User:Kevin Knutson

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Kevin Knutson is the Director of Community Relations for the City of Reno, Nevada, where he oversees communications, neighborhood services, and Reno Direct. This includes responsibility for media and public relations, Reno 13 (channel 13 on Charter Cable), the City's website and intranet, the City's call center, and the community liaison program.

Prior to his current position, Kevin served as the Director of Communications & Marketing for the City of Coral Springs, Florida. In that capacity, he provided creative and editorial direction of Coral Springs magazine, CityTV (channel 25 on Advanced Cable Communications), CityRadio (WQFL543 1670 AM), the City’s websites (around 10,000 pages and 30 URLs), the City’s intranet, advertising, public relations, media relations, in-house video production, and numerous other print collateral.

Through 2005, he was the Budget & Strategic Planning Manager for Coral Springs for 10 years, overseeing the award-winning strategic plan, business plan, budget, capital improvement and replacement programs, performance measurement system, and elements of the City’s quality initiative. He was a writer and the editor of the City’s Baldrige and Sterling applications and has served as a Sterling Examiner. The City was awarded the Florida Governor's Sterling Award for Organizational Excellence in 1997 and 2003, and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2007.

Before entering public administration, Kevin worked in performing arts as a stage hand and sound engineer, specializing in live musical performances. He also was a gaffer’s assistant on Miami Vice and for Hollywood Squares when they were shooting at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. He has served as a Box Office Manager, Director of Event Services, and General Manager for community arts centers, contributing to over 5,000 live events and meetings.

Earlier positions included being a mechanical designer for Motorola and performing freelance technical editing for IBM, Burnup & Sims, the American Welding Society, and the Vorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University. Kevin also served in the US Army, stationed in Germany.

In 1994, Kevin was the founding director of the Coral Springs Museum of Art and until 2008 served as the contract manager for the museum and the Coral Springs Center for the Arts. In 2005, he completed a four-year term on the Florida Humanities Council and was a trustee of the Coral Springs Firefighters Pension Board.

Kevin has an Associate’s degree in English, a Bachelor’s degree in 19th Century American Literature, and an MFA in Creative Writing. He has post-graduate certificates from UCLA, FIU, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a certified Public Pension Trustee. He has also attended Savannah College of Art & Design and the Center for Creative Leadership.

Kevin’s articles and short stories have appeared in several publications and he is co-author of the book, Images of America: Coral Springs. He lives in Reno with Kimberly, his wife, and his daughters, Zoë and Emi.