Advocate Agency about us

A Little About Us~

Lets face it, there's more to life than work, but when you have the passion and excitement for your community, clients and career, it's more than just a job.

Over the last 20 years, we have devoted ourselves to excellent customer service and quality.

your business

Our slogan, "Your Business is Ours" isn't just a slogan, its the way we think about our clients.

Your business ... and your total satisfaction is important to us.

The Advocate Agency Team

Principles
- Judy DeVaul
  Judy is the driving force behind The Advocate Agency and her passion is evident in everything she tackles. Born and raised in Ephrata, she is a lifelong Washington resident who polished her exceptional customer service skills with experiences ranging from scooping ice cream at a soda fountain in a resort community to processing financial transactions in the banking industry. Her natural ability to find solutions to customer needs helped her excel as an advertising sales executive at The Columbia Basin Daily Herald in Moses Lake, where she met Frank. Her creativity has played a vital role in helping DeVaul Publishing, Inc. grow from a single weekly newspaper to a regional communications company producing five weekly publications, a business monthly, a dozen special section magazines, a commercial printing operation, and a full-service advertising agency. Her passion for excellence has resulted in hundreds of advertising awards, including multiple Sweepstakes Advertising Awards in the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspaper Contest. While serving on the WNPA Board of Directors keeps her in close contact with newspapers in every corner of the state, her roles have not been limited to media outlets. As a commissioner for the Port of Chehalis, she has also served as president of the Washington Public Ports Association and is a driving force for economic development as a member of the Lewis County Economic Development Council.
- Frank DeVaul
  
  Frank initiated his newspaper career at an early age delivering The Spokesman Review at 5 a.m. every morning. As a teenage carrier, he earned two trips to Disneyland in subscription sales contests and at one point could boast that every house in his route territory was receiving a paid subscription to the Spokane newspaper. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State University and was managing editor of The New Sharon (Iowa) Star before returning to the Pacific Northwest as Idaho Reporter for The Newport Miner. He was Sports Editor at The Columbia Basin Herald when he met Judy and they crafted a dream to combine their editorial and sales abilities to build their own media company. Frank served as a WNPA board member for more than 10 years and served as president of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association in 1997-98. He has also been active in the National Newspaper Association and has participated in several Government Affairs Conferences in Washington D.C. As publisher of The Morton Journal and as a member of the Lewis County Economic Development Council, Frank helped recruit the first non-timber related industry to East Lewis County when Stericycle located its facility in Morton. Appointed by the governor to the Centralia College Board of Trustees, he is active in statewide education issues and has helped develop state budgets requests for the Community and Technical College system. Community involvement includes being active as a director in The Industrial Commission and Vice President of Community Partners, both economic development catalysts for Chehalis and Lewis County. He current serves as chairman of the Chehalis-Centralia Airport Board, which is just finishing nearly $4 million in capital projects at the airport.

Graphic Design
- Katie Coleman
  Surrounded by the beauty of rural Pierce County, Katie graduated from Eatonville at the base of Mt. Rainier. She attended the Art Institute of Seattle, where she earned an Associates of Arts Degree in Graphic Design. Her creativity and desire to understand a customer’s needs combine to make her a natural addition to The Advocate Agency’s creative team. Katie’s background in state-of-the-art electronic graphic design is capable of creating effective communication elements ranging from business cards and brochures to complete advertising layouts and campaign layout designs. Elements range from logo design to related collateral materials and design.
- Shannon Wheeler
  An Olympia resident, Shannon has over 15 years experience in print media, advertising, web and graphic design. She received her Associates Degree in Graphic Design and Offset Reprographics in 1994 and currently in the third year of her Bachelor’s program at The Evergreen State College in Olympia with a double major in Computer Science and Psychology. Shannon has a broad range of design expertise including news media and web design. She listens carefully to client needs and is able to transform the information into beautiful, professional and effective graphic designs.

Business Manager
- Renae Justice
  Born and raised in Onalaska and a life-long Lewis County resident, Renae is a key contributor to the team that makes The Advocate Agency a client-friendly business. Working in a variety of positions that stressed customer service, efficiency and financial accountability, Renae joined the DeVaul Publishing family seven years ago and serves as the administrative assistant to the principals of The Advocate Agency. Her helpful and caring personality and attitude sets her apart in her role as our business manager. College accounting coursework has been combined with programs on Managing and Financing Independent Business to give Renae the ability to relate to client questions in a knowledgeable manner that is beneficial to everyone involved.