Patrick Graham, owner of the Walton Tribune, announced on Friday that he has purchased The Oconee Enterprise from Oconee County businessman Mark Martin.
The purchase will take place immediately, and Graham said the Enterprise will not miss an issue.
Graham said the three employees of the paper, News Editor Nathalee Simoneau, Sports Editor Stuart Steele, and Director of Operations Caitlin Farmer, were offered jobs under the new ownership but declined the offers.
Graham said he does not intend to appoint an editor for the Enterprise but will staff the paper and continue to cover local news and sports.
“We’re ready to go,” Graham said in a telephone conversation on Friday evening.
Graham purchased the Enterprise through his Monroe Media Inc., which owns the Tribune, which publishes twice a week.
Graham also owns The Covington News, a bi-weekly paper in Newton County, and three weekly newspapers in Alabama, each under its own corporate name.
Transition At Enterprise
Martin purchased the Enterprise in December of 2022 and immediately appointed Amanda and Michael Prochaska as co-publishers.
The Prochaskas left the paper after publication of the March 19 edition for jobs with a newspaper company based in Charleston, S.C.
Simoneau, Steele, and Farmer were listed as staff for the March 26 and April 2 editions of the Enterprise.
Graham said he assisted with production of those two newspapers.
Martin, who co-founded Classic City Clydesdales on Price Mill Road with his wife and also owns Pet Supplies Plus in Athens, purchased the paper from Maradee Williams under the name M 3 Publications LLC, incorporated on Oct. 12, 2022.
Maradee Williams became owner on the paper in 2020 on the death of her mother, Vinnie Williams. Vinnie Williams purchased the paper in 1986. Maradee Williams died in December of 2025.
The paper has published in Oconee County for 142 years.
Graham Newspapers
Graham also owns The Sand Mountain Leader in Albertsville, the Mountain Valley News, in Rainesville, and the North Jackson Press in Stevenson, all in Alabama.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Press Association and of the Alabama Press Association.
The Walton Tribune is housed in a building on the historical Courthouse square in Monroe.
In addition to Graham, the paper web page lists a managing editor, a business manager, a sports editor, a news editor, and a staff writer.
Graham made his announcement of purchase of the Enterprise about 6 p.m. on Friday in a post on the paper’s Facebook page.
“Learn more about Graham and his commitment to Oconee County in Thursday's paper,” the posts reads.
Note: The first version of this paper said the Walton Tribune and Covington News published weekly, rather that twice a week. I am sorry for the error.
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