NEWS RELEASE: September 13, 2006
FROM: The Kansas Highway Patrol
CONTACT: LT John Eichkorn 785-296-6800
Trooper Edna R. Buttler
Long-time State Employee Retires from Highway Patrol
Colonel William Seck, Superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol, has announced that Public Service Executive III Walter Darling retired from the Patrol on Sept. 9, 2006. Darling served the citizens of Kansas for 22 years.
Darling first became employed with the State of Kansas in 1984, when he was hired as a Senior Budget Analyst with the Kansas Division of Budget. He joined the Patrol on May 5, 1995, as a Public Service Executive (PSE) II and was assigned to budget duties at the Highway Patrol’s General Headquarters in Topeka. He was promoted to PSE III in August 1997 and accepted added assignments for the Information Technology Division and Facilities Division of the Patrol. As a member of the Patrol, Darling coordinated construction projects for a fleet services building and an aircraft hangar.
Darling served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1975, ultimately obtaining the rank of Petty Officer, Second Class in Radar Operations and Radio Communications. Darling is a graduate of Lincoln Senior High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He has bachelors’ of science degrees in political science and psychology, both from the University of South Dakota. He earned a master’s of public affairs in public policy from Indiana University. Darling was named an Outstanding Student in American Colleges and Universities in 1976, and received a Highway Safety Fellowship Award by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1978.
Prior to working with the State of Kansas, Darling was an Assistant Dean for financial services at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., and Assistant Director of the Highway Safety Division in Pierre, South Dakota. Other occupational involvement included Regional Vice President-Elect in the Midwest Region of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), Past President of the Topeka Chapter of AGA, Past President of the Sunflower Soccer Association, Past Director of the Governor’s Cup Soccer Tournament, Past Director of the Show of Excellence Soccer Tournament, and President of the Capitol City Soccer Association.
Congratulations, Walt, on your retirement!