Newsmakers

Changes, promotions and staff additions at Texas newspapers.

RONNIE CROCKER
The Beaumont Enterprise
BEAUMONT – Ronnie Crocker is the new editor of The Beaumont Enterprise.
He came from the Houston Chronicle, where he held a variety of newsroom positions, most recently as deputy editor of the business news department.
The Chronicle and the Enterprise are both owned by Hearst.
Crocker is a Texas native and 1985 graduate of Texas A&M University. He also holds an MBA from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. 
His previous newspaper experience includes stints at the Bryan-College Station Eagle and Daily Press of Newport News, Va., where his reporting won local, state and national awards.
He joined the Chronicle in 1994 as an assistant state editor and over the years also served as day city editor, Sunday city editor and assistant features editor.
Houston readers may know him best for his stories about the local craft beer industry. 
He started the Beer, TX blog in 2009 and three years later published “Houston Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Bayou City.” In 2014, his reporting earned a first-place award in the newspaper writing category from the North American Guild of Beer Writers.
The appointment was announced by Chronicle vice president and editor Nancy C. Barnes, who noted Crocker will continue to work with the other Hearst newspapers in Texas to coordinate news coverage.

EMILY GUEVARA
Tyler Morning Telegraph
TYLER – Emily Guevara has been named editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph. 
Guevara, 34, has been with the paper for eight years, spending time as a reporter before moving into management. 
She replaces Allison Pollan, who is leaving to become director of communications for UT Health East Texas. 
Publisher Nelson Clyde announced the appointment.
Guevara was born and raised in San Antonio and received a bachelor of arts in journalism from Texas A&M University. 
She initially was interested in photojournalism, but pursued a different path after she was encouraged to write in college and realized she had a passion for it. 
Guevara spent almost three years reporting at the Beaumont Enterprise before moving to Tyler in 2010 to cover education for the paper. She also reported on religion and nonprofits for the Tyler Morning Telegraph before she was named city editor and then managing editor. 

ERNIE J. GARRIDO
Valley Morning Star
HARLINGEN – Ernie J. Garrido is the new day editor at the Valley Morning Star, Editor Lisa Seiser announced.
His journalism career began at The Brownsville Herald in 2000 as a high school intern and continued throughout his years as a student at The University of Texas at Austin School of
Journalism.
After earning his degree in 2004, Garrido took an unexpected detour from his journalism career plans by working in magazine publishing at Time Inc. in New York City. He was there for seven years. He decided to return to the Valley in 2011 and began working in public relations, most recently with the Brownsville Independent School District.
As day editor, Garrido works closely with the reporters and photographer to capture community stories and present them in visually appealing ways. He also helps plan the
daily news budget, edits stories and writes.

LAURIE NORDQUIST
Preuss Publishing
HALLETTSVILLE – Laurie Nordquist has joined the staff of Preuss Publishing as sales representative.
Nordquist, who grew up in San Diego, Calif., has been in newspaper advertising for the past 16 years. Her primary duties will be in advertising sales for the Hallettsville Tribune-Herald, the Shiner Gazette, the Yoakum Herald-Times and the Moulton Eagle.
A graduate of San Diego State University in 1995 with a bachelor of science degree in speech communications, Nordquist began her sales career working for Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, and Pacific Bell Mobil Services, before getting involved with the newspaper industry. 
She started in newspaper advertising in 1998 with The Penny Saver. Moving to Texas in October 2008, she worked for the Victoria Advocate for two years before becoming a sales representative for the Beeville Publishing Company, where she worked for almost six years. 
She and her family recently moved to Hallettsville.

JO ANNE EMBLETON
Jacksonville Progress
Jo Anne Embleton has returned to the Jacksonville Progress as a full-time reporter.
Embleton, who worked for the Progress from 2012 to 2016, had been a freelance writer for the newspaper since retiring and has worked part-time since July. Editor April Barbe announced Embleton’s return as a full-time staff member. She will handle general assignments with an emphasis on education and county coverage.
Originally of Poth, near San Antonio, Embleton attended Bee County College in Beeville, before transferring to Texas A&I University in Kingsville, from where she received a bachelor’s degree in 1990.

KELLY MELIES
Moore County News Press
DUMAS – Kelly Melies recently joined the staff of the Moore County News Press as sports editor.
The appointment was announced by News Press Publisher Michael Wright.
Melies moved to Texas from Missouri earlier this year. His last assignment in Missouri before moving was as a reporter for the Marshall Democrat-News. In addition to his print media experience, he has worked in broadcasting as an on air personality and a stint as a news anchor at various radio stations in Missouri.
His educational background includes degrees in theater and creative writing. 

WYNTON THOMASON, CASSIDY PASCHALL
Rockdale Reporter
ROCKDALE – The Rockdale Reporter welcomed two new staff members, Wynton Thomason and Cassidy Paschall 
Thomason, who was raised in Rockdale and graduated from Milano High School, graduated from University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio in 2015 with a degree in communications and an emphasis in journalism. He has worked at the San Antonio Express-News as an editorial assistant and ZACH Theater in Austin as social media manager. 
Thomason covers sports and community events for The Reporter.
Paschall joined the Reporter ad sales staff following a long stint working for Lowe’s in Austin and Pennsylvania. She began working at Lowe’s in 2009 in Marble Falls as a cashier. She was promoted to manager in eight months. In Pennsylvania, she was assistant store manager of operations. She and her husband, Lee Jay Paschall, recently moved to the Rockdale area and have three children attending Rockdale schools. 

CHAD WASHINGTON
Fort Bend Herald
Fort Bend County news veteran Chad Washington has joined the staff of the Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster as a reporter and sports writer.
Originally from the Houston area, he attended college at Penn State.
He has worked in the Fort Bend area for more than 15 years.
For the last year, he was the sports editor at the Bay City Tribune, and he’s had stops in Katy, The Woodlands and Baytown in the last decade. 
He also worked as a sports and news reporter for the Fort Bend/Sugar Land Sun from 2004 to 2008.