Joey Graves- La Crosse Pettibone Boat Club Inc.

Who is your personal hero?
My Dad, he gave me the mindset that you can accomplish anything with hard work and determination.

Do you have a life philosophy that you live by?
“Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard”, and “Tomorrow is not a given”.

What do you like most about yourself?
Having the following views towards life: “Be happy go lucky”, and “I can do anything I set my mind to”.

If you could change the world, what would you change?
To start I’d get rid of the I’m right and you’re wrong mentality that so much of the worlds population has concerning controversial issues (Politics, Religion, Race, Gender, etc.). I believe that every person should have the right to believe and do what they want with their lives as long as it isn’t harmful to others. Why should anyone have to change their views or the way they live their life if it isn’t hurting another person?

What do you think is the meaning of life?
Try to leave the world a better place than when you got here, and there’s beauty in everything, so be happy!

Do you prefer working alone, or do you like working with others?
Depends on what I’m working on. If it’s something that I really need to focus on then I prefer working alone. If I don’t need to focus or think that closely about than I prefer working with others.

What’s something that no one would guess about you?
That’s a hard one, I’m an open book.

What is your deepest belief about life?
Happiness is a choice and tomorrow is not a given.

If you could wake up anywhere tomorrow, where would it be?
On a white sand beach, next to the ocean in 85 degree weather, or a little mountain ski town so I could hit the slopes. I’d be skiing in the mountains with a couple feet of fresh powder, with my best friends.

What’s the one thing you wish you could have a do-over for?
College – I’d change what my goals and priorities were during that time in my life.

How do you work on yourself?
Reading a self improvement book, doing physical activity, and sunshine.

What’s one thing you’ve had to overcome in your life?
Depression

How do you handle being in a bad mood?
Once I realize I’m not in a good spot, I try to figure out what’s causing that. Most of the time it’s food or sleep-related.

What did you learn about yourself from any of your previous relationships?
You can’t stay in a relationship because that’s what the other person needs.

What is your favorite music, or all time favorite song?
Oh boy… I’m always changing up what I’m listening to. I’m a fan of all types of music except heavy metal, and rap. The two most common genre’s are country or classic rock. Favorite song of all time is “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” by Alan Jackson

What is another name you would give the Driftless?
I don’t have a great idea for this one. But maybe something to do with “Entirety” or “Everything”. My favorite thing about the driftless area is that it has some of everything here, bluffs, rivers, lakes, hiking, industry, culture, careers, etc. You can literally do whatever you want to in the driftless.

What is your favorite season in the Driftless & why?
Probably spring or fall. You get to experience all the colors and it’s comfortable outside. I do love summer and winter too though. So I like all of them, other than the few days of extreme heat in the summer and extreme cold in the winter.

Tell us of an experience /memory you had with Driftless lakes, rivers or waterways?
Growing up my family camped on the river most weekends. One of my favorite memories growing up is sitting on the beach, waterskiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, and tubing on the river all day long. Then cooking marshmallows around the campfire and playing games at night.

What is your best childhood memory?
Being a part of River Rats Militia Wakeboard Club (no longer est.) and having the opportunity to learn how to wakeboard with an amazing group of people.

What are some of your favorite places to go for fun here in the Driftless?
The River, State and County Parks, Mt. La Crosse, and Hixon forest.

What are some of your favorite places to eat here in the Driftless?
Pettibone, Robins Nest, Schmitty’s Time Out Tavern, Sports Hub and Lawrence Lake

If you were to tell a friend to come and visit the Driftless Area, and they ask “Why” … What would you tell them?
We’ve got everything

Are you a Cat or Dog person?
Dog

Are you an Early Bird or Late Owl?
Neither, I’ll stick with Monkey

If given the opportunity, would you go to outerspace (moon, mars, space stations)?
Yes

What color socks are you currently wearing?
Grey

What skill or instrument would you like to learn or play?
Guitar

What 1 message would you put in a bottle?
Happiness is a choice

What was your very first job?
Mowing lawns or hauling brush

If any, what would be your dream job?
Professional Skier

Where did you meet your best friend?
College

What does your dream vacation look like?
Downhill skiing, hiking, wakeboarding, camping,

If you could learn another language, what would that be?
Chinese

I Would Rather …
Live on a small boat

So, what’s your story?
I was born here in the Driftless area. More specifically Winona, MN and moved to La Crescent, MN when I was 5 and lived there until I was 18. I went to college in Eau Claire, WI moved to Colorado Springs, CO for two years after college. Then back to Milwaukee, WI for 2 more years then right back to the Driftless. I believe I’ve been back in the Driftless area for 3 years now.

Tell us about what you do for work or your business, and how long have you been doing this?
I am the Operations Manager at La Crosse Pettibone Boat Club Inc. My position involves a little bit of everything which is awesome for me because there’s so much variety in what I do. Pettibone is a small operation and there is only one other full time employee. Some days I’m out working on the docks or grounds all day, other days I’m sitting behind a computer all day. Most days there’s some combination of hands on and computer work.

Tell us about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career with your business.
This year, Pettibone implemented a new operating system to update our business procedure’s. I was in charge of researching different platforms, deciding which one to go with and implementing the whole thing. This was a big project for me because I’ve worked with similar systems in the past but implementing the whole thing by myself was a bit of a headache.

Tell us about a recent project or problem that you made more efficient.
I’ll reference the new operating system again here. This system has already saved Pettibone a significant amount of time and money and hasn’t even been up and running for a full year. Prior to the operating system, everything was disorganized and we had multiple operating systems for different facets of the business that did not communicate with each other. I am also the first Operations Manager at Pettibone. Before this most of our business operations were run through our accounting firm, which worked, but we had a crazy high accounting bill every month. While there may be some new issues that we are working through, it has already been a huge benefit to our business.

Tell us about one person that you’ve met, that stands apart from the rest, or has influenced you while here in the Driftless.
I handle the day to day operations at Pettibone, however it is run by a volunteer Board of Directors that is elected from the membership. I cannot thank all of them enough for the support they have given me. But one board member named Jason Oefstedahl has impressed me the most. Jason is a businessman in the Driftless area who has helped me in my position so much. Even though he’s got a ton of other stuff going on he still finds time to help me go through the financials, business operations and developed a long term plan for the club to be financially sustainable.

What do you wish other people knew about you or your business?
Pettibone, has been run the same way for a very long time and is going through some growing pains at the moment to make the business financially sustainable. While we want to keep most things the same, but there are some changes that need to be made if we want to be around in 50 years.

By Joey Graves