New Flagstaff County Communications Coordinator has extensive newspaper background
Cary Castagna has recently joined Flagstaff County in a new position as Communications Coordinator.
Castagna has an extensive journalism background, having worked for the Winnipeg and Edmonton Sun newspapers prior to taking this local position.
Castagna was born in Winnipeg and attended the University of North Dakota, as it was close to home, and has an excellent Journalism program.
He interned at the Grand Forks Herald, and actually got his first job at a daily newspaper in Dickinson, North Dakota, as a sports reporter.
Castagna initially worked for some weeklies, in Winnipeg, then in October of 2000, started with the Winnipeg Sun as a general assignment reporter.
He remembers that one of the first things he had to cover was a plane crash. It was a little stressful, he says.
Soon, Castagna moved to breaking news items, and working the city’s crime beat.
“I really enjoyed that, it was exciting, you never knew from day to day what you’d be facing.”
He says one of the most interesting opportunities he had during that time was doing an exclusive interview with an armed car robbery suspect.
“If you hustled, you could do well in that position. I treated people fairly, and I also made some very good contacts with the police.”
Castagna says that eventually the position started to wear on him, and he started looking elsewhere.
In 2005, he got married to wife Krista, and moved over to the Edmonton Sun.
“I wanted a change of scenery, and to move into a bigger market.”
Starting again as a general assignment reporter, 10 years flew by, he says.
During that time, Castagna says he really noticed and watched the business of news evolve, with internet and video playing a big role, and he took on more of an editor role at the Sun.
He also wrote a fitness column, ‘Keeping Fit,’ that ended up going national over the entire Sun Media chain. He wrote that column from 2004 in Winnipeg, and kept it when he moved to Edmonton.
“It’s something I’m very proud of.”
Castagna partnered with Reebok and also covered the CrossFit games in Los Angeles, where he had the opportunity to interview UFC fighters Connor McGregor and Jon Jones.
With the Post Media and Sun Media merger last year, Castagna says right away the staff of the Sun saw many changes. They moved into the Edmonton Journal building.
He received a layoff notice after the company did some corporate restructuring. He says in a way, it was a relief.
“The axe was over our heads for so long. There were some big names, and some very talented people let go.”
Castagna says he was a little worried, with a family of three young girls from seven to two, Julia, Destiny, and Charlotte.
He started looking at other journalism openings here and in BC.
“The best advice I received, from the job counselling Sun Media provided to us after the layoffs, was don’t grab the first thing that comes along.
“That is when it came to me that my skills are ideal for a communications position.”
Looking back, Castagna says it wasn’t a great time, but says now, he thinks being laid off might have been the best thing to happen to him.
“You know how they say when one door closes, another opens? Well, this is a better door than what I had.”
He says, “I saw the position at Flagstaff County. I came out and talked to Shelly and Brent, they seemed quite receptive toward me, and I really liked them right off the bat.
“I came to visit, and just… wow. I fell in love with this county.
“It sounds so cliche, but everyone here is so friendly, people have been very welcoming.
“I know this is where I want to raise a family.”
He’s grateful for the opportunity, and a chance to reinvent himself.
He’s still learning about Flagstaff County, and currently is in charge of the County’s social media platforms, press releases, and internal communications.
“I’ve always been a story teller, and I’m still a story teller.”
He’s quickly learning that the community of Flagstaff has a lot to offer, and he is eager to take it all in.
He hopes to bring his family to the area very soon, he and Krista are looking at houses now.
Read this and more in the latest edition of The Community Press – on newsstands now and via E-Subscription!
Leslie Cholowsky
Editor
