The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch Publisher Betty Ramsey announced this week that Graham “Rusty” Carter has joined the newspaper’s staff as managing editor.

Carter has been a professional journalist for more than 30 years, with previous stops in Suffolk, Williamsburg and Vero Beach, FL. He succeeds Jordan Miles, who left the Herald earlier this year.

“We are fortunate to have a journalist of Carter’s caliber to lead our news team. He understands the unique role of a community newspaper in serving the interest of readers advertisers and the community. I am excited about the development of our news content under his leadership, Ramsey said.

During a 28-year stay at The Virginia Gazette in Williamsburg, Carter rose from sports editor to assistant editor, and in 2004 was named editor by then publisher William O’Donovan. During that time the Gazette grew to a circulation of nearly 20,000.

A native Virginian, Carter has been the recipient of 70 state and national journalism awards. Perhaps his favorite was an obituary for Jimmy Maloney, the long-time owner of the Williamsburg Pottery Factory. The report began, “Jimmy Maloney knew every one of his hundreds of employees by name. To Maloney, everyone was ‘Hoss.’”

“The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch is already a great community newspaper, one the community loves,” Carter said. “My goal is to help make the newspaper even stronger, and prepare the next generation of reporters to carry that mantel.”