By: Pat Winter
“Albemarle Plantation had everything we wanted,” Kevin said as we began our phone conversation about why he and Karen chose to buy a home here. Their recent purchase is a lovely house tucked along the water of Yeopim Creek.
Karen and Kevin, both recently retired from careers in the pharmaceutical industry, were looking for a place to spend time away from their primary residence outside of Philadelphia. They knew Philadelphia would always be home base for them because their three sons and a grandson all lived in the area. But a getaway not too far from the home action appealed to their desire to enjoy some different community features and a warmer climate. Too, a six-hour drive like a very reasonable distance to commute back to family, because Kevin and Karen’s sons had played competitive ice hockey where a 6-hour drive to games was often the norm. Right now, the McKenneys’ plan is to move in fully by fall to enjoy our beautiful, mild autumn days, returning to
home base for the holidays.
Both pharmacists by education, Karen and Kevin spent their careers traveling the world on company business. Karen held many different positions during her career, working at both Merck and Pfizer, bringing new products to market and supporting approved therapeutics. Her work earned her passport
stamps from countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Canada. Kevin’s work with Merck, Johnson and Johnson, and Novartis also kept him on the move, traveling globally to provide commercial manufacturing technical support and new product development for pediatric and AIDS products.
Karen grew up playing golf and recalls being a “decent” player in her youth. She fondly remembers playing golf as her “happy place” and she hopes to be
able to have the time to hone her skills on our golf course. Kevin, on the other hand, spent time as a boy boating with his dad and hopes to return to boating on the waters of our Albemarle Sound. But Karen has convinced him to try his hand at golf, as well. Another benefit to living in this area for Kevin is that he has family members who live just three hours away in the Raleigh/Durham area. Both well-seasoned international business travelers, Kevin and Karen are looking forward to traveling together to places that they visited separately only for business.
When you get a chance to meet Kevin and Karen, ask them about their dog Bailey, who started out as their son’s college dog. And please welcome them “home.”