Mulo Alwani

If the concept of elder, a person who is revered and respected for their depth of insight gained from years of problem-solving in order to move their community forward, still exists, then it's the best way to describe Mulo Alwani.

Over the last nearly four decades, this ethnic Indian, devout Hindu and successful businessman has not only reached out to create strong bonds within the 600-member-strong Indian community, but also adopted St. Thomas as his home and led a number of community service projects to benefit all nationalities and religions both on the island and off.

Mulchand "Mulo" Alwani was born in Damascus, Syria, and joined his family's designer jewelry business after graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration from the American University of Beirut. Three years later he married wife, Sarla, in Bombay, and in 1971 the couple joined Alwani's brother, Mohan, to open jewelry shops in Montego Bay, Jamaica. An unstable political climate in Jamaica led the Alwanis to St. Thomas, where this duty-free port with its robust tourist trade proved a lucrative locale for Alwani's business, Artistic Jewelers.

Alwani, who had been a member of the Lions and Masonic Lodge in Beirut, continued his community activism in St. Thomas by joining a number of organizations. "When I was younger, I was known for being very tough. For example, I'd start a meeting and end it exactly at a certain time." He also deftly balanced being a competitor during the day with many of the same people he worked with as comrades on community projects after hours. In addition, though not always known to make the most popular decisions, Alwani became highly respected for making decisions that were fair to all.

Most of all, Alwani laughs, "I have always been very good at raising funds. This, I think, is why I'm always asked to help out."

Over the years, Alwani's long record of community service reads like a full-time job résumé. He's been past master of Harmonic Lodge #356 EC; a past district governor of Rotary International's District 7020; a board member of the Schneider Regional Medical Center; and a director of Partners for Health, the United Way, the St. Thomas-St. John Community Foundation and the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce. In 1995, the Chamber awarded Alwani its Community Service Award for an outstanding contribution to the Virgin Islands. He also served as president of the India Association of the Virgin Islands in the late 1980s and again to date since his retirement from the jewelry business in 2003.

Alwani lost his wife, whom he calls his "backbone and chief supporter," to cancer in 2010. Yet he shows no signs of slowing down. He's active in the lives of his daughter Papita, an interior designer, and son Vinod, a computer software engineer, as well as grandchildren Nikko and Ania. He's also not one to sit home. Meetings and community work still take up much of his time these days. In the end, it's the community that Alwani's benefited for so long, he says, "that keeps me going."