Hugh's Moved
| For a long time now, if you've
read an article in the Knoxville News Sentinel about anything happening
in Loudon County, chances are it was written by a fellow named Hugh
Willett.
For the last ten years or so, Hugh has been reporting on news worthy events in Loudon, Lenoir City and Loudon County for the Sentinel. Hugh's become a well known figure around here, attending lots of government meetings. Well, Hugh's taken a new job. Hugh will now be Regional Editor for Landmark Community Newspapers with editorial management responsibility for Roane County News, Morgan County News and Lafollette Press. Hugh said he was going to miss covering Loudon County and we're going to miss him. But we want to congratulate him on his move. Hopefully, the News Sentinel will assign another good reporter to cover our local news.
Willett new Roane County News editor
After an eight-month wait, Roane County News has a new editor.
Loudon County native Hugh Willett started his new position
Monday, April 4. He will be working closely with Assistant
Editor Cheryl Duncan, who had served as interim editor since
Terri Likens left the newspaper last August.
Willett’s responsibilities will also include overseeing the
Morgan County News and LaFollette Press as regional editor. All
three newspapers are owned by Landmark Community Newspapers LLC.
A Farragut resident, Willett recently placed his house on the
market as he prepares to move to Roane County with his son,
James.
“I love community newspapers,” he said Tuesday. “I hope to
become part of the Roane County community, and an active
participant in [local] affairs.”
Already, he plans to attend upcoming events and meetings to
introduce himself to the community, which will also be an
opportunity to see how Roane County municipalities work
separately and together.
The Roane County News is just the latest step in Willett’s
extensive journalism career, which has encompassed a multitude
of professional positions, locales and publications. He worked
for The Boston Globe, and copy-edited for the Knoxville News
Sentinel before moving to and writing about his dream location —
California’s Silicon Valley.
“I was always fascinated with computers and personal computers
from the beginning,” he said. “From the first time I learned
about it, I was dying to get there.”
In California, Willett worked as a contributor, writer, reporter
and editor for a number of publications. His interest in
technology, coupled with the cutting edge of that entire
industry, took him to many Asian countries. He served as
editor-in-chief for Electronic News, the weekly newspaper that
coined the term “Silicon Valley,” and later founded the
Semiconductor magazine SEMI.
Along the way, he also dabbled in public relations and teaching
before returning to East Tennessee in 2004 as a suddenly single
father of then-7-year-old James.
Willett’s mother, Teresa Willett, is a retired teacher, and she
helped James learn to read in a two-month time frame as he
readied to study in the Farragut schools.
With his son in good hands, Willett then founded Knoxville
Garden and Home Magazine, edited Southern Business Magazine and
produced a cable television series, Southern Business Now.
He also became a frequent freelance contributor to the Knoxville
News Sentinel and wrote for other publications before coming to
the Roane County News.
In addition to son, James, Willett also has two daughters,
Caroline and Marie, both of whom live in California.
He welcomes the opportunity to connect with the community, and
may be reached by phone at 376-3481 or via email at
hwillett@roanecounty.com.
|
BACK
4/11/16