The Shawnee Dispatch / Dispatch names publisher

Archive for Wednesday, March 8, 2006

March 8, 2006

Maria Preston is the new publisher of the Shawnee Dispatch.

Ralph Gage, chief operating officer of the World Company, owners of the Dispatch, announced Preston's appointment in a newspaper staff meeting Thursday.

Maria Preston

Preston has served as regional advertising manager of the group's eight weekly newspapers, including the Dispatch, since 2002, and continues in that role. She formerly served as advertising manager of the Lawrence Journal-World.

"We expect Maria to help us continue the momentum we have established in Shawnee," Gage said.

The Dispatch, which began as the Shawnee West Dispatch in November 2002, has been distributed citywide since February 2004. It was named the official city newspaper in October 2004. The newspaper is available online at www.shawneedispatch.com.

Preston, who has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in integrated marketing communications from the University of Kansas, said her goal is to have The Dispatch continue to serve as the news source of choice -- both in its print and online editions -- for Shawnee.

"The Dispatch exists to serve the Shawnee community and we are fortunate to have a very talented team of journalists striving to produce a top-quality community newspaper every week," she said.

Preston serves as vice chair of the Shawnee Convention and Visitors Bureau Committee.

She can be reached at mpreston@shawneedispatch.com

Talking points

Do you think Veterans Day should be a prominent holiday?

Absolutely. We wouldn’t be able to sit here and eat lunch like this if it weren’t for the veterans. We’ve got millions of people that fought and died to save this country; it should be more than a bank holiday.

— Byron Arthur

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