Newsmakers

The Abilene Reporter-News promoted two advertising managers. Jennifer Carthel moved from overseeing classified display advertising to classified and retail display advertising. She joined the staff in 1988 as retail ad sales representative.Nancy Tyler will become major account and national manager. She had been head of retail display advertising. She started in 1996 as sales representative.

The Azle News won the Alafair Hammett Media Award from the Association of Texas Professional Educators for coverage of public education. The award is named for the group’s first president. Publisher Bob Buckel, TPA president for 2002-03, was on hand at the awards ceremony March 28 in Austin to accept the award.

Tommy Brown joined the Weatherford Democrat as sports writer and editor. He came from the Stephenville Empire-Tribune where he also was sports editor.

Sandy Flora was promoted to publisher of the Pfllugerville Pflag. She was the editor and will retain that position. She has a long career in publishing and public relations. She replaces Keith Tooley who will continue as publisher of sister newspaper the free weekly North Lake Travis Log. Elizabeth Barber is the new assistant editor. She came from the Hill Country News in nearby Cedar Park where she was editor. Chuck Licata, also of the News, became the Pflag’s new sports editor.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporting team of Mike Lee, Domingo Ramirez Jr., Ellen Schroeder and Ben Tinsley won the news category in the Association of Women Journalists’ contest. They won for their coverage of allegations of sexual assault of female inmates at the Haltom City Jail. Kim Ritzenthaler of The Dallas Morning News won the photography award for “The Gay Divide” and Texas Associated Press staffer Kristen Hays was named Woman Journalist of the Year for her coverage of Enron.

Debbie Hall joined Texas Press Association as an advertising account executive on April 28. She came to TPA from a 10-year stint at the San Angelo Standard-Times where she served as administrative assistant to the advertising director. She was the national advertising coordinator at the Standard-Times for the past two years.

Mike Haynes, a columnist for the Amarillo Globe-News, is one of 15 finalists nationwide for the Amy Award sponsored by the Amy Foundation. Haynes also teaches journalism at Amarillo College.

Dawne Householder is interning at Eastland County Newspapers. She is a student at TSTC-Breckenridge where she is working on an associates degree in digital multimedia design.

Donna Hunt was first runner-up in the sweepstakes award in the Texas Professional Communicators annual writing contest. She is a contributor to the Sherman Denison Herald-Democrat.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal promoted three ad staff members. Kathy McCandless has been named advertising manager. She had served as retail manager. Sarah Kelley has been named classified manager. She was interim classified managed for the past 17 months. Randy Bolen was promoted to outside classified sales supervisor. In other news at the Avalanche-Journal, assistant district manager Bobby Boyd may have thwarted a possible rape. While making his rounds last month, he noticed a man looking at him strangely from a parked car and then heard banging on the inside of the car and a woman screaming for help. When he went to investigate a woman with a bloodied face had managed to push away the assailant, who fled the scene. Boyd called police but the woman refused medical attention and told police she did not want additional help.

Kathleen Mainard is the new reporter and photographer at the Zapata County News. She will specialize in sports and previously was a youth soccer and softball coach.

Rena Pederson, editor at large of The Dallas Morning News, has been elected as a co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board. She has been on the board since 1995 and has held senior posts at the News since 1973.

Linn Scherwitz has been named editor of the Cleveland Advocate. He had been a part-time staff writer and reporter and twice in the last year filled in as interim editor. He has more than 25 years experience in newspapers and most recently was editor of sister newspaper the free weekly Woodlands Villager.

Ed Todd retired after 28 years with the Midland Reporter-Telegram. He joined as a staff writer in December 1974.

Sherryl-Lynn Williams is a new reporter for the Palestine Herald-Press. She came from the Temple Daily Telegram where she was city desk editor for two years and before that she was a reporter for the Van Alstyne Leader. She will cover the city council, which had been the beat of Wayne Stewart who was promoted to news editor in February.

Manuel Zepeda has been named national sales manager of the Austin American-Statesman. He joined the staff in 2000 as an automotive account executive and was promoted to national automotive account executive in 2001. He previously worked for the Houston Chronicle.