DAVIDSON—Tara de Ryk is pleased to announce that Dan Senick will become the Publisher and Editor of The Davidson Leader.

He is the winner of the “Win Your Own Publication” contest.

Having decided to retire from the newspaper business, de Ryk launched the contest in order to find someone to carry on The Davidson Leader, a community newspaper that has served Davidson, Craik, Bladworth, Kenaston, Hanley and surrounding areas since 1904.

The contest proved to be successful in not only finding a new publisher for The Davidson Leader, but also in sparking interest in local news and a discussion on the importance of local newspapers to the communities and people they serve.

“I received more than a dozen entries and I interviewed several whom I thought were good candidates,” de Ryk said.

“I picked Dan because of his experience in the community newspaper industry and the fact he is bringing with him a team of seasoned newspaper people who have the skill set needed to maintain and improve The Davidson Leader.”

About Dan and his team

Dan started a local community newspaper yourSaskatoonnews in Saskatoon after previously being the general manager of the Saskatoon Express community newspaper. Before that he was director of sales for a group of newspapers including the Prince Albert Daily Herald and other weeklies.

Also joining The Leader team is Cam Hutchinson, who will provide support with editorial content. Cam was most recently the editor of the Saskatoon Express for eight years. Before helping start the Express, he had a lengthy career in writing and helping manage the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.

Darren Steinke will provide local reporting. He is currently a freelance/writer photographer and has a blog called Stank’s Sermon He was previously a reporter for the Medicine Hat News and Prince Albert Daily Herald.

Sales will be handled by Carol Trap and Aaron Shutra. Carol has worked in sales at the Saskatoon Express and the AutoTrader. Carol’s passion for community newspapers started while working at the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association. Aaron worked in sales at the Saskatoon Express for over five years.

“We are very excited to become part of the Davidson and area community and continue the tradition of people reading The Davidson Leader for many more years to come,” Dan said. “We are all community newspaper people, priding ourselves in providing local community news.”

De Ryk agrees, “I picked these people because they are passionate about newspapers and believe in print. Us newspaper people are a strange bunch. We work long hours to meet constant deadlines and then repeat it all over again the next week. It’s exhausting and stressful but very rewarding too to create something that people depend on and look forward to reading each week. Unless you bleed ink, the average person doesn’t get it. Dan and his team do.”

De Ryk adds, “I believe Dan and his team have the sales and marketing skills that will ensure the success of The Davidson Leader for years to come. They have the editorial skills to maintain the community news and improve it. They’ll be able to do more than I ever could.”

There will be familiar faces at The Leader too. Dianne Murfitt will continue to work at The Leader office, handling accounts receivable and providing the same exceptional customer service.

Holly LePoudre is taking over Midway Flowers and will operate it out of The Leader building.

“I’m happy that Dianne and Holly will continue to be part of these two community institutions,” de Ryk said.

Reader favourites will remain

The Davidson Leader won’t change much under new ownership.

Reader favourites including The Way it Is by Flo Shaw, Yesteryears News and the town news will remain an important part of The Leader each week.

Dan will continue publishing The Leader on Mondays. He’s also going to retain The Leader’s commercial printing business, which should reassure commercial print clients that they may continue to shop local when it comes to their printing needs. To ensure a successful transition de Ryk said her wish is that readers, advertisers and the community as a whole continues to offer Dan the same support they have shown her all these years. The first edition of The Davidson Leader under Dan will be published Jan. 13, 2020.