EDITOR CHARLENE BELEW

Charlene, also known in the community as Charlie, is the Managing Editor for The Duncan Banner and Duncan Magazine. She obtained her bachelor’ s degree in Journalism from Cameron University, where she also held multiple positions with The Cameron Collegian, which ended with her serving as the Managing Editor in 2014-2015. Charlie has served two tenures with The Banner. Her first began in 2014 with an internship through Oklahoma Press Association and culminated in 2017 as News Editor. Her second began in 2018 when she returned as a staff writer and she resumed her editorship in 2020. Although she has spent much of her life growing up in Lawton, Charlie has always felt a special call to the Duncan and Stephens County community. She adopted a dog from Stephens County Humane Society’ s Take Out Tuesday program with The Banner in 2019 and was a member of the Duncan Rotary Club. In 2021, Charlie led The Banner to the first Sequoyah Award from the Oklahoma Press Association since its last in 2012. She has taken home multiple awards for editorial writing, news writing and design. She had her first child, Anja, in January 2024, and her second, Astraea, in September 2025.

PUBLISHER CRYSTAL CHILDERS

Crystal joined The Banner staff in 2013 as an advertising executive. She was promoted to Advertising Manager in 2017 before becoming General Manager in 2020 and then Publisher in August 2023. Crystal has won numerous awards from the Oklahoma Press Association in ad design, most recently a first and third place win for large ad space design along with second place for small ad space design. Born and raised in Duncan, Crystal graduated from Duncan High School in 2001, joining a long line of Duncan graduates in her family. Crystal is an active member of Faith Church along with several community groups, including the Duncan Noon Lions Club. She is a proud supporter of the Stephens County Humane Society and all Duncan Demon sports from the many years her children participated. Crystal has three children, Alyssa, Jacob and Jordan and enjoys spending time with family and her many dogs.

TAMARA GREGOR

Born and raised in California, Tamara joined the staff at The Duncan Banner in March 2020. As an award winning journalist, Tamara has placed for her feature, education, business and news stories, as well as her photography and column writing over the past five years. Tamara previously gathered her experience by interning at the South Gibson Star Times in Fort Branch, Indiana, as well as working as the editor for her college newspaper, The Collegian in Oakland City, Indiana. Her experiences continued while writing and publishing a magazine, Evoke, with a group of friends in Turlock, California. With family local to Stephens County as well in the surrounding areas of Oklahoma, Tamara moved to Duncan from Stanislaus County, jumping right into community events as a reporter. She loves to connect and engage with the community members to tell their heartfelt stories each day.

JASON HODGES

A Comanche resident since the age of 10, Jason graduated from Comanche High School in 1991. His wife, Jennifer, followed a year behind, and the family has strong roots in the area. They have raised three daughters here, each of whom graduated from Comanche. They also have grandchildren attending school there. Jason began his career with The Banner in 2016 as a freelance photographer. Later, he accepted a full-time position in the advertising department, but he still enjoys taking photos, both for The Banner and his personal business, Hodges Photography. Jason loves his connection to the community he has now working at The Banner. He can be contacted for photography work on Facebook at Hodges Photography.

TONI HOPPER

Toni has been a contract writer with The Banner since July 2024, and enjoys sharing the stories of people and history of Stephens County. Her own history with The Banner began in February 2000 as education editor. She continued in various roles, including news editor in 2013. She also was managing editor from 2003-05, at The Waurika News-Democrat. She worked at The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in late 2013 until June 2020. Her first newspaper job was as photo chief of The Ag Journal in La Junta, Colorado. A neighboring newspaper extended an offer as general reporter for two papers they owned. In 1997, she moved to Marlow and worked at The Marlow Review for two years. She also was managing editor of The Review( Sept. 2022-May 2024). Toni and her husband Rex, live in Duncan. They have two sons, several grandsons, and a granddaughter. Her work has been published in The Dallas Morning News, The Native American Times, Cowboys & Indians, and Oklahoma Today( while working at The Heritage Center). She published a book, Riding The Chisholm Trail‘ Once in a Lifetime’ in 2009. Awards range from education to sports, photography, and tourism. She is a member of Chisholm Trail Arts Council and enjoys pursuing her landscape and fine art photography.