After Four Decades Fulp Retiring

Jay Barrett/KMXT

The longest-serving City of Kodiak employee, and the only parks and recreation director the city has ever known will be retiring in September. At that time, Ian Fulp will have been on the job for the better part of four decades.

Fulp came to Kodiak as a Navy dependent when he was 15, and save for just a few years out of state, has called this his home ever since.

Coach Joe Floyd has known Fulp since he came here as a high-schooler.

— (Fulp 1 12 sec "He came over and told me … so proud of him; He’s just like a son.")

Soon after Fulp arrived, he talked Coach Floyd into starting the school’s first wrestling program, which has since become a perennial state contender:

— (Fulp 2 36 sec "And those boys talked me … come and be a part of it.")

Fulp says there are numerous projects he’s proud of that have been accomplished in his four decades as the head of Parks and Rec. He listed the growth of youth and city league sports, designing and building East Addition Park, and the cooperative effort to turn the Woody Way Field into a great place for youth football.

— (Fulp 3 46 sec "To have a job where you have a … pay somebody for that.")

The joint use agreement between the city, the school district and the borough for activities in schools and in parks around town is another point of pride for Fulp, and he says it’s something he would encourage his successor to defend:

— (Fulp 4 26 sec "Well I think whoever’s hired … have to get tough and protect it.")

Fulp and his wife Judy raised six children in Kodiak, and after his retirement, they will be moving to be closer to them and grandchildren.

— (Fulp 5 35 sec "Judy and I want to be … live in the Anchorage area.")

Fulp has one more summer on the job, and when he leaves in September, he will be departing with 39 years and 2 weeks under his belt.

###