In the public interest
Government info specialists’ roles are expanding with Front Range
By Katie Bundschu

Kim Kobel of KCNC-Channel 4 interviews Cindy Matthews of the West Metro Fire District.

A lot of people take their work home, but not quite as literally as Scott Reed (’81), director of public affairs for the Denver area’s Regional Transportation District.

Reed said he finds that the daily commute from Erie to RTD administrative headquarters in downtown Denver keeps him up to speed on job-related issues. And, ironically, it provides a much-needed break in the day.

“The 20-minute bus ride portion of my commute gives me a chance to scan three daily newspapers while listening to the news on my Walkman. That is my personal sanity time and helps make the double-digit-hour-day a little more manageable,” Reed said.

Reed is one of many SJMC alums who put their skills to use as public information officers in the Denver area. They include Reed, Lynn Kimbrough (’83), Jennifer Watson (MA ’97) and Cindy Matthews (‘90).

Reed, who graduated with a degree in News-Editorial and is currently working on his master’s degree in pubic administration at CU-Denver, began his career at a biweekly newspaper, The Wyoming State Journal in Lander, where he covered everything from district courts to local government to state colleges. He also served as a photographer, sports editor and columnist.

“I was responsible for virtually everything but delivering the papers to the readers’ front porches,” Reed said.

Despite the small paychecks, Reed said he enjoyed the job. But he missed the Boulder area. He returned to Colorado to work for the University of Colorado in the Office of Conferences and Events for eight years before joining RTD.

Jennifer Watson of the Jefferson County Human Services Department

On average, Reed said, he works about 50 hours a week and, in some cases, many more, depending on daily events and occasional crises. Last year’s labor negotiations, when there was a threat of a strike, meant that he logged about 80 hours a week, including one day of 30 straight hours without sleep, he said.

Reed and his wife, Teresa, have two boys.

Lynn Kimbrough, who graduated with a Broadcast News degree, is communication director for the Denver district attorney’s office. She is the main spokesperson for DA Bill Ritter Jr. Her other duties include maintaining the office’s Web site (www.DenverDA.org) and producing a monthly cable TV show for Ritter.

Kimbrough started out as an intern at KIMN-AM radio. The station eventually hired her, and she then moved to KOA-AM. She said that being a reporter is the best training for people hoping to be successful in PR. Reporting, editing and co-hosting radio talk shows gave her the foundation for what she does now, she said.

After working in radio for 15 years, Kimbrough joined the Lakewood Police Department as a public information officer in 1994. In 1999, she moved on to the Denver DA’s office.

Kimbrough said the best advice she was given when she was a student was from an adviser who told her that when it comes to internships, “If you get your foot in the door, don’t let them kick you out.”

Kimbrough has two sons and lives in Golden with her partner, Barb Brown. She is an avid Colorado Buffaloes fan, holding season tickets for women’s basketball.

Lynn Kimbrough of the Denver DA's office.

Jennifer Watson is the public relations manager for the Jefferson County Human Services Department. Watson moved to Boulder in 1992 after graduating from Grinnell College in Iowa. After graduating from CU with a master’s degree in mass communication research, she worked for Westview Press in Boulder, then for the nonprofit Association for Volunteer Administration, which at the time was based in Boulder. She eventually took a job for The Gazette in Colorado Springs, first as an intern and then as a reporter, before taking a job with Jefferson County’s Public Information Department, which led to her current position.

Watson said she oversees public relations for all of the areas covered by the Human Services Department: social services, community development, justice services, Head Start and the Tri-County Workforce Center. She reports to the department’s director and also updates the Web site (jeffco.us) and oversees special events.

“What I like best about my job is the variety. I am able to work with a variety of individuals, which keeps my job fresh,” said Watson, who lives in Lakewood.

Cindy Matthews is community outreach director for the West Metro Fire District in Lakewood.

Matthews said her job continues to evolve. At first she mostly relayed information to the media about accidents and fires, but now, she said, her responsibilities include marketing, Web site production and coordinating special events.

Like Kimbrough, Matthews began her career in media as an intern for KOA-AM radio. During the internship, she said she realized she didn’t enjoy reporting as much as the public relations aspect of the media.

After graduating, Matthews took a position with Humana, a health insurance company, and did marketing and public relations. In 1993, she was given an opportunity to work for a year on World Youth Day during the pope’s visit to the Denver area as the assistant community and public relations director. She said that while she was working on that project, she honed her PR skills. She took the position at the West Metro Fire District eight years ago.

Matthews lives in Lakewood with her husband and 4-year-old daughter. She is expecting twins in July. She earned her master’s degree in communication from CU-Denver and occasionally teaches classes in crisis communications and public relations campaigns as an adjunct instructor for the University of Denver. She has also taught at CU-Denver in the communications programs.

The nature of a PIO position in metro Denver means that these alums sometimes cross paths with each other and other graduates of the School.

RTD's Scott Reed is interviewed on KWGN-Channel 2's live morning show by reporter Greg Nieto on the opening day of Central Platte valley rale line in 2002

“I have contact with Jim Hughes (MA ’98) on occasion,” Watson said. “He’s now a reporter for The Denver Post.

“I’ve also worked with Cindy Matthews on several occasions. She’s enormously talented, and I have great respect for what she’s accomplished at West Metro. She’s developed one of the better community relations and community education programs that I’ve seen.”

“Cindy and I see each other and work on things together all the time,” Kimbrough said. “Scott I talk with every now and then.”

Reed said he and Kimbrough recently worked together to address an issue about prosecuting two men who were caught by RTD surveillance cameras breaking into a car at a park-n-Ride.

“Lynn was extremely helpful in steering a reporter away from an incorrect and very negative conclusion regarding the prosecution and deterrence value of video surveillance,” he said. “I occasionally interact with Cindy Matthews, and about eight years ago I participated in an analysis group that Cindy co-hosted that was looking into possibly establishing a local government-based interactive video information network.”

Reed said he meets several alums who work for local print and broadcast news media, including Julie Olson (’85) and Tim Wieland (’91) of KCNC-Channel 4, and Sue Deans (MA ’75), editor of the Boulder Daily Camera.

“One very special person I worked closely with was Sue O’Brien, editorial page editor for The Denver Post and former J-school associate dean. Her passing last year left a huge void, personally and professionally, that can never be filled,” he said.

• matthews.cindy@comcast.net
• lmk@denverda.org
• scott.reed@rtd-denver.com
• JWatson.GW5HSB.GWHSB@co.jefferson.co.us