Written by Coronado High School Intern: Lilly Adams
This article was originally published in the July 2023 Issue of Coronado Magazine. To read this article and more from Coronado Magazine, click here or the button below.
Take a stroll down Orange Avenue, maybe find yourself a seat by the fountain, and just take a moment to listen to your surroundings. You may be lucky enough to catch a sweet tune coming from a piano. A piano? In a public space? Ask anyone outside of Coronado about their thoughts on public pianos. I guarantee that the concept is unheard of. This is just one of the many wonderful additions that Kelly Purvis has contributed to Coronado.
Born in Freemont, Nebraska in the 1960s, Kelly grew up in a small, rural town with her parents, older sister Denise, and younger brother Kurt. Kelly is the fourth generation in a line of farmers. Her favorite memories growing up were of Sunday dinners with her grandparents on the farm and working in the fields with the crops they grew. These simple times made the move to Las Vegas dramatic. Kelly went from farm girl to city girl in the middle of her high school years. Although the change was shocking, it set Kelly up for a future she never would have previously imagined. She met her lifelong best friend _NAME_ there whose grandfather was the inventor of slot machines. Kelly lovingly recalled her friend’s license plate being named “slots” and believes that that relationship provided her with an interesting perspective of Vegas.
By what Kelly considers to be “good fortune” the Dean of Admissions at USC frequently traveled to Las Vegas and ended up recruiting her for the school. Granted a full-ride scholarship, Kelly studied political science at the university. This was where she met her husband Jim, whom she married two years out of college. Kelly has three children, William, Amanda, and Claire, all of who attended USC because as she quotes her son William, “Why go anywhere else, look how happy you and dad are.” Kelly has stayed connected with USC by having past and present involvement with the Trojan League, as a recruiter for the university, working on the Board of Governors, and creating a scholarship for Coronado High School students interested in the school.
Out of college, Kelly moved from Los Angeles to San Diego. She began by working on political fundraising for _NAME_ where she learned many skills in that field. She believes this is what set her up to start working on campaigns for Coronado’s political leaders such as Thomas Maises and Casey Tanaka. Fundraising work has always been a passion of Kelly Purvis. In _DATE_, Kelly became the Developmental Director at the Coronado Historical Association in hopes to raise more money for the organization and their mission to preserve Coronado’s history. At the time of her involvement, CHA had not yet acquired its current building at 1100 Orange Avenue. Her most notable work as the Developmental Director was creating the Spreckels Society, which became the major contributor to the CHA fund.
Kelly was (and still is) extremely passionate about the preservation of Coronado’s history. Since moving to Coronado in 1987, she has lived in a 1908 Craftsman Home and cannot imagine living anywhere else. She dreams of getting her home historically designated but states that she is like “a butcher with bad meat” and seeks to do more work on the home before then.
A firm believer in the preservation of Coronado, Kelly was a strong supporter of the 2006 Prop J to prevent the splitting of lots. This proposition was overturned, but this did not stop Kelly from her mission to preserve Coronado’s unique culture. As an active City Council Member, she currently serves as the Coronado Cultural Arts Commissioner. This job is what has allowed Coronado to have beautiful artwork around town. Some of Kelly’s favorite pieces include “Hand-Stand” which is located at the Community Center, “Penelope” by the bayside, and “The Knot” near City Hall. All of these art pieces were brought to Coronado by the work of Kelly and the rest of the committee.
Although her children are grown now, Kelly has even made a lasting impact on the Coronado Schools. She was the first PTO president at the current Middle School. She prides herself most on her work on the technology committee which brought laptops to the school, creating the KCMS program alongside _NAME_, acquiring the grant for the 15 Minutes Program at CHS, and working as a cheer coach as an active member of the Islander Sports Foundation.
This article was originally published in the July 2023 Issue of Coronado Magazine. To read this article and more from Coronado Magazine, click here or the button below.
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