For more than 60 years Charles Preston was a renowned puzzle and cartoon editor supplying puzzles and cartoons to major media markets in North America under his company Cartoon Features Syndicate. His clients included USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, The Christian Science Monitor and airline in-flight magazines.

In the 1980’s Charles teamed up with Neil Manausa to write crossword software and develop publishing solutions for his various clients. For 38 years, Charles delegated all crossword publishing responsibilities to Neil.

Sadly, Charles Preston passed away in 2019 at age 99. His wife, Linda Preston permanently handed off the entire crossword end of Cartoon Features Syndicate to Neil in 2023.

With more than 40 years of publishing experience, Neil launched Blue Ridge Syndicate to carry on the high syndication standards established by Charles Preston.