Patrick Johnston has joined the staff of the Shelby County Reporter.

Johnston, 27, will work as a staff writer for the Reporter.

&uot;I am excited about the opportunity to work with one of the state’s most-respected county newspapers. This is an exciting time to work in Shelby County, and I look forward to meeting residents and officials in the upcoming days and weeks,&uot; he said.

&uot;I also want to thank Publisher Tim Prince and the staff for allowing me the opportunity to work here.&uot;

Johnston comes to the Reporter from the Eufaula Tribune, where he served as news and sports editor from 1999 to 2005.

Before that, he served as a freelance reporter for the The Birmingham News from 1998-99.

Prince said he looks for great things from Johnston.

&uot;Patrick comes to us from a well respected, community-focused newspaper; he brings much to our staff and we are very pleased to welcome him,&uot; Prince said. &uot;I personally look forward to seeing the work Patrick will produce for our readers and expect he will have a very bright future here.&uot;

Originally from McCalla, Johnston graduated from Garywood Christian School in Hueytown and received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Alabama.

He is currently working on master’s degree in business administration at Troy University and expects to finish in June.

He will also be married in June to Stephanie Krug of Homewood.

For the Reporter, Johnston will focus mainly on the cities of Pelham, Helena, Calera and Wilsonville.