The New Year brings a new face and a sad goodbye for one of the most recognizable faces at The Stanly News and Press.

First, the sad goodbye.

Veteran editor Ritchie Starnes will be leaving us shortly after the beginning of 2019 to take a position as editor of the Daily Courier in Forest City.

Ritchie has been with us five years. During that time, he has been a reliable, trusted editor and writer who has come to know the area and people well.
During my short time here, I have seen he has great

reporter instincts and a good feel about what is important and what the readers need to know. Those skills will serve Ritchie well in his next position.

A winner of eight press awards, he will be greatly missed by all of us here. He is even a better person than he is an editor We are happy to see him advancing his career and wish him the best.

A new reporter will join us shortly. He will be introduced later. This hire was not meant as a replacement to Ritchie but as an addition to bolster the reporting staff and provide more local content. We will be looking to fill Ritchie’s position soon as well.

The new face is outside sales rep Elizabeth Tucker. She recently joined us after moving back home from Washington D.C. She joins Advertising Manager Tracey Almond and sales rep Anna James, who make up our sales team.

Elizabeth worked as an event planner in Northern Virginia, so she is familiar with keeping lots of plates spinning at once. She has also done some work as a fundraiser for non-profits. She returned to the area after reconnecting with an old friend. Knowing the issues that come with a long-distance relationship, she decided to make the leap and a huge life change.

A Charlotte native, Elizabeth graduated from Queens College where she studied International Business and Art History. She enjoys cooking, gardening, travel, paddle boarding and reading American classic novels.

Elizabeth can help with marketing needs for your business. That includes advertising in The SNAP print product and website. We can also build websites, handle Facebook advertising, search engine optimization and dozens of other digital marketing needs your business may have.

As we all know, the only constant is change. That is especially true in the media industry. But change can bring growth and improvement if handled correctly. That is what we are looking for here at The SNAP in 2019.

Roger Watson is publisher of The Stanly News & Press.