RJ Chavez hired as News sports reporter

Chavez was born in Tracy, Calif., but he calls Hood River home. He moved here in 2007, graduated from Hood River Valley High School in 2013, then studied journalism with a focus in sports reporting at University of Oregon.

He covered track and field for the university, wrote for isportsweb.com and took on an apprenticeship with realgm.com. Shortly after graduating from college with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism this year, he returned to the Gorge.

“I am excited to be back, living in this town is truly a privilege,” Chavez said.

“I will miss Eugene and everyone I have grown close to there, but being away from Hood River for four years and coming back has helped me really appreciate this town and how fortunate I am not only to live here, but also work here.”

Growing up in Tracy, Chavez wasn’t allowed to play organized community sports due to crime and gang violence.

“However, once I moved to Hood River, I was able to finally see what sports was all about and that is when I fell in love with sports and athletics,” Chavez said.

During his time at HRVHS, Chavez played basketball and baseball, and outside school he has participated in many other activities like football, biking, and hiking.

When asked to provide something unexpected about himself, Chavez pointed to when he acquired a second degree black belt in karate at the age of 8. Fun fact: One of his senseis, Larry Lam, was the stunt performer for the character Michelangelo in the live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle films.

Chavez also noted, coming onto a caffeine-adoring news team, “I’ve never drank a cup of coffee, but I’m sure that’ll change.”

“We’re happy RJ is now on our news team. He brings a real understanding of sports and its role in the community,” said Editor Kirby Neumann-Rea.

Chavez looks forward to his goals on staff: delivering information that’s both informative and engaging to the community, showing he’s a hard worker and developing new journalistic skills while growing old ones.

“With this job I plan to not only grow as a professional, but as an individual as well by learning about the community and showing care for the people in it,” Chavez said.

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Chavez replaces Ben Mitchell, who served as sports editor and formerly a reporter for the News and The White Salmon Enterprise. In total, Mitchell worked for the News’ parent company, Eagle Media Inc., for six years before leaving in August to pursue a Masters program in Multimedia Journalism at University of Oregon’s Portland campus.