Meet Hiawatha Nicely
Hiawatha Nicely joined the Board of Managers for the Development Company in 2018 and has been of great service to our mission. Hiawatha, or “Hi” as some call him, grew up in Alleghany County and went to Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. He is an active member of St. Mark’s UMC in Troutville, VA.
Hi worked for a chemical company before he went into real estate for the company, which was the single source of Iron Oxide for IBM.
He then continued on to start a bank, which in just a few years was acquired by another bank. Hi then worked for the larger bank and helped it grow.
Currently, Hiawatha has a consulting company where his oldest son works for him. His youngest son is now a lawyer and also works part-time for the consulting company.
Hiawatha says he is “partly retired.” He is on the Community College Board and the Kiwanis Board. He works at his church frequently where he is chairman of the Finance Committee. Additionally, he is a Shriner and in the Rotary Club.
Hiawatha said he was totally unaware of the mission of the Virginia United Methodist Foundation and Development Company before becoming a member of DevCo’s Board of Managers. He is impressed and inspired by the mission and is excited to now be part of it. Hiawatha is an active part of ministry as we strive to help churches attain more property, rehab aging buildings and build new facilities.