Three months into her new job, Kelly Rafko has added a new skill to her resume: juggling.
As manager of the New Village Center in Great Falls, Rafko is responsible for more than just making sure the lawn is mowed, the bills are paid and the tenants are happy.
"People ask me all the time, 'What do you do again?'" Rafko said. "In a sense, it's sort of like a homeowner's association for the businesses in the Village Center. It encompasses all aspects of property management, marketing, public relations, bookkeeping, plus I'm the liaison between the owners of the buildings and the tenants," she said.
Prior to her position at the Village Center, Rafko was a stay-at-home mom, raising her three sons, Stephen, 9, Jacob, 6, and Michael, 16 months, with husband Mike Rafko.
"I found out through Sharon Rainey's FYI Network that the job was available, and I love the community in Great Falls so much, I thought this was a good way to contribute," said Rafko, who has a degree in finance and had a previous job doing sales and marketing for a software company.
She and her family have lived in Great Falls for seven years since moving to the area from northern California.
"I'm still learning the job," she said. "There's still so many things I need to learn and so many things I want to do, like get a Web site started so people in the community have a place to see what's going on at the Village Center."
The freedom and complexities of the job have a great appeal to Rafko, who said she enjoys the challenges of having so many tasks to learn and handle on a daily basis.
"I can make it into what I want it to be," she said. "I have the freedom to be creative and bring in my own personality into the job."
IN ADDITION to running the business end of the Village Center, home to several restaurants, apparel stores, jewelry boutiques and specialty shops, Rafko is responsible for coordinating the annual Concerts on the Green series, which begins this year on Sunday, June 19, on the Village Green in Great Falls.
"The concerts are so much fun," she said. "It's all about family. People really gear up for the concerts. They can bring their own picnics or beverages. They can bring their children and not have to worry about them."
This year, the concerts feature "all different types of music, like jazz, pop and Celtic," Rafko said. "This is a great way to bring people together and catch up with the community. That's what Great Falls is all about; that's what drew us to Great Falls to begin with, all the community things that go on here."
New for this year's series, Rafko said she has designed a "Cure For the Summertime Blues" T-shirt to sell during the concerts, in addition to glow-in-the-dark necklaces.
THE CONCERTS ARE "one of several annual popular events we have that keep coming back because people in the community love them," she said. "I can't tell you the number of calls I've had about the concerts."
Returning for the concert series this year are the Oxymorons on June 19, the Difficult Run Jazz Band on June 26, the Cravin' Dogs on July 3, Cartoon Johnny on July 10, IONA on July 31, and Swing Speak will finish the season on August 7, she said.
A job with so many varied tasks is well suited for Rafko, said friend Colleen Orme.
"She's got an astute business mind coupled with great creativity," Orme said. "Kelly's a wonderful combination of being a really smart individual and having infectious enthusiasm, which is a great mix for that job."
When she's not working, Orme said Rafko is "really compassionate. She'll go to any lengths to help any individual, but for her friends, she'll exhaust herself."
Rafko has been involved in the cystic fibrosis brunch prior to the Great Strides walk for the past few years, Orme said. "She always wants to jump right in; she gets involved whenever she sees a need."
"I can see her lending a really nice ingredient to the whole community," said friend Beth Stvan. "Kelly has the ability to pull people together from across the community ... I know she really enjoys meeting the people associated with the job."
Additionally, Stvan said she was "really thrilled for Kelly and the whole community" when she learned of Rafko's position. "She's got such a big heart ... She's a great person to have here."