From community leadership to national recognition: John M. Galer receives 2026 Amos Award

Jun 1, 2026

John M. Galer stands with the presses at The Journal-News in Hillsboro, Illinois. Galer, NNA past president, Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) representative and former publisher, The Hillsboro Journal Inc., will be honored with the James O. Amos Award during the NNA Foundation’s 140th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Detroit on September 18, 2026.
The Galer family came to The Hillsboro Journal in 1945.
John Galer began working at The Hillsboro Journal as a child. Carriers are pictured. John is in the back row, the third from left.
Four-generations strong: Pictured are the four publishers of The Journal-News, Del Galer, Phillip Galer, John Galer, and current Publisher Mary Galer Herschelman.
In 1974, John Galer works on the presses of The Hillsboro Journal.
Kyle Herschelman and Mary Galer Herschelman (left) take a photo with Susie and John Galer (right) from the Mizzou/Illini Braggin Rights game. Mary went to Mizzou and brother John Philip Galer went to Illinois.
At the NNA s 2017 legislative Summit in Washington, D.C., NNA President John Galer shares the issues he discusses with his legislators.
In July 2019, NNA Directors enjoy a game following meetings in Chicago. Front row: Brett Wesner, Chip Hutcheson, John Galer, and a fellow baseball fan. Middle row: Randy Keck, Matt Paxton, Lynne Paxton, Lisa Richardson, Dennis Richardson, Susan Rowell and Wendell Rowell. Back row: Bo Bolton and Laura Johnson.
At the Annual Convention & Trade Show in Omaha, Nebraska, John Galer speaks about the First Amendment consequences of the local police raid of the Marion (Kansas) County Record while holding their next front page — which was published without most of their equipment.
Illinois Press Association General Counsel Don Craven awards John Galer with the 2023 James C. Craven Freedom of the Press Award, named in honor of Don s father.

PENSACOLA, Florida — Recognized as one of the highest and most dignified tributes in community journalism, the General James O. Amos Award is presented to a working or retired newspaperman who has provided distinguished service and leadership to the community press and his community.

John M. Galer — National Newspaper Association past president, Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) representative and former publisher, The Hillsboro Journal Inc. of Hillsboro, Illinois — will be honored during the NNA Foundation’s 140th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Detroit on September 18, 2026. Galer will be the 82nd recipient of the Amos Award.

Galer was nominated by 2020 Amos Award winner Matt Paxton, NNA past president, MTAC representative and publisher of The News-Gazette in Lexington, Virginia, who said, “John Galer has been an outstanding newspaper publisher in his community and state, and has devoted countless hours to NNA through his service on the board — as board chair and as a member of NNA's delegation of the MTAC.”

Paxton continued, “He is eminently qualified to receive this year's Amos Award. I look forward to seeing him receive this well-deserved recognition at the NNAF annual convention this September.”

In addition to his industry efforts on behalf of NNA, Galer is presently on the board of the Illinois Press Foundation and is a past president of the Illinois Press Association (IPA). He also serves or has served on the boards of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce, the Litchfield Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Illinois Editorial Association.

“John Galer is most certainly deserving of this award,” Illinois Press Association General Counsel Don Craven said. “I have had the pleasure of working with John for 45 years. His decades of service to the communities of Montgomery County, Illinois, standing alone, qualifies him for this award. In addition, his decades of service to the Illinois Press Association and Illinois Press Foundation have left us with no more awards to give. We simply tell him thank you.”

Craven continued, “And, John’s service to the NNA is also well known. His dedication to finding a resolution to the postage issues we all face is second to none.”
The Galer family came to The Hillsboro Journal in 1945, when John’s grandfather, Del, took over production management duties for Publisher Sam Little.
Phillip Galer, John’s father, purchased the Journal’s first offset press in 1968. He and John, along with numerous others, helped expand the business during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Two weekly shoppers, the Macoupin County Journal and the M&M Journal, were started during that time and ran through the early 2020s. The Raymond News was also purchased. In 1996, John took over the responsibilities as publisher for the operation.

In 2004, John and his wife, Susie, purchased the Montgomery County News — also in Hillsboro — from Nancy and Richard Slepicka, and merged the publication and staff into The Journal-News operation. That decision helped meld the traditions and journalistic history of both papers for the benefit of the entire county and helped to advance into the digital age with the establishment of the journal-news.net.

“We expanded the news coverage to county-wide, and with four county high schools to cover, there is a lot more sports, as well as many more city council and school board meetings,” John Galer said. “The Journal-News, a 4,000 circulation twice weekly, is well-received throughout the community and is a community advocate.”

The Galers are also owners of other Illinois newspapers: Bunker Hill Gazette News, Southwestern Journal, Madison County Chronicle, Mt. Olive Herald and Staunton Star-Times.

Mike Plunkett, Montgomery County Board coordinator, stated in his letter of recommendation, “The communities in Montgomery County, Illinois, are better places because John M. Galer and his family own and publish newspapers there.”

Earl Meier, former administrator in the Hillsboro School District, as well as a neighbor and friend said, “It is his philosophy that newspapers are all about community’ one of the things that makes the paper special is its coverage of local news, weddings, births, anniversaries, obituaries, family events, sporting events and more — news that isn’t available anywhere else.”

Fellow Hillsboro Sertoma Club member and friend, Kevin Leitheiser, said, “John is a true friend of Hillsboro and the people who reside there, of which I am one. I thank him for being a caring servant where he lives and a positive force in this world.”

While John is still very active in the production of his newspapers, he has passed the torch of publisher on to daughter, Mary Herschelman. Son-in-law Kyle Herschelman is the sports editor. Granddaughter Charley is a large part of his and Susie’s life.

Granddaughter Grace Herschelman died in 2021 when she was 9 years old after battling the rare, incurable genetic disorder INAD.

He is also very proud of his son, John Philip Galer, Lt. Col. United States Air Force Reserve, assigned to the Space Force. Son John is also chief of government relations for Aerospace Corporation. John gets to visit his son and daughter-in-law, Emily, often on his many trips to D.C. for MTAC affairs for NNA.

Outside the newspaper, Galer is passionate about veteran affairs, his church, the Hillsboro Sertoma Club and Boy Scouts of America as an Eagle Scout.
“It is John’s dedication to America’s veterans that speaks most about John’s character,” Craven said. “He went on a mission to ensure that the last living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II would be honored by lying in state in the U.S. Capitol upon his death, and with many friends, he helped accomplish that goal.

“The last recipient, ‘Woody’ Herschel Williams of West Virginia, laid in state at the U.S. Capitol in July 2022 through the work of the Salute to WWII Veterans group. His lying in state as the last MOH recipient was to honor the 16 million American men and women who served and sacrificed during WWII.”

As of press time, it had not yet been announced, but Foundation President Barbara Cochran said Galer will be invited to serve on the Board of Advisors for the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation.

The Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation was authorized by Congress to build America’s first national memorial on public land honoring journalists who died covering the news — and to ensure their stories inspire future generations to defend press freedom. It will be located at the gateway to the National Mall in Washington D.C.

The Amos Award was established in 1938 in honor of Gen. James O. Amos, a pioneer Ohio journalist and member of the National Editorial Association — now known as the National Newspaper Association. Past and present Amos Award winners are listed at https://bit.ly/4nzpvaL.

Established in 1885, the National Newspaper Association is the voice of America’s community newspapers and the largest newspaper association in the country. The nation’s community papers inform, educate and entertain nearly 150 million readers every week.