News
‘My Memories of SMC are Life-Changing’
Published on July 21, 2026 - 2 p.m.
Florida tour guide Chris Kelly came to Southwestern Michigan College in the fall of 1985 after taking a year off from college.
His sister, Stephanie, was a highly recruited Indiana high school track and cross country athlete who became a five-time All-American for SMC.
Today, Stephanie is a retired physical therapist living in suburban Cincinnati.
“I guess Coach Gunn agreed to have me walk-on the cross country team per my sister’s request,” Kelly said. “I went to SMC for a variety of reasons. I needed structure and discipline. I needed to get my life back on track academically and I needed to fulfill a promise I made to my mother about getting a college degree.”
He graduated in graphic design from SMC in 1986.
He lived on Diamond Lake
Kelly graduated in 1982 from Rensselaer, Ind., Central High School.
“Coach Gunn housed all of his athletes together around the area. Back then, SMC did not have dormitories,” Kelly said. “I lived with three other runners in Cassopolis on Diamond Lake during my time at SMC.
“My memories of SMC are life-changing. I matured in the classroom, graduated with a 3.0 GPA and, with Coach Gunn's leadership, qualified for national competition in cross-country and track (1500m. and 5000m.) I won my first collegiate race in an SMC singlet.”
He won the 1985 alumni race and placed fourth at cross country regionals. Kelly made All Michigan Community College Athletic Association State and All Region IV.
“I had plantar fasciitis most of the cross country season which hampered my training and racing,” Kelly said. “Coach Gunn was instrumental in making sure I got a D1 scholarship.”
At the cold, wet nationals in Schaumburg, Ill., the Roadrunners finished 12th, with Kelly SMC’s best at 37th. He completed the Milwaukee Meet in sixth place.
Kelly was recruited by The Ohio State University, the University of Florida and Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
“I chose Drake because of its academics,” Kelly said. “Drake offered and I accepted a full athletic scholarship to run for them.”
At Drake, Kelly was on the 1986 Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country All-Conference Team and a 1987 MVC Indoor Track Conference Champion in the two-mile relay.
He graduated with an advertising degree from Drake in May 1988.
Kelly then completed an internship at Stafford Advertising Agency in Sioux Falls, S.D., as a junior copy writer and returned home to Indiana.
“I moved to Seattle, Wash., from Terre Haute, Ind., in February 1990 and for 10 years managed a grassroots rock club (Colourbox) in Pioneer Square.”
Duluth and Minneapolis
“I moved back to the Midwest in 2004 when my late mother was diagnosed with cancer. I worked for the Home Depot in Duluth, Minn., as the department supervisor for shipping and receiving and the night manager.”
Another big-box company recruited his managerial services from the Twin Cities area so Kelly left Duluth and moved to Minneapolis in 2007.
“I lived in the Minneapolis area for several years before moving to Florida in 2020,” he said. “I worked as a graphic designer for Shutterfly professionally until COVID-19.”
He currently lives in Naples on the Gulf of Mexico coast and works for a company called Naples Transportation and Tours as its Segway and eBike tour guide.
“The day I moved to Naples from Vero Beach I found this job on Indeed and applied,” Kelly said. “I love the company, their culture and the reputation that we have.
“I get to design anything promotional for the different tours we offer to hand out at the storefront. I've always found jobs where eventually my artistic background will come into play.”
He has a daughter and a 4-year-old German shepherd, Jonah.
“Naples is a hidden gem in southwest Florida and got its name because the early settlers thought the area reminded them of Naples, Italy.
“One day you will have to walk on our sugary white sand beaches and hopefully, by then, our beloved pier will be repaired after being damaged severely during Hurricane Ian” in September 2022.
