Ozarks Profile - Paul Kelly

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What is your job?|ret||ret||tab|

Paul Kelly is general manager of Panther Creek Information Services. He has been involved in high-tech electronics since 1954.|ret||ret||tab|

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Please tell us about your company.|ret||ret||tab|

"Our company was started as Kelly Consultants in 1984 and began doing business as Panther Creek Information Services in 1995 as we became an Internet service provider," Kelly said. PCIS.net LLC was started in 1999 and continues to do business as Panther Creek Information Services and Kelly Consultants. "Almost all of our activity currently is devoted to being a full-service Internet service provider in southwest Missouri," Kelly said.|ret||ret||tab|

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What prepared you for work in your business?|ret||ret||tab|

Kelly began his electronics career in radar maintenance with the United States Air Force in 1954. He began computer training and maintenance in 1959, and in 1961 he got into the application and sales of high-tech electronics equipment. In 1962 he enrolled in the electrical engineering program at Villanova University night school, where he earned most of the credits toward his degree. "Since then I have been involved in the application, design, manufacture and sales of almost every kind of high-technology electronics," he said. "(My) involvement in computer-aided design and manufacturing provided an excellent background for the development of the computer-based equipment required to be an Internet service provider."|ret||ret||tab|

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What effect do you see recent developments in the economy having on Internet service providers, if any?|ret||ret||tab|

"I believe full-service Internet providers will not be hurt by the slow economy," Kelly said, "but specialty providers, such as high-speed access to wide areas and some Internet-based businesses, will have some problems."|ret||ret||tab|

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What do you see happening now and anticipate happening in the future in your field?|ret||ret||tab|

"I see a parallel between the fax machine and the Internet," Kelly said. "Both are powerful communication mediums that can cause great changes. ... The fax machine went from being a tool for upper management in the late 1960s to being virtually required to do business by the mid 1980s. I see the Internet replacing the fax machine as the primary business communication tool in the next three to five years and perhaps sooner because it provides a much wider range of capability than the fax."|ret||ret||tab|

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What's the best part of your job?|ret||ret||tab|

Kelly said the best part of his job is having total control of his work schedule.|ret||ret||tab|

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Can you tell us something about your personal life and family?|ret||ret||tab|

"I have a great family with four children ranging in age from 40 years to 24 years," Kelly said. "My youngest son Daryl lives near us and has a son and a daughter. He and I own PCIS.net LLC, so we see him and his children often. The others are in Minnesota, South Carolina and St. Louis. Our time is pretty much committed to running our business and maintaining our property."|ret||ret||tab|

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How do you like to spend your leisure time?|ret||ret||tab|

"I like hunting, fishing, golf and tennis," Kelly said, "but severe arthritis in my knees has pretty much limited me to gourmet cooking, which is another of my favorites."|ret||ret||tab|

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