Justin Huyck heads diocese's new department of communications

The Repository
·3 min read
Justin Huyck
Justin Huyck

A Stark County resident is leading the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown's newly formed Office of Communications.

Justin Huyck, a member of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Plain Township, has served as the diocese’s coordinator of media relations since September. He previously served as pastoral associate and director of adult faith formation at St. Michael since 2013.

Huyck will assume overall responsibility for the department, developing and implementing communications policies and programs that support the diocese and its parishes, schools, and ministries.

He will continue to serve as the chief point of contact with journalists.

Huyck, who previously served in parish ministry in Albany, N.Y., Chicago, and Kingston Ontario in Canada, holds a bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University and a master's in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Last year, Bishop David Bonnar named communications as one of five priorities for the diocese in his pastoral letter, "Testify to the Light," with a mandate to establish an integrated communications approach and a focus on social media engagement.

Bonnar states, “In my inaugural Pastoral Letter I identified communication as one of five priorities as we move forward together. It is imperative that we utilize every means possible to proclaim what Pope Francis calls the Joy of the Gospel and invite people into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ who is always with us on the way. We cannot allow Jesus or his continued presence in the Church to become muffled or irrelevant. I am excited about the team we have assembled for this effort.”

In addition to Huyck, Bonnar has announced the following department appointments:

  • Katie Wagner, publications editor and associate director of communications, will lead the diocese’s print and digital publishing, building upon the 77-year history of The Catholic Exponent.

  • Cindee Case continues as social media minister for the diocese, leading its efforts on social media. Case previously served from 2002 to 2021 as the diocese's director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, and prior to that in diocesan roles in Atlanta, St. Augustine, Fla., and Cleveland.

  • Robert Gavalier joins the Department of Communications as the diocese’s senior multimedia production specialist, after having served at Catholic Television Network of Youngstown for more than 25 years, most recently as general manager.

  • Meagen Farrell joins the diocese as communications specialist. She is a publisher, author and editor, and a national trainer in adult education and instructional design.

  • The Rev. James Korda will continue as host of the radio program, "Wineskins," after recently retiring as president of CTNY, thus continuing his 30-year association with diocesan media. "Wineskins" is streamed online at www.doy.org and is also available on WKBN-AM 570 and WILB-FM 89.5, WILB-AM 1060 and WILB-FM 94.5 (Living Bread Radio) in Canton, and WRQX-AM 600 in Salem.

  • Brother Dominic Calabro will continue to serve as production assistant for various diocesan initiatives and event coverage. He also served CTNY for more than 25 years, in addition to contributing to the media efforts of his religious community, the Society of St. Paul.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Justin Huyck leads Youngstown diocese communications department