Marcia Van Dyke has been appointed publisher of the Islands’ Sounder by Sound Publishing, which owns and operates the Sounder and its sister publications the Journal of the San Juans and the Islands’ Weekly. Van Dyke was appointed publisher of the Journal and the Weekly as well.

Van Dyke succeeds Elyse Van den Bosch, who recently stepped down as publisher following a 17-year tenure with Sound Publishing’s newspaper group.

In addition to the new assignment in the San Juans, Van Dyke will continue in her role as publisher of the Whidbey News-Times, the  Whidbey Crosswind, and the South Whidbey Record, and carry the title of Group Publisher of Sound Publishing’s Whidbey and San Juan Islands’ publications.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Van Dyke said of the opportunity. She noted that she met her husband, Jeff, during her first tenure at the Journal, and that the two developed a close circle of friends as well. She was publisher of the Journal (under previous ownership) for just over a year in the mid-1990s.

Lori Maxim, Sound Publishing vice president of West Sound Newspaper Operations, believes Van Dyke is the right person for the job. Maxim said she will bring a wealth of management experience and a unique perspective in managing the San Juans’ family of publications.

“Marcia is one of the most energetic and positive people I know,” Maxim said. “She’s an experienced publisher who understands the importance of serving the needs of our readers and advertisers.”

Van Dyke began what has become a 22-year career in the newspaper industry with the Skagit Valley Herald and the Anacortes American.

She joined Sound Publishing in 1992 at the Whidbey News-Times and was promoted to advertising manager later that year. After a three-year departure from Sound, in which she returned to the Skagit Valley Herald as advertising manager and would later become publisher of the Journal, Van Dyke returned to the Whidbey News-Times, where she was named publisher in 1999, as well as publisher of Sound Publishing’s Crosswind publication.

“As a publisher, I have a very open-door approach,” she said. “I love to hear from our readers, and I’d love to hear comments about what people like about the Sounder and about how we can improve. I see us as being in partnership with the community, doing our part in ensuring the health and vitality of the community, and being a catalyst for change when there are things that can be improved. This is a great community to live in and a great community to do business in.”