Carrie & Steve Butcher overlooking Coral Bay
Well it's official - Great Expectations has changed hands to longtime visitors Steve & Carrie Butcher. Steve & Carrie got married on Gibney Beach on St. John in 2002 while they and their wedding party stayed at Great Expectations. They returned for multiple stays at the villa including their 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 7th anniversaries, as well as a surprise 10th anniversary Steve planned for a year with 20 of their closest friends and family.
Steve has been the web developer/marketing consultant for our website for the past 10 years, and, most recently, he and Carrie were our last guests at Great Expectations just before Hurricane Irma hit. They actually were one of the last few off the island on Labor Day.
Steve Butcher loaded for hurricane relief
Steve spent the hours of until Irma hit prepping the webcam to record images and have an influx of visitors, then after the storm hit, with communications down and no one to help, he volunteered to load up with supplies and head to St. John to assess the situation and help with anything he could. He planned on a 4 night stay with MREs, tools, and work clothes, but got stuck for 17 days when Maria ramped up to a category 5 and hit the islands.
Since the storms, Steve has returned 4 times (twice with Carrie) to work with our maintenance crew, and help others on the island.
Chuck and I cannot think of two better people to pass Great Expectations on to. Actually, we probably would not have but for Steve's extraordinary help - and friendship - over the years. Our hearts will always be on St John and at Great Expectations. So many great memories and guests. We are confident that Steve and Carrie will take on this next chapter of Great Expectations and make your experiences even better!
As one of our first guests wrote in our Guest Book -- 'Great Expectations is heaven'! It was and is for us.
Kristin and Chuck