Jan. 4, 2009 — Stephen Hiss, the new development director at the Friends of V.I. National Park, can't believe his good luck.
"I feel very fortunate to find a job doing exactly what I've done for the past 15 years in this beautiful place," he says.
Hiss, 56, was working in Baltimore when he decided it was time to get out of the "mid-Atlantic uptightness." In August, he pulled up stakes and headed to the Virgin Islands with no job and no place to stay. He got a job cutting brush at Cinnamon Bay Campground, but soon spotted an advertisement for the Friends job.
The previous development director, Karen Brady, left just before the holidays to work for the Trust for Public Land in Jacksonville, Fla.
Hiss has been on the job for about a month, a time he says has really thrown him into the St. John mix. Since his job is all about raising money for the Friends, he's now working on plans for the Friends Jan. 31 gala at Presidio del Mar in Peter Bay.
He's found lots of help from the St. John businesses that are donating items for the gala's raffle.
"The Friends of the Park have been given the job of supporting the park, and people support us," Hiss says.
His route to the Friends job was circuitous. Born in Baltimore, he grew up in nearby Lochern in a traditional middle-class family with parents who have now been married 63 years.
He studied at the University of Maryland and the Maryland Institute College of Art before jumping into the fast-food business by buying the first Polock Johnny's franchise. The restaurant sold Polish sausage and hot dogs.
"It was a Baltimore tradition," he says.
Eventually Hiss owned three Polock Johnny's, but sold them. After "bouncing around" for awhile and working as a bartender, he headed to Marathon in the Florida Keys for a spell.
Back in Maryland, he worked the next 20 years in restaurant management at such places as the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum. After a stint in Jackson, Wyo., he got into the non-profit business back in Baltimore.
"When I came back, I wanted to do something different," he says.
Hiss opened up a Teen Challenge drug-rehabilitation program before working at the Helping Up Mission, an agency that assisted men. It is a major operation with a $4.8 million annual budget and 480 clients.
"I did development, fundraising and special events," he says.
Those skills on his resume are what helped land him the Friends job.
"Steve brings considerable fundraising experience and a lot of enthusiasm for the job," Friends President Joe Kessler says.
An inveterate traveler with lots of trips to the Caribbean — including St. John — in his frequent-flyer account, St. John was a natural when he wanted to make the break.
When he's not working, he's out there hiking, swimming and enjoying St. John life. While he marvels at the lifestyle changes — "I come to work in shorts and flip flops and got my hair cut on the beach" — living on St. John is much different than vacationing, he says.
"It's just like life," Hiss says.
He's not the least bit put off by the small selections of items in stores, but as a self-described foodie, he says he may have some of those soft-shell crabs famous in the Baltimore area shipped to St. John.
And he misses his kids, but says that Haley, 13, and Avery, 10, will visit this summer from Maryland.
"I'm looking forward to showing them where I live," he says.
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