Palange made mark on Blackstone Valley
Tourism Council director of development and longtime local journalist Paul V. Palange dies
PAWTUCKET – There are difficult things you have to do at times as an organization’s leader, and Bob Billington had that task on Monday when calling his staff to let them know of the loss of their co-worker, and former Times and Call general manager, Paul V. Palange, over the weekend.
Palange, 66, of Seekonk, was the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council’s development director since 2018 and known for his motivated approach to getting things done, no matter what that task might be.
It was the same work ethic Palange followed during his years in the newspaper business and roles with The Times and The Call, The Fall River Herald News, and his own Senior Digest publication.
Billington learned of Palange’s sudden death over the weekend from his wife, Andria, and starting making calls to the Tourism Council’s staff before their work day. Palange had attended Mass and enjoyed Easter activities with his daughter, Olivia, before being stricken at home.
“He’s been on our staff for three years but I have known Paul as the general manager, as the publisher, as a reporter on four different newspapers that I know of, The Times, The Call, the Digest and the Fall River Herald, so I’ve known Paul for two decades,” Billington said.
“He was on our board of directors and then he left the board and came on as our development director,” Billington said.
“We love Paul, he got along with our staff really well and he was becoming a very visible face for us on the development side of the organization,” Billington noted.
Palange had just recently been contacting hundreds of people for the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council’s upcoming Annual Celebration on April 14 just as he had for the organization’s annual golf tournament, Billington said.
“He’s really taken on a lot of responsibility which has been tremendous because it has allowed us to grow,” Billington said.
“He was just a great guy to have fun with,” Billington said. “He was out there building the 40-foot Christmas tree with me in December,” Billington said of the Tourism Council’s seasonal effort to set up the large holiday decoration and its small ice rink at a special Blackstone Valley location. Last year it was Uxbridge, and this year Palange helped put it together again in Central Falls. He was a family man too and took the time he needed to spend with Andria and Olivia, Billington said.