Mark and his wife, Tracy, purchased their home in Kure Beach in 2020, moving here permanently from Greensboro in December 2021. They continue to work as Senior Partners for their Greensboro-based business, Beacon Technologies, which Mark founded in 1998 and now has 60+ employees. In 2022, they opened a small Beacon office in Carolina Beach, but recently moved it to downtown Wilmington ahead of planned client and employee growth.
Mark and Tracy have 2 children. Their son Ryan lives in Wilmington and is the Director of Business Development at Beacon, and their daughter Elly lives in Gibsonville NC and works at Elon University as both the Assistant to the Athletic Director and Head Coach of their Dance Team (which won a national championship in 2022).
Feel free to contact me by email (mdirks61@gmail.com) or by phone @ 657.301.9687.
Locally, Mark joined the Kure Beach Marketing Advisory Committee in 2021, became the chairperson in 2022 and continues to serve in that role – leading the committee, providing input/advice for the Wilmington Convention & Visitor's Bureau's ("CVB") marketing efforts for Kure Beach, and sharing feedback with the Town Council. He has been involved with the Eakes Park revitalization planning, provided significant input to the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority’s 10-year plan, and led efforts that improved KB’s “dogs on the beach” ordinance. He has also been very active with the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project, since 2022, patrolling the beaches regularly during the turtle nesting periods and “sitting” many nests during hatches. You can usually find Mark on local pickleball courts, playing disc golf at Eakes Park or Good Hops, at Beau Rivage Golf Course, on the beach, or with friends somewhere else in the community.
Hobbies: Disc Golf, Golf, Pickleball, Fishing, and following his beloved Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Mark holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Wake Forest University (with minors in Sociology & Computer Science) and a Master’s degree in Computer Systems from Kansas State University. He has served on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Technology Association for nearly 10 years (2 years as the Chairman), was named Small Business Person of the Year by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and received the Entrepreneurial Success Award by the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.
Before starting Beacon, Mark climbed through the technical ranks, starting as a programmer/developer for RJ Reynolds Inc at their World Headquarters in Winston-Salem. He then spent 14 years at AT&T HR Systems, where he led the creation of one of the world's first corporate intranets ahead of the dot-com frenzy.
Co-founding Beacon in 1998, he has driven consistent growth, long-term partnerships, and an award-winning culture for 27 years. Mark was instrumental in forming relationships with Google, Accenture, KPMG Consulting, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Department of Education. These relationships during the company's early years, coupled with Mark's leadership and business development skills, foreshadowed the growth of Beacon's Higher Education and Multifamily Property Management portfolio over the last 15 years.
The company has worked with over 200 colleges and universities (U.S. and abroad) and currently provides digital marketing services for over 750 multifamily residential properties across the country.
Mark’s career reveals a focus on giving back to the community and teamwork – both of which are at the foundation of Beacon. “I played a lot of sports growing up – baseball and football for Hickory High School – and many recreational teams. I also was a walk-on placekicker at Wake Forest in 1979, but didn’t make the team. I coached travel football and baseball, played modified fast-pitch softball and competitive racquetball for 20+ years as well. So Beacon was my new “team” and I have always seen myself as a coach, not a boss,” says Dirks.
“Since day 1, we made it clear that we would create a great place to work – a culture that cares about team members, work-life balance, the community and our customers.” Beacon has consistently been rated as one of the top places to work in the Greensboro area because its commitment to community service (BeaconCares), family health care coverage, profit-sharing and work from home policies, and much more. “I believe this mentality is what got us through 4 major world events since Beacon began - Y2K, 9/11, the Great Recession and Covid,” says Dirks.
Mark has always looked for ways to contribute more and lead. At Wake Forest, he chaired multiple school committees and supported Big Brothers/Big Sisters through his fraternity. At RJ Reynolds, he contributed to, and supported, the Winston-Salem Arts Council and at AT&T, he supported The United Way, which he continues through Beacon Technologies - winning The United Way’s Spirit of NC Award in 2024.
He started Weaving Hope in 2017, one of his more significant undertakings, which provided income to women basket weavers in Rwanda. Their baskets were then sold in the U.S. with 100% of the proceeds redirected back to Rwanda to build 2 preschools. As Mark says, “There was no question that I was led by a higher power to do this work, and while it was a bouncy ride, it was a profoundly emotional time because thousands of Rwandan children are now benefitting from education and also getting much-needed nutrition through these schools.” See “Our Story” and this video, “Not just a Business. Not Just a Basket.”
Over the last 4 years, being involved with the Town of Kure Beach through the KB Marketing Advisory Committee, I’ve shared my ideas, thoughts, and concerns with many leaders and citizens. I believe most people who know me would say that I’m a problem solver, that I will listen to varying opinions, weigh pros and cons, rely heavily on data, and then ultimately make the best decisions possible to achieve objectives. Having come from a big family, coaching sports for many years, and running my company with 60+ employees, I fully understand that it is impossible to make everyone happy all of the time. Change is unavoidable. So, we can either adapt proactively, or scramble reactively. I’d prefer to help protect and improve our classic beach town by planning proactively.
We are blessed to live in a small, beautiful and classic beach town. It is essential that we work hard to protect and guide its future – which takes a commitment by not only the Town Council, but the residents as well. Let’s work together to preserve, and improve upon, what brought all of us here.
Rather than let growth happen TO Kure Beach, the town must carefully decide HOW it wants to grow over the next 5-10 years, then develop a thoughtful, data-driven plan to govern the pace and direction - coupled tightly with infrastructure changes. This is about establishing a plan that considers residents, property managers and business partners.
Decisions that benefit our citizens also benefit tourism (because tourists generally come to KB to experience what we love). While tourism is absolutely essential for our business partners and town revenue, let’s remember that when we make improvements for our residents, we are typically improving value for our visitors as well. The Eakes Park revitalization, continued emphasis on beach management (cleanliness, reorenourishment, enforcement), traffic management improvements, Ocean Front Park & Pavilion enhancements, Bike/Ped considerations are great examples.
It is extremely important to have an open and strong relationship with MOTSU, since it can have a significant impact on decisions that affect the town and its citizens. Let’s continue to make this a priority. I’m personally very interested in learning more about the relationship to see how we can collaborate and partner better. Communication, partnership, and negotiation are strengths I want to bring to the KB-MOTSU relationship.
ROT funds have risen from $340K in 2004-05 to $2.2M in 2023-24, increasing on average 11% per year (13% over the last 10 years). This is fantastic. However, we are in a very different time than 20+ years ago with respect to the required use of those funds. Property management companies, VRBO, Airbnb… others are marketing our town now. Are there better ways to spend these funds (i.e. develop assets, establish programs, facilitate infrastructure improvements, etc.)? Has 20+ years of this legislation run its course? Worth a hard look.
I’m 100% for the Greenway to come through Kure Beach as it will be an asset for our citizens as well as tourists. According to their website, it is only 37% complete (2024). Other sources say 40-65% complete. It has a variety of segments (multi-use trails, roadways, traffic-separated greenways). Lots of good reasons to move forward, but I believe it is important to choose the best location, taking into consideration resident feedback, environmental impact, public safety, infrastructure support, and cost. Studies have been performed. Discussions have been held with MOTSU and residents. I certainly need to learn more, but believe more of #4 above may be necessary to get to the ideal decision.