West Hawaii Today announces the promotion of J.R. De Groote to the position of sports editor.
De Groote will be responsible for engineering and directing the newspaper’s general sports coverage and the content of the sports section.
“I’m very excited to have J.R. as our Sports Editor. During J.R.’s two years with us, he has made significant improvements to our sports section with a strong emphasis on local events and athletes,” said Publisher Tracey Fosso. “West Hawaii has a very active sports community which requires a sports section that goes well beyond school sports, especially when international attention is on us for IRONMAN and PGA events. J.R. has become an integral part of the community and I know they will be as pleased as we are to have him formally recognized as sports editor.”
De Groote, 26, was raised in Kailua-Kona and joined the West Hawaii Today team in June of 2012 as a summer intern. He has served as a reporter, page designer and photographer over the years.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. De Groote is also a 2007 graduate of Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona.
De Groote may be contacted at 930-8616 or jdegroote@westhawaiitoday.com.