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Larry Keller, executive director of Kitsap Mental Health Services, has announced his intention to retire after 30 years of service with the agency. Keller was hired in 1978 to consolidate local agencies providing mental health services in Kitsap County into one service agency originally named Kitsap Resources Consolidated. In 1985 the name changed to Kitsap Mental Health Services (KMHS).
Under Keller’s leadership, KMHS has grown from an agency that served a few hundred clients to an organization with a staff of nearly 300 serving 5000 individuals annually with an array of programs for children, adults and older adults and their families. Among the agency’s most noted accomplishments during Keller’s tenure was the establishment of two mental health inpatient units, one for adults and another for children, in the Peninsulas’ three-county region. These units were the first structures at what is now the agency’s Bremerton location on Almira Drive. That campus was completed in 1992 to house all of the agency’s services under one roof. In recent years, further growth and development has necessitated satellite offices for certain programs.
The KMHS Board of Directors has been involved in the transition planning for Keller’s retirement for about a year and is currently conducting a national search for the new executive. Keller’s retirement will be effective at the end of December. |
