BEAUMONT, Texas — The 12News team will be a bit smaller after Friday when two staffers leave the newsroom for bigger markets.
Reporters Simona Barca and Kara Willis are both working their final shifts on Friday, March 10, 2023, before they move on to bigger jobs and bigger markets.
The entire 12News team will miss both of them and is wishing them well as they both move on in their careers.
Willis will be heading to Houston and Barca will be taking a job in Bryan, Texas.
Barca is taking an anchor position at KRHD, the ABC affiliate in Bryan.
She joined the 12News team as part of the Tegna "producer in residence" program in July 2021 and in March 2022 she became a reporter.
Barca earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from American University in Washington D.C. and has worked as an intern at C-SPAN and the National Journalism Center.
Willis will be continuing to work the early shift after accepting a job as a morning reporter at KIAH-CW39, the CW affiliate in Houston.
GET NEWS & WEATHER ALERTS | Download the 12News App to your mobile device
She joined the 12News team in late September 2020 as a reporter.
Willis is from Houston and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater arts with a minor in radio/TV as well as a master's degree in mass communication From Stephen F. Austin University.
We know you'll miss them as much as we will.
