Festive fun! Division 28 employees had a cheery time celebrating the season at their holiday party. Staff members played morale boosting games and wanted a group photo to remember the festive occasion. Pictured, back row, from left, Jill Goodman, Chris Purcell, Randa Bess, Jim Brandenburg, Alex Feierstein, Zach Colick, Mickey Meyer, Matt Loeschman, Amy Neal, Candace Hoffmann, Joanna Guluszka and Julie Conolly. Front row, from left, Joey Airdo, Charlene Patti Bisson, Debbie Myers, Judy Zocco, Norma Kilpatrick, Duane Clark and Chris Williams.
By Julie Conolly
The Sun City Office has an ideal team for the coming year. With seasoned veterans and fresh faces, the crew comes to work daily with the goal of making a positive impact in the Northwest Valley community.
Managing Editor Charlene Patti Bisson welcomed a new daughter, Isabella, into the world and did not miss a stride commanding an excellent team during her pregnancy and upon returning from leave.
In December, the office bid a fond farewell to Assistant Managing Editor Jill Goodman, who is moving to Austin, Texas, where her husband is receiving a job promotion. Jill was a great asset to the team and will be sorely missed.
“While I’m moving away, I will always have a place in my heart for INI. I’m a big fan of the newspaper’s mission and integrity, and all of you have kind of grown on me, too. Everyone, thanks for everything and I’ll see you around,” Mrs. Goodman said. “A special thank you goes to Charlene Bisson for being an awesome boss and a mentor to me for three years.”
Joey Airdo is the new News Editor for Anthem/Deer Valley and has already received Speak Outs and letters on the hot topics he covers. Joey graduated from Arizona State University and hopes to someday be a famous film critic.
"My goal is to stimulate conversation in my community," Joey said. "And rile a few people up."
Zach Colick joined the team in July as the Sun City News Editor, freshly graduated from the University of Arizona. Within two months, he received the office's Rainmaker Award for writing articles that benefit his community.
"It is great to know I am writing about important topics residents of Sun City want to know about," Zach said.
Amy Neal, the new Arrowhead Ranch News Editor, has a congenial nature that fosters great community relationships. Before coming to the Independent, Amy was a community relations manager with Barnes & Noble.
Amy has already been lauded by Deer Valley Unified School District officials for her excellent school coverage. She attributes her success to living in her coverage area.
"I really enjoy working in the community where I live," Amy said.
Julie Conolly will see her one year anniversary as Peoria's News Editor in January after moving to the Valley from Michigan. A former bookstore manager, Julie loves being out and about covering Peoria. In the past year she has covered school issues from start to finish, hosted a candidate forum and gotten engaged.
Surprise News Editor Matt Loeschman stood out as the veteran news editor. He came in on Sundays to do extra proofing, he covered sports championships for another news editor and he even fixed a dangerous road situation with one of his articles.
Speaking of veterans, Chris Williams and Debbie Myers have a combined 17 years of experience in graphic design for INI.
“I like INI because it is easy-going and flexible,” Debbie said. “I like the people I work with and I love what I do.”
Also going above and beyond the call of duty was Mickey Meyer who after enduring heart surgery returned to work with her usual zest for life. Mickey has sold advertising for special pages in the papers this year, including a church page and a veterans day page.
Duane Clark was promoted to ad services manager for the Northwest Valley Offices.
Norma Kilpatrick joined the circulation desk in the Sun City office, as well as filling in on the phones when Mickey was out.
Randa Bess came to the Independent from Colorado to provide data entry for the ad sales team.
"I really love the people who work in this office," Randa said.
Candace Hoffmann, who works out of the Sun City office, copy edits for the Arizona Division.
Also joining the ad team was Chris Purcell, who in his first few weeks signed up several new contracts.
Topping off the new faces in the Sun City office are Joanna Galuska and Alex Feierstein in the news services area.
Both have done an excellent job outreaching into the community. Alex lives in the East Valley and is trying to acclimate himself to the west.
"My goal this year is to get used to the West Valley," Alex said. "Because it's a strange place compared to the East."
As the Northwest Valley team enters the new year, they are diligently working on their weekly papers, as well as writing, selling ads and designing the upcoming Spring Training Guide.
