by Steven Felschundneff | steven@claremont-courier.com

The Courier is thrilled to announce the hiring of veteran ad professional Anna Hoy as its advertising director following Mary Rose’s retirement.

Hoy, who started Monday, said she looks forward to bringing enthusiasm and creativity to her new job.

“I like to put systems together and find solutions to help small businesses,” Hoy said. “So my goal and objective is to benefit the paper, but also to benefit the small businesses we support in the community. I have the experience and the knowledge in the advertising field, and I think outside the box, and I am able to use those skills to maximize the return on investment for our customers.”

“It was obvious from the start,” Courier Publisher Peter Weinberger said about Hoy’s hiring. “Anna has a wealth of sales experience for both print and digital media sales. And she truly is excited about working for the Courier and being part of our team. Anna is an idea person, with a keen focus on what’s best for customers. Claremont businesses will find she’s an excellent person to partner with for a variety of marketing needs. Our staff is really excited Anna is part of our newsroom.”

Hoy’s first job in advertising was in the early 1990s selling ads in the Yellow Pages for GTE. She then transitioned into newspaper sales, working for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group’s Spanish language paper, Impacto. She was hired to handle national accounts but was soon promoted to director of sales, a position she held until 2009. While at Impacto, Hoy, who is of Greek heritage, learned some Spanish.

Hoy then started a new chapter, launching a business called Girlfriend’s Guide to Traveling, which focused on fun trips for women in the Golden State. She sold off the travel agent portion of the business, but she still manages the Girlfriend’s Guide as a travel blog.

Hoy was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles and was raised in Downey. She is a 1985 graduate of Downey High School, where she was the captain of the basketball and track teams. She played center on the basketball team which made it all the way to the CIF finals in 1985. She ran the 100-yard dash, and competed in the triple jump, long jump, and shot put.

She attended Cerritos College for two years but soon transitioned to the working world.

Hoy met her future husband, Tim, at a party in Cerritos in 1987 and the couple wed in 1991. They have four boys, Jacob, 30; Kevin, 29; Tyler, 27 and Jonathan, 25. She has one grandchild, Tyler’s 8-year-old daughter, Alori.

“She is the light of my life,” Hoy said of her granddaughter.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Hoy loves to travel and recently took a cruise with a friend from Southern California up the coast to Vancouver, Canada. They then took a train to Seattle and flew home.

She also recently visited Las Vegas with her family. She likes to do something different each time she visits, staying in a different hotel, trying a new restaurant, or taking in a show. She also likes to play the slot machines.

The Courier welcomes Hoy to the team and invites the public to our booth during the October 28 Village Venture to meet her in person.