#MediaMonday – Sarah Ruf
Today’s #MediaMonday comes to us from the City of Maricopa in Pinal County: Sarah Ruf the new editor of Pinal Ways Magazine.
I first connected with Sarah via her work at the Maricopa Monitor and San Tan Sun Sentinel via the work that HMA Public Relations does with two of our clients in Maricopa, the Ak-Chin Indian Community and Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino.
Sarah has been a reporter at both the Maricopa Monitor and San Tan Sun Sentinel for two years this June and was just recently selected as the editor of Pinal Ways Magazine this year. Prior to her work in Arizona she worked in Tennessee as a reporter at The Chattanoogan and as a new media editor at The Southern Accent.
Sarah, a Chattanooga native, has lived in various locales in the Valley since moving here in 2013, six weeks after graduating from Southern Adventist University with a degree in international studies and a minor in broadcast journalism.
In her free time, Sarah enjoys exploring new places, throwing surprise birthday parties for her friends and hunting for the best street taco in Phoenix.
So, Sarah, time to share!
What do you want to tell the blogosphere about yourself today?
I grew up around the news business my entire life. My father worked as a radio and television reporter until I started school; he then transitioned to teaching college students how to write a strong lead and produce a video package with tight editing. I was creating newspapers on the back of school worksheets from first grade on up and became passionate about issues that mattered to those around me at an early age (my first news story was a third grade attempt at explaining how Pokémon cards were stirring up controversy in my classroom).
It may sound cliché in communication circles, but everyone truly does have a story. One of the best parts of my job is when strangers open up and share their hopes, dreams and sufferings with me. In my role as a community journalist – and I will always be a reporter at heart – weaving those stories of everyday life, once-in-a-lifetime events and tragedies big and small is a privilege and a responsibility, one I don’t take lightly.
Pinal County has been a great place to launch my career. Maricopa is a city full of wonderful souls and my co-workers teach me new things every day. The combination of big-city excitement nearby and meaningful rural living make me glad I came out West for this chapter of my life.
If you have any story ideas that are directly related to Pinal County please email me at pinalways@trivalleycentral.com.
