Rick Norton looks at his community as being a part of home. By putting home first, he believes you do the same with the community. He is the Associate Editor of the Cleveland Daily Banner who has served his community with his creative writing, features, and editorials for several years. Born in Falkner, MS and raised in Collierville, TN, Norton attended Collierville High School and went on to the University of Tennessee at Martin. He worked as the editor of the student newspaper and worked for the UTM Office of Publications before he graduated in 1977.

Since moving to Cleveland after graduating college, Norton has played a vital role in ensuring his community is well informed and shining a light on the achievements and progression of Bradley County. His work has brought him many accolades from the UT/Tennessee Press Association Newspaper Awards in several categories like Best Single Editorial, Best Personal Column, and Best Personal Humor Column categories. He is a two-time recipient of the Edward J. Meeman Award for editorial writing in 2015 and 2020. In 2011, he received the "Commitment to Compassionate Journalism" Award from the Refuge Community Center, and in 2013, he was the recipient of the "Excellence in Communications Award" from the Cleveland Media Association.

Norton believes in this era of pandemic, and the challenges faced in medicine, education, assisted living and emergency response — among so many other areas of our community, it is all the more heartwarming to know that creativity and personal expression can still make a difference. Norton has been married to his wife, Trina G. Norton, for 44 years.