Kelly is a small business owner and has over 25 years of experience in real estate, and over four decades of experience in other businesses. He is especially proud of growing up in rural North Carolina; he spent much of his childhood and teen years on his grandparents’ farms. On those farms, he learned to shoot, fish, drive a tractor and other useful skills.

Kelly is married, and he and his wife have one daughter. They are saved!

He graduated from Appalachian State University, and he received a graduate teaching certificate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He also attended North Carolina State University and Gardner-Webb University.

Kelly believes in servant leadership, and he served in the United States Marine Corps and Reserves; he earned and an Honorable Discharge.

He also worked for Congress where he specialized in veterans’ issues.