Newspaper announces promotions

As the new year begins, changes in the management team are taking place at the McCook Daily Gazette. Effective today, Publisher Gene Morris announced that Sharyn Skiles, the business manager, will be promoted to general manager, and that Lloyd Shields, the Gazette's camera and press technician, will become production manager.

The general manager post is a newly created job which recognizes Skiles' expanded role in the company. "Shary has done an outstanding job of streamlining the company's business operations," Morris said. "In the process, she has demonstrated her potential for helping the company serve readers and advertisers with innovative programs."

As production manager, Shields will be filling the position formerly held by Roger Schmidt, who died unexpectedly Dec. 4. At the time of his passing, Schmidt had been an employee of the newspaper for 47 years, including the past two decades as production manager.

In their new positions, Skiles and Shields will join a management team which includes Morris, the publisher, along with Bruce Crosby, editor; Butch Mires, advertising manager; Dave Mefford, printing manager; and Marybeth Roschewski, circulation manager.

"We are blessed at the Gazette with a staff that possesses many years of experience, and, more important, a commitment to customer service," Morris said.

Skiles, the new general manager, came to McCook from Red Cloud in 1981 to attend McCook Community College. She remained in McCook, working as the office manager for the District 13 Probation Office from 1983 to 1984 and as cost accountant at Dayco Products Inc. from 1984 to 1988.

Skiles became the Gazette's business manager in 1988 and held that position continuously until her appointment today as general manager.

Active in the community, Skiles is a graduate of the "Leadership McCook" Class of 2002, and is a former member of the McCook United Way Board of Directors. She also is an active member of the McCook United Methodist Church; serves on the McCook Arts Council Board of Directors; and has been an election official for Red Willow County.

Her husband, Doug, is a principal partner in the accounting firm of McPherron, Skiles, Joel & Loop and is a member of the Nebraska State Board of Accountancy. They are the parents of two children: Megan, 12, and Ben, 8.

Shields, the new production manager, is a life-long newspaperman, starting as a 13-year-old helper at the Oberlin Herald, where his father was the production manager. He continued to work at the Herald through high school, and returned to the Oberlin paper in 1975 after attending Kansas State University and selling advertising for the Tri-State Plainsman in Northwest Kansas.

After eight more years at the Oberlin Herald, from 1975 to 1983, he worked for BG Printing in North Platte for two years. It was at this point in his career that he joined the Gazette, coming here in 1985 and working here continuously since that time.

Shields' wife, Clarice, is employed in the food service department at the Work Ethic Camp. They have two daughters: Heather, who works for SWATS in McCook, and Amber, who is married to Mark Shepherd and lives in Evans, Colo. Amber and Mark are the parents of Izaiah, four months of age, the Shields' first grandchild.

"Lloyd has a thorough knowledge of camera and press operations, and he possesses the patience and perseverance necessary to lead and instruct others," the publisher said. "As will Shary Skiles, I feel Lloyd will be an excellent addition to the Gazette's management team."

The McCook Daily Gazette was established as a semiweekly in 1911 and became a daily newspaper in 1924. The Gazette serves readers with daily carrier and mail delivery in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas. In addition, the Gazette reaches readers worldwide through its Web site: http://mccook gazette.com. As publisher, Morris has an ownership stake in the company, which is associated with Rust Communications, a family owned corporation based in Cape Girardeau, Mo.