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Meet the Staff

Fred Stabbert III

Publisher

Serves as the President of Catskill Delaware Publications, Inc. and Publisher of the Sullivan County Democrat, a 130-year-old, twice-weekly newspaper which covers Sullivan County. Mr. Stabbert is the Secretary of the Board at Jeffersonville Bancorp., where he has been a director since 2012. He served as President of the New York Press Association and as Chairman of the Board of the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development for four years. Mr. Stabbert is also President of the Board of the Kautz, Thorwelle, Sawyer Scholarship Foundation, and a founding director of Sullivan Renaissance. Mr. Stabbert also served as a Trustee for Sullivan County Community College for nine years. He is a Legion of Honor member of the Callicoon Kiwanis Club, where he served as President and is a 30-year member. He serves as a member of the Callicoon Business Association. Mr. Stabbert earned a BA degree from St. Bonaventure University in 1983, majoring in Mass Communication. He lives in Callicoon with his wife, Regina. They have three grown children.

Fred can be contacted at: publisher@sc-democrat.com

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

Crystal Tweed

Sports Editor

Crystal Tweed was born and raised in Sullivan County and runs Tweed’s Gymnastics with her husband. With a background in business management and PR, writing for the local paper seemed like a good fit. Crystal is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Sportscasting with the goal of working in television as a lifestyle or sports show host.

Crystal can be contacted at: sports@sc-democrat.com

Derek Kirk

Editor

A graduate of Pennsylvania Western University (2021) in California, PA, with a Bachelor’s Degree in English, Derek joined the newspaper as a staff writer that following autumn, and covered the happenings of the towns of Liberty, Highland, Forestburgh and Tusten, as well as wrote on a number of various topics for the paper and its 50-plus annual special sections. Since his promotion to editor in early 2023, Derek has continued to write news, community interest articles and opinion pieces – all while overseeing a team of award-winning writers and photographers that collaborate to actively tell the stories that matter most to the readership within Sullivan County. 

In his free time, he enjoys creative writing, as well as reading poetry and fiction, exploring the great outdoors, and spending time with his friends and family scattered all around Pennsylvania and New York.

Derek can be contacted at: derek@sc-democrat.com

Vincent Kurzrock

Born in Mineola, New York on March 5, 1999, Vincent didn’t stick around in the city for long and immediately moved to Fallsburg in Sullivan County. He spent his first 16 years as a student of Tri-Valley Central School and, owing to his love of the arts, would go on to partake in their theater club. This eventually earned him a spot in their Thespian Society. The reason he was so invested in theater is because he could act as a character that was the opposite of his personality, which was a fun factor to him. 

Growing up, he would enjoy writing short stories about his family and the whimsical adventures they would partake in. He did not know it yet, but this would be the spark that ignited his deep-rooted passion for creative writing. In high school, Vincent enrolled in some creative writing classes. After graduating Tri-Valley School, his studies at SUNY Sullivan allowed him to explore his skills in the creative writing department even further.

From there, Vincent attended SUNY Oswego in the fall of 2019. Vincent graduated with a Bachelors in journalism and a minor in creative writing, helping solidify his future in the arts.

Upon graduating in the winter of 2021, it didn’t take long for Vincent to migrate to a career opportunity that would suit his love of journalism. He found himself right at home with the Shawangunk Journal in Ellenville. His article detailing the history of the Homowack Lodge reportedly became the number two spot for the top 10 stories of the previous five days since it was published in March of 2023.

Vincent can be contacted at: vincent@sc-democrat.com

Alex Kielar

Assistant Editor

Joining the Democrat as a Staff Writer in March 2023, Alex has progressed quickly at the publication after earning his Associate’s Degree in Sports Management from Lackawanna College in 2021. After just over a year of learning the ropes of all the ongoings of Sullivan County, Alex was promoted to Assistant Editor in September 2024. Covering various beats in the hard news world as well as sports, Alex has developed his skillset as a journalist as he hones his craft with both his writing and photography. In his free time, Alex enjoys listening to music, reading, watching sports and catching up on his favorite TV shows.

Alex can be contacted at: akielar@sc-democrat.com

SALES TEAM

Barbara Matos

Advertising Director

Joining the Sullivan County Democrat sales team in 2014, Barbara brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from her 20-plus years working in NYC in Television Ad Sales. Her territory is from Fosterdale to Goshen, as well as both sides of the River from Cochecton to Port Jervis. On the weekends you can find Barbara paddling down the Delaware River or enjoying time with her husband on their Hobby Farm.

Barbara can be contacted at: barbaram@sc-democrat.com

Susan Panella

Advertising Representative

Susan, a past recipient of the New York State Certificate of Merit Toast Award, has worked at the Democrat for six years. She proudly serves the Roscoe, Livingston Manor, Callicoon, Hancock, Delaware County, Honesdale, Hawley and Wallenpaupack territories. She enjoys fishing and spending time with her dogs Sully and Bear.

Susan can be contacted at: susan@sc-democrat.com

Janet Will

Classifieds Manager

In the circulation department she ensures that customer information is up to date and prepares reports that are needed to produce and mail the paper. As the classifieds manager, Janet is here to help you with your classified advertising needs whether you are in need of hiring someone, you have an item for sale or you own a business and would like to take advantage of our Service Directory. As part of the telemarketing team, Janet sells special sections throughout the year including the Job Fair Tab, Graduation, Administrative Professionals Day, Adopt A Pet, Easter and Christmas Worship, and for fun, she creates the Valentine’s Day puzzle and handles the Turkey Raffle.

Janet can be contacted at: class@sc-democrat.com

Michelle Reynolds

Sales Coordinator/Manager

Michelle started at the Sullivan County Democrat in December 1998 selling ads for our salute sections from home so she could continue to care for her young son who wasn’t ready for school. By 2004 she had become the head of the in-house marketing department and worked on not only salute sections but ads for the body of the paper and various inserts.  As position grew so did her responsibilities by filling in when needed for other departments.  She enjoys working with our customers and helping them with their advertising needs.

Michelle can be contacted at: mreynolds@sc-democrat.com

BUSINESS OFFICE

Sara Wendell

Business Manager

Sara can be contacted at: saraw@sc-democrat.com

Subscriptions

Subscriptions can be contacted at: subs@sc-democrat.com

Patricia Biedinger

Patricia joined the Democrat in May of 2013, and has over 40 years of customer service experience. She likes the challenges she faces every day as well as the opportunities to learn new things. She's also always willing to help out with accounting and subscription issues. Her position includes, A/R (billing and collections), A/P, circulation, worship listings, and archive research. To her, the Democrat feels like a family of hard-working individuals who always put the customer first every day. Even during her time away from work, she works: by taking care of her family. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, listening to music, gardening, and walking.

Patricia can be contacted at: patriciab@sc-democrat.com or 845-887-5200

PRODUCTION/DESIGN TEAM

Briona Harjes

Production Manager

Briona was raised in Dutchess County. Briona attended Dutchess BOCES CTI in 2013 for graphic design and graduated in 2015. She has also attended Dutchess Community College and graduated with an Associates degree in visual arts. When she isn't working, Harjes enjoys playing video games, watching hockey, and reading. 

Briona can be contacted at: briona@sc-democrat.com

Maya Malioutina

Production Associate

Maya can be contacted at: calendar@sc-democrat.com

Ruth Huggler

Graphic Artist/Production Assistant

A Liberty native, Ruth earned a BA in English/creative writing from Syracuse University, and studied graphic design at SUNY Sullivan. Starting at Catskill-Delaware Publications in 2002, Ruth has also filled the role of proofreader, editorial assistant, columnist (Give Us Paws), and reporter/photographer. She compiles the "Down the Decades" column weekly, and designs pages for the Democrat and special sections. She also volunteers at several historical societies.

Ruth can be contacted at: obits@sc-democrat.com

Rosalie Mycka

Graphic Artist

Growing up in a family of professional artists, Rosalie attended Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and went on to become a graphic designer and illustrator in Toronto, New York City and in Sullivan County. She has worked for Catskill Delaware Publications for over a decade and has won or helped to win over a dozen national and state awards during her professional career. At the Democrat she is responsible for the editorial design and redesign of ancillary publications such as Catskills Confidential, Home in the Country, Business Edge, Health and Wellness and others. She also does layout for The Sullivan County Democrat newspaper.

Nyssa Calkin

Photo Editor

As the photo editor since 2014, Nyssa's responsibilities include obtaining, selecting, and postprocessing images for news print, as well as uploading articles to the website. You might even catch her out and about, taking photos of events as a reporter and our senior concert photographer. Nyssa's ties to Sullivan County date back to the 1700s, when her paternal family settled in the region. When not involved in her work here for the newspaper, she is likely performing conservation field work, hiking, floating down the Delaware River, rock climbing with her two kids, taking photos of wildlife, or training a pup for conservation scentwork.

Nyssa can be contacted at: nyssa@sc-democrat.com

Elizabeth Finnegan

Proofreader

If it’s printed, she’s seen it. Finnegan proofreads all ads and editorial copy that appear in the newspaper and our 50-plus annual special publications.