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Meet the Staff

Tony Chavonne

Publisher

Tony can be contacted at: tony@chavonne.net

Bill Horner

Executive Editor

Bill Horner III has spent most of his career in newspapering. His first byline in The Sanford Herald, founded by his grandfather in 1930, came when he was 13 years old. He spent more than 30 years at The Herald, the last 18 as publisher. The newspaper was recognized with four first-place “General Excellence” awards during his last six years there. After a short retirement beginning in 2016, Bill served for more than four years as publisher and editor of The Chatham News + Record, which won more news reporting awards than any other weekly newspaper in N.C. during his tenure there. He and his wife, Lee Ann, live in Sanford. They have three grown children and two grandchildren.

Bill can be contacted at: bhorner@cityviewnc.com

Maydha Devarajan

Managing Editor

Maydha Devarajan is the managing editor for CityView Today. Her reporting has appeared in the Chatham News & Record, the Raleigh News & Observer and her college’s newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel. Maydha was the 2023 Julian Bond Fellow at Facing South, the online magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies, where she produced investigative stories on power, place and democracy in the American South. She grew up in Cary, North Carolina, and is a 2022 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill. Maydha loves talking and writing about the South and is always excited to learn something new about her home state of North Carolina.

Maydha can be contacted at: mdevarajan@cityviewnc.com

Ashlee Cleveland

General Manager

Ashlee Cleveland is the General Manager of CityView Media. She grew up in the Raleigh area and is a 2002 graduate of UNC-Wilmington. She has over 13 years of experience working with CityView. She is an active member of her church and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children.

Ashlee can be contacted at: acleveland@cityviewnc.com

Valeria Cloës

Lead Copy Editor and Editorial Assistant

Valeria Cloës is the lead copy editor and editorial assistant for CityView Media. She is a 2023 graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill and its Hussman School of Journalism and Media, and has worked across daily and weekly news publications, like the Daily Tar Heel and the Chatham News + Record (under Bill Horner III), and magazines, like Coulture Magazine and Triangle Media Partners’ Chapel Hill, Durham and Chatham Magazine, and Heart of NC Weddings. She is trilingual, speaking fluent Spanish, French and English, and has lived in Argentina, France and multiple cities across the United States. Valeria loves baking, listening to music and traveling.

Valeria can be contacted at: vcloes@cityviewnc.com or 910-423-6500

Kayti Gutierrez

Sales Team Leader

Kayti Fletcher Gutierrez joined CityView as an account executive in early 2023. Originally from Bloomington, Indiana, she studied business at Indiana University. She is Mrs. Fayetteville International 2023, a foster child advocate, and a Guardian Ad Litem. Before joining CityView, she was a district training and recruitment manager for Aldo for 14 years. She is a dedicated military spouse with three beautiful children.

Kayti can be contacted at: kgutierrez@cityviewnc.com

Rhonda Smith

Community Engagement Manager

Rhonda Smith serves as the community engagement manager for CityView Media, bringing with her a wealth of experience as a U.S. Air Force veteran. Graduating from UNC-Greensboro in 2018, Rhonda holds a degree in business administration and possesses five years of public affairs training. Additionally, she is currently pursuing her M.S. in Project Management, demonstrating her commitment to continuous growth and professional development.

Rhonda can be contacted at: cityview@cityviewnc.com

Lexi Solomon

Government Accountability Reporter

Lexi Solomon is a government accountability reporter at CityView, focusing on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners and the school board. She grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia, and received degrees in Russian and National Security & Foreign Affairs in 2022 from Virginia Tech. Before joining CityView, she worked at The Fayetteville Observer as a crime reporter and government watchdog reporter. She enjoys hiking, reading and traveling in her free time.

Lexi can be contacted at: lsolomon@cityviewnc.com or 910-423-6500

Evey Weisblat

Reporter

Evey Weisblat is a journalist with five years of experience in local news reporting. She has previously worked at papers in central North Carolina, including The Pilot and the Chatham News + Record. Her central beat is government accountability reporting, covering the Fayetteville City Council and Cumberland County Board of Commissioners.

Evey can be contacted at: eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608

Paul Woolverton

Senior Reporter

Paul Woolverton comes to CityView from The Fayetteville Observer, where he worked for more than 30 years and covered crime, the justice system, the legislature, agriculture, local and state politics, and numerous other subjects, and also was a photographer. He previously was with the StarNews in Wilmington, and while in college at NC State worked at Technician (the campus newspaper), WKNC radio, WPTF radio, and The News & Observer. In his free time, Paul performs and volunteers with the Sweet Tea Shakespeare community theater troupe in Fayetteville.

Paul can be contacted at: pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com or 910-261-4710

CONTRIBUTORS

Greg Barnes

Investigative reporter

Greg Barnes worked as an investigative reporter and editor at The Fayetteville Observer for about 30 years before retiring in 2018. That year, he was named Gatehouse Media’s News Writer of the Year. A year earlier, Gatehouse named him Beat Reporter of the Year. He most recently worked as a freelance reporter for three years at NC Health News, where he wrote extensively on contaminated drinking water and other environmental health issues.

Greg can be contacted at: gregbarnes401@gmail.com

Jason Canady

Reporter

Jason Canady is an award-winning writer from Fayetteville. He has written for CityView Magazine and most recently worked in the University Relations Department at Methodist University. He covers Hope Mills government for CityView Today.

Jason can be contacted at: jcanady@cityviewnc.com

Bill Kirby Jr.

Senior Columnist

Bill Kirby Jr. is a veteran journalist who spent 49 years as a newspaper editor, reporter and columnist covering Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the Cape Fear Region for The Fayetteville Observer. He most recently has written for CityView Magazine.

Bill can be contacted at: billkirby49@gmail.com

Jami McLaughlin

Reporter

Jami McLaughlin covers Spring Lake for CityView Today and also writes features for CityView Magazine. She has deep family roots in Spring Lake and in Cumberland County and is also currently the events director for the Greater Fayetteville Chamber. Locally, she has also written for Making Rounds magazine, the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal, Up & Coming Weekly and The Fayetteville Observer, and has written for Fayetteville Area Mom on the Go since 2018. She is a graduate of East Carolina University, where she received a bachelor's degree in communications, and Central Michigan University, where she earned a master's degree in administration.

Jami can be contacted at: jmclaughlin@cityviewnc.com

Hannah Lee

Reporter

Hannah Lee currently covers the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners for CityView. She is a freelance writer and has previously written for Up & Coming Weekly. Before moving to Fort Liberty with her family, she was a local news reporter in Jacksonville, Florida at 104.5 WOKV. She is a graduate of the University of North Florida and is a mom of two daughters.

Hannah can be contacted at: hannahleenews@gmail.com

Tony Wooten

Freelance Photographer

Tony is a freelance photographer based out of Fayetteville, North Carolina. His work reflects his desire to represent a writer's vision within the two-dimensional space of a photograph. When not covering for publications, Tony produces commercial media emphasizing events, business branding, and real estate.

Tony can be contacted at: twooten@cityviewnc.com

Jaylin Kremer

HomeFront Columnist

Jaylin Kremer is a HomeFront columnist for CityView. She is a Pittsburgh native and a military spouse. She writes about the lives of military families, is studying psychology and plans to go to law school, and currently works a legal aid. Jaylin is a member of the Fort Liberty school board and first vice president of the Fort Liberty Spouses Club. She believes that small acts of kindness go a long way.

Jaylin can be contacted at: jaykremer95@gmail.com

Aria Spears

HomeFront Columnist

Aria Spears joined CityView as a HomeFront columnist in 2023. She is a freelance copywriter, civic leadership enthusiast and current graduate student at Duke University. A Missourian-turned-Army spouse, she loves a good float trip and exploring the Fayetteville–Fort Liberty region with her family and Jack Russell Terrier, Renny.

Aria can be contacted at: hello@aria-writes.com

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