Lissa Walls,
Chief Executive Officer
Lissa Walls, CEO, has been in the newspaper business since 1980. She began her career as a reporter for the Rosenberg (Texas) Herald Coaster owned by Hartman Newspapers Inc. and became COO of SNI in 1985. She was elected CEO in March 2014. She serves on the board of PAGE Cooperative and is president of the Carmage and Martha Ann Walls Foundation. She is a past board member of The Associated Press, Mutual Insurance Company, Southern Newspapers Publishers Association, Southern Newspapers Publishers Association Foundation and UTMB Development Board. She is a trustee emerita of Trinity University. She was born in Guntersville, Alabama, and moved to the Houston, Texas, area with her family in 1973. She is a 1980 graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
Leonard Woolsey,
President
With more than 30 years in the newspaper industry, Woolsey joined Southern Newspapers in 2014 after working 20 years with Paxton Media Group serving as publisher and eventually group publisher. Besides serving in smaller communities, Woolsey's experiences also include managing properties in metro markets, including St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Atlanta. Woolsey is also a longtime Rotarian, board member for America’s Newspapers, Texas Press Association as well as local organizations including the Boys & Girls Club, and The Salvation Army. Woolsey is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, and is married to his college sweetheart, Maryrine Woolsey. They have two adult children. In his spare time, he likes to read, write, travel, surf, and plink on a piano.
Carol Skewes,
The Baytown Sun
Early in her career, she learned layout & production art at The Art Institute of Houston, did freelance graphic design and ran the composing department of The Baytown Sun.
She later managed a printing company five years while finishing two degrees from University of Houston: B.S. degree in Mathematics with double minor in Studio Art & Business; and a Master in Business Administration degree.
She previously served as editor & publisher of two newspapers for seven years, The Vindicator in South Liberty County and The Anahuac Progress in Chambers County, before returning to The Baytown Sun in 2016, serving as Advertising Director until March 1, 2018, and currently as Publisher.
She serves on the board of the Rotary Club of Baytown and as secretary for United Way’s Baytown Area Chambers County Disaster Recovery team.
Rick Craig,
The Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel
A third-generation newspaperman, Rick Craig started his career early by going to the office of the Hamlin Herald with his parents as a pre-schooler. He returned to the Herald after college and became the editor and publisher of the Herald in 1981 following the death of his father, Bob Craig.
He joined the Hood County News in Granbury in 1998 to manage the newspaper’s dial-up internet service. He added the role of advertising director in 2005. While at the Hood County News, he was actively involved in virtually every department.
He and his wife Jill, a retired school teacher, have two grown sons, Josh (and wife Traci) and Clay. Their favorite pastime is being “Gram” and “Bogie” to their two grandchildren Kallen and Hadley.
Craig is currently the president of the North and East Texas Press Association, is a Texas Press Association board member and is past president of the West Texas Press Association.
Jennifer McCullough,
The Kerrville Daily Times
Jennifer McCullough is the editor and publisher of The Kerrville Daily Times.
After earning a BA in Journalism & Communications from Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Jennifer joined the staff of the Observer-Reporter, her hometown newspaper in Washington, PA. She gained experience in both advertising and circulation while there.
Jennifer accepted a position at the Kerrville Daily Times in advertising in 2001. After a move back home, she returned to Kerrville in 2008 and was promoted from advertising sales to Advertising Director. Her next move was to the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram where she was named publisher of the newspaper then owned by Southern Newspapers Inc.
"I am thrilled to back with Southern Newspapers, Inc. where there is a nurturing and supportive ownership and management team. The bonus is I'm also back in Kerrville where the beauty of the people and the Hill Country makes the perfect combination for the absolute best place to live."
McCullough has been married over 20 years to Richard A. McCullough. She has a step-daughter, Beth duToit and family near Boston, MA and a step-son, Jason McCullough, living in Grand Junction CO.
Neice Bell,
The New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
Neice Bell joined SNI in 2004 as the marketing director for the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Since then she has served as publisher of the Seguin Gazette, the Herald Zeitung, the Lufkin Daily News and the Kerrville Daily Times.
Kerrville is where Bell started her career in the newspaper business in 1979, before it was part of the Southern Newspapers Incorporated family. She returned to the Herald-Zeitung for a second term as its publisher in late 2018.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Bell is a sixth generation Texan. She married her husband Jeff in 2003 and live in New Braunfels. Between them, the two have four adult children, Brad, Shannon, Lyndsey and Coby who all live close by.
Leonard Woolsey,
The Daily News
Leonard Woolsey is the publisher of The Galveston County Daily News. He joins The Daily News from the Times-Georgian in Carrollton, Ga., where he served as president and group publisher for a group of newspapers and magazines around the Atlanta market. He has worked for the Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Ky., since 1995.
"I am very excited to join The Daily News and work alongside a very talented staff who serve the Galveston County community," Woolsey said.
Previous to joining The Daily News, Woolsey managed newspapers in a wide variety of markets -- both large and small. But regardless of size, Woolsey insists each newspaper focus on its local communities first.
"Newspapers are blessed to be chosen by their readers to represent and serve their communities, and that trust must be earned each and every day. It is my goal for The Daily News to be nothing short of the very best newspaper possible for Galveston County."
Woolsey and his wife, Maryrine, have two adult children.
Elizabeth Engelhardt,
The Seguin Gazette
Elizabeth Engelhardt started her newspaper career in Advertising with the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung in 2013. She became the Advertising Director of the Seguin Gazette in 2016 and then General Manager of Seguin in 2018. Born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She has been married to her husband, Brian, since 2007 and together they have two sons, Aiden & Mason. She is an active member of the Seguin Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Seguin and volunteers with many local organizations.
David Stringer,
The Lawton Constitution
David Stringer has been publisher of The Lawton Constitution since 2019. A veteran of over 35 years in the media industry, Stringer has run newspapers and groups of newspapers in six different states including Pauls Valley and Norman, Oklahoma; Lompoc and Vallejo, California, Hannibal, Missouri; and Carlsbad, New Mexico. He also served as Managing Editor of the NW Arkansas Morning News and VP/Advertising in Tyler, Texas.
A native of San Diego, Stringer was raised in California before moving to Oklahoma while in high school. Stringer holds a BA and an MA in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife have five children and seven grandchildren, most of whom they get to visit with regularly.
Yvonne Mintz,
The Brazosport Facts
Yvonne Mintz is editor and publisher of The Facts in Brazoria County, Texas.
Mintz joined The Facts as a staff reporter in 1997, the year she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2002 she was promoted to city editor. In 2004, Mintz became managing editor of The Facts, and in 2014 her title changed to editor.
Mintz is on the board of the Brazosport Area Chamber of Commerce and the Brazosport Fine Arts Council and served on the Salvation Army advisory board for many years. She is a member and past president of Angleton Rotary, volunteers with the True to Life Ministries job training program and is a member of the Community Impact Panel for Brazoria County United Way. She also served on the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors board and was president in 2013.
"It is rare for a newspaper professional to be able to put down roots in one community and still advance professionally,” Mintz said. "I will always be grateful to Southern Newspapers for that opportunity."
Mintz and her husband, Ryan, have two children, Mia, and Justin.
Clay Carsner,
The Paris News
Clay Carsner joined The Pairs News in 2012 in the Advertising department the last 3 years as Advertising Director before taking on the roll of Publisher. Born in Beeville Tx. Clay grew up in Terrell Tx. he has lived in Paris for 23 years. Clay and his wife Kristin of 16 years have 7 children and 3 grandchildren whom all live in Paris and Northeast Texas area.
“The local newspaper is vital in keeping the local community informed and bringing advertisers & customers together”
Greg Weatherbee,
The Lufkin Daily News
Greg Weatherbee is the Publisher for The Lufkin Daily News. Greg, whose family has been in the newspaper for three generations, has more than 30 years experience in the industry.
A native of Piedmont, AL, Greg grew up in the offices of The Piedmont Journal-Independent, a weekly newspaper in Piedmont, AL that began publication in 1907. Greg's grandfather, Cecil Weatherbee, purchased the newspaper from its original owner in the late 1950s. Greg's father, Lane Weatherbee, joined his father, Cecil, in March of 1966. From there, the future was set for the third generation to join the newspaper business.
"I can't remember not being part of the newspaper business", Greg said. "Except for a stint in the U.S. Air Force, it's all I've ever known. This lifelong affiliation with the industry has afforded me a deep appreciation for the newspaper as an American institution and a trusted source of unbiased information to better the communities we serve."
Outside of work, Greg enjoys playing guitar, tinkering in the garage with various DIY projects, and watching sports (especially college football).
The Bay City Tribune is the second-oldest newspaper in Texas. Established in Matagorda in 1845, the newspaper moved to Bay City when the location of the county seat was changed in 1894. It was published as both a daily and weekly from 1904-1959, when the weekly ceased publication. Carey Smith Sr. bought the Tribune in 1919 and owned it until his death in 1937. He was succeeded by son Carey Smith Jr., who led the paper until it was bought by Bay City Newspaper Inc. and Southern Newspapers Inc. in 1958. The newspaper converted to twice-weekly publication in 2002. Major events covered by the paper include several hurricanes and a yellow fever epidemic of the 1870s.
Baytown's only daily newspaper became known as The Baytown Sun on Aug. 17, 1949, the year after the consolidation of the three communities of Goose Creek, Pelly and Baytown into one city, according to Baytown historian Buck Young.
In 1950, Carmage Walls bought The Sun from Robert Matherne and promoted editor Fred Hartman to publisher.
The Sun was Walls's first newspaper in Texas, the foundation of the group now known as Southern Newspapers, Inc. SNI owns community newspapers in Texas, Alabama and Georgia. It is a private company owned by Carmage Walls's widow, Martha Ann Walls, and their daughter, Lissa Walls Vahldiek.
Baytown's first newspaper was The Goose Creek Gasser, founded in 1919 by Frank Boyer. In 1924, it was sold to three men who changed the name to the Goose Creek Tribune, a twice-weekly publication. By 1928, it became a daily.
The Tribune also started a weekly in Baytown, the News-Herald. Meanwhile, in Pelly, a former Tribune employee, Joe Noland, began the Telegram, and C. R. Myers, a perpetual political candidate, published the Democrat.
With the Great Depression, few business owners in a single small area could advertise in three newspapers, and all but the Democrat merged as the Peoples Printing Company, and in 1931, the first Tri-Cities Sun was published. In the late 30s, the newspaper's name changed to The Daily Sun, and in 1949, to The Baytown Sun. In October of 2009, The Baytown Sun began publishing Tuesday through Friday and Sunday.
The Facts newspaper, as it is now known, began on Feb. 28, 1913, as the Freeport Facts. Serving a community that was largely employed by the Freeport Sulfur Company, life was quiet on the Texas coast where the Brazos River meets the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1938 the Dow Chemical Company chose the port city to begin magnesium production for a looming World War II. The city was literally transformed overnight, and as the area grew, so did the newspaper.
Southern Newspapers, Inc., purchased the newspaper in the early 1950s. In 1976 the paper relocated to its current facility in Clute, Texas.
The Facts is currently a seven-day morning newspaper serving the cities and townships of Southern Brazoria County along the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Daily News holds the honor and distinction of being the oldest newspaper in the great state of Texas. Founded on April 11, 1842, The Daily News is in the 172nd year of serving the residents and visitors of one of the most popular destinations in the state.
Based on Galveston Island, home to the city of Galveston, the newspaper has grown tremendously over the years from a weekly to a full-service, seven-day-a-week news organization with a full assortment of magazines, digital services and other useful tools for the community. The Daily News is also home to the popular and award-winning Coast Monthly magazine.
The Daily News has chronicled the history of the community from the days when Sam Houston served as the president of the then independent Republic of Texas. It served through the occupation by Union forces during the Civil War (publishing in Houston while the island was under Union occupation), the Great Storm (hurricane) of 1900 that claimed more than 6,000 lives (the highest loss of life in U.S. history), and the colorful days when wide-open gambling and Hollywood entertainers were regularly features of the island.
Another interesting footnote in history is that The Daily News spawned The Dallas Morning News on Oct. 1, 1885.
Today The Daily News serves a county of more than 300,000 just south of Houston, bordering the NASA space complex in the north to the remote beachfront homes along the Gulf of Mexico.
The heart of the Texas Hill Country, Kerrville, population 22,000, is known for its beautiful landscape of rolling hills, streams and the majestic Guadalupe River that runs through the town.
Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler-founder Joshua Brown, who settled in the area to start a shingle making camp in the late 1840s.
Kerrville is home to The Kerrville Folk Festival, The Symphony of the Hills, Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, Hill Country Arts Foundation, and Museum of Western Art.
Major employers include Peterson Regional Medical Center, Mooney Aviation, James Avery Jewelry, and Schreiner University.
Lufkin was founded in the 1880’s to serve as a hub for the area’s timber industry. With a city population of more that 37,000 and more that 87,000 in Angelina County, the area continues to serve as a regional transportation, retail, banking and medical hub for a ten-county area.
A strong manufacturing base includes Lufkin Industries, a subsidiary of GE, Georgia Pacific and Pilgrim’s Pride. Two major hospitals serve the area. Lufkin is located at the intersection of US Highways 59 and 69. US 59 has been designated a part of the Interstate Highway 69 corridor. Lufkin is blessed with abundant resources, including water, and is the gateway to Sam Rayburn Reservoir, a 69,000-acre lake east of the city.
Nacogdoches is located approximately 140 miles NNE of Houston. It has a population of 33,000 and is described as "the oldest town in Texas”. There is evidence of settlement on the same site dating back 10,000 years.
During Texas’s fight for independence Nacogdoches was a frequent destination to historic figures such as Sam Houston and David Crockett.
Nacogdoches is also home to Stephen F. Austin State University, which was founded in 1923 as a teacher’s college and currently home to 13,000 students annually.
Notable industry includes Pilgrim’s Pride, Etech, NIBCO and Foretravel.
Notable people from Nacogdoches include American soccer player Clint Dempsey, award winning author Joe R. Lansdale, and professional football coach Bum Phillips.
New Braunfels, Texas, was founded in 1848 by a group of German settlers led by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. Today, the Comal County seat is a thriving, proud community nestled between two major metropolitan cities along the booming Interstate 35 corridor. New Braunfels’ population more than doubled between 2000 and 2010, jumping to 57,000-plus in the most recent census. That continuing growth has spawned a vibrant economy that’s fueled by tourism and water recreation, quarries, the healthcare industry, nearby military complexes and a budding retail sector. New Braunfels is the national headquarters for world-famous Schlitterbahn Waterparks.
On the banks of the Red River in Northeast Texas, Paris is a community filled with a history and a spirit that can be seen in its progress and its people. The county seat of Lamar County, Paris willed itself back from a devastating 1916 fire that destroyed nearly half the town to become the second-largest Paris in the world. Of course, it’s the home of a 65-feet tall replica of the Eiffel Tower, which wears a giant red cowboy hat.
Paris is home to major employers Campbell Soup and Kimberly-Clark, and a world-renown healthcare community led by Paris Regional Medical Center. It also is an education leader thanks to Paris Junior College and five highly accredited K-12 school districts.
Seguin is a city of 25,000 nestled along the banks of the Guadalupe River east of San Antonio. The city is closely associated with the pecan — it is home to the "World’s Largest Pecan” and featured in HEB’s Creamy Creations line with their Texas Vanilla Seguin Pecan ice cream. The blue collar community is home to plants for major industries including Caterpillar, Alamo Group, CMC and Hexcel but also boasts a resurgent historic downtown built around two gems of the city’s park system — Walnut Springs Park and Central Park. Texas Lutheran University, a school honored regularly by U.S. News & World Report for both academic standards and value, calls Seguin home, while the award-winning Guadalupe Regional Medical Center offers top-notch medical care to the region.
When John Shepler took over The Lawton Constitution in 1910, typewriters and hand-or-machine-set type were the standard. In 1955, when The Lawton Publishing Company moved to its new building at Southwest 3rd Street and A Avenue, the structure was filled with the most up-to-date machinery and equipment, including the latest Linotype machines with which an expert could set up to seven lines of type in one minute.
Today, hardly a trace of the 1955 equipment remains. The typewriters have given way to computers, and Linotype machines to laser typesetters.
Progress and staying on the leading edge of technology have always been a benchmark of the Lawton newspaper, the survivor of a fierce newspaper war that followed the birth of Lawton in 1901.
Fifteen newspapers were started in the years after the 1901 lottery, but by the mid-1910s there were only two surviving daily newspapers - The Lawton Daily Constitution and the Lawton News.
The Lawton Constitution was born in 1904 from a dispute of Lawton Democrats. One faction - hoping to capture the city and county printing contracts - set up its own newspaper by purchasing the weekly Elgin Eagle and moving the paper to Lawton, where it was renamed the Lawton Daily Constitution under the editorship of J. Roy Williams.
In 1910, Williams sold the newspaper to John Shepler, a Missouri native who had published the weekly Milan Standard in Missouri for 18 years. He sold that newspaper in 1902 when he moved to Pawnee, Okla., and purchased two weeklies, the Courier and Dispatch, and merged them into the Courier-Dispatch. He sold the Pawnee Newspaper in 1909 and worked as a sales superintendent of state school lands and in the real estate and stock exchange business before purchasing the Constitution.
John Shepler died in 1919 and his two sons, Ned and Fred, became co-publishers. In 1923, the Sheplers purchased the Lawton News and changed it into a weekly paper.
Throughout its history, the Constitution has been a family tradition. Ned Shepler became sole publisher in 1942 after the death of his brother, Fred, and continued as publisher until 1967. Ned Shepler's daughter, Shirley, married the late Bill F. Bentley, who served as editor-publisher from 1967 to 1989. The Bentleys' two sons, Steve Bentley and Don Bentley, served as co-publishers until 2012.
In March of 2012, the Bentley brothers sold The Constitution to another set of native Lawton brothers, Bill W. Burgess, Jr. and Brad W. Burgess. The sell to the Burgess brothers insured that the newspaper will remain locally owned.
"We think it is important that the voice of any community, the newspaper, remain locally owned,” Bill Burgess said. "All too often we’ve seen what happens when major corporations purchase the local newspaper. There is a tendency for the paper to lose a certain amount of local flavor. We just couldn’t let that happen to Southwest Oklahoma,” Burgess said.
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