Chris Graham
President, Augusta Free Press LLC
Chris Graham is a 16-year veteran of print and web media, radio and television.
He has covered two presidents – Bill Clinton and George W. Bush – in addition to conducting numerous one-on-one interviews with former Virginia governors George Allen, Jim Gilmore, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, current governor Bob McDonnell, and a host of other newsmakers in Richmond and on Capitol Hill.
Chris is the president of Augusta Free Press LLC. In addition to leading our web-development division, he is also in charge of all of the content made available online or in print.
He is also the marketing and web coordinator for Awesome Wrestling Entertainment, the web editor and media and public-relations coordinator for the Waynesboro Generals Valley League baseball team, and the web-content editor for the Waynesboro Family YMCA. He is a regular guest on numerous regional radio programs on both news and sports.
He has as well published two books, Stop the Presses, a humor column collection, and Judge Not, a political thriller. He also co-authored with Patrick Hite Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall. That book was released in September 2006.
Chris is a veteran of The News Virginian, a Waynesboro-based daily newspaper, and The Charlottesville-Albemarle Observer and The Shenandoah Valley Observer, both weeklies.
In 2010, Chris was honored by Mental Health America-Augusta for his work in writing on mental-health issues.
He has won 17 Virginia Press Association awards for his reporting and writing.
Crystal Abbe Graham
Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Design
Crystal Graham is a 13-year veteran of the news industry in Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley and a graduate of Virginia Tech with a degree in communications. She primarily leads the efforts of graphic design and book publishing clients. She also is the sales manager for all divisions of Augusta Free Press LLC and handles the design of The New Dominion Magazine.
Crystal served as co-host and assistant producer of “Virginia Tonight,” a live news and public affairs program that aired weeknights from 2002-2004. Although the show was cancelled, a program that aired in 2004 on “The Passion of the Christ” was named a finalist for the national Telly Awards competition in March 2005.
In addition to television, Crystal also has an extensive background in print newspapers, having served as managing editor of The Shenandoah Valley Observer and The Charlottesville-Albemarle Observer. She began her career working as the lifestyles editor at The News Virginian in Waynesboro.
Crystal has won 10 Virginia Press Association awards for her design and writing work.
She is an independent consultant for Cookie Lee Jewelry and Advocare.
Crystal currently serves as an Ambassador with the Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce. She is the past vice president and a founder of Successful Women’s Alliance Network and a past member of the Waynesboro Exchange Club.
Crystal has volunteered with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Book ‘Em Foundation, Boys and Girls Club, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Kiwanis Club of Waynesboro, Riverfest, Waynesboro Family YMCA, Vector Industries, Waynesboro Players and Wayne Theatre Alliance.
She also organized the Hokie Fundraiser in Waynesboro following the tragedy of April 16 which raised $1,000 for the Hokie Spirit Fund established by Virginia Tech. In 2008, she organized a remembrance ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. In 2005, she traveled to Long Beach, Miss., to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In 2007, she had her first book, Crystal Clear, published. It features a collection of columns she has written and is available at Amazon.com.
Other Team Members
Mark Miller — Photography
Coleman Kitchin — Technology
Lisa Peruchini — Illustrations
