Sylvia Weinstein

Sylvia Weinstein Editor & Publisher Oyster Pointer 739 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Suite 704 Newport News, VA 23606 Tel: 757-873-4523 Fax: 757-873-0599 Email: editorop@aol.com

With more than 45 years in the communications field, Sylvia S. Weinstein offers expertise that encompasses every aspect of advertising, public relations, and marketing.

Weinstein’s highly visible 26-year career with the Virginia Peninsula Economic Development Council culminated in an 11-year term as the council’s director of public relations. In July 1988, she put her business development skills to work with The Weinstein Agency, a public relations, advertising and marketing firm. The agency enjoyed incredible success, garnering more than 50 regional and national advertising and marketing awards throughout its five-year history. In June 1993, Weinstein closed her successful business to join Waters Advertising as a public relations consultant.

Today, she spends her business day as publisher and editor of the Oyster Pointer, a monthly business newspaper distributed throughout the Oyster Point business park and surrounding areas. The Oyster Pointer, beginning its 25th year, continues to regularly win national recognition for both its design and content. Weinstein is also publisher of two local editions of Kidsville News!, a free monthly publication and educational initiative which aims to encourage reading and writing skills in schoolchildren, grades K-5. This publication, with 100 editions published in 25 states, is produced for school systems in Newport News and York County, and has received outstanding recognition every year since its inception in 2006. Its most recent award was the 2010 Strategic Development Award for “exceptional planning and insight into the educational needs of children and the community,” presented from its parent organization.

A respected professional, Weinstein has continually provided leadership to the community in a variety of roles. She currently sits on the board of directors of SunTrust’s Peninsula division, the advisory board of the Joseph W. Luter III, School of Business of Christopher Newport University, the board of directors of the Newport News Educational Foundation and the board of directors of the Peninsula Industrial Finance Corporation (PIFC), the approval body that issues business loans to further the economic development goals of the cities of Hampton and Newport News.

An active member of both the Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association and the Independent Free Papers Association, Weinstein is also a charter member of the Virginia Peninsula chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

A strong advocate of education, Weinstein serves on the Newport News Career and Technical Education Advisory Board. She served for eight years on the Virginia Council on Vocational Education, having first been appointed by former Virginia Governor Gerald Baliles, and then reappointed by Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder. Weinstein has also served on a Blue Ribbon Task Force of the State Board of Education and recently completed 10 years of service as a member of the Christopher Newport University Educational Foundation. She is currently serving as a member of the Public Engagement/Awareness workgroup for Smart Beginnings, a program of the Virginia Peninsula Early Learning Council, and for the past 14 years, has been featured regularly as a guest speaker for the marketing education program at Christopher Newport University.

Weinstein has received numerous awards for community and professional leadership, and was twice honored by the United States Small Business Administration with its Women in Business Advocate Award. Other awards include the Virginia Press Women Sweepstakes Award; the Community Star Award presented by Girls, Inc.; the Peninsula Women’s Network Career Achievement Award; and the Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award from the Peninsula Sales and Marketing Executives.