Newsmakers

Promotions and other staff changes at Texas Newspapers.

Mary Elizabeth Davis
Lamesa Press Reporter
LAMESA – Mary Elizabeth Davis as joined the staff of the Lemesa Press-Reporter as a reporter.
She covers local governmental entities and newsworthy happenings, as well as doing feature articles and taking photos of area events.
She has two decades of newspaper experience working as a reporter, editor and photographer for the Denver City Press, Kerrville Mountain Sun, the Wimberley View and the Kyle-Buda Eagle.
Davis has four degrees. She obtained an associate degree in journalism from Austin Community College, two bachelor’s degrees in photo communications and English writing from St. Edward’s University, and a master’s degree in English literature from Texas State University.
Before joining the Lemesa News-Reporter staff, Davis spent more than seven years teaching English in China. She was in Europe enjoying the month-long Chinese Spring Festival holiday when COVID-19 pandemic concerns forced her to return home to Del Valle near Austin in February after flights to China were canceled.
“It was actually a godsend,” Davis said. “I had always planned to return back to journalism after my adventure overseas.”
She resides with her family, including her father and two siblings, on a ranch in Del Valle.

Jackson King
C&S Media
FARMERSVILLE – C&S Media Inc. recently hired Jackson King as the sports reporter for The Farmersville Times and The Princeton Herald. 
In addition to sports, King will cover Princeton ISD.
In May, King graduated with a bachelor of arts in journalism from  Texas A&M University, where he worked for The Battalion, the student newspaper, as a reporter for two years and later working as an assistant editor his final semester at the school. As a colege journalist, King said he was fortunate to cover events such as the NCAA Tournament, the WNBA and the NFL Draft. 
Raised in Lexington, Ky., King now resides in the McKinney area.
King joined the C&S Media team prior to the kickoff of the fall 2020 season for 4A schools such as Farmersville and said he is anxious to see Princeton sports unfold in the next few weeks. 
King will be providing live coverage of games via Twitter for The Princeton Herald and The Farmersville Times. 

Dustin Butler
C&S Media
PRINCETON – Dustin Butler has joined C&S Media as reporter for The Princeton Herald and The Sachse News.
He covers city government, general news and features.
Returning to college after a 16-year career in the oil and gas industry, Butler earned an associate’s degree in journalism at Midland College and a bachelor’s degree in communications at UT-Permian Basin in Odessa.

Jason Chlapek
Polk County 
Enterprise
LIVINGSTON – Jason Chlapek has been named editor of the Polk County Enterprise, according to the newspaper’s owner, Alvin Holley.
Chlapek has been a part of the Polk County Publishing Company team for over two years, serving as editor of sister newspaper the Trinity County News-Standard since June 2018. 
He replaces Valerie Reddell as the Enterprise’s editor. In addition, Chlapek will serve as editor of the weekly San Jacinto News-Times. 
Chlapek is a 2003 graduate of William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., earning a bachelor of arts degree in communications. Prior to joining the staff of the Trinity County News-Standard, he served as sports editor of the Brenham Banner-Press from January 2017 to June 2018; as managing editor of the Gulf Coast Tribune in Needville from July 2016 to January 2017; and sports/education editor for the Granite Publication newspapers Center Light and Champion, Madisonville Meteor and Gonzales Inquirer from September 2010 to July 2016. 
He has also served as sportswriter for the Killeen Daily Herald, the Seguin Gazette Enterprise, the Kerrville Daily Times and the Plano Star Courier. 
During his career he also has won a number of sports coverage awards from the Texas Press Association. Additionally, he received the 2019 Sweepstakes 
Award for overall newspaper coverage and layout from the Texas Gulf Coast Press Association. 

Di Duncan
Mount Pleasant Tribune
MOUNT PLEASANT – Di Duncan is the new editor of the Mount Pleasant Tribune.
The appointment was announced by Toni Rowan, publisher of the Mount Pleasant Tribune, the Pittsburg Gazette and the Steel Country Bee.
The former editor of the Pittsburg Gazette, Duncan has also been working at the Mount Pleasant Tribune.
She is a graduate of Tatum High School and Kilgore College. She and her husband Tanner have a three-year-old son.
Roan said she “quickly recognized Duncan’s dedication to community news and her desire to ‘dig deep’ on topics that mattered to our public. I’m looking forward to what Di can bring to our community here in Mount Pleasant and her desire to serve.”

Christine Jackson
The Pittsburg Gazette
PITTSBURG – Christine Jackson has succeeded Di Duncan as editor of the Pittsburg Gazette.
Toni Rowan, publisher of the Pittsburg Gazette, Steel Country Bee and Mount Pleasant Tribune, announced the appointment.
Jackson has more than 25 years of public relations, marketing, event planning, non-profit and association management experience. She grew up in Harrisonburg, VA, and graduated with a degree in communications and public relations from James Madison University in 1991. 
For the past two and a half years, Jackson has served as executive director of the Pittsburg-Camp County Chamber of Commerce. In that role, she worked to promote and strengthen the community by enhancing tourism and economic development. She planned, organized, and oversaw a range of services and events for members and the community  as well as several festivals, including Pioneer Days and the Hot Link Festival. 
Prior to joining the Chamber, she served as a health care marketer for several agencies in the area and worked for the March of Dimes of East Texas. She also served for two years as the volunteer coordinator for Cypress Basin Hospice.
Jackson relocated from Virginia to Texas 13 years ago. She and her husband Bobby reside on Lake Bob Sandlin in Leesburg. 

Lorraine Brady
Williamson County Sun
GEORGETOWN – Clark Thurmond, co-publisher of the Williamson County Sun in Georgetown, announced in a column that he is assuming the role of editor following the retirement of Lorraine Brady.
“I have come out of semi-retirement to handle the editor’s job until we get a new person in,” Thurmond wrote. 
“Lorraine, herself, came out of retirement from her job at the State to edit the Sun, and now she’s taking a much deserved break.”
Before joining the Sun in 2018, Brady worked as a wire editor at the Dallas Times Herald, as a reporter and later an editor with the Dallas Business Journal and the Denver Business Journal. 
In 1996, she returned home to Texas and worked as a communications specialist, then as a regulatory specialist with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
She is a longtime Georgetown resident active with Preservation Georgetown and The Williamson Museum. She also served on Georgetown’s Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Board.