Fall 2017 | Issue 4, Volumn 26
A roundup of news for our publication family!
Leave it to Beaver Jim Beaver has been busy working at the Elgin Courier for the last month keeping the publisher’s seat warm while the search was on for a new publisher. He’s had some help from former publisher, Beverly Daughtry (Publisher Emeritus) and her husband, Ken. Beverly was with the Courier for over 50 years, serving as publisher for 38 of those years. Ken, a former real estate broker and professional photographer, is also active with the Courier. Both cover events throughout the community, helping to promote the “new” Courier. Thankfully, Granite Publications found their new publisher, Kevin Wright, who joined the team officially a few weeks ago. “I feel Kevin is the right person for the position and should make the Courier an even better newspaper than it has been in a while,” said Beaver.“ “Kevin has tons of experience”, Beaver added. “He will make the Courier the best community newspaper possible. It’s all about Local, local, local. Everything they’re doing is focused on being hyper-local, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of advertising and subscribers coming back to the newspaper.” Kevin and Jim were once in the same newspaper group back in the ‘80s, coincidently owned by Jim Chionsini. Kevin and Jim had not seen each other since 1983 while Jim was helping the Ulysses News, in Ulysses, Kansas sell their phone book advertising. “The only thing I remember about that sales swat was selling over $17,000 in one week and roadrunners. They were all over the place,” said Jim. Jim is now focusing on filling revenue gaps in print and online. He will be working in Navasota, Elgin, Liberty and Anahuac during September. Please give Jim a call if you have some promotions that are working for you. They might just work in some of our other publications.
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Anna Nemec The daughter of Tim Nemec, insert supervisor for Granite Printing, she is pursuing a degree in Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University/ WTC.
BIRTHDAYS Continued on page 5 Carolyn Atkinson, 10/03 Taylor
Valeri Stair, 10/12 Granite
Kerry Barboza, 11/02 Boerne
Matthew Hellman, 10/03
Scott Rucker, 10/20
Cheryl Madewell, 11/04
Patricia Slavych, 10/08
Casey Stinnet, 10/30
Angelique Galvan, 11/06
Granite Granite
Taylor
Liberty
www.granitepublications.com
Elgin
Navasota
Abigail Hamson The daughter of Scott Rucker, advertising sales rep for Taylor Press, she is pursuing an associate’s degree working towards a Graphic Design major at Austin Community College.
THANK A VETERAN OR A SERVICEMAN EVERY DAY!
FIND INSIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOR THE SEASON
Leave it to Beaver.................................................................................1 Birthdays..............................................................................................1 Scholarship Recipients...........................................................................1 The Newest Vesparado...........................................................................3 Fall Employee Anniversaries..................................................................3 Kids These Days....................................................................................4 Top Bookkeepers...................................................................................5 Question of the Month...........................................................................6 THE RUNDOWN
Anahuac Progress..................................................................................8 Bandera Bulletin...................................................................................9 Boerne Star...........................................................................................9 BEST OF THE BULLETIN......................................................................... 10 Colorado County Citizen...................................................................... 11 Elgin Courier....................................................................................... 12 Liberty Vindicator................................................................................ 13 A SENSE OF HUMOR............................................................................. 14 Navasota Examiner............................................................................. 15 Taylor Press........................................................................................ 16 TAYLOR TRIPS...................................................................................... 17 Granite Publications............................................................................ 18 GRANITE VACATION TIME......................................................................20 DIRECTORY..........................................................................................22
BEST OF THE BULLETIN
Page 4
QUESTION OF THE MONTH Page 6
A SENSE OF HUMOR
Page 14
Page 10
TAYLOR TRIPS Page 17
2
KIDS THESE DAYS
GRANITE VACATION TIME Page 20
www.granitepublications.com
The newest Vesparado
Granite Publiications founder, Jim Chionsini, took the leap and bought a pair of Vespas for himself and Macy to scoot around on. Pictured above: Jim Chionsini and Larry Hilldore, another member of the Vesparados, ride together on their Vespas. FALL EMPLOYEE ANNIVERSARIES SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARIES
Dana Smith, 19 years Boerne Star
Tim Nemec, 15 years Granite Printing
Richard Davis, 1 year Granite Publications
Kathleen Brenner, 13 years Boerne Star
Brian Cartwright, 16 years
Randy Hutto, 1 year
Susan Nelson, 2 years
Ryan Smensky, 1 year
Boerne Star
Boerne Star
Grace Rangel, 18 years
Bryan Stacy, 1 year
Colorado County Citizen
Orlando Rojo-Buendia, 1 year
DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES
Granite Publications
Sandra Weeber, 4 years
Granite Publications
Colorado County Citizen
OCTOBER ANNIVERSARIES
NOVEMBER ANNIVERSARIES
Navasota Examiner
Bandera Bulletin
Fall 2017 Newsletter
Granite Printing
Granite Printing
Gretchen Dyson, 1 year
Ina Lindley, 2 years
Granite Printing
Leslie Dewhirst, 1 year
Elaine Maltsberger, 10 years Boerne Star
Michael Carrington, 2 years Navasota Examiner
Fran Fox, 4 years Bandera Bulletin
3
Kids these days Daniel Philhower Granite Publications
“Kids these days, they think money grows on trees!” Sound familiar? For generations, kids have frustrated their parents with the notion that cash is endless and magically appears to purchase something wanted. This usually follows a long and arduous debate on how “I need it” or “everyone else has one.” Financial literacy is very dear and near to my heart and the more your kids know now, the more productive members of society they become in the future. Financial management is an art, an art that some adults haven’t yet mastered. I’d like to share a few principles of financial management that may help you teach your kids. As many of our Publishers now know, the latter part of 2017 as been a rebuilding period to regain our financial footing. So throughout 2017 and into 2018, I’d like to discuss four financial principles that will help personally guide you and your kids through the art of managing personal finance. Now I understand that not everyone gets as excited about financial literacy as I do, so I’ll try to keep my nerdy number talk to a minimum. Sticking with the “art” theme, allow me to paint the picture of the four financial principles we’ll discuss this year that will make up the foundation of your child’s financial education. We’re going to start off by learning that money doesn’t grow on trees nor is there an endless supply of it; a key principle for any child of any age to learn; 0-99. We’ll dive into the art of saving followed by an exilerating article on budgeting. Finally, we’ll wrap up the series on the foundational principle of giving. Before we start, let’s talk first about this generation of future spenders and explore what the statistics say about “kids these days.” The kids in K-12 classrooms today are considered to be the Generation Z or better known as the Post-Millenials, and are born somewhere in the early to mid 1990s up through 2010. Here are a few more interesting bits of data you may find interesting (gettingsmart.com): • The Internet, technology, war, terrorism, the recession, and social media shape Gen Z lives. • Social media has connected them globally to their peers. • The Internet has connected them globally to knowledge. • They are bright, and their IQ scores are higher than previous generations. • They are accepting of diverse populations. • Gen Z teens and preteens have the biggest impact on the economy for that age group ever. Their social media “likes,” product ratings, forum
4
feedback has companies and marketers scrambling. • They spend more on the economy than any generation before them at their age. This is driven by gift cards like iTunes cards that are spent online. • They look for alternative ways to enter their professions as college costs soar. Gen Zs are realistic. They understand how scary the world can be, having grown up post 9/11, in the wake of the Great Recession and amid countless reports of school violence. They’ve seen the effects of the economy firsthand and are more aware of troubling times. These dark events will undoubtedly make them more cautious and security-minded, but will also inspire them to improve the world (Forbes Magazine, 2013). If there was a generation to teach financial principles to, it would be this one. So how does one teach your child that money is not endless? How can you teach your children that this little plastic card does have an end? Giving your children perspective is the short and long answer.
www.granitepublications.com
ELEMENTARY AGES:
As your children start to understand the succession of numbers and that they grow and decline in value (1 is smaller than 4, but 4 is larger than 2, etc.) they can start to understand that there is a beginning amount of money and an end to money. Now of course, the first real step of financial literacy is to grasp the concept of money itself, but I’m assuming that your child already understands or is aware of currency and I’ll just focus on the principle at hand. I suggest finding a small item that your child asks for often (gum, candy, juice, etc.) and give them an allowance for the week/month to buy that item. Help them understand they have $5 (for example) this month to spend on as much gum as they want, but once this $5 is gone, there is no more gum. Allow your child to spend that money whenever they want; even if they spend it all at once. The lesson here is they have $5 to spend and no more. Once that’s gone, it’s gone. Do this exercise long enough and walk them through the decision process of how much money they have now, versus how much time is left in the month/week and you’ll see them start to make natural budgeting decisions. This principle is foundational to understanding all financial concepts in the future. If they grasp this, the other foundational principles will come more easily. I have a 9 year old daughter (Grace) and a 6 year old son (Tanner). They work to earn their allowance by doing chores in the house and we’ve often learned this “limited cash” lesson the hard way. They each have spent their monthly earnings on the coolest Lego but once a new Pokémon card packs came out they were out of money and they regretted their earlier purchase.
MIDDLE SCHOOL AGES:
Do the same as above but give the child a little more to spend on a few other smaller items or up the amount they would earn from chores. The principle remains the same. Teach them that they have $15 (for example) this month to spend on iTunes or aps. Once that money is gone, it’s gone. This is also the age group that you can introduce gift cards (i.e. iTunes gift cards) which teaches them that though this card isn’t cash, it DOES hold value. Losing it is the same as losing cash. This is also the age that they will be online more often and gives you an opportunity to teach safe online practices; like going online to view the balance of the iTunes gift card.
HIGH SCHOOL AGES:
For the younger grades (freshmen/sophomore) I suggest the same as above but again giving them a bit more responsibility. You could give them a Visa/Mastercard gift card with a set amount of an allowance to be used on entertainment each month. Once this amount is gone, they will need to learn that there is no more entertainment (i.e. movies, games, aps, etc.). With the older grades (Juniors/Seniors) I suggest digging a bit deeper. If they are working, even small jobs, open a checking account in their names. The principles above still apply here. Once there is no money in the checking account, there is no more spending. Work out other deals with them as well. If they want to buy the $100 jeans, but you can find a similar looking pair at Target for $45, offer to pay the $45 and they can make up the difference using their own funds. If you want to further educate your seniors, sit them down with your own family budgets. Show them how much you make and all of the household bills. Have them sit with you while you pay bills and have them keep the ledger so that they can watch the money decline. Not only will this give your older students perspective on the family budget as a whole, but will teach them valuable life skills that they can take with them into college and into adulthood. As parents we should start instilling these principles as early as possible. The more literate they become in financial matters the better it is for the family and the community. We strive to raise our kids to make good decisions, and grow up to be self-sufficient, tax paying citizens who contribute to the betterment of society. To get them there, start by instilling strong financial principles from which they can build on and be successful into adulthood.
TOP BOOKKEEPERS
MAY Fran Fox Bandera Bulletin
JUNE Gail Schobey Elgin Courier
JULY Carrie Little Navasota Examiner
AUGUST Carolyn Hill Taylor Press
BIRTHDAYS Continued from page 1 Jordan Brogan, 11/20
Richelle Oviedo, 11/29
Danita Hutto, 12/17
Richard Davis, 11/21
Lauren Jette, 12/02
Michelle Stokes, 12/20
Brian Cartwright, 11/22
Jessica Goode, 12/03
Randy Hutto, 12/26
Kevin Wright, 11/22
Kathleen Brenner, 12/08
Rodney Marsh, 12/31
Jim Beaver, 11/28
Sandra Weeber, 12/13
Granite Printing Granite
Boerne Elgin
Granite
Fall 2017 Newsletter
Granite Printing Elgin
Boerne
Boerne
Granite
Columbus
Granite Printing Granite Printing
Columbus
5
Q
UESTION OF THE MONTH
What I am looking forward to the most this Fall is going on a skydive with my granddaughter Shelby. She is turning 18 on October 15th and she wants to do a tandem skydive. Since I did one a couple of years ago with my granddaughter Katie on her 18th birthday, then I need to do one with Shelby. I can’t play favorites after all. This one will be extra special because my son David, who is a skydive instructor in Atlanta, just got his tandem certification and so he will be the one taking Shelby down. It will be a lot of fun and then I just have to wait for 4 years when my grandson Sean turns 18 and I go with him. This will be my 4th skydive. I’ve done one with my whole family and then my son did one with me one year on Mother’s Day. If you have ever wanted to do a skydive, you should go. It is very exciting. The only thing you have to be careful of is that you will want to go again.
Gail Schoeby Elgin Courier
What are you Jim Beaver
Granite Publications Football. High school, college, pro…. it’s all good. Tailgating at UT games more often is on my list, too. Nothing like it.
Orlando Rojo-Buendias
Dressing my kiddo up for Halloween! It's going to be extra fun this year now that he can run around and enjoy the holiday instead of sleeping through it.
Gretchen Dyson Granite Publications 6
Granite Publications
Breaking out all my awesome & warm hats!
PIE!
Melissa Risch Liberty Vindicator
www.granitepublications.com
most looking forward to this fall? Kim Marlow Liberty Vindicator
Michelle Banse Stokes Columbus Colorado County Citizen
Pumpkin spice EVERYTHING!
The end of hurricane season! ... And cooler weather!
Valeri Stair
Granite Publications I am most looking forward to cooler weather, pumpkin spice everything, and the warm, snuggly feeling that comes with colder weather and lots of holiday time with loved ones.
Fran Fox
Bandera Bulletin Cooler weather; sure would like some COLD weather with rain, and snow and ice!
Nicole Shupe
Spice
Fernando Castro Elgin Courier
My favorite TV shows like Walking Dead and Stranger Things returning! Except Game of Thrones which won’t be back for a year or more.
Navasota Examiner
I am most looking forward to cooler mornings and the ability to walk around our picturesque downtown without feeling like a Saharan nomad searching for an oasis. Fall 2017 Newsletter
7
Ed Neil and Dayna Haynes
THE RUNDOWN
Granite Pub takes an interest in the family buzz over the past few months. ANAHUAC PROGRESS What’s been happening to me lately? Well let’s see. I did THANKFULLY survive the flood of Hurricane Harvey. My home and the office had no water and, other than pinecones dropping like bombs on my tin roof, nothing disastrous happened. But I did get trapped at my house for two days with no electricity or water because the road to and out of Anahuac was flooded. A couple of months ago, a friend and I made a trip to Bastrop for a day trip. We visited the Gas Station famous from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. As a surprise, Ed Neil was there signing memorabilia for fans. In case you are unaware who Ed Neil is, he played the hitchhiker in the movie (“I got this knife”) fame. My friend is actually good friends with Ed, so we spent the afternoon with him and his wife Teresa. Ed was extremely funny and both him and his wife were just the nicest people. It was a wonderful surprise and we had a fun Saturday. My favorite thing to do in my spare time is to paint or draw. Lately I’ve been decorating rocks and giving them away as gifts. I also paint
8
terra cotta pots and create greeting cards along with canvas work. I have included some photos of some of my projects.
www.granitepublications.com
Artwork by Dayna Haynes
BANDERA BULLETIN
BOERNE STAR
Bandera is the Cowboy Capital of the World. Earlier this year, another town tried to claim that title. A threatened law suit gave the title legally to Bandera! Bandera has something going on every weekend that brings visitors from all over—Texas, the US and the world. We have parades, bands, food and crafts. Bandera is very proud of service men and women and first responders and makes sure these heroes are appreciated in every event the town/county has. Of special note is the easy living of Bandera. People ride their horses to the hardware store and to lunch. These horses waited quietly while they owners had lunch at the sandwich shop next door to the Bandera Bulletin office.
Since there are only three of us on the Bulletin staff, we’re busy, busy. Easy going comradery is our secret to getting everything done. During this quarter, Bill Pack and Fran Fox had birthdays. We said “Happy Birthday” and presented a big smile to the birthday person.
Fall 2017 Newsletter
Brian Cartwright’s son, Nicholas, is in his final semester at Abilene Christian University and will graduate December 15th. He will earn Bachelor Degrees in both History and Political Science and will move on to graduate school to study History and International Relations. He will also complete an internship in either the U.S. Senate, the Department of Defense or the State Department in Washington D.C. next year.
9
Best of the Bulletin
BULLETIN PHOTOS/Chris Darus
RIGHT: Two women from Hyo Silver jewelers ride longhorns provided by Wes Hatch down Main Street on Saturday, Sept. 2, as part of the parade that kicked off the Experience Bandera festivities last weekend. Experience Bandera is the new name of a pre-Labor Day celebration that the town has held for 15 years as Celebrate Bandera. The new organizers of the festivities kept up almost all the activities of past celebrations because they felt the event was too important for Bandera to lose. BELOW: Bandera County Historical Commission Chairman Roy Dugosh comments during the dedication ceremony for the replica of Frederic Remington’s Bronco Buster statue in Heritage Park. Members of the Bandera Cattle Co. Gunfighters put on an old-fashioned shootout exhibition on the Bandera County Courthouse grounds as part of the National Day of the American Cowboy celebration on Saturday, July 22.
BULLETIN PHOTO/Chuck McCollough
ABOVE: A group of kayakers and canoeists get ready to launch into the waters of Medina Lake.
BULLETIN PHOTO/Bill Pack
After waiting 16 years, Bandera’s Silver Spur Skate Park opened on Monday, Aug. 14. A crew of American Ramp Co. workers pieced the $132,761 park together and skaters started using the facility on Sunday, Aug. 13. As is the case with small towns, change is hard to come by. Legal action by homeowners against the location of the park held up its construction a very long time.
10
BULLETIN PHOTO/Chris Darus
Members of the Bandera High School varsity football take part in the festivities of the school’s homecoming parade from atop a Bandera fire truck as the parade moves toward the high school on Monday, Sept. 11. The Bulldogs homecoming football game is Friday night, Sept. 15, against Ingram Tom Moore High School.
www.granitepublications.com
COLUMBUS COLORADO COUNTY CITIZEN Hurricane Harvey had a huge impact on Colorado County, but that didn’t stop the staff at The Citizen from having some fun times, too.
is very appreciative of the donation from the Granite family. On a positive note, Lori celebrated her son’s 22nd birthday on Sept. 5. They went to a local favorite, Los Cabos Mexican Restaurant, so Jett could receive the traditional pie-in-the-face birthday classic. Lori also had a good time at the Colorado County Fair where she had meet-and-greets with John Conlee, Nathan Colt Young, and Bart Crow.
Citizen Reporter Jason Hogan spent time with family in Dallas recently.
Reporter Jason Hogan took some time to visit with his family in Dallas Sept. 8-10, including his mother Angela who came from Connecticut. Advertising representative Bryan Stacy turned 28 on Sept. 28. He went out to eat with his mom, wife, Maddie, and two sons, Silas and Titus. Bryan also went to Austin to Cowboy Dance Hall with a childhood friend. A good time was had by all. Bookkeeper Lori Ligues house was flooded by Hurricane Harvey. She is still trying to recover and clean up the debris. She Citizen Publisher Michelle Stokes, right, enjoys some fun time with her husband, Will at Wonder World in San Marcos.
Citizen Bookkeeper Lori Ligues takes a selfie with John Conlee at the Colorado County Fair Sept. 8.
Fall 2017 Newsletter
Publisher Michelle Stokes welcomed her son, Wayne into her home when he was forced to evacuate from Harvey. Wayne lives in Port Aransas and his home was a total loss. But even without power or water, Wayne quickly went back to the island to help with others less fortunate. Michelle and her daughter, Zoe, delivered newspapers to area shelters and helped out wherever necessary. Michelle’s husband, Will, is a lineman for the city of Weimar so he was busy restoring power to those without. When the chaos was over, the Stokes family signed a contract on a new home in Weimar. They’ll be moving across town towards the end of September. The Citizen also welcomed a new typesetter, Chris Brown. The last typesetter, Morgan Bennett, has gone off to the University of Texas after graduating this year. Every two years, The Citizen hires a new typesetter at the recommendation of the previous one and a new high school students joins the staff.
11
The Elgin Courier stayed open late Sept 14 during the Sip, Shop and Stroll festivities held in downtown Elgin. New publisher Kevin Wright, back left, was present that Thursday night to meet Elginites. A few of the people who stopped by included Elgin City Manager Thomas Mattis (in back); front row, left to right, Courier Reporter and Page Designer Fernando Castro, Mary Ann Mattis, Lorene Cloer, Courier Sports and Education Editor Lauren Jette, former Courier Interim Publisher Jim Beaver and Ann Ferrell.
ELGIN COURIER Changes are aplenty at the Elgin Courier this month. On Sept. 5, Kevin Wright was named publisher at the Courier. Kevin was most recently publisher at The Gonzales Inquirer both under the Granite Publications banner and Fenice Community Media. He enjoys the Elgin area and was pleased to join the community. One week earlier, Fernando Castro came onboard the Courier staff. He joins as both a reporter and page designer, while also administering Elgin’s website and social media platforms. He was already a 9-year employee of Granite Publications spanning terms at The Madisonville M e t e o r and The Colorado C o u n t y C i t i z e n
12
before most recently being a member of Creative Service’s pagination department. He misses his co-workers in Taylor greatly but looks forward to the opportunity in Elgin. Lauren Jette is doing a great job with the increased responsibilities of interim editor while also maintaining her duties as sports and education editor. She made time though to support her alma mater and go the Texas Longhorns football season opener. Ad representative Cheryl Madewell continues to bring in more ads for the Courier and recently took advantage of her Schlitterbahn tickets for some splish splashy fun. Gail Schobey enjoyed a summer vacation visiting her sister in New Mexico, but she’s thankfully back greeting Elgin customers once again as office manager a n d bookkeeper.
www.granitepublications.com
LIBERTY VINDICATOR It has been very, very wet in Liberty. Very wet. The Vindicator cannot overemphasize just how wet it has been. It has been record-setting wetness. Even while most of the national media’s attention was focused on Houston, the small town of Liberty still managed to make the New York Times. That’s how wet it has been here. The Trinity River at Liberty reached 32.74 feet above mean sea level on the night of Aug. 31, the highest it has ever been. It set a new record downstream as well. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for all low-lying areas of the county and voluntary evacuations were called for in parts of the City of Liberty. During this, The Vindicator managed to set some records itself. Just the day before Hurricane Harvey reached Liberty on Aug. 27, The Vindicator’s Facebook page had a little over 3,600 followers. By Sept. 4, more than 5,640 people were following the newspaper on Facebook. Our intrepid publisher, Jennifer Gray, was out early that Sunday morning snapping photos of the flood. She spent much of the following week creating an extensive photographic record of Harvey’s effects on Liberty County. Her pictures, along with those of staff members Kim Marlow and Melissa Risch, stringer Bonita Davis, and those of the many readers who contributed their own photographs, very likely constitute the largest photographic record anyone has of the disaster
Fall 2017 Newsletter
in this county. Jennifer and Melissa also took time out to visit with National Guardsmen (pictured below), as well as FEMA and SBA. The posting of these photos on Facebook almost as soon as they were taken, providing a nearly hour-by-hour update on the progress of the rising waters, accounts for the rapid growth of The Vindicator’s Facebook following. According to Facebook, one image Gray captured early Sunday morning has reached over 157,000 users. It was shared 2,422 times and drew 104 comments. Another of Gray’s posts later that day has reached nearly 172,000 Facebook users. That post has attracted 9,968 reactions, including 7,275 likes or other reactions, 1,774 comments and 2,932 shares. More importantly, a good number of regular readers and both new and old Facebook followers have expressed their gratitude for the job The Vindicator did keeping them abreast of which areas were flooded and what roads were impassable, along with posting announcements from local government officials, information on available shelters, and the latest weather and river forecasts. It was an ordeal, but it was also a learning experience for The Vindicator’s staff on the usefulness of social media and a reminder of the service a small town weekly newspaper can provide.
13
A sense of humor Even in the midst of a category 5 hurricane, Vindicator editor Casey Stinnett managed to provide the newspaper’s social media followers with some calming entertainment while also supporting and promoting his print publication.
TOP COMMENTS This is legitimately funny. Good on you Vindicator. lol
JESSIE KLEMCKE SMITH This my hometown newspaper!
ASHLEY CULTON Well played! Send me a bill!
SUSAN FRYE BENOIT Needed that smile!
CHERYL DONATTO Do you have kids or students? Use a newspaper to protect the table while you are painting!
MAKENZIE VITARIUS Genius!!!
JERRY AND MITZI KLINE 14
www.granitepublications.com
NAVASOTA EXAMINER It was a very exciting start for the Examiner staff here in Navasota – especially with Ana Cosino becoming the new publisher. The community has been very excited and welcoming. Ana is still receiving some sweet messages.
Examiner Publisher Ana Cosino and her family took a trip to Legoland for her Jason’s eighth birthday. Rollercoasters are not Ana’s favorite thing to do.
Business Mixer with Citizens State Bank last week. It was well attended. We had the NISD Superintendent Dr. Stu Musick as the guest speaker, the NHS Rattler band drumline, NHS cheerleaders, door prizes and a lot of fun.
Newly appointed publisher Ana Cosino was surprised with balloons and flowers from members of the community.
Navasota welcomed Angelique Galvan to their team in August. Angelique will be working with Ana on all of their advertising sales. She’s been getting out there, meeting our community, and selling away. She is a Navasota native, graduated from Navasota High School in 1999 and moved back here about a year ago. She is very excited and cannot wait to meet everyone! Carrie Little, Examiner Bookkeeper, started Blinn College this fall. She is taking two classes and is majoring in Liberal Arts. She is scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2018. Nicole Shupe, Examiner Editor, took a fun and relaxing trip to Montana this summer. She went camping in Glacier National Park. She took a road a road trip from our corner of Texas to the Canadian border where she almost got left behind because of passport and Canadian laws. Luckily, though, she made it back safely. She took some amazing photos! Ana Cosino, Examiner Publisher, took two days off this summer and took her kiddo to Legoland in Florida for his 8th birthday. Jason had so much fun and is already trying to plan his next birthday trip to Disneyland. The Examiner received the 2017 Small Business of the Year Award presented by the Navasota Grimes County Chamber of Commerce. We co-hosted an After-Hours Chamber
Fall 2017 Newsletter
The Navasota Examiner was awarded the Small Business of the Year for Grimes County at the 2017 Small Business Forum held in Brenham. Pictured are (from left) State Rep. Leighton Schubert, Examiner Former Publisher Tony Farkas, Examiner Publisher Ana Cosino, Examiner Reporter Connie Clements, and Navasota Grimes County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Johnny McNally.
We’ve had some interesting months here at The Examiner and it’s been quite the ride, but we expect it to only get better from here.
Chief is an iconic spire mountain on the Blackfoot tribal land near Glacier, Montanna.
15
TAYLOR PRESS The folks at the Taylor Press have lived life to the fullest over the last few months. They have been all over the country . . . well the world! Richard visited Greece to see historic sights with his family. He also went on a cruise in August to Cozumel. In June, Jason and his wife went to Las Vegas for the first time. He didn’t hit it big, so he came back. His oldest daughter Jasmine, who just lost her two front teeth, started her new school this year. Tiana, his youngest daughter, started her first year of daycare in Hutto. This summer Reagan visited his girlfriend in Washington, D.C. Carolyn Atkinson spent the summer running back and forth each weekend for eight weeks to Lost Pines Scout Reservation in Bastrop. This is where her sons Nate Atkinson and Matt Atkinson resided for the majority of the summer. Nate spent a week there with Troop 167 from Taylor, and Matt experience his first job as a counselor. It was rewarding to see the Boy Scouts work so hard to earn their badges and learn skills they will use throughout their life. After the boys finally were home, we spent four days at the beach in Corpus Christi and a good three-day weekend family camping and fishing on Lake Granger. Carolyn Hill took most of the summer to re-do her house and then took her talents to Houston to help Harvey victims with muck out homes. She also traveled back and forth to Burleson for grandchildren’s birthday parties.
16
Ann Miller is back. She is an advertising representative and stays involved in the community. She helped with the Business Expo and the monthly Chamber Luncheon. In addition, the Taylor Press stayed involved in the community, and was recognized for their efforts. In June, the Press was very involved in the inaugural Stomp N Holler BBQ + Music Festival in downtown Taylor. Headlined by the Mavericks, the event had 10 of the most revered barbecue pit-masters in Texas. Sponsors included Shiner and Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Plans are already being made for next year’s event. Also in June, Richard, Jason and Reagan participated in the first ever Miss Mutts and Mustache pageant. While Richard played the master of ceremony, Jason and Reagan put on dresses and strutted down the isle to help raise money for Cinderella’s Closet. In July, the Press hosted the fifth annual Taylor Press 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. The event raised over $5,000 and gave away about $1,800 worth of prizes. A student was awarded a $500 scholarship, and a $500 donation was made to the Taylor Public Library Summer Reading Program and the Taylor Educational Enrichment Foundation. In July, the Taylor Press was named the Business of the Month by the Greater Taylor Chamber of Commerce. In September, Jason received the Customer Service of the Month award. There is plenty more that was done this month, but this is just a snippet of what keeps the staff at the Taylor Press busy.
www.granitepublications.com
Taylor Trips
Fall 2017 Newsletter
17
GRANITE PUBLICATIONS (MAIN OFFICE) Teri Gray continues to regain strength following cancer treatment via surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. All followup scans have shown no sign of cancer. She still has some challenging surgeries and additional recovery ahead of her, but she is facing them with a positive outlook and continues to work hard daily on making herself healthy. She appreciates all the positive thoughts from her friends at Granite. Daniel Philhower’s family said good bye to Vini Silva, our Foreign Exchange Student from Brazil, back in June but hope to see him again in January when he plans to attend Texas State San Marcos. See our Philhower Selfie or our Phelfie below.
Just before the start of the school year, many of the Taylor Press and Granite Pub family got together at Daniel’s house for a Saturday afternoon BBQ and swimming party (in lieu of a planned retreat that ended up not working to the variety of schedules.) It was a good way to kick back and breathe before the real work began.
In Shannon’s world, John Paul Davis has started playing Pop Warner Football in Round Rock. He plays for the Colts every Saturday. His motivation for tackling/blocking? He pictures his older brothers!
18
www.granitepublications.com
Danita’s son graduated
Ory Boney’s grandkids. LEFT TO RIGHT: Avery, Eli, Maven
Fall 2017 Newsletter
Minerva celebrated her birthday at the office.
19
Granite Vac
Gretchen took a family trip down to Port Aransas and enjoyed a day at the beach!
Orlando went on a mini vacation to Six Flags Fiesta Texas with his siblings & great way to spend time with his siblings that he doesn’t see so often since h right: Brenda (sister), Gustavo (older brother), Orlando & Danny (younger br
DEBRA ON HER VACATION: I was so excited getting to see my family in Eagle River, Alaska on August 18th. My Son is a Tech Sargent in the Air Force, so I’ve in the clouds. We left the next morning to go camping at the Denali National Park. Took us around three or so hours to get there. We were there for the night springs, camping and cooking over the campfire and enjoying the time with my kids and granddaughter. A few days later on Saturday morning the kids to me to parent. The little bear was one of the ones left alone. The porcupine was hurt and lost a leg. He will always have to stay there. So all in all I had a wonderful tim
20
www.granitepublications.com
cation Time
& some friends on August 5th, 2017. It was a he came up to Austin for work. Pictured left to rother)
Daniel’s family had lots of summer adventures in their Motorhome from Dinosaurs to Pirates, from beaches to Mountains, from Schlitterbahn to Sea World. They love their RV and are always going to new and exciting places all over Texas.
e been fortunate to go see several places that he has been stationed at. Flying to Alaska we flew over Mount Redought, It was so awesome seeing this volcano cause our main trip was getting to Chena. Most of these photos are of the Chena Hot Springs Resort. The best of it all is getting to swim and relax in the hot o the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. These animals where so awesome to watch. Most of these animals either where hurt or had been from the death of a me... well until I had to leave. ONE reason was Val only let me take my vacations as long as I returned the following Monday on the 28th. Man that was not fair!!!
Fall 2017 Newsletter
21
GROUPWIDE DIRECTORY GRANITE HEADQUARTERS GRANITE WEST 3115 Loop 306 Ste. 111, San Angelo, TX 76904 monetta@granitepub.com ACCOUNTING CENTER PO Box 1010 • 211 W. Third St. • Taylor, TX 76574 512-352-8285 • Fax: 512-352-8295 CREATIVE SERVICES 512-352-1009 • Fax 512-352-3227 ads@granitepublications.com pages@granitepublications.com JIM CHIONSINI jchionsini@yahoo.com O: 325-949-4700 | C: 325-315-6328 DANIEL PHILHOWER daniel.philhower@granitepublications.com Cell: 512-203-1893 JIM BEAVER jim.beaver@granitepublications.com Cell: 512-461-6906 VALERI STAIR valeri.stair@granitepublications.com Cell: 512-955-9139 PATTI SLAVYCH patti.slavych@granitepublications.com Cell: 713-377-1372 RICHARD DAVIS richard.davis@granitepublications.com Cell: 479-445-5465 ORY BONEY ory@graniteprinting.net Cell: 512-269-9837 STAFF ACCOUNTING Danita Hutto danita.hutto@granitepublications.com Debra Weatherford debra.weatherford@granitepublications. com AD SERVICES Shannon Davis shannon.davis@granitepublications.com Minerva Kutch minerva.kutch@granitepublications.com Orlando Rojo-Buendia orlando.rojo-buendia@granitepublications. com PAGE DESIGN Gretchen Dyson gretchen.dyson@granitepublications.com Matt Hellman matt.hellman@granitepublications.com
22
PUBLICATION OFFICES THE ANAHUAC PROGRESS (Wednesday) General Manager: Dayna Haynes PO Box 100 • 306 Willcox St. Anahuac, TX 77514 409-267-6131 • Fax: 409-267-4157 theananahuacprogress.com theprogress@theanahuacprogress.com • Dayna Haynes: theprogress@theanahuacprogress.com THE BANDERA BULLETIN (Wednesday) General Manager: Bill Pack PO Box 697 •606 State Hwy 16 South Bandera, TX 78003 830-796-3718 banderabulletin.com • Bill Pack: bill@banderabulletin.com • Fran Fox: office@banderabulletin.com • Chris Darus: chris@banderabulletin.com BOERNE STAR (Tuesday & Friday) Editor & Publisher: Brian Cartwright PO Box 820 • 941 N. School St. Boerne, TX 78006 830-249-2441 • Fax: 830-249-4607 boernestar.com briancartwright@boernestar.com • Brian Cartwright: briancartwright@boernestar.com • Kolleen Roe: kolleen@boernestar.com • Kerry Barboza: sports@boernestar.com • Robert Blake: robert@boernestar.com • Dana Smith: subscriptions@boernestar.com • Stephanie Locke: stephanie@boernestar.com • Kit Brenner: kitbrenner@boernestar.com • Suzy Nelson: Suzy@boernestar.com • Jessica Goode: jessica@boernestar.com COLORADO COUNTY CITIZEN (Wednesday) Editor & Publisher: Michelle Banse PO Box 548 • 2024 Hwy. 71 • Columbus, TX 78934-0548 979-732-2304 • Fax: 979-732-8804 coloradocountycitizen.com publisher@coloradocountycitizen.com • Michelle Stokes: publisher@coloradocountycitizen.com • Lori Ligues: bookkeeper@coloradocountycitizen.com • Bryan Stacy: ads@coloradocountycitizen.com • Jason Hogan: reporter@coloradocountycitizen.com • Chris Brown: copy@coloradocountycitizen.com ELGIN COURIER (Wednesday) Editor & Publisher: PO Box 631 • 105 N. Main • Elgin, TX 78621-0631
512-285-3333 • Fax: 512-285-9406 elgincourier.com publisher@elgincourier.com • Kevin Wright: kevin.wright@elgincourier.com • Gail Schobey: gail.schobey@elgincourier.com • Lauren Jette: lauren.jette@elgincourier.com • Fernando Castro: fernando.castro@elgincourier.com • Cheryl Madewell: adselgincourier@outlook.com GRANITE PRINTING Director of Print Operations: Ory Boney 2675 CR 374 • Taylor, TX 76574 512-352-3687 • Fax: 512-352-6138 ory.boney@graniteprinting.net • Grace Rangel: grace@graniteprinting.net • Ory Boney: ory@graniteprinting.net THE LIBERTY VINDICATOR (Thursday) Editor & Publisher: Jennifer Gray 1939 Trinity • Liberty, TX 77575 936-336-3611 • Fax: 936-336-3345 thevindicator.com publisher@thevindicator.com • Jennifer Gray: accounting@thevindicator.com • Jerry Michalsky: jerrymichalsky@aol.com • Casey Stinnett: editor@thevindicator.com • Melissa Risch: subscribe@thevindicator.com • Kim Marlow: ads@thevindicator.com NAVASOTA EXAMINER (Wednesday) Editor & Publisher: Ana Cosino PO Box 751 • 115 Railroad St. • Navasota, TX 77868 936-825-6484 • Fax 936-825-2230 navasotaexaminer.com publisher@navasotaexaminer.com • Ana Cosino: publisher@navasotaexaminer.com • Carrie Little: bookkeeper@navasotaexaminer.com • Angelique Galvan: ads@navasotaexaminer.com • Nicole Shupe: news@navasotaexaminer.com TAYLOR PRESS/HUTTO NEWS (Sunday, Wednesday)
Editor & Publisher: Richard Stone PO Box 1040 • 211 W. Third • Taylor, TX 76574-1040 512-352-8535 • Fax: 512-352-1505 taylorpress.net publisher@taylorpress.net • Richard Stone: publisher@taylorpress.net • Jason Hennington: news@taylorpress.net • Carolyn Hill: business@taylorpress.net • Carolyn Atkinson: classified@taylorpress.net • Reagan Roehl: sports@taylorpress.net • Scott Rucker: scott@taylorpress.net • Ann Miller: amiller@taylorpress.net
www.granitepublications.com