Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/87353
Sarasota News Leader October 12, 2012 PATCHEN NAMED COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Donn Patchen has been named direc- tor of communications and civic en- gagement for Sarasota County by County Administrator Randall Reid, the county has announced. Patchen previously was division manager for community information and outreach for Mi- ami-Dade County. "Donn shares Sarasota County's values of pub- lic service, open communication and civic en- gagement," Reid said in a news release. "His experience will help us create a premier communications department that provides extensive public information, along with op- portunities for active citizen participation in county government using the latest communi- cations technologies," Reid added in the news release. Patchen brings more than two decades of ex- perience in broadcast media and government communications to Sarasota County, the re- lease notes. "My entire communications career has been focused on serving the public," he said in the release, "and I look forward to leading a team that values public service, operates as effi- ciently as possible and utilizes technology to help educate and inform the community about the services available in Sarasota County." Patchen holds a degree in telecommunica- tions from Penn State University. He previ- ously was director of communications for the South Florida Super Bowl XLI Host Commit- tee, assistant director and technical director for WPLG-TV in Miami and production spe- cialist for WLRN-TV in Miami. In an Oct. 5 email to the County Commission about his hiring Patchen, Reid wrote, "He is active in social media and has experience that will assist us in event coordination, corporate branding, better communicating our message in multiple venues and enhancing our cable utilization." Reid added, "We are developing an excellent staff of which I am quite proud and look for- ward to him joining our staff … in [about] 30 days." Patchen's hiring is conditional upon the suc- cessful results of a physical examination and processing of paperwork, the news release says. His starting salary will be $102,003, ac- cording to county spokesman Curt Preisser. Page 61