Kent Marts Named New Publisher Of Area Weeklies

Thursday, May 20, 2010

— John Dilmore, who has worked as publisher of the Gravette News Herald for the past two years, has accepted a job as publisher of the Alpine Avalanche, in Alpine, Texas. His last day as publisher of the News Herald will be Friday.

Dilmore came on board as publisher on June 1, 2009, succeeding longtime publisher Shelly Moran. Before that, he was opinion page editor of The Benton County Daily Record in Bentonville.

Kent Marts, who edited The Benton County Daily Record for 15 years until November, when he became editor of the weekly newspapers owned by Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC, replaces Dilmore and takes on the additional role of general manager of the weeklies.

“Living and working in Siloam Springs has been a really positive experience,” Dilmore said. “The people here have been good to me and (my wife) Jennifer. I’m proud of the work the paper has done over the past couple of years. It’s a credit to the excellent staff here.”

Of Marts’ appointment as publisher, Dilmore said, “It feels a little odd to recommend Kent - he was my boss for four years at The Daily Record so it seems like it should be the other way around. But the paper couldn’t be in better hands.”

Marts has worked inBenton County since 1986. He grew up in Springdale, where he started working for newspapers at age 13.

“I’m excited about my expanded role in the company and the chance I have to continue to provide great newspapers in western Benton County,” Marts said. “Over that past dozen years, Shelly, then John, maintained great newspapers. I am stepping into a position that is blessed to have a great staff that’s focused on producing newspapers that serve the communities.”

Marts and his wife, Natalie (a kindergarten teacher), have four children: Jeff, 21, a student at Northwest Arkansas Community College; Sarah, 19, also a student at NWACC; Laura, 15, a freshman at Bentonville High School; and David, 8, a second grader in Bentonville. Marts plans to relocate to the Siloam Springs area.

“While I may not have lived in western Benton County, the area is very familiar to be because I’ve worked at The Daily Record for nearly 25 years and during that time I’ve formed friendships with many people in the Gravette area.

“I’ve been working closely with the staffs in western Benton County for more than two decades,” Marts said. “I now look forward to an even closer association with the staffs here.”

Opinion, Pages 4 on 05/19/2010