Leadership change at Columbia Basin Herald

MOSES LAKE — Brad Hagadone, president of the Hagadone Corporation, the Columbia Basin Herald’s parent company, announced the resignation of Eric LaFontaine, the paper’s publisher.

Hagadone made the announcement Monday to Herald employees during a staff meeting in Moses Lake. LaFontaine is moving to Bellevue to support his wife in a new job opportunity.

Hagadone told employees that Kent Eymann will serve as the Herald’s interim publisher, effective in two weeks.

Eymann, the publisher of a Hagadone paper in Beloit, Wisc. and president of Hagadone Digital Midwest, is no stranger to Moses Lake. He served as the Herald’s interim publisher nearly three years ago during a leadership transition. He has already started the nationwide search process for a new publisher.

“The Columbia Basin and Moses Lake are growing,” Hagadone said after the meeting. “Columbia Basin Publishing, including the Columbia Basin Herald, and Hagadone Digital-Washington will continue to serve readers and advertisers on a variety of platforms, both print and digital. Eric has helped position us for future growth. We wish Eric the best in his future endeavors.”

LaFontaine said he has been “very honored to work as publisher at the Herald and Hagadone Digital, getting to work with 40 amazing people over the last several years. I will cherish every one of our successes from this point forward. I have full confidence that Kent as interim publisher will make the transition very, very smooth and positive.”

The company will undergo a “very major search process, making sure that we take the time to land a great new leader to elevate this newspaper into the future,” Eymann commented.

Eymann looks forward to spending a period of time in Moses Lake.

“I’ve been in Moses Lake in the past. It’s a wonderful community. My role, as the search proceeds, is to help our solid team provide continuity of superior news coverage and service to our advertisers and customers. I’m confident that, together, we’ll excel at it.”