Paul Kilmon: A Life Illustrated in Words & Photos: Leadership

Welcome!

Through my writing, photography, career, and personal challenges, you will discover I am just like you, a person on a journey. My goals are simple, to be healthy and happy. You will learn I have many interests. The driving force for all I do is communication, the sharing of ideas and my passion for laughter. It really is the best medicine and a great stress reducer.

I consider myself a down-to-earth guy, who is just making it up as I travel through life, adding a virtual laugh track here and there to amuse others and myself. I have a friendly personality, which is expressive, warm, upbeat, fun, and positive. I love meeting new people. I thrive on communication, organization, diversity, creativity, and laughter. – Paul Eric Kilmon (paerki)

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Leadership

Before I acknowledge our President and CEO Sam Guedouar for his outstanding leadership, and he is definitely worth the praise, I want to mention something about leadership through a corporate lens verses an employee’s heart.

Corporate leadership focuses on efficiency, organizational growth, and metrics. The counterweight to that is team happiness, making employees feel valued so they will want to work harder and more efficiently. It’s definitely a complex conundrum.

I had a recent work anniversary. I am 4 years happy at Roland Park Place. I take pride in that accomplishment. It’s been a two-way street for me, as I learned you need to give to get.

I put much effort into my job, and the returns have always been great because our corporate culture is safe and strong. We have fine leadership. Our supervisors, managers, directors, and VPs work hard and are respected by everyone.

In order for this to happen you need a CEO who is strong, committed, and able to make swift decisions, while empowering others to follow his lead. At our workplace we have that in abundance.

Sam is a force of nature. At every meeting he is talking about company culture, core values, and trust. He is in constant motion, empowering all of us to be our best, giving us tools to grow not just our minds, but our hearts.

We are a community of caring, and it’s not just about the residents in our community we care about, but extending that level of mindfulness to our fellow employees, visitors to our community, and anyone who enters our doors.

These are the fundamental talking points of our CEO, and it’s not just talking, but demonstrating through genuine action. On many occasions, I have witnessed him rolling up his sleeves to pitch in, helping our frontline team. It might sound cheesy to some, but these are cool moments.

The best CEOs are highly accessible, empathetic, and visibly engaged with their teams. That’s our Sam, and he is our CEO, and we are proud of him.

I guess what I really want to say is I have never worked with a more genuine and transparent CEO, a leader who truly makes everyone feel valued and heard. Thank you, Sam! – paerki

What would life be like without memories? It’s fair to say, there would be no life at all. Memory is our communication, reason, coherence, our action and more importantly, our feeling. Memories create our path in life, developing our psychology and leading us emotionally.

One of the best ways to create and store memories is with video. These simple effortless little snippets of time create diaries and become perpetual time capsules, which justify our walk on earth, telling all with great enthusiasm… I was here! I mattered! I lived! Please, don’t forget me.

Share your views, thoughts and opinions in the written word. Snap photographs so your eyes can travel back in time, remembering the happy and sad moments that made you the person you were, are and became in life. But, whenever possible, capture video to enhance the memories you leave behind, so that others may pass the essence of your life on to future generations. – paerki

I love photographs! They have this amazing ability to tell stories of fun places, special moments, memorable events, and exciting places. They give us reason to pause and remember friends, family, coworkers and so many others. One photograph can conjure up a flood of memories taking us on a journey. They help us remember the past, enjoy the present and ponder the future.

On a cold and rainy day I love sitting in my living room with a roaring fire, a glass of wine, classical music playing in the background and my many photographs scattered about me. I love sifting through what I call my special collection, which refers to my favorites. They remind me of the saddest and happiest moments of my life. They remind me of challenges and overcoming.

My large collection of images are a testament to a life lived. Life happens all around us so it’s important to collect special memories, and what better way than with a photograph. – paerki

It’s hard to believe I’ve been blogging for more than 12 years. This art form has allowed me to showcase and express my creativity. It has bolstered my confidence (not that is was lacking). At times it has been therapeutic, but more than anything it has given me a much deeper view of the world and how I see myself in it.

I use my insights as a barometer for self-change, which helps me reconcile the past, adapt to the present and navigate carefully into the future. I have enjoyed the roller coaster ride of thought as my hands write it and my eyes see it. As always, I hope you can relate to my stories, appreciate my views, savor the wisdom, reflect on the concepts and, more than anything, respect my friendly and genuine interest in connecting with others.

Find you own voice. Think about writing your own blog. Learn your style, share your views and open a whole new world of possibilities for you and your readers-to-be.. – paerki