Farewell to a long-time team member

Jake Abbott, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·2 min read

Jun. 17—After 21 years with the Appeal, former photo editor and current sales executive Chris Kaufman announced his last day with the publication will be today (Friday).

"I will miss working with incredible community members who have been gracious in trusting me with the responsibility of telling their stories, when I worked in the editorial department, and partnering with their businesses to promote their products and services, when I worked in the advertising department," Kaufman said.

Kaufman started his journey with the Appeal in January 2000 when he was hired by then-photo editor Dave Nielsen, who he credits as an incredible mentor to so many photojournalists. He was hired as a photojournalist covering news, sports, and features, while occasionally diving into long-term photo projects.

In 2007, Kaufman became the publication's photo editor, which was at a time, he said, when multimedia and video projects were becoming an exciting way for newspaper photojournalists to tell stories.

"It was incredible to see how the photo team flourished learning the new media and adding amazing, dynamic content to the website while still capturing powerful and impactful still images," Kaufman said.

Some of his biggest accomplishments while serving as photo editor, he said, included seeing staff members find their dream jobs and new ways to discover and achieve their career goals.

In 2012, he added the role of reporter and started writing stories and covering events for the publication. He said the additional role afforded him the opportunity to connect with the community on a new level.

He transitioned to the advertising department in 2019, where as a sales executive partnered with businesses and clients in the Marysville, southwest Yuba City, Live Oak and Colusa territories to help create brand awareness and promote their products and services using print and digital advertising.

Moving forward, Kaufman will be working for Adobe on the computer software company's Photoshop team — a product he loves and has been working with since the early 1990s.

"The dedicated team members within all of the departments at the Appeal have become like a second family and I will miss them as well," Kaufman said.

Kaufman said he has lived in the Yuba-Sutter area since 2000 and does not have plans to leave.