Robin D. Best is the newest face at the Henderson Daily News. He is a general assignments reporter. He has held various jobs and was sports editor and reporter for the Jacksonville Daily Progress.

The Boerne Star announced two promotions and two new staff members. Brian Cartwright, advertising director, was named editor and publisher. He replaced Edna Keasling who became publisher of The Examiner in Navasota.Valerie Collins is the new managing editor. Her mother and father Alvin and Linda Holley own 10 newspapers in the Lake Livingston area. Her newspaper experience includes The Angleton Times, and The Facts in Clute and as a writer for the Houston Chronicle ThisWeek. Joni Simon was named news editor and Christianne Young joined the staff as reporter and advertising assistant. Simon has worked for the Star for five years. Young started as an intern in December 2001 and was hired full time in June.

Will Cain is a new reporter for the Llano News. He was an attorney in Sherman for a year before returning to writing and journalism.

Michael Cronin joined the TPA staff as advertising account executive to replace Elizabeth Arnold who relocated to California. Cronin came from the Austin American-Statesman where he worked in ad sales for a year and a half.

Christina Cutler and Lloyd Stewart married June 15 in Augusta. Both work for the Palestine Herald Press, Cutler as chief photographer and Stewart as reporter.

The Dallas Morning News announced that Mary G. Ramos, editor of the Texas Almanac, will retire at the end of the year and deputy editor Elizabeth Alvarez will become editor, effective Jan. 1, 2003. The Texas Almanac is published biennially by The Dallas Morning News.

C.F. David left his post as editor of the Moore County News-Press for the same post at the Boise City (Okla.) News.

Eddie Davis is the new editor of the Aransas Pass Progress and Ingleside Index. He came from the editor job at the Mineral Wells Index and has been in the newspaper business 12 years.

Banks Dishmon resigned as president and publisher of DFW Community Newspapers. He joined the newspaper group last year and had been commuting between his Plano and suburban Detroit homes.

Darla Ramirez will assume the role of general manager for the group, reporting to Gene Carr, chief executive officer of Lionheart Newspapers, owner of DFW.

Bill and Carol Ellis, publishers of the Friona Star and Bovina Blade, have been honored by U.S. Rep Larry Combest for their 40 years’ service to journalism in Parmer County. They recently received a plaque engraved with a short speech Combest delivered June 18 in Congress.

David Flores, assistant sports editor for the San Antonio Express-News since 1986, has been named Texas High School Sportswriter of the Year by the Texas High School Coaches Association.

Harold Gaar was named vice president/advertising products at The Dallas Morning News. A former News executive, Gaar comes from parent company Belo’s Texas Cable News.

Roger Galle, publisher of the Hillsboro Reporter, accepted a plaque from the American Heart Association recognizing the newspaper as a 2001-02 Public Service Award winner for outstanding service to the community.

Janie Halter was named retail advertising director for The Baytown Sun. She has worked for parent company Southern Newspapers for 20 years and has been publisher of The Angleton Times. She started at the Sun in 1976 and has worked in retail advertising since her return in 1995.

Greg Jaklewicz has joined The Canyon News as managing editor. He replaced Karla Abernathy-Thetford who accepted a position with the Canyon Independent School District. Jaklewicz came from the Kerrville Daily Times where he was managing editor. He also has worked in Abilene, Big Spring and San Angelo.

Tim Miller is the new reporter/photographer at the Zapata County News. He graduated from the Colorado Institute of Art with a broadcast media degree.

Yvonne Mintz, a reporter at The Facts in Clute for five years, was promoted to the new position of city editor, responsible for local coverage decisions and coordinating and reporting in-depth subjects. Allison Pollan was promoted to senior reporter. She had been primarily covering the police beat. Michael Wright assumed Mintz’ former beat covering county government and courts. He has been covering communities in Brazoria County’s north end.

Robert Moore was named executive editor of the El Paso Times. He has been with the daily for 16 years.

Timothy O’Leary, an editorial writer for The Dallas Morning News, won the 2002 Editorial Writing Award from the InterAmerican Press Association.

The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise hired several new employees.Chris Chase rejoined the newsroom as sports editor, a position he held from 1999-2000. He spent the last two years in sports information at a Colorado college. Gay Lynn Olsovsky was promoted to sales manager, overseeing both retail and classified advertising. Lindey Stoddard is the new receptionist and will handle classified ad sales.New in the composition department are Jonathan Deeley, former creative director for Prime Time Newspapers in San Antonio, and Lindsay Huck, a recent Sam Houston State University graduate.

Lester T. Simpson took over as the new publisher of the Amarillo Globe-News Aug. 1. He was assistant general manager of the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, another Morris Communications newspaper. Simpson replaces Garet von Netzer who is stepping down at the end of 2002.

Stephen Beasley, director of sales for the Globe-News, will become general manager of the Savannah (Ga.) Morning News. He was with the Globe-News 11 years and the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal 12 years.

Two Texans have earned national honors with USA WEEKEND Magazine.Creative manager Casey Shaw won a Clarion Award for a series of editorial cartoons from the Association for Women in Communications. Shaw drew daily comic strip and editorial cartoons for the North Texas Daily at the University of North Texas. He illustrated the Benji comic strip for Joe Camp’s Dallas-based Mulberry Square Productions. It was originally syndicated through a partnership of New York Times Special Features Syndicate and The Dallas Morning News. Contributing editor and HealthSmart columnist Tedd Mitchell, M.D., has been appointed to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Mitchell is an internal medicine specialist at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas and serves as medical director of the Cooper Wellness Program.

Don Treul, editor of the Breckenridge American, accepted a first place award for the newspaper at the Keep Texas Beautiful association’s convention. The Rains County Leader was second, The Bryan/College Station Eagle was third and the Kilgore News Herald and Brownsboro Chandler Statesman received honorable mentions.

Ron Webber, editor of the Panhandle Herald, was certified as a master photographer by the International Freelance Photographers Organization. The title was based on his 15 years of freelancing and photo submissions for publication.

Tom Whitehurst Jr. was named metro editor of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He joined the staff in 1983.

The Williamson County Sun announced several new employees. Lisa Symons is the new associate editor. She most recently owned a computer consulting business. Dale Pederson is the new pre-press manager and was hired to help make the newspaper’s transition to color. Aimee Michels is the new county reporter. She interned in summer of 1999 and recently graduated from Mary Hardin-Baylor. Rebekah F. Sellers will become a full-time education reporter after completing her summer internship. She is a Southwestern University graduate.