Published on Tuesday, March 09, 2010
By PETER FISCHETTI
Kim Kelliher wasn't sure about completing the form for Citizen of the Year after she was nominated for the annual honor given by the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce.
"I'm just one of hundreds of people who really care about Temecula and contribute to the community," she said.
So it was "a huge surprise" when her name was announced among the dozen nominees at the 44th annual Awards Gala last month at the Pechanga Resort and Casino.
Kelliher, 43, president and co-owner of The Grapeline Wine County Shuttle, has juggled a growing business with the desire to make a difference in the city she has called home since 1997. The list of organizations she has touched over the years is long.
Growing up outside of Phoenix, Kelliher took her journalism degree from Arizona State University to Washington, D.C., where she covered Capitol Hill and U.S. Congressional races for the newspaper Roll Call.
She interviewed political heavyweights such as Bob Dole, Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, John McCain and Bill Clinton. While there, she also met John Kelliher, who became her husband and partner in The Grapeline. They married in Arizona, where she worked for a newspaper in Tucson and then in sales before moving to Temecula.
She stayed home with her three sons a few years before starting to work part time in 2000 for Wilson Creek Winery.
"That's when the idea for The Grapeline struck," Kelliher said of the business she and her husband began in summer 2002 without bank loans. "...We thought providing safe and affordable transportation to the wineries was an idea worth pursuing."
After a shaky start, business increased every year until 2009. So far this year, reservations are up. The Grapeline's vehicles, which carry from 14 to 41 passengers, take 150 to 200 customers to Temecula area wineries on a typical Saturday.
Over the years, the couple also has expanded The Grapeline concept to the wine countries of Paso Robles and Santa Barbara.
With a business to operate and three boys to raise -- Carsen, 17; Parker, 14; and Weston, 12 -- Kelliher has managed to be faithful to the company's mission statement that pledges to help the community.
In 2009, The Grapeline donated to more than 75 organizations, and employees logged more than 110 hours of community volunteerism --not counting the more than 200 hours Kelliher estimates that she donated.
Getting a good deal of Kelliher's time is the Rotary Club of Temecula, where she is the secretary and youth exchange coordinator, directing a program that has hosted students from Brazil, France, Kenya and Belgium for a year.
As chairman of the wine tasting venue at the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival, Kelliher helps execute an event attended by about 40,000 people.
As a founding member of the Responsible Partners Program in Temecula Valley Wine Country, she promotes drinking responsibly among her guests through policies, host and driver training, and contracts
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