Messenger break ahead!

Editor’s Note
The Sewanee Mountain Messenger will publish on Friday, July 29. The office will be closed beginning Monday, Aug. 1. We will not publish a newspaper on Friday, Aug. 5.
If you have events or news that will be happening between July 29 and Aug. 12, please submit them before 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 26, so that they might be included in the next week’s “coffee table” edition.
We will be in the office at 9 a.m., Monday, Aug. 8, and back in print on Friday, Aug. 12.
Thank you!

Beavers Announced as Editor & Publisher of the Mountain Messenger

Longtime Sewanee community member Kiki Beavers will take over as editor and publisher of the Sewanee Mountain Messenger, effective June 1. Co-publishers Janet Graham and Laura Willis are both leaving the paper.

“We wanted to ensure that the Messenger stayed in the hands of someone who loves it as much as we do,” Graham said. “Laura and I have great confidence that Kiki will be a wonderful editor and publisher.”

Graham is retiring after 20 years at the Messenger. She was hired by Geraldine Hewitt in 1996 to sell display ads. 

The last issue with Graham and Willis as publishers will be May 20. Willis is stepping down as editor on April 8, when she begins her full-time position with the South Cumberland Community Fund. Beavers will begin editing the paper on April 12. She will take ownership of the paper and publish her first issue on Friday, June 3.

“You won’t see many changes,” Beavers said. “There will just be one person instead of two publishing the Messenger.”

Beavers has been active in the community in a variety of roles. She is president of the Sewanee Civic Association. She has co-chaired the Sewanee Community Chest and has also served as its administrator for four years. In the past four years, the Civic Association has raised $460,000 for local organizations and programs. 

For 10 years, she coached basketball at the elementary, middle school and varsity levels. She was the treasurer and secretary for the Sewanee Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization. She was treasurer of the Sewanee Youth Soccer program for six years, affiliated with the national American Youth Soccer Organization. For three years she was the auction chair for the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School Parents’ Council.

“I believe in our community,” Beavers said. “It is a great place to live and work, and I look forward to bringing my skills to the Messenger.”

Her past work experience includes advertising specialist, event chairman and technical writer for Computational Systems Incorporated in Knoxville. She was a self-employed graphic designer, most notably for Industrial Communications, Inc., in Knoxville, publishers of Reliability®Magazine. 

For 15 years, she was the owner and operator of Shenanigans Restaurant. 

Beavers has been a staff writer and sports editor for the Sewanee Mountain Messenger, and currently designs one of its websites, <www.themountainnow.com>. 

She and her husband, Ben, live in Sewanee with their children, Sarah, a sophomore at George Mason University, and John, a freshman at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School. She is currently employed by St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School in the communications and marketing office, responsible for maintaining the website <www.sasweb.org>, advertising layout and purchases, graphic design and writing of press releases. She is also the editorial assistant for the alumni magazine. 

Beavers has a degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee.

Happy Birthday, Messenger. A Word from the Editor.

Happy 30th Birthday, Sewanee Mountain Messenger

by Laura L. Willis, Editor

Is the printed newspaper on its death bed? Will we read all our news online in the future? I’m no prognosticator, but I know one thing: I believe in community newspapers. And I believe in the Sewanee Mountain Messenger.

Thirty years ago this week, the Messenger published its first issue. Geraldine Hewitt Piccard had great writing and editing skills, plus a typewriter, so she could begin a community paper. She’d planned on it beginning in early February, but the catastrophic ice storm of 1985 slowed her plans. With the help of Mary Smalley as business manager, Geraldine sold the ads, wrote the copy, and produced that eight-page issue on 9x12 white paper. The University press did the actual printing and she distributed it to post offices and businesses in the area. 

On page 1 under the headline, “Community Spirit,” she described the many people who helped Sewanee and her residents survive that historic storm: Carl Reid, Doug Seiters, Dwight Sholey, Ernie Butner, Galon Sherrill, Jim Franklin, Dan Rather, Bob Ayres, John Kildoo, Tom Watson, Doug Cameron, John Greeter, Lisa and Tim Keith-Lucas, and the members of the Sewanee Fire Department. If you’re new to Sewanee, you might recognize only a few of these names; if you’ve been on this Mountain for awhile, reading this list of names may stir memories for you.

In that first issue there are advertisements, many of which remain the same today. For their continuing support, I want to thank the Lemon Fair, Rob Matlock Construction, Monteagle Florist, Sewanee Auto Repair, the Sewanee Inn, the Sewanee Market, Shenanigans and Taylor’s Mercantile. 

Also in Vol. 1, No. 1, were many of the very same things that appear in our paper today: a notice of the Otey Parish Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, the obituaries of esteemed community members, birth announcements and wedding announcements, descriptions of meetings and gallery openings, a call for singers to join the Sewanee Chorale in its spring production of “H.M.S. Pinafore,” reviews of the SUT movies, the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School’s headmaster’s honors list, and a couple of letters to the editor (which are really letters to the community-at-large). The back page was, even then, devoted to the community calendar.

Looking back at its beginnings, the Messenger has always been dedicated to supporting the greater Sewanee area by providing news and information that affect residents’ lives and encourage meaningful community engagement. We are more explicit about this mission now, especially as we watch the number of newspapers decline and the news business change dramatically. Our mission hasn’t changed, but we are very clear about our role in this community. You won’t learn about the votes scheduled in the State Senate; you won’t read stories that “shout” at you or provoke you; and you won’t be embarrassed if your name appears on our pages. We are, with only the tiniest hint of irony, the Good News Newspaper.

Geraldine brought to life the Sewanee Mountain Messenger from the Sewanee Siren, the community newspaper from 1967 to 1984. We haven’t changed its name, but the paper continues to evolve. While we dabble in an online presence, we know that most of you still like to hold the Messenger in your hands and read it on paper, whether standing at the table in the post office or sitting with a cup of coffee at the Blue Chair or pushing a cart through the Piggly Wiggly. 

The printed newspaper is not dead, especially on this Mountain. I believe in our little free, weekly community newspaper. And I think you do too. May the Sewanee Mountain Messenger continue to be of service to the people of this Plateau for another 30 years. 

Messenger Print Edition on Break—Next Issue on Aug. 9

The Messenger is taking its two-week summer break. Our office will reopen Monday, Aug. 5, and we’ll be back in print on Friday, Aug. 9.

Janet Graham joins me in thanking our dedicated supporters: the loyal advertisers who know the value of an ad in the Messenger; the Sewanee Community Chest for past support and the University of the South, whose donations to this publication encourage conversation and cooperation in our community.

I am grateful to all our columnists and contributors—Phoebe and Scott Bates, Jean and Harry Yeatman, Annie Armour, John Bordley, Virginia Craighill,
Patrick Dean, Buck Gorrell, John Shackelford, Margaret Stephens, Peter Trenchi, Pat Wiser and
Francis Walter—who make us laugh, learn and see the world in new ways. 

I also want to acknowledge the important contributions of staff members April Minkler, Ray Minkler and Sandra Gabrielle; staff writers Leslie Lytle, K.G. Beavers and Kevin Cummings; and interns (at the paper and at TheMountainNow.com) Sarah Beavers, Sarah Butler and Marisa Wilson.

Finally I want to thank you, our readers, who faithfully read the Messenger each week and give us honest, thoughtful feedback. 

Our community is stronger because of your commitment to this Mountain. –LW­

The Messenger is on Break. Next issue on Friday, May 31

The Sewanee Mountain Messenger is on break right now. The paper will be back in print on Friday, May 31.  The office will re-open at 9 a.m., Tuesday, May 28.

Happy Memorial Day!

Sewanee Messenger Launches The Mountain Now Website—Provides Links to Area Services and Events

The Sewanee Mountain Messenger is pleased to announce the launch of its newest service to the community, The Mountain Now. The Mountain Now is a comprehensive website providing information on area events and services. It is intended to be a one-stop site for everyone in the community to get accurate information. The website address is <www.TheMountainNow.com>.

“The time was right to provide this website as a service to the South Cumberland Plateau,” said Janet Graham, co-publisher of the Messenger. “We hope to make this the one place that everyone in the community goes in order to find information, whether it is finding the phone numbers of area libraries, local government information or the latest gallery offerings.” 

The Messenger’s news website, <www.sewaneemes​senger.com> will continue to have each week’s newspaper, the online archives of past issues and a calendar of events. The Mountain Today is linked to the news site with access to the community calendar on both sites. Of course, the Community Calendar on the back page of the Messenger will continue for those folks who prefer the paper version. 

“In the future, we want The Mountain Today to spotlight area attractions, local events, new writers and serve as a way for the South Cumberland Plateau community to be engaged,” said Laura Willis, Messenger editor. “Plans also include a comprehensive list of area hotels, restaurants and services.”

On the new site, “We encourage people to email photos while they are out hiking, send a message about an event, or let us know about an area that the community should visit,” Willis said. “This is a work in progress. We will need your input to make this website the best possible source of information for people who live here, are moving here or just want to visit the Mountain.”

Kiki Beavers is the editor and designer of the new site, which contains a comprehensive calendar of events, a local guide and a list of services that are in the Messenger distribution area, organized by town. Aaron Welch of Big A Designs has provided technical support for the project.

To provide feedback about the site, email <themoun​tainnow@gmail.com>. If your event or listing is not on the site, please use the Submit Event page to send the information. Go to <www.TheMountainNow.com>. 

Messenger Offers Nonprofits Free Space

Beginning with its April 5 issue, the Sewanee Mountain Messenger is pleased to announce that it is offering a free one-quarter page advertisement to area nonprofit organizations to promote a special event.

To qualify, the organization must have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and be located in the Messenger’s distribution area (from Tracy City to Cowan), or be a past or current recipient of Sewanee Community Chest funds.

“We want to do this to help support the fine work happening in our community,” said co-publisher Janet Graham. “The Messenger has always been a key part of communication to the Mountain community and we want to continue this in a new, bold way.”

Each qualifying organization can have one free ad per year. The free ads will be placed on a space-available basis, so organizations that wish to have an ad guaranteed for a specific date should plan to pay for the ad.

This offer provides additional support for community endeavors beyond the meeting announcements, volunteer requests and opportunities, and event notices that the Messenger already provides for organizations across the Mountain. 

For more information contact Graham at 598-9949 or via email at <ads@sewaneemessenger.com>.

MESSENGER Break Ahead

It is hard to imagine, but Thanksgiving is next week, and Christmas is around the corner. 

The Messenger will publish on Wednesday, Nov. 21. The following issue will be published on Friday, Nov. 30 

There will be three issues in December: Dec. 7, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21. 

The staff will take a two-week break and return to the office on Monday, Jan. 7, with the first issue of 2013 on Friday, Jan. 11.

Deadlines for next week’s issue (Wednesday, Nov. 21) are: display advertising and news/calendar, 5 p.m., today (Friday), Nov. 16; and classified ads, noon, Monday, Nov. 19.