Thanksgiving Turkey Drive: Bringing the Community Together

Country Wine & Spirits General Manager Steve Hermiz has been doing the Thanksgiving Turkey Drive since 2005. He started it with his boss, Shawn Kattoula, CEO of Country Wine & Spirits. Hermiz, who lives and works in Ramona, says Kattoula funds the turkey drive and always allows Hermiz to give to those in need. “He is a very good man,” Hermiz says. “We like to help our community.”

Hermiz goes to local churches and non-profit organizations and asks how many families are in need of a turkey or ham for their holiday meal. He purchases turkeys and hams through his suppliers, including Roma Food, Shamrock Foods, Sysco, and US Foods. “It’s my enjoyment in life, and every year, we help people in need,” he says.

They do the turkey drive (or ham, depending on what each family chooses) two days before Thanksgiving and two days before Christmas. This year, they will have 700-800 turkeys weighing 15 to 16 pounds each and will provide them to families in need through local churches, The Ramona Senior Center, In His Steps, and The Ramona Food and Clothes Closet.

Hermiz says that their customers are more than that; they’re family. When the community had a major power outage in 2006, he says the business stayed open but could not run credit cards as the system was down. They allowed their customers to purchase items with the agreement to return later and pay. “All of the people paid back,” he says. “No problem.” He adds that it’s such a great community, and he loves to give back to the residents and schools.

In addition to the turkey drive, they host free barbeques for everyone in Ramona on the 4th of July, Labor Day, and Memorial Day. Hermiz and his staff cook and serve items such as pulled pork, nachos, and chili at Country Wine & Spirits in SDCE. He added that they were cooking for their community in the one-hundred-degree weather on the 4th of July, and he loves to do it.

Country Wine & Spirits and Ra-Mona Lisa Pizza & Subs share more than just turkey and ham; they spread hope and kindness to our community and have done so for many years.

Photo courtesy of Steve Hermiz.