[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20651]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          MR. RONALD W. KISER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 
outstanding service of a remarkable Kentuckian, Mr. Ronald W. Kiser. 
Mr. Kiser is the assistant chief of the Engineering Division for the 
Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He will retire 
from the Corps of Engineers this September 30 with over 36 years of 
dedicated service to our Nation.
  A Louisville resident for decades, Mr. Kiser is originally a native 
of Charleston, WV. He began his career with the Corps of Engineers in 
the Huntington District, in West Virginia, upon graduation from the 
West Virginia University Institute of Technology, where he earned a 
bachelor's degree in civil engineering. During his time with the 
Huntington District, Mr. Kiser's duties included evaluating buildings 
for safe refuge from nuclear fallout, overseeing relocations of 
railroads and highways at major flood-control projects and navigation 
projects, and participating in emergency disaster recovery.
  In 1974, Mr. Kiser was selected to lead the Relocations Branch of the 
Engineering Division in the Louisville District. His work involved many 
aspects of civil-works projects, including the design of Zilpo Road at 
Cave Run Lake, in northeastern Kentucky, which is now featured in a 
register of America's most scenic highways. Over the next 10 years, Mr. 
Kiser not only served the Louisville District, but was solicited by the 
Pittsburgh District and the Europe Division, in addition to earning a 
master's degree in civil engineering from Ohio State University. While 
assisting the Pittsburgh District, Mr. Kiser led the relocations 
associated with the Stonewall Jackson Dam Project and the Monongahela 
River Locks Renovation Project. During his time with the Europe 
Division, he managed military operations and maintenance projects 
totaling approximately $200 million a year.
  Mr. Kiser returned to the Louisville District in 1983 and was 
selected as chief of the Army Section in the newly established Military 
Branch that had been formed to oversee the Louisville District's 
military mission. Thanks to his leadership, vision, and dedication to 
duty, the Louisville District gained a reputation for excellence in 
execution that it retains to this day. Among the many major military 
installations Mr. Kiser helped oversee are Fort Campbell and Fort Knox, 
both in Kentucky, and many Army Reserve facilities nationwide.
  During this time, Mr. Kiser extended his leadership well beyond his 
assigned missions. He mentored Captains Robert Rowlette and Mike Pratt, 
who both went on to become Corps of Engineers District Commanders. He 
worked on the Standardized Design Program Committee for the Corps of 
Engineers Headquarters. He led the Louisville District to become the 
Centers of Expertise for Centralized Vehicle Wash Facilities, Bowling 
Centers, and Class 6 Beverage Stores. And he was a key player in 
organizing the first MILCON Conference, and developing the standard 
``partnering'' clause for construction contracts.
  Mr. Kiser continued his leadership role in the Louisville District's 
Engineering Division throughout the 1990s, in positions ranging from 
chief of the first environmental support program to his current 
position of assistant chief of the Engineering Division. His devotion 
to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over several decades has made for a 
stronger, safer, more prosperous Nation for his fellow Kentuckians, and 
for all Americans.
  A good neighbor and a valued steward of our defense assets and 
natural resources, Mr. Kiser will be remembered for his spirit of 
service, patriotism and dedication to his country. On the occasion of 
his retirement, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending best wishes 
to Mr. Ronald W. Kiser.

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