Elswicks assume leadership roles at Light and Champion

CENTER – Veteran East Texas journalist Mike Elswick has been named editor and publisher of The Light and Champion, bringing with him his wife Stephanie as advertising manager. 
Elswick, a graduate of Aransas Pass High School, has worked for newspapers in Texas, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
Mike Elswick worked for the jointly owned Longview News-Journal and Marshall News Messenger for nearly 30 years between 1983 and 2013. 
He served as editor and publisher for the Terrell Tribune from 2013 through 2016. 
Most recently he has been with the Muskogee Phoenix, a daily newspaper in Muskogee, Oklahoma. 
Stephanie Elswick has been the advertising director at the Muskogee Phoenix for the past 20 months and joined The Light and Champion staff in early July. Previously, she worked in advertising in Shreveport, Louisiana, and in Terrell, as well as in East Texas.
In addition to working together, the Elswicks have been involved in community service. “We both see being in leadership positions at a community newspaper as much more than a job,” Mike Elswick said.
“It’s our passion to both help facilitate communication within the community and to be involved however we can to make Center a better place to live and work.”
Mike Elswick has served as an officer in Rotary International, at chambers of commerce and other civic groups. In Longview, he served as the founding board president of a hands-on children’s discovery center and Longview World of Wonders, LongviewWOW.org. 
Stephanie Elswick served on the board of directors for the Terrell Chamber of Commerce and has been active in organizing art walk events, serving in organizations such as the Pilot Club and as co-chair for several years in Longview’s KidsFest portion of the long-running AlleyFest in that city.