Gannett Statement on Death of Director Charles B. Fruit
McLEAN, VA – Craig A. Dubow, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Gannett Co., Inc., issued the following statement on the death of Gannett Director Charles B. “Chuck” Fruit:
“Chuck was an extraordinarily kind and gentle man whose calm demeanor and sparkling ideas added a great dimension to our Board of Directors. His marketing expertise was unrivaled and a valuable asset to Gannett. We will miss him greatly.
“Our thoughts today are with his wife Sharon and his family. We extend our deepest condolences.”
Mr. Fruit died Tuesday of a heart attack at the age of 61, the company said. He had been a director of Gannett since February 2007 and was a member of the Nominating and Public Responsibility Committee.
At the time of his death, Mr. Fruit was senior advisor in Marketing, Strategy and Innovation to The Coca-Cola Company. He also was president of Gardner Williams Consulting, LLC. He served on the board of TiVo and a number of marketing organizations. He had been chairman of the National Kidney Foundation for the past two years.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday at 2 p.m. (ET) at H.M. Patterson and Sons, Oglethorpe Hill, 4550 Peachtree Road, N.E., Atlanta. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the National Kidney Foundation, 30 East 33rd Street, New York, NY 10016.
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a leading international news and information company that publishes 85 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns nearly 900 non-daily publications in the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s second largest regional newspaper company. Newsquest publishes nearly 300 titles, including 17 daily newspapers, and a network of prize-winning Web sites. Gannett also operates 23 television stations in the United States and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web.
Media inquiries:
Tara Connell
Vice President of Corporate Communications
703-854-6049
tjconnel@gannett.com