A native of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, he received his B.S. degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed by his medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. He then completed a residency with the University of Virginia and is a fellow of the American Association of Family Physicians. He has served on numerous local and statewide boards, including 12 years on the Glasgow Board of Education, serving as Chair the last eight years. He founded the University of Louisville-Glasgow Family Medicine Residency Program in 1997 and recently completed two consecutive three-year terms on the Board of The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. He is married to Kristen Togstad Bale, who served on the WKU Board of Regents from 1992 until 2005. They have four children and seven grandchildren. His term on the Board ends June 2021.