History

In September 2005, Community Impact Newspaper, published by JG Media, Inc. launched its first edition in Pflugerville

Pflugerville, Texas

Pflugerville is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 16,335 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 39,653...

/Round Rock, Texas

Round Rock, Texas

Round Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....

. There were three full time employees including the publisher, John Garrett, and the company officed out of the game room in John’s house. Garrett is a former Advertising Director of the Austin Business Journal before starting Community Impact Newspaper.

Today Community Impact had grown into a full-fledged, fast growing business. As of 2011 the newspaper has 63 employees, has earned multiple National Newspaper Association awards and has been named "One of the 10 Fastest Growing Newspapers in the US" by The Business Insider online magazine.

Publications / trade areas

As of 2011 the following markets are being served with various individual editions:

• Austin
  Austin, Texas
  Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
  
   (Travis County
  Travis County, Texas
  As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...
  
  ) and Williamson County
  Williamson County, Texas
  Williamson County is a county located on both the Edwards Plateau to the west, consisting of rocky terrain and hills, and Blackland Prairies in the east consising of rich, fertile farming land, The two areas are roughly bisected by Interstate 35...
  
  

• Hays County
  Hays County, Texas
  Hays County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its official population had reached 157,107. It is named for John Coffee Hays, a Texas Ranger and Mexican-American War officer. The seat of the county is San Marcos....
  
   south of Austin

• Houston
  Houston, Texas
  Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
  
   market area

• Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex

Specific trade area editions are:

Austin metro: Central Austin | Northwest Austin | Southwest Austin | Buda | Cedar Park | Georgetown | Hutto | Kyle | Leander | Pflugerville | Round Rock | San Marcos | Taylor | Westlake |

DFW metro: Colleyville | Grapevine | Southlake |

Houston metro: Cypress | Houston | Magnolia | Tomball |

There are plans for additional expansions into Houston and Dallas as well as other markets and expasion of the existing Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston markets. Current circulation in 2011 is above 700,000. The newspaper is mailed to all households in the given trade area assuring widespread circulation. It is a non-subscription based newspaper.

Awards

• Concordia University
  Concordia University
  Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
  
  (Austin, Texas) selected John P. Garrett, publisher of Community Impact Newspaper, as the "2010 Excellence in Leadership" Gala honoree and presented the prestigious Excellence in Leadership award to him.

• Texas Public Relations Association
  Public Relations Society of America
  The ' , based in New York City, is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals. The organization has more than 21,000 members, including professionals from public relations agencies, corporations, government, health care institutions, military, professional services firms,...
  
  "Silver Spur Media Award" 2010 Recipient

• National Newspaper Association
  National Newspaper Awards
  The National Newspaper Awards are prizes awarded annually for the best work in Canadian newspapers. The awards were first given in 1949 by the Toronto Press Club, which ran the awards until 1989...
  
  2010 awards:

• 1st Place – Best Agricultural Story – "Food from Austin's Backyard" by Patrick Brendel

• 1st Place – Best Review – "WeFuse" by Eric Pulsiferi

• 1st Place – Best Feature Photo– "Humane Society of Williamson County" by Kathryn Eakens

• 2nd Place – Best Education Story – "Pflugerville ISD revenue falls short of projections, TAKS scores go up" by Rob Heid:rick

• 1st Place – Best Business Feature Story – "Plant in Leander will be 'game changer' for region" by Robert Bell

• 2nd Place – Best Business Story – "Austin businesses prepare for holiday shopping season" by Eric Pulsifer

• 3rdPla:ce – Best Business Story – "Wolf Ranch brings retail stores, sales tax revenue to city" by Suzanne Haberman

• 3rdPlace – Best Education Story – "More budget cuts for CFISD" by Kimberly Stauffer

• 3rdPlace – Best Use of Color – Central Austin, , Leander / Cedar Park, Northwest Austin, Georgetown / Hutto / Taylor

• 3rdPlace – Best Newspaper Website – Round Rock / Pflugerville, Leander / Cedar Park, Northwest Austin, Georgetown / Hutto / Taylor

Management

• CEO and Publisher: John P Garrett
• Associate Publisher: Claire Love
• Houston Market Publisher: Jason Culpepper
• Chief Financial Officer: Darren Lesmeister
• Chief Operating Officer: Jennifer Garrett
• Human Resources Manager: Kimberly Davis
• Executive Editor: Cathy Kincaid
• Managing Editor: Shannon Colletti
• Creative Director: Derek Sullivan
• Ad Production Manager: Tiffany Knight

Social Media

Twitter: @impactnews (Or sign up for individual publications areas HERE

Facebook: communityimpact (Or sign up for individual publications HERE