13th Anniversary Special Section

We’re in the business of telling other people’s stories but we thought it was time to share ours. Who is the Southpoint Sun and Southpoint Publishing? What all do we do? Read on to find out.

Bringing News To The Community For Thirteen Years

The origin of the Southpoint Sun goes back to February 2010 when the editor of the Wheatley Journal — Sheila McBrayne — collaborated with Journal Owner/Publisher Jim Heyens to create a new weekly newspaper for Leamington.

On February 3, 2010, the first copies of the Southpoint Sun hit newsstands with the inaugural front page covering the annual Polar Bear Dip and a preview of that fall’s municipal election.

During the first year in publication, front page stories included the June 2010 tornado, the 60th anniversary of the Leamington hospital (then called Leamington District Memorial Hospital), the 25th annivesary of the Leamington Marina, the municipal election and OPP taking over police services in Leamington. When the Leamington Post closed its doors in December 2012, the Sun became

Leamington’s only community newspaper.

The Sun and Wheatley Journal were initially produced as two separate products, with the Journal being a paid subscription and the Sun being free distribution, but in 2018 the sister publications became one free publication taking on the name of the Southpoint Sun-Journal for a short period of time before returning to being called the Southpoint Sun.

Over the years it was decided that the publication should reflect the entire readership area and Kingsville was added to the mix, with coverage of news and community events in all three municipalities — Kingsville, Leamington and Wheatley.

The Sun has thrived as a threecommunity local paper and a lot of that is because it is independently owned and operated by locals who care about the community they live in.

Over the years, Southpoint Publishing introduced several specialty print publications including the Southpoint Business Card Directory, Southpoint Tourist Guide and Southpoint Living magazine.

In 2016, Southpoint Publishing also acquired the River Town Times in Amherstburg, which continues to operate under the Southpoint Publishing umbrella to this day.

Southpoint Publishing Staff All Together Again

After a few years with a number of employees working remotely, and most recently with the Southpoint Creative Group team working out of an office on Oak Street, all Southpoint Publishing employees are working together again at the Sun office on Talbot Street in Leamington.

A neighbouring business recently left their space which

presented the opportunity to expand on the Sun’s current office, allowing for all Southpoint Publishing staff to be able to work together under the same roof again for the first time since March 2020.

The office is located at 194 Talbot Street East, Unit 2 in Leamington and is open Monday to Thursday from 9am to 4:30pm and Friday from 9am to 12pm.

Jim Heyens and Sheila McBrayne remained at the helm together until March 2020, when Sheila left the business and handed the editor’s pen over to Mark Ribble, a week before the COVID pandemic shut down the world.

Although it was definitely a challenge, the Southpoint Sun has emerged from the pandemic as strong as ever and remains the community newspaper in Kingsville, Leamington and Wheatley.

“We’re proud of our high readership,” says editor Mark Ribble. “High readership not only benefits us, it benefits the advertisers who entrust us with their message.”

Melissa Hopper took over the Publisher’s job from owner Jim Heyens in the spring of 2022, as Heyens assumed an ownership-only role at that time.

“We know there are many people who believe that print is dead,” Melissa says. “However we know there is still a large readership who look forward to getting the paper each week and also a large number of advertisers who rely on the paper to get the word out about their businesses. We’re grateful to our readers and advertisers, and we’ll continue to do what we do for them.”

Thank you!

Thank you to our loyal readers. While there are some people who believe that print newspapers are no longer in demand, we can assure you that they are just as in demand now as they were when this newspaper was started.

Thank you to our advertisers - for without you, we wouldn’t be able to print this newspaper and share the news and so many great stories with our community.

Thank you to our drivers who work so hard each week to deliver the Sun to the community.

The June 9, 2010 front page of the Sun with coverage of the tornado that touched down in Leamington

Southpoint Sun founders Sheila McBrayne (left) and Jim Heyens (right), recipients of the Leamington Chamber of Commerce Sponsor’s Choice Award in 2015.

DID YOU KNOW?

Southpoint Sun editor

Mark Ribble won the Canadian Community Newspaper Award in 2022 for Best Historical Story for his article about Leamington’s Fred Roach, a Canadian Air Force pilot whose plane was shot down in Belgium in 1944.

CONTACT US

519-398-9098

sun@southpointsun.ca

194 Talbot St. E. Unit #2, Leamington, ON N8H 1M2

HOURS

Monday: 9am - 4pm Tuesday: 9am - 4pm Wednesday: 9am - 4pm Thursday: 9am - 4pm Friday: 9am - 12pm

PICK UP LOCATIONS

Wondering where you can pick up the Southpoint Sun? You can find it at these locations throughout our community:

LEAMINGTON

• 7-11

• Canadian Tire

• Circle K

• Erie Shores HealthCare

• Esso Double 7

• Johnny’s Gas Bar

• Beach House Grill*

• Daisy Mart (Division)*

• Daisy Mart (Main)*

• Freshco*

• IDA*

• Nature Fresh Farms

Recreation Centre

• Real Canadian Superstore

• Shoppers Drug Mart

• Thompson Guardian Drugs

KINGSVILLE

• King’s Convenience*

• Kingsville Arena*

• Super 7*

• Town Square*

WHEATLEY

• Adamson Guardian Drugs

• Circle K

• Hub Building*

• Mercer’s Service Centre

RUTHVEN

• Circle K

• Tourist Booth*

• Village Resource Centre

• Wheatley Library

COTTAM ESSEX

• Cottam Gas & Variety

• Foodland

*newspaper box

E-SUBSCRIPTIONS

Do you want to read the Southpoint Sun online every week? Here is how you can do it:

OPTION 1

OPTION 2 visit southpointsun.ca to sign up for a free e-subscription

The newspaper gets delivered from the printer and distribution begins

Sales, production and editorial all work on next week's paper

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where is the Southpoint Sun office?

Our office is at 194 Talbot Street East, Unit 2 in Leamington and we’re open Monday to Thursday from 9am to 4pm and Friday from 9am to 12pm.

When is the paper available each week?

Each Wednesday, the Sun is available to be picked up at our office typically by 9:30am. It is also delivered to stores and newspaper boxes in Leamington, Kingsville and Wheatley on Wednesday and to driveways in Leamington on Wednesday and Thursday. Our digital e-subscription email gets sent every Wednesday at 8am with a link to view the paper online.

Where does the paper get printed?

The Sun gets printed at a large printing facility in Wyoming, Ontario. It used to be printed in Kingsville at the Kingsville Reporter facility and we also operated our own press in Leamington for a few years.

When does the newspaper go to print?

The newspaper goes to print every Tuesday morning.

How can I put a classified ad in the paper?

To place a classified ad, you can call, email or visit our office. The cost is $20/week.

How can I put an ad in the paper?

If you would like to place an advertisement in the Sun, please contact Keira Janisse at keira@southpointsun.ca

How much does it cost to put an advertisement in the paper?

The cost of an advertisement depends on the size of the ad and whether you want it to run in colour or black and white. Our advertising rep Keira will gladly work with you to find an ad size that fits your budget! She can be reached at 519-990-9409 or keira@southpointsun.ca

How can I put an announcement in the paper?

If you would like to put an announcement in the paper (i.e. anniversary, birthday, birth, in memoriam) please call 519-398-9098, email sun@southpointsun.ca or visit our office at 194 Talbot Street East, Unit 2 in Leamington. We have three different sizes to choose from. You provide us with the wording and a photo to go with it, and we’ll put it together and send you a proof so you can see what it looks like before it goes in the paper. The cost varies from $50 to $75 depending on the announcement size.

How can I get coverage of an event in the paper?

If you have an event coming up and are interested in having it covered in the Sun, please let us know the details and we will see if we have a reporter available to cover your event. While we wish we could cover every event, unfortunately there are often times that we are unable to attend events and should that happen, we may ask that you take a photo and send it in.

Why don’t you do investigative reports or cover more hard-hitting news?

There are a few reasons we don’t focus on those types of stories. The first is that stories of that magnitude take a lot of time to produce with extensive research and interviews, and we simply do not have the resources to commit to more hard-hitting news. The second reason is that those types of stories are more commonly suitable to the 24-hour news cycle (i.e. radio, television, daily newspapers) rather than a weekly community newspaper. We like to think of ourselves primarily as the “good news” paper - your local source for mostly feelgood, human interest stories that you aren’t likely to find in other media outlets.

More Than Just A Newspaper

While the foundation for Southpoint Publishing began with two community newspapers, the business has grown over the years to include a wider range of services.

In addition to the weekly Southpoint Sun newspaper, Southpoint Publishing also produces the annual Southpoint Business Card Directory and Southpoint Tourist Guide.

Southpoint Living magazine was launched in 2019, bringing to the community the first ever lifestyle magazine focused specifically on Kingsville, Leamington and Wheatley. And not long after that, Southpoint Creative Group was born.

“In early 2020, many local businesses were pivoting their marketing plans to include digital marketing,” said Mallory Wright, Creative Director of Southpoint Creative Group. “We enhanced our services to accommodate our clients’ growing needs which has allowed us to work with our clients on a full service marketing plan that includes both print and digital.”

Mallory Wright Creative Director

Rylee Wallace Digital Marketing Specialist

Mackenzie Dresser Print Marketing Specialist

Tom Warwick Graphic Designer

Jim Heyens Owner

Mark Ribble Editor

Melissa Hopper Publisher

Keira Janisse Print Advertising Specialist

Allison Siddall Editorial Assistant

Roberta McCarty Office Manager

Lori Gouin Graphic Designer

Deanna Bertrand Reporter/Photographer

Coulter Reporter/Photographer

Forman Reporter/Photographer