New ad rep at Herald

MOSES LAKE — Even though he's been in sales for 42 years, Jon Heaton describes himself as an 18-year-old when it comes to the newspapers industry.

"I've been in the newspaper part of it. I've been in the magazine part of it, specialty publication part of it and all that sort of stuff," he said. "So it's a pretty good cross-section."

A Toronto native, Heaton joined the Columbia Basin Herald advertising department Oct. 20. He arrived in Moses Lake with his girlfriend of a year, Sunny, from Grants Pass, Ore. Prior to his six years in Oregon, he was in Boise, Idaho, for five years.

"I'm not terribly far away from retirement, so I thought I would like to stay in Oregon or look in Washington," he said.

Heaton got into the industry after a post-college test indicated sales would be a good career for him. He moved to California in 1964, staying for 30 years in the Orange County and Sacramento area. He originally worked in gift-wear as a sales representative and as a manager.

Heaton said he has been in sales for so long because of the personal contact involved.

Heaton plans to finish his career at the newspaper, in the next three to five years, depending upon health, he said.

"I'm hoping to maybe get us more involved in a couple of areas of sales than we've been involved in," he said. "Enlarging the focus a little bit in certain areas that maybe they haven't had the time or whatever to do. In other words, specialty areas, so to speak."