What some of the people and characters in the book say about Kevin…

“The first time I saw Kevin he was dancing along an elevated railing at a crowded disco in Japan.  He was doing this with great enthusiasm, and he seemed to think that John Travolta was at best a dancing wannabe.  The disco ball was flashing, the beat was somewhere between Donna Summers and the Beegees, and somewhere in a small town in central Japan.  Go figure! Who was this guy?  What a fool, I thought, putting himself out there like that.  Over the next 40 years we had endless adventures together, including thousands of miles of motorcycle road trips, watching our daughters play together and grow up, as we consistently supported each other through life’s various and unpredictable ups and downs.”~Keith Kelly

“I met Kehoe at work thirty years ago.  He wanted to learn how to surf and wondered if I could help.  I have surfed since childhood.  Learning to surf is a big test of character. More than anyone else I’ve ever taught over 40 years, Kevin scratched and clawed his way to success, enduring countless beatings and sinuses packed with saltwater. Already friends, our experiences in the water cemented our bond for life.”~Joe Wilson

We met on a business call some years ago and we share a love for all things business.  Kevin does what he is designed to do.  He thinks deeply.  He takes people to places where they cannot go on their own through leadership.  On the things that are important, he goes all in.  He perseveres.  He is living proof that an ordinary guy can accomplish the extraordinary through discipline, diligence, effort and courage. It’s a privilege to know him.~Greg Herring

I met Kevin in the summer of 1995 at Richard Chang Associates, a boutique consulting firm focused on leadership development. Our relationship begin at work, but deepened through all the changes that life presented both of us. The words that come to mind for me about Kevin: trustworthy, courageous, disciplined, contrarian, goes his own way, big picture, grace under pressure; I could go on…these are just a few word to capture his essence.  Kevin is anything but an “ordinary” guy.  He has made a deep and lasting impact on my life and the lives of many, many others. In short, he has made me a better person and better man.~Larry Smalley

Kevin’s Timeline

The book is not a memoir, so the stories and events Kevin relates throughout are not in any chronological order. For some this might be confusing. The following timeline can assist  the reader in understanding when each of the stories occurred in relation to one another.

The Early Years

1955: Born February 7^th  in Queens, New York at about 8 PM in the evening. I am certain some astrologer can assign some importance to this. But that’s all I know.

1958: Moved from Queens, New York to Farmingdale, Long Island because my parents started producing more children than that small apartment in Queens could accommodate.

1959: Attended Kindergarten at Woodward Parkway Elementary School with Mrs. Hankin – you will meet her in one of my chapters.

1960 – 1967: Attended St. Kilian Catholic School. You will hear a great deal about this place as it was central in developing the man I have become – for better and worse.

1963 – 1967: Became Soprano II member of the St. Kilian Boys Choir. One of the most treasured experiences of my life.

Early Big Move

1967: Moved to Smithtown, Long Island.  Yes… my parents kept producing more children and we ran out of room in Farmingdale too.  I hated to leave Farmingdale.  It was one of the sadder experiences of my life.

1967 – 1970:  Attended New York Avenue Junior High School and went to classes with the very barbarians the nuns at St. Kilian’s warned us about. I fit right in.

1970 – 1973: Attended Smithtown Central High School.  I graduated in top the  5% of my class of 1,000 other seniors – and I got accepted nowhere except at SUNY Stony Brook.  I wasn’t Ivy League material as they say.

1973 – 1977: Attended SUNY Stony Brook and graduated BA Economics and Geology…  go figure.  My college years were again – among some of the best of my life – especially my experiences on the football team.

First Transition Time

1979 – 1980: Moved to and lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for two years. There is an entire chapter in the book about this wacky experience. I left Florida because it was too flat and I melted in the summer humidity.

1981 – 1982: Attended Southern Methodist University Dallas and graduated with a MBA degree. This experience helped change the arc of my life. I remember these days with great fondness.

1982 – 1983: Attended Arizona State University Thunderbird School of Global Management and graduated with a Master Degree in International Management.  I had a great time at this school too.

1983: Lived in Japan for six months. There are a few chapters in the book that relate some of the crazier things I did there on my first trip overseas.

Second Transition Time

1985 – 1986: Worked for Coopers & Lybrand – who at that time were one of the so called “Big Eight” national accounting firms. I write about how I came to work for an accounting firm – something I never planned to do.

1986 – 1992: Worked for several smaller consulting companies during these years. The last of which I write about as that experience was the last time I worked for anyone but me.  I launched my career as “gun for hire” and an entrepreneur in 1992.

1989 – 1993: Married my first wife, Jane, in December 30, 1989 on one of the worst weather days in New York history. Yes, it was a sign of things to come, as we divorced a little over three years later.

Growing Up

1991: Watched my daughter being born October 21 – Julia Marie. She lives and works in St. Louis, MO now. You, of course, will hear about her in the book as she is my only child, who I raised as a single parent for over a decade before I re-married.

1993 – 2014: Worked for Kehoe & Co.  That was the name of my “gun for hire” consulting firm which is the longest job i ever had and some of the most wonderful years of my life. I met many wonderful people.

1997: Father died on July 21, 1997  It was sudden and shocking as none of us was prepared to lose him. That’s probably enough said about that terrible time.

Getting Older

2002: Married my second wife, Lorraine, on the first day of summer, June 21, 2002…  my favorite season and therefore my favorite day of the year. It is a very good marriage  I made exactly the right choice the second time around. Thank you, God! The next twelve years passed quickly and I write about a number of events and adventures during these years – including the Mud Run, the Utah and the Grand Canyon hikes, golf with Scott in Ireland and Scotland, my  motorcycle crashes, my ex-wife and my daughter’s High School graduation in 2009.

2014:  Founded The Aspire Software Company – it evolved into an experience like no other that took me and our people to places we never dreamed we could go. I write about this entrepreneurial journey in the book.

2014: THE EVENT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING – Diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer. Nothing was the same after that day. And yes, I do share some of that journey in the book, an experience that paralleled my entrepreneurial journey.

2018: Sold one-half of my ownership in the company and stayed on to work and grow it.

2020: Got covered by Medicare… was it possible I was that old already?

2021: Got my first Social Security check… after decades of paying in, I’m now on the receiving side.

2021: Sold the rest of my ownership in The Aspire Software Company.

2022:  My battle with cancer goes on…  and my desire to grow old with my wife and create more stories is a strong as ever.