About the Publisher

Humble and self effacing, Mark Vasto is generally considered to be one of the most important publishers in modern history. Indeed, one would need to hearken back to the days of Benjamin Franklin and his Poor Richard's Almanac to find another publisher that has created works which have so captured the imagination of the readers of the world.

After learning how to communicate by using speech at the University of Maryland, Vasto parlayed his newly learned skill into finding a job. His strategy worked brilliantly. Employed by a then struggling IBM, Vasto helped turn the fortunes of the company around and was credited with the creation of the concept of buying and selling things over the Internet by many of his peers. A representative for the company at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Vasto drew upon his Jersey shore upbringing and bested most of the world’s finest athletes at the Olympic Village arcade in air hockey. “There is little doubt that if air hockey was a medal sport, he would have taken home the gold,” said one observer after watching Vasto dismantle one opponent after another, adding, “there is also little doubt that he was in serious danger of being killed by the entire Ukranian wrestling team.”

Confident that he had made his mark and the Internet would reach mainstream acceptance, Vasto decided to change course. After a series of ups and a brief career as a big band singer in New York, Vasto married Nancy Roht. Soon after, he set his sights on publishing and in so doing forever changed the way the world thought about community newspapers when he began publishing the universally acclaimed Parkville Luminary.

Vasto’s approach to the weekly newspaper project is now legendary.

“We decided to create a local newspaper that, you know, didn t completely suck,” Vasto reminisces.

In addition to the Luminary, Vasto produces a weekly radio show entitled “The Luminary Hour” and is a senior staff writer for WineS magazine, a regular contributor to Restaurant Startup and Growth magazine and pens a weekly sports column called “A Sporting View” which appears in more than 230 newspapers each week by King Features Syndicate.

Editor's note: Mark Vasto contributed to this story