DavidsonNews.net is a community news website established in December 2006 to share information and promote discussion about town news, events, and issues in the town of Davidson, N.C. It is owned by Davidson News LLC and managed by and for Davidson residents. We’re a combination of paid staff and volunteers.
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Meet the staff
Photo by Christopher Record
David Boraks, South Street (founder and editor) – David has been interviewing national and local politicians, entertainers and artists, corporate CEOs and regular folks for more than 30 years. His work has appeared in newspapers, magazines and on the radio in the U.S. and abroad. He holds a master of arts degree in liberal studies from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., and a bachelor of arts degree in history from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. From 2001 to 2005, he covered the top U.S. banks for the daily American Banker in New York. In 2000, he was a senior correspondent for the (short-lived) online news service LocalBusiness.com. At The Charlotte Observer from 1993 to 2000, his duties included tech columnist, business writer and assistant features editor. Other gigs included editing jobs at The Hartford (Conn.) Courant and The China News in Taipei; Editor-in-chief of The Cambridge (Mass.) Chronicle, and editing and reporting for The Waterbury (Conn.) Republican. David has lived in Davidson since 1993 and, after a 2005-2006 sojourn in Taipei and Shanghai, now works as an independent writer, editor and photographer, and part-time reporter and announcer at Charlotte public radio station WFAE-FM. Web: www.davidboraks.com
Lyndsay Kibiloski - (Website manager/design director) Coordinates and creates advertising for DavidsonNews.net – ads@davidsonnews.net. A native of Michigan, Lyndsay attended Central Michigan University, Western Michigan University and the Center for New Media in Kalamazoo. After changing her major more times than should be allowed, she decided Graphic Design was her calling and received her degree in 2007. Shortly after, she fled Michigan’s snows and headed toward Atlanta in search of sun and a job. She never made it there. North Carolina was sunny enough and it is here where she currently resides. Lyndsay joined DavidsonNews.net in September 2008. She handles ad and website design, manages the finances, helps plot strategy and generally keeps David on his toes. Feel free to express your sympathies to her later. If you wish to view her work outside of DNN…and you should…please visit her website at www.dontspellmynamewrong.com.
Karen Cimino Wilson is a freelance journalist with 18 years of experience covering education, politics, government, crime and features in the Charlotte region and Florida. She has two children who attend the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and another who will attend soon. Karen attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she earned a degree in English in 1995. She started her career at The Charlotte Observer while still in college, writing features for the Cabarrus Neighbors section. Karen later took a reporter position for The Shelby Star, a small community newspaper in Cleveland County where she covered schools and crime. Karen also worked for two Florida newspapers, The Fort Pierce Tribune and the Lakeland Ledger, covering statewide education issues including charter schools and new statewide standardized testing. In 2000, Karen returned to North Carolina to work for The Charlotte Observer fulltime as a staff writer. She left the Observer in 2008 when her youngest son Luke was born and continues to write. Send school news, calendar items and more to her at Karen@davidsonnews.net.
Brenda Barger, Concord Road – Brenda is a longtime Davidson resident who co-wrote (along with Judy Schuh) the “In and around Davidson” column in the Lake Norman Times for a decade. In January 2008, she moved the column to DavidsonNews.net and renamed it “Around Davidson” – the name it had when it was founded at the old Mecklenburg Gazette weekly in the 1960s. Read Laurie Dennis’s Jan. 8, 2008, profile of her and the column or go to the Around Davidson archive page, where you’ll find all her columns. She is married to Hugh Barger. Write to her at hbarger@bellsouth.net.
Michelle Marckwardt is DavidsonNews.net’s Pets page editor and columnist. She’ll be posting regularly to this page about pets for adoption, pet and animal news and events, and photos. A native of Novi, Michigan, Michelle is a 1991 graduate of Michigan State University. She moved to North Carolina to get out of the cold and pursue her dream of working in the racing industry, which she has done since 1997. When she’s not traveling to NASCAR races to handle team communications and public relations or sitting in front of the TV watching NFL football, she spends her time cleaning up after and falling in love with the animals at the Cornelius Animal Shelter. Michelle lives in Huntersville with her grumpy cat Taylor.
Pamela Mahony, Advertising Sales. Pamela has been helping us sell ads and gather market data since January, 2009. Please contact her at pamela@davidsonnews.net for information about advertising on our site.
Rachel Jeffreys, Advertising Sales. Rachel Jeffreys is a writer, actress, and radio announcer (most recently with WDAV Public Radio). She hardly ever makes use of her degree in French from Georgetown University — quel dommage. She and her husband Christian Hamilton live in Cornelius. Please contact her at rachel@davidsonnews.net for more information about advertising on our site.
Bill Giduz, Hillside Drive – Davidson’s unofficial town photographer and head juggler, Bill contributes occasional photographs to DavidsonNews.net. He is also the director of college communications at Davidson College.
Other contributors: Michele Miller-Houck, Alex Gregor, Shelley Rigger, Robert Maier, Rodney Graham, Gordon Clark.
DavidsonNews.net in the news
June 2010, Reynolds Journalism Institute “promising local news site” – DavidsonNews.net has been listed as a “promising local news site” as part of research being conducted by Michele McClellan at the University of Missouri’s Reynolds Journalism Institute.
See “Michele’s List” at www.rjionline.org and click on “Micro-Local.”
June 2010, Society for Professional Journalists convention coverage - “Putting the hyper into local news,” a note promoting a panel at the SPJ convention, mentioning DavidsonNews.net‘s participation in a regional news partnership with The Charlotte Observer and other sites.
December 2009 – “DavidsonNews.net joins regional news partnership,” an announcement of our participation in a regional news partnership with The Charlotte Observer and other local news websites.
July 2009, Knight Batten Awards - The 2009 Knight Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism – DavisonNews.net was not a cash winner, but we got a nice pat on the back as a “notable entry.” And here’s the main page with a list of winners, including the NY Times which won a basketful of honors. http://www.j-lab.org/about/press_releases/2009_knight_batten_release/
August 2009, Charlotte Magazine – DavidsonNews.net founder David Boraks was featured in the magazine’s August 2009 “Genius Issue,” as one of 30 people helping to change the Charlotte area. In an piece called “The Online Migration” he was profiled alongside Glen Burkins, who runs QCityMetro.com in Charlotte.
August 2009, WFAE-FM – DavidsonNews.net also was the subject of a recent feature on WFAE’s Morning Edition. “Web startup DavidsonNews.net finds niche as it seeks sustainability.”
July 2009, FAIR.org – Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting writer Michelle Chen included DavidsonNews.net in an article “Local Heroes: A new media model might be right around the corner – literally.”
July 2009, New Business Models for News, CUNY – “News innovators on the frontline: DavidsonNews.net.”
May 2009, Alan Mutter’s Newsosaur blog - “No local without us says start-up web newsman.”
May 2009, Davidson College Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award – DavidsonNews.net editor David Boraks received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for community service at the May 2009 Davidson College commencement ceremony. A citation for the award read, “DavidsonNews.net has quickly become the indispensable source of news and information in town.” One of his nominators said “Davidson News makes me feel more a part of the Town of Davidson than anything else has.” See the “Latest Sullivan award winner: Your Town editor.”
