Newsmakers

RUBEN CANTU

DEL RIO – Ruben Cantu, a seasoned journalist with over two decades of experience in the newspaper business, has joined the staff of the Del Rio News-Herald as managing editor.

He came to Del Rio from San Angelo, where he was editor of a bilingual newspaper and worked for five years covering local and regional news, 2A and 3A high school sports and college sports. Born and reared in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, Cantu contributed to the school paper while he attended communications school. He earned a bachelor of arts in communications, with accentuation in mass media production, graduating in 1994. After working for three newspapers and five news organizations in the state of Coahuila, he migrated to the United States in 2009. 

His work experience in Texas includes serving as managing editor of two GateHouse Media newspapers in Central Texas, The Ballinger Ledger and The Winters Enterprise.

He has also been an active volunteer in civic organizations such as Lions Club and Knights of Columbus.

JAMIE L. BRIDGES

BAY CITY – Jamie L. Bridges is the new managing editor of the Bay City Tribune.

She was formerly with the Del Rio News-Herald, where she served as assistant editor and editor of the newspaper’s magazine. Previously, she was with the Gatehouse Center for News and Design in Austin.

The Paris native is a journalism/political science graduate of Texas A&M University-Commerce. During her college years, she interned with the Paris News as a page designer and reporter, covering crime, courts and breaking news. She earned several awards during her tenure. She also interned with the Student Press Law Center in Washington, DC, concentrating on First Amendment issues relating to student journalists.

Her professional experience in reporting, page design and copy editing includes working for the Daily Oklahoman, Houston Community Newspapers (Conroe and The Woodlands) and the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

DAVID BARBER, CHELSEA REED

CANTON – A promotion and a staff addition were recently announced by Brad Blakemore, publisher of Van Zandt  Newspapers, LLC.

David Barber, a 34-year employee of the newspaper, was named senior reporter, moving to editorial from the advertising department. Blakemore also announced the addition of Chelsea Reed as an advertising sales representative.

Barber is a 1977 graduate of Van High School, a 1979 graduate of Tyler Junior College and a 1982 graduate of North Texas State University, now known as the University of North Texas in Denton, where he received his degree in journalism, minoring in radio/tv/film and political science.

This season marks Barber’s 35th consecutive year covering the Van Vandal varsity football team for the Van Banner and the Van Zandt News. He has not missed a game, home or away.

Barber is a member of Lakeside Baptist Church in Canton, where he sings in the choir and serves as membership chairman for the Van Zandt County Gideon Camp. In his work with the Gideon Ministry, he also travels to speak to churches throughout East Texas. He served as board chairman of the Canton Chamber of Commerce in 2013 and served as master of ceremonies at the chamber’s annual banquet for the past two years. He and his wife, Angie, have one daughter, Jillian, 14.

Reed came to Canton earlier this year from Mansfield, where she graduated from high school before attending Tom Savini’s Special Makeup Effects School. She taught the art of makeup for the past seven years.

In addition to Canton, Reed’s sales territory includes Grand Saline, Mineola, Lindale, Van and Tyler.

ANNA RAE GWARJANSKI, LAUREN CORBELL

PARIS – The promotions of Anna Rae Gwarjanski to managing editor and Lauren Corbell to city editor of the Paris News were recently announced by Publisher J.D. Davidson. 

Gwarjanski was hired as the city editor in May. Previously she was a copy editor and page designer at the Tuscaloosa News while she finished her master’s degree in journalism at the University of Alabama. 

Corbell has been a staff writer and designer at the Paris News since 2013 and worked in the advertising department for three years before joining the news side.

DEONNA ALFORD

BRECKENRIDGE – Former all-state volleyball and softball player Deonna Alford has joined the staff of the Breckenridge American as sports editor.

A 2005 graduate of Eastland High School, Alford also attended Breckenridge schools. Beginning in elementary school, she played softball and volleyball through high school. As a high school player, she received private coaching lessons from John Linne, an Olympics-trained volleyball player who runs Barefoot Volleyball Club in Stephenville. As a freshman at Eastland High School, she played varsity on the school’s first volleyball team, which went three rounds into the playoffs. 

Alford attended Ranger College on a full volleyball scholarship, studying English. 

Active in the community and a school sports fan, she has two children, Larry Huitt, 8, who plays football on the Little Bucks, and Tevyn, 3.

KATHRYN PENROSE

GONZALES – Kathryn Penrose, a seasoned journalist with an extensive background in local and small-town news, joined the Gonzales Inquirer as staff reporter covering Gonzales City Council, the Gonzales Economic Development Corporation and the Gonzales ISD, among other commissions and organizations.

Penrose has worked and lived in Gonzales since early 2015, coming to the area from East Texas, where she worked at daily and weekly newspapers in several markets, including Henderson, Kilgore, Bullard and Diboll. A native of Virginia, she moved to Texas in 1998 from Ashland, a small town near Richmond. She has one son, Julian, who is a corrections officer.

VIANNEY RODRIGUEZ

ARANSAS PASS – The Aransas Pass Progress and Ingleside Index recently added a new weekly food column by award-winning food blogger Vianney Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is followed by many fans on Pintrest, Facebook, Google+, Snapchat and her food blog, sweetlifebake.com. In addition, she is co-author of a cocktail book, Latin Twist, released in 2015.

Rodriguez was recently recognized as a nominee for Best Latin Food Blogger by  Latinos in Social Media at their recent national conference in Colorado Springs, CO. She also served on a conference panel, “From Community Blogger to Published Author.”