Brian Knapp
An award-winning writer and editor based in Social Circle, Brian Knapp has spent the last 25 years as a journalist. He grew up in Covington and graduated from Newton High School in 1996. Brian went on to serve as sports editor and managing editor of The Covington News before accepting a position as features editor for Sherdog.com, the largest mixed martial arts website in the world. His work has appeared on ESPN.com and FoxSports.com and in Real Fighter, ChopTalk, Ultimate MMA and Sports Spectrum magazines. Brian was named editor of The Newton Community Magazine in 2018. He married his wife, Holly, in 2001. They have two sons, Gehrig and Gibson.
Percussive Passion
A drummer since the age of 4, Tim Kirkland pours his instinctive talent into teaching, worship and a growing musical journey anchored in faith and family. by Brian Knapp If
On The Cover: ‘River Rocks’
Jacqueline Kelly often draws inspiration from nature and the God who created it, as evidenced in “River Rocks”—the painting she crafted for the 2026 Fall Issue of The NEWTON Community
The Boardwalk to Brightness
Martin Mensah could not imagine his life without art. “It has fundamentally changed how I see the world,” he said. “I no longer observe casually. Light becomes something to analyze;
Wild at Heart
Paintbrushes just seem to belong in Wes Whitney’s hands. The 69-year-old Fort Worth, Texas, native was born into an Air Force family, which allowed him to see the world at
In Memoriam: Ronald Bradley
(Nov. 19, 1934-Oct. 3, 2025) by Brian Knapp Word reached my ears on a Sunday morning in October that Ronald M. Bradley had completed his race after 90 years, 10
‘As If at the Sistine’
Wanda Reagan started painting roughly a decade ago, after she attended a life-changing “Southern Lights” exhibition at The Bascom Art Center in Highlands, North Carolina. “It was a show that
‘Life Moves Pretty Fast’
Live long enough and buildings become part of your story. For instance, the Franklin Store in Starrsville—which artist Tray Corley so brilliantly painted to serve as the latest cover of
No Ordinary Life
Dana Hammonds lost her younger brother and former major league pitcher David Elder to suicide in January 2023. While his legacy lives on in those he loved, coached and mentored,
Thoughts on an Empty Nest
God made me a father 18 years and almost eight months ago with the arrival of my firstborn son. Gehrig was six weeks early and spent six days in the