LakeLife Creators

Carol Pappas

Carol Pappas is editor and publisher of Discover St. Clair Magazine. A retired newspaper executive, she served as editor and publisher of several newspapers and magazines during her career. She won dozens of writing awards and was named Distinguished Alabama Community Journalist at Auburn University. She serves as president/CEO of Partners by Design, which publishes Discover and LakeLife 24/7 Magazine®.

Graham Hadley

Graham Hadley is the managing editor and designer for Discover The Essence of St. Clair Magazine and also manages the magazine website. Along with Carol Pappas, he left The Daily Home as managing editor to become chief operating officer and vice president of the Creative Division of Partners by Design multimedia company.

Toni Franklin is graphic arts director for Partners by Design, Discover St. Clair Magazine and LakeLife 24/7 Magazine. She has 30 years in the printing industry as print production artist, manager and art director. She is a graduate of The Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale and studied at Penn State and University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Roxann Edsall

Roxann Edsall is a freelance writer and former managing editor of Convene Magazine, a convention industry publication. She has a degree in (broadcast) journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi, worked as a television news reporter in Biloxi and as a reporter and assignments editor in Birmingham.

Richard (RT) Rybka

Richard is a full-time professional photographer based in the Springville area and owner of Natural Light Photography LLC. His 50+ years of experience behind the lens of a camera includes working as a photojournalist for a global technology company. His credentials include many magazine cover shots, standing as a Canon Image Connect Photographer, and member of the Little River Arts Council.

Elaine Hobson Miller is a freelance writer with a B.A. in journalism from Samford University. She was the first female to cover Birmingham City Hall for the Birmingham Post-Herald, where she worked as reporter, food editor and features writer. She is a former editor of Birmingham Home & Garden magazine and staff writer for Birmingham magazine.

Paul South

Paul South, a native of Fairfield, is an Auburn graduate with a degree in journalism and a double minor in history. He also has a Juris Doctorate degree from the Birmingham School of Law. Although sports writing was always his first love, he had a versatile career as reporter, columnist and first full-time sports information director at Samford University.

Scottie Vickery

Scottie Vickery is a writer with a degree in journalism from the University of Alabama and was a reporter for The Birmingham News. Her first assignment was covering St. Clair and Blount counties. She has more than 30 years of writing and editing experience and her work has appeared in a variety of publications. She also has worked in the nonprofit industry.

Mackenzie Free is an experienced and nationally published photographer with a bachelor of fine arts degree. She is a Birmingham native now cultivating life on a farm in Steele with her husband & 4 daughters.