Amanda is a 10-time award-winning journalist who has been in the field for more than a decade. A graduate of Valdosta State University, where she was a features editor for the campus newspaper, Amanda has since moved on to embark on a career that has led her to winning top state awards through the Georgia Press Association.
She has been a lifestyles editor for The Valdosta Daily Times and a magazine editor for The Daily Times' monthly publication, Valdosta Scene, overseeing a small staff and being third-in-command in the newsroom. While at the Daily Times, she revamped the company's magazine, acted as a link between the community and readers and took on hard-hitting assignments that garnered her multiple accolades while remaining committed to community journalism.
Her leadership then took her to The Griffin Daily News, where she was a managing editor and department head who worked closely with the publisher and marketing manager. While there, she brought new light to the newspaper and its bimonthly magazine, Southern Crescent Living. She established new weekly departments for the newspaper while correlating opportunities for advertising and editorial to come together and share space on the pages.
Her awards include: two for Investigating Reporting (first and third place), Feature Photo (second place), three for Lifestyle Coverage (first and second places), Best Magazine Overall Design (first place), Magazine Cover Design (third place), Magazine Product (second place) and Religion Writing (third place).
The Associated Press has run 13 of her stories through its weekend wire, and she has had multiple stories to circulate both nationally and internationally in several print and digital publications. National Public Radio Atlanta (WABE) has interviewed Amanda about her work.
She has interviewed Adrian Peterson, Gov. Brian Kemp, Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp, Super Bowl Champ Malcolm Mitchell, Elizabeth Smart, two Harlem Globetrotters, Pam Tebow, Misty Copeland and the late Burt Reynolds. She has also photographed Shaquille O'Neal, Flo Rida and other public figures.
Amanda has a passion for storytelling and enjoys being a voice for the local community. While her work ranges from crime to business to education news, her heart lies in features journalism as it offers the chance to meet diverse people and share their stories in a way that matters. The readers and those she interviews will always come first for Amanda.
WATCH: A Volusia County deputy rescues a young boy who is considered to be autistic from a pond after the child wandered away from his home.
Will the weather favor superb viewing of the Perseid meteor shower? Here's what to know in Florida.
Will the weather favor superb viewing of the Perseid meteor shower? Here's what to know in Georgia.
Florida drivers can be fined and face points on their driver's licenses if they illegally wrap their license plates, state authorities say.
Weather officials told Patch if Tropical Storm Debby backtracks near GA, flooding can be "impactful" for already overwhelmed areas.
"Brian (Davis) was a giant in leadership with his intellect, wisdom and imagination," the Georgia Aquarium's board chairman said of the CEO.
See if your local Florida Big Lots has been tapped for closure amid the retail giant's financial uncertainty.
See if your local Big Lots has been tapped for closure amid the retail giant's financial uncertainty.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission, which was reformed in 2016, provides oversight of alleged misconduct by Georgia judges.
Five people were reportedly killed in FL and one in GA while at least 110,000 people remained without power Tuesday due to Hurricane Debby.
After battering the Georgia coast overnight Tuesday, officials say the eye of Tropical Storm Debby could return and bring more rain to GA.
U.S. News said the sixth annual 2024 Healthiest Communities ranking measures how well counties serve their residents. See how FL ranked.
U.S. News said the sixth annual 2024 Healthiest Communities ranking measures how well counties serve their residents. See how GA ranked.
Gwinnett County officers found 215 pieces of stolen mail in the postal worker's personal car during a search, police said.
Chatham County was one of multiple Georgia counties to be placed under a flood warning as Tropical Storm Debby pounded the U.S.
A Good Samaritan found 25 packages of cocaine that had washed ashore by Hurricane Debby, the deadly storm that pounded Florida.
Authorities say a Georgia investigator was also charged in connection with the alleged assault of an inmate.
While impacts from Tropical Storm Debby could primarily target coastal GA, the remainder of the state will not be exempt from thunderstorms.
“The most serious criminal offenses in this case occurred in Ohio," a GA prosecutor in the Maria Gomez-Perez case said Friday.
Patch is giving readers a cheat sheet regarding five new businesses, including new restaurants, that have opened in Georgia.
