Why the Cloudcroft Reader?
If you love Cloudcroft, you know why. The Cloudcroft Reader’s mission is to gather, in one place, relevant information and news for the whole community.
Launched in October 2023, the Cloudcroft Reader is published by Sacramento Mountain News LLC.
It is a free service. By subscribing, you’ll receive periodic updates about interesting people, important local issues, and fun events.
You can follow us on Facebook.
Chris Hearne
Editor
Hannah Dean
Senior Editor
Contributing Editor
Crystal Tompkins
Photographer
The Cloudcroft Reader has been admitted to the Accelerator program by the Santa Fe-based New Mexico Local News Fund and received a grant to fund new journalistic initiatives.
Meet the Writers
The Cloudcroft Reader went live in September at www.cloudcroftReader.com, and the principal editorial drivers are Chris Hearne and Hannah Dean. Drew Gaines serves as Contributing Editor.
We want to share with you what we are doing, who we are, and where we hope to go.
Why the Reader?
Founder and Editor Chris Hearne: “I started the Cloudcroft Reader because I am concerned about the future of Cloudcroft. The audience for the reader is simple: Anyone who cares about the Cloudcroft community. Locals and seasonals. Tourists and politicians.
“I believe responsible local media helps a community. Like many of my neighbors and friends who are financially and emotionally invested in Cloudcroft, the health of the Village — today and tomorrow — matters.”
Hannah: “Contemporaneous news. What’s happening? I’m interested in updates on village grants and projects and infrastructure news that pertains to anyone invested in the area. Ideally, stories here will lend a Google search for any topic of interest that (at the time being) is potentially unavailable other than through a Facebook thread. There’s a level of authority with an official publication, and I hope to be a source of unbiased, fact-checked news.
Drew: “Local news is hard to find nowadays, especially in small villages and rural areas. I think The Reader fills a void that was left after the collapse of small town newspapers when readership switched to digital platforms. People are often caught up in national headlines pushed by giant corporate news outlets when, in reality, it’s the localized events around them that affect their lives far more. Being a trusted, unbiased source that reports on these local happenings in and around Cloudcroft is the goal.”
Why Cloudcroft?
Chris: “Because it has been increasingly home to me and my extended family over the decades. Cloudcroft is a big part of who we are; we have deep roots. I worry about the challenges ahead for the area. The hope of the Cloudcroft Reader is that by doing an excellent job of telling stories, we can help lead to better conversations and decisions.”
Hannah: “I love the people of Cloudcroft. The friend group that has welcomed us here was life-changing. We are all parenting together, having a blast in the outdoors, and supporting/supported by this community in a variety of ways. We all landed here because of what Cloudcroft offers—the forest and public lands. The schools. Hiking, hunting, sledding, biking, skiing, trail running, camping; all within this gorgeous, wild, and inspiring place.
Drew: “My wife and I found a community here in Cloudcroft. We know our neighbors. They look after us and we help them. It’s a symbiotic relationship that is disappearing in larger cities and suburbs. We love the outdoors and coexisting with mother nature. My uncle, Bob Sheker, planted himself here during the late 70s. We are building onto the cabin and lifestyle he established years ago.”
So Who Are Y’all?
Chris: “My media background began in weekly and monthly print publishing and went digital in the 90s. Austin, Houston, Seattle. My wife and I love Cloudcroft and split our time between here and Houston. For more than 50 years, our extended family has owned a cabin within walking distance of The Lodge. I enjoy biking, hiking, and playing pickleball with my Cloudcroft neighbors.
Hannah: “I’m a full-time work-from-home mom living in the Village of Cloudcroft since 2019. I grew up in Artesia, NM, and lived in Lubbock, TX for 15 years before returning to New Mexico. My husband is a journeyman lineman for OCEC, and our daughter is in Elementary at Cloudcroft Schools. I volunteer here as chair of the Village of Cloudcroft Library Advisory Board, Secretary of the Non-Profit Friends of the Library, and volunteer for the school PTO. My folks have a cabin next door and have recently moved full-time to the area. I wear a few hats as a professional: artist, writer, and curator, with a background in education. (You can buy my work at High Altitude and Aspen & Ivy here in the village.)
“As a writer I contribute to Glasstire magazine’s coverage of Texas art and Southwest Contemporary Magazine of Santa Fe’s focus on the southwest arts and culture scene, and I enjoy trying to beat Chris at pickleball in Zenith Park.”
Drew: “I am a husband, artist and writer. Caitlin and I moved to Cloudcroft full-time in August of 2022. She does accounting while I sling paint in my art studio most days. I began working on my late uncle’s cabin in 2012 and spent months at a time here during the summers with the hope of moving-in one day. We still use an outhouse, collect rain water and heat our place with a woodstove.
I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas in Denton. I grew up around that area. After school I did some non-profit reporting and worked a stint in Mexico for the UNT journalism program. I took up painting soon after. You can find me running, biking or hiking our local trails when I’m not chopping wood or in the studio.”
