Kathleen Penton has left her position as copy editor for The Alabama Baptist to join national Woman’s Missionary Union as an assistant editor.
Penton served with the state Baptist paper for seven years and was a major part of the reason it annually receives awards of excellence from national competitions, said Bob Terry, president and editor of The Alabama Baptist.
“Kathleen’s work improved the quality of The Alabama Baptist. Her fact checking, copy editing, proofreading and attention to detail kept us at the highest professional level,” he said. “Her work ethic was a challenge to us all. Every part of the state Baptist paper was better because of her.”
Penton, a graduate of the University of Alabama (UA), first worked with The Alabama Baptist while interning at Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center during college. After graduation she worked as a correspondent for four months before joining the staff as the editorial assistant and later advanced to copy editor. Her last day was March 30.
At WMU Penton will work with Missions Mosaic and Missions Leader.
As the staff said goodbye to Penton, it also welcomed Julie Moore Payne as a news writer April 2.
Payne holds a bachelor of arts degree in telecommunication and film from UA and was a member of several honor societies while in college. She previously worked as an intern for ABC 33/40, an anchor and reporter for WVUA Channel 7 in Tuscaloosa and a communications specialist for Central Alabama Women’s Business Center in Birmingham.
From 2006 to 2010, she served as editor and primary writer for several The Christian Family Publication, Inc. magazine markets.
Payne has worked as a part-time news writer for The Alabama Baptist since April 2011.
Along with writing articles, she has helped maintain the paper’s regular columns, processed and edited wire copy, produced video packages for the online edition, created and produced promotional videos for the paper and assisted with local edition production.
Payne had been a part of The Alabama Baptist team two days when the April 27 tornadoes ripped through the state in 2011. She jumped right into the chaos that became life for many weeks at the paper and bonded instantly with the team.
“Julie brings a variety of communications skills to the task of sharing what God is doing among Baptists in Alabama and around the world,” Terry said. “During her 11 months as a part-time employee, she demonstrated how valuable she will be on a full-time basis. All of us are grateful the Lord prepared her to step right in when the opportunity presented itself.”
Payne’s new position also will encompass some of what the copy editor position previously did in an attempt to streamline resources during a down economy. The staff will bring in a part-time proofreader to assist with some of the other responsibilites.
(TAB)
Share with others: