Newsmakers June 2015

Colleen Horning

Glen Rose Reporter

Colleen Horning was named the new managing editor for the Glen Rose Reporter effective April 20. She replaces Brent Addleman, who was promoted to the same post at the Brownwood Bulletin.

Horning has 30 years of experience in print and television journalism. Most recently, she served as senior producer for the television talk show “The Broadcast” at KTXD in Dallas. 

“I worked at that show for almost three years,” said Horning. “I helped start it from the ground up, and even though I enjoyed it immensely, I missed being able to spend more time on a subject, sharing more details and telling the whole story like you can in print.”

She has also worked as a producer and writer at WFAA and as a reporter for the Waxahachie Daily Light, where she covered police and courts along with other news and feature stories.

Sam Kuykendall 

The Gulf Coast Tribune

Sam Kuykendall is the new managing editor of The Gulf Coast Tribune in Needville. Kuykendall previously worked for the Tribune during summer breaks from college. More recently, she worked as news editor for the Seguin Gazette. 

Kuykendall graduated from Texas Lutheran University in 2014 with a B.A. in communications studies and a minor in public relations. She was editor of the Lone Star Lutheran while at TLU. 

“Growing up in Sweeny, I know how important small-town pride is, and I can’t wait to become a part of this great community,” said Kuykendall. 

Ramón Rentería 

El Paso Times

Ramón Rentería has retired from the El Paso Times after 39 years at the paper and 43 years as a reporter.

Rentería began his newspaper career in 1972 at the Clovis, N.M., News Journal. He joined the El Paso Times in 1976 in the Las Cruces bureau. Several years later, he moved to El Paso to cover City Hall. He later moved to the education beat, which he covered for almost 20 years. More recently, he has been Sunday columnist, general assignments reporter and books page editor.

In 1989, Rentería wrote a piece that exposed the problems with the state’s education funding formulas. The piece won several local, state and national awards. 

He began his Borderland column in 2008 and became well known for his occasional use of Spanish, Spanglish and slang words. He has become known for writing — in a professional way — the way many El Pasoans speak.

“The Times needed a voice, somebody who could relate with a segment of the community that thought it wasn’t being heard,” said former editor Don Flores, who called Rentería “a great storyteller.“

Jeff Smith

The Eagle, Bryan-College Station

Jeff Smith is the new director of sales and marketing at The Eagle in Bryan-College Station. 

An article is the May issue of the Texas Press Messenger about Smith’s departure from the Weatherford Democrat mistakenly reported that he was retiring. 

Smith is a long-time executive in the media industry and advertising sales. He started in Yellow Page sales over 30 years ago. After several years with Trader Publishing in various management positions, he moved to the newspaper industry in Fort Worth with the Star-Telegram. Most recently, he was with CNHI, holding multiple management positions, including director of training and development, regional sales director and senior publisher of the Lone Star News Group in Weatherford.