Courier-Times sold to Dunn Daily Record

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The Daily Record (Dunn, N.C.) has expanded its operation with the acquisition of The Courier-Times of Roxboro, one of North Carolina's leading community newspapers.

Daily Record publisher Bart Adams, along with Brent Adams and Maere Kay Lashmit, announced the purchase. Their father and mother, Hoover and Mellicent Adams, founded The Daily Record in 1950.

Brinn Clayton, Courier-Times publisher, and Bart Adams are longtime friends and that friendship played an important role in the sale.

"I was thrilled when Bart showed interest in the CT," Clayton said. "The Adams family has been in the newspaper business for many years. They have treated their newspaper as not just a business, but also a sacred trust of the people of their community."

The Courier-Times traces its foundation as the community newspaper of Roxboro and Person County to 1881 and The Roxboro Herald. At some point between then and 1909, the Noell family purchased the newspaper and changed the name to The Roxboro Courier.

In June of 1929 Maynard C. Clayton and Sam Merritt partnered to form The Person County Times in direct competition to The Roxboro Courier. In October of 1943, the two community newspapers merged to form The Courier-Times with Clayton, Merritt and J.W. Noell as partners. With the death of Noell in 1961 and Merritt in 1962, Maynard Clayton became sole owner of The Courier-Times and asked his son, Jerry, to assist him in managing the newspaper.

In 1987 after graduating from Elon College, Jerry Clayton's son, Brinn, joined the corporation as assistant publisher. In 2000, with Jerry Clayton's retirement, Brinn Clayton became publisher.

Brinn Clayton decided to sell the newspaper after he experienced a calling to serve others as a Christian-based family counselor.

He is pursuing a master of arts in Christian marital, family and individual counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest.

As Bart Adams pointed out, "The Courier-Times remains a family-owned newspaper with the same commitment to community service."

"I've known both Jerry and Brinn Clayton for years," he added. "Brinn has long been one of my buddies in the industry. I know his integrity. And I know he's led the paper with the same philosophy of community service that we've always tried to live by. It just seemed to be a perfect fit."

"Roxboro is so similar to Dunn," Adams continued. "They're both great communities. And my family is excited about being a part of Roxboro's and Person County's future."

Once the sale was completed Wednesday, he announced the promotion of The Courier-Times' editor, Johnny Whitfield, to editor and publisher.

"Johnny is a seasoned journalist with broad experience in the newspaper industry," Adams said. "He loves Roxboro, and I know he will do a fantastic job leading The Courier-Times."

He added, "I'm so impressed with the entire Courier-Times staff. They are committed to stewarding the legacy that Brinn has carried on so well. I look forward to getting to know each of them better."

The Courier-Times is published each Wednesday and Saturday.

Ken Blum, senior associate with W.B. Grimes & Company, represented Clayton in the sale.

Dunn, Roxboro, Adams, Clayton, W.B. Grimes & Company
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