Age: 48

Title: Director

Organization: Dole Plantation Operation, Castle & Cooke Properties Inc.

High school: Kalani High School

College: Bachelor of science in fashion merchandising, University of Hawai'i-Manoa

Breakthrough job: Her role as operations manager for Dole Plantation gave Harada the opportunity to work with the community and schools to share the importance of pineapples and diversified agriculture in Hawai'i's history and growth.

Little-known fact: Harada was a flight attendant for United Airlines.

Major challenge: Trying to get things done in a timely fashion. "It takes us years to get the necessary approvals to expand Dole Plantation into a must-see visitor attraction promoting pineapple and diversified agriculture on O'ahu's North Shore," she said.

Q. Last summer, Dole Plantation announced a $6 million expansion that would include more retail space, a restaurant and possibly a diversified-agriculture processing plant. Where is Castle & Cooke on those plans?

A. We got the approval to expand, but we're just waiting for the building permit ... We really want to expand. Just the store itself gets so crowded. Imagine 3,000 people a day in that store. It gets really crazy.

Q. The store already serves fresh pineapple juice, pineapple chili hot dogs and Dole Whip. What will the restaurant portion of the expansion offer?

A. We want people to spend the day here, and right now our lunch menu is very limited ... We want to expand the menu so we can offer more things, like burgers and fresh salads, using North Shore produce. We really want to promote diversified ag on the North Shore.

Q. How can Dole Plantation help the farms along the North Shore?

A. We feel we can help them because so many people come to our facility — they can introduce to people what's grown on the North Shore. We can be the gateway.

Q. Right now, Dole Plantation features a 20-minute, fully narrated Pineapple Express train tour and a Plantation Garden tour, both of which showcase the area's diversified agriculture. What else do you have in mind to promote North Shore produce and products?

A. We're trying to start a farmers' market at Dole Plantation, get farmers to come and use our facility because we have all the people. They can sell their produce to all the visitors we get. That's part of marketing (for them) ... But it's difficult for these farmers. They're farmers; they don't know how to market their product. But the ones we've spoken with are very interested. They know what we're about, and they see the potential.

Q. What goals have you set for Dole Plantation since taking over operations in March?

A. I'd like to raise awareness among the visitors and kama'aina about the importance agriculture played in Hawai'i's history. Our attractions, like the Plantation Garden and the Pineapple Express train tour, are great educational and fun resources that are not just for tourists. With nearly 1 million visitors per year, we'd like Dole Plantation to become Hawai'i's showcase for North Shore diversified agricultural products and to share this with visitors from around the world. What used to be just sugar and pineapple is much more diversified now.

Q. You started here as a buyer in 1988. How has Dole Plantation changed, or evolved, in the past 16 years?

A. Prior to when Dole Plantation opened in 1989, it was just an A-frame shack. It was just that one store with logo merchandise and souvenirs ... It was a bathroom stop for tour buses. At the time, 75 percent of our business was from tour buses, the rest were rental cars. Since then it's been almost a reverse. Now about 60 percent of our business comes from FITs (free and independent travelers).

Q. Why the change?

A. In 1998, we opened the world's largest maze and we were able to get the Guinness book of world records to recognize it ... I think that brought people back out here. You can't just (do the maze) during a 20-minute stop. People started to drive out here to do the maze.

Q. Did the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and subsequent threats affect business at Dole Plantation?

A. Yes, it was pretty dramatic. We ended up having to shorten our operating hours and reducing staff. It was really scary. But six months later (business) was already starting to come back.

Q. Were you also hurt by the decline in Japanese visitors?

A. Not really. Our facility is really for both Japanese visitors and those from the U.S. Mainland. The (tourism) industry really suffered when the Japanese bubble broke, but we didn't suffer that much because we never focused solely on that market. Right now, almost 70 percent (of our business) is from the U.S. Mainland.

Q. It seems the tourism industry in Hawai'i this summer has rebounded from the negative impact of terrorist threats, SARS and the war in Iraq. Hotel occupancy rates are at their highest, and those in the industry are reporting this as their best summer ever. Is that the same for Dole Plantation?