Kelly is currently serving as acting Area Director for LifeNet’s operations in the state of Arkansas, joining that team on July 1, 2024. Prior to that, he served as LifeNet’s Area Director for Oklahoma with operations in the western two-thirds of Payne County. He moved to Payne County in late 2010 working with colleagues and key stakeholders to develop the infrastructure for LifeNet’s service to those communities which began on May 1st, 2011. Kelly said. “It was one of the greatest honors of my life to be involved in building a ground-up EMS system that is considered by many to be exemplary of a patient and employee-focused prehospital care system.” Kelly first joined LifeNet in late 2002 serving from LifeNet’s headquarters in Texarkana as corporate Education Manager and then Director of Operations.

Kelly enjoys developing leaders and finding opportunities for others to create rewarding career paths in prehospital medicine. The EMS industry has been his passion and employment over his entire adult life. When not at work, Kelly enjoys outdoor activities of all kinds including, golf, cycling, hiking, fishing, and various shooting sports. His degree is in biology and, although humans are his favorite subject, he is fascinated by flora and fauna of all types. Kelly says, “You must check out the myxomycetes, also known as slime molds. They have confounded classification efforts in the scientific world for centuries and appear truly alien among life on our planet.”