CJ Rivard’s mind raced faster than ever on the first day of summer. Fundraising. Event planning. Meetings. But then, amidst the laughter of children echoing across neighboring cottages, she took a moment to exhale.

In just her second month as Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association executive director, Ms. Rivard let herself enjoy the moment. Years ago she never knew the difference between Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket, let alone the Tabernacle from Trinity Church. But things happen for a reason, she believes. A simple advertisement in The Boston Globe validated this 23 years ago, when she was working at The Parker House in Boston but feeling burned out and looking for a change.

“I applied for a blind ad that said, ‘Rooms Director’ on either Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket,” she said. “I sent my resume in and I didn’t know the difference between the two islands.”

Ms. Rivard moved to Edgartown in April of 1993 when The Harbor View Hotel and Kelley House hired her as their rooms director. In less than a year she met her husband Jim and fell in love with the Island.

In 2001, Ms. Rivard accepted an offer to be the Colonial Inn’s general manager. She worked there for over a decade, and then set up her own marketing agency, working out of her home for five years.

“It took me a while to admit it but I really missed what I had been doing in the hotel industry,” Ms. Rivard said. Once again, an advertisement caught her eye. The Camp Meeting Association needed a new executive director.

“I saw the ad in the paper and I didn’t really look closely at it because I didn’t have a non-profit background,” she said. But then an online advertisement piqued her interest when it resonated with her hospitality background.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the MVCMA operates as a non-profit religious and cultural center for over 300 Oak Bluffs Camp Ground residents. The Camp Ground hosts a variety of events every year including the MVRHS graduation, musical groups, theatre groups and individual performers. Multiple committees work with the residents, promoting Tabernacle events to the Vineyard community.

“I see a critical part of my position as enhancing communication among and between all of these groups,” said Ms. Rivard. “That’s where my marketing and customer service background comes in.”

Ms. Rivard watched her daughter graduate at the Tabernacle years ago and feels a connection to the Camp Ground despite never living there. She describes the Camp Ground as an “oasis” away from the busy streets of Oak Bluffs.

“Anyone I was introducing the Vineyard to, I would have to tell them about the Camp Ground and send them over here to have a look, take photos and go visit the museum,” she said. “Having been in the tourism industry my whole career, it’s an important attraction.”

Ms. Rivard’s first summer already looks busy with the MVCMA’s inaugural Sunset Concert Series approaching on Friday, July 1. The series features local and off-Island musicians at the Tabernacle, continuing every Friday night throughout the summer. But these are just one of many series of events taking place this summer. But despite a jam-packed schedule, the executive director wants the Camp Ground community to see her as approachable.

“I want them to reach out to me and let me know what’s important to them,” she said.

On Tuesday, June 28, there will be welcoming ceremony for CJ Rivard from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Tabernacle, 80 Trinity Park, Oak Bluffs.