Publisher of the Eagle announces retirement

When Cheryl Ferrara came to the Marco Island Eagle as publisher in 1995 her initial reaction was, "I can't believe a weekly newspaper has this many pages."

With her leadership it got bigger.

Ferrara, 55, is retiring, with her last day Thursday, June 15.

"Cheryl has been an important leader in both our company and the Marco community for many years," said John Fish, president and publisher of the Naples Daily News, who oversees the Marco Island Eagle and the Bonita Banner.

"Her contributions to the Eagle and her involvement in helping build a stronger and healthier Marco Island will leave a shining legacy for many years to come," he said.

Ferrara believes a newspaper needs to be a reflection of the community it serves.

"It is not the publisher who drives it, it is the community that convenes issues in the newspaper," she said.

A graduate of Florida Atlantic University, she got her newspaper start as a sales assistant for the Boca Raton News. She went from a 12,000 weekly circulation to sales representative at the Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald-Journal, circulation, 60,000 daily.

Advertising director positions at the Daily Corinthian, (Miss.) and Florence (Ala.) Times Daily led to becoming publisher at the York County Coast Star in Kennebunk, Maine, owned by the New York Times Company. Ferrara was transferred to the Marco Island Eagle as publisher in 1995 when the Kennebunk paper was sold.

The Eagle was purchased by E. W. Scripps Company in 2000, aligning the Eagle with the Naples Daily News.

"My first objective when I came to Marco was to learn about the community, what made it an interesting place," she said.

She joined nonprofit organizations, like the Marco Island YMCA and the Sunrise Rotary Club. She served as president of both and as Rotary Area 1 District 6960 governor. She was named YMCA Community Leader of the Year in 1997 and Rotarian of the Year in 1999.

She was also Rotarian of the Year in Kennebunk, Maine.

"It was inevitable that I would get involved in Marco fundraising groups," she said.

Photo by JASON EASTERLY

Cheryl Ferrara, Marco Island Eagle publisher, with her William R. Burleigh Award, presented by E.W. Scripps for distinguished community service in 2004.

She served as a member of the Ability to Care Campaign Committee for a new building for the Marco Healthcare Center and the San Marco Catholic Church Building Committee for the new parish center.

"I found my involvement to be gratifying, meeting wonderful people in a wonderful place, building earnest and true friends," she said.

A major issue in her first two years was cityhood for Marco Island. It was voted down five times before it passed in 1997.

Hundreds of letters, pro and con, appeared in the Eagle.

Under Ferrara, the Eagle endorsed cityhood prior to its passage.

"I thought the county was giving Marco Island a bum steer," she said. "There was plenty of growth and revenue potential. As far as community services to the island, I was concerned that they were not being answered. I definitely was interested in cityhood and the opportunity for a more structured approach to deal with the community's evolution."

Community forums helped the Eagle's focus.

"The people wanted more local content and we listened," she said. State and national news was taken out of the Eagle for more local coverage.

"It put the challenge on the reporters' shoulders, but it was a commitment we made to the community," she said.

Significantly, "Sept. 11 changed us all, even the way we think of our community," she said.

"Organizations like the (Southwest Florida) Conservancy and Rookery Bay (National Estuarine Research Reserve) brought more awareness to the environment. The city's desire to buy more green space is important to our community."

Her most gratifying honor was the William R. Burleigh Award, presented by E. W. Scripps for distinguished community service.

"The award (that included a $5,000 grant), allowed me to go to Peru to work on a missionary project," she said. The Sunrise Rotary Club also provided funds for Ferrara to go with other volunteers to Haiti to help a children's hospital and orphanage.

Ferrara went through two newspaper sales, first at Kennebunk and then at Marco Island.

"There was a lot of uncertainty for employees, I really felt empathy for them," she said.

"Even leaving now it's the hardest part because the employees have been so loyal and we have such a good relationship. I will miss that."

She has plans on writing.

"I am leaning toward a historical fiction novel on the Kennebunkport area," she said. "I am also thinking of writing about Sister Judy Dohner, a nun and a nurse. I admire her for the work she does with the poorest of the poor in Haiti."

As she leaves, Ferrara is pleased that the Eagle has a strong position in the community.

"I know there are good things ahead for the Eagle and I will be watching along with the readers," she said.