Crestview News Bulletin publisher Skip Foster is moving to Seminole central.
Foster announced Monday morning that he will be leaving to become president and publisher of the Tallahassee Democrat, a Gannett newspaper.
It is a dream job for Foster, a Lakeland native.
“The Fosters don’t move on a whim — we spent 22 years in the same area of North Carolina and planned on settling in to our incredible new community in Northwest Florida,” said Foster, who took the News Bulletin's helm in mid-2013. “Only a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live and work in Tallahassee, home to family and friends, lured us away from this place we have come to know and love.”
In a relatively short time, Foster brought big changes to the News Bulletin. On his first day on the job, he began a community-wide outreach effort. Based on what he heard from readers and community leaders, he elevated the discourse of the paper’s Opinion section.
A legacy of community involvement will define Foster’s tenure at the paper.
“I have been fortunate to meet inspiring community leaders, whose heartfelt devotion to making this community a better place is obvious,” said Foster, who served on the boards of the United Way and Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce.
“He is a visionary in his field at a time when many newspapers are struggling,” Okaloosa County Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel said. “He was able to tap into the community and its desire for strong and positive reporting on local events, government, military and sports.”
Before arriving in Northwest Florida, Foster — who leads a group of newspapers also including the Northwest Florida Daily News, the Destin Log and the Walton Sun — was longtime publisher and editor of the Shelby Star in North Carolina.
His last day at the News Bulletin will be Jan. 2.
“It has been an honor to watch the hard-working, creative and resourceful employees of the News Bulletin inform, entertain, serve and connect with this great community,” Foster said. “I have so much respect for all of them and what they have accomplished.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: News Bulletin publisher leaving for Tallahassee job