Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism employees and staff in Pratt honored longtime Secretary of Operations Keith Sexson with a retirement celebration earlier this month.
On Dec. 1, nearly 200 current and past employees of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) and their families celebrated the remarkable career of Pratt’s Keith Sexson. For the past 50 years, Sexson has worked for KDWPT, and his work benefitted the lives of everyone who hunts, fishes and enjoys outdoor recreation in Kansas.
Sexson helped forge a plan for managing Kansas’ wildlife and natural resources with an almost incomprehensible dedication – long hours, low pay, and often rough working conditions. He, and other resource officers of his generation, did it for the love of nature and for the benefit of those who’ve paid the way – hunters and anglers.
Sexson, from Weskan, earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Fort Hays State University and in 1969 went to work for the then Kansas Forestry, Fish and Game Commission as the quail biologist, a position stationed in Garnett.
In a few years, Sexson was promoted to the upland bird group supervisor, and in 1979, he was recruited to take the big game group supervisor position located in Emporia. Managing the state’s growing deer herd was the most challenging and rewarding segment of his career and he filled that position for 15 years. However, Sexson knew that to have a bigger overall impact on wildlife conservation, he would need to move to an administrative position.
Sexson moved to Pratt in 1995 to be the director of the Wildlife Division. Five years later, he was appointed to the Assistant Secretary of Operations position when Rob Manes left. He held that position through three governors and three department secretaries.
When considering the highlights of his career, Sexson talked about the people he worked with throughout his time with the agency.
“It was a pleasure to come to work every day because the people I worked with are so dedicated that they just make things happen,” he said. “My job, really, has been to make sure they had the resources they needed to do good things. That’s why in the 20 years that I’ve been here, it’s really been kind of an easy job, you know. I always had good people.“
Sexson’s last official day in the office is Friday, and although the sportsmen and women of Kansas will miss him, employees in the Pratt Operations Office may miss him most. They’ll miss his ever-present smile and positive, can-do attitude. He never saw obstacles; only opportunities to find solutions.