Peter Imes, editor and publisher of The Commercial Dispatch in Columbus, has been elected president of the Mississippi Press Association Board of Directors for 2026-27.
Imes officially assumed the office Friday evening during the association's traditional gavel-passing ceremony at its 160th Annual Meeting in Biloxi.
Imes has served as the board's vice president for the past two years. Under the association's bylaws, he is eligible to serve up to two one-year terms as president. He succeeds George “Russell” Turner, publisher of The Greene County Herald, who becomes Chairman of the Mississippi Press Foundation. Imes will lead a nine-member board representing newspapers and digital news organizations from across Mississippi.
"Mississippi Press Association does crucial work on behalf of all state newspapers and increasingly our digital media affiliates, particularly on education, building revenue and open government initiatives," Imes said. "I'm honored to serve."
Imes became editor and publisher of The Commercial Dispatch in 2018, succeeding his father, noted photographer and publisher Birney Imes III (pictured above with Peter Imes). He is the fourth generation of the Imes family to lead the newspaper, which was founded in 1922 and remains Mississippi's only family-owned daily newspaper. Before returning to Columbus to join the family business, Imes worked in the software industry and in historic building renovation.
Also joining the board are two new directors.
Garnett Colburn, publisher of The George County Times, was elected to a three-year term. Colburn is the fourth-generation publisher of the family-owned weekly.
Stacy Graning, publisher of The Natchez Democrat, was elected to fill a one-year unexpired term. A native Mississippian, Graning spent many years as a publisher with Boone Newspapers in Alabama before joining the Democrat in 2024.
Founded in 1866, the Mississippi Press Association is one of the nation's oldest state press associations, representing newspapers and digital news organizations across Mississippi through advocacy, professional development and member services.
