Carol Pappas • editor and publisher
Carol Pappas is editor and publisher of Discover The Essence of St. Clair Magazine. A newspaper veteran, she retired as editor and publisher of The Daily Home, St. Clair Times and Lakeside Magazine to start her own multimedia company. She has been published in various newspapers and magazines, won dozens of writing awards in features, news and commentary and was named Distinguished Alabama Community Journalist at Auburn University for 2011.
Graham Hadley • managing editor and designer
Graham Hadley is the managing editor and designer for Discover The Essence of St. Clair Magazine and also manages the magazine website. Along with Carol Pappas, he left The Daily Home as managing editor to become vice president of the Creative Division of Partners by Design multimedia company. An Auburn journalism graduate, Hadley also served as the news editor for The Rome News Tribune in Rome, Ga.
Amanda Pritchard • writer
Beginning her writing career by auditioning to be a VJ on MTV, Amanda E.H. Pritchard has been writing for the past 10 years. Throughout her career Pritchard has been featured in national, regional and local publications. She lives in Leeds.
GiGi Hood • writer
GiGi Hood, a Samford University graduate, lives in Birmingham. A Nashville Tenn., native and avid sports enthusiast, she was the first woman sportswriter for The Nashville Tennessean. She has also written for The Birmingham News as well as contributed to numerous publications as a freelance writer. Currently she is working on U-Turn, a non-fiction book.
Loyd McIntosh • writer/photographer
Loyd McIntosh is a freelance writer and former news reporter and sports writer for several newspapers throughout the Southeast, including The Daily Home. In over 10 years as a freelance writer, he has published work in a variety of magazines. He is native of Trussville and now lives in Pell City with his wife, Elizabeth, and daughters Emily Grace and Lily. Loyd is currently the marketing manager for the Birmingham YMCA.
David Story • writer
David Story, an Alabama native, has been an educator for the past 10 years. He teaches speech and English at Southern Union State Community College and is author of America on the Rerun: TV Shows that Never Die. He has contributed to Lake Martin Living, Montgomery Living, East Alabama Living, Arts in Alabama, Auburn Villager and Auburn magazine.
Carolyn Stern • writer
Carolyn Stern is retired after a career in publishing. Her work has appeared in Progressive Farmer, Birmingham Home and Garden, Birmingham Parent, Birmingham Post-Herald and St. Clair News Aegis. She is author of Ponds: Building, Maintaining, Enjoying and has earned writing awards on a state and national scale. She lives in Beason Cove and is owner of Cove Cottage Bed and Breakfast.
Jerry Martin • photographer
Jerry Martin is chief freelance photographer for Partners by Design, a multimedia group based in Pell City. He is a veteran newspaper photographer, whose work earned numerous state awards. His photographs have appeared in many magazines, publications and online.
Mike Callahan • photographer
Mike Callahan is a freelance photographer who resides on Logan Martin Lake in Pell City. He specializes in commercial, nature and family photography. Mike’s work has been published in Outdoor Alabama Magazine, Alabama Trucking Association and Alabama Concrete Industries magazines. Publishing his work to the internet frequently, he has won many honors for pictures of the day and week.
Mike Bolton • writer
Mike Bolton, 55, was a senior reporter for the Birmingham News for 25 years covering mainly outdoors and NASCAR. He was an eight-time winner of the Associated Press Sweepstakes Award for best sports story of the year. He retired from the News in 2009 but still contributes stories. He has lived in St. Clair county for 22 years.
Elaine Miller • writer
Elaine Hobson Miller is a freelance writer with a B.A. in Journalism from Samford University. She was the first female to cover Birmingham City Hall for the Birmingham Post-Herald, where she worked as reporter, food editor and features writer. A former editor of Birmingham Home & Garden magazine and staff writer for Birmingham magazine, she has written for a variety of local, regional and national publications, including American Profile, Woman’s World, The Dallas Morning News and The Birmingham News. She is the author of two non-fiction books, Myths, Mysteries & Legends of Alabama and Nat King Cole: Unforgettable Musician. She is a member of Alabama Media Professionals and NFPW (the National Federation of Press Women). Originally from Birmingham, she lives in a log house in the middle of the woods in Ashville, surrounded by two horses, four barns cats, two dogs and a rapidly diminishing population of ducks. Follow the tribulations and jubilations of living in the woods with her new blog, Happy Trails, at countrylife-elaine@blogspot.com.
Jerry C. Smith • writer
Jerry C. Smith’s interest in photography and writing go back to his teen years. He has produced numerous articles, stories and photographs for local websites and regional newspapers and magazines, including the St. Clair County News, Sand Mountain Living, and Old Tennessee Valley. His photos have appeared in books, on national public television, in local art displays and have captured prizes in various contests. A retired business machine technician and Birmingham native, Jerry now lives near Pell City. He recently published two books: Uniquely St. Clair and Growing Up In The Magic City.
Samantha Corona • writer
Samantha Corona works as a communications coordinator for O2 Ideas, a public relations and marketing firm in Birmingham. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Auburn University, where she served as associate sports editor of The Auburn Plainsman and freelance contributor for the Opelika-Auburn News. She began her professional career with The Daily Home, covering community news, events and local government, as well as contributing to Lakeside Magazine.