Member Spotlight - July, 2025

Ken Fiser
Financial Consultant

Introduction
I have been a member of the Kentucky Public Health Association since 1964 and have attended all but five of the annual conferences in that time.

Professional Background
After graduation from High School in Christian County, I attended Murray State University from 1956 to 1958. I transferred to the University of Kentucky in 1958 and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics in 1961. I then took a job with the U. S. Census Bureau as a statistician. In February of 1963, being homesick for Kentucky, I applied for and got a job with the Kentucky State Health Department as a Venereal Disease Representative. I worked in that position and a few others until I went back to school at the University of North Carolina. I received a Master of Public Health Degree with a major in administration from there in 1967. I then returned to the Kentucky Department of Health and, shortly thereafter, took the position of Assistant Director for Administration at the Fayette County Health Department. I returned to the State Health Department in 1971 as the Assistant Director of the Division of Budgets and Accounts. I held several positions in the Department of Health and the Cabinet for Human Resources until my retirement in 1995. My last position was that of Director of the Division of Administration and Fiscal Management. After about one year of retirement, a local health department called and ask if I would be interested in helping them prepare their budget. I said yes and within three years I was working with about fifteen local health departments on their budgets, closeout, audits, and any other administrative function they requested me to do. I have continued doing that until now but I have cut down to about five health departments in the last two years.

KPHA Involvement
In my sixty-one years as a member of KPHA I have served in a couple of elected positions and on many of the committees. I served as treasurer of the organization for four years and was chairman of the Administrative Section for one year. I was on the Audit Committee for three years and was chairman of that committee for two years. I was on the nominating Committee for two years and was chairman for one year. I also served on the Awards committee for two years and chairman for one year. I was also a member of the Executive Committee for five years.

Personal Insights
To say I have a passion for my field of work, I hope my sixty-two years of work in public health would attest to that.

Accomplishments & Recognition
I received the Russell E. Teague Award from KPHA in 1996 and the Administrative Support Staff Award in 1994. I am also proud of the fact that I received an Outstanding Merit Advancement from four different Commissioners of Health in my time with the Department of Public Health.

Future Goals & Aspirations
I think the Covid epidemic made most people aware of the role of public health in this country and I think many more people now support our work. I have seen the KPHA grow stronger and become an important player in the continuing education of public health workers in Kentucky and I think this growth will continue for the foreseeable future.

Personal Interests & Hobbies
My personal interests outside of work involve keeping up with and cheering for most of the University of Kentucky sports teams. Another thing that my wife and I enjoy is making an occasional trip to the riverboats and casinos around the country.

Advice & Tips
The two things I find most valuable about being a member of KPHA is the variety of educational opportunities it provides and the opportunity it provides to meet and get to know public health workers from across the state.