Sedalia Democrat makes three new hires

The Sedalia Democrat has hired Chris Howell as its new city reporter and Ryan Sheehan is a new education reporter.

Howell will be covering Sedalia government, crime, business and various city departments, and assisting with general assignment and feature coverage. Sheehan will be covering all things education in Sedalia and Pettis County, as well as providing county government news coverage while also assisting with general assignment and feature coverage.

Howell began his career in broadcast television as a corporate television director for the JC Penney Corporate office in Plano. Later, he became a news journalist at KLTV. He has also worked as a mobile video journalist and stormchaser for News On 6.

He then left broadcast news to produce videos at Brief Media, the world’s leading business-to-business veterinary journal.

Sheehan worked for several years as a staff writer for the Muleskinner, UCM’s student-led newspaper, and was an intern for the Warrensburg Star-Journal. He has also worked as a production assistant on independent films and other productions along with being a camera operator for various university and community events.

The company also hired Diana Surface for the advertising department as a sales representative. Surface has previous outside sales experience and leadership that is sure to suit her well with her new customers.

“I look forward to meeting the advertisers and building a professional relationship with each of them,” Surface said.