IPTAY Announces IPTAY Media Team

June 22, 2009

IPTAY is moving forward with its plans for enhanced communications to members and will in August introduce a beautiful new, high quality magazine, and an online newsletter to provide donors information that is timely, in-depth and inspiring.

To facilitate this push, IPTAY has contracted with The Edwards Group, Inc., a Seneca-based multimedia firm involved in publishing, online and broadcast businesses. Heading up the day-to-day operations for The Edwards Group will be a team of experienced and talented professionals with strong Clemson ties. Together, they will form the IPTAY Media team and be accessible to Clemson athletics coaches and staff.

The most visible IPTAY Media faces will be Editor Will Vandervort and Photographer Rex Brown. Clemson alumna Erica Black is the online coordinator and the IPTAY Media publisher is Michael Leonard.

WILL VANDERVORT is a multiple award-winning sportswriter who has covered Clemson athletics since 2004. He spent five years as sports editor and Clemson beat writer for Daily Journal/ Daily Messenger newspapers of Seneca and Clemson and most recently was the senior writer at CUTigers.com, an independent Clemson sports Web site.

Will has been a sportswriter for more than 12 years and has worked as a staff member and editor for daily newspapers in both Georgia and South Carolina, where he has won numerous awards in writing, layout design, special sections and photography from the South Carolina Press Association and other journalism associations. He grew up attending Clemson sports events and is a real Tiger sports fanatic. His degree in communications is from Anderson College (now Anderson University).

Contact Will at will@myiptay.com, or 803.924.6218.

REX BROWN is one of the premier sports photographers in the Carolinas and Georgia. He was most recently staff photographer for the Pickens Courier and freelance Clemson sports photographer for the Journal/Messenger. His awards are numerous.

Rex’s portfolio is extensive. His work as a freelance photographer has been published in Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, Time, Newsweek, USA Today and other national and regional publications. He has photographed everything from high school to professional sports, including Clemson football, basketball and other sports events, the U.S. Open golf tournament and the Super Bowl. A lifelong resident of Pickens County, Rex has a degree in communications from Tri-County Technical College.

Get in touch with Rex at rex@myiptay.com, or 864.430.1044.

ERICA BLACK is a co-owner of Clemson-based Galatia Films and a veteran of numerous online and video projects for the university. She most recently was director of photography and producer of the feature documentary Reclaiming the Blade, a film detailing the origin and use of swords throughout history and featuring interviews with acclaimed Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen, among others.

Erica earned a bachelors degree at the University of Colorado, and masters in graphic communications from Clemson. She has extensive online production experience and will offer the added dimension of video expertise to IPTAY’s online communications as time progresses.

Reach Erica Black at erica@myiptay.com or through Will.

MICHAEL LEONARD has an extensive background in print and online journalism and will provide oversight as publisher of the IPTAY Media team. He has been a publisher of weekly and daily newspapers, Web sites and magazines in South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida since 1991 and attended his first Clemson football game while working as a reporter at the Spartanburg Herald-Journal in the early 1980s and fell in love with the Death Valley experience.

Leonard has also earned numerous state press awards, is the author of a book on Spartanburg County history and graduate of the University of Georgia. He is also publisher of the Edwards Group’s newspaper, Web and magazine publications in Seneca and Clemson.

Contact Michael at michael@myiptay.com, or 864.557.4571.

Also on the IPTAY Media team:

Jerry Edwardsjerry@myiptay.com

Cathie Nowellcathie@myiptay.com

Melinda Connallymelinda@myiptay.com