Kenneth Venables

Kenneth Venables entered the United States Air Force in April of 1967. He became a hospital technician and was assigned to Selfridge Air Force Base in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, where he served for more than two 2 years. He graduated with honors as an aeromedical evacuation technician and was assigned to Ton Son Nhut Air Base in the Republic of South Vietnam, where he served for a year prior to being honorably discharged. Kenneth was decorated by the government of South Vietnam for his work with South Vietnamese who had been wounded. Kenneth continued his military career by enlisting in the Michigan Air National Guard and was assigned to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. He was assigned to the base crash/rescue department and eventually rose to the position of Assistant Fire Chief during his 4-year stint at the base. Kenneth entered the local government’s fire service in June of 1973 with the Bloomfield Township Michigan fire department. He was in the initial group of firefighters trained as paramedics and ultimately was appointed as the department’s first Emergency Medical Services Coordinator and later was promoted to the rank of Station Lieutenant. Kenneth became the first career fire chief for White Lake Township, Michigan in 1986 and served there until 1993, when he became the fire chief for the town of Smithfield, Rhode Island. While living in Smithfield, Kenneth served as the acting town manager on 5 different occasions. Kenneth left Smithfield to become the fire chief of Palatka, Florida in 2002; he served in that position until 2006, when he accepted the city’s offer to become the first General Services Director. In that position, he was responsible for Risk Management, Safety, Purchasing, Intergovernmental Relations, Grants, and Surplus Property disposal. Leaving Palatka in 2008, Kenneth became the first city manager for Keystone Heights, Florida. Kenneth has an Associate of Science in Fire Science from Macomb Community College in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, graduating summa cum laude in 1984. He received a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration in 2001 from Roger Williams University if Bristol, Rhode Island. He also is certified as a Risk Manager for Public Entities by the Insurance Institute of America through the Florida League of Cities, Inc. Kenneth is presently the President of Putnam County Habitat for Humanity and a member of the Board of Directors for The Caring Center and Putnam Coalition of Care, both organizati