Heather Casillas has been promoted from group advertising director to general manager overseeing The Cullman Times, The Athens News-Courier and St. Clair News Aegis publications for Carpenter Media Group. 

Rebecca Alexander, vice president and regional publisher for Carpenter Media Group — the parent organization of  the Alabama group of newspapers — made the announcement effective April 11. 

In addition to currently leading the sales and marketing teams for that group, which includes three weekly newspapers and dozens of magazines and special sections published each year, Casillas will continue her advertising role in addition to assuming managerial and business operations of the individual properties.  

Considering those duties, and especially in addition to the dedicated websites and digital futures associated with each product, it would take a person endowed with organizational skills, market savvy and a local knowledge of the communities those newspapers, magazines and products serve — Limestone, Cullman and St. Clair counties — to be successful in the role: Casillas is that person, Alexander said.  

A glimpse at the career journey Casillas has undertaken during her quarter-century of experience explained Alexander’s confidence. A Limestone County native who graduated from Clements High School and raised two children in her hometown, Casillas began working at The (Athens) News Courier more than 25 years ago as a clerk in the classifieds department before moving into retail sales. 

Recognizing her aptitude — and passion — for forming business relationships with their marketing partners, Casillas was moved up through the ranks, most recently serving as the advertising director for the group of newspapers.  

That hometown experience, a willingness to embrace new technology and marketing solutions with a “can-do” attitude made Casillas the No. 1 choice to cover the media groups’ coverage areas in Athens, Cullman and Pell City, Alexander said.  

“Heather has been an essential member of the Athens News Courier for more than two decades,” Alexander said. “We look forward to sharing her experience and dedication with our other Alabama locations. I know our communities of Athens, Cullman and Pell City will appreciate her continued expertise and dedication — especially as she helps our marketing partners work toward the best advertising solutions they can get in Alabama.”  

Taking on expanded duties as the Alabama group general manager won’t be easy, Casillas said, but that’s exactly why she accepted the new role.  

“I want people to know that their hometown paper is still here and still thriving. And, I love meeting new people and forming new relationships,” she said. “I have formed a lot of Limestone friendships and business partnerships over the past two-plus decades, and I’m excited about taking this expanded role in our communities of Limestone, Cullman and St. Clair, as well.”  

Something she will also be taking to those communities is her ever-growing arsenal of marketing solutions for whatever needs a business might have.  

“It’s important, especially today with the advance of technology and new digital and print products, that we let our partners know we are more than a ‘newspaper,’” Casillas said. “We are a multi-media company that has myriad products to offer to our communities; that we have something for everyone.”  

“And now,” she said, “with our wide array of magazines and ever-expanding digital footprint, we have something for every type of business — even those outside of our own products.  

As the new general manager over a wide range of Alabama territory, Casillas said that she knows she’ll have to work even harder to get to know other communities as well as she knows her native Limestone County. And she’s looking forward to the opportunity.  

“I’m always available,” Casillas said. “Call me in Cullman at 256-734-2131, in Athens at 256-232-2720 or in St. Clair at 205-884-2310 and we’ll get to work helping you promote your business, together.”