OBSERVER Photo by Scott Kindberg Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, right, shakes hands with Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus, on Wednesday in Erie.

ERIE, Pa. — Jim Kelly emerges from an SUV late Wednesday afternoon and walks toward the entrance of the Logistics Plus Inc./Erie Times-News building. The former Buffalo Bills’ quarterback reaches the stairs and is immediately greeted by Jim Berlin.

They shake hands, share a few words and then join dozens of folks in the lobby for a ceremony to officially unveil a new 25-by-40 foot, large-scale mural — in partnership with Erie muralist Jason Mumford — that celebrates the LP-sponsored Joe Moore Award. Presented annually to college football’s top offensive linemen, the award’s slogan reads: “Five guys earn it. One company delivers it.”

Berlin, a former Jamestown resident and the LP founder and chief executive officer, certainly knows how to deliver. Few have done it better in the last 30 years. Decked out in a black T-shirt with “Own the Trenches” emblazoned across the front, he also sports a Bills’ cap, and is even wearing red, white & blue Bills’ sneakers.

But the rooting interest for his beloved team, which dates back more than 50 years, is merely his avocation.

It’s his vocation that has grabbed the attention of the transportation, logistics and supply-chain solutions world ever since he founded LP three decades ago. In fact, if awards were given for hard work and a never-give-up mentality, Berlin could fill every square inch of his office with hardware.

Kelly, meanwhile, is wearing a yellow sportcoat, presented to him in 2002 upon his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a testament to a career that places him among the best to ever take to the gridiron. Yet, for all his accomplishments with the Bills, which include four straight Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s, No. 12’s life journey since he retired in 1997 is a testament to his resolve. Kelly, 65, defines resilience, but in a different way than Berlin, which is why the former also has a speaking engagement at the Waldron Campus Center at nearby Gannon University in the city.

Kelly has plenty of stories to tell.

Some are easier to recount than others.

ııı

Organized by the Jefferson Educational Society, Kelly’s talk — “A Journey of Perseverance” — lasted nearly an hour. Fittingly, Berlin provided the opening remarks.

“Off the field, his story became even more inspiring,” Berlin said. “Jim Kelly has shown real strength, not (the kind) required to throw a football, but in how he faces life and its hardest hits with faith, courage and purpose. He’s a Hall-of-Famer, a fighter, a true legend.”

Kelly took the folks in the packed Yehl Ballroom through his growing-up years in East Brady, Pennsylvania; his time at the University of Miami; and his professional career in the United States Football League and in the NFL.

But it was when Kelly began to talk about his life after retirement that he, at times, became emotional, especially when he spoke about his son, Hunter, who died in 2005 at 8 years old from Krabbe disease. Since then, Kelly has endured multiple surgeries and four bouts with cancer.

And yet, there he was on the stage.

Telling his story.

Giving those in the audience hope.

“Make a difference today,” he said, “for someone who is fighting for their tomorrow.”

ııı

My first encounter with Kelly came nearly 40 years ago, shortly after he signed with the Bills. For the entirety of his career in Buffalo, I covered just about every one of his games and attended most of his press conferences. Not lacking for an ego in those days, he was the catalyst — along with several other future Hall-of-Fame teammates — who carried Buffalo to the top of the NFL. Yet, I believe, his greatest contributions to this world have come since he took off his helmet and shoulder pads for the final time. He is a God-fearing, humble man now.

Noted Berlin: “He’s a reminder of leadership — showing up, never giving up and always giving back.”

From my perspective, that quote is rather ironic, because Kelly could say the very same thing about the Logistics Plus boss.

Are the two Jims kindred spirits?

It sure appears that way.