ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The USD 480 school district now has a new face at the head of its communications department with Darin Clark.
Clark replaces Tyler Parks in the role and as he tells it, communication has been part of his life for a long time.
“For two years, I worked in Galveston, Texas and before that, I'd lived in Perryton, Texas for about 30 years and I'd spent eight years of that time working as the communications director there and helped build up that department,” Clark said. “I really enjoyed that, but my wife and I were looking for something a little different and something closer to home, so we ultimately ended up here in Liberal. And Liberal's great because it allows us to be kind of close to friends and family in Perryton while also having our own lives, so it's a great place. We're really excited and loving USD 480 and the opportunity I have here to help build up the communications department – there's been a lot of great things happening, and a lot of improvements made from the past, from what I've been told, but like anything else, I know we can do better. I want to help get our story out to the community better than we have in the past – I know there's been a lot of good going on, but not everyone knows about it, so I want to help spread that word.”
However, Clark said, his initial interest was sparked well before he made communication his chosen career field.
“Communications, in general, I've been doing since I was about 16 years old when I was working at the radio station in Pampa, Texas, which is where I grew up. Prior to that, however, I'd been playing a DJ in my bedroom since I was about 6 or 7 years old, and I knew that's what I wanted to do,” Clark said. “I worked in radio for a while, then ended up in TV for a little while, and then my wife and I moved to Perryton, where I got involved with the radio station, and I was the general manager there for several years. Radio is rather a difficult market these days, and my wife is a teacher and had been involved in the school district for many years, and the opportunity eventually came up that a communications director position was being created, and it was right up my alley, so I ended up doing that for a while as well.”
Eventually. Clark said, the opportunity came up for he and his wife to make the move to Liberal.
“My wife and I had decided to leave Perryton because again, we wanted to try something new, and we moved to Galveston – we'd been there on our honeymoon and thought it would be cool to go back and live and work there, but it ultimately ended up not being a good fit for us,” Clark said. “So we decided we wanted to be back somewhere closer to home, and we were both applying for jobs here and there, and I came across this position for USD 480 and we both ended up thinking 'THAT'S the perfect one!' I applied and went through the interview process – which we drove up here for – and a few days after the interview, I was offered the job and ended up accepting it, and here I am. My first thought after getting the offer was figuring out where USD 480 stands, what's been going on in regards to the communications side of everything, where does the district want to go from here, and what some of the overall goals were. Another thing was getting to know the community a bit better – having lived in Perryton, I was kind of familiar with Liberal, but now I get the chance to know the town better, which is great. So far, Liberal's been great for us, and my wife and I are looking forward to living here and being part of the community.”
And the work started almost immediately, Clark said.
“A lot of the work I got started on when I came on concerned the new superintendent, who started only a week before I did, so we've been working together on a number of things he needed to share, and we're wanting to get him exposed to the community so everyone knows they can get in touch with him,” Clark said. “He's got a lot of great ideas for the district, and communication is a big part of that, so there's already been quite a bit of collaboration between us so far.”
Even with being rather new to the position, Clark said there are already some goals he has.
“One goal for me is to help get a positive image of the district out to the community and make everyone aware of what's going on. I also want to help the district's faculty and staff to understand the importance of communication and providing any necessary information to be shared with the community,” Clark said. “There are a lot of opportunities available that are sometimes missed out on because everyone's first thought isn't necessarily 'We've GOT to share this with the community!' That can be perceived as us hiding something, but in truth, there's just a lot of work going on and again, everyone's primary thought isn't necessarily about sharing information to everyone. That's where a lot of that community trust comes from, with us being transparent and being as open as possible. Since I'm still so new, we really haven't gotten too far into any specifics about the long term, but like I said earlier, we really just want to make sure we're being more open to the community and sharing more about what's going on throughout the district. And if anyone has any questions about anything going on throughout the district, they are more than welcome to get in touch with me at the Central Office at (620) 604-1000 – just let me know what you're interested in knowing about, and I'll do my best to get together all the information needed.”
And so far, Clark said, things have started in Liberal on a rather positive note, and he expects that to continue.
“So far, there's been a lot of unpacking on my end and getting moved in,” Clark said with a chuckle. “I moved up about a week before my wife joined me, and that was when the hurricane hit, so she had to pack and move in the aftermath of all that mess. She'd had to evacuate to Waco for a few days, but then went back home and had to pack and load the truck and follow me to Liberal. It was tough for both of us because while I was starting to get settled and starting to get to know the office, she was dealing with moving after a hurricane, so we're definitely both ready for a bit of calm. I'm really excited to really get everything going here, and I'm really looking forward to all the opportunities ahead for everyone in USD 480.”
