Ken Derksen, former TV reporter, hired by schools
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on October 6, 2005 1:46 PM
Wayne County Public Schools has hired a TV news reporter to be its new public information officer.
Ken Derksen, Goldsboro bureau chief for News 14 Carolina, will handle public relations for the school system and media coverage for stories about the 31 schools. He starts work Oct. 17.
Derksen has been in broadcast journalism for more than seven years. He moved to Goldsboro two years ago and has been covering Wayne, Wilson, and Johnston county schools.
After attending Morehead State University in Kentucky, he began his career in Dayton, Ohio in 1996 as a helicopter videographer. In 1999, he became a video journalist, joining News 14 Carolina in February 2003 as a Fayetteville bureau reporter.
In his job as a TV reporter, he has covered stories that have taken him around the world. In 2002, he spent a month in Kuwait with the 82nd Airborne. He also reported on the 99th and 100th anniversary of the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk and the 2004 NCAA Final Four basketball games.
Since moving to Goldsboro, he has become active in church activities and works with a group of boys each week as a Royal Rangers commander.
Dr. Steven Taylor, superintendent of schools, said Derken's positive attitude and media background will make him an asset for the school system.
"His broadcast experience and understanding of the area, along with his expressed desire to continue working in the community, made him the ideal candidate for the position," he said.
Derksen said he looks forward to his new role in the local arena.
"I believe this move will be a win/win for the school system and myself," he said. "Since I moved to Goldsboro in May of 2003, it has become my home. I welcome the opportunity to continue living here.
"I am ready to take on the awesome responsibility of representing Wayne County Public Schools' more than 19,000 students and 2,800 employees."