LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)–Todd Deaton, managing editor of the Baptist Courier, newsjournal of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, was elected Dec. 9 as editor of the Western Recorder, newsjournal of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
Deaton, 45, has served in his role at the South Carolina newspaper since 1996. He previously was associate editor of the Biblical Recorder in North Carolina for seven years. He worked as an intern for the Western Recorder for three years when he was a student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.
“You have already made a profound impact upon who I am,” Deaton told the KBC Mission Board. “This is a way I can return the blessings that you have given me.”
“I am excited about the opportunity to serve Kentucky Baptists again and renew my friendships there, but I will truly miss South Carolina,” Deaton said in an interview. “It has been a real blessing to serve the Baptists of my home state.”
Prior to being elected, Deaton told the KBC board he “would seek to bring to the pages of the Western Recorder accuracy, balance and fairness” and that he has “a fervent desire to tell the stories of what Kentucky Baptists are doing.”
Deaton “meets and exceeds all of our requirements” to become the newspaper’s next editor, said Skip Alexander, chairman of the Western Recorder editor search committee.
“We’re enthusiastic [and] we’re excited about Todd Deaton leading the Western Recorder,” Alexander said. “It’s not only right for Todd to step into this calling, but we believe he’s right for Kentucky Baptists. He is known as a bridge builder and an encourager, someone who will put the faces of our people in print … and tell what Kentucky Baptists are doing for God’s glory.”
Deaton is expected to begin his new role in mid-January. He succeeds Trennis Henderson, who resigned in March 2008 to become vice president of communications at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark.
Deaton is a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, S.C., and Southern Seminary. In May he expects to complete a doctor of education degree at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.
He and his wife Michelle have two children, Laura Leigh and Caleb Todd.
At 184 years old, the Western Recorder is the second-oldest Baptist newsjournal in the country. In addition to the weekly newspaper, it also provides publishing services for six other Baptist state convention news publications.
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Drew Nichter is news director of the Western Recorder (westernrecorder.org), newsjournal of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
