Keith Garton had the perfect cover story. In fourth grade, Garton’s best friend moved away from his hometown of Duncan, Oklahoma. Using paper, colored matte pencils and a typewriter from his dad’s work, he created his own newsletter featuring updates about his life. Garton then sent an issue to his friend every two weeks to stay in touch. The first headline was clear — “Keith Gives Up Swimming for Tennis.” He always hated swimming. Scan the code to learn more about OSU’s School of Media and Strategic Communications. From left: CAS graduate Keith Garton and his partner, David Sheehan. Media Milestone School of Media and Strategic Communications alumnus commits largest gift in program history That early foray into journalism sparked a successful career in the media, working for some of the biggest publishers in the country, such as Scholastic, McGraw-Hill and TIME. In 2009, Garton founded Red Chair Press, a children’s book publishing company dedicated to engaging young readers in stories that provide models for strong character and good behavior. “Books are absolutely critical,” Garton said. “There’s tons of evidence that shows that children who are read to from an early age do much, much better STORY GRANT RAMIREZ | PHOTOS PROVIDED 20 CONNECT 2025
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