Sacramento, Calif.—The California Association of Winegrape Growers announced Richard Keehn, the founding chairman of CAWG and a former Mendocino County grapegrower and winemaker, is the group’s Leader of the Year.

Before growing grapes, Keehn was a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army and served deployments in Korea, Germany and Vietnam, earning two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star. In 1971, while stationed at 6th Army Headquarters in San Francisco, Keehn married Karen Crawford, a widow and owner of historic McDowell Valley Vineyards located in the coastal range of the Mayacamas Mountains in Mendocino County. He and Karen would eventually run their own winery using fruit from the family vineyard. 

Keehn took over grapegrowing at the property, and in 1974 he led a group of growers in forming the California Association of Winegrape Growers. Keehn would serve four years as chairman and seven years as a member of the board of directors. Keehn retired from the industry in 1998.