Download a photo of Mark Olson, Jon Panzer and Les Heen.
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — The Pioneer PBS board of directors has appointed Jon Panzer as interim general manager of the station that serves western Minnesota, the eastern Dakotas and northwestern Iowa. Panzer will assume his new duties at the Granite Falls-based headquarters in early January.
Panzer replaces Les Heen, who has been general manager of Pioneer PBS since March 2007. Heen has accepted a position to work as a government affairs specialist at the Libby Law Firm in St. Paul. Heen will be working with long-time government relations professional Bill Strusinski on behalf of Friends of Minnesota Public Television (FMPT). Strusinski has represented FMPT in government relations for 38 years.
“We appreciate the 12 years of leadership that Les Heen has provided for Pioneer PBS,” said Mark Olson, Pioneer PBS board chair. “The station has come a long way in that time and Les has Pioneer PBS well-prepared for future success.”
“I would like to thank the board, staff and members of Pioneer PBS for their many years of support,” Heen said. “It has been a terrific experience and I have enjoyed it all. In particular, I want to thank Ron and Diane Fagen for their amazing gift that has allowed Pioneer PBS to have a great home,” Heen added. “I look forward to working with the Libby Law team on behalf of Pioneer PBS and all the other Minnesota public television stations at the state Capitol.”
Jon Panzer has served as chief engineer and station manager at Pioneer PBS for more than 20 years. “I want to thank Les for all his years of leadership and hard work to make Pioneer PBS a great organization serving our communities,” Panzer said. “I also look forward to him assisting in communicating public television’s value at the state Capitol,” he continued. “We are very fortunate to have him moving into this role.”
The Pioneer PBS board is beginning the process to hire a permanent replacement for Heen, which will include the consideration of existing staff as well as candidates from the PBS system nationwide. Under Heen’s leadership, Pioneer PBS was able to retire more than one million dollars in debt and create a state-of-the-art production studio which is now a crossroads and showcase for the region. In the past 7 years, Pioneer PBS has received 12 Upper Midwest Emmy awards for its local programs.
About Pioneer PBS
Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information visit: www.pioneer.org.