Newsmakers

Promotions, new hires and other employment news as reporting by Texas newspapers and published in the August 2026 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.

Elgin Courier newsroom changes announced

ELGIN – The Elgin Courier recently shuffled some newsroom roles.

Reporter Emily Treadway is now the area editor for the Centex Group, which includes the Courier, the Taylor Press and the Manor Journal.

Former Area Editor Jason Chlapek has switched to the digital editor role.

The changes were announced by Thomas Edwards, executive editor for Granite Media Partners, Inc., who praised Chlapek and Treadway as “strong journalists with significant and lasting ties to the community ... dedicated to covering the news, serving current readers and bringing in new audience members.”

While Treadway will have editorial oversight for the Centex Group publications and their related platforms, Chlapek will focus on timely content for the websites — including www.taylorpress.net — and posting news tidbits and links to digital stories through social-media channels.

“With the changing media landscape, it’s vital for media outlets — newspapers included — to push out digital content,” Chlapek said. “My goal in this new role is to get copy out quickly and accurately.”

Chlapek, a Taylor resident, began his new role July 6. A 20-year industry veteran, he has been with The Press since February 2025.

Treadway also started with The Press in February 2025. She began her assignment July 6 after serving the previous 15 months as an education and general assignments reporter. She also lives in the area.

“We already have a great paper and a great team in place. We’re very excited about the changes here and hope the community will be, too,” Treadway said.

Galvan named ME for Hallettsville group

HALLETTSVILLE - The Hallettsville Publishing Company has welcomed new managing editor Jimmy Galvan to its county newspaper production staff.

Galvan has more than 40 years of experience in management and brings a wealth of know-

ledge in producing newspapers. Over the years, he has acquired skills in customer service, managed budgets and has been recognized by the Associated Press Media Editors (APME) for sports and news writings as well as layout awards.

Galvan started his newspaper career after graduating from the University of Houston in 1984 with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism. He landed his first job with the Cleveland Advocate where he served as the sports editor, covering two high schools as well as reporting on the Liberty County Commissioners’ Court meetings on a weekly basis.

In 1989, Galvan moved to an independent newspaper known as The Paper, where he covered five area high schools as the sports editor. Shortly after, Galvan worked for the Observer Newspaper Group as its sports editor before returning to the Cleveland Advocate to assume his first role as managing editor. This was followed by taking on the editor jobs with the Sealy News, the Pasadena Citizen, Stephenville Empire-Tribune and the Jasper Newsboy.

In 2013, Galvan became the Katy Times sports editor and provided press coverage for seven Katy area high schools. During his tenure as sports editor, Galvan had the opportunity to cover two state championship teams and his coverage was honored with a first place finish at the Texas Press Association Better Newspaper Contest. Following the four-year stint as the Katy Times sports editor, Galvan took on the managing editor post at the newspaper for one year before moving to the Bay City Tribune as its managing editor.

In 2022, Galvan returned to the Sealy News/Colorado County Citizen, where he took on the area editor position.

As part of his managing editor role, he will oversee the production of the five newspapers produced by the Hallettsville Publishing Company.

Bobby Horecka joins Texas Local Media staff

CUERO - Bobby Horecka has joined the staffs of the Cuero Record and Yorktown News-View as a reporter.

In addition to covering local events in Cuero and Yorktown, he also reports for the Jackson County Herald Tribune, another Texas Local Media newspaper.

Horecka has been in the area a while. His wife Jennifer taught school for several years at Cuero’s St. Michael’s Catholic School and they have spent the past few years establishing their farm between Shiner and Halletsvile.

He has also worked for newspapers in Lavaca County and led the nearby Luling Newsboy and Signal to a 2024 Texas Press Association sweepstakes win, the fourth such honor in his career that spanned four decades.

In addition to newspaper work, Horecka has published a dozen books. His 2020 story collection, Long Gone & Lost: True Fictions and Other Lies, was up for a 2021 award with the Texas Institute of Letters.

A Gonzales High School graduate, Horecka holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Texas State University in San Marcos and a master’s in creative writing from Texas A&M-Victoria. Originally trained as an educator, he also spent several years teaching writing courses at various Texas universities and junior colleges.