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When long-standing senior advertising representative Ed Kestler retired after 38 years at Port Arthur Newsmedia, a large hole was left.

To fill in that gap, The News hired two professionals with diverse backgrounds, goals and skills.

Brad Bebee, 27, and Brittany Wyble, 30, joined the advertising sales team this week.

Bebee, a Silsbee native, graduated from Utah Valley University this year with a degree in digital media production.

After moving back to Southeast Texas, he was looking for work mid-coronavirus pandemic when this opportunity arrived.

“I heard about this job and have a passion for people,” he said. “I thought that would apply to this job and translate over. I thought I could do this.”

Bebee’s specialty is in digital production with a particular love for podcasting, two directions into which The News is steering.

“My capstone has been putting my time into making a podcast to elevate my school’s engineering program at Utah Valley,” he said. “That’s something I feel like I’m pretty good at and that’s something I’d like to do. Pairing that with the competition of sales and meeting new people, it’s a good fit.”

Wyble brings a fresh perspective, outgoing personality and familiarity to the position.

The Opelousas, Louisiana, native moved to Port Arthur in 2009 to take care of her grandmother and ended up calling it home.

“In 2016 I became a news carrier so that I could go to school for nursing,” Wyble said. “In 2018 I started working at the Medical Center of Southeast Texas, where I wore many hats, but my favorite thing to do there was caring for my patients and working as a cardiologist technician.”

With hopes of still becoming a registered nurse, Wyble is enrolled at Lamar State College Port Arthur.

She accepted the job at Port Arthur Newsmedia to cultivate relationships, meet new people and stay involved in the community.

“I chose sales because it’s not monotonous work,” Wyble said. “I get to meet new people and grow relationships with them. I feel like I’m not selling a product, but genuinely helping with their business.”

Echoing the sentiment, Bebee said he is excited to become part of the community.

“I’m excited to meet people and be out here in the world,” he said. “I can’t wait to meet local people and help out these businesses.”

Publisher Stephen Hemelt said he is excited to have both on the team.

“We’re very lucky to have two new team members fully committed to helping local businesses succeed,” he said. “Now, more than ever, it’s important to support our neighbor businesses and entrepreneurs.”

Bebee is married with an 18-month-old son. His hobbies include playing music, listening to podcasts, watching football and fishing.

Wyble has two children. Her hobbies include singing karaoke, fishing and helping others.

“With Brittany and Brad helping lead the way, Port Arthur Newsmedia is ready to serve our clients’ needs today and years into the future,” Hemelt said. “Their knowledge of web-based, print and magazine features are going to bring awareness to the products and services in our community, which are second to none. It’s great to see our team continue to grow.”