The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - Jillian Beaudry, an editor and reporter for the Daily World in Aberdeen, Wash., will become the new managing editor for the Times based in Waitsburg, the newspa - per's publisher announced on Monday .

S h e will re- place Dian McClurg, the previous managing editor who left the newspaper in May.

Beaudry will assume her position as day-to-day news manager for the Times on Thursday, Aug. 18, just in time for the busy school year and sports season.

"We are lucky to be able to welcome someone of Jillian's caliber and enthusiasm to our small staff," Times publisher Imbert Matthee said. "She is well regarded in our state's newspaper industry and comes highly recommended by her peers and past employers. She'll be able to improve our news gathering organization and expand our coverage of the Touchet Valley."

Beaudry was equally delighted with her new position.

"I'm so thrilled for this she said. "I love the area and I'm excited to be there for a long time. I'm ready to take the Times to the next level."

Born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and raised in Bellevue, Wash., Beaudry attended Sammamish High School and received a Bachelor's in Mass Communication from Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., from which she graduated Cum Laude in 2008.

Even before she graduated, Beaudry moved to the top of her college's campus newspaper as Editor In Chief, coordinating a staff of 15 from 2007 to 2008. She also worked as an intern for the McMinnville News-Register the last year before she graduated.

Her first job as a reporter was with the Polk County Itemizer-Observer in Dallas Oregon, where she covered education, government, road and land issues, business, general news and features from 2008 to mid 2009.

She was then hired by the Daily World, a newspaper with a daily circulation of about 14,000. As East County editor and reporter, she covered several small communities in the Grays Harbor area, ranging from city councils, school boards, agriculture, business and features.

In addition, she paginated and edited the Daily World's nation/world and sports sections on weekday mornings.

In 2009, Beaudry won first place in the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association contest for best lifestyle coverage, and honors for best feature and best personality profile.

Matthee said the Times went through a lengthy recruitment process for the position, which included three candidates who came to Waitsburg to try out for the position.

The newspaper selected Beaudry because she was the most versatile journalist and showed an unparalleled passion for community journalism.

"Jillian is a very wellrounded professional and has an energetic, easygoing personality," Matthee said. "People in the Touchet Valley are going to enjoy getting to know her."

Beaudry said she loves all small-town community events and "especially parades because they don't have those in Bellevue."

As managing editor, Beaudry will cover local news, sports and feature, layout and design the weekly editions, edit stories contributed by other writers, and coordinator overall news gathering.

Among Beaudry's hobbies are writing, running, reading, dancing and fashion. Her big personal passion is cheerleading, which she has done since age 17. In Aberdeen, she coached the Montesano High School varsity squad.

Matthee said Beaudry shares his vision for the Times to become an even better community weekly with more sports coverage and more news items from smaller towns like Starbuck, Prescott and Dixie.

He said readers still getting more information on the grassroots level, particularly kids' sports and extra-curricular activities, which he feels the newspaper doesn't get to enough.