For an IT consultant, Kevin McDaniel has quite the sense of humor. He told the Waunakee Rotary Club that aliens never really landed in Roswell, New Mexico, but at Fort Knox. And that’s where he was born, specifically at the Fort Knox Army Hospital, Kevin said during his Sept. 16 classification talk.
Kevin was an Army brat before his family moved to Albion and then to Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. A graduate of Monona Grove High School, Kevin attended MATC and then UW-Madison to major in meat science. He then transferred to Iowa State University, earning a degree in meat science and in microbiology.
Kevin went on to design meat plants, developing one to make massive quantities of pizza toppings and taco meat for fast food companies. Moving closer to home, he became vice-president of New Glarus Foods.
Kevin transitioned into a second career in information technology and worked for TDS, then American Family Insurance where he managed data storage and recovery.
In 2012, Kevin began his own IT business. He works on the architecture of his clients’ IT systems, ensuring they have practices to support their work, along with disaster recovery. Kevin recalled an attack on a casino company. The owner had made disparaging remarks about Iran and the casinos were attacked by the Iranian Cyber Army, Kevin said. Among his many other clients are Braun, Duracell, and Black and Decker.
In 2016, Kevin decided to focus the business more regionally rather than globally to spend more time with his family. He and his wife, Jodi, have five children and four dogs. Kevin then had some heart problems, telling the club that he just had it removed; he’d been a manager for many years, so it was pretty small, anyhow, he joked.
In 2019, Kevin became more involved in the Waunakee and Westport area and joined the Chamber of Commerce.
Kevin said no IT consultant can guarantee a company’s security. He called security a “leapfrog game,” noting that as new products are developed, new threats are, as well.
Guests: None.
Visiting Rotarians: None
Other news:
-Bob Klostermann gave an update on the Sept. 26 Betty Lou Cruise. The $60 per-person cost covered 25 people but only 19 had signed up so far. Those who signed up could see the ticket cost rise to $15. If you’re one of those 19 people, let Bob know what you think.
-Wauktoberfest is Sept. 17-19 and the WaunaFest Run at Wauktoberfest is Sept. 18. Volunteers are needed, especially Saturday from 7-11 p.m. to serve beer.
-Food for Kidz is Oct. 10 with a scaled down event.
-Get ready for the Rotary Lights.
Birthdays: Sept. 23, Chris Kenney; Sept. 25, Allan Dassow; Sept. 25, Paul Cardarella.
Anniversaries: Sept. 25, Bob and Karen Klostermann; Sept. 28, Peggy and Bob Acker-Farber.
Greeters: Sept. 23, Nancy Kuehn-Thomas and Drew Lawrence; Sept. 30 Kim Lengfeld and Joel Lewis; Oct. 7, Dave May and Kevin McDaniel; Oct. 14, Mark McFarland and Nick Mischler.
