AAC Staff Profile


Meet Randy Kemp: Greasing the rails through


better communication...


By Ethan C. Nobles ethan@FirstArkansasNews.net


tor of the Association of Arkansas Counties. He earned his bachelor of arts in journalism


R


at Harding University and worked for 30 years for various weekly and daily newspapers as a reporter, photographer, editor, and publisher. Kemp has worked at the Association for just over two years and, prior to that, spent 18 years as the managing editor at the Sun-Times in He- ber Springs. He wound up at the Association as the result of his deciding to pursue a new career. “After all those years, I was just ready for something different,” he said. “I’d invested my blood, sweat and tears to (the Sun-Times) for 18 years and I just wanted to try something new that would still allow me to use the skills I’d de- veloped in the publishing business.” Kemp has a solid background as a hard news writer and still likes digging out substantive sto- ries. However, he also enjoys the other aspects of producing a publication – design, photography and the physical production process – and made up his mind about seven years ago that he want- ed to oversee the production of a trade magazine so he could pursue all of his interests. He applied for a couple of communications


director jobs and didn’t get much attention. Kemp figured he’d be a more viable candidate if he furthered his education and addressed an area where his skills were a bit lacking. In 2007, he earned his master’s in business administration (MBA) from Harding – a move he said broad- ened his thinking and understanding of the business and financial realms in a global context.


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andy Kemp spent most of his ca- reer as a journalist but now said he’s found his dream job as com- munications and marketing direc-


“One thing led to another and the board cre- ated that position,” Kemp said, adding that he was hired in his current role in mid-2008. “I think David had some nice things to say about me, which I appreciate!” Te job allows him to oversee all aspects of a publication. His primary focus is the Associa- tion’s County Lines trade magazine and he acts as a one-man magazine staff – Kemp takes care of the photography, writes a significant number of the articles in the magazine, assigns stories to writers and edits those stories and handles the layout and design of the publication. He also writes press releases pertaining to As- sociation news and issues and distributes those to the appropriate print and broadcast media. His responsibilities have increased since Chris


AAC Photo by Brenda Hildebrandt He continued his search for a communica-


tions director and a few people he’d met during his career in journalism helped him along the way. One of those acquaintances is David Mor- ris, the current Assistant to the Director at the Association and a former White County Judge. Kemp, while working at Te Daily Citizen in Searcy, knew Morris from reporting on quorum court meetings and county government issues. In 2008, Kemp was on the planning commit- tee for the Cleburne County quasquicentennial celebration. Morris and Eddie Jones – who was the director of the Association at the time – at- tended the ceremony in which the county cel- ebrated its establishment in 1883. He learned that Jones was considering asking the AAC Board of Directors to create a communications director position.


Villines started as Association director in the summer. Under Villines’ leadership, the Asso- ciation has beefed up its Internet site at www. arcounties.org. Te old site, Kemp said, had a lot of static content and looked dated. Te new site is more interactive in that County Lines is reproduced there, photos are posted regularly and people interested in what the Association is up to can follow it on Facebook and Twitter ac- counts that are linked to the site. Te site is ad- ministered by Executive Assistant Jeanne Hunt. Te question, of course, is who does want to keep up with what the association is doing? Kemp said the Association acts as a resource for county officials and county employees who will certainly want to learn of new laws, best prac- tices, and everything else that impacts how they do business – that information is passed along in County Lines and on the Internet site, as well as various specialty publications put together by AAC staff. State officials also have an interest in what the Association is doing, and Kemp said a third goal of the site is to help inform the public on issues that concern county government.


COUNTY LINES, FALL 2010


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