Like sunshine walking into a room. 

That’s what it feels like when Kelly Griebel walks in. If you’re as familiar with this household name as we are, you know exactly what we mean. 

If you were to call her a ‘household name’ to her face, you’d likely see her try to hide a humble, perhaps mildly embarrassed smile. To Kelly, she’s simply an Alaska girl who grew up here and loves to love her people. And dogs. 

That’s not to say her path was always clear and free-sailing. But before her story even began, two crucial family members were hard at work - paving the way with stepping stones for her to follow if she so chose when she was ready. You may recognize these family members as well - Donald Keating and David Keating, her grandfather and father, respectively. Two influencers of their time who had no intention of “influencing” - only making a huge impact on the real estate industry in Alaska. 

Spoiler alert…they did both. 

Donald owned his own Real Estate company in Kenai back in the 60s. His son, Dave, followed soon after and started his own Real Estate company in 1970 in Soldotna, where he remained a REALTOR® for 50 years until his passing. 

When the market crashed in the 80s, Dave was forced to close his doors. No business = no money. One year later, a bank manager approached him with a request to re-open. With all of the foreclosed homes needing to go on the market, they needed help. 

They needed him. 

So, he opened his doors again - in the same building that still stands today, where Kelly got her start in the business and where she and her top-producing team now reside. 

She’s a far cry from the “Saturday Girl” as she describes from back then. Looking at her life now, it’s not exactly what she envisioned in her teenage and young adult years. She worked at Dairy Queen all four years of high school, was a barista at Espresso Wagon and a couple of other local coffee shops around Soldotna for nine years, and while she went to school for her degree in Elementary Education, she worked part-time and on Saturdays at her dad’s office as a secretary. Fun fact - she was still the “Saturday Girl” when she found out she was pregnant with her daughter, Hayley! 

“The whole office got together and we surprised ‘Grandpa Dave’,” she says with a glowing smile. “This place has been a part of my life since my dad opened and I’ve been here since I started.” 

Throughout this time she also taught fitness and aerobics classes, which she continued for 15 years! 

“It was my dream to be a teacher,” she says. But after getting some experience subbing she decided that it was not the best place for her. Recognizing that she did not handle disrespect from students or their parents very well, she decided to work for her dad full time to “give it a try” once her daughter, Hayley, was in first grade. 

“I figured, two generations already did really well in real estate. I might as well try.” 

22 and a half years later, she is a force to be reckoned with. You’d be hard pressed to find someone in the Alaska real estate industry who doesn’t know her name. And for good reason. Kelly’s overwhelming desire to provide beyond 5-star service to her clients is one of the many reasons her clients become repeat customers…and lifelong friends. 

“My biggest reward is making lifelong friends,” she says. “Not only with other REALTORS®  and our affiliates, but also with my clients.” 

These relationships are an extension of the family legacy. Her dad was always quick to remind those around him that you should “always leave everything you touch better than how you found it,” and it’s a sentiment she carries with her daily. Her ability to calm the fears and anxieties of buyers and sellers alike is just one of the many reasons she is often their first phone call. 

She is a phenomenal example of the grace and compassion required for such an intense career. With emotions always running on high, it is critical to have that consummate professional on your side who can not only guide you to the finish line, but can also be your armor, shield and steering wheel as you navigate the bumps and jostles of the roller coaster that is a real estate transaction. 

Kelly’s unyielding love for others has been the secret sauce to her small, family-operated 3-person team, which is easy to assume is much larger. With 142 units in 2022 alone, it’s daunting to think how any of us would handle that pipeline with only three people. 

But that family legacy comes on strong. 

Her daughter Hayley is now her Transaction Coordinator and handles much of the back-end operations. This allows Kelly to continue providing the face-to-face service she desires with her clients. Hayley’s detailed eye and stellar organizational skills keep the ship sailing, while her husband Forrest, Kelly’s son-in-law, is Kelly’s licensed REALTOR® assistant. 

Together, this dynamic trio maintains a competitive pace and sets an unprecedented standard in the market - and does so with smiles, laughter, and a large helping of giving back to the community in more ways than one.

One of those ways is mentorship, to which Kelly is no stranger. With her father on her shoulder, she has valued leadership and guidance from a young age and strives to provide that same level of professional mentorship to others. She can often be found at the office or the local coffee shop with someone who has expressed interest in Real Estate, and reached out to her specifically for her pearls of wisdom and tactful honesty. She has no qualms about sharing the good, bad and ugly of Real Estate and always impresses upon newbies to get involved. 

“Get involved in your community. If you’re invited to someone’s going-away party or a kid’s birthday party, GO! Go be a presence! Get on committees and boards. Go support your high school’s football team even though you graduated 35 years ago so people know who you are and remember.” 

She adds, “People remember how you gave back. Not how many riverfront properties you sold.”

Another Dave-ism she has continued to share. 

Dave was overwhelmingly supportive of others and found joy in seeing other people grow. Almost everyone Kelly’s age and older (locally) had worked for her dad at some point, and felt comfortable and strong enough later on in their careers to go off and start their own businesses - often thanks to and in honor of his tutelage. 

This is something Kelly wishes she could share with the younger generation - those who didn’t get the chance to work with her dad. So many throughout Alaska know his name and put forth effort in honoring him in their own lives and businesses. With the next generation never getting that opportunity, honoring his legacy and continuing to share it as far and wide as she can is a duty she doesn’t take lightly. She understands what a privilege it was to learn from and be loved by him, and lives her daily life by the character traits he instilled in her from a young age. Her loyalty, tenacity and generosity are often seen as her attributes, but she is quick to pinpoint it’s what she learned from him. 

With tears in her eyes, she shares, “He always said, ‘If you don’t like something, get involved and do something about it. And support the community that supports you.’ I just don’t want people to forget about him.” 

Late 2001 proved to be an early turning point in her career thanks to a push from Dave. The Alaska REALTORS® State Convention they planned to attend was set to take place the day after 9/11 at Denali. With most flights and paths of travel shut down, she and her dad made the drive anyway, and only about 80 people showed up. He convinced her to run for Director-at-Large for the Alaska Association of REALTORS®, and in a plot twist that likely did not shock him as much as it did her - she got it. 

“I’m still friends with people from that convention, and I’ve been on the local board for 20 of the last 22 years. I love being involved and giving back.” 

For Kelly, giving back goes even further than the two-legged clients she serves. 

A lifelong animal lover, she knew she wanted to eventually open her heart to something bigger and better in addition to her successful real estate business. With Kenai Animal Shelter removing their outside drop-off kennels and later Soldotna Animal Shelter closing down, Kelley and her best friend, Abbie, knew it was time to move into action. 

In an effort to combat the alarming number of abuse and neglect cases, as well as dumped dogs and strays, together they created KPAL Rescue - Kenai Peninsula Animal Lovers Rescue. Since its inception in 2019, they have rescued and homed over 950 dogs and puppies. Each one is spayed or neutered, microchipped and given age-appropriate shots, and placed in a loving foster home until the perfect forever home is found through an extensive and purposeful screening process. 

With an active board of 10 including Kelly, they are regularly hosting meet and greet events at various businesses that choose to sponsor a dog and host them at their storefront so potential adopters can come to meet, cuddle, play, and learn about the dog. Kelly herself spends a minimum of 30 hours a week on KPAL duties and loves every minute of it. She is currently fostering a litter of puppies that were being "gotten rid of" when they were only 3 days old. Once news made it to Kelly through KPAL, Scott and Kelly gladly took them in and ultimately decided to adopt the momma dog.

One thing that is most important to Kelly is supporting and promoting the spay and neutering of pets. "That is the grassroots issue of the over-populating in our community. This leads to abuse, neglect and even sometimes death of undeserving dogs and cats," she explains. Kelly has been part of the Peninsula Spay Neuter Fund (PSNF) for the last 5 years and is extremely passionate about her stance on that issue. PSNF has loving and generous donors who share the same view and mission. Through their donations, KPAL can help community members get their dogs and cats, spayed and neutered. 

The latest venture that Kelly and a handful of her rescue comrades have started is the PAW group. It stands for Peninsula Animal Welfare Group. Their mission is to create awareness and help spark positive changes for the responsible care and management of animals on the Kenai Peninsula. They are currently collecting surveys and stories of animals that have experienced or witnessed abuse or neglect or have had interactions with animals that are running loose and disrupting wildlife, other pets or even people. She explains, "Something needs to be done to help protect everyone. With absolutely no rules, responsibilities or repercussions outside of city limits, it's imperative that our community come together to create change."

“I don’t really have a social life or hang out with friends anymore” she jokes. “I choose dogs. I love dogs more than I love anything in this world.” 

Her overarching dream is to one day open a sanctuary for rescue dogs, “I would really like to be alive to see it happen.” 

That dream will have to wait until the finances for such a goal are in place. For now, KPAL receives no funding and relies on generous donations, adoption fees and gracious discounts from their vets. It’s others like her and Abbie who believe in the mission that keeps KPAL afloat. Their vet bill last month alone was $14,000. 

“We are barely surviving, but making it,” she says, still with a smile. 

Even with the financial strain, she doesn’t foresee any changes to the dog portion of her life. For the last 4 years, she and her family have had no less than 4 personal dogs, and they have no plans of going back to less than that anytime soon. 

With what sounds like an overflowing plate, how - or in this case, where - does she unwind? 

“I love spending time with all of them around me, watching "Ridiculousness" on TV with them and my husband. Everyone’s got their spot! And Hawaii. Hawaii is my second favorite place on Earth. It’s my sanctuary.” 

At this point in her career and life, Kelly makes a point to share the lessons she’s learned whenever she can. In an industry that is known for its long hours and lack of balance, she had to work hard to understand what work/life balance actually meant. 

“The first 20 years of my career weren’t balanced at all, and when I first started, my vision of success was different. Everything was different. I worked myself ragged to the point where I was actually upset if others didn’t regularly come into the office or attend staff meetings. I had to finally step back and realize that everyone has their own circumstances and I needed to get a life of my own. Now, I love helping people and I want to leave a legacy like my dad did. It doesn’t have to do with statues and awards. It has to do with how I changed things or made things better. And saved dogs.” 

Speaking of awards, hers are a-plenty - but the one she is most proud of is her 2006 win of the Excellence in Profession-Soldotna Chamber of Commerce Award. She’d been in Real Estate for 5 years at that point, and it still brings her joy remembering that it was voted on by community members and didn’t just have to do with Real Estate. 

She’s also received the Grand Centurian Award, which is the highest award given by Century 21. She’s received the award every year except for two that she’s worked at Century 21, which also landed her in the Centurian Honor Society. 

At the end of the day, she knows that not all REALTORS® operate the same way and she’s ok with that. She knows there’s enough business out there for everybody, and she’d rather use her time and energy on the clients that share her desire to become friends forever, and aspiring REALTORS® who are willing to put in the work. 

“We all work better together,” she says. Being that example for Hayley and Forrest keeps her standards for herself high, and her heart full. 

One memory that keeps her standard in check involves a house tour she was on with her dad. She recalls driving past a house that could have been condemned and saying, “I can’t believe someone would live there.”

Her dad, ever the servant leader, simply said, “Every home is someone’s castle.”

“I think about that a lot,” Kelly says. “Everybody starts somewhere. I never looked at a house like that the same.” 

It’s no secret that legacy is sacred to her. Her father’s memory resides not only in her own, but in so many hearts across Alaska. With his leadership continuing to guide so many today, Kelly leans into it and hopes to keep both his legacy and his leadership alive and well for generations of REALTORS® and Alaskans alike. 

“I’m so grateful I was able to work with him every day and learn from him. I’m glad he was able to see that I followed in his footsteps in every way and that what he taught me mattered. He made me the REALTOR® and person I am today. I hope I can do the same for my daughter and son-in-law. I love being able to see them almost every day.”

“Family is so important.” 

Without a doubt, the legacy of Dave Keating shows. 

Without a doubt, Kelly is leaving one of her own. 

For more information on how to be a part of the change Kelly is helping to create in her community, please visit www.peninsulaspayneuterfund.org to learn about this thoughtful gift and apply for a coupon that will help cover up to half the expense of a spay or neuter locally.