Our Staff

JOSHUA CAMPBELL, publisher
joshuacampbell@columbianprogress.com

Joshua Campbell joined The Columbian-Progress editorial staff in August 2015 as the sports editor. He was promoted to managing editor in December 2019 and was named publisher in January 2022. Campbell is a 2015 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.

For three years, he worked as sports editor for The Student Printz, USM’s student-run newspaper. Since joining the C-P, he was won 13 first-place awards in the MPA Better Newspaper Contest and has helped lead the C-P to back-to-back General Excellence awards, which is awarded to the top newspaper of its size in the state.

Campbell is an avid sports fan with his fandom spreading from the Chicago Cubs to the Dallas Cowboys. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games, watching television and playing sports. He is the son of Michael and Hiedi Campbell of Slidell, La., and is the youngest of six children.

SUSAN AMUNDSON, production manager/staff writer
samundson@columbianprogress.com

Susan originally joined The Columbian-Progress in 2009 as the receptionist. She quickly became the production assistant where she stayed for the next seven years. After stepping away for three years, she came back to the C-P working both as an editor and production manager.

Susan and her husband, Jeff, have lived in Marion County since 2008 and have been married for more than 15 years. Together, they have seven children (TJ, Heather, Brandon, Nick, Kaylee, Hayden and Kaitlyn). She is the daughter of the late David Kinlaw and the late Evelyn Hamidi, both of Charlottesville, Va. In her spare time, she enjoys painting and other arts and crafts. She loves to travel and take cruises, and is a member of Grace Chapel of Sandy Hook.

CHRISTINA TUCKER, advertising representative
ctucker@columbianprogress.com

Christina Tucker is the newest sales representative for The Columbian-Progress. She is a resident of Hattiesburg, where she grew up and graduated from Oak Grove High School in 2004 and attended Pearl River Community College. She later moved to San Antonio, where she worked for many years as a sales representative in the oil and gas industry before moving back to Hattiesburg in 2019.

Christina is the daughter of David and Sybille Tucker and has one older sister. In her free time, she enjoys boating, shopping, traveling with friends and spending as much time with her young daughter, Cali Grace Tucker, who just so happens to be the life of the office.

BETH RILES, staff writer
eriles@columbianprogress.com 

Beth Riles joined The Columbian-Progress as a staff writer in February 2022.  Beth is a graduate of Callaway High School in Jackson who received her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Southern Mississippi and her master’s in education from Mississippi College. She moved to the Pine Belt area in 2016.

Beth retired from the state of Mississippi after teaching for 22 years and then working for Marion County Child Protection Services. Beth worked for Pine Belt Mental Health Resources before joining the C-P staff. She is the daughter of Jimmie Riles and Annie Jean Bond Riles. She is a die-hard Raiders fan and animal lover. She loves the beach and traveling, volunteers at Worthy Stables in Petal and does transports for several rescues.

TRACEY McNEESE, classifieds/circulation/prod.asst.
art@columbianprogress.com

A resident of Marion County, Tracey has lived in Columbia for more than 20 years. She works as the production assistant and circulation clerk. She is a 1996 graduate of Purvis High School. She attended Pearl River Community College and Jones County Junior College while majoring in accounting.

She is the daughter of James Earl and Charlotte Smith. She has four sisters and one brother. She has been married to Chris McNeese for more than 20 years and they have one son, Trace. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching movies, reading, fishing, camping and taking care of her animals.

BONNIE HUDSON, bookkeeper/office manager
bonniehudson@columbianprogress.com

Bonnie is the most veteran of The Columbian-Progress staff, having been employed with the company since 1984. She began work at the newspaper as an ad rep and was later promoted to ad director, where she continued in that role for 16 years before moving into the role of business manager. She and her husband, Jimmy, have been married more than 30 years and have three children, Phillip (April) Grayson, Tiffany (Matthew) Campbell and Jamie Hudson and six grandchildren, Alex, Samuel and Chase Grayson and Hagen, Hudson and Holden Campbell. She is a member of North Columbia Baptist Church and enjoys spending time with her “grands” and traveling with friends in her free time.