BREMERTON — Despite the fact that he grew up on a dairy farm outside of Chehalis, barely 100 miles away, Jim Rothlin has absolutely no recollection of ever having been to Bremerton before two-plus years ago.

So when he drove up for his interview as a candidate for chief executive officer for the Port of Bremerton, he had no notion of what awaited him.

“When I got up here, and spent part of a day just walking around and observing, I just looked around and said, ‘Wow. This place has everything,’ ” he said. So when the offer came through, Rothlin jumped at a position and a region that he thought held only promise.

Just two-and-a-half years into a self-described 10-year plan, Rothlin can see real movement starting to happen for this region.

“After two years, we’re just now making real strides,” he said.

Rothlin has taken an unconventional path to the chair he now occupies. After his dairy-farm boyhood, he got a degree in finance and spent the next 15 years in that field. He was the CEO of Premiere Business Services, a business management consulting firm. A client sought out his help to prepare a business plan for a purchase he was interested in: the Regal Theatre in Chehalis. Instead, Rothlin offered to go in with his client to buy the theater as partners.

Following that venture, Rothlin landed a job as executive director of the Port of Chehalis in 2002 and served as the chair of the economic development committee of the Washington State Ports Association. He filled that role until 2014, when a friend mentioned the opening at the Port of Bremerton.

At the meeting confirming Rothlin’s appointment as CEO in Bremerton, Port Commissioner Axel Strakeljahn said Rothlin was the right pick because of his experience.

“To me it was obvious,” Strakeljahn said. “He has experience both in the public and private sectors. He knows how government agencies work and he has run his own business. He understands what private business needs and he knows what being part of a government agency is all about. It’s a really good mix.”

At first, it didn’t matter to Rothlin one way or the other.

“When you don’t actually need a job, it’s amazing how relaxed and honest you can be in a job interview,” he said with a smile.

But the Port commissioners liked what they saw, and he was intrigued by a new challenge. He began with the Port in 2014, and things are continuing to look up. The big focus is on development — in the thousand acres of land owned by the Port at Bremerton National Airport, and a program to attract employers with well-paying jobs.

Which is why the exposure from the Aviation Owners and Pilots Association this weekend with the Fly-In is so important.

“We want to let people know we’re here,” he said.