By Ned Steele
Jonathan Poyner celebrates his fifth anniversary as manager of world-famous Siesta Beach next month.
Q. Who runs this beautiful beach? Who do you work for?
Sarasota County operates Siesta Beach. As an employee of Sarasota County, I help manage the beach parks.
Q. Where are you from?
A. I am a native of Virginia Beach. Salt water is in me. I guess it’s a perfect match.
Q. Were you a “beach bum” as a young person?
A. I surfed and I sailed.
Q. It sounds like beaches have been a part of your life for a long time. What is special to you about a beach?
A. This job is like a calling to me. When we get near water, there’s a peace that comes over us. That’s not a surprise. If you think about it, water is part of our very makeup as humans. We are 60% water. The beach parks in Sarasota County are some of the best places. I feel honored to be part of the team that manages these wonderful resources for the citizens and visitors.
Q. What did you do in your early career before coming here?
A. I was a college recruiter and then a youth minister in Virginia and North Carolina. My wife was offered a teaching job in Bradenton in 2002, and we moved down here. After doing other jobs I started with the county parks and recreation department as an event and rec center organizer. Most of the job involved youth programs: Easter egg hunts, video game competitions, etc.
But there were events that got me onto the beach as well: the Sandy Claws run and summer beach runs for the kids.
Q. Let me guess. You liked that part of the work?
A. I would come to the beach to run events and dream of one day having the chance to take care of such valuable resources. I was so happy when that dream was finally realized, and my career lined up with my passion for serving others in coastal environment.
Q. That would be March 2020. A rather eventful time.
A. I started just as Covid hit. The beach was closed and barricaded by the police for six weeks. There was not a soul here. The land was able to breathe and restore. It was actually a great time to come into the job. Instead of hosting spring break we restored the access areas and did major, deep cleaning.
Q. What has been the highlight of your tenure so far?
A. In 2016 we undertook a $20 million renovation of the beach and facilities and turned it into what it is today.
Q. What would you say is your philosophy of operating a public beach?
A. I believe that a park is the product that we deliver, but people is what it’s really all about. Some of the people who come here are visitors from other places; some of them are people who come here every day of their lives and have their special spots on the beach. There are people from all over the world who have visited us and go back home where they look at our beach camera every day. They’re dreaming of the day they can come back here. And we will welcome them when they do.
Q. What does your typical day consist of?
A. Visitor service, administration, maintenance, preservation and resource management. But what I love most is to talk to the people who visit.
Q. How many people are on the beach staff?
A. We have fifty employees. Some of the work can get very rote: cleaning up the trash, keeping the bathrooms clean. As a worker, you must know there is purpose and value to what you do. Our staff are people who make a difference, and I like to remind them of the value they bring to the public. The beach attendant is more important than my job is. Joy is service to others. Our staff has joy. You need joy to do these jobs, and our people have it.
Q. How is the beach doing after the Fall hurricanes?
A. It is firing on all cylinders. This was the first county beach that was reactivated, it was a priority. It is clean, safe and accessible.
Q. It sounds like you love your job.
A. If you can align your joy and your passion with what you do in your career, what greater thing is there?
