Alvin Holley
Alvin Holley, a native of Corsicana, began his newspaper career at age 10 as a carrier for the Corsicana Daily Sun.
After selling newspapers on the streets for a number of years, Holley was offered an office job with the Sun. While working for the Corsicana Daily Sun, Holley moved through the ranks as circulation manager, advertising manager and general manager.
In 1972, he and another employee of the Sun, David Durham, bought Polk County Publishing Co. in Livingston.
At the time, the company owned and operated the Polk County Enterprise in Livingston, San Jacinto News-Times in Coldspring and Shepherd, and Lake Livingston Progress.
In September 1972, Holley and Durham purchased The Groveton News. In March 1973, they acquired The Trinity Standard.
Polk County Publishing went on to acquire The Corrigan Times, The Houston County Courier in Crockett and The Tyler County Booster in Woodville.
The company also publishes a number of free distribution weeklies, including The Big Thicket Messenger in Liberty County and The Pennysaver in Polk County.
Holley bought his partner’s interest in the company and serves as publisher of all seven of the newspapers, which serve a five-county area.
Holley was president of Texas Gulf Coast Press Association in 1986-87 and in 2000-01 served as Texas Press Association’s 123rd president. He earned a Texas Press Association Golden 50 Award recognizing his 50 years of work in the newspaper business. Holley’s skill as a Texas newspaper publisher, printer and community builder make him shine among his peers in the business.