Randy King joins Triad’s Communications practice after a stellar 22-year career of public service with Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed, for whom he served as Press Secretary and Director of Communications for 18 years. Prior to that he created the city’s first-ever special events program and schedule, now drawing in excess of 2 million persons a year to the city, and was a statewide pioneer in the development of corporate sponsorships for city events and activities.

Randy was one of the longest serving municipal press officers in the history of the Commonwealth, garnering extensive experience in all aspects of local government communications and operations. As a senior aide and adviser to Mayor Reed, Pennsylvania’s longest serving mayor now in his 7th consecutive term, Randy played a key behind-the-scenes role in Harrisburg’s nationally recognized resurgence.

He was involved in all aspects of city government operations and communications, and led Harrisburg’s award winning efforts in adopting information age technologies. He created the city’s worldwide web and Internet operations, and the Harrisburg Broadcast Network, a multi-disciplinary, 24-hour per day municipal news and public information effort that includes a state of the art television broadcasting and production facility, 2 municipal cable television channels, a monthly municipal newspaper, 4 different city websites and Internet radio operations.

As public information officer for Harrisburg’s model emergency management team, home of one of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 27 Urban Search and Rescue teams, Randy has dealt with public safety emergencies ranging from devastating floods and other natural disasters to major fires, terrorist attack response and other incidents. He currently holds 5 separate federal certifications for the newly implemented and mandatory national Incident Command System, and has undergone terrorism response training at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA. He has trained many other municipal public information officers and elected officials in emergency management communications, and has been a featured lecturer, panelist and commentator on numerous broadcasts and at statewide conferences.

Randy has also distinguished himself through his work in tourism development, with experience in everything from minor league sports teams to the development of museums, arts and cultural centers, major special events and other tourism related facilities and programs. His special events experience includes production roles in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, the 1989 Aloha Bowl, the 1990 Adolphus Parade and the 1994 World Motorcross championships. He has been a board member of the Harrisburg-Hershey tourism bureau since 1990, serving two terms as board chair, and is currently vice-chairman of the organization, which represents the second most visited area in Pennsylvania.

He is also the longest serving member of the PA State Farm Show Commission, which oversees the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, one of the largest exposition and convention centers in the nation. Randy was first appointed by the late Governor Robert P. Casey and has been subsequently reappointed by Governors Ridge, Schweiker and Rendell, with unanimous PA Senate confirmation each time.

Randy has extensive political campaign experience, and served as Mayor Reed’s primary campaign director for his past 5 reelection bids, all of which saw Reed take the primary elections on both the Republican and Democratic sides of the ballot. He has directed or provided assistance to more than 130 local, county, state and national election campaigns, and was a Democratic Committeeman and election official in his home 6th Ward of Harrisburg for 15 years.