Celinda Emison

Big Country / General Affairs

Celinda Emison is the Abilene Reporter News' first full-time reporter based in Brownwood and has been with the newspaper since 2003. She previously was a freelance correspondent for the Reporter-News and has worked for the Monahans News, Brownwood Bulletin and Waxahachie Daily Light where she won several awards for column writing, news and feature writing and photography.

Today, she serves as the Big Country staff writer for the Reporter-News, covering everything from hard news to features in the 23-county region.

Prior to being hired at the Reporter-News, she was the producer and co-host of a morning news talk show on KXYL 96.9 FM in Brownwood for two years. In 2004, the Reporter-News presented her with the first ever "Ghost Employee of the Year" award since she is rarely seen at the Reporter-News office.

She earned her bachelor's degree in mass communication/journalism in 1994 at the University of Texas at the Permian Basin under the tutelage of Dr. Bob Rothstein, who she refers to as her "professor and mentor."

She has two daughters, Audrey Grace, 21, who is attending college in Odessa and Emma Catherine, 18, who will be a sophomore in college in the fall. She is married to Doug, and has two stepsons Andrew and Luke who have served in the Navy and in Iraq and were honorably discharged.

When she is not operating the one-woman newsroom in Brownwood, the self-described news junkie, enjoys going to small town festivals, cooking exotic dishes, antiquing, decorating, watching real crime shows and listening to music, particularly rock, blues and folk. Over the years, she has been a member of several organizations including The Ark Domestic Violence Shelter and the American Heart Association. She has also worked to promote beautification and historic preservation efforts in Brownwood.

Recent stories:

• A Green Christmas
  December 1, 2008
• Brownwood family wants alley named for matriarch
  November 28, 2008
• Colorado City man arrested after collision with DPS trooper
  November 28, 2008
• Woman's body found near Tuscola
  November 28, 2008
• Star ISD seeks to stave off closure
  November 27, 2008
• Knox County photographer in Texas Monthly
  November 27, 2008
• Coleman store owner happy to have sold $2.4M ticket
  November 26, 2008
• Texas Monthly highlights area cafes
  November 25, 2008
• Communities offer Thanksgiving meals
  November 24, 2008
• Hunters donate to food banks
  November 23, 2008
• See full list of stories by Celinda Emison...