Ken Daniel
WHO:
Ken Daniel, health reform and small-business advocate and lobbyist
BIO:
Daniel was born Oct. 2, 1945 in Roosevelt, Utah. The family lived on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation where his father was a Standard Oil engineer doing exploration. He studied engineering for 2 1/2
years in college before switching majors, graduating in 1970 with a bachelor in business from the University of Central Oklahoma, which is in Edmond.
After college he moved to Topeka to start his own business. He began as the sole employee of what is now Midway Sales and Distributing, Inc., a building supply company that employs 111 people in seven Kansas locations including Topeka, Lawrence, Salina, Wichita, Manhattan, Overland Park and Elwood. The company stocks about 12,000 items and did about $60 million in sales last year.
About six years ago he became involved in health policy issues through his affiliation with the Kansas chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business of which he is a former chairman.
As NFIB chairman he was invited to a meeting on health issues at the Statehouse.
“All the powers in the health field were there,” Daniel said, “including a couple guys from the Health Partners Benefit Association. They asked me to come on their board and I”ve just been studying and working on health ever since. I”ve always offered health (insurance) ever since I had a second employee. It was easier then.”
Daniel said health care is the top issue for small businesses across the country.
“It”s number one and has been since at least 1984,” he said. “Right now number two is so far behind it”s not even funny.”
Daniel was on the board of the short-lived Health Partners Benefit Association, a non-profit group formed in 2002 as a bridge between Kansas government and small businesses with the goal of reducing health insurance costs. Its governmental partner was the Kansas Business Health Policy Committee. The benefit association ultimately brought coverage to 1,300 workers, but was disbanded for lack of funding.
Daniel said lack of support from state government led to the group”s demise.
“Our group stuck like glue for five or six years and the (Kansas Business Health Policy Committee) would go for a long time without meetings and never gave us a dime.”
The experience left him suspicious of government”s ability to solve the problem of the uninsured.
“It
has just been really frustrating,” he said, “that we”ve piddled around for five years and nothing has happened. I have no agenda about everything has to be private. I”m just saying at this point any quick solutions are going to have to come from the private side.”
But Daniel continues to be a regular at the Statehouse, testifying for and against bills he thinks are significant to small business and health care, though he does it as a volunteer.
“It”s worse than pro bono,” he said. “It costs me money. I”m going to be doing some sort of volunteer work. I always have. It is easy for the church to find someone to be on the finance committee. It”s not as easy to find people who know about this stuff.
“I believe in small business. I”m dyed in the wool and my goal is to try to cut red tape, lower taxes and get things that work for small business on this health thing.”
Daniel is married and has two grown children.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Daniel is the chairman and CEO of his business. He also is a managing partner in Wohlgemuth ‘ Daniel Investments of Topeka.
INTERCONNECTS:
He is the publisher of KSSmallBiz.com, an Internet newsletter for small business operators and advocates, which has 1,800 subscribers. He is on the board of directors of Fidelity State Bank of Topeka. He is on the Kansas leadership council of the National Federation of Independent Business. He also serves on the boards of the Better Business Bureau of Northeast Kansas and the Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship. His is chairman of the Topeka Independent Business Association and a member of the Countryside Methodist Church.
CONTACT:
Telephone: 785-232-4590, ext. 205
Email:
kdaniel@KSSmallBiz.com
Address: P.O. Box 1246, Topeka, KS 66601-1246