Graves, who has in the past been responsible for other local happenings such as the North Kitsap Arts and Crafts Fair, has been involved in the various sides of the tourism and promotions industry. She’s left her mark at places like the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce as executive director, Kingston Chamber as the president and the executive director, the Kitsap Visitors and Convention Bureau where she is currently working on membership, the now-defunct tour train that ran from Bremerton to Grays Harbor, and the highly successful hydroplane races in Poulsbo that have been on hiatus for several years due to a receding water table.

With a background in commercial advertising, Graves found herself eventually drawn into the nonprofit sector. About a decade ago when passenger ferries were needed in Kingston, she helped found the Chamber of Commerce and was asked to serve as president and help bring passenger ferries to town. Graves lobbied lawmakers, made a speech to the Senate, and helped get funding. The first ferry demonstration had 200 people on board, including a large group of state representatives and Navy officials.

“It was a great adventure. I got to know the community leaders and state, county and city representatives from areas like Mount Vernon and Vancouver,” she said.

The Third of July fest has been on Graves’ to do list since 1993, while the Key Peninsula fair is the newest of her activities. Last year, Graves was hired as the executive director within short weeks of the three-day event, as things appeared to nearly fall apart. Graves took to the job full-speed, and this year has proposed a host of changes to make the fair better.

While she understands the dynamics of community events and realizes that the volunteer boards are in them for their community’s benefit, for Graves running a festival, no matter what size, is about running a business.

“It’s a business, and if they don’t attend to that (aspect), they won’t be able to offer this great product to their community,” she said. “Nonprofits are usually created by community leaders. They love their community and they have a deep sense of loyalty, and they create these nonprofit organizations to benefit their lifestyle… They have great tenacity, great ideas… but are not marketers and promoters.”

That is where she comes in. As an outsider, even in her own community, to these groups, she can tackle each event as a business venture, looking for the best way to market them in a fresh way every year.

Graves says working with different people and diverse personalities is challenging, but that’s the part she enjoys. “I love working with people. I enjoy the differences between the communities,” she said. “Generally, they are all fun, and that’s 50 percent of the drive.”

Although for most people each of the events don’t become visible until advertisements kick in a month or so before, for Graves they are year-round work. As soon as one year’s schedule is wrapped up, she must get started on the next year, especially since most sponsors develop their budgets in September. Summer is, of course, crunch time, as her three current commitments come on the heels of one another. “I’m much like a juggler at this point (summer time),” she said.

Graves approaches every event she manages differently, even though many of the business aspects are the same. One of the biggest challenges is deciding if, and when, to grow. “It’s like any business,” she said. “You get to the line in the sand where have to decide if you stay the same or grow. Every community has to decide that.”.