David Habrat has been hired to lead sales efforts at The Dolores Star and four sister newspapers.

Habrat will serve as vice president of sales for the newspaper division of Ballantine Communications Inc.

He most recently worked as regional sales director for Hagadone Corp., which owns daily and weekly publications in northern Idaho.

From 2005 until 2013, Habrat was advertising director for The Free Press in Mankato, Minn., also serving as the regional sales and marketing vice president for parent company Community News Holdings Inc. CNHI owns dozens of community newspapers throughout the East, South and Midwest.

Habrat has overseen online newspaper advertising, event marketing and print advertising for two decades.

"Progressive media companies are working very hard today to super-serve a community's core readers ... with content that is smart and makes them smarter, surprises and delights and is a vigilant watchdog in the community," Habrat said in a prepared statement. "Today we are providing that important content through multi-channel services. Given that reality, the sales and marketing products we provide and our team's expertise must be 'future-proof.'"

"It is a challenging but exciting time to be in sales and marketing."

An avid rock climber and water skier, Habrat was educated at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Habrat is married to his wife, Amy, and has four children, ages 11, 14, 22 and 25.

Ballantine Communications' newspaper division includes the Dolores Star, Cortez Journal, Mancos Times, Durango Herald and Pine River Times.