Holly Rudy-James

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C.J. Hadley, Holly Rudy-James and the late Vail Pittman were inducted into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame last weekend in Ely in a luncheon held during the Nevada Press Association’s 95th annual convention.

Here’s a brief biography of Ms. James, along with photos from her induction ceremony.

Holly Rudy-James

From the moment she arrived in Nevada, Holly Rudy-James was a strong advocate for rural newspapers in the state and a driving force within the Nevada Press Association at a time of transition for the organization.

Rudy-James came to Nevada in 2002, from Park City, Utah, where she had worked in the marketing department for several years at the Park Record. She had been hired by the company that eventually became Winnemucca Publishing to serve as general manager of The Humboldt Sun and The Battle Mountain Bugle. Five years later, Winnemucca Publishing purchased the Lovelock Review-Miner, along with a monthly periodical, The Nevada Rancher, and she was put in charge of the business operations of those papers as well.

With the purchase of the Review-Miner, Winnemucca Publishing’s coverage extended across the Tri-County area of northern Nevada. Local content was the mainstay of each newspaper with offices and local reporters in each community. Rudy-James oversaw a sales team that worked with businesses spanning the small communities of northern Nevada, offering a wide variety of printed media, including the three weekly newspapers, two monthly periodicals, specialty publications and two TMC direct mail pieces. 

The company had a printing plant in Winnemucca, so Rudy-James’ sales team also worked with local businesses and governments to publish customized programs, handouts, newsletters and visitor-targeted newspapers.

Rudy-James worked to ensure that Winnemucca Publishing’s newspapers were viewed as valuable members of their communities, building relationships with local and county governments, non-profit organizations, schools, churches and religious groups. She oversaw several community projects, including a fundraiser for the Humboldt County bookmobile that raised over $8,000. She also worked with organizations in Humboldt County to collect items for needy seniors during the Christmas season, which led to similar projects in Lander and Pershing Counties.

Rudy-James joined the Nevada Press Association board of directors in 2006 and remained on the board until her retirement in 2016.  She was elected president in 2008-2009, and was called to serve again in 2010-2011, to replace the late Mark Lundahl, who passed away only a couple of months after his term began. “I appreciated that she stepped up to lead the board and kept the press association functioning,” said Barry Smith, who was NPA’s Executive Director at the time. “So did the other board members. It helped maintain continuity and provide the leadership we needed.”

While on the press association board, Rudy-James worked with other members to build a statewide public notice website that aggregates all of the notices published in Nevada newspapers. She also hosted the annual convention and awards banquet in Winnemucca in 2009, at the conclusion of her first term as NPA president.

Rudy-James started her career in the 1970s selling yellow page advertising in Salt Lake City, where she was born and raised. She was the oldest of five siblings. She met her husband, Mike James, when she moved to Winnemucca. She has two sons and a granddaughter.