Ken Turner reaches turning point

Retires from Big Bend July 1

MOSES LAKE - Ken Turner's plans after retirement include not making any plans.

Turner, 65, retires from Big Bend Community College July 1 from his position as vice president of administrative services. He has worked 14 years in his position and nearly 28 years at the college.

"First and foremost, I'm going to take a vacation," Turner said.

When he retires, he and his wife Dusty will head to Chesaw, Wash., a former gold mining town where Turner was born and where his family still has a home.

After that?

"Remember, no plans," Turner said. "So we'll go wherever."

Turner held several positions after graduating from Washington State University with a bachelor's degree in animal sciences. He served in the U.S. Air Force for four years, then looked for work in Moses Lake. Unable to find a job in town, he worked in Seattle for chemical distributor Van Waters & Rogers.

In addition, he worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs while earning his master's in public administration from the University of Puget Sound. For six years he worked for the department in Tacoma, Walla Walla, and Fresno, Calif.

"That's when I decided, by golly, there is no better place to live (than) the Columbia Basin," Turner said.

Turner started with three positions at the college: budget analyst, management information system coordinator and records officer.

"When I came to Big Bend, I thought, 'wow, what a nurturing place,'" he said.

Turner never expected to be at Big Bend for such a long time. In fact, he thought he was going to become a full-time rancher. Through circumstances, though, the college position became more important.

"He's the only administrative vice president I've had in my 13 years here at the college, and he's had a great influence on planning, on conservative budgets, and he brings a real important historical perspective," said college President Bill Bonaudi.

Bonaudi said Turner was at the college when the college contracted with the U.S. Army to provide soldiers stationed in Europe with basic skills education and high school completion. The college gained understanding from the experience about operating programs and is better off because of it, he said.

"He will be missed," Bonaudi said. "He's just been a real team player."

Everybody at the college respects Turner greatly, Bonaudi said.

The best part about working at Big Bend is the people, Turner said.

"It has to be the people, students who always keep your feet to the fire, faculty, staff, and administrators," Turner said. "It's really a great community."

The worst part about working at the college is budget cuts, he said.

What Turner will miss most about working at the college is constructing buildings.

"Buildings are so tangible, and they're there forever," Turner said. "So a great deal of satisfaction comes with building a great building. It's also the most frustrating part of the job. The funding process is the most frustrating part."

Along with traveling after retirement, Turner plans to fish, hunt, train horses and raise cattle.

He also hopes to join Advantage Enterprise, a start-up company at the Port of Moses Lake.

"They have a lot of grand ideas and I've always wanted to start from ground zero with a company," Turner said. "So, I think I can be of some use to them."