Home >

Seasoned Journalist Hired to Tell Clayton’s Story

After reviewing more than 80 applications, the Town of Clayton has decided to hire Stacy Davis Beard, a veteran television journalist, as the town’s first ever Public Information Officer. At a time of amazing growth for Clayton, getting information out to the public in an accurate, timely manner has become increasingly important. Town leaders are looking forward to having a dedicated professional to tackle the demanding task of keeping the public informed on everything Clayton, whether it’s road closures due to an accident, a public hearing on a new development, to news about the exciting musical acts set to entertain at the much-anticipated 2012 Harvest Festival or spectacular Clayton Center.

Stacy brings more than 15 years of journalism experience, covering everything from city council beats to war-time deployments. Born in Philadelphia, Stacy is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She’s worked in television markets from the mountains of Montana, to the coasts of North Carolina and spent seven years covering the military in Hampton Roads. Most recently she spent the last four years as a reporter and fill-in anchor for WRAL-TV in Raleigh where she made a name for herself covering human interest stories, severe weather and the John Edwards trial. She’s catapulted off aircraft carriers, jumped out of planes with Army paratroopers and soared through the clouds in jet fighters, but she says taking the plunge as Clayton’s PIO will be a challenge that’s just as exciting and rewarding.

“I thrive on telling stories and I see this job as one of the best story-telling jobs around,” said Stacy. “I’ll be telling Clayton’s story! In the local media, on our local public access channel, on social media, I’ll be getting the word out about all that this amazingly charming and growing town has to offer. And it’s where I’m raising my family…so who wouldn’t want to be paid to brag about the place they call home?”

Mayor Jody McLeod is looking forward to Stacy joining the Clayton team.

“Stacy Davis will have an immediate positive impact on our ability to actively engage our citizens in a dialogue about all that is good and important about living and working in Clayton,” he said. “We are proud that Stacy recognized the potential Clayton offers to someone with her vast experience and we can’t wait to work with her to tell our story.”

Stacy’s first day is Sept. 4th.