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About Us: Link Staff
Editorial
Mike Benzie
Editor
mbenzie@upstatelink.com
864-298-3761
It's a simple Boy-meets-newspaper story,
really. Boy graduates from Denison University in Ohio
with a G.P.A. that forces Boy to quickly hone creative-writing
skills for resume building. After five short years waiting
tables and living off a Visa and MasterCard trust fund,
Boy meets his first newspaper and the two quickly become
married. That is, until Boy has an affair with a much
younger publication targeting Web-savvy readers in their
20s and 30s. And Boy's first newspaper is totally on
to it and this new, totally hot publication keeps sucking
up all of Boy's time. "Relationships are just so
hard, you know," says Boy. PS: Boy is Benzie.
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Anne VandenBerghe
Copy Editor
avand@upstatelink.com
864-298-3771
Anne is a born and bred southerner,
from right here in good ol' Greenville. She fell into
writing and designing
pages after a Clemson University engineering professor's
fatal words: "Most engineers are good at math and
lack good communication skills." Since she can't
add and has always been a good talker, she dropped out
of engineering to become a futureless, poor liberal arts
major. Always nosy, becoming a reporter for a local newspaper
after college catered to her need to ask too many questions.
Years later, in a Diet Coke induced haze, she jumped
at the chance to work for Link. She spends
time gardening at her home, spoiling her Persian cat,
Cole, and burying her nose in books. Anne likes cheap
wine, expensive champagne, bargain shopping, Tiger football
Saturdays and sleeping. |
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Adam Wickliffe
Online Editor
awickliffe@upstatelink.com
864-298-3763
Perhaps from another dimension of political
reality, Adam is a liberal treading water in the sea
of the red of South Carolina from his tiny cube in the
Link office. Hailing from the booming metropolis of Anderson,
S.C., Adam brings his writing, photography and editing
skills learned in college to Link to do ... the Web site.
After spending 20 years in academia
(enough time to retire), drinking inordinate amounts
of Jack, Gatorade and Kool-Aid (not often at the same
time), serving time on the senior staff at
The Tiger at Clemson
University and
achieving
academic
supremacy by graduating ... twice, he came to the realization
that he was broke and needed a job. This will have to
do for now ...
While he’s not zoning out
at Link, Adam enjoys photography, golf, debating the
true meaning of "work" and being host of his talk
radio show on the Clemson
campus. He dabbles in political debate whenever possible;
declaring victory in all situations
regardless of the outcome.
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Justin
Chappell
Staff Writer
jchappell@upstatelink.com
864-298-4267
Justin Chappell was raised in the
mountains of Pennsylvania where he spent his teen
years primarily on skateboards and snowboards. Hiking
mountains and scouring city streets, Justin's thrill
of discovery was a natural framework for the daily
story hunt in journalism. So he went to the University
of South Carolina in Columbia and graduated in May
2005 with a print journalism degree. Then, a young
Greenville
paper
called and
asked him to walk its streets and hunt stories. So
he said yes.
When he's not out trying to find the most random
and quirky stories, Justin roves through thrift stores
for clothing, records and furniture. He prefers hobbies
to television, writing to reading and walking to
driving. He also takes a lot of pictures, too.
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Clayton Kale
Staff Writer
ckale@upstatelink.com
864-298-3765
Clayton was born in the foothills of
the Blue Ridge mountains. He moved to Spartanburg when
he was 10 years old and has lived there ever since except
for a four-and-a-half year stint of schooling in Columbia
where he learned how to break grammar rules and still
look like a halfway decent writer. Clayton spends his
free time chasing his sock-thieving dog and hitting his
friends with the planet.
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Ana Parra
Staff Writer
aparra@upstatelink.com
864-298-3766
Ana naturally became an urban nomad after her parents moved her
from city to city, eventually bringing her to Greenville. A New
Yorker by birth, recent Philadelphian and proud Greenvillian she
is learning to grow roots again and reclaiming her Southern drawl.
Her vices are many but include downloading a massive musical library,
learning to be a pretentious wine and beer drinker, educating herself
by watching VH-1 pop-culture commentary and watching foreign films
in order to learn random phrases in random languages.
As for journalism it all started with a fifth-grade experience
where a creative writing teacher made Ana talk to a tree, Ana decided
it would be much nicer (no offense trees) to talk to people resulting
in four years pursuing a journalism degree at the University of
South Carolina resulting in a career in journalism. There were
other influences but the tree episode stayed with her.
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Erin Ridgeway
Staff Writer/Calendar Czar
eridgeway@upstatelink.com
864-298-3767
A native of bustling Greenwood,
SC, Erin attended Clemson University, where she followed
bands around the Southeast
and learned to lose gracefully at beer pong. In her spare
time, she earned a BA in Communication Studies. Erin
is an unrivaled trivia master, accomplished knitter,
compulsive organizer and self-professed music snob. She
never misses “Gilmore Girls” and has yet
to meet a police drama she didn’t like. While some
have thrown around descriptors like “anally retentive” and “neurotic,” she
prefers the far-cuter “quirky.” Her motto
remains, “If you don’t know, make it up and
try to sound authoritative,” a mindset she freely
admits may be less than ideal for a journalist.
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Mylene
Lopez
Intern
mlopez@upstatelink.com
Mylene lived in sunny south Florida before moving to South Carolina.
She has made Greenville her home for the past nine years and with
the exception of allergy season has loved every minute of it. She
is currently a journalism student at USC Upstate, from where she
hopes to graduate in May 2006 if the stars are aligned in her favor.
Most of the time you can find her planning
trips to exotic locations, which she never goes on
due to the fact that she is flat out broke.
So, she makes up for it by eating at ethnic restaurants. |
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Contributing Writers
Simon Crowe
Book and Movie Reviewer |
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Evan Gauntner
Book Reviewer
egauntner@upstatelink.com
Evan hails originally from northern Ohio and can bench
press over 500 pounds. |
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Daniel Goldberg
Movie Critic
movies@upstatelink.com
Daniel was born in Augusta, but
achieved total consciousness at the University of Georgia,
where he often played soccer
in the midnight darkness of Myers Quad under the guise
of blonde afro-wigged "Carlos." After graduating
with a degree in journalism in 1999, Daniel adopted his
alter ego's pitch strategy as his life philosophy: "Carlos
no play defense." A two-year stint in the Lifestyle
section of The Greenville News followed, where Daniel's
reckless, ball-hogging style of play frequently—and
deservedly—inspired his editors to slide tackle
him. As Link's reigning movie guy, Daniel now finds more
mature direction in the words of "Better Off Dead" philosopher
Charles de Mar : "Go that way, really fast. Then turn." In
his spare time, Daniel enjoys speaking in the third person
and bragging to friends in the newsroom about his spare
time. |
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Jill Ingram
Columnist
jingram@citizen-times.com
Jill Ingram is a reporter and columnist for the
Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times. She's a graduate
of the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
Her degree in literature has kept her in newspapers,
but has otherwise worked out well. She likes to run,
read and work on her home, which is falling down
around her.
Read
Jill Ingram's columns >>
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Reed Messer
Dining Diva
reedmesser@aol.com
Reed was born somewhere right around here and has lived in Greenville
most of her life. After graduating from the College of Charleston,
she worked on Kiawah Island as a golf forecaddie. Then it was off
to graduate school in London for a while. Things she learned there:
a) braces must be an American thing b) beer with a 12% alcohol level
is basically whiskey c) left is right and right is wrong and d) British
cuisine is comparable to solidified sewage. The only constant in
Reed’s life is her ability to get herself into inexplicably
random situations. |
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Bruce Morrison
Gaming Guru |
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Dusty Scott
Columnist/Deep Thinker |
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Advertising
Jackie Joy
Advertising
jjoy@upstatelink.com
864-298-3762
Growing up Jackie knew he wanted to be in advertising.
Born and bred here in Greenville he jumped at the chance
to work for the Upstate's new Link to young readers.
When hes not hitting the streets promoting Link, Jackie
enjoys anything that involves water, staying fit, keeping
up with the latest music, sipping wine and traveling
the planet. |
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Tina Horne
Advertising
thorne@upstatelink.com
864-298-3773
Tina was raised in her birthplace of Greenville, S.C. She has spent
most of her life in the state with the exception of the one year
she lived in Colorado Spring, Co. She had an exciting year of hiking
and skiing while exploring Pikes Peak and the Rocky Mountains.
Tiny is still a newlywed and is looking forward to
building a new home that will no doubt keep her very
busy.
She enjoys working out, traveling and spending time
hanging out with friends. In the fall, you can find
her tailgating with friends and family at Clemson football
games. Her favorite cartoon character is Smurfette,
but ironically her favorite color is not blue, but
yellow. Like Jackie, she's a Pieces and her favorite
food is Mexican-Italian, although we're not quite sure
how that happened.
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Chad Picha
Graphic Artist
cpicha@upstatelink.com
864-298-3772
Chad was born outside of Chicago. Way outside of Chicago.
His father moved the family to Daytona Beach, FL when
Chad was 11 years old and this is where he learned how
to surf, skateboard and play 'Nam in the woods. By the
time high school was under way, Chad realized his talents
were limited to the arts, (and the art of partying) so
he pursued a career in pizza delivery. Obviously. Sometime
during those turbulent months, Chad found that there
was a country in Africa named after him. This inspired
him so that he became fascinated with computers and pursuing
a career in graphic art. So now in between skateboarding,
surfing, riding bikes and downing pints of ale, Chad
was in training. Now having finally made it to that place,
Chad has returned (in his spare time) to doing those
things he loves: skateboarding, exploring, disc golf
and downing pints of ale. |
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Halei Mattocks
Sales Manager
hmattocks@upstatelink.com
864-298-4113
Hailing from the sunny banks of Silver Creek GA,
Halei graduated from Darlington School and Berry
College. Her degree is in Interior Design, which
she practiced in Georgia and New York before moving
to Greenville and landing in advertising. She enjoys
traveling with her husband David, working out, participating
in a Supper Club, and shopping at Macy's.
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Photography and Layout
Matt Williamson
Layout
mwilliamson@upstatelink.com
864-298-3769
Growing up in Dugway Utah, Matt spent his days after
school catching reptiles and riding motorcycles on the
chemical weapons testing base wasteland of Dugway. His
family spent vacations exploring the National Parks of
Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming. Some
of the greatest sights he has seen out west are the Goosenecks
of the San Juan River,
the north rim of the Grand
Canyon,
Bryce Canyon National
Park
and Grand Teton National
Park.
At 12-years-old Matt's parents moved him and his sister
Suzy to Alexandria VA, a big change from the deserts
of Utah he was accustomed to. Virginia was a great place
for him to go through high school and into college. His
family lived about three miles from George Washington’s
home on the Potomac River.
When Matt was 20 he moved away from home to his mothers
childhood home in Daytona Beach FL. and lived there with
his two cousins Ben and Chrissie (who are also residents
of Greenville). He enjoyed living on the Atlantic coast
so different from the deserts of his childhood.
Now Matt is here in Greenville enjoying
the southern way of life. He received his education with
streets changing names
at stoplights in V.A. so Matt was programmed for the
Greenville area. The best part of Greenville to Matt
is the people he meets in everyday life and all the hilly
roads (He likes driving).
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Ian Curcio
Staff Photographer
icurcio@upstatelink.com
864-298-3770
Meet Link’s newest shooter, Ian. Born in Sparkle
City, this Pisces enjoys music (and lots of it),
chess, philosophy and HBO original series. Although
as a boy Ian’s creativity sometimes got him
in trouble, he knew it was the direction for him.
So he found himself in school (and lots of it – time
that is) after 6 long years, in May, he will finally
graduate from USC-Upstate with a Bachelor of Arts. “Make
me laugh,” he challenges you if you see him
working on the streets of the Upstate. Although he
warns you, he might not hear you coming due to the
new MP3 player blasting in his ears. We told you,
he loves music.
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Link Alumni
Matt Baldwin
Staff Photographer
Feb.-Nov. 2004
You know where all those little ski slopes are up
in North Carolina? Matt got himself borned up in
them hills in 1979. After playing in the creek for
a spell and then going to high school for a piece
he moved out to Montana for college. Living life
in Montana was a downright blissful experience. Matt
graduated from the University of Montana last May.
After that he did some more living up on the shores
of Lake Superior with his homegirl. Now he does his
living and chilling here. Matt spend most of my free
time in the woods chasing after squirrels, sleeping
under the stars and watching the Weather Channel.
Matt’s favorite season is the coldest day of
winter. His future plan is to follow the snow across
the globe and make a coffee table picture book of
his skiing travels.
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Price
Atkinson
Staff Writer
Feb. 2004-Feb. 2005
Atkinson was born and raised here
in Greenville. After a year at Georgia Southern,
Atkinson transferred to what he considers THE best
basketball school ever—the University of Kentucky.
While at Kentucky, Price was a collegiate swimmer
specializing in the 200-meter breaststroke. If Price
is not busy on a story for Link, you can find him
engrossed in UK hoops, Braves baseball, Carolina
Panthers football, horse racing and pro wrestling
(don't try to call him on Monday nights or during
UK basketball games - he won't answer). An interesting
tidbit about Atkinson is that he escorted Ashley
Judd to a few Kentucky basketball games, while working
as a sports information assistant for UK Athletics
after graduation. He cites the Army-Navy football
game, the Kentucky Derby and any UK home basketball
game at Rupp Arena as his greatest live sporting
experiences. In his spare time, Price enjoys running,
watching sports and keeping up with his friends that
are all over the country.
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Holly Pruitt
Advertising
Feb. 2004-Dec. 2004
Holly was born and raised in Greenville. She graduated
from Clemson University with a degree in marketing
and enjoys going to the beach, listening to music
and volunteering. She has a thing for black-tie affairs.
Holly's connectivity includes membership in the Junior
League Greenville and Kiwanis~Main Street Greenville.
Reliable sources tell us she's pretty average.
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Ferheed Syed
Graphics Intern
Summer 2005
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Lillia
Callum-Penso
Staff Writer
Feb. 2004-June 2005
Lillia was born and raised in Atlanta,
Ga., southeast that is. A quiet kid, she honed her
skills of observation and people watching early on.
She developed a love of language at a young age as
well, and she hopes to learn as many as she can before
outside forces warp her mind completely.
Lillia graduated from UGA with a degree
in magazines in 2003 and will forever have a place
in her heart for Athens. You can usually find her
at a park, when she's not in the office, and if she
could, she'd always have music playing around her.
Right now, it's usually just in her head.
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Lindsey Catanzarite
Advertising
Mar. 2005-Aug. 2005
Lindsey grew up in Lakeland, Fla. in a family
much like “My
Big Fat Greek Wedding,” except that her family
is Cuban. After high school she moved to Gainesville,
Fla. to be a Gator with her high school sweetheart.
A few years later she married her sweetheart and
moved to Anderson, S.C. so he could pursue the intriguing
career path of Biomedical Engineering as a grad student
at Clemson University. Her degree from Florida is
in advertising and she was lucky enough to put her
degree to use as an advertising sales rep for Link.
When
Lindsey's not working she likes to shop, grab a good
book or hit the movie theater.
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