Golden 50 - 2024

2024 Golden 50 Award honorees

Gary Borders

Cox Newspapers
Texas Press Association

Like many old-timers, Gary Borders began his newspaper career as a paperboy for the Longview News-Journal, starting at 13 in 1968. Borders had a single-copy route that covered downtown Longview and much of the neighborhood, daily peddling the afternoon edition for a dime. He got to keep half the proceeds. From there, he went to work at 15 in the mailroom. About that time, he created a science project for class by faking a photo of a UFO hovering above the rooftop of his parents’ home, using a Star Trek model suspended by fishing line. He used his mom’s Brownie camera, had a few black-and-white prints blown up to 8x10s, and won a prize in the Kilgore College Science Fair.

A photographer from the Longview paper saw the exhibit and recognized Borders as a kid who hung around the paper a lot.
“Are you interested in photography?” the photographer asked. “We have a part-time opening.”

Borders quickly decided he had a great interest in photography, since it beat the hell out of stuffing preprints in the mailroom. He was largely confined to the darkroom but occasionally allowed out to shoot football and wild art photos. After a year in night school at Kilgore College while working at a local bottling company, he transferred to Nacogdoches to attend Stephen F. Austin State University. While working as an animal control officer, aka dog catcher, for the City of Nacogdoches, he spied a classified ad. The Daily Sentinel needed a lithographer. 

Borders applied, bluffed his way into the position despite having only a vague idea what a lithographer did. Eventually, the legendary Victor B. Fain made him the paper’s first full-time photographer. He worked there with Candace Velvin, now TPA’s publications manager but then not long out of college and a reporter for the paper. After graduating with majors in English, history and philosophy, he applied and was accepted to law school at UT-Austin. At the last moment, he opted instead to attend graduate school in journalism, first at the University of Missouri and then UT-Austin, where he eventually earned his master’s in photojournalism while working for Larry Jackson as a photographer and feature writer at the Round Rock Leader.

Since he was unqualified to do much else, Borders stuck to newspapering, eventually buying the weekly San Augustine Rambler, which he ran for five years and won awards for feature writing, editorials and photography. After selling that paper and a one-year stint as a photographer and yearbook adviser for Kilgore College, he ended up publishing the Fort Stockton Pioneer. 

West Texas was a foreign country. Borders, after about a year, called Joe Murray at the Lufkin Daily News. “I’ll take anything if you get me the hell out of West Texas,” he told Joe. That is when his long association with Cox Newspapers began, first as editorial page editor for the Daily News, then back to The Daily Sentinel, first as managing editor and then as editor and publisher. There, he won numerous awards, including a co-winner of a Headliners award in investigative reporting and first-place plaques for editorials, columns, and public service. 

He directed coverage for the Lufkin and Nacogdoches papers when the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded over East Texas in 2003. He and his team were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by Cox. (They didn’t win.)

Borders was active in whatever community he published papers, from Nacogdoches to Lufkin to Longview. He served as president of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association from 2008-2009 and served for many years on the Legislative Advisory Committee. He worked several years as a newspaper broker. Since January 2021 he has written the Capital Highlights column for TPA, and continues to write a weekly general interest column, a habit he can’t seem to break since starting in 1982. He records weekly commentary for Red River Radio, the NPR network in East Texas and western Louisiana, and is the author of six highly unsuccessful books. 

“It keeps me off the streets,” he said of his book-writing habit. He also has written for Texas Monthly, Texas Highways, Texas Observer, World Wildlife Magazine and Airstream Life. 

Borders has worked since 2018 as a part-time reference librarian at LeTourneau University in Longview, where he is paid to sit behind a counter and read books. He and his wife, Dr. Julie Teel-Borders, live on a 57-acre timber farm north of Longview, along with two dogs, two cats and a donkey named Pancho, who also fancies himself a dog. He has two grown daughters from a previous marriage and inherited a third daughter upon persuading Julie to marry him in 2011. Borders plans to write the Capital Highlights column as long as TPA allows him to — and he remains sentient.

Dan Eakin

The Silsbee Bee
Lufkin Daily News, many other newspapers

Dan Eakin is a lifelong newspaper man. He began his career at the DeQueen Bee in his hometown of DeQueen, Arkansas when he was still in high school.

He was a copy boy and typesetter. 

Dan graduated high school in 1957. 

He has been an ordained minister about as long as he has been in a newspaperman and has devoted his life working at community newspaper and preaching at small rural churches— predominately in North and East Texas. 

Dan’s newspaper career has included stints in Texarkana, Lufkin, Tyler, Wichita Falls, The Dallas Morning News, Pilot Point, Polk County, Carrolton, Red Oak, Coppell, Canton and Whitesboro – to name a few. 

“I’ve always kept a job at a small church and a community newspaper,” Dan said. “I’ve probably pastored at 30 different churches and worked at just as many different newspapers over the years. But I have always been intentional to keep the church and newspaper separate. I’m not Brother Dan at the office I’m just Dan,” he said. 

Dan was at the Lufkin News when it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1977. 

He covered the State Legislature for the Tyler Morning Telegraph in the 1970s and was dispatched to Washington D.C. to cover Jimmy Carter’s inauguration. 

To date, Dan has either photographed or interviewed every Texas governor since John Connally. 

He owned and published East Texas Senior in the 1980s and early 90s— a niche publication that covered a dozen counties in the Piney Woods.

At 84 years old, he is currently the editor of the Silsbee Bee.

Alvin Hartman

The Muenster Enterprise

Alvin Hartman went to work at the Muenster Enterprise shortly after his high school graduation in 1946. 

He has been there ever since. 

A lifelong Muenster resident, he has done just about every job in the building at one point or another. 

He’s been a sportswriter, a composition man, a press man, the editor and even sold ads quite successfully back in the 70s. 

He still clocks in a few hours a month to sweep the floor and run a few print jobs on an old Heidelberg press.

He is the only person to ever run the Heidelberg. 

He took it out of the crate when his boss, Mr. Fette, bought it back in the early 50s. 

Alvin has kept it running smoothly with the same tool kit the manufacturer provided with it back then. 

When asked how much that press originally cost, Alvin said, “Well, Mr. Fette said he could have bought a new Heidelberg or a new Cadillac. He opted for the Heidelberg.”

Alvin has been a constant in the Muenster community. 

He and his wife Joan raised a wonderful family there. The Hartman roots run deep in Western Cooke County. 

Joan passed away last year. 

Alvin is an alumni supporter of the Sacred Heart Tigers and served as team statistician for decades.

Nanalee Jeffus Nichols

Deport Times, Bogata News, Talco Times, Blossom Times and  Detroit Weekly
The Paris News

It was a love/hate relationship from the beginning. I hated working at the local bank and loved writing stories. It didn’t matter that I was part of a family of bankers. I didn’t like it.

In 1973, when Pat and Bob Wright purchased the Deport Times, Bogata News and Talco Times, I walked two doors down from the bank to the Times office, introduced myself and asked if they needed a feature writer. They did.

I had been collecting story ideas for years but had nothing to really do with them. The Wrights provided me, at age 24, with my beginning in the world of small town newspapers.

I wrote stories on female farmers, the art of quilting, a distillery in a ghost town and more, plus I began writing a column of 50, 25 and 10 years past, using the old newspaper files. Soon, I was helping out covering local parades or events and writing the occasional news story.  The pay was modest and I still kept working at the bank, but I loved the newspapers.

In January of 1978 I couldn’t stand sitting in a windowless room posting checks anymore and quit my job. Plans were to help my husband, Thomas, farming and ranching.

About the middle of February, Pat Wright knocked on my door and asked if I could help them out for a few weeks because an employee had quit. I never left.

Learning to set type and create ads on the old Compugraphic machines was heaven. Being able to be out in the communities we served, even stamping addresses on newspapers to go in the mail was all part of a new, happier job. During that time the Wrights added the Blossom Times to the group.

In 1982 my husband and I purchased the papers. In 1991 we purchased the Detroit Weekly, bringing our total to five papers. We used to say we  were the world’s largest chain of smallest newspapers.

I began a column called “Nichols Worth” which covered everything from what snake manure looked like to the beauty of humanity when trying to rescue a child.

Thomas sold advertising, I wrote. We had employees who were with us for 36 years, 34 years, and 30. When we sold, our newest employee had been there six years.

I joined the Deport Volunteer Fire Department, became an advanced EMT and served the area in that capacity. I became an event staffer for Paris/Lamar County EMS and developed even more community ties and used the  publications  to help support and educate our readers .

I was awarded the Deport Masonic Lodge Community Builder Award, the Grace Presbytery Peacemaker Award and the Sons of the American Revolution EMS award.

Texas Press  Messenger  did a story about the combination of newspapering and EMS work.

Although there seems to be an idea that weekly newspapers don’t have exciting stories, it’s not true.

Over the years we covered murders, arson, plane crashes, bank robberies,  scandals in small town city councils and controversies of all kinds. In the 1980s a story from another publication claimed that one of our school districts had one of the highest aids rates in the nation. At that time the area was inundated with reporters from major TV stations, magazines and newspapers. Even the National Inquirer tried to interview me. In the long run, the statistics were proven wrong, and after a few weeks in the national spotlight things went back to normal.

And, of course we covered autumn festivals, parades, fundraisers for all types of community improvements and retirement events.

We felt such a part of “our” towns. We grieved after tragedies, rejoiced with accomplishments and covered more sports than can be imagined with three school districts to cover.

In 1984 we purchased our first Apple Mac Classic for an astounding  $2,400  and desktop publishing revolutionized our newspaper business. Over the years we embraced the use of color, digital photography and computer pagination. It was a great day when we sent our first editions to the printer electronically.

Over the years our papers and I won many awards with North and East Texas Press Association. I never thought of entering Texas Press Association until an employee said “can’t win if you don’t enter.”

The first year I did, we captured two second places and a third. From then on we entered every year and seldom went winless. Through the years I won first place in column writing, feature writing and news writing several times. There were numerous photography and advertising awards too.

In 2016 Thomas nearly died from sepsis after a knee revision and eventually lost his leg. I had several back surgeries. Running the papers became very difficult in spite of a wonderful, dedicated staff .

In 2018 we sold the newspapers. Unfortunately the people who purchased them did not keep them true local papers and they ceased publication three years later.

I continued writing my weekly “Nichols Worth” column for the new owners . After they ceased I missed the newspaper business so much I started working for the Hugo Examiner, in Hugo, Oklahoma, just across  the Red River.

In the meantime a good friend wrote a letter to the Paris News that they should hire me as a columnist. I began writing my column for them, then began doing Sunday Living features and now, in addition, I write a feature story for Paris Life Magazine  and occasionally do a Parisienne of the Month interview also. I also contribute news stories occasionally.

I hope to continue seeking out unusual and entertaining stories for readers into the future. I have seen many changes in the newspaper business in 50 plus years and it’s been a privilege to be a  part of it.
– Nanalee Jeffus Nichols

Sheila Plagens

The Colorado City Record

Sheila Plagens, the longtime co-publisher of the Colorado City Record in Mitchell County will be observing her 50th year as a part of the Texas newspaper industry this year. 

She has been a caring, thoughtful part of Colorado City since the early 1980s, having worked at the newspaper, operating other businesses and even serving on the CISD school board for 12 years. Born in the Rio Grande Valley to Dwight and Agnes Haney, Sheila lived in Normangee until she was in the fifth grade. From there, she and her family moved to Bryan, where she graduated from Bryan High School. In 1975, shortly after graduation, she took a position in the composing department building ads for the Bryan Daily Eagle. While there, she met her future husband, Earl W. Plagens, who was an advertising representative with the Eagle. 

They married in 1976 and relocated to Terrell when Earl was hired by Hartman Newspapers to serve as assistant publisher of the Terrell Tribune. In Terrell, Sheila was promoted three times and eventually held the position of retail advertising manager. In 1980, the couple relocated to Deer Park to operate the Deer Park Progress. After a year in Deer Park, they joined Westcom Newspapers in 1981 and took control of the Colorado City Record, in Colorado City. Shortly afterward, Earl and Sheila purchased the newspaper and have operated it since. The couple also owned and operated the Alpine Avalanche in the early 1990s. Sheila took over the role of publisher of the Colorado City Record in 2020 when Earl retired.

In addition to her role as publisher of the Record, she has played a key role in the community. She served as a member of the Colorado ISD Board of Education for 12 years, from 2008 until 2020. She also served on the Colorado City Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for four years, and currently serves as the president of the First Baptist Church Women’s Ministry and as the president of the CISD Education Foundation.

Sheila, along with her husband, also played a vital role in the housing industry in Mitchell County by founding Colorado City Property Management. Through this, they purchased and renovated homes in the community over the past four decades. They also founded Texas Caps & T-shirts, a screen-printing company and Plagens Printing and Office Supply, a company they later sold to their longtime employee, John Martinez.

In 2020, The Colorado City Record was recognized as the Business of the Year in Mitchell County. She and Earl were listed as “Friends” of the Mitchell County Livestock Show in 2019.

Plagens has developed deep ties to Colorado City through the years. Her son, Tyler, serves as a member of Mitchell County law enforcement, while her daughter-in-law, Kathrine, is an educator at Colorado Elementary School. She  has three grandchildren: Rylie Belle, Austin and Carter.

Margarito “Maggie” Rodriguez

The Pleasanton Express

From the start of his career in weekly news, Margarito “Maggie” Rodriguez knew it was the calling of a lifetime.

From an entry-level printer’s devil to a longtime, award winning sports editor, Rodriguez served the industry with passion and strong work ethic.

He was born in Pleasanton and later in life, married the love of his life, Herminia “Minnie” Gonzales of Charlotte. They have four children, Michael, Matthew, Mark and Margaret.

Though Maggie was employed as a civil service worker at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio at the time of his marriage, he grew weary of the occasional reductions in force at the base and he feared that he would eventually lose his job.

His aspirations of someday becoming a sportwriter were always on the forefront of his mind. In 1966, he made a phone call one day that would change his life forever and allow him to make his dream come to fruition.

He called his friend Leon Zabava who worked at the Pleasanton Express, and asked if there was a chance he could be hired to work. Unbeknownst to him, Leon told Rodriguez that he would no longer be working at the paper to concentrate on his photography business. This was the opportunity for Rodriguez to get a foot into the door of weekly journalism.

He started under former publisher/owner Wally Daetwyler in 1966 and served as a printer’s devil, doing anything they asked him to do.

“Sure enough, when I called, Wally took me in,” Maggie said. “I didn’t really know what to expect.”

Wally quickly put Maggie to work, asking him to throw sawdust on the floor as the large press spewed oil. But this didn’t stop Maggie from continuing in the business.

He quickly learned how to run the big press before becoming a linotype operator. For all of the young people in the business, this typesetting machine allowed for characters to be cast in type metal as a complete line rather than as individual characters.

Wally began utilizing Maggie in sports, having him cover an occasional football or baseball game. In fact, it was Wally Daetwyler that taught Maggie how to take notes at a football game. Those simple notes he taught him helped him gather just about every stat he needed to write a game story.

While Maggie was employed early in his career, Daetwyler passed away. It was then that the Pleasanton Express was purchased by Bill and Judy Wilkerson in 1974.

Maggie was still operating the linotype machine when the Wilkersons took over the newspaper. So he continued to be the operator of the machine when Bill asked Maggie to start covering some ball games. He also asked Maggie to write them up.

“First day he walked in, he asked if we had a refrigerator,” Maggie said. 

“I didn’t know what to expect from him. All he wanted was for us to have a beer at 5 o’clock. When we finished that first day, it was 4 o’clock. I let him know the time. He said, ‘well, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere.’”

Maggie continued to write more and more sports for the Pleasanton Express at which point he said both Bill and Judy officially named him sports editor.

His dream of becoming a sports writer came to fruition. And with his passion and trust in the Wilkersons, Maggie began to propel as one of the top sports writers in the state covering all area high school sports in the county.

Maggie did all of his writing from the linotype and phototypesetting machines. The tough keys to press on a linotype machine were all he knew and his typing skills remain the same today, as he types only using his two index fingers. This doesn’t deter his skills as he is able to type as fast as anyone on a keyboard.

His passion for sports writing elevated him to becoming a premier sports photographer as well. Many local sports enthusiasts couldn’t wait for Wednesday’s edition to see the photos and read how Maggie captured the game.

It didn’t matter the sport – he was there courtside or on a sideline with pad in hand and a camera hanging off of his neck ready for the perfect sports shot.

Maggie and Bill’s relationship hit off from the start as both became good friends while remaining strong work partners in the weekly newspaper industry. As with all weekly newspapers, everyone wore many hats as well. Maggie also delivered papers on Wednesdays along with Bill.

After their routes were completed, both could be found at a nearby hole-in-the-wall pub playing dominoes as a way to release the stress of the week and celebrate another successful issue.

“I’m extremely grateful for this acknowledgment,” Maggie said. “I was very fortunate to come into this industry and immediately make an impact.”

Maggie can say today that he has seen thousands of athletes in his career. Many of them still approach him today remembering all of the times they had as athletes and how they were in the paper. His coverage of some of the most heated battles on the gridiron to state track meets, the memories are endless in his coverage.

He was a consistent winner in both South Texas Press and Texas Press Associations for best sports coverage. And this was in a time of no internet, which is quite the feat.

In 2003, Maggie retired from full-time sports writing and today, still remains as a columnist and a route driver on Wednesdays. This decision to remain close to the newspaper is the epitome of that ink runs deep in Maggie’s veins.

“I’m just very honored for this to happen,” Maggie said. “After all the years I worked here, I never expected to get an award like this. That’s very, very honorable for me.”

Greg Shrader

Southern Newspapers, Inc.

Greg Shrader is no stranger to the newspaper industry in Texas.  

He held newspaper management positions at the Bryan/College Station Eagle, The Abilene Reporter News and the Galveston Daily News, a Southern Newspaper Inc. Newspaper. In 1995 was named publisher of The Kerrville Daily Times and assumed operational oversight of the Del Rio News-Herald in 2001.

He transferred to Lufkin in 2009 to publish the Lufkin Daily News and manage the operation of the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel. 
Shrader retired in 2015 and returned to Kerrville.

A 1974 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in advertising from the College of Communications, Shrader began his newspaper career selling advertising at the Houston Chronicle. In 1978 he returned to the university for graduate studies in journalism, promotion and marketing.

Shrader is a past president of the Texas Newspaper Advertising Managers association and is one of only three people to serve as president of both TDNA and TPA. He also served as a board member with the West Texas Press Association. He currently serves as president of the Texas Newspaper Foundation.

Shrader has led seminars and has presented at meetings of the International Newspaper Marketing and Advertising Executives association, Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, and TDNA and TPA meetings and conferences.

He has mentored numerous newspaper professionals during his time in the industry and taught journalism for 15 years at Schreiner University in Kerrville.

He immersed himself within the communities where he lived – serving in leadership positions with economic development boards, women’s shelters, Salvation Army, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, hospital boards and United Way.

He and his wife Laura received Kerrville’s highest honor as co-recipients of the Bill Dozier Award as Citizens of the Year. He has continued community service in retirement, currently serving as chairman of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation. 

He received The Frank Mayborn Award for Community Service from the TDNA. He also received the Harte-Hanks President’s Award in 1988.

He was inducted into the Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2022.