Foltz
Smith
The Wilmington News Journal recently hired two reporters to join its editorial team — Richard Foltz and Stephanie Smith.
“We are thrilled to welcome Stephanie and Richard to our team,” said Wilmington News Journal Editor Ryan Carter. “Now with a full editorial staff, which also includes reporter Serena Hammond and longtime sports editor Mark Huber, News Journal readers will notice expanded coverage in their communities. The entire News Journal team is very excited about what the future holds for out publication — both online and in print.”
If you look up the word “nontraditional” in the dictionary, the definition would be “Stephanie Smith.”
Stephanie began her journalism career by writing obituaries for The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post until both papers ceased publication in 2007. After adventures in Philadelphia and Savannah, Georgia, Stephanie moved back home to Cincinnati in 2010, then returned to the University of Cincinnati in 2014, where she majored in journalism and minored in electronic media and English. She was the digital editor at The News Record, UC’s student-run news organization, where she used her web design skills to redesign their website, earning her awards from the Ohio News Media Association and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Five years later, Stephanie is finally back in the newsroom after a brief detour as a park services associate at Kings Island. As a reporter with the Wilmington News Journal, she focuses on all things Clinton County.
When Stephanie isn’t chasing the latest news story, you can find her binging on Hallmark Christmas movies any time of the year, reliving the action in endless reruns of “Walker, Texas Ranger” (that show never gets old), and denying that she’s becoming a Swiftie.
Stephanie can be reached at [email protected]
Richard Foltz, a recent graduate of Wright State University, resides in East Dayton with his girlfriend, their two cats, and their dog. Born in Moncolva, Ohio, a rural community outside Toledo, Ohio, he moved to the Dayton metro area in the summer of 2016 and enrolled at Sinclair College shortly thereafter.
His love for writing led him to work as a reporter at Sinclair’s student-run newspaper in the fall of 2018. Within months he would serve as editor of the paper in the summer of 2019 through the summer of 2021. During that time he covered stories on the tornadoes that struck the Dayton metro area, the Oregon District shootings and subsequent aftermath, the 2020 election cycle, and the COVID-19 pandemic, among others.
At a young age, he loved literature, movies, and football–himself a Northwest Ohio native, he became a Cleveland Browns and Ohio State fan. On his time off he’s most likely found taking in a movie, reading, or writing if he’s not spending time with his girlfriend or their pets.
Growing up in a rural community, Richard enjoys the pastoral aspects of small-town life and has an affinity for small-town communities and the interwoven lives of the people, the local governments, and how rural communities thrive in an ever-changing world.
Richard can be reached at [email protected]
