the news related to plastics machinery and equipment markets, products and companies.

Joseph Pryweller
Pryweller, who spent his first three years with Plastics News as its Detroit-based reporter, was named senior reporter in December 1999 and relocated to the Akron office. He continues to cover the mold-making industry while handling broader reporting assigments, including electronic commerce and special projects. Pryweller holds a bachelor's degree in communications/business from Michigan State University, and earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. His journalism experience includes stints as a business and entertainment reporter at the Daily Press in Newport News, Va., and as a senior editor and writer for the American Society of Interior Designers in Washington.

Frank Esposito
Esposito joined Plastics News in April 1997 to handle the materials beat and virgin thermoplastic resin pricing. In that role, he covers news about materials markets and technology as well as resin producers, distributors and compounders. Esposito, who graduated from Ohio’s Bowling Green State University in 1992 with an English degree, has four years of newspaper reporting experience -- first for Suburban News Publications in Columbus, Ohio, and then for the Medina County Gazette in Medina, Ohio.

Angie DeRosa
DeRosa, a May 1999 graduate of Kent State University, most recently was Internet editor for GIE Media Inc. in Cleveland, where she worked primarily for a lawn and landscape site. She also was an assistant editor/communications specialist for Matrix Essentials Inc. in Solon, Ohio.

Rhoda Miel
Miel joined Plastics News in January 2000, assuming the automotive and office-furniture beats. The 1984 graduate of Central Michigan University worked for 15 years as a daily newspaper reporter in Michigan, including the past 11 at the Saginaw News.

Steve Toloken
Toloken, who joined Plastics News in January 1997 at Crain’s Washington office in the National Press Building, covers the medical beat as well as matters related to legislation, trade, politics and industry associations. A 1991 journalism graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, he later that year served as a reporter intern in Washington for the Chicago Tribune. He then returned to Illinois, where he worked for two and a half years as a correspondent for the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights and for a suburban bureau of the Chicago Tribune. He moved back to the East Coast to be a staff reporter for the Daily Press in Newport News, Va., and then assistant editor of two newsletters in Washington covering the telecommunications industry.

Marvin Brown
Brown joined Plastics News as a copy editor on Sept. 22, 1997. He previously had been editor at the Medina County Gazette daily newspaper in Medina, Ohio, near Akron. He joined that paper in 1991 as intern, after graduating from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism. During his time at the Gazette, he was promoted to copy editor, and then assistant city editor, before becoming city editor.

Sheri Gregg
Gregg, who graduated from the University of Akron in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in English, left her job as a proofreader at the Medina County Gazette to join Plastics News in 1993 as a part-time editorial indexer and administrative assistant. She was promoted to assistant copy editor in May 1994 and to copy editor in January 1996.

Holly Keller
Keller comes to Plastics News from pipe and tube fittings maker Swagelok Co., where she was information systems/network administrator in research and development. As PN editorial research coordinator, she plays a lead role in gathering and maintaining the information published in our six annual processor rankings and "Market Data Book" lists.

Connie Copeland
As editorial administrative assistant, Copeland helps manage the data gathered as part of our six annual North American processor rankings projects and our "Market Data Book" lists. She joined Plastics News in September 1997 after working as a secretary and customer service representative for several organizations since 1980.

Jeff Williams
Williams brought 15 years of plastics industry experience with him when he joined Plastics News as regional sales manager for the northeastern and southeastern United States in January 1994. He had worked in sales and management positions at Advanstar Communications since 1979. While there he sold advertising space for and eventually became national sales manager of Plastics Machinery & Equipment, Plastics Compounding and Plastics Design Forum magazines. He became PDF's associate publisher in 1989. Based in Simsbury, Conn., Williams was promoted to national sales manager of Plastics News in March 1995, and he still retains sales responsibility for the territories noted above.

Earl Harris
Earl Harris brought more than 20 years of advertising sales experience with him when he joined Plastics News as a Midwest district sales manager in May 1993. His previous jobs included eight years as Midwest regional sales manager for Hitchcock Publishing's metalworking monthly Machine and Tool Blue Book, and two years as national sales manager of the municipal market edition of G.I.E. Publishing Co.'s Recycling Today monthly magazine. Harris, who lives in Eastlake, Ohio, works out of Plastics News' Akron, Ohio, headquarters office.

Gary Judy
Gary D. Judy joined Plastics News as southern regional sales manager in April 1995. He had served as publisher of Advanstar Communications' Plastics Compounding magazine and as district manager for its Plastics Machinery & Equipment, Plastics Design Forum and Advanced Composites publications from 1988-92. From 1992-95 Judy was district manager for Putnam Publishing's Chemical Processing and Food Processing magazines, and prior to his stint with Advanstar, he was a regional sales manager for the Journal of Commerce newspaper, Board Converting News and European Converting News. He works from his home in Easton, Md.

Edward C. Neely
Edward C. Neely became Plastics News' regional sales manager for the Mid-Atlantic territory in October 1995. Prior to joining PN, Neely had 14 years of sales experience in plastics industry and other business publishing. From 1992-95, he was district sales manager for Cahners Publishing's biweekly magazine Design News. From 1987-92 he worked for another Cahners publication, Industrial Distribution, covering the Mid-Atlantic region and New England. From 1984-87 Neely served as a Mid-Atlantic district sales manager for Plastics Design Forum and Plastics Compounding magazines, as well as Plastics Compounding's "Redbook" annual directory. Prior to that stint with what then was Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publications, Neely was advertising sales manager for the New York-based publication Modern Paint and Coatings. Neely works from his home in Summit, N.J.

Jason Mitchell
Jason Mitchell joined Plastics News in November 1999, after working for one year for sister publication Rubber & Plastics News. He was responsible for telemarketing, including products such as Literature Spotlights, Web site banner advertisements and enhanced listings in the Web Watch directory. In July 2000 he was named sales representative for the Plastics Encounter trade shows. The native of England has a bachelor's degree, with honors, from Southampton University. After graduating, he worked in London selling display advertising space for two government publications before relocating to the United States to join the RPN staff.

Ed Rich
Rich has 20 years of sales and managerial experience and joined Plastics News in February of 1996. Before coming to Plastics News he worked for Roadway Global Air as manager of the Cleveland Ohio Air Logistic Center. Rich is a graduate of the University of Akron and brought plastics experience with him. He sold industrial shrink film, stretch film and plastics grocery bags for Mobil Chemical Co. from 1981-86. Prior to Mobil he sold supermarket and industrial films for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. More recently, he served as branch manager for the TNT Express Worldwide and for MCI Telecommunications in Cleveland.

Doug Sifft
Sifft joined Plastics News as a classified sales representative in March 1998. He graduated from Kent State University in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. He previously was the supply account manager for the Xerox Corp. in Milwaukee.

Charla DeVoe
Charla DeVoe joined Plastics News in December 1999 as sales assistant. She previously was employed by an Akron construction company as office manager and administrative assistant. She has also worked in sales for an engineering firm and in the restaurant business. Charla assist the Plastics News staff and is the contact for media kit information.

Mary Whitman
Mary Whitman became production manager for Plastics News in January 1999. Prior to that she was production manager for sister publications Rubber & Plastics News and Tire Business. Before joining Crain Communications in 1996, she was in the ad agency business for 10 years.

J.A. Lewellen
Lewellen joined the Detroit office of Crain Communications, Inc. in the fall of 1994 and served in a variety of circulation marketing roles, including subscription manager of Plastics News. In April of 1998 he relocated to Akron and assumed duties as manager of web and research projects. In July 2000, J.A. assumed the new position of sales manager for the Plastics Encounter trade shows. Lewellen is a 1990 graduate of Alma College with degrees in business administration and political science.

Ronald Shinn
Ronald Shinn rejoined Plastics News in July 2000 in the newly created position of business development manager. He served as the newspaper's managing editor from its launch in March 1989 until July 1995, when he left to become managing director of PolySort Inc. in Akron. He left PolySort in 1996 and joined Denver-based Injection Molding Magazine as special projects director in Akron. Prior to 1989, he held several editorial positions during 13 years at the Akron Beacon Journal. In his current position, Shinn identifies and develops business opportunities, from conferences to Web-related products. He also works extensively with the company's Web sites. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina.

Margy Prochaska
As marketing coordinator for Plastics News/Plastics Encounter, Margy Prochaska is responsible for the design, development and project management of advertising, sales support materials, direct mail, media kit content and trade show promotions. Prior to joining Plastics News in November 2003, Prochaska spent four years at marketing posts for Austin Co., an architecture/engineering, design-build and construction management firm in Cleveland. Prochaska holds a bachelor of arts degree in advertising/public relations with a minor in marketing from Marietta College.