Award-Winning Service

The men and women who provide support on FixYa are some of the most talented and dedicated people you’ll ever meet, and many have been recognized throughout their lives for their excellence. One of the new additions to the FixYa Team stands out, even among his highly-decorated peers, for his exceptional number of awards and commendations.

Kel1guy2002, otherwise known as Kelly, was born in Creston, Iowa. His father worked alongside Kelly’s grandfather in his shop, ‘Brown’s Garage’. Kelly joined his father and grandfather in the shop around age 6, acquiring new knowledge and experience every day. By age 8, Kelly was repairing lawn mowers, learning to weld, and driving tractors around his grandfather’s farm. At 10, he built his own mini-bike, soon to be followed by a go-kart and several other projects he refers to as “experimental”.

When Kelly graduated from high school, he went to work as a welder for the Lenox Division of Hoover Ball Bearing Tote Systems. There he redesigned the construction methods of several fertilizer sprayer tanks, increasing production from 3 to 10 tanks a day and earning Kelly his first professional recognition as a ‘Top Welder’ for Tote Systems.

At 19 Kelly joined the Navy, where he spent the next 27 years earning countless awards and medals. In 1977, he was selected as ‘Sailor of the Month’, an achievement that he repeated in 1984, and again in 1985 when he was named ‘Sailor of the Year’. During a career that took him across the globe, he became a Master Training Specialist (the military’s equivalent of a teaching degree), was a ‘Plank Owner’ twice (meaning he was on the first crew assigned to a new ship), functioned as the Quality Assurance Division Officer, and even became a Command Senior Chief (a senior position that gave him a direct line to the Commanding Officer).

As if his appointments weren’t impressive enough, Kelly also earned the Defense Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, 4 Navy Commendation Medals, 2 Navy Achievement Medals, 6 Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Medal, the Southeast Asia Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal.

Sadly, an injury to his wrist and hand forced him to retire in 2002. But luckily for FixYa and its users, Kelly retained the ability to share his immense experience and knowledge online. He now lives with his wife, Maria, in the Philippines. They have a farm where they have several animals, rice plants, and coconut trees. Kelly is very active in the community, in his church, and, of course, on FixYa. Kelly joined FixYa in January of this year and has already provided over 1,000 solutions while maintaining an amazing rating of 94%. Reflecting on his need to serve, Kelly says “I enjoy helping others and saving them money in the process. I honestly feel that it is my responsibility to pass on my learned experience and knowledge that others so graciously passed on to me.” Although he already has a plethora of awards, Kelly has earned something new- the admiration and gratitude of FixYa and its users.