Published: June 08, 2009 04:13 pm      

Express-Star welcomes new editor

A longtime journalist has circled back to Chickasha again and landed in the managing editor’s chair.

Kellly S. Wray, who was sports editor in Chickasha during the mid-1990s, was hired last week as the new managing editor of The Express-Star. His first day on the job was Wednesday.

“The building is the same, and the mission is the same,” said Wray, who was sports editor of The Express from August 2004 to January 2007. “The people have changed, but they’re still intent on delivering a good product that represents the events and issues that Chickasha residents care about, just like we did in the ‘90s.”

“This is sort of a homecoming for me. This is where I started my career, so I’ve come full circle. I look forward to seeing some old friends and making some new ones.”

In 1996, managing editor Kent Bush led The Express to a first place finish in the Oklahoma Press Association’s annual newspaper contest. Wray helped the sports section place third that year and then left to write sports for his hometown paper, The Duncan Banner, in 1997. The Express won the OPA contest again that year.

“I think a lot about Kent and that staff and the product we built,” Wray said. “I hope I can help do the same here into the next decade. Hopefully, I’ve learned some things in the last 12 years, and I hope to put those into positive use here.”

After leaving Duncan in the late 1990s, Wray wrote for newspapers in Sulphur and Lawton, Okla. He then entered the higher education field and taught journalism at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Eastern Oklahoma State College.

He was an adjunct instructor at the University of Oklahoma while managing editor of The Newcastle Pacer from 2004-07. Under his direction, The Pacer won OPA’s Better Newspaper Contest in 2005 and 2006.

Wray is a graduate of Empire High School, which is just southwest of Duncan. He earned a bachelor’s in communications and a master’s in behavioral science from Cameron University in Lawton.

“We are excited to get someone with an Express-Star background to manage the day to day news operation of the newspaper,” Editor and Publisher Jerry Pittman said. “Kelly brings a wealth of experience, fresh ideas and energy to our newsroom. He is a welcomed addition to the Express-Star management team.”

Wray married the former Julie Hathaway of Oklahoma City on May 16. The couple will be moving to Chickasha in late June.