GARDNERVILLE - When Don Rogers first saw Carson Valley it was through a haze of smoke as he landed with a U.S. Forest Service hotshot crew in the 1980s.
When he returns sometime after Thanksgiving, it will be as publisher of The Record-Courier.
Rogers, 50, has been managing editor of the Vail Daily in Colorado for eight years.
He is married and has a daughter in high school and a son in college.
"This one found us," he said. "We've said the one place we would move would be the Lake Tahoe area."
Rogers started his journalism career in Quincy, Calif., between stints working for the Forest Service.
"From the perspective of Vail, Quincy is close to the same neighborhood," he said.
His 21-year journalism career includes jobs at the North County Times in Escondido, Calif.; The Citizen in Auburn, N.Y.; and the Daily Gazette in Sterling, Ill.
While his focus has been on the news side of the newspaper business, Rogers said he is ready for a change.
"I'm going to dive in," he said. "It's a good time for that kind of a change in my life."
Rogers visited the valley during the interview process and said he was looking forward to meeting its residents.
"One of the things that struck me that maybe I bumped into the 10 friendliest people in town," he said.
Rogers will bring a lot of community newspaper experience to the Carson Valley, according to Sierra Nevada Media Group General Manager Scott McElhaney.
"He brings professionalism and a strong record of success," McElhaney said. "He is a great addition to The Record-Courier's award-winning team."
Rogers will take over for interim publisher and Gardnerville Ranchos resident Keith Tanoos. Tanoos has served as publisher of the newspaper since the departure of Janet Geary in April for Coos Bay, Ore.