Pat Kelly: A Great American and Industry Leader
Scott Adams
It’s Repertoire’s annual “Made in America” issue. As the son of a lifer in the Marines, I figured I would dedicate this Publisher’s Letter to another marine. – Patrick Kelly, who we lost in May.
Men and women like Pat Kelly are what make America great. Pat was raised in the Virginia Home for Boys, an orphanage in Richmond. As a young man, he served in the Marines before leaving to teach school for one year. How exactly Pat ended up leaving the education world to join ours is a bit of a mystery, but thousands of us in this industry are so thankful he did. Starting at General Medical and then on to Intermedco, he got his first taste of an industry that he helped shape in the ’80s and ’90s.
In 1983, with a little (or a lot of) encouragement from Bill Riddle, Pat and the team launched what would be an industry game changer – Physician Sales and Service. Between these visionaries and a band of characters like Randy Webb, Doug Barrow, and Richard Riley to name a few, they created a culture at PSS that propelled them to being a national distributor, and then a publically traded company in a less than 10 years.
Two words have helped make America thrive – vision and culture. Our forefathers had incredible vision when they laid the foundation for our nation. The American culture is what has helped us maintain this amazing country. The same can be said of PSS, and honestly, our industry. Vison and culture will take you further in business and life than any other factors. As we reflect on Pat and the vision/culture he created, we should step back and ask the same of our businesses.
Whether you’re in a territory or running the company, what is your vision and what is the culture you are trying to set?
My guess is Pat and John Sasen are both looking down on us right now wagering on who will lead us in to the next era of healthcare.
If you have a good story you would like to share about how Pat helped shape your career, please go to Repertoire.com and comment on this Publisher’s Letter.
Dedicated to Distribution and our Industry,
R. Scott Adams