Mrs Hill was the festival manger in 2000 and 2001, although she has held a variety of positions associated with organising the event, starting in the late 1970s when she was working for Mt Cook Airlines which at that time owned Coronet Peak.
Later, she became assistant organiser and co-ordinator before taking on the manager's role in 2000.
During her years of involvement, she saw the festival moved from the Pro-Am skiing week in August to the current dates starting at the end of June.
"The festival kept getting moved back [to an earlier date] as it got busier and busier and the week filled up."
While she concedes the festival has changed, with more of an international profile now, she believed it still had a lot to offer locals.
"It had strong community roots when it started and I think it still has, like the Primary School which still makes apple crumble and lots of other community groups that make money from it and all the people who go to events."
Having the right formula for the programme was also essential, she said.
"You need to have something for everyone and I think they've done that."
It was important to have consistency in the programme and events people enjoy and look forward to each year.
Programme favourites such as the suitcase race at Coronet Peak and the Mardi Gras were essential elements of the festival programme, she said.
"Then you can add tailor-made elements each year to keep it topical."
