George Wacha III came to Greenville Newspapers LLC in June of 2000, beginning as a part-time sports writer, after spending a combined 15 years in firefighting, emergency medical services and law enfor

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 4, 2004

A state-certified firefighter II, emergency paramedic and police officer, George wrote a weekly column in The Greenville Advocate for nine years covering fire and emergency medical safety and tips, while working for the Greenville Fire Department.

His first day in the newsroom he covered a train derailment near McKenzie, which contained hazardous materials. A photo of the wreckage earned &uot;Best Spot News Photo&uot; from the Alabama Press Association.

By the time football season rolled around, George came on-board fulltime for the paper as a staff writer, covering everything from Garden Club news to breaking stories, and he continued to cover sports as well.

Then in November of 2001, Wacha accepted the position of editor at The Luverne Journal and The Lowndes Signal, sister publications of The Greenville Advocate and The Butler County News. Moving his office to Luverne, he hit the ground running.

In November of 2003, he was promoted to managing editor of the two publications he ran, and continues to cover events for the two Butler County publications also.

Wacha has consistently received awards from the Alabama Press Association for his coverage of breaking news, public meetings and sporting events, and credits his success to &uot;great mentoring&uot; from the late C.H. &uot;Buster&uot; MacGuire.

To reach George, call him at 334-335-3541 or

send an e-mail to george.wacha@luvernejournal.com.