Ray Kellish, President & CEO
Ray Kellish was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and spent much of his life in Chicago before relocating to Maryland. Ray is an avid pilot and fisherman who loves spending time with his family. The story behind Blue Water Irrigation & Landscape Lighting is that, years ago, Ray had an irrigation system that needed servicing. Three calls, hundreds of dollars and much frustration later, the system still wasn’t working properly. So Ray decided to start BWI, Inc. to provide service and installations that would be done 100% right the very first time, at a fair price, and with the best equipment he could find.
Ray is kept very busy serving as a member of the U.S. Delegation on American Foreign Policy traveling to China lead by General Peter Pace USMC, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Ret) Ray met with senior government leaders of China to help improve understanding of each other’s countries and to improve business and culture relations between our countries. Ray spends a great deal of time out of the country developing Brightwater Illumination and Irrigation licensing opportunities in Spain and Australia. When Ray is not putting in 15 hour days at BWI Annapolis, he loves spending quality time with his wife and children, boating, cooking and worldwide traveling.
Ray’s greatest accomplishment—besides raising four children—was engineering and designing the very best irrigation parts in the world. “We went through a huge process to engineer and design our own products,” says Ray, “because we take quality that seriously. Our clients deserve the very best we can give them.”
According to Ray, “It’s all about doing the right thing. Everyone at BWI, Inc. shares this deep dedication: The highest quality level in service; the right way of treating an employee with a problem; the right commitment to the community; the highest quality in manufacturing. We have an official company color, ‘BWI, Inc. Blue,’ and we often use the phrase ‘bleeding blue’ to describe our numerous true believers.”
Ray is very proud of BWI, Inc.’s reputation: “Our clients really like and trust us. Our dedication to customer satisfaction is the key to our competitive advantage. Traditional values and old-fashioned hard work are BWI, Inc. fundamentals.”
“These are my hopes through the course of 2008: in addition to renewing our competitive advantage, we have the courage to maintain our values and our integrity; we have defined our own business and NOT been defined by others; and we continue to care enough to treat our customers and each other as human beings. I renew these hopes every year as we move forward into the 21st century and as I start to transition the company to my children. It's been a great ride!”—Ray Kellish, BWI, Inc. President & CEO
Kacie Kellish, CFO
Kacie Kellish has lived in Annapolis, Maryland most of her life. Kacie is a graduate of East Carolina University with a BSBA degree in Business Management. While attending ECU, she had the opportunity to be a part of the Small Business Institute in North Carolina, providing consulting services to small business owners.
Kacie joins BWI, Inc. with the responsibilities of overseeing the day-to-day financial operations of the company. Kacie uses her financial innovative analytical skills to lead the company to ground breaking industry results. Kacie ensures all transactions are maintained in a quality, accurate, and timely manner. Kacie performs all administrative financial duties including financial reporting, budgeting, general accounting, and managing vendor accounts. When not at work, Kacie enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, playing softball and swimming.
“We educate our homeowners to be smart consumers.”
—Kacie Kellish, BWI, Inc. CFO
Ryan Kellish, Vice President of Construction
Ryan has spent most of his life in Annapolis, Maryland and has extensive experience working in the trades. After college, Ryan and his father Ray decided to start their own irrigation company when they couldn’t find anyone who was doing the job right.
Ryan uses his skills and construction knowledge to help grow BWI, Inc. by directing the design process and managing the install crews for all commercial and residential jobs. Ryan has an excellent ability to apply his experience and judgment in coordinating jobs to accomplish on-time installation goals. In addition to designing, estimating and managing projects, Ryan purchases and maintains all equipment and vehicles operated by BWI Inc. When Ryan can squeeze in a little downtime, he enjoys family activities, boating, hunting, fishing, and anything else to do with the great outdoors.
“At BWI, Inc. our technicians and employees are truly part of a family, and they in turn treat every customer like family. We give each customer the same level of quality and attention to detail we would expect if it was our own property. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that your system is the absolute best it can be. That's our commitment to you."
—Ryan Kellish, BWI, Inc. Vice President of Construction
Matthew Bohn, Vice President of Operations
Originally from New Hartford, New York, Matt moved to Maryland over ten years ago. Matt is a lifelong green industry professional who gained extensive experience in the turf grass and landscape businesses before joining the irrigation and lighting side of the industry. This work experience, combined with a formal education from Penn State University, gives Matt a unique understanding of our clients’ needs. Currently, Matt is handling all of BWI, Inc.’s product specifications and purchasing, as well as commercial design and estimating. Matt also heads our Water Management program, specializing in water conservation through sustainable irrigation using smart technologies. During his off-hours, Matt enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, while trying to squeeze in an occasional round of golf.
“Our team is made up of dedicated industry professionals who work as a team to achieve our customers’ goals.”
—Matt Bohn, BWI, Inc. Vice-President of Operations
 Jennifer Holley, Office Manager-Customer Service Representative
Jennifer Holley is the friendly voice you hear every time you call BWI Inc. She is the “Queen” of the office. Jenn makes you feel like “part of the BWI Inc. family” by maintaining solid customer relationships.
In-the-field training allows Jenn to fully understand irrigation and landscape lighting systems to adequately handle all questions and concerns with speed and professionalism. With her excellent communication skills, Jenn coordinates and schedules all system installs and service calls. She is always available via phone, e-mail or fax and is in constant contact with all technicians in the field throughout the day. Jenn keeps the office running like a “well-oiled machine” by maintaining all employee calendars for appointments and meetings.
Jenn resides in Cape St. Claire, Maryland with her family. When Jenn is not at BWI, Inc., she enjoys spending time with her boys, going to the beach and watching football.
“BWI Inc. is committed to providing timely, courteous and efficient service not only at the time of purchase but for the lifetime of your irrigation system.”
—Jennifer Holley, BWI Inc. Office Manager-Customer Service Representative
 Fred Peterson, Service Manager
BWI, Inc.’s service manager, Fred Peterson, grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and has now worked on systems in every single county in the state. Fred started his career as an irrigation manager for a 365-acre nursery with 200 miles of irrigation, the world-renowned Conrad-Pyle Nurseries, producer of the Star Rose. Fred could identify every plant at the farm—over 1,400 species—and knew their watering requirements as well. Now in his 14th year in the irrigation industry, Fred attributes his success to one simple fact: “I just have a true love for the green industry.”
“For us, it’s not just a job. It’s what we love doing. When you have fixed a tough, broken irrigation system that has baffled every other irrigation contractor before you—that’s extremely satisfying. I get an enormous sense of personal satisfaction out of fixing other people’s problems. We’ve seen it all, and if my staff can’t fix it, no one can. That’s our promise to you."
—Fred Peterson, BWI, Inc. Service Manager
|
Quality