Congrats to Ken Stirckland.  He’s good people.

Below is the announcement that VP and Washington Bureau Chief Antoine Sanfuentes sent to all NBC News staff:

It is my privilege to announce today that our own Ken Strickland will be stepping into the position of NBC News Deputy Washington Bureau Chief, effective Monday, March 21st. In this role, he will work with me to manage the day-to-day operation of the bureau and oversee and drive all aspects of our coverage.

You all know Ken as the stately force on Capitol Hill, where he has been Senate Producer since 2003. In this role, he has reported on and off air on every major story that came through the United States Senate, including four Supreme Court confirmation battles, the bank bailouts, and health care reform. In 2008, he won an Emmy for breaking news coverage on the collapse of the bank bailout talks in Congress.

Some of us have had the pleasure of working with Ken since he became a member of the NBC News team in April 1995, when he joined as an Associate Producer for “Dateline NBC.” On his third day on the job, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed and Ken was immediately dispatched to the scene to coordinate NBC’s coverage with the local affiliate.

In June 1997, he joined me as a White House Producer — a position he held for six years, spanning the last three years of the Clinton administration and the first three years of the Bush administration. During this time, he produced coverage of President George W. Bush’s trip to Ground Zero in New York City in the days following the 9/11 attack. We travelled countless miles together witnessing Presidential history and I have always been grateful for that. I am really looking forward to our partnership.

Before joining NBC News, Ken worked for WKRN-TV in Nashville, WVTM-TV in Birmingham, and CNN in Atlanta. He received several distinguished honors through this time, including a Peabody Award, two regional Emmys, and an award from the National Association of Black Journalists.

In his new role, Ken will keep the trains running on time and oversee our network news coverage, as well as work in collaboration with regional news directors, MSNBC, CNBC, WRC and News Channel, and msnbc.com. Ken knows this town and he knows this business. I have great faith that his incomparable knowledge, sound editorial judgment, and keen creativity will keep NBC News at the forefront as we continue to evolve and better serve our viewers.

Please join me in congratulating Ken Strickland on the latest of his long list of accomplishments at NBC News.

Antoine Sanfuentes