Zowie joins Highland Lakes Newspapers staff
Highland Lakes Newspapers Publisher Frank Shubert announced this week the addition of Richard Zowie as a staff writer.
Zowie will be the sports editor for The Highlander, covering Marble Falls and Faith Academy sports, but will also take an active role in on the news side, covering Marble Falls ISD for The Highlander as well as general assignments. He also will utilize his layout and design talents to the production side of the newspaper.
"Richard has hit the ground running and has already made significant contributions to The Highlander,” Shubert said. “We are excited to have his talents and energy working for the communities we serve and look forward what's coming next!"
“I have very pleased with the work Richard has done in the short time he has already been with us,” Managing Editor Lew K. Cohn said. “I think readers of The Highlander will soon realize how fortunate we are to have him join our staff and what a great fit he is for this area. He is an accomplished, dedicated writer who will complement our award-winning local sports and news coverage.”
Before coming to The Highlander, Zowie previously worked at the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post for nearly four years. He has worked as a journalist for publications in Texas, Illinois and Michigan.
A few years ago, he placed third in the South Texas Press Association in humor writing. He has written about school boards, sports, veterans' affairs and feature stories. Zowie once even covered a Michigan township meeting where a fight nearly broke out. He also wrote a blog series about the 50th anniversary of "The Day the Music" died and interviewed relatives of Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, along with an associate of the widow of Buddy Holly.
“It’s a privilege to be working here at The Highlander, and I look forward to telling the stories local people have,” said Zowie.
Zowie has a bachelor of arts degree in history, with a minor in English, from Pensacola Christian College, and an associate's degree in the Russian Basic Course from Defense Language Institute in Presidio of Monterey, California. He served four years in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist. He also studied Mandarin Chinese and still knows how to write his name in Chinese and ask for chopsticks at a restaurant.
He is the father of three sons, Jonathon, Charles, and his youngest son, Robert, a junior at Fredericksburg High School.
Zowie was born in Louisiana and then lived in Kansas for several years before moving to Texas. A self-described "adopted Texan," he lived for two years in Alvin before growing up in South Texas in Beeville. After leaving home, he eventually lived several years in a city he still adores: San Antonio.
His hobbies include walking, visiting museums, reading, writing fiction, geocaching and playing chess. He hopes someday to visit Germany, Russia and Israel.
