Prior to moving to Madeira Beach, Ray was a lifelong resident of a small rural town of less than 20,000 people known as Westminster Maryland.  Ray and his wife Sue celebrated 37 years of marriage this past November. They raised two children in Westminster and are now proud grandparents of a grandson who celebrated his first birthday in November 2021.

An entrepreneur at heart, Ray has worked in the HVAC industry since graduating from Salisbury State College, now known as Salisbury University. After many years of commuting for over an hour to and from work each day, Ray opened his own HVAC equipment sales company in 2001 and continues to work for AC Quest over 2 decades later. Like many startup businesses, Ray converted space in his home as an office for the first few years. When financially stable, Ray purchased an office & warehouse close to home and expanded his business.  Today, AC Quest distributes HVAC equipment nationally and caters to the hospitality, senior living, and student housing markets. Being self-employed has given the Kerr’s the flexibility to relocate while being young enough to enjoy the area prior to retirement

On a 2008 golf trip, Ray was introduced to the Gulf Coast barrier islands he now calls home.  It was on this trip that he convinced his wife that relocation was in their future. After several more trips they purchased their current home in Madeira Beach in 2010. It was not until 2017 that the Kerr’s were able to relocate permanently. With the sale of their Maryland home, office & warehouse now finalized, AC Quest has restructured its business plan to accommodate their relocation.

Ray got interested in the local City politics after joining with neighbors to convince city hall of the safety concerns of speeding boaters coming dangerously close to resident’s boat docks. Regular attendance to the City’s public meetings introduced many more areas of concern and although the public is encouraged to participate, they are limited to 3 minutes and didn’t get a vote.  Ray is running for Commissioner to have more of a voice for himself and his neighbors.

Ray was appointed to the City Planning Commission in 2019 and continues to serve. This service has helped him understand the future vision of the city, how the city operates, and the constraints placed on the city from State and Federal agencies. Many of the topics discussed at Planning Commission meetings are later placed on the BOC agenda.

The Kerr’s look forward to happily living here in Madeira Beach for many years. They consider this their “forever home”. They plan to stay active in the community and help the city plan for a future Madeira Beach that their children would be proud to inherit.