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The Stanly News & Press officially has a new leader, but not a new face.

John Carr, publisher of The SNAP, announced this week that B.J. Drye has been promoted to general manager/editor.

“Although my time working with SNAP has been short, I have really come to enjoy working with this dedicated group,” Carr said. “B.J. requested more responsibility from day one, motivated only by an interest in helping SNAP, our readers and staff.

Often people struggle when getting handed unfamiliar tasks, but B.J. quickly embraced a bigger role. He quickly became instrumental in a variety of areas beyond the newsroom and exceeded expectations.

“I want to thank the entire SNAP team and congratulate B.J. on earning the position of general manager as well as editor.”

Drye, 40, has been office manager since March. He has been with The SNAP since April 1999 and was a freelance writer for 10 months before that.

“B.J. was an important part of our news staff while I was the publisher in Albemarle back in the early 2000s,” said Rex Maynor, a former SNAP publisher who is now publisher over a group of Mississippi publications owned by The SNAP’s parent company. “The SNAP is fortunate to have a staff and community member of B.J.’s status ready to assume this role. Not only is he a lifelong member of the Stanly County area, in addition I always found him to be a solid journalist and a great newspaperman, who was always willing to go above and beyond on any task assigned to him. I feel confident B.J. will do a great job as GM.”

Drye has been editor since July 2010, making him the longest-serving editor since The Andrews family sold The SNAP in the late 1980s.

“B.J. has a long history with the SNAP and understands the importance of community journalism and local media,” said Sandy Selvy-Mullis, a former SNAP publisher who is now president and CEO of the Stanly County Chamber of Commerce. “I wish him continued success.”

A graduate of Pfeiffer University with a degree in business administration, Drye has focused the last few months on bringing back elements of The SNAP which have been missing over the last few years. Items such as Doug Creamer’s religious column and other local columns, honor roll and perfect attendance lists, SNAP Back In Time, recipes and other community news features have returned. Drye aims to continue honoring The SNAP’s 140-year heritage while also embracing the latest digital products at thesnaponline.com.

“I have met many coworkers, leaders and former employees during my time at The SNAP,” Drye said. “My goal is to take the best characteristics of the individuals I have enjoyed working with and use those elements to make The SNAP the best community news organization it can be.

“We have one of the closest groups of employees I have ever worked with and we will get back to the basics of being your primary source for Stanly County news, features, sports, advertising and entertainment.”