Emerald Coast Magazine June/July 2021

BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST READERS’ POLL; DETAILS INSIDE

COREY COOPER

BOTE founder builds boards laden with soul

IRVIN CLARK

BMOC works to transform life at FSU PC

STEVE’S BEES

Tiny fliers keep retired airman buzzing

BREATHTAKING FREEDIVERS EXPLORE DEPTHS O F T H E G U L F T W O LU N G F U L S AT A T I M E

ARCHITECT: GEOFF CHICK & ASSOCIATES | PHOTOGR APHY: JACK GARDNER

Your Dream Home Is Our Passssiion

THE PRIDE OF A MASTER CR AFTSMAN When old-world craft meets new-world technology, an unprecedented level of quality is birthed. At E. F. San Juan, the quality and long-term function of our woodwork are the keys to creating elements that will transform a house into your dream home.

EFSANJUAN.COM

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

December 2020–January 2021 2020

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V O T E

SANDESTIN GOLF AND BEACH RESORT BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST

Within the 2,400 acres of the resort, you will not only find the best tennis facility on the Emerald Coast, but also - four championship golf courses, year-round signature events, world-class shopping, dining and so much more. We appreciate your vote for 2021 Best of the Emerald Coast!

SANDESTIN.COM | 866.628.0371 We hope we can have your vote for 2021 Best of the Emerald Coast

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B E S T R E S O RT | B E S T G O L F C O U R S E | B E S T T E N N I S FAC I L I T Y | B E S T E V E N T V E N U E B E S T VA C AT I O N R E N TA L C O M PA N Y | B E S T P R O P E R T Y M A N A G E M E N T G R O U P June-July 2021

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

Vote Hotel Effie - Best of the Emerald Coast Featuring 250 well-appointed rooms and suites, an upscale spa featuring OSEA skin and body care, celebrity chef dining conceptualized by Hugh Acheson and craft cocktails by the ultimate mixologist, Kellie Thorn. Not to mention, the only hotel rooftop pool and lounge on the Emerald Coast and more! Hotel Effie is the area's newest luxury hotel and is unlike any other in Northwest Florida. We appreciate your vote for Best of the Emerald Coast.

hoteleffie.com | 833 873 3343 We would love your vote for 2021 Best of the Emerald Coast B E S T H O T E L | B E S T W E D D I N G / R E C E P T I O N V E N U E | B E S T R E S TA U R A N T I N W A LT O N C O U N T Y ( O V I D E ) | B E S T N E W R E S TA U R A N T ( O V I D E ) EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

June-July 2021

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CRITTERS NEW TO TOWN

Aristotle is credited by some scholars with having coined the phrase, “nature abhors a vacuum,” a postulate which suggests that if an ecological niche stands open, an opportunistic species will come along to fill it. Or, in the case of invasive species, newcomers may force their way into an already occupied ecological corner. Owing to climate change and other factors, species are on the move. Bucking the trend among human snowbirds, some, like the black-bellied whistling duck, are expanding their ranges northward in response to a series of relatively warm winters.

Others are naturally pioneering. And some have been operating beneath our noses in murky places, perhaps for eons, before finally being discovered.

by STEVE BORNHOFT and HANNAH BURKE

JUN/JUL 2021

FEATURES

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INTO THE DEPTHS

Free diving is among the fastest-growing watersports in our area. Its adherents say that it allows them to immerse more seamlessly and completely into marine environments, for mere minutes at a time.

Most free divers are spearfishers who sneak up on their targets much more easily than bubble-spewing scuba divers. The most accomplished among them harvest fish from area waters, including amberjacks and yellowfin tuna that often exceed 100 pounds in weight. The key to it all, says free diving trainer Joe D’Agostino, is relearning how to breathe. At birth, all of us breathe from the diaphragm, but as life become less relaxed, we tend to gulp air from the chest.

So, as odd as it may sound, free divers go deep by doing what comes naturally.

by STEVE BORNHOFT

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PHOTO BY ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS: THROUGH-MY-LENS

30A SEA-LIFE DISCOVERY CENTER

At the 30A Sea-life Discovery Center in South Walton, Joe Moore, his wife Sheryl and their daughters Lexi and Zea work to ensure that visitors to the Emerald Coast don’t depart the area without discovering the gifts of the sea.

With hands-on classes and field trips, including kayak excursions to a rare Walton County dune lake and an outing at Bay County’s Shell Island, the Moores emphasize the specialness of the region’s natural environment from the waters of the Gulf to piney woods, from sea turtles to gopher tortoises. David Demarest, the communication director at Visit South Walton, credits the Moores with fostering lasting connections between tourists and the northern Gulf Coast. Once you’ve handled a horseshoe crab or a pair of shark jaws, you’re not likely to forget the experience.

by THOMAS J. MONIGAN

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

June-July 2021

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Contents

JUN/JUL 2021

33 91 21 PERSONALITY

Following an Air Force career, Steve Baldock wasn’t ready to retire. He’s still dealing with fliers.

He removes bee hives from unwanted locations and moves buzzing hordes to his apiary.

30 EDUCATION Associate

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49 DINING OUT In its 35

years in business, Bud & Alley’s has grown with the surrounding community of Seaside.

The restaurant is newly expanded but continues to serve perennial favorite dishes and sides.

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CHAMPION Amy Baty-Herbert finds that children’s art reflects the pandemic’s impacts.

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

52 LIBATIONS Three siblings founded Kelley’s Beach Liquors in Panama City Beach in 2000 and have since opened three more stores. The stores’ inventories include the latest craft beers and the products of area distilleries.

inexhaustible supply of mojo and playlists that are well-suited to events surrounding life’s important moments.

16 122 126 130

PUBLISHER EDITOR'S LETTER SOCIAL STUDIES DINING GUIDE POSTSCRIPT

62 BOOKS With a

new book whose photography makes it coffee-table worthy, author Robert Reynolds details the history of communities along Scenic Highway 30A and the impacts of developers.

EXPRESSION

57 MUSIC Mr. Big & the Rhythm Sisters are equipped with an

‘BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST’ READERS POLL; DETAILS INSIDE

COREY COOPER BOTE founder builds boards laden with soul

» CRITTERS NEW TO TOWN » OUTDOOR KITCHENS

Corey Cooper favors an understated wardrobe but harbors grand ambitions. He intends to make the business he founded, BOTE, the leading watersports brand in the world.

GASTRO & GUSTO

14 FROM THE ASSOCIATE

CUSTOM SWIMWEAR

33 CITIZEN OF STYLE

retailers are prepared to outfit all for summer because, hey, you want to look good atop your new electric bicycle or skateboard.

IN EVERY ISSUE

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JUN–JUL 2021

PANACHE

44 WHAT’S IN STORE Area

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EMERALD COAST MAGAZINE

dean Irvin Clark is helping to oversee dramatic change at Florida State University Panama City. The opening of dorms in August will change the dynamics of campus life.

Taylor Beauchamp is a swimwear designer and seamstress who delights in providing women with the perfect fit. Her oneperson shop is always humming.

get thirsty as the dog days of summer approach, but there is a right way to go about quenching things.

Lawns benefit from a thorough soaking versus continuous sprinklings.

IRVIN CLARK

BMOC works to transform life at FSU PC

STEVE’S BEES

Tiny fliers keep retired airman buzzing

BREATHTAKING FREEDIVERS EXPLORE DEPTHS O F T H E G U L F T W O LU N G F U L S AT A T I M E

ABODES

91 EXTERIORS Outdoor

kitchens serve to increase the resale of homes and function as an extra room and entertainment space.

102 INTERIORS Today’s

wallpapers have little in common with the floral patterns peeling off the bathroom walls at Grandmother’s house.

ON THE COVER:

When Mike Pooler, the owner of Benthic Ocean Sports in Destin, takes a dip in the Gulf, he goes deep. Pooler’s shop is dedicated exclusively to free diving, a sport that is rapidly becoming popular along the Emerald Coast, especially among spearfishermen.

Unencumbered by bubblespewing tanks and regulators, they can stealthily approach fish as they were just another species with gills. PHOTO BY SEAN MURPHY

PHOTOS BY SEAN MURPHY (33), JACK GARDNER PHOTOGRAPHY (91), JOHN HARRINGTON (21) AND COURTESY OF OKALOOSAARTS.ORG (26)

38 FASHION Daylin

THE WAVE

106 GREEN SCENE Plants

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

December 2020–January 2021 2020

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Contents

PROMOTION

JUN/JUL 2021

SPECIAL SECTIONS AND PROMOTIONS

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← BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST BALLOT

Simply the best! Support the businesses and service providers that you most admire and rely upon by voting for them in our annual readers’ choice poll.

↑ NESTLED IN NATURE NatureWalk at Watersound Origins is a gated community that offers plentiful

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amenities and custom homes that blend seamlessly with the surrounding environment. The neighborhood has entered its second phase of construction.

→ WALKING ON SUNSHINE

VOLUME BOOST 30A Plastic Surgery talks about fat grafting, a restorative procedure that adds volume resulting in more youthful and vibrant skin.

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↑ HEART FOR ART Mattie

Kelly Arts Foundation’s new CEO, Demetrius Fuller, has high hopes and big aspirations for the future of the arts in the Emerald Coast region.

A SACRED PARTNERSHIP For any fundraising foundation, annual reports are a critically important

communication piece. At the Sacred Heart Foundation in Pensacola, president Carol Carlan entrusted Rowland Publishing with creating a well-designed piece that effectively recognized donors and reported progress.

NEXT ISSUE 10

June-July 2021

organization and order to what’s behind that door. Closet Solutions specializes in making efficient and effective use of storage rooms.

DEAL ESTATE

An impressive home overlooking a coastal dune lake in South Walton, sold for a staggering $9.8 million after just 46 days on the market.

With five locations along the Emerald Coast, Sunset Shoes invites you to visit their new store at Grand Boulevard.

Fair warning: You may have a hard time buying just one new pair of kicks.

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CLOSET CARE Bring

SACRED HEART FOUNDATION “Stories from

the Heart” describes people who have been helped by the Sacred Heart Foundation and the expertise and dedication of the caring men and women who make up the Sacred Heart Health System.

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CALENDAR Beneath the summer sun, outdoor activities including art festivals, wine festivals, fishing tournaments, concerts, air shows and more abound.

Our Professional Profiles special section highlights outstanding service providers.

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATUREWALK (96), SUNSET SHOES (42), MATTIE KELLY ARTS FOUNDATION (60) AND CLOSET SOLUTIONS (100)

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Studio for Housing Design, LLC Pucciano & Associates, PC 3084 Mercer University Drive, Suite 110, Atlanta, Georgia 30341 (470) 395-8402 • Studio4hd.com

Architecture • Planning Inspiration • Collaboration • Successful Design

FULL SERVICE SALON AND SPA colors • cuts • skin care special occasion makeup • wedding specialists 12115 Panama City Beach Pkwy, Panama City Beach, FL 32407 | (850) 588-7771 | projectstylesalon.com

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

June-July 2021

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EMERALD COAST MAGAZINE

VOL. 22, NO. 3

JUNE-JULY 2021

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BRIAN E. ROWLAND ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER MCKENZIE BURLEIGH

EDITORIAL

WE ARE NORTH FLORIDA’S ONLY EXCLUSIVE SINGLE AGENCY BROKERAGE AND CONSULTING FIRM SINGLE AGENTS

TRANSACTIONAL AGENTS

CONFIDENTIALITY

NO

OBEDIENCE

NO

LOYALTY

NO

FULL DISCLOSURE

NO

Held to a Higher Standard by Florida Statute for your Real Estate advantage

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Steve Bornhoft CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Hannah Burke, Irvin Clark, Ed.D., Les Harrison, Thomas J. Monigan, Rebecca Padgett, Wynn Parks, Liesel Schmidt

CREATIVE VICE PRESIDENT / PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY Daniel Vitter CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jennifer Ekrut ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Lindsey Masterson SENIOR PUBLICATION DESIGNERS Sarah Burger, Shruti Shah PUBLICATION DESIGNER Jordan Harrison GRAPHIC DESIGNER Sierra Thomas CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Michael Booini, Mike Fender, Jack Gardner Photography, Pierson Hill, Jacqueline Ward Images, John Harrington, Jonah Allen, Land Air Sea Productions, Sean Murphy, Saige Roberts, Tim Skipper Photography, Melissa Wilson Photography

SALES, MARKETING AND EVENTS SALES MANAGER, WESTERN DIVISION Rhonda Lynn Murray SALES MANAGER, EASTERN DIVISION Lori Magee Yeaton DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, WESTERN DIVISION Dan Parker DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, EASTERN DIVISION Daniel Parisi ADVERTISING SERVICES SPECIALIST Tracy Mulligan ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES David Doll, Julie Dorr, Darla Harrison SALES AND MARKETING WRITER Rebecca Padgett SENIOR INTEGRATED MARKETING COORDINATOR Javis Ogden ADMINISTRATIVE & CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST Renee Johnson

OPERATIONS

CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER Sara Goldfarb CUSTOM PUBLISHING EDITOR Jeff Price PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION SPECIALIST Melinda Lanigan ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT Amber Dennard

DIGITAL SERVICES

DIGITAL EDITOR Janecia Britt

EMERALD COAST MAGAZINE emeraldcoastmagazine.com facebook.com/emeraldcoast twitter.com/emeraldcoastmag instagram.com/emeraldcoastmag pinterest.com/emeraldcoastmag youtube.com/user/emeraldcoastmag ROWLAND PUBLISHING rowlandpublishing.com

EDITORIAL OFFICE 1932 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. (850) 878-0554

CHAD KITTRELL (850) 570-0604 | ck@agency4re.com Equal Housing Opportunity, Agency 4 Real Estate and Consulting, LLC

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June-July 2021

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SUBSCRIPTIONS One year (6 issues) is $30. Call (850) 878-0554 or go online to emeraldcoastmagazine.com.

Single copies are $3.95. Purchase at Barnes and Noble in Destin and Pensacola and Books-A-Million in Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Panama City and Pensacola.

Availability may change subject to COVID-19 restrictions.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUBMISSIONS Emerald Coast Magazine and Rowland Publishing, Inc. are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. Editorial contributions are welcomed and encouraged but will not be returned. Emerald Coast Magazine reserves the right to publish any letters to the editor.

Copyright June 2021 Emerald Coast Magazine Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

DESTIN

FORT WALTON BEACH

GRAYTON BEACH

383 HARBOR BLVD DESTIN, FL 32541 850.460.2250

158 MIRACLE STRIP PKWY SE FORT WALTON BEACH, FL 32548 850.203.0400

32 E COUNTY HIGHWAY 30A SANTA ROSA BEACH, FL 32459 850.344.9286

BOTEBOARD.COM EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

December 2020–January 2021 2020

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from the

associate publisher

A PANOPLY OF CHANGE

The time is especially right for encouraging words

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June-July 2021

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

Let’s encourage businesspeople by voting for them, patronizing them and making it a point to tell them what they mean to us. Having had to get along without them for weeks or months, we know that we would never want to repeat that experience. It is true many times that we don’t know what we’ve got ’til it’s gone.

Every day, remind the people closest to you that you love them. Stay grateful, and embrace a spirit of personal growth and evolution. It is up to us to ensure that the change we have experienced lately is for the better.

Love you, PHOTO BY SEAN MURPHY

The past year has been a transformational one, and while the big, hairy change agent has been a calamitous global health crisis, we have evolved in positive ways, inside and out.

Many people, myself included, have learned to embrace their natural hair color. With hair salons forced to close by pandemic protocols, I had no choice but to forsake blondness, and with time, I have come to appreciate my more authentic look.

The aging process is ultimately a hard thing to deny — not that I didn’t try! Even though I knew my hair was getting darker as I was getting older, I still identified as a blonde. But, of late, the truth has become known. I am a brunette and am having fun exploring this new look.

All of this may seem superficial, but beyond the surface, I had to be OK with me — especially through long months that involved a lot of isolation and reflection. I have worked on learning to derive some type of benefit from all experiences, good and bad. And I have become hyper-focused on what matters most to me: the people in my life and in the communities where I live and work.

Our neighbors, often the only people we saw for extended periods, have become like family. Restaurateurs, health care workers, essential workers of all kinds from truckers to teachers, and local businesses have gone above and beyond to take care of their staffs, their customers, acquaintances and each other.

Based on our shared experiences with hurricanes, the Great Recession and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, I knew the communities of the Emerald Coast to be resilient.

The pandemic presented us with new challenges, but the commitment of people to each other and the gratitude of people for each other remained strong and true.

This year, the Best of the Emerald Coasts readers’ choice poll is especially poignant. I have seen businesses struggle to keep their doors open while thinking bigger than ever before and redoubling their commitments to being the best at what they do.

Please turn to page 86 to learn how you can participate in the 2021 poll. It feels good to support with your votes the businesses that enrich our lives and provide us with the goods and services we rely on.

I am grateful for the baristas and bartenders who deliver service with a smile; the shop owners who reliably have the perfect gift for my loved ones; the medical personnel who are always there when we need them; the service providers who keep our cars running, keep our houses cool and dash from door to door; and the band members who brighten my spirits every time I hear them play at my favorite nightspot. I applaud all of the businesses in our community; each has a survival story.

MCKENZIE BURLEIGH ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER mburleigh@rowlandpublishing.com

MODEL GRAND OPENING

OUTSIDE LIVING. OUTSIDE OF ORDINARY. A new home designed around you, with a backyard ready for parties and fun.

A gated community that is a short bike ride or drive to everything you love about 30A and the Emerald Coast. And all of this starting from the low $400s? NatureWalk by is outside of ordinary, and now open for you to explore.

Tour 5 designer-decorated models in-person or online New Homes from the low $400s to $800s NatureWalkWatersound.com

© 2020. Prices, homesites, amenities, home designs, square footage and other information subject to errors, changes, omissions, deletions, availability, prior sales and withdrawal at any time without notice. Square footage numbers are approximate and may vary depending on the standard measurement used. Photos and/or drawings of homes may show upgraded landscaping and may not represent the lowest priced homes in the community. All renderings and floorplans in these materials are an artist’s conceptual drawings and will vary from the actual plans and homes as built. CGC1509406

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

December 2020–January 2021 2020

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editor’s letter

ROOM TO THRIVE

People and creatures are engaged in a space race

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EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

People, too, are on the move.

Tourism subsided not for long in Florida, given Gov. Ron DeSantis’ approach to COVID-19. Emerald Coast beaches were closed for but a short while, certainly not long enough for leatherbacks to nest in peace.

The tourist mix may have changed such that it has been dominated more so by rubber-tire travelers, but the numbers have been strong, and when Spring Break arrived, roadways were stuffed. A drive along U.S. 98 from Panama City to Destin came to require patience, resolve, a sense of humor, survival instincts, an appetite for slowmoving adventure and 30 more minutes than you thought it was going to take.

In a few words, developer Peter Bos advises folks to get used to it. Bos, whose projects included the making of Sandestin in the late 1970s, concedes that traffic jams will be unavoidable given our area’s popularity and barriers to roadbuilding, including geography, military installations and other public lands.

Increasingly, he predicts, properties in the accommodations business will struggle unless they offer activities and amenities such that guests can substantially avoid the need to get back in their cars after they arrive.

Accordingly, Bos, 74, has on the drawing boards a new project that will be as complete and diverse and entertaining as, say, Sandestin.

In broad hints given me during a conversation in March, he said that the new development will present a “new residential environment and tourist attraction.”

He anticipates that properties along the coast will be consolidated to bring about more developments of the type he has in mind.

“I won’t be around for all of them, but they’re coming,” he said.

Keeping to an amusing enclave is one way to beat the traffic. Taking to the water is another. Bos, who has a knack for such things, is in the marina and boat storage business at the right time.

To his dry storage facility in Destin, he is adding four more — in Gulf Shores, Alabama; Stuart, Florida; and two in the Bahamas.

The pandemic has led to a greater appreciation among people for private spaces that they can control. And, when trapped aboard boats, people resort to behaviors often neglected — like conversation.

The black-bellied whistling duck is new to our area. Its historic range includes Mexico and the Caribbean.

Not much hunted, it has not learned to fear humans and so it frequents parks and backyard ponds.

Here’s hoping that such coexistence can survive no matter what’s next.

Creatures make good neighbors.

Peace,

STEVE BORNHOFT EXECUTIVE EDITOR sbornhoft@rowlandpublishing.com

PHOTO BY SAIGE ROBERTS

For bluebirds, Hurricane Michael was a windfall.

The species, which attracts attention and inspires affection like few other songbirds, has been seen in the storm’s impact area much more frequently than had been the case in a pre-Michael era.

The reason, said Pam Overmyer, a regional coordinator with the Florida Bluebird Society and a co-president of the Bay County Audubon Society, is that bluebirds, resplendent in plumage electric and rust, favor open spaces to a dense wood. The storm thinned out trees in magnificent and terrible fashion, and so it is that bluebirds have moved into places, including Panama City’s Cove neighborhood, once dominated by live oaks dressed in moss.

Flora and fauna are impressively quick to take advantage of habitat changes that create environmental opportunities.

The New York Times, in a March 28 story headlined “Tourism’s Crash Helped the Planet and Harmed It, Too,” detailed how nature responded when the pandemic sent people home.

Around the world, sea turtles flocked to beaches typically trampled by sunbathers. Given the cessation of cruise line activity, whales off Alaska could better hear themselves speak and, I will suppose, think. Thailand’s version of a manatee, dugongs, showed up in eastern Bangkok. Kashmiri goats took to the streets of a coastal town in Wales.

In today’s edition of Emerald Coast Magazine, writer Hannah Burke and I profile species that are expanding their ranges to include our area, owing to factors that surely include climatic change. Area anglers will welcome a snook coming into view at the end of their lines, but folks spying a nutria in the lagoon outside their picture window will be alarmed by a “rat like I’ve never seen before.”

Paradise has arrived ON THE EMERALD COAST

LIVE THE LIFE YOU’VE DREAMED AT LATITUDE MARGARITAVILLE WATERSOUND! Sunshine and cool breezes. Palm trees and margaritas. Welcome to Latitude Margaritaville, a 55-and-better community inspired by the legendary music and lifestyle of Jimmy Buffett, built on food, fun, music and escapism.

Escape to the place where fun and relaxation meet. Escape to island-inspired living as you grow older, but not up.

Escape to Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, located on the Emerald Coast on Florida’s Panhandle.

New Homes from the $200s

Call To Schedule Your Appointment With A New Home Sales Professional Today!

Latitude Margaritaville Watersound (866) 220-1954

Sales Center Now Open | 13 Model Homes Open Daily 9201 Highway 79, Panama City Beach, FL 32413 Mon. - Sat. 9:00am - 5:00pm | Sun. 11:00am - 5:00pm

Visit online for more information LatitudeMargaritaville.com

Obtain the Property Report required by Federal law and read it before signing anything. No Federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. WARNING: THE CALIFORNIA BUREAU OF REAL ESTATE HAS NOT INSPECTED, EXAMINED, OR QUALIFIED THE OFFERINGS. Latitude Margaritaville Kentucky Registration Number R-201. For NY Residents: THE COMPLETE OFFERING TERMS FOR THE SALE OF LOTS ARE IN THE CPS-12 APPLICATION AVAILABLE FROM SPONSOR, LMWS, LLC. FILE NO. CP20-0062. Pennsylvania Registration Number OL001182. Latitude Margaritaville Watersound is registered with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salesmen, 1000 Washington Street, Suite 710, Boston, MA 02118 and with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20552. This material shall not constitute a valid offer in any state where prior registration is required and has not been completed. The facilities and amenities described are proposed but not yet constructed. Photographs are for illustrative purposes only and are merely representative of current development plans. Development plans, amenities, facilities, dimensions, specifications, prices and features depicted by artists renderings or otherwise described herein are approximate and subject to change without notice. ©Minto Communities, LLC 2021. All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced, copied, altered, distributed, stored, or transferred in any form or by any means without express written permission. Latitude Margaritaville and the Latitude Margaritaville logo are trademarks of Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC and are used under license.

Minto and the Minto logo are trademarks of Minto Communities, LLC and/or its affiliates. St. Joe and the St. Joe logo are trademarks of The St. Joe Company and are used under license. CGC 1519880/CGC 120919. 2021

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December 2020–January 2021 2020

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PROMOTION

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2021 Best of the Emerald Coast Ballot

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE

Nicole Paloma Returns to the Emerald Coast The self-taught seamstress has long supplied racks at Santa Rosa Beach boutiques with her unique and coastal-chic, bridal and streetwear collections. Learn more by visiting EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/ nicole-paloma-returns-to-the-emerald-coast.

Voting for Best of the Emerald Coast 2021 has officially begun! You can vote by turning to page 86 and using the ballot provided in the magazine, or visit EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/ Best-of-Emerald-Coast2021Ballot to vote online.

Ballots must be postmarked

by June 20 to be counted.

Q&A WITH DR. DAVID CHANDLER Meet the expert at 30A Plastic Surgery. Dr. Chandler is a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in all aspects of aesthetic and cosmetic surgery. Learn more about Dr. Chandler and 30A Plastic Surgery by visiting EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/beauty-links.

CONNECT WITH US @EMERALDCOASTMAG What local businesses on the Emerald Coast will you be visiting this summer? Tag us on Instagram @emeraldcoastmag for a chance to be featured.

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@emeraldcoastmag Emerald Coast Magazine @EmeraldCoastMag

Get the latest stories from Emerald Coast Magazine, exclusive offers, event invitations and more delivered to your inbox by signing up at EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/ Connect-with-Us.

PHOTOS BY TIM SKIPPER PHOTOGRAPHY / RPI FILE PHOTO AND ISTOCKPHOTO.COM / WUNDERVISUALS (BEAUTY LINK) INSTAGRAM: MICHAEL BOOINI (STINKY’S FISH CAMP AND THE YARD) AND RICHARD ERNEST YAP / GETTYIMAGES

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BEST

forever YOU WILL

always

BE MY

Voted the “Best Place to Pop the Question” by Destin Magazine, Vue on 30a is home to dramatic sunsets with its panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico through expansive floor-to-ceiling windows.

From its sleek, contemporary look to its inviting atmosphere, Vue on 30a offers something for everyone and can accommodate intimate weddings of 35 to large-scale weddings or rehearsal dinners up to 200 guests.

Contact us today. vueon30a.com | 850.267.2305 ext. 3 | events@santarosaclub.com

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

December 2020–January 2021 2020

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JOSEPH A. PEDONE, MD, FACC, FACP, FSCAI, CDDR Interventional Cardiologist MICHAEL L. YANDEL, MD, FACC, FSCAI Interventional Cardiologist JUAN C. ZARATE, MD, FACC, FSCAI Interventional Cardiologist ANTHONY S. AL-DEHNEH, DO, FACC, FSCAI Interventional Cardiologist ANGEL D. MORROBEL, MD, FACC Invasive Cardiologist AJIT H. JANARDHAN, MD, PhD, FACC, FHRS Cardiac Electrophysiology IAN L. WEISBERG, MD, FACC, FHRS, Cardiac Electrophysiology

Best Cardiologist

Dr. Ian Weisberg, Board Certified Cardiac Electrophysiologist and your AFIB Specialist Now accepting new patients in our Destin office.

Providing Expertise and Patient Tailored Therapy: Catheter Ablation and Medical Management of Atrial Fibrillation Watchman Implantation for Stroke Risk Reduction Pacemakers, Defibrillators and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Diagnosis and Management of Palpitations and Syncope Catheter Ablation of SVT, PVCs, Flutter and Ventricular Tachycardia

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A CONSCIOUS, COOL COMPENDIUM OF COASTAL STUFF

PERSONALITY

BALDOCK’S GOLD Retired airman discovers a buzz of another sort

by WYNN PARKS

photography by JOHN HARRINGTON

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↘

Young nurse bees tend to comb, the white color of which indicates its newness.

↑ BEE BROOD The queen bee lays eggs that become larvae and then pupae. Nurse bees cap cells at the pupae stage, and eventually a new bee emerges. ↙ Steve Baldock uses an infrared camera to find and define the location of a hive within a wall.

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fter over two decades as an A-10 fighter pilot and a flight instructor in the Air Force, Lt. Col. Steve Baldock hung up his spurs.

That was in 2002. As so many military fliers do after retirement, he’d eased back on the throttle for a few years as a program manager for weapons systems development in the Civil Service.

Steve finally stepped into mainstream civilian life, way too young to descend into some cozy oblivion of golfing and Caribbean cruises.

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He’d been stroking his chin and staring into the distance, wondering what to do for a second career. Then, something led him to attend a meeting of a local beekeepers club, an occasion so unpremeditated and yet so right on, it must have been fate. Something clicked with him after that. He watched a club member remove a wild hive and knew that this was the way to go!

In short order, he established a business, Steve’s Beez: Liquid Gold Apiary & Bee Removal.

Baldock was amused at my mention of Idgie, the unschooled, beewhispering girl in Fried Green Tomatoes who reaches into a hollow tree, pulling out honeycomb with nary a sting.

He chuckled at my tongue-in-cheek suggestion that being attracted to bee removal must represent an addiction carried over from his wild and wooly career as an anti-tank fighter pilot.

“Well, there’s not much to compare with tearing along, just off the deck, guns blazing, at 300 or 400 miles per hour,” Baldock said, “but you could say they’re both buzzes, I guess!” photography by JOHN HARRINGTON

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→ From top: Smoke is used to keep bees calm; assistant Lauren Barsky and Steve Baldock prepare to transfer bees from a swarm trap to a hive — beekeepers use traps baited with lemon grass to capture swarms; nurse bees tend to freshly built comb.

Later he would remark, “I sometimes think that if I’d been introduced to beekeeping at age 7 instead of 57, my life might have been different. I was originally from around Peoria, Illinois, prairie country. I can remember, as a kid, charging around through these fields of white clover with friends and always steering clear of wherever they’d stationed the beehives. The idea that those bees were just waiting to come out and sting you added excitement to a sleepy summer vacation!”

Fear of bees is something that many people carry over into adulthood. Discovering a hive in the soffit of a house or the tool shed or even a nearby cable junction box will set them to ringing up a commercial pest control business, which promptly arrives and wipes out the whole colony.

“Not me!” Steve declares. “Save ’em.

They’re apis meliferis gold!”

So far, Baldock has removed around 150 hives. His charges vary with the circumstances but, at max, are no greater than a pest control aphicide. Plus Baldock entitles his customers to a portion of the recovered honey, a sweet rebate considering the retail price is currently between $8 and $10 a pound.

Baldock admits that having a honey beehive in one’s house isn’t exactly like having a crock of honey in the cupboard one can dip into at will. Hives can grow huge, and they’re almost never readily accessible.

One such wild hive, discovered between wall studs in an abandoned house, was 10 feet long and yielded more than 128 ounces of honey. One can imagine how such a hive, if abandoned by bees, might result in a major mess with honey oozing under baseboards and attracting undesirable critters, both macro and microscopic.

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photography by JOHN HARRINGTON

←

BEE BUSTERS Lauren Barsky and Steve Baldock take a break away from the buzzing crowd. Baldock husbands 35 hives, 30 of which resulted from extractions.

“It’s usually necessary to open up walls or soffits to remove the hive,” Baldock said, “but if possible, I always try to go through drywall inside, rather than outside through the siding.”

Baldock’s conservationist approach — as opposed to the scorched-earth, pest control type — means first locating, then removing the queen using a special device called a “clip” from the problematic hive.

The queen is then placed into the familiar white box called a Langstroth hive.

The new hive is left nearby until the worker bees follow their sovereign into her new digs. If there’s any problem with the workers moving voluntarily, Baldock has a special vacuum device he uses to carefully suck them out of the

old hive and waft them into the new Langstroth condo.

Baldock currently husbands 35 hives, 30 of which have come from Steve’s Beez removals.

“This spring, I’ve got hives stationed west of Freeport for gallberry honey and for tupelo honey, up at Mossy Head,” Baldock said, “all behind bear-proof fences.”

In times when pollution, climate change and the depredations of the varroa destructor mite are affecting bee colonies, farmers and gourmands alike are concerned — farmers about the possible loss of the bees’ irreplaceable services as crop pollinators and gourmands with sweetening their yogurt.

Steve’s Beez represents not only a useful domestic service but an environmental act of faith. Baldock’s obsession seems as much a calling as a business, and it’s hard not to perceive, in his fascination, some deep affinity for the bees. Not hard to believe, yet elusive to understand.

Perhaps it is their dual nature as agents of both sweetness and pain that creates a bee’s mystique, making them somehow uncanny.

Honeybees have a special mana in most cultures. In England, there survives a tradition of “telling the bees” about marriages and deaths in a beekeeper’s family. Ancient Greeks saw in honeybees souls awaiting birth.

For some, maybe a second birth. EC EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

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↓ WINNERS OF THE 12TH ANNUAL OAA OKALOOSA COUNTY SCHOOL POSTER

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Amy Baty-Herbert with 2021 student poster contest entries; many, she said, related to family activities.

First Place, Gracie Holland, 9th Grade, Crestview High School

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THE ARTS MUST GO ON

In Okaloosa County, Amy Baty-Herbert induces creativity

First Place, Sarah Hood, 7th Grade, Rocky Bayou Christian School

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ach year, Amy Baty-Herbert, executive director of the Okaloosa Arts Alliance, invites students to depict summer fun with entries to a poster contest.

Last year’s contest looked a bit different.

The usual 400 submissions dwindled to a mere 77. The once happy illustrations of park play dates, summer camp and soccer games were replaced with video game consoles, masked characters and longing views from bedroom windows.

But for Baty-Herbert, something beautiful was happening.

“We got to see life amid a global pandemic from a child’s perspective, and it wasn’t all

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negative,” she said of poster entries received from 20 schools. “Students were creating art about increased family time, learning new skills and helping others.”

First place winner Alyssa Lilli Kleiser, a firstgrader at Edge Elementary School, submitted a touching comic strip of her quarantined family watching a Gulf sunset. Fourth-grader Caden Crawly from Plew Elementary School sketched a disembodied hand passing out free groceries and heart-shaped reminders that “We’re All in This Together.”

Plew student Olivia Scopac’s poster featured colorful dragons with scales shaped like lightning bolts and a block-lettered

First Place, Alyssa Kleiser, 2nd Grade, Bluewater Elementary School To view all the entries, visit okaloosaarts.org/oaa-2021virtual-poster-contest. photography by JACQUELINE WARD IMAGES

PHOTOS COURTESY OF OKALOOSAARTS.ORG (WINNER ARTWORK)

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→ Winners of the 11th Annual OAA Okaloosa County School Poster: First place winner Alyssa Lilli Kleiser, a first-grader at Edge Elementary School, submitted a touching comic strip of her quarantined family watching a Gulf sunset. Fourth-grader Caden Crawly from Plew Elementary School sketched a disembodied hand passing out free groceries and heart-shaped reminders that “We’re All in This Together.”

statement, “I THINK ABOUT DRAGONS ALL THE TIME,” hovering in the clouds.

“Providing a way for students to express their thoughts and feelings through art is what it’s all about,” BatyHerbert said of the annual contest. “It is for the young artist, who may not be a future artist but is engaging his creativity.

I love seeing what these children create and then showcasing it online.”

But youth engagement is just one facet of OAA’s mission to nurture, support and promote art, music and culture in Okaloosa County.

Baty-Herbert, who has served as the alliance’s executive director since 2007, said stepping into the role was “ideal.” She had graduated from Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania in 2003 with bachelor’s degrees in art and business and discovered the alliance soon after moving to Navarre.

“For me, art has always been a way to express yourself in a way you can’t with words,” she said. “A picture, a song or a dance allows a message to speak through us. I want people to learn about or find their passion through an art. I want the alliance to be the vehicle that gives people the opportunity to be part of the art happening here and one that informs them about classes, events and shows.”

She likes to think of the OAA as an “umbrella,” a sort of chamber of commerce for local art organizations and artists. Membership is available at three levels: for students, individuals and families; for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools; and for businesses.

Membership fees, ranging from $10 to $100, go toward the enrichment of culture in Okaloosa County, monetary awards for winners of events such as the annual poster contest and OAA grants to schools and nonprofit organizations.

Members receive monthly newsletters and brochures and are recognized on OAA’s website. Artists have the opportunity to donate pieces or event tickets for use in OAA silent auctions and drawings.

Typically, the website, okaloosaarts.org, provides information about art education classes, concerts and

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“We know the pandemic has impacted many of our artists who can no longer perform live at venues or attend shows,” said Baty-Herbert. “It’s been important for us to link them to the information provided to us by the Florida Department of Cultural Affairs and various grant opportunities to help get them back on their feet.”

Too, the pandemic has led to the creation of the OAA’s newest virtual event, Okaloosa County’s Got Talent. Like the famous television show, the event will have vocal, dance, theater and visual arts categories.

The event, which was scheduled for April 2021, had enlisted judges from HarborWalk Village, Emerald Coast Theatre Co., Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation, Destin Ballet Conservatory and the Dreamcatcher Vocal Performance Studio.

“We’re hoping to make a virtual show of the winners or perhaps roll that into our annual music and wine event if we achieve some sense of normalcy this year,” Baty-Herbert said.

Until then, the OAA encourages everyone to support the arts in any (safe) way they can.

“Even if you can’t attend an event, the best thing you can do for our artists is to share their shows or art on social media and spread the word,” said Baty-Herbert.

“Let people know about fundraising opportunities, invite a friend to a class and if you can, consider donating to the OAA. Especially now, we’re looking for better, smarter ways to support the Okaloosa arts community.” EC

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EDUCATION

THE ASSOCIATE DEAN’S LIST Irvin Clark has ambitious goals in mind for FSU PC

by STEVE BORNHOFT

W

hen Irvin Clark played football for Greensboro High School, Coach Robert Jackson dressed 16 players for games.

Clark was among the team’s many twoway players.

“First time I left the field, the game was over,” he said.

Thirty-seven years later, Clark is still that guy who never takes a play off.

As the associate dean for student and strategic initiatives at the Panama City campus of Florida State University, Clark touches anything related to the welfare of students, from admission to academic advising and financial aid to student government. He chaired the panel that developed the campus’s current strategic plan. He is part of campus dean Randy Hanna’s diversity task force. He is responsible for FSU PC’s web pages, social media and marketing efforts.

Off campus, he travels a 10-county area from Santa Rosa to Gadsden, forging relationships with school superintendents and other local government officials, community organizations, even the state Department of Corrections.

In some of those counties, only about 10 percent of high school graduates move on to post-secondary programs.

“If you don’t expose students in, say, Washington and Gadsden counties to a college environment while they are in elementary school, you may be too late,” Clark said. Worst case, they may wind up incarcerated.

Ah, but Clark is there, too.

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“I was in prison for four hours,” he said of a trip he made to the Northwest Florida Reception Center in Greenhead, near Chipley. “I spoke to 168 inmates who were due to be released in 24 months or less. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re talking about establishing a prisonto-college program that would award certificates in entrepreneurship.”

Clark was in the third grade when his teacher sent a permission slip home with him for his parents’ signature. Planned was a field trip to Tallahassee, in the

course of which students were introduced, even if briefly, to FSU, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Community College and what was then known as the Tallahassee Junior Museum.

That experience stuck with Clark.

“The college scene was inviting to me and exciting,” he recalls.

Clark, however, would not enroll in college directly after high school, choosing instead to enlist in the U.S. Navy. His grandfather grew tobacco and vegetables, and summers were brutal. The military was photography by MIKE FENDER

↑ Dr. Irvin Clark, the associate dean at FSU PC, grew up in Gadsden County and aspired to a life well beyond vegetable fields. Here he meets on campus with colleagues Mechele Tribue and Cody Gray.

a ticket out of the fields. Clark graduated high school on June 7, 1983, and was in the Navy five days later.

He would serve four years before starting his studies at FAMU, where he would major in political science and play football. Post graduation, he played for a year in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a defensive lineman and then worked as an assistant football coach at FAMU for a year. He is fairly described as a gentle giant and begins each day with an hour in a weight room.

Over 20 years at Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia, he worked a series of jobs related to student housing and student affairs. He was the interim vice president for student affairs at Radford University in Radford, Virginia, when he accepted an offer to come to FSU PC. Along the way, he earned a master’s degree from Savannah State and a doctorate of education from Fielding Graduate University in California.

“FSU PC liked me in part because of my experience with housing,” said Clark, who is a co-leader of the public-private partnership that is bringing about the school’s first on-campus housing project.

Seminole Landings — 390 beds’ worth

— is scheduled to open in August. It will house students from both FSU PC and adjoining Gulf Coast State College and will increase the percentage of freshmen and sophomores among FSU PC students.

“That project will be a game-changer,” Clark predicted. Already, it has given Clark issues to consider, including parking concerns and the anticipated need for more security and counseling services. Too, he is working to provide more on-campus activities to keep dorm residents occupied and entertained.

“If we don’t provide activities for our students to be involved in, they’re gonna find their own,” Clark said.

He is proud of the SeminoleCommodore Alliance, a student activities/ services collaborative agreement that unites FSU PC and GCSU in areas extending from clubs and organizations to wellness and fitness facilities and from intramural sports to student travel.

“Every semester things become more and more seamless between the two schools,” Clark said. “In the minds of many, Gulf Coast State and FSU are like one campus.”

Since Clark arrived in July 2017, campus enrollment has grown from about 700 to

about 1,000, versus the student population of 10,000 at Radford.

“The opportunities here are vast; I know that I am just one person, but I love it,” Clark said of FSU PC. In recent years, FSU PC has added degree programs in entrepreneurship, hospitality, mechanical engineering, law enforcement intelligence and systems engineering. Coming soon: a bachelor’s degree program in public health and a doctoral nurse anesthetist program.

“We’ve been busy,” Clark said.

In the community at large, he said, “The work is plentiful, but the workers are few. You can make a difference here.”

His list of civic involvements is the length of a CVS receipt.

Clark has two grown children, both of whom are students at colleges in Canada, where their mother was from. He lost his wife to ALS in October 2019.

He met his current girlfriend when she was visiting Bay County from her home in Springfield, Missouri.

“Everybody comes to Panama City Beach,” Clark said. “They all love that green water.”

Clark remains someone of and by the country. He’s a sweet water guy whose high school no longer exists and who is acutely sensitive to the struggles of small towns.

In that, he has something in common with FSU PC Dean Randy Hanna, who grew up in Shepherd’s Mill, a settlement much smaller even than Greensboro. Clark cane-pole fished there as a boy.

“The Jackson County Commission approved an internship program with FSU PC,” Clark said. “I have met with the town manager in Sneads and the mayor of Chattahoochee and school superintendents in Gadsden, Washington and Jackson counties. I can get to (Bay District Schools Superintendent) Bill Husfelt anytime. In Jackson County, we’re in conversations about the old Dozier School and the possibility of rehabbing it for use as a school for children with autism.

“Some people look at our rural communities and see decline,” Clark said.

“I see opportunity.” EC EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

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ELEMENTS OF STYLE RANGING FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE MORE SUBLIME

→

Entrepreneur, product developer, music enthusiast and water dude Corey Cooper isn’t afraid of audacious goals. He intends that BOTE becomes the premier watersports brand on the planet within three years.

CITIZEN OF STYLE

BAD TO THE BOARD

Corey Cooper infuses his products with soul

by STEVE BORNHOFT

FASHION photography by SEAN MURPHY

Taylor Made

|| WHAT’S IN STORE

Retail Round-up

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W

hen Corey Cooper and his wife Magda first tried stand-up paddleboarding in 2008, the experience too closely resembled trying to maneuver about on a floating sheet of plywood. Early boards were outsized and unstable.

They were simple enough — and there may be no greater champion of simplicity than Cooper — but they lacked, in a word, soul.

Cooper set about building a better board.

To that mission he brought two sets of sensibilities: those of a mechanical engineer — he was an engineering major at Auburn University where he met Magda on their graduation night — and those of a rock guitarist.

Music serves Cooper as fuel, and he burns a lot of it.

“I’m very directional,” he said. “I move with velocity, which is speed with direction. I don’t like to use the word blinders, but I will say that I can focus intensely.”

Cooper devotes, he said, 99 percent of his time and energy to his family and to BOTE, the Destin-based business that resulted from the success of his early board-shaping efforts. His family consists of Magda; 4-year-old Maksym; 7-year-old Ava; and 12-year-old Tristan, who was born about the same time BOTE was. What little alone time he has is primarily spent listening to or playing music.

“I grew up a huge music freak and started playing guitar when I was 12,” Cooper said. “I got addicted to the rock music that was current at the time — Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam. But pretty quickly, I got back to the earlier rock stuff, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, all of the greats from the ’60s and ’70s, and that really fueled my passion for guitar.”

Today, Cooper is a musical omnivore. He employs music as a creative outlet that “drives the ethos and style of our business.”

“We take Easter eggs and nuggets from music that give you different vibes and incorporate them in our product and brand development,” Cooper said. “More businesses should inject music into what they do.”

Cooper wishes that the interface between the BOTE brand and music manifested itself ← Can musical vibrations live in paddleboards?

Corey Cooper, top, thinks so. When not focused on his business, Cooper turns his attention to his family. He and his wife Magda have three children: Tristan, 12; Maksym, 4; and Ava, 7.

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photography by SEAN MURPHY

↖

Cooper’s wardrobe doesn’t often stray from the basic and practical. If he isn’t wearing flip-flops, he’s in Clarks desert boots.

Here, he inspects a Grambler surf-style paddleboard.

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more clearly and emotionally, and he concedes that his customers may not be able to “100 percent put their finger on it.”

Nonetheless, he said, “It’s in the air. It’s part of our energy.”

One gains the sense that every member of the BOTE team could without thinking recite the business’s mission: Stand apart through industry-shaping innovation, fresh ideas and simplicity to create a product that defines a lifestyle. And that, if called upon by the boss to have that credo tattooed across a shoulder blade, they wouldn’t much hesitate.

“Stand,” as the first word in the mission statement, surely is not a coincidence.

“When we go to work, every member of our team, it’s to win the day and do everything we can to deliver on our mission,” Cooper said. “We may take two steps forward and one step back, but it’s that one step forward that really propels you. Take every victory within the day, and use it as motivation to do better. I don’t need any home runs, man. I’m good with base hits.”

Keep the line moving.

Cooper likened the technical and stylistic differences between BOTE’s first boards of 12 years ago and today’s products to those between a Model A and a Mustang.

“But they have the same amount of soul,” he said. “That’s been a key for me. When we scale something, if there is any lack of soul or character behind the product, we’ve messed up. We are always striving to deliver a product that is best in class. The long and the short of it is that I hope our product is badass.”

And, hey, speaking of badass, Cooper once paddled over the top of a 13-foot saltwater crocodile in

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the Everglades as he approached a boat landing at midnight following a miles-long paddle. He has encountered giant tarpon, paddlebiting sharks and whale sharks.

Those other species didn’t bother Cooper, he said, but the croc “was a scary one. He was ready to rip.”

BOTE is a confluence of soul, yes, and simplicity.

“I am a blue jeans guy,” Cooper said. “Black and white shirts.

Desert boots, motorcycle boots.

Nothing fancy, nothing over the top. Shorts, flip-flops.

“I think being as simple as possible is what attracts people to our brand,” Cooper said. “Simple doesn’t always mean bland, and simple is not always easy. The world is a remix. We take a lot of outside inspiration and we mix it, we shape it to what we think really personifies the BOTE brand and we create a fresh package.”

In that, in Cooper’s mind, BOTE and Led Zeppelin have something in common.

“Jimmy Page, he didn’t create

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

anything, he took the blues, he took music from a lot of other people, stole it, borrowed it, whatever you want to call it, and he said, ‘Hey this is all cool, what if we packaged it like this?’ ” Cooper sees his core customers as family, friends and community; they are the channels for the dissemination of his innovations.

Building a community based on shared experiences and the universal appeal of hanging, fishing, chilling, paddling and water is a “huge” part of what BOTE does.

That community is becoming increasingly international. BOTE has made inroads to Australia and Europe, and its three-year plan is to become the predominant watersports brand on the planet. A step along the way, BOTE in 2020 was tabbed the fastest growing watersports brand in the U.S. by the NPD Group, a big-time market research firm.

“We don’t want to be second,” Cooper said. EC

↑ Cooper’s sartorial colorways are black, white and blues. He favors old-school Persol and Ray-Ban sunglasses. → Cooper sought to achieve a retro Palm Springs look in designing his pool area.

Cooper’s style: “I am a blue jeans guy. Black and white shirts.

Desert boots, motorcycle boots. Nothing fancy, nothing over the top.

Shorts, flip-flops.” photography by SEAN MURPHY

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FASHION

Taylor Made

Miramar Beach designer’s swimwear helps women rock their skin

by HANNAH BURKE

E

ven in her sleep, Daylin Taylor Beauchamp is working.

The swimsuits of her dreams fill pages of the notebook she keeps on her nightstand.

“Sometimes I’ll wake up from a dream and jot down the designs I saw,” Beauchamp said. “I’ll draw it or make notes on, say, how the straps were arranged.”

A resident of Miramar Beach, Beauchamp is the owner and operator of Daylin Taylor Swim and a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Emerald Coast. She jump-starts her workdays with meditative walks along the beach.

“There, I can scope out real estate and get inspiration for swimsuit designs,” she said. Though she intentionally pursued a real estate license, launching a custom swimwear business was purely accidental.

Several years ago, Beauchamp struggled to gain weight. When commercial swimwear styles continued to disappoint, she tried ordering a custom suit.

“But, it still didn’t fit,” Beauchamp said. “I was an extra small, and coverage was an issue for me. I figured, hey, if this woman custom-makes swimsuits, why don’t I try?”

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photography by JOHN HARRINGTON

←

Swimwear designer and maker Daylin Taylor Beauchamp of Miramar Beach models one of her ensembles: a Vivi top, $45, and a Simone skirt, $48.

→

Olivia Hall, a friend of Beauchamp, shows off a Nora top, $45, and a Simone skirt, $48.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

Shop individually handcrafted swim pieces at DaylinTaylorSwim.com.

Beauchamp couldn’t thread a needle, but she purchased a sewing machine from Walmart and began devouring YouTube sewing tutorials.

“My first attempt at a swimsuit was so horrible I decided I should start small and learn basic stitching with curtains and pillows,” she laughed.

“After fully redecorating my house, I was finally able to master a swimsuit.”

Beauchamp said she created a swimsuit for her mother, who is “curvy, and struggled to find tops that were supportive.” When Mom posted a poolside picture on Facebook, envious friends began asking where she had purchased her bikini.

As Beauchamp began making more suits for friends, she gained the confidence that she had what it took to start her own business. In 2019, she opened Daylin Taylor Swim, an online boutique of both pre-made and made-to-order swimwear.

Pre-stitched suits range in sizes XS to XXL and are available in select seasonal patterns and fits.

But, Beauchamp said, the real fun is in the one-onone experience.

“I’ll start by asking my clients about their problem areas,” she said. “Some have asymmetrical breasts and may need extra padding in one cup, and others want to hide their stretch marks and request I bring the bottoms up a bit.”

Though her main markets are in Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Tennessee, Beauchamp said there are only about eight states to which she hasn’t shipped her designs. Clients have the option of requesting alterations to established top and bottom styles, but Beauchamp doesn’t undertake complete redesigns.

“I don’t have a magic wand, and there’s only one of me!” Beauchamp said.

Her designs are versatile in both cut and fit.

Ideal for tanning cheeks, the Scrunch bottom features a tie-waist design with flexible fabric when a quick return to conservativeness is needed.

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panache Tops such as the Beau and Taylor come with adjustable straps, allowing them to be worn in a variety of ways.

Beauchamp said her all-time favorite design is the Greek goddess-style DTS top, which features two thick, over-theshoulder straps that meet at a center band. “I think it suits both large and small-breasted women and just looks so flattering,” she said.

Beauchamp said she anticipates this summer will showcase sturdier suits.

While last swim season popularized flimsy triangle tops and bottoms seemingly held together by floss, this one will bring back boy shorts and skirts and continue to embrace the high-waist movement.

In March, dainty, feminine floral patterns were pinned to Beauchamp’s home office vision board.

“I like to work months ahead, so I’ve already bought some Fourth of Julyinspired fabrics for summer,” she said.

“I’m going to be making scrunchies that match your swimsuit, and I’m working on these high-waisted skirt cover-ups you can also swim in.”

Beauchamp said she often looks to influencers for inspiration, as they’re always vacationing to tropical getaways, even in the colder months. She will sometimes base one design off another and add a twist that improves its support or functionality.

Ultimately, Beauchamp knows it’s her name on the tag. She’s content in staying a one-woman-show and ensuring each swimsuit is stitched with love and careful attention to detail.

“The pandemic was hard for me, as I had so much success when I opened and thought 2020 was going to be my year,” she said. “But, business is picking back up again. I used the downtime to improve my sewing and established a broader range of designs.”

For her, there is nothing more rewarding than the ecstatic “My bikini fits me like a glove!” messages she receives from customers.

“All I want is people to feel, no matter their body size, they can rock their skin,” she said. “I’m so happy I can make someone feel comfortable and confident.” EC

↘

In her one-person shop, Daylin Taylor Beauchamp stitches together swimwear with love, including this Ali top, $45, and Coco bottom, $45.

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photography by JOHN HARRINGTON

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PROMOTION

SUNSET SHOES Stepping into our new location at Grand Boulevard.

Inspired by the beautiful beaches and the relaxed environment of the Emerald Coast, comfort and easygoing style have always been a hallmark of the Sunset Shoes collections.

Take a look at some of these unique products that will make you stand out from the crowd. Step into the sunset and visit one of our five locations including our new location at Grand Boulevard.

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ERIC JAVITS SQUISHEE CLASSIC FEDORA Add instant cool to any outfit with this lightweight, packable, luxurious, raffia-style hat. Color shown here peanut/white. $275

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BERNARDO TANIA JELLY FLIP FLOPS IN PLATINUM A cushiony cork footbed and soft waterproof jelly upper make for fun flips that pair perfectly with a dress for dinner — or the beach. $65

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BUDDY LOVE Style it up with a Roxy flutter sleeve-tiered dress in bone gold, peachy leopard print. $102.95

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HOBO MIST CROSSBODY BAG Be on the fringe of fashion with an easy crossbody featuring lattice woven details and a bit of fringe. This will be your go-to bag for all of your summer adventures. Color shown here: sand. $138

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VAN ELI LEMMIE HIGH HEEL SANDAL IN NATURAL CANVAS WITH SILVER CHAIN Give you and your outfit a lift with the 2-inch sculptural round wood heel, fashioned with a summery canvas upper and chain-link accents. $144.95

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ON WALL: JONAH ALLEN’S RECEDED TIME NO. 1

Arts and Crafts

➸ Santa Rosa Beach artist Jonah Allen recently fulfilled his dream with the launch of the JONAH ALLEN STUDIO & GALLERY on Scenic Hwy 30A. Peruse and purchase stunning seascapes, triptychs and large-scale photographs.

↑ WHAT’S IN STORE? A roundup of retail happenings throughout the Emerald Coast

by HANNAH BURKE

Now open in Seacrest Beach, Arriaga Jewelry – The Tribal Chic features one-of-a-kind accessories from Richard and Max Arriaga. The fatherand-son duo specializes in statement-making gemstone rings, bracelets, necklaces and more.

SUMMER READY BOUTIQUE 803 is an all-new women’s boutique in Pensacola, featuring fashionable summer looks in sizes from small to XXXL. Give your wardrobe a seasonal upgrade, and shop athleisure, sundresses and shoes galore.

Yearning for that summer glow? The newly opened STUDIO 15 BEAUTY BAR in Pensacola is your ticket to flawless skin, brows and lashes with its menu of waxing, facials and extension services.

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Beach Bummin’

➸ FLIP FLOP SHOPS, one of the

newest tenants at Pier Park in Panama City Beach, specializes in Florida’s favorite footwear.

Gear up for a day at the beach with brands such as Cobian, Olukai, OOFOS and Rainbows.

➸ Located on the Pensacola boardwalk, INTERCOASTAL OUTFITTERS recently opened their doors to lovers of the great outdoors. Shop anything from swim trunks and sunglasses to SPF performance shirts and travel packs. ➸ Adjoining Santa Rosa Beach Goodwill is the new SANTA ROSA BEACH & GIFT STORE, a depot of towels, beach toys, coolers and everything you could need for a day on the sand. All items are new; sales proceeds will help fund Goodwill’s community programs and services.

➸ If you happened to pick up sewing during quarantine, COASTAL STITCHES, INC. is your one-stop shop for all things fabric. Located in Destin, the new store features quilting, custom bedding and the occasional sewing class. ➸ Now parked in Freeport,

HAMMER & STAIN EMERALD COAST is a DIY workshop on

wheels. Learn to stain, stencil and paint a wooden sign as a way to personalize your home.

Out and About ➸ PEDEGO ELECTRIC BIKES

has opened a new store in Grayton Beach. The electric bike shop features new and certified pre-used velocipedes, rentals, tours and accessories to maximize your ride. ➸ Boarders can upgrade their decks at the SKATEBOARD SHOP OF PENSACOLA. Grind in style with a new design, or restore your board to its former glory with their specialty sandblasting and restoration services.

PHOTOS BY JONAH ALLEN (JOHAN ALLEN STUDIO & GALLERY) AND COURTESY OF ARRIAGA JEWELRY - TRIBAL CHIC

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Pump Up the Volume 30A PLASTIC SURGERY TALKS FAT GRAFTING, A PROCEDURE TO RESTORE VOLUME

T

here’s a reason baby cheeks are regarded as pinchable — they are plumped with new-born volume.

As we age, we lose this enviable volume, particularly in the cheeks, the lips and around our eyes. To restore that youthful volume, a procedure called fat grafting has become increasingly popular.

Facial fat grafting is a cosmetic procedure that is the most highly proven way to restore central face volume. Instead of using fillers or implants, the procedure involves injecting your own natural living fat tissue.

As a result, this procedure is natural, less invasive and provides noticeable results.

Dr. David Chandler of 30A Plastic Surgery, consults with patients in order to assess what is bothering the patient about their appearance and how to best fix it.

Most commonly, his patients are seeking volume in their cheeks, eyelids and lips.

Patients will often undergo a facelift with fat grafting, which provides a plethora of

results. A facelift repositions and removes excess skin, and fat grafting restores volume to those areas. Dr. Chandler reports that this pairing is a standard means of achieving youthful volume and setting back the clock as much as possible.

The procedure occurs under general anesthesia. Liposuction is performed to harvest the fat from anywhere on the body the patient no longer wants it. It is processed to get the highest percentage of healthy cells possible. The fat is then injected into the face using a cannula syringe. The use of this blunt instrument is a safer means of injection.

A facelift and fat grafting are often performed at the same time. Dr. Chandler also has many patients opt for fat grafting who are younger and may not necessarily need a facelift but want the volume of a filler without having to continue doing it every six months.

Dr. Chandler has years of experience doing hundreds of procedures using fat

grafting. He began utilizing it in facial reconstructions and breast reconstructions for women with mastectomies.

“It requires a high level of artistry, but beginning in reconstructions was an easy transition in learning how to use fat grafting in an aesthetic setting,” said Dr. Chandler.

“It’s optimal for taking a number of years off and achieving desired results.”

DAVID CHANDLER, MD

DERMATOLOGY SPECIALISTS / AQUA MEDICAL SPA / 30A PLASTIC SURGERY PANAMA CITY | SANTA ROSA BEACH | (850) 608-1833 | 30APLASTICS.COM PROMOTION

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ORTHODONTICS

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Bealls Outlet • Dick’s Sporting Goods Ross • The Fresh Market

EATERIES Chili’s • Wayback Burgers • Craft Bar: a Florida Gastropub Texas Roadhouse • IHOP • Jersey Mike’s Subs • Zoë’s Kitchen Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt

SPECIALTY STORES PetSmart • Kirkland’s • Verizon • Bed, Bath and Beyond Michael’s • Chan’s Wine World • World Market Shoe Carnival and more!

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castoinfo.com

gastro&gusto JUN-JUL 2021

DINING OUT

BUD & ALLEY’S

DINING, IMBIBING AND LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST

Surfside restaurant has grown along with Seaside

by STEVE BORNHOFT

↖ Diners converse at the roof deck bar at Bud & Alley’s in Seaside. All are excused if they become momentarily distracted by the scenery.

LIBATIONS Boozing Buddies photography by MIKE FENDER

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gastro & gusto

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n a winter afternoon, I watched from an empty room as young people lined up to fill out applications for tourist season work as servers, runners and cooks. All were well dressed, as if they were pursuing jobs as bank tellers versus employment at a Gulffront restaurant in the Florida Panhandle.

Mr. Rauschkolb has a reputation, I concluded.

This was far from my first visit to Bud & Alley’s on Scenic County Highway 30A in South Walton. Always, I had found its personnel to be pleasant but not chatty, efficient and sharp.

Dave had agreed to meet with me to talk about his nearly lifelong passion for surfing. His time I genuinely appreciated. He is an

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extraordinarily busy businessman — and also a father. I arrived at his restaurant before he did and, presently, he arrived with his daughter, pretty in a print dress, in tow. He situated her at a table near the one where I was sitting, conscientiously reminded her about what not to watch on her laptop, and then joined me.

He caught the attention of an employee and spoke briefly to her. Moments later, she delivered me water in a fancy glass, with a napkin. Details matter to Rauschkolb. Now, he was ready to focus his attention on the interview.

Rauschkolb grew animated as he recalled surfing championships won, trips taken and a pair of 25foot waves that almost drowned him in Puerto Rico.

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

Bud & Alley’s Barbecued Grilled Shrimp

↙ Bud & Alley’s Barbecued Grilled Shrimp Courtesy of Chef David Bishop

Barbecue Seasoning INGREDIENTS

PHOTOS BY MIKE FENDER (THE LEDETS), JACK GARDNER PHOTOGRAPHY (BARBECUED GRILLED SHRIMP) AND COURTESY OF BUD & ALLEY’S (RAUSCHKOLB)

↑ Thirty-five years ago, Seaside founder Robert Davis talked Dave Rauschkolb and his business partner at the time into opening a restaurant in the barely there Gulf-front community; Bud & Alley’s has worked out pretty well. ← Robbie and Hollie Ledet of Houma, Louisiana, toast the good life.

He inspected the rain-pelted surf outside his restaurant in Seaside and declared, “Waves are breaking good right now at the piers in Panama City Beach.”

As I admire a fisherman who can expertly read tides and weather, I admire Rauschkolb, given his intimate relationship with the water.

Bud & Alley’s, too, is close to the water. Its menu reflects that closeness. The restaurant doesn’t compete with the Gulf. It cozies up to it, respects it, loves it, is informed by it.

An expansion of the restaurant, nearing completion at this writing, won’t affect that.

And, as before, after poring over the new arrivals at Seaside’s Sundog Books, I will repair to Bud & Alley’s for a bloody nary and smoked tuna dip as fresh as you will find for sale anywhere. Others’ palates might savor most the seared scallops, seafood gumbo or fish of the day with succotash, menu staples still.

New waves of diners will encounter enhanced entrances, an enlarged rooftop deck, an elevator tower. Much has changed. The growth of the eatery has mirrored the success of the community that hosts it. Only a few guests these days will have experienced the early days of Bud & Alley’s when Rauschkolb and his surfing buddy Scott Witcoski borrowed the sum of $10,000 from their mothers, finagled a $60,000 loan from Destin Bank — at a time when bankers engaged in handshake deals based on what they saw when they looked

into the eyes of borrowers — and went into business at the invitation of Seaside founder Robert Davis.

Both the banker and Davis surely saw in Rauschkolb the tenacity and drive that led to his triumphs in competitive surfing, the sport to which he gravitated because he was too small to play football. He is a terrier, all right.

Thirty-five years later, the views from Bud & Alley’s are as wonder-inspiring and as apparently pristine as they ever have been. They wash over most people. Only the occasional dude like Rauschkolb reads them.

Rauschkolb bought out Witcoski years ago and today owns several businesses in South Walton in addition to Bud & Alley’s, sellers of pizza and tacos and sourdough bread. All do well.

But there was a time for three months in 2014 when Rauschkolb attempted a second Bud & Alley’s at the Lighthouse Marina in Panama City Beach, in a space that was once the Boatyard restaurant and is today the Grand Marlin.

The Sea Dragon pirate ship, a tourist attraction, docks there. The location is lagoon front, not Gulf front.

Rauschkolb had strayed a bit too far.

On the lagoon, there were no waves to catch.

Bud & Alley’s belongs at the side of what Pulitzer Prize winner Jack E. Davis called the American sea. EC

➸ 1 tablespoon all-purpose seasoning, such as Everglades seasoning ➸ 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper ➸ 1 tablespoon celery salt PREPARATION

Mix together the all-purpose seasoning, cayenne pepper and celery salt. Store in an airtight container.

Shrimp

INGREDIENTS

➸ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil ➸¼ cup sliced Andouille sausage ➸ 6 large head-on shrimp, peeled, head and tail left on ➸ 2 cloves garlic, sliced ➸ 1 sprig fresh rosemary ➸ 1 cup white wine ➸ 3 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces ➸ 1 teaspoon arbecue seasoning ➸ Grilled bread for serving PREPARATION

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil, sausage and shrimp. Cook for 1 minute, and then turn the shrimp over and continue cooking. Add the garlic and rosemary sprig and cook for another minute.

Pour in the wine to deglaze, and then add the butter and 1/2 teaspoon of the barbecue seasoning. Reduce the heat to medium and swirl the pan to incorporate the butter. Taste and add 1/2 teaspoon more of the seasoning, if needed.

Transfer the shrimp and sausage to a serving bowl and garnish with a slice of grilled Tuscan-style bread.

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gastro & gusto LIBATIONS

BOOZING BUDDIES Family-owned business values relationships with customers

by THOMAS J. MONIGAN

C

huck, Mike and Pat Kelley learned lifelong lessons growing up in a familiar Emerald Coast family business.

“Work ethic,” said Mike Kelley, addressing one of those lessons. “You’ve got to work hard to show results. Nothing comes easy.”

Kelley’s IGA supermarkets were owned and operated by Roy Kelley and his brother Charles.

The current generation, two brothers and a sister, started Kelley’s Beach Liquors in the year 2000 with a Panama City location.

Since then, they have opened Crestview, Fort Walton Beach and Destin stores.

“Back in the day, we used the phrase ‘hometown advantage,’ and that is truly what we think we are and what we want to be,” Mike Kelley said.

Local ownership appeals not just to locals, but to military personnel and visitors who make their way to Northwest Florida from all over the world.

Meanwhile, tastes in alcohol have become increasingly sophisticated and complex.

↑ The Kelleys have watched as a new generation of drinkers has embraced craft beers. Cans are cool these days, and visitors, too, like to sample locally brewed products.

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“You see the acceptance of craft beer in a younger generation,” Chuck Kelley said.

“And a lot more women are drinking craft beer. Also, like wine, you’re seeing people matching the style of beer with whatever they’re eating for dinner. Whether it’s an IPA (India Pale Ale), a porter, a stout or a pale ale, it can match up like wine does with meals.”

Local craft beer is sold primarily in cans.

“For the beach, for boating, for pools, people don’t want a glass bottle around,” Chuck Kelley said. “Where they used to concern themselves with the acceptance of cans, today it’s just the opposite.

Everybody’s going to cans, and it’s made it a lot easier.”

The steady and impressive growth of local breweries has made for a steady flow of new products.

“When people travel, they don’t necessarily want beer from the national breweries they’re accustomed to back in their own hometown,” Mike Kelley said. “They want to experience the local flavor.”

Tastes have evolved, too, with regard to liquor.

“Generation Z is buying more upscale products, and there’s more ‘premiumization’ in the categories,” Mike Kelley said. “Tequila has become the ‘new bourbon,’ and shelfaged tequilas are gaining in popularity.”

Gen Z’ers also have surprisingly refined tastes in wine.

“With their buying power, we’re seeing more entry-level people who are drinking sweeter wines,” Mike Kelley said.

“All of the imports from Australia, South Africa, Argentina and Chile have declined in popularity,” he added, “and it really goes to people, their palates, their education level and the strength of the domestic American wines. The only categories that have held their own are France and Italy. That’s Northwest Florida for you.” photography by MIKE FENDER

↖

Siblings Chuck, Pat and Mike Kelley launched Kelley’s Beach Liquors in 2000 with their first store in Panama City Beach. Stores in Crestview, Destin and Fort Walton Beach have since been opened.

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RAW BAR

gastro & gusto

Happy Hour LIVE MUSIC

↑ Like a bookstore that sets aside shelf space for the works of local authors, Kelley’s Beach Liquors displays together the products of regional distilleries.

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“Seltzer has exploded, and it has maintained sales,” Chuck Kelley said. “In the past, there have been items that have come on the scene and been a onehit wonder that lasts maybe a summer or a season.

Seltzers hit and grew to the extent that suppliers couldn’t keep up with the demand and couldn’t keep product in the warehouse.”

Why such an impact?

“They bring alcohol content with low calories and carbs,” Chuck Kelley said. “So where you used to think it would be female-oriented, that’s not the case. Guys are walking in and buying 12-packs of seltzers all the time now. It’s impacted all beer with more avenues to explore, and who knows what will be next?”

“The younger generation wants to live a healthier lifestyle,” Mike Kelley said. “They’re looking for lower alcohol content to line up with their healthy standards. Seltzers in the ‘ready to drink’ category are off the charts. Why? The convenience of it, and the low alcohol and they’re willing to spend more money for that convenience.”

These days, what constitutes convenience for many people means shopping from home and having products delivered to their door.

“We’ve had a website for eight or nine years,” Mike Kelley said, “and we embarked on upgrading it about six or eight months before COVID-19 hit. It came together where we had our online shopping available the same time that we had our smartphone app.”

Via the Beach Liquors app, consumers can place orders through City Hive or Drizly. DoorDash makes deliveries.

“We don’t always look at the crystal ball and read it, but we knew prior to COVID-19 that shopping at home and having home delivery, that was going to be a big thing,” Mike Kelley said. “And we are lucky to be in the right place at the right time.” EC

PHOTO BY MIKE FENDER

Low carbs, great taste

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AS BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST

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The world is changing fast. While change can provide opportunities, it also raises questions about the future. Through honest conversations about your life and your priorities, we’ll find out what you want your future to look like, and develop a strategy together to help make it happen.

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CREATIVE WORKS LAND ON PAGES, CANVASES AND PAGES

↘ Mr. Big & The Rhythm Sisters, under the direction of band leader Tim Jackson (with tuba), are prepared with playlists well-suited to a variety of occasions.

MUSIC

MUSICAL PERFORMERS Mr. Big is the personification of high energy

by WYNN PARKS

↓

BOOKS

photography by MELISSA WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Traversing 30A

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← George Petropoulas, Chuck Schwartz, Ronny Levine and Tim Jackson perform at a wedding.

Mr. Big & The Rhythm Sisters strive to tap into the emotional associations that people have with familiar music.

F

olks with a taste for nostalgia and a love of ritual are sure to get down to the musical reiterations of Mr. Big & the Rhythm Sisters. True it is that innovation isn’t their main jam.

No, Mr. Big’s hook is an omnibus of over 200 multi-generational pop songs from “Puttin’ On the Ritz” to “I Like the Way You Move,” including many others from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. With every song performed, Mr. Big mimics the original version, a kind of musical chameleon act.

Mr. Big is a musical theater troupe, an ensemble of eight singing, playing and

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acting performers, plus a “technical,” sometimes called the DJ. Styling itself a band, the pumped “Red Bull Eight” offers audiences musical performances tailored to the occasion, be it birthday, wedding, “just because,” sloshed or some combination thereof.

Look at the Mr. Big website! Whatever the scene — from outdoor flip-flop and mai-tai concerts with a Gulf view to serious formal balls in swanky hotels — beach folk, society types and society wannabes can all be viewed dancing off their coats and ties, their floppy hats, their

shawls and finally their asses in a transport of pleasures.

“Oh, I remember what I was doing the first time I heard this!” all must be saying.

“Mr. Big can’t do the bar scene,” said band leader/director Tim Jackson. “That’s not where the money is. Aside from pay, we’ve got wardrobe and props and equipment to maintain. Sometimes there are side features like palm readers, as well.

So playing for beer and jalapeño nachos won’t cover it.”

Jackson is initially guarded, seeming to deliberate about almost every word. As the photography by MELISSA WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY

leader of the band, he regularly calls on the spirit of the bass and switches to trombone if he feels it.

Jackson has more than one iron in the fire. Mr. Big is only a piece of his Prime Time Entertainment business, but a pretty big piece, so his wariness isn’t too hard to figure out.

“See, Mr. Big isn’t one of the band members,” Jackson declared seriously.

“Mr. Big is like the band’s personification.”

After a while, Jackson loosened up and went psychological for a second or two.

“Mr. Big, is a cover band, in a way,” he said. “We want to tap into the preestablished emotional associations from the original renditions and, in the meantime, to up the (band’s) game.”

Taking the band higher is no doubt an interesting exercise. Because once Jackson has the bass bumping out the beat, joined

by Joe Lyon’s drums and Ronny Levine’s singing six-stringed axe, and George Petropoulas and Chuck Schwartz blare in with trumpet and sax, there’s nothing left but the out-front, vocal locomotions of Pearl Ash, Joanna Hayes and Demetrius Singleton wailing with the intensity of a ’77 Firebird Trans Am getting rubber.

In 20 years, Mr. Big’s members have changed, and this iteration is a tight one. It entertains, interacts and does cover songs with a lot of flashy mojo.

But something’s up with the Emerald Coast music scene these days, something reminiscent of what happened with Austin’s cosmic-cowboy music during the ’60s and ’70s, when a rebellious bunch of outsider musicians walked out on Nashville and landed in Texas. Musicians from Bangor, Maine, to San Diego flocked in after them and brought about rich music venues like “Austin City Limits.”

Today in the Florida Panhandle, flocking songwriters and hot-shot musicians are lighting all around the bay.

Every crab-shack bistro and juke-til-youpuke joint has live entertainment at least once a week. Recording studios and sound facilities are popping up like mushrooms.

What are the odds that both talent and technicals would jam up in the same place

↑ Demetrius Singleton, above, serenades a guest at a wedding reception. Top, from left: George

Petropoulas, Chuck Schwartz and Joe Lyons combine to play cover songs spiced up with a lot of mojo.

with enthusiastic audiences, audiences ready for any old festivity to begin?

One might hope that in the midst of a Panhandle music rush, Mr. Big & the Rhythm Sisters won’t be satisfied to serve only as a place where high-grade talent can keep up their chops and get

decent pay. That may be a fine start, but it doesn’t begin to tap into Mr. Big’s bigtime potential.

The band is perfectly positioned to find its own voice and become far more than an A-grade cover band, if it recognizes the opportunity. EC EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

June-July 2021

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PROMOTION

Demetrius Fuller Leading the Emerald Coast Arts into a Creative New Frontier

T

BY ZANDRA WOLFGRAM

he fun factor of the Emerald Coast arts scene is about to hit the charts.

Demetrius Fuller, who founded Sinfonia Gulf Coast in 2005 and serves as its music and artistic director, was named CEO of Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation (MKAF) in December.

“It’s truly an honor to be able to continue this legacy and go into the future with the talented staff and board of directors,” Fuller said. “I’m already having a lot of fun.”

Established in 1995, Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation is a notfor-profit charitable arts organization founded on the cultural, educational and spiritual beliefs of Destin matriarch and lifelong arts patron Mattie Kelly. Today, MKAF remains firmly committed to Mattie Kelly’s vision of making the cultural arts available to all in Northwest Florida.

No one is more excited to continue fulfilling Mattie Kelly’s “creative” vision than Fuller.

Top on this CEO’s priority list is to expand MKAF’s community outreach efforts — the drumbeat of MKAF’s mission. At Fuller’s urging, education director Melanie Moore has curated an unprecedented number of programs (108 and counting). Coined ArtsReach, it provides hands-on art, theater and music education programs designed especially for K-12 students, children and adults with special needs, as well as veteran and active-duty military service members.

To ensure everyone feels welcome to join the “party,” MKAF has revamped its membership program. Specifically, a new category for young professionals has been added.

“Membership is the backbone of MKAF. We are creating some great opportunities to get a younger demographic engaged, interested and involved. It’s really going to be fun,” Fuller says.

MKAF fans can expect an exciting year-round lineup of cultural events and offerings that will celebrate art, music and the culinary arts. Kicking off the 26th season is a unique collaboration only Fuller could deliver: The Music of Queen, featuring Sinfonia Gulf Coast performing live on stage with the tribute band.

With all he’s doing to realize Mattie Kelly’s dream, a clear theme has emerged. “We really want to up our fun factor in all we do,” Fuller says.

DEMETRIUS FULLER

ARTSREACH PARTICIPANTS

MATTIE KELLY ARTS FOUNDATION 4323 COMMONS DRIVE W, DESTIN | (850) 650-2226 | MKAF.ORG To view the calendar of events and to learn more about MKAF and how you can join the fun, visit MKAF.org.

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CONSERVATION EFFORTS

State College

NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE

ENROLL NOW! CRESTVIEW • DEFUNIAK SPRINGS • FT. WALTON BEACH • HURLBURT FIELD • NICEVILLE • SOUTH WALTON • ONLINE (850) 502-2895 | nwfsc.edu Northwest Florida State College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Contact the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Northwest Florida State College. Northwest Florida State College is committed to equal access/equal opportunity in its programs, activities, and employment. For additional information, visit www.nwfsc.edu. Materiales de la Universidad son disponibles en Española llamando a la Oficina de Admisiones de Northwest Florida State College al 850-678-5111.

Photography credit: Sean Murphy.

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BOOKS

TRAVERSING 30A Coffee-table book celebrates coastal development

by WYNN PARKS

P

Paradise might have been a more readable publication if it had.

Chapter one’s notes on the Panhandle’s prehistoric cultures, and later, its frontier days with its timber and turpentine economy and presidential land grants, are quite interesting. So, too, are the chapters that describe the flora and fauna of the region and coastal dune lakes.

But there the fascination stops, and all too soon, the narrative turns to singing the immortal real estate sagas of each designer community from one end of Scenic County Highway 30A to the other: Dune Allen, Santa Rosa Beach and Gulf Place, Blue Mountain Beach, Grayton Beach, WaterColor, Seaside, Seagrove Beach and Eastern Lake, WaterSound, Seacrest, Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, and Inlet — naturally — Beach, ad infinitum.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

↑ Above: Jeep owners gathered for a Fourth of July event at Seagrove Beach in the 1980s. Top: The east end of Lake Allen and the area of the Dune Allen Beach plat and first addition. The Oyster Lake outfall is visible in the foreground.

Dropped are the names of Panhandle notables, paired with summaries of their investor-visions, and details of who bought which parcel of swamp, scrub or dune land. We learn how boundaries were revised by half a degree west, perhaps, to conform to whatever the new Land Politics had decreed.

Robert O. Reynolds was raised in Montgomery, Alabama. His family started vacationing in Northwest Florida in the 1950s. His parents discovered Seagrove Beach in the 1960s and bought a house there, and he has been returning ever since.

Reynolds is the author of Simply Seagrove about the history of that community. With his latest book Pathway to Paradise, he addresses all the communities along Scenic Highway 30A, which since its creation in 1937, has become home to architecturally and culturally significant coastal developments.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT REYNOLDS

athway to Paradise is the kind of volume that leads a reader, after a few pages, to suddenly ask, “What kind of book is this?”

Appearance-wise, it’s a double-wide, coffee-table type book, lavishly produced, the kind of book that one might find gracing a blue, Mexican-tile-top table in the Florida room.

The front cover? It’s a full-bleed, artsy photo of a gateway through sea oats to the beach beyond, a blurred realm of unformed possibilities of infinite glamor.

On the back cover, a coastal landscape — old school “expressionism.”

Inside, there are 136 slick pages of heavy stock, redolent with color photography and a plethora of maps and other graphics one has to see to appreciate and appreciate to see. There’s no question that Robert O. Reynolds invested considerable sweat equity in researching, editing and publishing Pathway to Paradise, but considering how many thousands of words are represented by the photography alone, the actual text could have been left out. In fact,

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↑ CARRYING ON A TRADITION Author Robert O. Reynolds with his son on a dune walkover at Seagrove Beach.

Throughout his life, Reynolds has been a regular visitor to South Walton County.

Cover blurbs describe the book as a kind of Cliff’s Notes that will serve to introduce the well-heeled to the “folklore” of the Emerald Coast, that is, to shops, stores, eateries and other miscellaneous revenue generators.

Yet the book’s great undercurrent seems to be the corporate creation myth of 30A, the Silk Road of the Panhandle, and the instant traditions of the cleverly coined “New Urbanism.” It is a theme that breaks with the folklore coziness almost every other page. So abundant are the appearances made in the text of “develop, developing, developer, developed or development” that anyone paying attention wonders if Pathway to Paradise is a Come to the Land of Flowers real estate brochure, a hardbound Fodor’s Guide to the Panhandle, or a section out of the county plat book.

In the book’s final chapter, “The Future of the Emerald Coast,” Reynolds notes: “Since the early 2000s, a few years after St. Joe broke ground on both WaterColor and WaterSound, some wellcapitalized investors have been betting that this land, bought at historically low prices, was destined to increase in value as more was developed and the population grew.”

In olden times, there was a special member of a king’s retinue called a skald whose primary duty was to create praise verses glorifying the king’s triumphs and wisdom, often in quite long, overblown poems designed to Photoshop, nay, immortalize his liege’s image. Today, the verses go on paper, but otherwise, the more things change, the more they remain the same! EC

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT REYNOLDS

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PROMOTION

Touch People with Your Story

F

or fundraising entities, including the Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation in Pensacola, annual reports are a key communication piece.

They are a means by which foundations stay in contact with their contributors, recognize donors and report the impacts that their generosity has had on the betterment of a community. When effectively designed and written, the annual report can serve to stimulate additional gifts from the established and prospective donors who receive it.

In 2018, Carol Carlan, the president of the Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation, contacted a trusted partner, Rowland Publishing, seeking assistance with freshening and enhancing the report. At that point, the relationship between RPI and the foundation was well established.

Since 2016, the foundation’s “Stories from the Heart” have been a regular part of Emerald Coast Magazine.

Carlan knew that RPI is a highly experienced provider of consulting

and editorial services, print vendor and project management, and publication design.

The foundation’s role is a critical one in the life of the hospital it serves. As a not-for-profit organization, Ascension Sacred Heart relies upon donations from compassionate people who share its vision of ensuring that no one goes without quality patient care and lifesaving treatment.

The 2021 campaign of the foundation will benefit the Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart, which supplies families from Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Port St. Joe with the finest medical services possible in areas including prenatal and neonatal care, pediatric cancer care, pediatric internal medicine and many more.

The professional contributions made by RPI to the annual report have worked as intended. In the years since RPI got involved in improving the report, it has generated more than $500,000 in new donations that have saved lives and improved the health of the region.

» DO YOU NEED HELP WITH A CUSTOM PUBLISHING PROJECT? Contact us today to learn how Rowland Publishing can help make your upcoming project a success. For more information, visit RowlandPublishing.com.

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I have had the pleasure of working with the Rowland Publishing team for five years. They have exceeded our expectations in their professionalism and the quality of their work. Our foundation can identify direct contributions exceeding a half-million dollars that resulted from RPI’s work. We are proud to be affiliated with their incredible organization.

— CAROL CARLAN, PRESIDENT, ASCENSION SACRED HEART

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AT

WITH THE WATER Free divers explore depths unencumbered by tanks STORY BY STEVE BORNHOFT // PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEAN MURPHY

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↙ Freediving instructor Joe D’Agostino surfaces through a curtain of bubbles from a scuba diver. His descent carried him to the wreck of the Miss Louise off Destin.

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Ordinarily, he would have pulled back the bands on his spear gun and drawn a bead on the “suitcase,” as the thick-skinned fish are sometimes called.

But his partner, Fred Cardet, a retired orthopedic surgeon, took over by way of an agreement the two men had reached topside. D’Agostino was coming off rotator cuff surgery, and rather than allow him to risk setting back his recovery, Cardet helped out by preparing the gun for firing.

D’Agostino’s shot was true. The fish, placed on certified scales, topped 10 pounds, a world spearfishing record weight. But D’Agostino could not legitimately claim that distinction.

Doing so would have required that he had harvested the fish unassisted.

D’Agostino, however, readily puts things in perspective.

“People care about records, they do,” said D’Agostino who, in particular, has been chasing the world record for red snapper taken with a pole spear for years, coming within a

FREE DIVING WITH A PARTNER, JOE D’AGOSTINO, SPIED A LARGE TRIGGERFISH.

pound three times. “But I would rather have good friends who look out for my best interests than to have a record few people would ever know about.”

Such reasonable restraint characterizes generally D’Agostino’s approach to the sport of free diving, which, he said, “can be one of the easiest things you will ever do and also one of the most dangerous.”

D’Agostino is an instructor, certified by Freediving Instructors International, at Benthic Ocean Sports in Destin. Free diving has been his passion for 26 years. He was 20 when took a job as a lifeguard in his home state of New Jersey, and his supervisor, a man named Jeff Carpenter, introduced him to the activity.

“My very first day in the chair, I watched him go out and swim back and forth along a jetty with the Manhattan skyline in the background,” D’Agostino recalled. “He’s got a pole spear, fins and a catch bag. When he gets out, his bag is full of fish and I start peppering him with questions.”

Carpenter invited D’Agostino to join him, in part because he was looking for someone to provide him surface support as a safety consideration. Soon, D’Agostino had

←Joe D’Agostino prepares to set the anchor during a trip aboard the Spaniard 2. He was introduced to the sport of free diving as a teen in New Jersey by his supervisor a t a lifeguard job. → Armed and ready, Julie Augustine checks the water column for possible targets.

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gained his first experience as a breath-hold spearfisherman.

“I remember going down 12 feet, and it felt like what 112 feet feels like now,” he said. “I pulled back on the spear and shot a tautog.”

The fish was two inches short of legal size, a rookie mistake.

“But I knew in that moment that free diving was going to be a part of me for the rest of my life. I could go right back to the very rock where I shot that fish. I can tell you what the water clarity and temperature were that day.

That experience is frozen in my mind.”

Free diving, according to D’Agostino, is the fastest-growing segment in water sports. Almost all of that growth relates to spearfishing, he said, although there are, he conceded, a few sightseeing free divers who frequent freshwater springs and lakes.

D’Agostino has made spearfishing trips to Australia, Fiji, Tahiti and Mexico. But he especially loves the northern Gulf of Mexico from the Big Bend of Florida to Texas.

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“We have one of the best fisheries in the world right now,” he enthused, “from shallowwater species to blue-water species.”

The Level I class that D’Agostino teaches takes place in the course of a weekend.

“I have people come in here on a Saturday morning, and by Sunday at lunch they are 66-foot divers,” he said, adding that a student need only have basic swimming skills.

On Day 1, students receive a half-day of classroom instruction covering topics including the history of the sport, equipment, physics and physiology.

In the afternoon, instruction moves to a pool where students work on entering the water and moving from a horizontal to a vertical, headfirst posture. D’Agostino discusses safety issues and problems that may affect divers such as loss of motor control or blackouts. He teaches people how to “diaphragm breathe” versus breathing from the chest, and students then attempt breath holds.

Within three attempts, D’Agostino students

← From left to right, Julie Augustine, Fred Cardet, Mike Pooler and Joe D’Agostino head offshore on a cool spring day. → D’Agostino retrieves a sheepshead taken with a speargun. He was diving on Army tanks off Destin.

manage to hold their breath for an average of two minutes and 45 seconds.

“Infants breathe from their bellies,” D’Agostino said. “It’s natural and more relaxing. Then we get jobs and spouses and mortgages and other stressors, and we start to breathe through our chest, more stress. If you breathe from your diaphragm, purse your lips and control your exhale, basically you are holding your alveolar spaces in your lungs open longer.”

On Day 2, the class takes place in open water, usually from a boat or at Vortex Springs in the event of rough water.

Students invert themselves and pull themselves down a rope, working on equalizing the pressure in their ears as they proceed.

Later, they practice kicking themselves down through the water.

“We weight ourselves to be neutral at 33 feet,” D’Agostino explained. “We kick hard with big fins until you get to 33 feet and then ease our kicks as we become negative and the weight belt begins to carry us to the bottom.”

D’Agostino has students from pre-teens to people in their 60s. His regular dive partners include retired orthopedic surgeon Dr. Fred Cardet, age 71.

↑ From left to right, Julie Augustine, Mike Pooler and Joe D’Agostino run through checklists and get their minds right before making a dive. Basic free diving equipment consists of a mask, snorkel, wet suit, weight belt and fins. Pooler is the owner of Benthic Ocean Sports in Destin.

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↘ Fred Cardet, 71, a retired physician, was a self-taught free diver growing up in Miami before he eventually took formal classes.

He once shot a 150-pound yellowfin tuna off Venice, Louisiana.

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For years, Cardet, who grew up in Miami, was a self-taught free diver. He started spearfishing at age 17. Over time, as he visited increasingly deeper waters, he thought about and then decided, in 2004, to take a certification class. His most memorable spearfishing triumphs have been a 131-pound amberjack, taken during a trip that left out of Destin in 2018, and a 150-pound yellowfin tuna, harvested near an oil rig off of Venice, Louisiana.

The big amberjack, Cardet said, “was probably the easiest fish I ever shot. It swam up to me and I was looking to my left, and when I looked to the right, he was right there.

I didn’t have to move the gun or anything. I just pulled the trigger, the spear went through his head, and he rolled over.

“He never wiggled.”

Cardet’s favorite spearfishing target is the muscular, hard-fighting cobia, which he sometimes encounters just off the beach during its westerly spring migrations and at other times at depth.

He attributes his longevity as a free diver to good genes, staying in shape and refraining from risk-taking.

“There are old divers and bold divers, but there are no old, bold divers,” D’Agostino likes to say.

“That’s about right,” Cardet agreed.

Cardet just once experienced a loss of motor control while free diving. He was surfacing when he encountered and shot an amberjack.

As a result, he stayed down longer than he intended and developed a problem while fighting the fish. Never has he blacked out, but his brother once did.

“During our class, my brother went to 120 feet and came back only 110 before he blacked out,” Cardet explained. “The last 10 feet, the instructor had to assist him. One minute, he looked dead — all the color was gone from his face and his eyes were rolled back — and within a few seconds of taking a breath at the surface, he was wide awake again. That was incredible.”

D’Agostino said the most frequently occurring safety rules violations are diving

↑ GOING DOWN Julie Augustine heads for the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico near Destin. Free divers use fins much longer than those typically used by scuba divers.

alone and improper weighting. Some divers will load their belts up to the point where the weight carries them all the way down from the surface, eliminating the need for kicking.

“But if they black out and don’t make it all the way back to the surface, they sink and they may never be found,” D’Agostino said.

Cardet praised D’Agostino’s work as an instructor.

“When I took the class in 2004 with my wife and my brother, our instructors were two world-class free divers and their coach,” he said. “Years later, we took another class with Joe as a refresher, and he helped my wife far more than the world-class divers did. He is really a top-notch instructor.”

D’Agostino is looking forward to the Destin arrival on June 5 of Martin Stepanek of the Czech Republic, who set 13 world records as a free diver, founded Freediving Instructors International and developed the standardized curriculum it uses.

Stepanek will teach a Level I course at Benthic Ocean Sports and is also working to make D’Agostino a certified instructor trainer.

D’Agostino is set to become just one of a halfdozen such trainers in the United States. EC EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

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UNFAMILIAR SPECIES ENCROACH UPON THE COAST

→ Snook, a fish usually associated with the mangrove-lined shorelines of Southwest Florida, has been expanding its range northward as the product of a series of warm winters.

Last winter, along much of the Emerald Coast, purple finches, a bird that had not been known to commonly frequent the area, showed up in numbers. Biologists and birders call such sudden increases in the population of a species in a given area “irruptions.” The finches were, in effect, vacationers. But there are other species — an outsized amphibian, a prized game fish, a homely blowfish, what appears to be a muskrat on growth hormones and a

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NEW

TOWN

PHOTOS BY ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS: FTLAUDGIRL

to

duck that hangs out in trees — that appear instead to be intent upon permanent residency.

They may be exploiting available ecological niches or responding to climatic changes or to a combination of factors. All serve to remind us that, as a charter boat captain once told me when a surf fisherman improbably caught a blackfin tuna off Panama City Beach, “There ain’t no fences out there.” — Steve Bornhoft

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Rosie had been fishing on the flats in St. Andrew Bay near the Navy base in Panama City Beach when a large school of jack crevalle passed by. Rosie directed his charter, a young man named Ryan from Tennessee, to toss a live pilcher into the jacks. Moments later, he was hooked up.

When whatever it was on the end of Ryan’s line jumped — something that trout and jacks don’t do — Rosie wondered, “What in the world is that?”

As the fish neared the boat, there was no mistaking it. Its bold, black lateral line gave it away as a snook, a species Rosie had caught on trips to South Florida but one that is rarely seen north of Taylor County.

“I was like, ‘You gotta be kidding me. I better get this thing in the boat or everyone will think I’m crazy when I tell them what I caught,’” Rosie said.

Ryan brought the fish to net, and Rosie took a celebratory photo.

Was the catch, made in 2019, the product of the Luck of the Amish?

Possibly.

Ryan grew up in an Amish community but separated from it when he became old enough to live independently.

Over the last two years, Rosie has seen another couple of snook in Bay County waters, but he hasn’t hooked one.

Tommy Thompson, a photographer and one-time charter boat captain — he had to give up guiding after losing an eye to infection — writes Big Bend “Action Spotter” reports for Florida Sportsman magazine and has been tracking the northerly drift of snook for years with interest.

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“When I was a kid, Tarpon Springs was about as far north as you got ’em,” Thompson said. “Only occasionally would you see one caught at Crystal River or at the state park at Homosassa, and when that happened, it made the paper.”

Now, according to Thompson, guides operating at the mouths of the Waccasassa and Withlacoochee rivers are targeting snook when the season is open.

Snook, throughout their historic range, relate closely to mangroves, which attract prey fish and, in turn, predators. Not coincidentally, the plants, which spring from water, are popping up in areas where they had not been seen before.

“It used to be here in the Big Bend, you would see an island and you thought maybe it had mangroves on it, but it was actually a duck blind,” Thompson said. “Now I know of several islands north of Steinhatchee that are tipped up with mangroves.”

In a blog entry, Savanna Barry, an extension agent at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Services, terms snook that are wandering north “pioneers.” Researchers, she wrote, “think snook are expanding their range and population numbers as average sea surface temperatures increase.”

Barry describes a study conducted by UF graduate student Emma Pistole, who worked to determine if there are genetic differences between pioneering snook and relative homebodies.

Analyzing DNA samples from fin clippings collected by fishing guides in Yankeetown, Crystal River, Cedar Key and Hernando County, Pistole found that snook along the Nature Coast had lower genetic diversity in comparison to those in Tampa Bay. Further study of genetic variation observed in pioneer fish may lead to the creation of a separate management plan for northern Gulf Coast populations.

Thompson said researchers have discovered snook 20 miles inland in the Suwannee River.

Before long, he predicted, “you are going to have numbers of them in the backwaters of Panama City.”

A fish far less likely to figure in university studies is the smooth back puffer, which like the snook, is surprising anglers in the northern Gulf who may be pursuing speckled trout on grass flats and reel in a fish that resembles a club of the sort that Fred Flintstone toted.

“When people first started catching them, they didn’t know what the hell they were,” Thompson said. “They

↙ Smooth back puffers, with increasing frequency, are surprising anglers along the northern Gulf Coast with their vicious strikes and improbable appearance.

PHOTOS BY ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS: THROUGH-MY-LENS (DUCK) AND FLICKR.COM / LUSOX (PUFFERFISH)

The way the fish was fighting, Capt. Garrison Rosie thought it might be the biggest speckled trout ever taken about his inshore charter boat.

↙ Black-bellied whistling ducks, long established in Louisiana and Central Florida, are taking up residence along the Emerald Coast. A breeding population has been observed at Conservation Park north of Panama City Beach.

BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS, ACCORDING TO BAY COUNTY AUDUBON PRESIDENT PAM OVERMYER, HAVE ENTERED THE UNITED STATES FROM MEXICO AND FROM THE CARIBBEAN.

were familiar with porcupine blowfish that will take a chunk out of your cork, but these things are fierce. They’ll hit just about anything.”

In 2015, via a post on his website headlined “Gulf Coast Smooth Back Pufferfish — An Invasion?” Thompson solicited information about catches of the species and received more than 40 reports.

“I grew up fishing, but I had never seen any until we had a big batch of them at Steinhatchee in Taylor County about seven, eight years ago,” Thompson said. “You would

catch two or three, usually while fishing on the flats with some kind of artificial lure.

Before the water gets too warm, I like to fish with Paul Brown soft plugs, and boy, they will chew one of those in half in a heartbeat.”

Catches of smooth back puffers, sometimes called ocean puffers, ranging to three feet and 20 pounds have been reported along Florida’s east coast.

“Seeing one that big, I wouldn’t even get in the damn water,” Thompson said.

— Steve Bornhoft

Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks Norm Capra, who chairs the Conservation Committee of the Bay County Audubon Society, lives in a house on a pond at the west end of Panama City Beach, very near the BayWalton county line.

“One day several years ago, we saw eight strange-looking ducks on the pond and got pretty excited,” Capra said.

“Shortly after we saw them here, the same number of ducks showed up at Conservation Park (located west of State Highway 79 and north of Panama City Beach). They were most likely the same ducks.”

Black-bellied whistling ducks, according to Bay County Audubon president Pam Overmyer, have entered the United

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States from Mexico and from the Caribbean. She believes that the birds seen along the Emerald Coast took the latter route, getting as far north as Tallahassee before hanging a Louie.

The ducks have a distinctly upright posture, as if they have all been to an avian finishing school, and have pink feet, an orange beak and white eye-rings.

They spend large portions of their time on land and in trees, and they peep while in flight. Because they are not hunted, they are less skittish than other ducks. In the last couple of years, they have been observed with ducklings at Conservation Park.

“They are established here now, and more and more, you are going to see them popping up at local ponds,” Overmyer said. “They have expanded their range naturally, not as the result of human releases or escapes from captivity, so they are considered a native species.”

In March, a New Orleans television station, WWLTV, broadcast a news story about thousands of whistling ducks that had overtaken Lafreniere Park in Metairie and Audubon Park in uptown New Orleans.

The cacophony of voices captured by the news crew might fairly be called a clustercluck.

Whether they may have deleterious effects on other more established species is an open question. Overmyer likened them to cattle egrets, another species that expanded its range northward from South and Central America through Texas.

Overmyer, who serves as Bay Audubon’s rare bird coordinator, pays close attention to so-called vagrants, birds that depart from their usual travel patterns.

“A south polar skua showed up at Camp Helen last year,” she noted. “How it wound up in the Gulf we’ll never know.”

Last winter saw irruptions of purple finches and pine siskins. Wintertime sightings of vermillion flycatchers have been made at the one-time Hombre Golf Course, currently being redeveloped, and the Lynn Haven Recreational Park.

Vermillion flycatchers breed in Arizona and typically winter in Central and South America. For the past 10plus winters, though, a population of the birds has been seen at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge at a spot called Twin Dykes, where two canals pass beneath a road.

“Maybe at some point they decided to fly 800 miles instead of 2,000 miles,” Overmyer theorized.

Purple Or maybe they chose to avoid the Finch political unrest in those other Americas, which can from time to time be as bad as it is in the United States. — Steve Bornhoft

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“ THEY WERE ORIGINALLY BROUGHT TO THE U.S. FROM SOUTH AMERICA IN THE 19TH CENTURY FOR THE FUR TRADE.” —RICK O’CONNOR

Nutria For Rick O’ Connor, the nutria presents a classic invasive species tale: a critter is introduced to a new country, escapes captivity and, with no natural predators, explodes in population.

In 2019, O’Connor, a Florida Sea Grant extension agent and Pensacola native, found a dead nutria around Perdido Key. Immediately, he wondered how prevalent they might be in Escambia County.

“I found records of nutria here dating back to the 1950s,” O’Connor said. “They were originally brought to the U.S. from South America in the 19th century for the fur trade.

People were going to hunt them, particularly in Louisiana. They got loose and did really well.”

Nutria, characterized by their

orange, iron-tough enameled teeth, skinny tails and webbed feet, can produce their first litter at just eight months of age.

Birthing between two to 12 pups per litter, nutria may have up to three litters per year.

They are a sizable rodent reaching 40 inches in length and weighing an average of 12 pounds. They travel in small groups and have a notoriously voracious appetite for plant roots and stems. That, coupled with their tendency to burrow and tunnel through banks and waterways, has earned them pest status in Louisiana, where nutria destroy some 100,000 acres of coastal wetlands per year.

Nutria overpopulation and destruction is so severe, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has established a bounty at $6 per tail.

“Nutria in Louisiana have

PHOTOS BY PIERSON HILL (SIREN) AND ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS: FIRN (NUTRIA) AND SYLVIEBOUCHARD (PURPLE FINCH)

↙ The nutria, a porker of a rodent with an insatiable appetite for stems and roots, undermines marshy shorelines with its activities. In Florida, coyotes and gators may help keep their numbers in check.

been wiping out large sections of marsh that protect the shoreline from hurricane damage,” O’Connor said. “So, I became concerned about our marshes.

We’re calling nutria an EDRR species, that’s early detection, rapid response, to let the public know before they get out of control.”

O’Connor oversees a database at eddmaps.org where people can log nutria sightings. There have been several sightings around the Perdido Key golf course, as well as a report of nutria at Grand Lagoon in Panama City.

But, there’s no need to panic.

According to O’Connor, something is holding nutria in check along the Emerald Coast.

“Alligators seem to prey on them,” he said, “and, other than that, I would speculate groups of coyotes on our barrier islands may be involved. So, we don’t see nutria as a big issue, but we have them on our radar and do ask that people report any sightings.”

— Hannah Burke

Reticulated Siren When wildlife ecologist and conservation biologist David Steen checked the turtle traps he’d set in a swamp at Eglin Air Force Base, he didn’t expect to unearth his personal white whale.

But, after two years of searching, Steen came face-to-face with a reticulated siren, an aquatic salamander species thought, until his 2009 encounter, to be the stuff of legends.

With its 2-foot-long, spotted, eel-like body and puffy, protruding gills, the nocturnal amphibian certainly looks like the stuff of exaggerated tales.

Steen first heard of the mysterious giant while attending graduate school at Auburn University in 2007. An advisor showed him a massive specimen jar mislabeled “greater siren” and suggested it might be an undescribed species.

And, according to a book by Robert Mount, The Reptiles and Amphibians of Alabama, published in 1975, people had reported sightings of what they referred to as “leopard eels,” but none had been trapped.

Steen, along with graduate student Sean Graham, wouldn’t find another reticulated siren after 2009 until five years later. In 2018, the pair finally published a paper officially describing the species in the scientific journal, PLOS One, compiled by the Public Library of Science.

According to Kevin M. Enge, an associate research scientist who works under Steen, the reticulated siren population is plentiful but has specific habitat requirements. Enge, along with Matt Fedler of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, has been working to expand upon Steen’s work and establish the taxonomy of other sirens.

“Reticulated sirens are very difficult to catch, as they spook out of any nets you drag through their habitat,” Fedler said. “There are no actual studies of

them in the wild, but we know they prefer places such as beaver ponds that accumulate a lot of mud on the bottom and have diverse vegetation.”

Enge said the reticulated siren eats “like a vacuum,” inhaling vegetation, substrate and small aquatic invertebrates.

“The excess sand gets pushed out through their gill slits,” he said.

Enge and Felder have helped record reticulated siren sightings from South Alabama to the Escambia and Chipola rivers in Northwest Florida and flowages in between. In doing so, they discovered a new, 7-inch-long salamander they are calling the seepage siren.

The case of the seepage siren is like that of the reticulated variety. Reports of the seepage siren have been around for about 30 years, but no one had bothered describing it. In fact, there may be another undiscovered siren species out there.

“Sirens may not be very visible, but they are abundant,” Enge said.

— Hannah Burke

↑ Little was known about the reticulated siren, variously referred to as a leopard eel or a greater siren, until recent years. The species was first officially described in a scientific journal in 2018. It feeds by sifting organic material from bottom sediment.

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↘ Joe Moore of the 30A Sea-life Discovery Center prepares visitors from Atlanta for what they will see during a kayak excursion to Western Lake.

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Fostering Connections Sea-life Center introduces visitors to marine wonders

F story by THOMAS J. MONIGAN photography by MIKE FENDER

or five years, Joe Moore and his family have been inviting people to discover the natural wonders of South Walton County and beyond.

Moore, his wife Sheryl, and daughters Lexi and Zea, own and operate the 30A Sea-life Center, located on Logan Lane, off County Road 283 just north of Scenic County Highway 30A. “We have another business called Appleseed Expeditions, and we take kids on science trips and had our office there,” Joe Moore said. “I thought it would be great to have a marine science center because it’s right next to Grayton Beach, which is one of the biggest outlets for coastal dune lakes, and there’s an artificial reef right off the coast.

“We thought it would be great to teach about all the different species that live along 30A because it’s such an unusual ecological area,” he said.

“My favorite parts are the excursions,” said Christy Gibson, manager of visitor information at Visit South Walton. “It gives the kids a chance to get out in nature and interact with marine life in a way that they normally wouldn’t be able to.”

One of Moore’s favorite snorkeling trips visits a cove near Shell Island in St. Andrew Bay in Bay County.

“Between 20 and 50 green sea turtles, between 2 and 8 years old, hang out there until they get big enough for the open ocean,” Moore said.

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“Their experiences and the lessons that parents can teach their children are going to last a lifetime.”

— David Demarest, director of communication for the Walton County Tourist Development Council David Demarest, director of communication for the Walton County Tourist Development Council, said preservation and ecology are “hugely important” for South Walton.

“They’re a big part of who we are,” he said. “As the TDC, we’re behind the funding that makes the nearshore snorkeling reefs. When we reach out to potential visitors, we definitely reach out with a message that’s related to the natural qualities of the area.

“Businesses like 30A Sea Life help to tell that story,” he said.

Demarest said people who experience marine life and natural systems while in South Walton develop a strong connection to the area.

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“Their experiences and the lessons that parents can teach their children are going to last a lifetime,” Demarest said. “And what we see happening in later generations, those kids grow up and bring their own kids here. And the cycle repeats itself. The more we can do as a community to facilitate an appreciation and an understanding for the natural ecology and biology of South Walton, the better.”

Moore grew up in Texas and said that at age 9 or 10, he knew he wanted to be a marine biologist.

“I loved the research they were doing at the South Padre Island University of Texas research facility,” he said. “So, when I was older, I wanted to develop a marine

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science program that plants a vision and a purpose in the lives of young people, especially at-risk kids.

“Our message of ‘stay in school, stay focused on your dream’ is planting a seed of hope in their lives, and it’s also helping with preservation and conservation programs.”

Moore discovered the Emerald Coast when attending the University of West Florida.

“When I got married, I lived in Tampa for a while, but my wife and I decided to move here because this is where we wanted to raise a family.”

Lexi Moore is 7 and Zea is 13.

“They help out in the summer, and they love arts and crafts,”

↑ Top: Josh Cobb, 10, of Atlanta inspects a horseshoe crab, a species that has remained unchanged for millions of years. Above: A sandbox holds shark jaws that visitors are free to touch.

↖↑ CLOSE TO NATURE Joe Moore, on the stand-up paddleboard, leads a group of visitors as they explore the waters of Western Lake, a coastal dune lake. He aims to expand the appreciation of people for the natural world through hands-on classes and field trips.

Moore said. “They help collect creatures with me.”

Last summer on a snorkeling trip to Panama City Beach, Lexi got to swim with dolphins near the pass to St. Andrew Bay. “We put her in the water, and they swam around her; she actually touched one of the dolphins,” Moore said.

Lexi is also fond of her pet stone crab named Bella.

The family has a video of a thimblesized octopus walking along Zea’s arm.

“Zea helps kids make sea turtles out of clay,” Moore said. “And she can make sea turtles, dolphins and sharks.” EC

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EM ER

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The Emerald Coast region merges the allure of tourism, the bustle of developing businesses and the comfort of familyoriented communities. These cities provide our homes, our workplaces and our sources of enjoyment. Recent events may have slowed the Emerald Coast’s progress and its economy, but they have done nothing to curb its resolve. Express your appreciation for the businesses that you support and admire by casting your online ballot in the 2021 Best of the Emerald Coast readers’ choice awards.

CAST YOUR VOTE ONLINE EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/Best-of-Emerald-Coast-2021Ballot OR

Fill out the ballot on the adjoining page based on the rules for the printed ballot.

All online and paper ballot votes will be combined for final tabulations.

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BEN EF I T T I N G

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2021 OFFICIAL BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST BALLOT brought to you by: RULES To preserve the integrity of the voting process, the following contest rules must be observed in order to cast a ballot and ensure it is included in the voting tabulation process. These rules are for the printed ballot only, otherwise visit EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/ Best-of-Emerald-Coast-2021Ballot to vote online: • Only ballots printed on original Emerald Coast Magazine pages will be accepted; no copies or facsimiles of the ballot will be counted as a vote.

• Ballots must have votes marked in at least 10 different categories in order to be counted.

• Each vote must list the name of a business/company. Individual names alone will not be counted.

• All votes must be for locally owned Emerald Coast-area businesses.

Locally owned and operated companies are defined by the owner

or managing partner living in the Emerald Coast area or within a 30-mile radius of the Emerald Coast.

•O nly ballots cast for locally owned and operated companies will be counted.

•O nly one ballot per envelope is permitted.

•A ll ballots must be mailed directly to Junior League of the Emerald Coast, a third-party organization responsible for processing the ballots. The address is: Junior League of the Emerald Coast C/O: Best of the Emerald Coast PO Box 265, Destin, FL 32540-0265 • Ballots must be postmarked by June 20, 2021.

•O bvious attempts at ballot stuffing will be disqualified.

• Any winning business must be in good standing with Rowland Publishing, Inc. in order to be promoted as a “Best of” winner and still in operation by the date of the results printed in the magazine.

Once ballots are counted, all tabulations are final.

Emerald Coast Magazine will recognize the results of the winners for every category in the October/November 2021 issue. Rules apply for winners.

The business must offer the product or service the category states as “best,” otherwise that business will be disqualified from winning that category.

A business can win the “Best of” award in no more than one category. If a business is the leading vote-getter in more than one category, that business will win only the “Best of ” award for the category in which it received the most votes.

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Thanks for voting for us for Best Martini in 2020!

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INTERIORS

The Return of Wallpaper

|| GREEN SCENE

Meeting Irrigation Season

Abodes

JUN/JUL 2021

TRENDS FROM FLOOR TO CEILING, FRONT TO BACK

Patio kitchens are becoming a hot item

↓

Taking it Outside

by LIESEL SCHMIDT

photography by JACK GARDNER PHOTOGRAPHY

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photography by JACK GARDNER PHOTOGRAPHY

O

← A fireplace adds a warming and entrancing touch to this outdoor area and kitchen at a home in Seaside.

Outdoor kitchens both increase a home’s resale value and effectively enlarge its footprint of usable space.

utdoor living spaces have become increasingly popular over the past few years, and as the trend grows, so do the options available in products and materials.

The idea of taking an interior room and creating an outside version is not only feasible and functional, but it’s also a factor in increasing the resale value of your home. One of the most popular features in outdoor living is a kitchen space, and over the past few years, outdoor kitchen designs have become far more detailed — and much more user-friendly.

Thanks to all of the ways that technology has evolved, there are a wide variety of great outdoor kitchen concepts with every appliance imaginable, all of them engineered to weather the weather. The plans can be as simple as a small area with a great grill and some refrigeration or as complicated as a fully equipped kitchen with outdoor lighting.

Naturally, your choices will differ according to your personal needs and your budget.

So what makes for the ultimate outdoor kitchen?

Depending on your own cooking skills, there are a variety of appliances available that can be the stuff of a chef’s dream. In fact, if you’re working with a significant amount of space, you can actually have more at your fingertips than you would inside, simply because some of these accouterments require ventilation not generally found indoors.

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← A banquet-style table and bench seating await the next culinary creations that will emerge from this outdoor kitchen at a home in Alys Beach in South Walton.

“The top pieces recommended for a great outdoor kitchen are, of course, a grill — which range from the most simplistic in design to high-tech editions with Wi-Fi for control and monitoring from your cell phone — a fridge, ice chest, beer tap, wine cooler and believe it or not, a dishwasher,” said Rene L. West, president of Executive Landscaping, Inc., in Pensacola. With more than 30 years of experience, West’s business has installed a great many outdoor kitchens.

“The best don’t just stop at the appliances,” West said. “Think about bar seating and outdoor entertainment with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, speakers and a big screen TV.” “Shade is also important,” added Kevin Trussell of Grill Island, Inc., in Pensacola.

Focused solely on outdoor kitchens, the

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company boasts nearly 20 years of serving the Gulf Coast. “You also need space for prep and a serving area as well as storage.

Besides the obvious appliances, a sink is a must. Interestingly, griddles have also become very popular.”

There are, of course, important considerations that will impact the size and approach to your outdoor kitchen design. The actual footprint and layout are largely dependent on the available space in your yard, but it also needs to reflect what you hope to achieve with your outdoor kitchen. And, while it may be tempting to tackle the installation of an outdoor kitchen as a DIY project, it’s best left to the professionals.

“We have access to better components and construction techniques,” West explained. “Professionals also have an

understanding of which materials are best. Also, be very wary about buying online, even if the price seems attractive, as warranties and returns become a nightmare.”

“It’s critical to use non-combustible materials and materials that will not rot, rust or deteriorate over time, and I recommend that the equipment be 304 stainless steel,” Trussell said.

Naturally, getting the most bang for your buck is a priority, and West recommends intensive planning to keep expenses within your budget.

“Be selective in the equipment you choose,” Trussell advises. “There are highquality grills that don’t require excessive spending. Researching materials can allow you to have the same kitchen design with materials that cost less.” EC photography by JACK GARDNER PHOTOGRAPHY

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CUSTOM CONTENT

The Gathering Place is NatureWalk’s community clubhouse. The amenities are aimed towards socializing and fitness including the fitness center, tennis, pickleball, a playground, the pool, outdoor spa, event lawn, firepit and more. The facility is scheduled to open in 2022.

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he Emerald Coast is enviable because of the lifestyle and livability it presents. NatureWalk at the Watersound Origins community emphasizes the unparalleled beauty of the region and its leisurely lifestyle through a community that thrives on connectivity and convenience.

The NatureWalk at Watersound Origins neighborhood offers stunning homes ranging from 1,500 to 3,000-plus square feet.

Reflecting the architecture of the area, these homes start in the $400,000’s, have one or two stories and can have up to six bedrooms.

Kolter Homes specializes in open concept homes with flexibility of design, allowing buyers to personalize the entire home from the structure to the finishings. This can be done both through the online interactive floor plan generator or the on-site design gallery, where you can select cabinets, flooring, furnishings and more.

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CUSTOM CONTENT

At the start of 2021, the first phase of homes sold within weeks, and the second phase is currently in the works between Kolter Homes and St. Joe Properties.

With 14 floor plan options available to personalize, everyone from empty nesters to growing families can find their perfect home. “The homes are inspired by the unique beauty of the area, with a focus on the indoor/outdoor lifestyle,” said John Manrique, senior vice president of marketing of Kolter Homes LLC. “The homes feature flexible outdoor spaces

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with views of the preserve or water, on-site amenities and access to all that Watersound Origins has to offer, which is constantly growing in an intelligent and responsible way.”

Residents of NatureWalk at Watersound Origins have access to amenities that include tennis, pickleball, a resortstyle pool with a sundeck, an event lawn, fitness centers, and a playground, alongside access to Origins Golf Club and Lake Powell for canoeing, fishing, paddleboarding and more.

“NatureWalk is in a central location, but it’s gated and off the beaten path, allowing you to unwind,” said Manrique. “When I think of NatureWalk, Grayton Beer’s saying comes to mind, ‘slow down, you’re here.’ The residents have worked hard to buy their new homes and have this lifestyle; we want them to enjoy it to its fullest.”

NATUREWALK AT WATERSOUND ORIGINS NatureWalkWatersound.com

CUSTOM CONTENT

One of the 14 flexible floor plans to choose from is The Panama, which is part of the Lake Collection featuring three or four bedrooms, three baths, a den, a great room, a kitchen, a three-car garage and a patio with a pool.

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PROMOTION

IMPROVING LIVES BY DESIGN ONE CLOSET AT A TIME It’s easy to let it all go in the closet after you shut the door. Especially if you’re busy being productive or enjoying all the Emerald Coast has to offer. We collaborate with you to match your wants with your needs. Organizational challenges can actually be fun with an experienced guide there to think it through with you. Life is too short to spend it hunting for things you know you have, but you just can’t find. At Closet Solutions Florida, organizing is our passion. Ease goes hand-in-hand with a well-designed space.

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← ON THE REBOUND Wallpaper is making a comeback on the strength of fresh colors, patterns, textures and styles that range from traditional to contemporary.

INTERIORS

THE RETURN OF WALLPAPER Contemporary styles achieve effects that paints cannot

M

any “new” design ideas are really inspired by the past.

One such trend — and a polarizing one, at that — is wallpaper.

As simple as it might seem to decide for or against it, there are lots of factors to consider, especially in light of advances that have been made in wallpaper over the years.

Gone are the days of rooms completely covered in paper that ages and falls out of favor quickly, only to defy anyone trying to remove it. These days, the designs are not only plentiful but extremely attractive and often even customizable.

“I recently read that wallpaper has been used since the 16th century,” said designer Lacy Phillips, who began her career in Dallas working under renowned residential

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designer Shannon Bowers, before moving back to her hometown of Pensacola to found Lacy Phillips Designs.

“When I began my career over 10 years ago, wallpaper was slowly coming back in fashion after a period of being out of style,” Phillips said. “Now, it’s definitely back and available in fresh colors, patterns, textures including metallics, cork and other natural fibers and styles that can range from traditional to contemporary. Another bonus is the availability of performance wallpapers in materials such as vinyl that still look fabulous and can easily be wiped clean.”

“People were so against wallpaper after it had a run in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s,” added Paige Schnell of Tracery Interiors,

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whose design studio and two retail stores in Rosemary Beach and Inlet Beach attract clientele from all over the United States.

“It’s wonderful that it’s become popular again, because wallpaper can add so much to a space. A favorite room for wallpaper is the powder room, but it can add so much to so many rooms.”

The trick, of course, is knowing where to use it and how.

“I believe that good design is achieved in layers, and wallpaper is a layer of its own,” Phillips said. “It can provide a texture that envelops a room and makes it cozier, or it may display a colorful, wild pattern that elevates people’s moods when they enter. It may also introduce a pattern that sets the tone and color scheme for one’s entire home.”

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↑ Designer Lacy Phillips finds that by papering a single accent wall in a room, a desirable effect can be achieved without it becoming overwhelming.

“Wallpapers actually add some durability to a room,” noted Schnell. “They can also add texture and color that may be needed in a space, giving it the finishing touch it may otherwise lack.”

And, there are some instances where paint won’t bring about a desired effect. “Some of the patterns and textures you get from wallpaper just can’t be achieved in paint,” Schnell said.

“Wallpaper can add a ‘punch’ when paint simply wouldn’t add much to a room,” Phillips agreed. “In small spaces such as a powder bathroom, a pattern on the wall can actually make the space appear larger. The same is true for the opposite, making an oversized room feel more intimate and soothing.”

Experts love the versatility and style that wallpaper can add.

“Their use is not limited to the walls,” Phillips asserts.

“We’ve applied it to ceilings, the back of shelves on a bookcase, and framed them as a piece as art — which is a great way to utilize a pattern if you are on a limited budget. I also appreciate the diverse selection available.”

“I appreciate the personality that wallpaper can instantly add to a room,” Schnell said. “If you have a room that just needs something, try wallpaper!”

Still, wallpaper might best be used in moderation.

“Wallpapering just one wall, such as the headboard wall in a bedroom is a great way to achieve an accent wall that you won’t tire of,” Phillips said. “This works both for someone a little nervous about a full commitment as well as anyone working on a budget. I also suggest keeping more colorful and patterned papers in spaces such as the powder bath and foyer — spaces that I call the ‘jewelry boxes’ of a home, where you can experiment.

For the main living areas, I gravitate more toward muted colors and patterns.” EC

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MEETING IRRIGATION SEASON

Quench your lawn’s thirst, but don’t drown it

Establishing New Plants

LES HARRISON

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ummer is here, and plants are responding with unrestrained growth.

Landscape and garden tasks are many and must be prioritized based on their importance to the homeowner. Lawn care will likely be at or near the top of the list.

Unless adequate rain occurs every three or four days, extra water should be applied to the lawn.

Guidelines for lawn irrigation include applying ¾ to 1 inch of water each application.

This ensures that roots will penetrate as deep as possible in the soil and are not concentrated on the surface, making the turf more susceptible to drying out and dying.

Supplemental watering should be based on the needs of the turf as determined by the heat and rain frequency. If the grass begins to curl or discolor or the soil is dry to the touch, it is time to water.

Watering should occur between 5 and 10 a.m. This minimizes the loss of water to evaporation and gives the grass time to dry out before nightfall. Wet turf at night is a recipe for numerous fungal diseases.

As with excess fertilizer, too much water applied is a waste and will cause problems for the lawn. In addition to disease and decay, the surplus water will promote weed growth, especially dollarweed (Hydrocotyle umbellate).

Summer is the peak growth period for Florida’s turf varieties and may necessitate supplemental plant nutrients. Fertilizers used correctly can produce a dense green lawn but applied in excess have the potential to contaminate the water table.

Selection of fertilizers should be based on a soil test for a specific turf type. The report will state the amount in pounds of nitrogen (the first number on the analysis tag), phosphorus (the second number) and potassium (the third number) for a specific area.

Most Florida soils have sufficient phosphorus and do not need it in fertilizer applications. Many retailers offer products without phosphorus, such as 15-0-15.

Once applied, the fertilizer should be watered in by rain or irrigation, ideally within an hour to prevent burning from the nitrogen in the product.

Shrubs can be added to the landscape during summer if proper techniques are used. Only plants established in pots can be successfully translocated.

Loosen the soil in the hole and supplement with peat moss or composted cow manure but not granular fertilizer. The root ball should be about an inch above the soil’s surface after installing.

Mulch the new addition with leaves and/or pine straw. Keep a few inches between the trunk and mulch, extending it out beyond its drip line (the reach of the branches).

Water generously, but do not flood the new shrub or tree.

Check daily for the first few weeks to confirm the soil in the plant’s root zone is remaining moist. When the addition begins to put out new shoots, reduce watering but continue monitoring a few times weekly to make sure moisture is adequate.

Les Harrison is a retired University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Wakulla County extension director.

Summer in North Florida means hungry bugs in the environment. Some eat plants, some eat other bugs and a few have a taste for people. There are over 80 species of mosquitoes in Florida. Most like humans, and some adapt easily to home landscapes. Removal of standing water reduces the probability of being “on the menu” during summer. Even small quantities of water can host mosquito larva. Toys, drink cans, planters and associated saucers can all support this parasite’s quick development. Even plants — bromeliads are notorious — can hold enough water long enough for mosquitoes to hatch. Hollow spaces in trees are another site where mosquito eggs can develop. Drain where possible or treat with a biological compound that kills the eggs.

MOSQUITOES

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PROMOTION

DEAL ESTATE

JUST SOLD

A Record-Breaking Sale with $10 Million Views Closing at its full list price of $9.8 million, this new custom residence set a record as the highest sale within the prestigious 30A community, The Retreat. Perched atop an exceptional site on a coastal dune lake, this exquisite residence was listed by Erin Oden, broker and principal owner of Coastal Luxury, and marketing efforts quickly procured a contract at full asking price after just 46 days on the market.

SOLD PRICE: $9,800,000 ADDRESS: 171 W. Bermuda Drive, Santa Rosa Beach SQUARE FOOTAGE: 6,956 BEDROOMS: 7 BATHROOMS: 8 full, 3 half YEAR BUILT: 2020

APPEAL: This private lakefront luxury residence overlooks Draper Lake and the Gulf of Mexico.

Precise attention to design has been given by acclaimed architect Matt Savoie and reputable builder Buster Woodruff in creating one of the most majestic residences in the scenic paradise of South Walton. The Retreat boasts an exquisite setting and an extremely quiet and private beach, which has become a rare and coveted find along the in-demand Scenic Highway 30A corridor.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Erin Oden, Coastal Luxury (850) 502-1220 Erin@CoastalLuxury.com Erin.SearchCoastalLuxury.com

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF COASTAL LUXURY REAL ESTATE

FEATURES: The home comes fully furnished with interiors recently appointed by interior designer Georgia Carlee. This home presents a timeless style of comfortable elegance and spaciousness with just under 7,000 square feet of heated and cooled space. A coastal retreat for the ages, this legacy coastal home offers four spacious levels, seven bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and three half bathrooms. It also features oak floors and Alabama marble throughout. Other details include an elevator servicing all four floors, a 25-foot cathedral ceiling living room, butler’s pantry and large walk-in pantry, three outdoor showers and a heated pool with night lights.

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LegendaryMarine.com

STORIES from the

HEART INSPIRING STORIES OF PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE The life-changing care Ascension Sacred Heart provides has touched the hearts of many who strive to ensure that this incredible mission of care continues for future generations. Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation is proud to be a partner in this endeavor. Please enjoy these ”Stories from the Heart.”

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Giving Back to the Community They Serve Dave and Mary Hoxeng built their awardwinning, local radio team together, a joint venture of highly distinctive skill sets. While owning a radio station was a lifelong dream of Dave’s, it took a lot of patience and due diligence to make it happen. He applied in 1984 for a new radio license in Pensacola, which turned out to be a very long process — about 15 years actually.

In 2002, Dave and Mary moved to this area to start up their first radio station from scratch: CatCountry 98.7. Then they got the opportunity to purchase a run-down station in Atmore that eventually became NewsRadio 1620/92.3. This was followed with yet another acquisition, WEBY-ESPN 1330/99.1. Recently, they started Playlist 94.5, which plays Pensacola’s favorite hit music non-stop. Today, Mary is general and sales manager of all four stations, while Dave is CEO and the self-described “catalyst.”

Mary was born and raised in New York City, the youngest of six children in a poor, IrishCatholic family. Her mother was employed full time at Singer Sewing Machine, and her father worked three jobs to provide a roof over their heads and food on the table.

“We had what we needed,” Mary says, “not what we wanted. But what I learned from my parents was that if I worked hard, stayed honest, was responsible and had good morals, I could go anywhere and do

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anything I wanted.” This became the blueprint for her life’s journey. After 12 years of Catholic schooling, she went to work, determined never to struggle as her parents had. She attended college at night and graduated Summa Cum Laude at 31. Her studies were in the career field of advertising; little did she know this would lead to her meeting Dave in 1979.

Dave grew up Pittsburgh, where his father was employed in research at U.S. Steel. He attended the University of North Carolina, majoring in radio, television and motion pictures. Upon graduation, he went to New York City, where he had been working for ABC Sports and CBS Sports as a production manager during his final two years of college. His desire to own a radio station continued to be the dominant desire in his life, and he believed selling radio and television advertising on Madison Avenue after college would serve as a pathway to achieving his goal. One of his clients was Mary, a media buyer at a large advertising agency.

They met, fell in love and married after a long courtship.

They lived in San Antonio for 18 years, where Dave worked at a radio station and Mary successfully pursued her career in radio and as a television sales manager. After finally obtaining the radio license for Pensacola, he and Mary moved to the area to build CatCountry 98.7. However, her expectation was a life of leisure: “The way Dave presented this to me was that it was just going to be a little community radio station, maybe six, seven employees. I would work a couple of days a week and spend the rest of my time being a ‘beach girl.’ ” But it didn’t turn out that way.

They now have more than 40 team members that are their “family” at the radio stations.

The couple believes in giving back to the community by contributing their time, talent and resources to a multitude of charitable organizations.

They have been philanthropic supporters of Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation for many years. One of the foundation’s projects they sponsor is the annual CatCountry 98.7 Cares for Kids Radiothon, a live broadcast to raise funds that will help children fight cancer. They were also substantial donors to the foundation’s campaign that helped build Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart. “Seeing what you have done for the children is phenomenal,” Mary exclaims. “The new hospital is just a miracle. How lucky we are to have this in our community, equipped with all the latest and greatest equipment needed to be able to treat and save so many children.”

Dave also expresses his admiration for the fundraising efforts that Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation carried out, making it possible to build the Children’s Hospital. He says, “God does find the right people at the right time, and Carol (Carlan) was the right person to take the Foundation to a new level.”

Dave sees the Children’s Hospital as the differentiating factor in Ascension Sacred Heart’s success in the local market, saying, “I think it is the ‘secret sauce’ of your enterprise.”

And Mary adds that Sacred Heart’s involvement in the local community — such as the Radiothon and Cordova Mall Ball — is important for its continued growth, helping to keep the hospital “top of mind.”

Dave and Mary have been married for 31 years, still love each other, still work together. Mary explains it this way: “I found an amazing man who had similar goals. We’ve built a good life for ourselves and a great business for our community.”

A MESSAGE FROM CAROL CARLAN For 106 years, we are, and always have been, a community of givers, carrying forth the Daughters of Charity vision by helping fund a healthcare safety net for the poor and vulnerable. Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation’s philanthropic mission relies upon those who support our mission and are moved to contribute to the ministry. Our Stories from the Heart feature three such individuals.

Susan Cornejo is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) for the Ascension Florida and Gulf Coast Ministry Market. She chose to bring her talents to the arena of healthcare because, “It’s one of the few fields where you actually touch people’s lives.” Susan and husband Tony, both staunch supporters of the foundation, were among the first to step up and contribute to the campaign that helped build Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart.

Dave and Mary Hoxeng’s fascinating story reveals how the couple developed their local, award-winning radio empire. They not only serve the community, but they also give back by generously supporting the foundation’s fundraising campaigns, such as the annual Cat Country 98.7 Cares for Kids Radiothon, a live broadcast this year to raise funds that will help children fight cancer.

We extend our gratitude to these leaders, and many others, for their giving from the heart and support of a century-old vision: a community where healthcare is accessible to all. For all those who give of their time, talent and resources, we are grateful.

Carol Carlan President, Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation

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Susan Cornejo is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) for the Ascension Florida and Gulf Coast Ministry Market. She was born at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, but the family moved to Indiana within a few years. There, her father, a mechanical engineer, held a management position for International Harvester (later Navistar), and her mother was employed as a nurse.

It was her mom’s job at Parkview Hospital that led to Susan’s first connection to healthcare. She became a “teen helper,” working eight hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday at Parkview. She was involved in basic patient care on the Oncology Unit, with duties that teenagers

SPON SORED REPORT

everyone how quickly things can change.

Yet, it left a legacy of knowing that when all involved focused their efforts on the vision and acted in concert together, it was amazing what could be accomplished.

Tomorrow may require doing things in a different way, considering the challenges still looming, but the future is bright.

nowadays would never be allowed to perform, but this was during the ’70s. That experience, seeing what nurses did every single day and their impact on families, led to her realization that she could never be a clinician.

At Purdue University, Susan followed in her father’s engineering footsteps with a major in metallurgical engineering. A few years into her studies, she realized that a career in that field was not for her. Instead, she pursued and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne and then a master's degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Her first job was in the accounting department at Parkview Hospital, where she had once worked as a “teen helper.”

While she knew she could be a certified public accountant in any domain she chose, she began in healthcare and never left it. “It’s one of the few fields where you actually touch people’s lives,” she says, and that resonated with her.

And while she would not be directly involved in the caregiving process, she could play an important supporting role. “Looking at my career, a continuing theme was that if I could support those with the skills to be direct care providers, it would be very meaningful for me. And that outlook has been a

guiding light. I always felt I was doing something to make the world better.”

Susan and her husband Tony have been donors to Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation for many years. Their motivation is that healthcare touches everyone in the community, in one way or another. As such, Susan believes there is a societal obligation to help those who lack resources — the poor and vulnerable in need of medical care but unable to pay for it.

She also appreciates working for an organization that is providing the best possible care and treatment for everyone, regardless of their circumstances.

Donating to the foundation is a way she can financially participate in helping meet that commitment. She and her husband were among the first to step up and contribute to the foundation’s campaign to help build Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart.

Susan grew up in a family that defined vacation as a time to travel the country.

And today, those trips remain a source of heartfelt reminiscence. So it’s no surprise that she and Tony made a pact that they would travel with stepdaughter Carmen when she was old enough.

However, they would plan excursions to exotic locations that she might never be able to see otherwise.

The first of these trips occurred when Carmen was 17. The three of them visited Peru and hiked to Machu Picchu, a 15thcentury Inca citadel. Their eight-hour hike through the mountains to get there took them from 6,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level, a unique experience.

When Carmen was 18, they went to Austria and Germany, where they skied in the Alps and toured the cities of Munich, Salzburg, Prague and visited historical Dachau. They did not rent a car, instead relying on various forms of public transportation to get around, which offered a marvelous grasp of how different cultures live.

“To me,” Susan says, “it’s about giving back to the community where I live every single day and taking care of those who need to be provided for, who need some help at times.”

Their last trip, Carmen being 19, took them to Morocco, where they explored such famous cities as Casablanca, Marrakesh, and hiked high up in the Atlas Mountains.

They enjoyed a camel ride and spent a night out in the middle of the Sahara Desert, sleeping in a Bedouin camp.

Susan describes Ascension Sacred Heart as a “premier healthcare entity that is constantly visioning how to provide healthcare in a better, more effective way.”

The past year served to impress upon

Altogether, these three remarkable trips created indelible memories for this family.

Susan Cornejo

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Join Cat Country and Studer Family Children's Hospital for the third annual Cat Country Cares For Kids Radiothon in August! We are thrilled to announce this year's Radiothon will be raising much needed funds for the new Bear Family Foundation Pediatric Oncology Center for Hope at Studer Family Children's Hospital. The center is equipped with nine all-private rooms, a playroom, a family lounge, a movie room, laundry room and a gym — allowing families to stay together while focusing on healing.

Tracey Shehan (left) of Ninth Avenue Nutrition presented Kristina Becker from the Autism Center with a check to replace supplies lost during Hurricane Sally.

ABOUT THE ASCENSION SACRED HEART FOUNDATION Since 1915, Ascension Sacred Heart has been at the heart of healing for Northwest Florida and South Alabama. Like our founders, the Daughters of Charity, Ascension Sacred Heart is dedicated to providing quality, compassionate healthcare to the citizens of our regions, regardless of their ability to pay. This steadfast commitment to our community could not have been achieved without the support and generosity of the thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations that have donated to Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation. Through this charitable giving, Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation has been able to provide millions of dollars of free and low-cost healthcare to the poor, uninsured, under-insured and low-income families. With the help of generous donors, we are proud to partner in Ascension Sacred Heart’s mission of care along the Gulf Coast.

6 A SCApril–May E N SI O N SAC D H E A R T FO UN DATI ON | GIVESACREDHEART.ORG 116 2021R EEMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

GulfPower.com/Together

At Gulf Power we are working together with the communities we serve to make Northwest Florida an even better place to raise a family and do business.

2nd Location in Freeport coming in 2022

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• Custom Electronics/Rigging Installation • Yamaha Outboard Service/Sales/Parts/Warranty Center • New and Used Boat Sales 646 Harbor Blvd., Destin, FL 32541 | (850) 837-9306 theshipschandler.com | info@theshipschandler.com

Maverick, Hewes, Pathfinder, and Cobia Boats EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

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PROMOTION

OCT. 16

Best of the Emerald Coast Join us for an evening of celebration at Grand Boulevard at Sandestin as we showcase the 2021 winners of “Best of the Emerald Coast.” Our 22nd annual event will be a night of food, fashion and fun as you sample from the best restaurants, shops and businesses on the coast.

To get tickets, visit 850tix.com/events/2021-best-of-the-emeraldcoast-10-16-2021.

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JUN/JUL 2021 For more events in the EC, visit EmeraldCoastMagazine.com and 850tix.com. compiled by JAVIS OGDEN AND

REBECCA PADGETT

UNWINED JUNE 4–5 Unwind with a weekend of wine, beer and craft cocktails paired with culinary creations from leading Northwest Florida chefs. This year’s Friday night event is hosted by Southern Living magazine and will feature “Top Chef” winner Kelsey Barnard Clark, custom cocktails and live music. visitpanamacitybeach.com/unwined

PEPSI GULF COAST JAM JUNE 4–6

PHOTOS BY LAND AIR SEA PRODUCTIONS (BEST OF EC) AND COURTESY OF EMERALD COAST BLUE MARLIN CLASSIC AND MATTIE KELLY ARTS FOUNDATION

OCT. 30–31

FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS → Known as one of Northwest Florida’s premier fine arts shows, the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation’s Festival of the Arts will return to Destin for its 26th year this fall. During the festival, artists from across the United States will offer up their original artwork in the form of oil, watercolor, acrylic and glass paintings, plus photography, sculpture, pottery, wood, paper, fiber, mosaics, mixed media, jewelry designs and more in order to compete for $10,000 in cash prizes in 29 award categories, including the coveted “Best in Show” and “People’s Choice Award.”

To learn more, visit MKAF.org/arts-festival.

JUNE 23–27

EMERALD COAST BLUE MARLIN CLASSIC

→ Based out of Sandestin, the South’s No. 1 resort destination, the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic takes place at the height of the northern Gulf’s billfish season. Last year, the Mollie, a Destinbased G&S custom sportfishing vessel, took the top prize with a 660-pound blue and earned more than $500,000 in prize money.

Visit FishECBC.com for registration and tournament details.

Songs, sand and sun are what summer is made of. Frank Brown Park is the ideal location to spend the afternoon and evening jamming to your favorite country bands, including headliners Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley and Lynyrd Skynyrd. gulfcoastjam.com

FLORA-BAMA FISHING RODEO JUNE 11–13 Catch ’em up! The Flora-Bama fishing rodeo will feature categories that range from catfish to billfish to spearfishing in a weekend-long fishing tournament that encourages family fun. The tournament will be accompanied by a three-day beach party with daily weigh-ins, live music, vendors and more. florabama.com/fishing-rodeo

EMERALD COAST THEATRE COMPANY’S MARVELOUS FUNDRAISER JUNE 12 Keep live theatre thriving by supporting the Emerald Coast Theatre Company for a night of dining, quality entertainment and fundraising. emeraldcoasttheatre.org

PROMOTION

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Pandemic and social distancing policies may affect gatherings.

Check websites to see if the listed events will occur as scheduled.

HAVE AN EVENT YOU’D LIKE US TO CONSIDER?

Send an email to sbornhoft@rowlandpublishing.com.

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LITTLE RIVER BAND JUNE 13 Fall in love again with classics such as “Cool Change,” “Take It Easy on Me,” “Help Is on Its Way” and more during a lively and timeless performance by the Little River Band. pensacolasaenger.com

Northwest Florida State College Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts Division

ANNUAL BILL HARGREAVES FISHING RODEO JUNE 17–20 This year’s Bill Hargreaves Fishing Rodeo is bigger and better than ever, celebrating 50 years and taking place on Father’s Day weekend. The theme will revolve around generational fishing. Fishing begins on Friday, continuing until the final weigh-in on Saturday, and concluding with prizes and a fish fry on Sunday. billhargreavesfishingrodeo.com

2021 BUD LIGHT FISHING RODEO JUNE 18–21 Cash prizes await the anglers who weigh in the top three fish in 20 different categories.

Prizes will also be awarded to the boat that brings in the biggest mackerel. The weigh-in and event activities will take place on Saturday at Flounders on Pensacola Beach.

July 21-24, 7:30 PM & July 25, 2 PM

pensacolasports.org/ pensacolafishingrodeo

Mattie Kelly Arts Center Mainstage

FISH HOUSE CRAFT BEER FEST

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Offer cheers to beers at the 7th annual craft beer fest hosted on the Fish House Deck. The event will feature more than 50 different beers from local and regional breweries with a portion of the event proceeds benefitting Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northwest Florida. vic

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• Service & repairs • Residential & commercial • New construction & remodel • Install & repair natural gas lines

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Northwest Florida State College is committed to equal access/equal opportunity in its programs, activities, and employment. For additional information, visit www.nwfsc.edu.

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MICHAEL JACKSON: A THRILLING TRIBUTE JUNE 19 An electrifying and entrancing 70-minute tribute show to the King of Pop. His greatest hits make the soundtrack,

and professional dancers from Red Hot Productions will recreate his iconic moves. pensacolasaenger.com

SMOKE ON THE COAST JULY 3 Barbecue lovers unite to enjoy $1 samples from area restaurants and barbecue groups. All money raised will be donated to local charities. Attendees have the opportunity to vote for their favorites, and the top vote-getter wins the People’s Choice Award. End the day with a fireworks show to start the Independence Day celebrations. destincommons.com

RED, WHITE & BAYTOWNE JULY 4 Enjoy fun in the sun during the day, and light up your night with fireworks. The Village of Baytowne Wharf will host an Independence Day celebration featuring live music, crafts, family activities and a patriotic firework show. baytownewharf.com

FLORA-BAMA FREEDOM RUN & FOURTH OF JULY PARTY JULY 4 The first-ever Flora-Bama Freedom Run will feature a four-mile run/walk course and a one-mile fun run/walk course. The Top 10 runners in male and female categories will receive prizes, and all participants will be given food and drink tickets. Stick around for the evening celebration featuring live music and a fireworks show. florabama.com/freedom-run

PENSACOLA BLUE ANGELS AIR SHOW JULY 7–10 The world-famous Blue Angels soar through the skies performing their air show held every summer. Locals and visitors alike gather to watch Pensacola’s hometown heroes — members of the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration squadron. visitpensacolabeach.com/whatshappening-blue-angels

GulfPower.com/Together

At Gulf Power we are working together with the communities we serve to make Northwest Florida an even better place to raise a family and do business.

Serving Your Transportation Needs in the North Florida Panhandle from Pensacola to Tallahassee

Laser Tag Virtual Reality Sky Rider Ropes Course Climbing Wall and more!

14081 Emerald Coast Pkwy, Destin (850) 398-4729 urbanairtrampolinepark.com

Thank you for voting us Best Car/Limo/Shuttle service in 2019!

emeraldcoastluxurytransportation.com

(850) 774-8345 | 24/7 EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

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PROMOTION

SOCIAL STUDIES Virtual Seaside School HalfMarathon & 5K FEB. 14–28 Nearly 1,700 runners participated in the 19th annual Seaside School Virtual Half Marathon and 5K event.

Ranging in ages from 2 to 82, participants represented 37 states and various countries, including Spain, the United Kingdom and Canada. Over $300,000 was raised in support of the Seaside School — a tuitionfree, public charter school comprising two schools serving students in Walton County.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF RACE PARTICIPANTS

1 Anthony and Michael Aresco 2 Jenna Hammer, Erica Lambert, Samantha Harlander, Jami Ray with Meagan Perlaky and daughter 3 Aaron Haugan, Omar Mulla, Alex Weiner, Rex Stinnett and Leo Tuska 4 Dr. Scott O’Prey, Head of School for Seaside, and Teresa Horton

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Northwest Florida Ballet APR. 12 The Northwest Florida Ballet recently recognized the generosity of longtime supporters Elliott Mitchell and Clark West by dedicating a floor in the NFB Académie academic classroom building in their honor. West and Clark were joined by NFB Board President Julia Sandwith, Artistic Director/CEO Todd Eric Allen and several Académie students. Susan Myers, also included in the dedication, was recognized posthumously.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF STUDIO 528

1 Clark West, Cameron Scarfe, Phoebe Williamson and Elliott Mitchell 2 Clark West, Elliott Mitchell, Julia Sandwith and Todd Eric Allen 3 Clark West, Samara Pina, Harper Schmidt and Elliott Mitchell

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Guy Harvey’s

at Tropic Star Lodge

Twenty-five anglers each trip will have the opportunity to join Guy and Jessica Harvey on a 5 day/5 night VIP experience at the world-famous Tropic Star Lodge in Piñas Bay, Panama.

Proceeds from the events will go to the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation to support its marine conservation and research initiatives. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, meaning that the cost of participation in the adventure will be tax deductible to you.

Total Cost: $9,800 ■

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Five day/five night all-inclusive stay at Tropic Star Lodge.

Five people each day will fish with Guy Harvey.

Four people each day will fish with Jessica Harvey and with a scientist from Guy Harvey Enterprises.

Additional fishing days will be standard trips on a Tropic Star boat with captain and a mate.

A personalized Guy Harvey print for each angler.

Welcome bag with Guy Harvey Tropic Star clothing and souvenir items.

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Lifetime subscription to Guy Harvey Magazine.

Lifetime membership in the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation Hammerhead Club.

Private dinners each night with Guy, Jessica Harvey and a scientist from Guy Harvey Enterprises.

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Two drinks per day and wine at dinner.

Personalized 30-minute video of your adventure.

Breakfast/lunch and happy hour snacks.

Lodging at Tropic Star, double occupancy.

During the week, Guy will paint an original piece to be auctioned off on the last night.

Two private “arrival” and “departure” cocktail parties at Tropic Star’s mountaintop Palace.

Round trip air charter from Panama City to Piñas Bay.

Ground transportation from airport to hotel and domestic/international airport.

VIP greeting by Tropic Star representative as you depart your flight and personal support while going through customs. While waiting for transfer, admission to airport VIP lounge pending COVID restrictions.

For available expedition dates, contact browland@GuyHarvey.com

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chefyi

Chef Clovis Da Silva Fat Clemenza’s

What made you want to be a chef ?

I come from a big family where everyone cooks. My mother’s cuisine is one of the best I’ve ever tasted.

She taught me to cook Brazilian food. It was easy for me to adapt that passion for food and taste into a career. I became an American over 20 years ago when I came to this country from Brazil in 1992.

I started working in a restaurant as a prep cook, and from that day on, I never left the business. I’ve worked in several restaurants and corporations but have been with Fat

Clemenza’s for 13 years. I have other skills, but being a chef is my passion, my calling. I love this country, and I love my work.

How would you describe the cuisine at Fat Clemenza’s?

If you want real, authentic Italian food, eat here. It’s highly traditional and the best in town.

What do you hope diners experience? I have the expectation that I will give guests the pleasure that they came for, whether that be food or a special moment.

What’s your favorite dish and why?

That’s difficult because I love the entire menu. I personally love the Friday Night Specials because I get to play outside of the box and make new creations. As a chef, you can be creative

or you can be stuck. I choose creativity every time. I will say my risotto is one of the best, the grouper is the best fish we have, the sauces are all made from scratch, I eat the bruschetta every day, and sometimes a simple dish like pasta marinara is what you need.

What is the most important item to have in your kitchen? Garlic and tomatoes. I cannot go without these. The food would be bland.

What inspires you? The amount of business we have. When I see new faces and regulars waiting in line or making reservations, that inspires me because they are here to eat my food. The key to success is a good and consistent product. We provide that.

There is nothing better than hearing “compliments to the chef.”

FAT CLEMENZA’S 12273 U.S. Highway 98 Miramar Beach | ( 850) 650-5980 | FatClemenzas.com ADVERTISEMENT

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For more information visit captdavesonthegulf.com

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Enjoy cocktails on the deck for sunset Happy Hour: 4–6pm Open 6 days a week (closed Tuesdays) Live Music

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dining guide

THE KEY ★ Best of the

Emerald Coast 2020 Winner

Pandemic developments and social distancing policies and protocols may affect restaurant operations. Check websites for the latest information.

AMERICAN

EMERIL’S COASTAL ITALIAN

Located at Grand Boulevard in Sandestin, the famed chef’s first restaurant in Northwest Florida combines Italian cuisine with the variety of fresh Gulf seafood and local ingredients. Sun–Thur 11:30 am–10 pm, Fri–Sat 11:30 am–10:30 pm.

435 Grand Blvd., Miramar Beach. (850) 608-7040.

THE BEACH HOUSE

Casual, beach-front dining. Open daily 11 am–10 pm. 4009 S. Sandestin Blvd., Miramar Beach. (850) 267-4800. $$ L D

BUFFALO’S REEF ★

$$$ L D

Hot wings and cold beer. Tues–Sat open at 10:30 am, Sun open at noon. 116 Eglin Pkwy., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 243-9463. $ L D

EVERKRISP ★

Farm-to-table salads, rice bowls and other health-focused American bites in modern, brick-lined digs. Open daily 10:30 am–9 pm.

625 Grand Blvd., Miramar Beach. (850) 842-4504. $$ L D

THE CRAFT BAR ★

Craft brews on tap along with artisan cocktails and elevated bar fare. Open daily 11 am– midnight. 4424 Commons Dr., Destin. Also in Grayton Beach and Pensacola. (850) 460-7907. $$ L D Atmosphere and service match an expansive menu including everything from sushi to pork tenderloin. Lunch Sat–Sun 10 am–1 pm.

Dinner daily from 5. 300 S. Alcaniz St., Pensacola.

(850) 433-1275. $$ L D

B L D

Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Outdoor Dining Live Music

$ Inexpensive

$$ Moderately

Expensive

$$$ Expensive

GREAT SOUTHERN CAFE ★

LULU’S

JACO’S BAYFRONT BAR & GRILLE

MAGNOLIA GRILL

This all-day cafe puts a new spin on classic with a mix of international cuisines, Southern cooking and local food and produce. Open daily for breakfast: 8–10:45 am, lunch: 11 am–4 pm and dinner: 4–9:30 pm. 83 Central Square, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 231-7327. $$ B L D Waterfront restaurant serving burgers, salads, seafood and brunch daily. Open Mon–Wed 11 am–9 pm, Thurs–Sat 11 am–10 pm and Sun 10 am–9 pm. 997 S. Palafox St., Pensacola.

(850) 432-5226. $$ L D

LOUISIANA LAGNIAPPE ★

Lucy Buffett’s funky hangout features cocktails, burgers and seafood, plus allergy-friendly menus.

Open Sun–Thur 11 am–9 pm, Fri–Sat 11 am–10 pm.

4607 Legendary Marina Dr., Destin. (850) 710-5858. $$ L D

Steak, seafood, pasta, soups, salads and desserts.

Lunch Mon-Fri 11 am–2 pm, dinner Mon–Sat from 5 pm. Closed Sun. 157 SE Brooks St., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 302-0266. $$ L D

MARINA BAR AND GRILL

Fresh Gulf seafood, steak, sushi and signature cocktails. Open daily at 5 pm. 535 Richard Jackson Blvd., Panama City Beach. (850) 249-3359. $$$ D

A taste of New Orleans hits the coast through Louisiana-style favorites like shrimp and grits and Cajun seafood gumbo. Open daily from 4 pm. 775 Gulf Shore Dr., Destin. (850) 837-0881. $$ D

Seafood, po’ boys, burgers and salads. Open Sun–Thurs 11 am–8 pm, Fri 11 am–10 pm, Sat 8 am–10 pm. Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, 9300 Emerald Coast Pkwy. W., Miramar Beach.

(850) 267-7778. $ B L D

GEORGE’S AT ALYS BEACH

LOUIS LOUIS ★

MARINA CAFÉ ★

FIREFLY ★

DHARMA BLUE

The restaurants that appear in this guide are included as a service to readers and not as recommendations of the Emerald Coast Magazine editorial department, except where noted.

Seafood, burgers and sandwiches. Open daily 11 am–3 pm and 5–9 pm. 30 Castle Harbour Dr.,

Alys Beach. (850) 641-0017. $$ L D

This sister restaurant of The Red Bar has great American fare with a Gulf twist. 35 Mussett Bayou Road, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 267-1500. $$ D

Gourmet pizzas, Creole and American cuisine.

Open daily 5–10 pm. 404 E. Hwy. 98, Destin.

(850) 837-7960. $$$ D

Hibachi Tables • Sushi Bar • Happy Hour Private Dining • Large Parties Welcome

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BESTIN DESTIN VIP DESTIN MAGAZINE READER CHOICE AWARD

Asian Cuisine

2021

Hibachi

DESTIN 34745 Emerald Coast Pkwy | (850) 650-4688 TALLAHASSEE 1489 Maclay Commerce Drive | (850) 900-5149 • (850) 531-0222 PANAMA CITY BEACH 15533 Panama City Beach Parkway | (850) 588-8403

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BEST HIBACHI in Destin & Tallahassee

RESTAURANT PARADIS ★

Restaurant and lounge offers rich coastal flavors in its innovative dishes. Open Sun–Thur 5–9 pm, Fri–Sat 5–10 pm. 82 S. Barrett Square, Rosemary Beach. (850) 534-0400. $$$ D

SHADES BAR & GRILL ★

A 30A mainstay for over 20 years, Shades features 17 high-def TVs plus a menu of salsas, steaks, sandwiches and fish tacos.

Open daily 11–1 am. 10952 E. County Hwy 30A, (850) 231-9410. $$ L D

SUNSET BAY CAFÉ

Chef-inspired twists on classic dishes.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner or cocktail.

Open daily 7 am–2 pm. Tiki Bar open noon to sunset. Linkside Conference Center, 158 Sandestin Blvd. N., Miramar Beach.

(850) 267-7108. $ B L

THE RED BAR ★

New and improved and now reopened; get classic meals at one of the area’s most renowned locations. 70 Hotz Ave., Grayton Beach. (850) 231-1008. $$ L D

TOMMY BAHAMA RESTAURANT, BAR & STORE ★

Savor the fresh, island-inspired fare or unwind with one of their signature cocktails.

525 Grand Blvd., Miramar Beach.

(850) 654-1743. $$$ L D

VIN’TIJ WINE BOUTIQUE & BISTRO ★

Seafood, salad, chef specials. Open daily 11 am–midnight. 10859 W. Emerald Coast Pkwy., #103, Miramar Beach. (850) 650-9820. $$ L D

ASIAN BASMATI’S ASIAN CUISINE ★

Serving fresh seafood, sushi and vegetables on Scenic 30A for more than 20 years.

3295 W. County Hwy. 30A., Blue Mountain Beach. (850) 267-3028. $$$ L D

OSAKA ★

Asian-influenced “farm to wok” chain offers made-from-scratch dishes such as dim sum, sushi and Chinese food favorites. Mon, 11 am–9 pm; Tue–Thur, Sun 11 am–10 pm; Fri–Sat 11 am–11 pm, 640 Grand Blvd., Sandestin. (850) 269-1806. $$ L D

SUSHIMOTO ★

This creative sushi bar offers up a variety of rolls and Japanese fare. 12889 U.S. Hwy. 98, Ste. 103B, Miramar Beach. (850) 424-5977. $D

THAI DELIGHTS

Traditional dishes in a casual atmosphere.

Open daily 11 am–9 pm. 821 Harbor Blvd., Destin. (850) 650-3945. $$ L D

THAI ELEPHANT AUTHENTIC THAI CUISINE ★

Serving traditional Thai favorites that were voted the area’s best. 3906 Hwy 98, Ste. 5–6, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 660-6711. $ L D

Award-winning barbecue, gumbo, sandwiches and salads in a casual atmosphere. Dine in, take out, catering. Mon–Sat 11 am–8 pm. 5008 Hwy. 98, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 622-0679. $ L D

BLUE MABEL ★

This local smokehouse features made-fromscratch dishes and is stocked with everything from smoked meats to homemade sauces.

2260 W. Scenic Hwy. 30A, Santa Rosa Beach.

(850) 744-0040. $$ L D

BREAKFAST/ BRUNCH/BAKERY ANDY’S FLOUR POWER CAFE & BAKERY

Lively brunch/lunch destination known for its French toast, rolled omelets and cheery ambiance. Open Tues–Sat 7 am–2 pm, Sun 8 am–2 pm. 2629 Thomas Drive, Panama City Beach. (850) 230-0014. $$ L D

Mimmo invites you to enjoy and experience traditional authentic Italian cuisine from his hometown of Sicily.

ANOTHER BROKEN EGG CAFÉ

Breakfast all day, plus sandwiches, patty melts, specials, soups, salads and desserts. Open daily 7 am–2 pm, closed Mondays.

979 E. Hwy. 98, #F, Destin (Also in Miramar Beach, Panama City, Pensacola, Sandestin and Grayton Beach). (850) 650-0499. $ B

BLACK BEAR BREAD CO. ★

Contemporary cafe for craft coffee, housebaked breads, pastries and sandwiches and all-day breakfast. 26 Logan Lane, Grayton Beach. (850) 213-4528. $ B L

BON APPETIT FRENCH BAKERY AND CAFE ★

Delicious made-from-scratch French pastries, croissants and crusty breads, along with soups, salads and sandwiches. 420 Mary Esther Cut Off NW, Fort Walton Beach. (850) 244-2848. $ L

DONUT HOLE BAKERY CAFE ★

Eat breakfast all day with fresh-baked donuts and hearty comfort food. Open daily 6 am–10 pm. 635 Harbor Blvd., Destin (also in Inlet Beach and Santa Rosa Beach).

(850) 837-8824. $ B

MAMA CLEMENZA’S EUROPEAN BREAKFAST

Old World family recipes. Multiple award winner. Brunch Wed–Sun 8 am–1 pm. 273 Emerald Coast Pkwy. W., Miramar Beach. (850) 424-3157 and 8 am–1 pm on Sundays at 75 Eglin Pkwy, Fort Walton Beach. (850) 243-0707. $$ B

Italian

979 US HWY 98 E | Destin

850.460.7353

(in the 98 Palms Shopping Plaza)

EatMimmos.com

Fresh, to go.

WE STEAM, WE PACK TO TRAVEL • • • •

Buckhead Beef Fresh deli salads and entrees Mrs. Dean cakes Assortment of breads & wines

Thank you for voting us Best Seafood Market!

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Known for its sushi but serves a variety of dishes, including chicken, steak and seafood.

Lunch 11 am–2:30 pm, dinner 5–10:30 pm.

34845 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Destin.

(850) 650-4688 or (850) 650-4689. $$ L D

BBQ

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Serving a wide variety of seafood, steaks and flatbreads by the waterfront. Open daily for lunch and dinner from 11 am–9 pm. 455 W. Main St., Pensacola. (850) 912-8775. $$ L D

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Mimmo invites you to enjoy and experience traditional authentic Italian cuisine from his hometown of Sicily.

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DESSERT BLUE MOUNTAIN BEACH CREAMERY ★ Family-owned dessert shop serves delicious ice cream, yogurt and sorbet treats.

2129 S. County Hwy 83, Santa Rosa Beach.

(850) 278-6849. $

GREEK AEGEAN RESTAURANT ★

Authentic Greek restaurant. Breakfast 8–11 am, lunch 11 am–4 pm, dinner 4–9 pm. 11225 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Miramar Beach (and Shalimar). (850) 460-2728. $$ B L D

ALA BABA GRILL CAFÉ

Casual spot for familiar Turkish and Greek recipes offered à la carte and at a buffet, plus beer and

Destin Ice Seafood Market & Deli 663 Harbor Blvd • Destin, FL (850) 837-8333 • destinice.com EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

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wine. 10 am–9 pm. 550 Mary Esther Cutoff, Fort Walton Beach. (850) 986-5555. L D

YIOTA’S GREEK DELI

Traditional Greek food made from family recipes. Order at counter. 10 am–5 pm.

130 E. Miracle Strip Pkwy., Mary Esther.

(850) 302-0691. $ L

IRISH JOHNNY MCTIGHE’S IRISH PUB

Easygoing pub providing Irish and American eats, a game room for kids and deck seating.

11 am–2 am. 2298 Scenic Hwy. 30A, Blue Mountain Beach. (850) 267-0101. $$ L D

MCGUIRE’S IRISH PUB ★

Burgers and pub grub and the famous 18-cent Senate Bean Soup. Open daily 11 am– 2 am. 33 Hwy. 98, Destin (Also in Pensacola).

(850) 650-0000. $$ L D

ITALIAN/PIZZA AMICI 30A

Offering authentic Italian cuisine with a flair for celebration. Open daily 11 am–11 pm.

12805 U.S. Hwy. 98 E., Suite R101, Inlet Beach. (850) 909-0555. $$$ L D

ANGELINA’S PIZZA & PASTA

Authentic homemade pizza pie and Italian dishes in a casual atmosphere. Lunch and dinner daily 11 am–9:30 pm. 4005 E. Hwy. 30A, Seagrove Beach. (850) 231-2500. $ B L D

CLEMENZA’S UPTOWN ★

Classic Italian. Wood-fired pizza, private dining, cooking school. Multiple award winner. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Mon–Sat. 75 Eglin Pkwy., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 243-0707. $$ B L D

FARM & FIRE SOUTHERN PIZZERIA

Featuring a clean-burning coal oven to impart a unique, full flavor to their pizzas, whole fish, steaks and roasted chicken. Open daily, 4–10 pm.

24200 U.S. Hwy. 331 S., Santa Rosa Beach, (850) 622-3871. $$ D

THE PIZZA BAR AT BUD & ALLEY’S

Artisan cheese, fresh salads, antipasto dishes, homemade soups, seasonal vegetables, hearty pastas and homemade wood-fired Neapolitan pizza. Open daily from 11 am. 2236 E. County Rd. 30A, Seaside. (850) 231-3113. $$ L D

TRATTORIA BORAGO

Pork tenderloin or pan-seared grouper from the open kitchen. Open daily from 6 pm. 80 E. Hwy. 30A, Grayton Beach. (850) 231-9167. $$ D

MEXICAN

FAT CLEMENZA’S

Classic Italian. Wood-fired pizza, specialty desserts, fish Fridays. Multiple award winner.

Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Mon–Sat 5–9 pm.

Holiday Plaza, Hwy. 98, Miramar Beach.

(850) 650-5980. $$ L D

BURRITO DEL SOL ★

This Mexican restaurant serves fresh Bajastyle Mexican food, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas and more. 201-B Miracle Strip Pkwy., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 226-8016. $ L D

MIMMO’S RISTORANTE ITALIANO ★

CANTINA LAREDO ★

Italian dishes. Open Mon–Fri 11 am–10 pm, Sat–Sun 5–10 pm. 979 Hwy. 98, #5, Destin.

(850) 460-7353. $$ L D

A gourmet twist on Mexican favorites.

Sun–Thurs 11 am–10 pm, Fri–Sat 11 am– 11 pm. 585 Grand Blvd., Miramar Beach.

(850) 654-5649. $$ B L D

PIZZA BY THE SEA ★

With an emphasis on fresh ingredients and a family-friendly environment, Pizza by the Sea offers handmade pizzas and other Italian favorites. Open daily 11 am–8 pm. Multiple locations. (850) 650-0015. $$ L D

THE TACO BAR AT BUD & ALLEY’S

Baja fish tacos, homemade guacamole, burritos and top-shelf margaritas. Open daily from 11 am (in season). 2236 E. County Rd. 30A, Seaside.

(850) 231-4781. $$ L D

PAZZO ITALIANO

Destin’s newest Italian restaurant offers authentic Italian cuisine such as woodfired pizzas, pasta, calzones, salads, chef specialties and nightly specials. Mon–Thur 11 am–9 pm, Fri 11 am–10 pm, Sat 4–10 pm, Sun 4–9 pm.

34904 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Suite 114, Destin.

(850) 974-5484. $$ L D

SEAFOOD THE BAY SOUTH WALTON ★

This family-friendly waterfront restaurant overlooking Choctawhatchee

Bay features Gulf Coast cuisine, sushi, a 12-draft beer system, plus wine and crafted cocktails. Open daily 11 am–9:30 pm. 24215 Hwy. 331, Santa Rosa Beach, (850) 622-2291.$$ L D

BONEFISH GRILL ★

Fresh seafood in a casual atmosphere; family bundles now available for carryout. 4447 Commons Drive E., Destin. (850) 650-3161. $$ L

BOSHAMPS SEAFOOD & OYSTER HOUSE ★

Gulf-to-table Southern cuisine. Open daily from 11 am. 414 Harbor Blvd., Destin. (850) 424-7406. $$ L D

BROTULA’S SEAFOOD HOUSE & STEAMER

Fresh steamed and boiled seafood dishes. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Sunday brunch. Destin Harbor, Destin. (850) 460-8900. $$$ B

BUD & ALLEY’S WATERFRONT RESTAURANT ★

Sea-to-table dining, serving fresh seafood, steak and vegetarian dishes. Open daily from 8 am–10 pm. 2236 E. Hwy. 30A, Seaside.

(850) 231-5900. $$$ L D

CAPT. ANDERSON’S RESTAURANT

Since 1967, offering traditional seafood items, flavorful salads and soups with a view of the marina. Open Mon–Fri at 4:30 pm, Sat–Sun at 4 pm. 5551 N. Lagoon Dr., Panama City Beach.

(850) 234-2225. $$$ D

DEWEY DESTIN’S HARBORSIDE ★

Award-winning seafood in a quaint house.

Open daily 11 am–8 pm. 202 Harbor Blvd., Destin. (850) 837-7525. $$$ L D

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chefyi

Chef Jim Shirah

202 Harbor Blvd.

Destin {850) 837-7525 DestinSeafood.com

Executive Chef, Dewey Destin

How would you describe the cuisine?

The best way to describe the cuisine here at Dewey’s on the Harbor is a simple Southern coastal cuisine.

AD JACQUELINE WARD IMAGES

What is your favorite dish and why? I have multiple favorites: crab claws, seared scallops and fresh Gulf fish fried in corn meal with cheese grits. They are never a disappointment.

What is your philosophy? The word “can’t” is not in my vocabulary — if there’s a will there’s a way. And, always treat others the way you would like to be treated.

What is the most important item in the kitchen? There is more than one important thing in the kitchen. For instance, fresh quality food and teamwork! If you don’t have these, you may as well start from scratch.

How do you measure your success? I measure my success by customer satisfaction.

We have regular and return customers that

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have been coming to Dewey’s for years. Our staff has grown, and we get busier every year. I like that I am able to educate people and our youth.

What inspires/influences your cuisine? My cuisine is

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inspired by my heritage and training. Having grown up on the Gulf Coast, I learned to cook many traditional Florida seafood dishes. In culinary school, I spent time in France, which gave me exposure to European

D

cuisine and sauces. The seasons also influence my ideas. I love traditional dishes that I can put a spin on. Sometimes, even colors inspire me. I go through different phases of inspiration, which have proven to be beneficial.

DEWEY DESTIN’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT & MARKET ★

Outdoor setting, fresh seafood. Open 11 am–8 pm. 9 Calhoun Ave., Destin.

(850) 837-7575. $$ B L D

THE FISH HOUSE ★

Fresh seafood cuisine and Southern specialties in a setting overlooking Pensacola Bay and the Seville Harbor. Open daily from 11 am. 600 S. Barracks St., Pensacola.

(850) 470-0003. $$ L D

FOOW RESTAURANT

Southern coastal cuisine with an Asian flair. Open daily 5:30–10 pm. Located in the WaterColor Inn, Santa Rosa Beach.

(850) 534-5050. $$$ D

HARBOR DOCKS

A surf-and-turf restaurant. Breakfast, lunch and dinner and great sushi. Open daily 5 am–11 pm. 538 E. Hwy. 98, Destin.

(850) 837-2506. $$ B L D

JACKACUDA’S SEAFOOD & SUSHI

Seafood, sushi, salad and sandwiches.

Open daily from 11 am. Sunday brunch at 10 am. 36120 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Destin.

(850) 460-2909. $$ L D

CAFE THIRTY-A ★

Offering the best in steaks and Gulf fare, Café Thirty-A is also available for weddings and special gatherings. Open daily 5–9:30 pm.

3899 E. Scenic Hwy. 30A, Seagrove Beach.

(850) 231-2166. $$$ D

CAPTAIN DAVE’S ON THE GULF

STINKY’S FISH CAMP ★

This seafood and wine mainstay promises Gulffresh fare. 5960 W. County Road 30A, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 267-3053. $$ L D

STEAK & SEAFOOD AUSTONS ON 98 OYSTER BAR AND GRILL

Home of the 102-foot bar, specialties include littleneck clams, raw oysters, clam chowder and jumbo shrimp cocktail. Sun–Thur 11 am– 9 pm; Fri–Sat 11 am–10 pm. 125 Poinciana Blvd., Miramar Beach. (850) 842-3200. $$ L D

BEACH WALK CAFE

Located at the Henderson Park Inn, this award-winning fine dining establishment features a range of favorites including grouper Vince, pepper-crusted yellowfin tuna and seafood pasta Rockefeller. Open daily 5:30–9 pm. 2700 Scenic Hwy. 98, Destin.

(850) 650-7100. $$$ D

BIJOUX RESTAURANT & SPIRITS ★

Fine dining coastal cuisine with a New Orleans flair, Gulf seafood, prime steaks.

Open daily 4–10 pm. The Market Shops, 9375 Emerald Coast Pkwy. W., #22, Miramar Beach. (850) 622-0760. $$$ D

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JACKSON’S STEAKHOUSE ★

High-end steakhouse cuisine with fine wines.

Local seafood is hand-selected and artistically prepared to perfection. Lunch Wed–Fri 11 am–2 pm, dinner Mon–Sun 5 pm til. 400 S. Palafox St., Pensacola. (850) 469-9898. $$$ D

MARLIN GRILL ★

RUNAWAY ISLAND

This seafood and casual fare restaurant features classic coastal cuisine and genuine Southern hospitality plus live music daily inside the panoramic bar. Open daily 11 am– 9 pm. 1875 S. Hwy. 393, Santa Rosa Beach.

(850) 622-2733. $$ L D

3OA restaurants please reach out for information on partnering with us!

Locally inspired food and beverages in a beautiful waterfront setting, alongside a curated vinyl record collection. 284 Marler Ave., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 387-1300. $ L D

Steak and seafood. New Orleans-inspired.

Mon–Sat 5:30–10 pm, Sun 5:30–9 pm. Silver Shells Resort, 1500 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Destin. (850) 337-5108. $$$ D

SHUNK GULLEY OYSTER BAR ★

Residents and visitors can enjoy the food of 30A restaurants at their convenience.

THE GULF – FORT WALTON BEACH ★

OLD BAY STEAMER ★

Crab, oysters and grouper sandwiches in a casual beach bar and grill with steps onto the sand. Open daily at 11 am. 14521 Front Beach Rd., Panama City Beach. (850) 634-4884. $$ L D

from your favorites

Inspired by traditional waterfront dining, Captain Dave’s features American seafood cuisine infused with a contemporary Gulf Coast twist. Wed–Mon 4 pm–close. 3796 Scenic Hwy. 98, Destin.

(850) 837-2627. $$$ D

Seafood, steaks, salads and appetizers.

Open nightly from 5 pm. The Village of Baytowne Wharf, Miramar Beach. (850) 351-1990. $$$ D

The perfect place for quality steamed seafood, outstanding steaks and incredible ribs. 102 Santa Rosa Blvd., Fort Walton Beach.

(850) 664-2795. $$ D

DELIVERY

RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE

SEAGAR’S PRIME STEAKS & SEAFOOD ★

Premium steak, fresh seafood and caviar.

Open daily from 6 pm. Hilton Sandestin, 4000 S. Sandestin Blvd., Miramar Beach.

(850) 622-1500. $$$ D

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SLICK LIPS SEAFOOD & OYSTER HOUSE

Family-friendly seafood spot located in The Village of Baytowne Wharf with the freshest local Gulf-caught seafood and 1855 certified Angus steaks. Sun–Thur 11 am– 9 pm; Fri–Sat 11 am–10 pm. 140 Fisherman’s Cove, Miramar Beach. (850) 347-5060. $$ L D

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Fast delivery of all the high-quality cuisine that 30A has to offer. Download their app on Google Play or the Apple Store, or visit 30agrub2go. com to get started. (850) 260-3139.

DESTIN ICE SEAFOOD MARKET & DELI ★

Fresh fish and seafood items, pastas, salads and side dishes, Buckhead meats, decadent desserts, wines, cheeses, spices and more.

Open daily 8 am–7 pm. 663 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Destin. (850) 837-8333. $$ L D

JC'S GOURMET ★

A chilled mix of fresh shrimp, lime zest and vinegar-soaked cucumber, red onion and sweet pepper, this is shrimp ceviche-style.

4621 Highway 98 W., Santa Rosa Beach.

(850) 687-2810

MODICA MARKET ★

Find delicious lunch specials and brews at this gourmet specialty food store. 109 Seaside Central Square, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 231-1214. L

Visit our comprehensive, searchable dining guide online at EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/Restaurants.

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postscript

GROWTH, CHANGE AND INCLUSIVITY

by IRVIN CLARK, ED.D.

O

ver my 28-year career in higher education, I have experienced all stages of campus growth and development.

Change and increases in enrollment present challenges, particularly for smaller academic institutions, and include financial hurdles, staffing issues and providing for student services. To meet them, efficient and effective processes that work for a larger and more diverse student population are required.

At Savannah State University, I co-led the planning and construction of six new residential facilities, the renovation of three older facilities and the acquisition of an apartment complex. In just two years, Savannah State’s enrollment grew from 3,200 to 4,780. In response, we redesigned the student orientation experience, established a student ombudsman office, revamped communications and communication channels, and improved customer service in recruitment, admissions and registration.

While enrollment is important and reflects the goal of making higher education accessible, student success and retention is mission critical. During my time at Radford University in Virginia, we established a new student success and retention office along with a council on student engagement and success to increase retention and facilitate progress toward degree attainment. Student engagement is key to retention, and a number of initiatives were put in place to

ensure that those students most at risk of not completing degree requirements received the support they needed to succeed. These actions were taken as part of an initiative to grow enrollment by 2.5 percent.

My professional journey has led me to Florida State University Panama City, which is preparing for transformational growth and development.

A new 380-bed residential housing facility, Seminole Landing, will be completed and ready to receive students on Aug. 18, 2021. Its construction already has changed the campus landscape and elicits a sense of expectation and excitement. The Gulf Coast State College and FSU PC students who will live there will experience campus life in a whole new way. Safe and affordable student housing will attract a more culturally and ethnically diverse student body.

Student services are our No. 1 priority along with providing meaningful campus experiences that foster an environment of inclusivity. We have been preparing for this next phase in our campus’s life for the past four years by restructuring student affairs, enrollment management and academic advising; building a strong collaborative relationship with GCSC through the Seminole-Commodore Alliance; and establishing the Dean’s Diversity Task Force.

We are working on student health services, a career center and mentorship programs. We’ve added the FSU PC Promise Scholarship to provide high-achieving,

Seminole Landing Rendering

low-income students in our region free tuition and fees. I am also leading initiatives, similar to the ones I led at Radford and Savannah State, that are designed to increase retention; they include the development of living-learning communities and faculty/student events to increase communication and understanding.

The campus has evolved over the past 39 years and continues to evolve in order to remain relevant within the community and region. New programs in mechanical engineering, computer programming, hospitality, entrepreneurship and public health have been added, along with a preprofessional health track for students who aim to go to medical school. Other degree programs have been enhanced. The Nurse Anesthesia Program will confer the campus’s first doctoral degrees. Continuing education, outreach programs and certificate options are now available for personal and professional enrichment. FSU PC values its community partners and works closely with military, business and industry leaders to inform and further the interests of Northwest Florida.

We are embarking on a new chapter at FSU PC with tremendous growth possibilities for our campus and area. I have experienced the excitement and challenges of evolving campuses during my career, and I am confident that this campus will meet the challenges ahead successfully, as it has in the past. FSU PC has a rich history of progress and transformation, and I look forward to all of its tomorrows. EC

Irvin Clark is the associate dean for student and strategic initiatives at Florida State University Panama City. Learn more about the FSU PC Promise Scholarship and new residential housing by visiting pc.fsu.edu. Or visit the campus at 4750 Collegiate Drive in Panama City.

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