Hi, I’m Kirke.
I’ve been a lifelong resident of Clarion County. I’m a conservative Republican and a staunch second amendment advocate. Many people have described me as a renascence type man over the years, and I’d have to say that’s accurate. I’ve developed many interests and hobbies throughout my life with new ones all the time. Things to learn about and study, ideas and imagination to put into practice, and old skills to perfect as well as entirely new ones to conquer. I’ve always enjoyed overcoming a situation and solving a challenging problem. This is a characteristic that’s helped me a great deal during my 34-year career as an electronic technician. A tech who is on call 24-7-365 to work out in the field solving issues and emergencies with critical the communications networks and equipment which serves as a backbone for Emergency services, business, and government operations. I’ve always been known for my ingenuity and resourcefulness in those areas as well, sometimes even building entirely new electronic devices from scratch to help to solve a problem for a customer system.
I’ve been building various electronic devices since I was quite young. My Father was a long-time science teacher at Keystone High School, and of course some of that interest in the sciences rubbed off on me. I’ve never actually been formally educated in electronics or technology but am nonetheless a Certified electronic technician as well as being FCC licensed in communications repair. I simply started to teach myself electronics by reading through my father’s expansive collection of Popular Electronics magazines. Popular Mechanics as well. It was like an interesting bright new world of future possibilities to me!
As Time went on, I would build more and more. Eventually in my early 20s I started doing work as an independent engineering consultant offering design and research and development skills to would be entrepreneurs. During this time, I was able to design, develop, build, and program 2 unique pieces of automated test equipment which were to be used to monitor functions and conditions in power plants, telephone companies, and similar facilities. Those went on to make their way into the market as the first of their kind. Of course, much has changed these days compared to my early computer-controlled designs, but it was fun to be a part of it.
I moved on later into the field I’m still in today. It’s required a great deal of patience and temperance on my part. To be able to dela with complex issues as well as even people themselves as part of a whole system and its various complexities. Always being careful to listen and evaluate what the real problems were while being attentive and respective to their needs. I saw so many good examples of this from my mother who was a long time Pa. public health nurse for Clarion County. I may not always be able to live up to the example that she provided, but I always try.
And for some 34 years now I’ve been busy solving communications problems for industries and government organizations across NW Pa. At this point in my life, I think there are a great many qualities that I can bring to bear as a Clarion County Commissioner. That’s why I decided to run for office. Please remember me and vote Wise on May 16th.