Address: 319 N Renfro St., Mount Airy, NC 27030
Primary Phone: 336-786-4141
Primary Fax: 336-789-2816
Gary Lawrence
Heartland COO and Publisher
336-719-1905
glawrence@heartlandpublications.com
Gary Lawrence joined Heartland Publications, LLC in May 2005 as Chief Operating Officer of the Southern Division. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Heartland. A 38-year veteran of the newspaper industry, Lawrence has served as Group Publisher, Corporate Regional Vice President, Publisher and various advertising and circulation management positions with newspaper companies Journal Register, Morris, McClatchy and Scripps. A native of Hartselle, Alabama, Lawrence attended the University of Alabama, and graduated with a degree in Business from Roger Williams University. He completed post graduate work with a Para Legal Certification from Roger Williams University and studied Masters level subjects in Mass Communications at Middle Tennessee State University. Lawrence is married to his wife of 30 years, Ellen. They have three children, Kevin, Joel and Lindsay and seven grandchildren, Reid, Elijah, Macie, Kalistah, Jacob, Katie and Ella.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Oversees operations for all Heartland locations. Publisher of Mount Airy News regional publications.
Sandra Hurley
General Manager, Adv. Manager/Regional Sales Director
336-719-1907
shurley@heartlandpublications.com
Sandra Hurley has worked with Heartland Publications since April 2005 where she served as publisher of The Williamson Daily News in Williamson, W.Va. In March 2006, she transferred to oversee operations at The Sampson Independent, in Clinton, N.C.; and has recently moved to Mount Airy, N.C., to serve as General Manager and Regional Sales Director. She oversees advertising in Heartland's western North Carolina newspapers as well as operations in Mount Airy. Hurley previously worked as publisher, advertising manager, circulation manager and editor for Mid-South Management, and has over 30 years experience in the newspaper industry. College years focused on early childhood education, but after starting work at The Jefferson Post, in West Jefferson, N.C., she found that the newspaper industry was her love. She is a Mount Airy Rotarian and serves on the United Fund Board of Directors. She and her husband Will, live in the Dobson community and have two sons, Holden and Wes.
RESPONSIBILITIES: General Manager and Regional Sales Director
Ferris Simpson
Business Manager/Circulation Manager
336-719-1904
fsimpson@heartlandpublications.com
Ferris Simpson has worked with The Mount Airy News for 23 years and serves as Office Manager and Circulation Manager. An accounting graduate of UNC-Charlotte, he supervises the bookkeeping and circulation departments for The Mount Airy News. He also oversees bookkeeping and circulation for area papers in Pilot Mountain, N.C., Hillsville, Va., Stokes, N.C., Elkin, N.C., Yadkin, N.C. and West Jefferson, N.C. Ferris and his wife Linda reside in Pilot Mountain.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Regional Office Manager and Regional Circulation Manager
Daryl Mumford
Production Manager
336-719-1906
dmumford@heartlandpublications.com
Daryl Mumford, Production Director, has worked with the Mount Airy News for 10 years of his 25 years print production experience. He has a Business Management Degree from Ashworth University. Daryl oversees the printing, packaging, equipment repairs/maintenance for the Mount Airy News and is a troubleshooter for the company's multiple print plants. Daryl and his wife Jessica live in Mount Airy and have two children.
RESPONSIBILTIIES: Production Director
Lois Tilley
Creative Services Manager
336-719-1909
ltilley@heartlandpublications.com
Lois S. Tilley, Creative Services Manager, has been associated with The Mount Airy News, employed or as a free-lance artist since 1983. She studied Commercial Art & Advertising at Winsalm College. She oversees the graphics department, which serves twenty newspapers across five states. She is both a traditional and graphic artist and enjoys calligraphy, illustration and portraiture. She is also an avid collector of anything relating to vintage advertising, particularly postcards, newspapers and magazines. She and her husband Eddie live in the Ararat community and are members of Mount Zion Baptist Church. She enjoys spending time with her family, which includes daughters, Sarah and Amy, and son-in-law, Jake.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Creative Services Manager
John Peters
Editor
336-719-1931
jpeters@heartlandpublications.com
John Peters, Editor, has worked at the Mount Airy News for four years. He recently took on the additional duties of Regional Editor for Heartland Publications and, while he greatly enjoys editing and working with his staff, he still counts among his favorite parts of the job finding that gem of a story in unusual places, or talking with people who can tell him what local life was like 30 or 50 (or more) years ago. He and his wife have five children and an always-changing number of assorted other creatures.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Regional Editor
Wendy Byerly Wood
Associate Editor
336-719-1923
wbyerly-wood@heartlandpublications.com
Wendy Byerly Wood, associate editor of The Mount Airy News and editor of The Pilot, has worked for The Mount Airy News since February 2001. She graduated from Brevard College with a Bachelor of Arts in English, during which time she worked a Christmas break internship at The Mount Airy News. She helps oversee the editorial and pagination divisions of The News, Simple Pleasures, mtairynews.com and numerous special products as well as editorial content for The Pilot. She is a member of the Bannertown Volunteer Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary, an associate member of the Ararat-Longhill Ruritan Club, and a past president and past member of the Mount Airy Jaycees. Wendy lives in the Longhill/Pilot Mountain community with her husband, Johnnie III, and their son, Jackson Kourtland.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Mt. Airy Associate Editor, The Pilot Editor
