Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
Where in the state are you located? The paper is in Doniphan (Ripley County, near the Arkansas border). But I live in Grandin.
Who owns the newspaper? Concord Publishing House.
What other services does it provide? Commercial printing.
Circulation of newspaper: 850 print and also online.
Number of issues per week/publication day(s): One, published on Thursday.
Number of full-time and part-time staff: I work 32 hours per week, and our reporter works 20 hours per week.
Population of the town and county: City limits is 1781, and the county is approximately 10,718.
Is the community growing, declining, or holding steady? Growing slightly.
Your greatest challenge: Trying to get everything done in a very short amount of time.
Newspaper’s biggest strength: Local coverage.
Newspaper’s biggest weakness or obstacle to overcome: Lack of help to cover local events.
Your family: Married to Gene Joplin for 36 years. We have one daughter and I have one step-son and daughter-in-law, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Your hobbies/interests: Shopping and spending time with family.
List something that is interesting or unusual about you: Love watching thriller movies.
What is your favorite professional accomplishment? Being a loyal employee.
By Debra Tune
From The Prospect News, Doniphan
Changing times have impacted every aspect of running a newspaper. Sacrifices have had to be made which have been extremely challenging for those of us who try to keep pace with the news and compete in a fragile economy for advertising dollars, without which we can’t and won’t survive.
Kelly is our rock during these tough times. When there are not enough hours in a day to complete the work that it takes to get the newspaper out on time, she finds something else she can do to take up the slack and help us make deadline.
Her grasp of technology, instincts about troubleshooting, ability to adapt, creativity and memory for detail is unparalleled in an industry where everything that takes place in the office relies on those skills.
Kelly started out at Corning, Arkansas at the Clay County Courier, where she did everything from the most menial and boring tasks such as folding inserts, to designing ads.
Julie Stone, accounts manager, says, “Kelly has a wondrous way of creating marvelous projects from thoughts and conversations composed of scribbles, illegible notes, directional arrows, and files found in the wrong category, usually photos.
“I am sincere with high praise, with the statement to clients when they are pleased with their advertisements, and tell them, ‘It is all Kelly, she is my magic.’ Her extraordinary talent and exceptional dedication have been visible on every page of The Prospect-News for the last 30 years.”
