Ken Stafford

Kenneth "Ken" Stafford is a contestant from .
Although Ken was in a good position on the Sook Jai tribe, a losing streak at the fake merge dwindled their numbers. When the merge did come, Ken was the first person targeted by the Chuay Gahn Five for being a physical threat. He was voted out in 8th place.
==Profile==
Retrieved from CBS.com
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Ken Stafford has a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Francis College, a degree in Police Science from the New York City Police Academy and holds a certified fitness professional certificate from the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Ken is currently a New York City Police Officer with the 79th Precinct. Previously, he worked as a fitness professional and construction worker. He enjoys motorcycle riding, mountain biking and fitness training. His favorite spectator sport is football. He is most proud of the day he raised his hand and swore the oath to protect and serve as a police officer. He describes his perfect day as September 10, 2001. His heroes are all the men and women who sacrificed their lives to save others on September 11, 2001.
Currently single, Stafford resides in Brooklyn with his two American bulldogs, Bubba and Thumper. His birth date is June 20, 1972.https://web.archive.org/web/20230607024525/https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/20651/
==Survivor==
When Ken revealed to everybody he was a New York Police Officer at the marooning, he got a positive reception from everybody. When a Schoolyard Pick was held to determine the tribes, Ken was selected by Jake Billingsley to be on the Sook Jai tribe. The tribe would ultimately be made up of castaways aged 30 or under, with Jake being the sole exception. Under the assumption that they would dominate the older Chuay Gahn tribe, Sook Jai rushed out to their beach. When they arrived, everyone scattered about doing their thing. Eventually, the shelter became most of the tribe's obsession. Despite winning the first Immunity Challenge of the season, the tribe was not unified. Jed Hildebrand and Stephanie Dill did not help with the shelter, with Ken viewing the pair as lazy and was annoyed by the fact that they were flaunting it. The pair, along with Robb Zbacnik, stayed behind while everyone else went to get food. Sook Jai won the next two challenges, winning them a fishing net and immunity. Stephanie became sick by not sleeping in the shelter during heavy rain. Ken viewed this as the result of her being pig-headed.
Although Sook Jai was leading in the Reward Challenge, Ken pushed Helen Glover off the course without being in the attack zone. He was disqualified from the challenge and a point was granted to Chuay Gahn. Robb, Stephanie, and Jed made the same mistakes, racking up penalties and costing Sook Jai the win. Ken and Penny Ramsey sat out at the Immunity Challenge. However, Chuay Gahn was able to win again. In the face of their first Tribal Council, Robb tried to convince Ken to vote out Shii Ann Huang for her weakness. However, Ken believed that Jed's laziness was hurting the tribe and voted him out instead. Jed would leave in a 5-3 vote. Sook Jai resumed their winning streak by winning the next two challenges. This earned the tribe ripe bananas and immunity. They also won chickens with the bananas, much to their surprise and delight.
The next challenge was the Survivor Auction. Before it started, Jeff Probst offered the castaways the chance to  but none did. Ken was the one to bid on the items. Chuay Gahn won the Immunity Challenge, sending Sook Jai back to Tribal Council. Ken voted out Stephanie because of her cold and she was voted out in a 5-2 vote. Robb decided to confront Ken about his honesty with him. Once Ken realized that this was directed at him, he called out Robb for his behavior. This would lead Robb to have an epiphany about the way he acted. Robb dominated the Reward Challenge, giving Sook Jai a feast. Everyone bonded over the food. Despite winning reward, Sook Jai lost the mental Immunity Challenge to Chuay Gahn. Despite the sudden growth, Robb was unanimously voted out over Shii Ann.
Ken was leery of Penny as she told Robb that he was lying to him. In Tree Mail, the tribe received paints. The newly decorated tribe was paired up with members of Chuay Gahn to take a random basket. Ken was paired up with Helen and they picked the basket that told them to visit the Sook Jai camp. Then it was revealed that the tribes would be living together. The group moved to Chuay Gahn's beach and were given a feast as a reward for reaching the final 10. Everyone assumed that the tribes had merged and conversations were made about potential alliances with the rivaling team. Ken spoke with Brian and was open to working with him as Brian claimed Chuay Gahn had no plans to vote along Tribal Lines. 
Ken noticed that Shii Ann was getting too close to Chuay Gahn. He interrogated her about her loyalties and told her that she would be a rat if she flipped. At the Immunity Challenge, Jeff told everyone that he said nothing about a merge and they were still separate tribes. Despite his and Shii Ann's valiant efforts, Chuay Gahn was able to edge out Sook Jai for the win. Shii Ann was immediately voted unanimously out for being open to flipping had they truly merged. Ken was unable to feel at home because the Chuay Gahn members peed in their living space. Chuay Gahn won immunity again and Sook Jai was sent back to Tribal Council for the fifth time. The Chuay Gahn members tried not to rub it in Sook Jai's faces. The tribe bonded together before the last Tribal Council and Erin Collins was voted out unanimously though Ken did receive a vote from her.
Jake, Ken, and Penny were dejected by losing Erin and having a numberical disadvantage. At the next meeting with Jeff, everyone saw parts of videos from their loved ones, Ken's being of his mom and brother. The next challenge was to see the entire video. The tribes have officially merged and were given golden buffs. For the challenge, Ken was paired with Clay Jordan. The duo defeated Jake and Jan Gentry in the first round but lost to Helen and Brian Heidik in the second round. Ken knew he was a challenge threat and would be a likely target. The three remaining Sook Jai members noticed that Ted Rogers, Jr. was spending a lot of time by himself. Brian told them that Ted was Chuay Gahn's outsider and that the vote wouldn't be on Tribal Lines. Ken made it to the final round in the Immunity Challenge but lost to Clay. The Sook Jai trio decided to vote for Ted, believing him to the consensus vote-off. This was not the case and Ken was voted out in a 5-3 vote.
At the Final Tribal Council, Ken said the finalists were willing to give up their integrity to make it further in the game. Ken asked Brian why he said Ted needed to go. Brian failed to give the honest response Ken wanted. This prompted Ken to vote for Clay, though he would lose to Brian by one vote.
<tabber>Challenge History=
Episode 	TribeAffiliation 	Challenge 	Challenge Type 	Sit-Out 	Result
1 	rowspan=13 	Flying Your Flag 	Immunity 	No 	
2 	Palanquin Slalom 	Reward 	No 	 	
2 	Floating Puzzle 	Immunity 	No 	 	
3 	Pilfering Pirates	Reward 	No 	 	
3 	Temple Transfer 	Immunity 	Yes 	 	
4 	New Tribe Member 	Reward 	No 	 	
4 	Tan-dy Gram 	Immunity 	No 	 	
5 	Survivor Auction 	Survivor Auction 	Survivor Auction	Survivor Auction	
5 	Catch of the Day 	Immunity 	Yes 	 	
6 	Wicker Flicker 	Reward 	No 	 	
6 	Thai 21 	Immunity 	No 	 	
7 	Jail Break 	Immunity 	No 	 	
8 	Breathing Space 	Immunity 	No 	 	
colspan=6	 	 	 	 	
9 	rowspan=2 	Wicker Ball Relay	Reward 	 	
9 	Thai Numbers 	Immunity 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
|-|Voting History=
Episode 	Ken'sVotes 	Voted AgainstKen
1 	 	
2 	 	
3 	 	
4 	 	
5 	 	
6 	 	
7 	 	
8 	 	
9 	 	
 	 	
Voted forSole Survivor	colspan="2"	
</tabber>
==Post-Survivor==
* Since competing on , Ken has appeared on several TV shows, including the Canadian show and appeared as a contestant on the game show .http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1235496/
* On January 9, 2010, Ken attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.
==Trivia==
* Ken's luxury item was an NYPD shield.
* Ken is the first person in history to be disqualified from a challenge for breaking the challenge rules.
* Ken is the first castaway to be the first person voted out of a merged tribe but still become a member of the jury.
* Ken's 30th birthday was on Day 11 of .
* Ken is the highest-placing contestant to become the first person voted out of the merged tribe, placing 8th.
==References==
Category:Contestants
Category:Male Contestants
Category:Thailand Contestants
Category:Thailand Jury Members
Category:Sook Jai Tribe
Category:Chuay Jai Tribe
Category:8th Place
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor (U.S.) Contestants
Category:Survivor: Thailand
Category:1972 births
Category:Living people