Two new employees — part-time advertising clerk Shelton Coleman and telesales representative Holly Rokes — have joined the Times-Republican staff as of this week.

Coleman, a native of Chandler, Ariz. who has lived in Marshalltown for the last five years, will be at the T-R office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. She said she moved to the community to “start fresh” after her mother passed away, and it has become her home since then.

In addition to her new job at the T-R, Coleman, a proud mother of sons Atlas and Phoenix, is also a slot attendant at the Meskwaki Bingo Casino.

“Number one, I love people, and if I can help in any way, that’s what I want to do. I love community. I love Marshalltown. Just being here five years, I have been able to be a part of a lot of things, and I just love the way this community comes together to help each other. I’ve never seen that before because I come from a big city,” she said. “I’m just excited to bring something to this community.”

Rokes, who is based out of Fort Dodge and is raising a 15-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son of her own, will primarily contact customers via the phone.

“I love building relationships with advertisers, but one of my favorite parts of the job is helping advertisers design ads, especially when they are revamping their company,” Rokes said.

Coleman can be reached at (641) 753-6611 ext. 237 or scoleman@timesrepublican.com, and Rokes can be reached at hrokes@timesrepublican.com.