Andrew Abade, sports editor at the Pine Belt News, is leaving the paper. He has accepted a position with the Gainesville Sun to cover the University of Florida. A University of Southern Mississippi graduate, Abade has covered sports for the Pine Belt News since January of 2020.
Christina Pierce, publisher of the Pine Belt News, says, “Andrew has done a tremendous job for us during the past 5 years. He is a hard-worker and a talented journalist. Each year he has been responsible for 52 newspaper sports sections, 2 sports magazines, and countless digital posts. You can always count on his content being timely, interesting, and accurate.”
Abade was recently honored by the Mississippi Press Association with 2 honorable mentions, 2 third place awards, and 7 first place awards for the 2024 Better Newspaper Contest.
Abade’s duties will be assumed by Dima Mixon, who accepted the position last week. A December of 2024 USM graduate, Mixon has written as a freelancer for the Pine Belt News, as well as covering USM athletics for Southern Miss Student Media, Rivals.com, and SuperTalk Mississippi.
Says Pierce, “We are so fortunate to have Dima to take on sports coverage for us. We are already familiar with his work, he is a lifelong resident of Hattiesburg, and he is exceptionally dialed-in to the sports scene in the Pine Belt. Dima credits Andrew with being a strong mentor to him, so bringing him on-board is a logical progression for the Pine Belt News.”
