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New owners of Native Sun Publishing Inc. Charise Abernathy, Ernestine Chasing Hawk, Trudy Bearing, Travis Afraid of Bear, Erick Long Wolf, Ardis McRae, Jason Wolters and Kirk Dickerson. (Not pictured - Timmy Giago).RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA – Employees at Native Sun News in Rapid City have taken on new roles as owners of the two and a half year old publication. Former owner/publisher Tim Giago officially transferred ownership over to his employees on June 30. Giago retired from the newsroom in April 1, 2011, two years after he opened Native Sun News. In the past two years Native Sun News has grown to become the largest weekly newspaper in South Dakota and the trend continues. The new owners and Board of Directors of Native Sun Publishing Inc. are; Kirk Dickerson (CEO-President), Jason Wolters (Publisher-Vice-president), Ernestine Chasing Hawk (Editor-Secretary) ,Trudy Bearing (Executive Assistant-Treasurer), Ardis McRae (Production- Board Member), Charise Abernathy (Sales Manager-Board Member), Travis Afraid of Bear (Classified sales-Board Member), Timothy Giago Jr. (Circulation-Board Member) and Erick Long Wolf (Sales Executive-Board Member). “We have moved under new ownership and part of the team has a long history in the newspaper business and the rest are really committed employees,” Chasing Hawk said. Dickerson originally from St. Louis, Missouri graduated from Merced College in Merced, California with an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration in 1992. He brings to the newsroom many years of experience in advertising. He began as an advertising sales representative in 2004 for the Lakota Journal under the guidance of Giago and remained with Lakota Journal until 2008. In 2010 he was recruited to join the sales team at Native Sun. “I am shocked and elated at the same time to be an owner of Native Sun News. I have put in a lot of miles throughout the state building the paper for the last year. I am just proud to see it pay the dividends that it has,” Dickerson said. Wolters grew up in the community of Manderson on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and graduated from Red Cloud Indian School. He began a career in publishing more than 14 years ago when he started in the pressroom at Indian Country Today. He worked his way up into the production room where he learned newspaper pagination and has fine tuned his expertise in graphic arts over the years. Chasing Hawk who grew up on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management while raising seven children as a single parent. She began a career as a staff writer with Giago at the Lakota Journal in 2003. She went on to become one of the founders of the Dakota Journal and Lakota Country Times. Chasing Hawk has published numerous award winning articles and photographs in her career as both a journalist and an editor. McRae, a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, was a Air Force dependent, brings to the table not only her experience in production with the original Indian Country Today but also when it was moved to upstate New York. McRae worked for the Oneidas until she came to work at Native Sun. She has close to 14 years experience in the publishing business. Bearing, Oglala Lakota/Northern Arapahoe, born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation is a graduate of Oglala Lakota College with an Associate’s Degree in Office Software Applications. She is currently working towards a Bachelors Degree in Information Technology. Bearing has proven herself to be a dedicated employee of Native Sun and worked for the paper for free as a volunteer for several weeks before she was eligible for the United Sioux Tribes WIA program. Abernathy, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, who has taken over Jackie Giago’s position as Sales Manager, has brought in accounts where many past reps couldn’t even get past the door. She came to Native Sun last August after working at a call center for almost five years as a supervisor and customer service training. She also works as a model and will be in Cadillac Jacks 2012 calendar. Afraid of Bear heading up classified sales was also onboard at Indian Country Today and started as a sales rep in 1997. He was transferred to the Northwest Bureau of Indian Country Today in Lacy, Washington before returning to the Black Hills. He also worked for Giago at the Lakota Journal. Timmy Giago, son of Tim Giago grew up in the newspaper business and will carry on the legacy built by his father. He is currently working to expand circulation up into the Black Hills at more tourist attractions. Long Wolf, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe worked with Abernathy for more than seven years as a sales associate for a local catalog company. He is a graduate of the Box Elder Jobs Corps in Nemo. He attended National American University with a major in Business Management and a minor in International Business. “I joined Native Sun News eager to work in the sales department and I am very appreciative of this great opportunity,” Long Wolf said. (Contact Ernestine Chasing Hawk at editor@nsweekly.com)
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