Mayor Bill Haslam announced that he has hired Randy Kenner as Communications Coordinator for the city of Knoxville.
"I'm excited that Randy has decided to join our team," said Mayor Haslam. "He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of the community to the job." Kenner, 46, has been a reporter for the News Sentinel since 1990.
He currently covers the University of Tennessee and higher education; he has also covered state and federal courts.
He has received numerous journalism awards for his work including Scripps Deadline Writer of the Year; the Golden Press Card for the Society of Professional Journalist's East Tennessee Chapter; The Malcolm Law Memorial Award for Best Investigative Reporting and he wrote the story that won the News Sentinel the Tennessee Press Association's award for Best News Story in 2000. Kenner's prior newspaper experience includes the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, The Knoxville Journal and The Mountain Press in Sevierville.
Kenner is a Knoxville native and a 1984 University of Tennessee graduate.