Lifer Spotlight: Garrett Spoor

The Sunday scaries and the early Monday mornings are no issue for Garrett Spoor, a Valparaiso community member and an invaluable asset to the GreatNews.Life team. Spoor joined the company in 2023 and has continued to climb the ranks. He worked in the field, traversing Northwest Indiana during coverage events as a new media journalist, seeking out stories, collecting images, and meeting community members. 

Today, Spoor is predominantly responsible for supporting a growing coverage team and serving on the editorial side, bringing the team’s hard work to the public. Since November 2025, Spoor has overseen the Life in the Spotlight (LITS) series for Michiana.Life, Veteran Spotlights, and the Survivor Series. He took over the LITS series for Valpo.Life in February 2026, and recently took over as the main writer of the 10 Fun Things in Northern Indiana series.

Behind the scenes, he is responsible for fine-tuning media, editing articles, creating graphics, connecting with partners, and maintaining a consistent voice and messaging across the GreatNews.Life platform.

“I’m very appreciative of working at GreatNews.Life,” Spoor said. “There’s never a dull moment here, and it requires a lot of time management to ensure everything gets done in a timely manner. I wrote more articles than anyone in the company last year, but I also have served as an editor. I’ve done newsletters and even created some featured images for the sites. It’s fun because every day brings something new.”

GreatNews.Life was founded in Valparaiso in 2009. As communities come to rely on positive news in dark times, its team and coverage areas continue to expand as they have over the last 17 years. Spoor played baseball, basketball, and soccer growing up through high school, so he has been familiar with GreatNews.Life for more than a decade. He also remembers when the company photographed his high school graduation.

When he applied in 2023, he was just wrapping up his internship as a digital and news producer at WANE 15 News in Fort Wayne. He was intrigued with the position, especially with it being so close to where he lives.

“I took the interview in my last semester of college,” Spoor said. “I went to Ball State University and double majored in journalism and telecommunication news. When I heard GreatNews.Life was hiring when I was in my last semester, I was excited about this opportunity following my graduation.”

By traveling to different events, it has also allowed Spoor to become more familiar with visiting all sorts of communities in Northern Indiana. This includes Michiana, the newest coverage area, which has brought its own quirks. Spoor believes this addition is a great example of how community-building opportunities and partnerships continue to grow within the company.

“The best thing about Michiana.Life is that it proves that we’re expanding and embracing new environments,” Spoor said. “We have partnerships in Illinois and Michigan, so it’s easy to see the growth opportunities – something that is rooted in Valparaiso and continues to diversify in different directions around the Region.”

As the coverage area continues to expand, so do the assignments and scale of events. Despite a growing schedule, Spoor maintains his work-life balance and feels immensely supported by his field and in-office team members.

“GreatNews.Life is definitely one of the better working environments that I’ve been a part of,” Spoor said. “Everyone gets along. We can joke with one another and we host company gatherings where all are welcome. No matter if it’s our office or field team, whether you are a ‘Lifer’ or new to the team, we extend open arms to everyone.”

The company ethos and messaging are taken in stride. One of the biggest reasons why Spoor enjoys working at GreatNews.Life is for how he is able to tell the positive stories that are going on in the community.

“It’s a great experience for us to talk about the good things in Northern Indiana,” Spoor said. “I hear so many people tell me that they want to see more positive news, and I couldn’t agree more.”

Another area that Spoor helps manage for the company is the Student Voices program. For 25 active students in the program, Spoor is responsible for half of the students to ensure that they are meeting deadlines and the requirements for every piece. 

“As someone who didn’t have many opportunities like this going through high school, I think the Student Voices program is a great opportunity for students to get their first experience at a big writing opportunity,” Spoor said. “Students learn about writing, photography, the interviewing process, and gain feedback from myself or one of the other editors in the office. Right now, we have more students than ever in the program.”

Spoor not only writes about the community, but he also participates and brings that same sense of community into the office and work environment. He notes that no two days in the office are the same, but working with a like-minded team of individuals makes the ambiguity exciting. 

In the coming months, Spoor is looking forward to many partner events, as the warmer months are often the most action-packed for GreatNews.Life every year.. He’s eager to continue highlighting outstanding community members and bringing people together in the area through media and current events.

“An experience like GreatNews.Life is unlike any other,” Spoor said. “I wear many hats, but I can’t be the best version of myself if I don’t receive help from all the other departments. Whether it’s editorial, sales, tech, video, partner team, social team, our leadership – we all work together. The team here is really helpful, and I can always count on them.”

It doesn’t matter if Spoor is writing articles, taking photos, going to coverage, doing editorial work, or collaborating with his team members. The most important thing for him is to work hard in everything he does and make the day better for all of the partners, community members, and the entire GreatNews.Life team.

For community updates, heartwarming stories of survival, success, and progress, check out GreatNews.Life.