When Kelly Jo Hill and her then-fiance, Randy Hill, moved to Sequim eight years ago from the Tri-Cities area, they found a home situated between two lavender farms in the Dungeness Valley. They had unwittingly plunked themselves down near the hub of one of the busiest festivals on the North Olympic Peninsula, the Sequim Lavender Festival.
Never one to shrink from a challenge, Hill told herself, “If there are 30,000 people coming to town, I’m either going to be in the middle of it or leave town.”
She chose to dive in, starting with volunteering.
Working as a volunteer also gave her the opportunity to spend time with her teenage stepdaughter, Kayla. They spent the three-day festival working the information booths, and Hill, 43, was hooked.
She became the festival’s volunteer support committee leader, then volunteer director.
This year she has added administrative director to her title.
Under the auspices of Olympic Peninsula Celebrations, she works not only for the Sequim Lavender Festival but also for the Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival, which takes place in Port Angeles in October.
Olympic Peninsula Celebrations manages the logistics of the annual lavender festival for the Sequim Lavender Growers Association.
With the lavender festival taking place in just two weeks, July 16 through 19, Hill is in high gear.
“I have a phone stuck to my head,” she said, fielding phone calls from all over the world from callers wanting information about the festival. She also corresponds with e-mailers and processes payments for online orders and ticket sales, to name just a few of her daily tasks.
She also volunteers in the Sequim School District, where her husband is the Sequim community school principal and Sequim High School dean of students.
But for as busy as she is, she said her main job title is “mother.”
“I’m Mommy first,” she said. “I had a miracle at 36.”
After being told she would not be able to bear children, she and Randy were shocked and thrilled to learn they were indeed going to be parents.
Their daughter JoNell is now “6 and three quarters,” Hill said, noting the important age measurement to a 6-year-old.
JoNell loves ice skating, which means at least once-weekly trips to Bremerton, the nearest skating rink.
Hill proudly reported her daughter recently won a gold medal in jumps and spins, and a third place in solo compulsories for her age group.
While she is enjoying parenting immensely, Hill said being an older parent has its pros and cons.
All her daughter’s friends’ parents are younger than her, but she has more patience and a better ability to see the big picture.
“You realize that on the list of things, it’s not as big a deal,” she said.
With her husband’s work schedule, he is able to stay home with JoNell while Hill is immersed in her festival duties.
She has been working hard to improve the lavender festival and make it more inclusive for everyone, not just lavender lovers.
She is in charge of the 150 craft vendors, organizes Fun on the Field, an area with 23 nonprofit booths, and books the acts for the stage.
“There’s a lot to putting on a festival that nobody knows about,” she said. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make it a wonderful festival.
She also oversees a crew of up to 300 volunteers during the festival.
“We have a wonderful crew of volunteers who are willing to do whatever we ask. It’s fascinating how many people are willing to step forward and do what needs to be done,” she said.
She sees the lavender festival as a common ground where people from all walks of life come together.
“I see families volunteering together — kids can help too,” she said.
A mother and her three daughters are regular volunteers, as are a mother and daughter who come all the way from Tacoma.
“We have quite a few volunteers from the Seattle area,” she said.
Hill also works with several organizations for special needs people, seeing they are able to volunteer, too.
“They have as much to give as anyone,” she said.
This year, Hill was instrumental in adding a classic car show to the festival, “for the guys, while the ladies are shopping,” she said.
While she doesn’t own a vintage car, if she did she knows just what it would be — “a ’68 Chevy RSS — midnight blue with sterling grey stripes.”
Working her way up in a job situation is not new to Hill, who entered the work world as a young teen, mowing the lawn for her grandmother.
“I didn’t get paid for it,” she noted.
She then worked in a restaurant in Hermiston, Ore., where she grew up. She moved from dishwasher to cook and waitress.
Her family didn’t have the funds to send her to college, so instead she worked, sometimes several jobs at once.
“I did what it took to survive,” she said.
She became a legal secretary in the Tri-Cities after divorcing her first husband — she landed a job as a receptionist in her lawyer’s office and worked up to legal secretary.
Now, instead of just surviving, she is thriving.
“I’m married to a wonderful man, and I have a daughter I never expected to have,” she said. “I also have two wonderful stepchildren.”
Cody and Kayla Hill are 21-year-old twins, living in Florida.
Given her penchant for reaching for the next rung of whatever career ladder she is climbing, one wonders what is next for Hill.
“I am pretty much doing everything there is to do here,” she said. Her dream job would be to be an event planner.
“I’m an organized person,” she said. “It’s the way my brain works.”
While she loves organizing the lavender festival, she sheepishly admits she doesn’t care for lavender.
“It gives me migraines,” shes said, “although some types are better than others.”