March has been an exciting month filled with tremendous blessings. On March 4th, the woman I love made me a very happy man by saying “I do.” Just a few days later, yet another beautiful woman swept in and stole my heart!

Today I want to show off my newest blessing—my first grandchild, Helena Mink Kelly! Helena was born at 1:20pm last Tuesday, March 13th, at Palmetto Baptist Hospital (where both of my boys were born too). She came into this world at a healthy 8 lbs 6oz and is absolutely beautiful. My friends who were already grandparents warned me that a grandchild will change your world, and truer words have never been spoken. Helena changed mine instantly—it was love at first sight! I am so excited to watch her grow and learn, to witness all of the wonderful moments that we’ll have together, and, of course, to spoil her!

Just as any new grandparent would, I have already asked the firm’s all-star Legal Administrator, Amanda Swearingen, to order Helena a cell phone to put on our corporate plan so that I can bypass her parents and speak to my granddaughter directly. Amanda laughed and told me that we may need to wait a few weeks before Helena is ready for a cell phone…I guess she’s right, LOL!

In all seriousness, though, my family brings tremendous joy to my life, and welcoming Beverly and Helena into the Kelly circle has me feeling happier than I’ve been in a long time. I am one lucky guy!

As you know, one of my passions is my Social Security Disability practice. I am blessed with good health, a roof over my head, and three square meals a day. In turn, I have always believed it my duty to use my good fortune to help those in need.

Recently I met with a client to prepare for his upcoming Social Security Disability hearing. Though he just turned 50 years old, my client currently takes twenty-nine prescriptions daily for a variety of ailments, including congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He is one of the most polite individuals you will ever meet, and despite having a limited formal education, he is extremely well read and astute, as he spends a portion of most days at the Richland County Public Library. He also attends church at Sydney Park every Wednesday and Sunday.

What you would not expect upon meeting this man is that, due to his inability to work, he has had to live on the streets of Columbia since 2014, primarily taking shelter in a makeshift tent he maintains under a bridge. There, he at least remains dry. He explained to me that he has chosen this as his home over local shelters, where he feels exposed to the risk of bodily harm. Thankfully, he is able to receive some much needed medical care through the services of a local clinic.

My life is forever changed by a single conversation with this client; he humbly put my day-to-day problems into perspective. I hope and pray that I will be able to repay the favor by successfully handling his claim to provide him with a deserved source of income and consistent healthcare.

In 2016, Richland County Council appointed me to the Airport Commission to, on behalf of my late wife, fulfill her term as Commissioner. Serving on the Commission has been a very rewarding and educating experience, and the opportunity has opened my eyes to the intricacies of airport operations and the benefits that Hamilton-Owens Airport provides to the Midlands. But even with this unique insight into Columbia’s gem-of-a-downtown airport, I only recently realized just how profoundly its operation impacts our local economy. The South Carolina Aeronautics Commission released its 2018 Statewide Aviation Economic Impact Report last month, revealing that Owens Field’s annual contribution to the Midlands economy exceeds $16 million. This astounding figure far exceeded my expectations, as well as the County Council’s, and has renewed my enthusiasm for advancing and improving the airport and its vital function in the community.

So far, 2018 has been a great year for the Airport Commission! This gleaming economic report came out only weeks after the grand opening of Hunter-Gatherer at Curtiss-Wright Hangar. My fellow Commissioners and our outstanding Airport Director, Chris Eversmann, would agree that seeing our efforts to have the Curtiss-Wright Hangar restored and rejuvenated come to full fruition is one of our proudest achievements to date. I look forward to seeing what other exciting things will unfold in 2018 for Hamilton-Owens Airport—the sky’s the limit! In the meantime, I hope to see you at Hunter-Gatherer!

In the US alone, over 400,000 individuals suffer from multiple sclerosis (MS), and approximately 200 new cases are diagnosed each week. March is recognized as Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, and today’s KellyGram is dedicated to our brothers and sisters who have been diagnosed with MS, as well their friends and loved ones who provide them with care and support.

Multiple sclerosis is a tragic and often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts communication between the brain and body and interferes with the flow of information within the brain. The symptoms and rate of progression vary in each case, and individuals living with MS may potentially live a long and relatively normal life. Sadly, however, many sufferers experience severely debilitating symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo, and problems with balance; numbness, weakness, and incapacitating fatigue; involuntary spasms; difficulty walking and paralysis; and cognitive and emotional dysfunction. Even with a century’s worth of research, scientists still do not know the cause of MS and have not yet found a cure. And, while treatment can help slow the progression of the disease, MS is one of the most expensive conditions to treat, costing patients, on average, about $60,000 annually.

To shed light on why the fight for a cure for MS is a subject so near and dear to me, I want to share a personal experience concerning my health. Nearly twenty years ago, I began experiencing unexplained neurological symptoms and went to a local neurologist for an evaluation. He diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis. Familiar with the disease from my disability practice, and understanding the road that lay ahead, his words turned my world upside-down. Seeking to treat with leading MS medical experts, I traveled to the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis Center in Baltimore for further evaluation. After a battery of tests, the doctors at Johns Hopkins advised that my symptoms were not attributable to MS. Hearing the chief neurologist rule out that diagnosis was a moment of great relief that I will never forget, but I can also never forget that period when I believed that I would be fighting MS for the rest of my life. Instead, I will use my experience and good fortune to fight for a cure by helping to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis and to fight for MS patients with disabling symptoms to receive the benefits they need.

To learn more about MS and to help in ending MS forever, please visit www.nationalmssociety.org. I also encourage you to consider volunteering for, donating to, or participating in one of the four inspirational Walk MS events that will take place in South Carolina next month:

Charleston: April 14, 2018
Aiken: April 14, 2018
Columbia: April 28, 2018
Spartanburg: April 28, 2018

Although I try to avoid controversial, political subjects in my weekly KellyGram, the tragic Parkland shooting, and the divide that has arisen in its wake, compel me to share some thoughts about our response to the horrific school shootings that have plagued our nation. Since 2013, the United States has seen 290 school shootings, 17 of which occurred in 2018 alone. The lives stolen in the Parkland massacre and these outrageous statistics have left my brain churning since last Thursday. My thoughts finally began to come together on Sunday while listening to my rector, Reverend Mitchell Smith, at Saint Martin’s-in-the-Fields. His message was so powerful and thought-provoking, that I have since re-listened to the sermon. If you have time, I would encourage you all to do the same; you can access the sermon here.

Mitch’s bottom line was that, whether we have an R, a D, or an I in front of our names, we need, as Christians, to become leaders in finding a solution to the frightening problem of school shootings through calm and rational debate. Whether it is through mental health services, or through gun control, or both, we must take action to ensure that our children are safe and that a predominant theme resonating through this country is one of peace, love, and caring for our fellow man..

I think we can all agree that our nation has strayed from these values and that we must initiate change in order to end the senseless violence on our country’s children and our fellow man. Please pray for our leaders to rise above partisanship, ideology, and political affiliations so that we may restore tranquility and security to the forefront of American society.

We are thrilled to announce that attorney Jamie Smith will be transitioning into a new role as marketing manager for the Mike Kelly Law Group!

The firm hired Jamie as a trial attorney in September 2015, and she has shined in her role on the litigation team. Since then, our practice has grown—particularly in the areas of personal injury and insurance litigation—and attorney Stephen Vicari rejoined the MKLG family in the Columbia office to help take on the increased caseload. With Stephen back on board, Jamie will continue to work on the litigation team as a supporting attorney, but her primary focus will be spreading the word about the Mike Kelly Law Group.

Marketing was Jamie’s first love, and she is excited and honored to be able to incorporate that talent into her legal career. Having graduated from USC’s Darla Moore School of Business with dual degrees in marketing and international business before earning her law degree, Jamie is uniquely qualified for the firm’s marketing manager position. More importantly, Jamie has been involved in our marketing efforts since her first day at MKLG, and she is a champion for our cause—helping others. She intends on bringing a fresh approach to marketing the firm, and directing our involvement within the legal arena as well as the community.

Stay tuned to the KellyGram to follow the changes taking place at MKLG, as we continue to strive to serve our community!

Amtrak has had four lethal train crashes since December, the latest of which occurred on Sunday in Cayce, SC. Three miles from our Columbia office, Amtrak Train 91—a passenger train—collided with a stationary, unoccupied freight train at approximately 56 miles per hour. The train’s engineer, Michael Kempf, and conductor, Michael Cella, were killed in the crash, and over 100 passengers and crew members were transported to local hospitals for treatment. As of Wednesday evening, one hospitalized victim remained in serious condition, while the remaining injured passengers were either in good condition or discharged from emergent treatment. That nearly all of those aboard the train suffered only minor injury seems nothing short of miraculous, and out of this tragedy I want to commend the first responders and local law enforcement for their exemplary care and coordination in ensuring that those injured received the care they needed. That said, the road to emotional recovery from this devastating collision undoubtedly be a long one, especially for the families of Mr. Kempf and Mr. Cella.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigation, though ongoing, has shed light on how this senseless and unnecessary tragedy unfolded. The problem appears to be two-fold: first, CSX—which operates the tracks where this incident occurred—after pulling its freight train from the main line to a side track, failed to redirect a switch to keep traffic traveling along the main track. CSX crew members reported having realigned the switch, but the investigation has revealed that the switch was padlocked into the position of steering oncoming trains off of the main line and onto the side track where the freight train was parked. At the same time, CSX’s trackside signaling system—a system that would have alerted Mr. Cella to the misaligned switch—was temporarily inoperable. Reportedly, the system was down for maintenance while CSX worked to incorporate an automated safety mechanism called positive train control, or PTC, into the system. The dark irony is that PTC is designed to prevent accidents such as this one and, had it already been installed, this disaster almost certainly would have been averted.

Having over 40 years of experience as a personal injury lawyer, I am no stranger to tragedy. Still, the loss of lives that could—and should—have been easily prevented is something I will never grow used to. This catastrophe is, to say the least, heartbreaking, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

We have an exciting week ahead in the world of sports! On Sunday, the Eagles Face the Patriots in the 52nd Super Bowl, but what I’m especially looking forward to is the commencement of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games next Thursday.

While I’m personally not a cold weather person—and the worst snow skier in America (LOL!)—I enjoy the presentation of the Winter Olympic Games every four years. I am fascinated by the interplay between sports and geopolitics that comes with the Olympics, and the level of competition and the dedication of the athletes is simply extraordinary to witness. The Winter Games are especially fun to watch and present stimulating and intriguing array of sports—some of which, as a Southerner, I would never know existed without the Olympics! Even the venues themselves are majestic, and the hard work put in to building them to perfection, along with the extravagance of the opening ceremonies, demonstrate the pride that comes with hosting such an incredible event.

This year’s Winter Olympics will be held across the world in PyeongChang, North Korea, kicking off on Thursday, February 8th and ending with the closing ceremony on Sunday, February 25th. Being in opposite time zones won’t keep us from watching, though, as NBC have events airing on TV, streaming live, streaming on-demand, streaming on apps…let’s just say there are plenty of ways to watch the games! I’ll certainly be watching as much as I can along with my MKLG team, and hope you will check it out too!

Go Team USA!