Emerald Coast Magazine February/March 2022 by Rowland Publishing, Inc.

commitment born of

CHAOS Unexpected event leads Bradley Copeland to fully embrace life of creativity

MISSISSIPPI’S GULF COAST OFFERS ECLECTIC MIX OF HISTORIC WATERFRONT TOWNS

JIMBO

Singersongwriter trades city lights for white sands

OVER EASY

One-time Waffle House president is a gentle and kind mentor

THE PRIDE OF A MASTER CR AFTSMAN E. F. San Juan offers the uncompromising protection of impact resistant innovation with Premium Coastal by Weather Shield®. To find out more visit EFSanJuan.com. ARCHITECT: CHRIST & ASSOCIATES | PHOTOGR APHY: JACK GARDNER

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM February-March EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM December 2020–January 2021

2022 2020

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 Hwy 79, less than 8 miles from the beach. New Homes from the mid $200s

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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 2022. 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. 2022

February-March 2022

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Contents

FEB/MAR 2022

← By aligning

energy centers, called chakras, Reiki master Lori Beasley of Destin can lead people to more optimistic, generous ways of being in the world.

FE ATURES

HANDS-ON HEALERS

photography by MIKE FENDER

ALIGNING CHAKRAS

Anaya Palay, a doctor of Chinese medicine, finds that Western medicine may fail anybody. “At some point, your doctor is going to say, ‘There’s nothing else we can do.’ Just saying that gives me chills,” she said. When traditional approaches don’t work, people may turn to alternative forms of treatment. Among the most popular — and often misunderstood — are acupuncture, cupping and cryotherapy.

Reiki is grounded in the belief that when a chakra — one of the body’s seven energetic centers — is blocked, the balance of mind, body and spirit may be disrupted. Reiki masters including Lori Beasley of Free Spirit Heart in Destin are in the alignment business. By transferring energy with just the palms of their hands, they enable people to lead more peaceful and harmonious lives.

by EMMA WITMER

by HANNAH BURKE

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

February-March 2022

Contents

FEB/MAR 2022

27 IN EVERY ISSUE 12 FROM THE

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER 14 EDITOR'S LETTER 92 SOCIAL STUDIES 96 DINING GUIDE 98 POSTSCRIPT

55 19 EDUCATION Bert

EXPRESSION

55 MUSIC Jimbo Thornton

escaped rural Southwest Georgia and was on his way to a successful career as a musician when the Selective Service came calling. He has spent a lifetime working through his Vietnam experience, and now he’s singing about it.

For personal stylist and wardrobe consultant Angie Roberts, clothes may not make the woman, but they can serve her as a valuable and effective vehicle for self-expression.

30 WHAT’S IN STORE Area retailers offer items with which to decorate ourselves, our homes and our children.

February-March 2022

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

70 GREEN SCENE

Cool-weather ornamental annuals such as pansies and dianthus add color to landscapes emerging from the winter doldrums, but don’t expect them to handle to steamy days of summer.

DESTINATIONS

ABODES

67 FEATURE HOME Home

designer Krystal Nite and her songwriter husband, Jon, open the doors to their Gulf retreat in Navarre, revealing a home that is splendidly but not ostentatiously appointed.

75 GETAWAY During

hurricane seasons going back decades, coastal Mississippi has often proved a sitting duck. But as surely as spring follows winter, its communities always bounce back with new and better versions of themselves.

FIT TO TEA Long central to polite social gatherings and midday respites, teas, given their soothing properties, may be as relevant today as ever before.

commitment b orn of

CHAOS Unexpected event leads Bradley Copeland to fully embrace life of creativity

JIMBO

Singersongwriter trades city lights for white sands

OVER EASY

One-time Waffle House president is a gentle and kind mentor

MISSISSIPPI’S GULF COAST OFFERS ECLECTIC MIX OF HISTORIC WATERFRONT TOWNS EMERALDCOASTMAGAZINE.COM

27 CITIZEN OF STYLE

left her badly burned and unable to work, Bradley Copeland threw herself into her passion for art. Represented by the owner of a gallery in Seaside, she is making strides — and won’t be going back to working retail.

» HANDS-ON HEALERS » DREAM HOME

PANACHE

58 ART When an accident

BEER HOPPING

is committed to responsible environmental stewardship, especially when it comes to taking out the trash. His Class III, lined landfill is the only such facility in the region.

heretofore little known beer connoisseur, travels from Pensacola to Panama City in search of the perfect IPA. What some craft breweries lack in ambience, they make up for in craftsmanship.

FEB–MAR 2022

22 CHAMPION Lee Perry

40 LIBATIONS Viktor, a

EMERALD COAST MAGAZINE

Thornton, once the president and chief operating officer at Waffle House, today serves business students at the University of West Florida as an “old gorilla.”

GASTRO & GUSTO

ON THE COVER:

Upon graduating from Auburn University with a degree in art and moving to Santa Rosa Beach, Bradley Copeland rather casually set about finding her identity as an artist. She created time in which to do what she calls “trash art,” pieces not intended to impress anyone, but creations that might serve to reveal the artist to herself. Her trash art morphed into “messy faces,” including a series of portraits of drag queens and some self-portraiture. Too, Copeland has been seen to engage in literal face painting while serving, herself, as the canvas. “Art is my religion,” she says, even when it colors outside the lines. PHOTO BY SEAN MURPHY

PHOTOS BY MIKE FENDER (55), MICHAEL BOOINI (27), LESLIE BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY (67) AND SPAXIAX / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS (37)

THE WAVE

Waterfront Dining

Rooftop Bar

Good Food. Good People. Good Times.

2021 of

OAST MAG AZ DC I AL

E’S N

EM ER

Lunch & Dinner

BEST E

ERALD C O

Voted Best Tuna Dip Emerald Coast Magazine

Voted Best Rooftop Bar Coastal Living Magazine

BudandAlleys.com 850.231.5900 Seaside, FL

Bud & Alley's restaurants are proudly following CDC protocols to ensure the health and safety of our employees and patrons.

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM February-March EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM December 2020–January 2021

2022 2020

Contents

PROMOTION

FEB/MAR 2022

SPECIAL SECTIONS AND PROMOTIONS

SEASONED CHEF Get to know

↑ BEAUTY’S NEW BEAT

↑ SIMPLY THE BEST Smaller in scale but outsized in spirit, the 2021 Best of the Emerald Coast awards ceremony took place in Grand Park at Grand Boulevard. Winners from over 100 categories arrived to receive their awards and pose for photos.

Northwest Florida Ballet takes a classic, Beauty & the Beast, and makes it contemporary. Beloved characters will delight audiences in enacting a timeless story told through dance.

WALTON WOMEN Throughout

the years, many creatively inclined women have won the Artist of the Year award presented by the Walton County Tourism Department. Their works shine a spotlight on the beauty and uniqueness of the region.

↑ GO-TO GOLF CARTS Dixielectricar

is an exclusive dealer of E-Z-GO golf carts, a luxury brand. Shop the latest and greatest models and custom options at their three locations.

↑ IT’S GRAND! Grand Boulevard’s Town Center celebrates 15 years of shopping, dining, playing and support for the arts and the work of nonprofits.

REGIMEN RUNDOWN Aesthetician Katie Metzger of Dermatology Solutions discusses products that add up to a complete skin care routine, ranging from serums to creams to scrubs and more.

NEXT ISSUE SPRING GIFT GUIDE 8

February-March 2022

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

◆

BEST OF BALLOT

WOMEN’S PROFILES Discover the inspirations, motivations and accomplishments of women who have emerged along the Emerald Coast as leaders who are making important differences in their fields of endeavor and in the community at large.

86 CALENDAR

Indoors and outdoors. Plays and parades. Marathons and musicals. Wine and food festivals galore. The year 2022 is providing many options for things to do along the Emerald Coast.

PHOTOS BY LAND AIR AND SEA PRODUCTIONS (90) AND COURTESY OF DIXIELECTRICAR (24), GRAND BLVD. (34) AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA BALLET (62)

the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa’s new executive chef, Dan Tederous. From Vegas to Hawaii to Miramar Beach, Tederous brings a wealth of experience and a fondness for butter.

Make a

BANKING SWITCH

that sticks.

We believe a personal relationship with your banker is one of the most important connections you can have in this community. Our bankers offer not only great banking and borrowing solutions, but also individual attention, a ready ear to listen and a desire to help reach your personal and business financial goals. Make the switch today.

Ryan Davis President, Bay County davis.ryan@ccbg.com 850.404.6070

*Subject to credit approval and may be subject to property approval.

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Owner-Occupied Building Loans* Residential and Land Development Loans* Equipment Loans* Lot Loans* Commercial Guidance Line of Credit* Investment Property Loans*

Proudly Serving Bay County. www.ccbg.com EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

February-March 2022

EMERALD COAST MAGAZINE

VOL. 23, NO. 1

FEBRUARY-MARCH 2022

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

OBEDIENCE

LOYALTY

FULL DISCLOSURE

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Steve Bornhoft SENIOR STAFF WRITER Emma Witmer STAFF WRITER Hannah Burke CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bradley Copeland, Les Harrison, Rebecca Padgett Frett, 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 Dave Barfield, Michael Booini, McKenzie Burleigh, Matt Burke, Desirée Gardner Photography, Julie Dorr, Mike Fender, Steven Gray, Scott Holstein, Land Air Sea Productions, Leslie Brown Photography, Bob O’Lary, Sean Murphy, Saige Roberts, Emma Witmer, Zandra Wolfgram, Amber Yonker

SALES, MARKETING AND EVENTS Held to a Higher Standard by Florida Statute for your Real Estate advantage

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 SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Julie Dorr ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Darla Harrison DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Zandra Wolfgram MARKETING MANAGER Javis Ogden SALES AND MARKETING WRITER Rebecca Padgett Frett ADMINISTRATIVE & CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST Renee Johnson

OPERATIONS CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER Sara Goldfarb CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE/AD SERVICE COORDINATOR Sarah Coven PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION SPECIALIST Melinda Lanigan STAFF BOOKKEEPER Amber Dennard

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

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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 February 2022 Emerald Coast Magazine Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

The area’s only hospital with an ‘A’ for safety Ascension Sacred Heart is committed to keeping you and your family safe while in our care Getting the right care at the right time is critical to your overall health. Care teams at Ascension Sacred Heart have earned the area’s only “A” for safety from the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. From advanced heart care to joint replacement and spine surgery, doctors and care teams at Ascension Sacred Heart are dedicated to safely caring for you and your family.

Find a doctor and get care near you at ascension.org

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM February-March EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM December 2020–January 2021

2022 2020

from the

associate publisher

MANIFESTING DREAMS Sources of inspiration are all about us

February-March 2022

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

focus exclusively on her art, and she is doing well. A gallery owner represents her, and she may be doing a show in New York soon. Ginsburg, Thornton and Copeland are originals — all inspirational in his or her way. I hope their examples lead you to pursue your path with greater vigor and to offer your encouragement to others. As Buddha said, “What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” May you live your wildest dreams. Love you,

MCKENZIE BURLEIGH, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER mburleigh@rowlandpublishing.com

PHOTO BY SEAN MURPHY

Anyone who might strive today to make the world a better place rides the shoulders of people who preceded us and bent what Martin Luther King Jr. called the “arc of the moral universe” in positive ways. And, for every admirable, transformational person we can name, we must assume that they, too, were influenced by helpful and inspirational people in their lives. I am fascinated by people and their paths. I recently watched RBG, a moving documentary about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg maintained a positive outlook on the world. She seemed never to act out of anger and to respect the opinions of others. She famously was a close friend of Justice Antonin Scalia despite the fact that philosophically they were far apart. Ginsburg led people to think and, perhaps, to think differently. Ginsburg’s parents believed in her and provided her with indispensable encouragement. She graduated at the top of her class from Columbia Law School in 1959 after attending Harvard for three years. At Harvard, she met her future husband, Martin Ginsburg, who would become another affirming presence in her life. As a lawyer, she found her way in a profession reserved at the time almost exclusively for men. I admire people who choose to challenge convention, who entertain their wildest dreams. In this issue of Emerald Coast Magazine, staff writer Hannah Burke checks in with Bert Thornton, who for many years was the president and chief operating officer of Waffle House. I met Thornton in 2018 at Entrecon, the entrepreneurship and leadership conference presented annually in Pensacola by the Studer Community Institute. We were on a discussion panel together. I enjoyed talking with him about his book, High-Impact Mentoring: A Practical Guide to Creating Value in Other People’s Lives, and learning about his work as an advisor at the University of West Florida. Thornton is an example of the kind of people I would like to surround myself with. Today’s magazine also contains a story about Bradley Copeland, who appears on our cover. Copeland exited Auburn University with an art degree but lacked any confidence that she would be able to support herself as an artist. After moving to Walton County, she went to work at a store in Seaside. Then, an accident led her to

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.

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

February-March 2022

editor’s letter

A FAITH STRONG AND SOOTHING A charmed life of spiritual enchantment brings peace

February-March 2022

believes in and has lived the message of Matthew 25: “Whatever you do for the least of my children, you do unto me.” Onesimus is a deeply religious man but never outwardly so. He is not a missionary or a proselytizer. He is an example. His faith is critically important to him now. He is among the least judgmental and most inclusive people I know. People, it is said, are the inventors of the negative and of fences. Implied in yes is no. Light is defined by darkness. I think about the steadily positive Onesimus each morning when I encounter black-bellied whistling ducks while running. They are new to North Florida having expanded their range from Mexico and the Caribbean. They experienced no hassles at the border. In nature, there are no fences, and Onesimus isn’t much given to them either. “Dear Borny,” Onesimus began: “My girlfriend of 71 years and wife of 67 years will be part of the loving family of hospice starting Monday. There is nothing imminent about getting this special care, but Mindy is in bed full time, and the doctors said she will not be getting any better. She is bright and funny, and she is still the queen. (And definitely still my boss.) We hope and pray to keep her happy and comfortable for a long time. “We had five of our 17 wonderful grandchildren over yesterday. Our house felt like it did during the years when they were growing up. We will savor many more days like that for as long as possible. Our home is open, for that is where Mindy will be.

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

“We are spiritually enchanted and know we are on God’s journey. We know there is a better place beyond where we are today. Our faith is strong and soothing. “May all of our family and friends have joy and happiness in your lives. Mindy and I are in a comfortable place on our voyage. Thanks be to God. “Please keep my princess in your prayers.” What a kind and real and humble and strong role model Onesimus has been for his children and grandchildren. What a person so worth emulating he has been to me. Peace,

STEVE BORNHOFT EXECUTIVE EDITOR sbornhoft@rowlandpublishing.com

PHOTO BY SAIGE ROBERTS

A good friend notified me a few days ago that his wife, bedridden, had reached the point where she requires at-home hospice care. He brought me the news in such a way as to discourage me from feeling at all sad about it. I have known him for many years and have grown closer to him in the last few. We first interacted in the mid-1990s when we both prominently opposed a statewide ballot initiative whose passage curtailed the livelihoods of commercial fishermen. We are separated by 20 or so years in age, and I have always enjoyed his habit of calling me Young Warrior. I will refer to him here as Onesimus, which was the first name of his ancestor who fought in the American Revolution. Onesimus once encountered an unaccompanied young woman and her dog at an exit ramp along I-10 in Jacksonville. Her clothes were tattered, and she held a sign that read, “I’m Ugly and I’m Broke.” Onesimus asked her if she would like a sandwich and a can of soda. Softly, she said, “Yes.” Onesimus drove to a gas station close by, bought the items and added a $10 bill to a bag containing the biggest sandwich he could find and a Coke. He returned to the exit ramp and extended the bag to the woman and told her, “You are not ugly, and you are not totally broke anymore.” “Thank you so very much,” she said. “No, thank you very much, and may God bless you.” Resuming his progress on the interstate, Onesimus struggled to bring sobs under control. He is a man who truly

P R I M E

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S E A F O O D

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Since 2000 February-March 2022

PROMOTION

EMERALDCOASTMAGAZINE.COM GIVEAWAY

Win a Romantic Getaway!

Enter to win here EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/ultimatehilton-sandestin-beach-resort-getaway

Top 10 Reasons to Crescendo! The extravaganza of the season benefitting Sinfonia Gulf Coast is set for Feb. 25 and 27. We supply you with 10 good reasons why you should attend, including first and foremost, embracing the opportunity to support music education for children on the Emerald Coast. Read our digital exclusive here EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/area-events

THE EC!

The season of love is here! Post a pic on Instagram of what you love most about the Emerald Coast and tell us why, include #LoveEC, tag us at @emeraldcoastmag and you may be included in an upcoming issue.

@emeraldcoastmag Emerald Coast Magazine @EmeraldCoastMag

February-March 2022

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LOVE THE SKIN YOU’RE IN

Face down Old Man Winter with great skin. Dermatology Solutions and Aqua Medical Spa arms us with expert advice on how to protect and nourish the skin we’re in. Learn more here EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/ sponsored-content/beauty-links

PHOTOS BY SUNSET IMAGES (GIVEAWAY), DESIRÉE GARDNER PHOTOGRAPHY (CRESCENDO!), ROWLAND FILE PHOTO / MATT BURKE (I LOVE EC) AND ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS / BEAUTY AGENT STUDIO

We are giving away a fabulous stay at a full-service luxury resort in Miramar Beach, Florida! Whether you are looking to tie the knot, relax on a romantic honeymoon, celebrate your anniversary or just grab some beach time with your someone special, this amazing Ultimate Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa Getaway (valued at $2,500) is the escape you’ve been longing for.

EXPERIENCE Upscale shopping, sophisticated dining options and South Walton’s premier events and entertainment await you Along the Boulevard.

DINE

SHOP

Another Broken Egg Café

Altar’d State

The Bistro

Anthropologie

(Located in Courtyard by Marriott Sandestin at Grand Boulevard)

Black Bear Bread Co. (Now Open) Cantina Laredo Modern Mexican The Craft Bar

Arhaus (Now Open) Arula Billabong Bluemercury Hemline

Emeril’s Coastal

J.Ji l l

everkrisp Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

J.McLaughlin The Jewel

Grimaldi’s Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria

La Luna

Kilwins

lululemon (Now Open)

PF Chang’s China Bistro

Ophelia Swimwear

Starbucks

Orvis

Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar

Peter Millar

Vin’tij Food & Wine

Lilly Pulitzer

Pottery Barn Rose & Co (Now Open)

The Wine Bar

Southern Tide Sunset Shoes

Courtyard by Marriott Sandestin at Grand Boulevard

Residence Inn by Marriott Sandestin at Grand Boulevard

Hyatt Place Sandestin at Grand Boulevard

Grand Fitness

AMC CLASSIC Boulevard 10

Emerald Coast Theatre Company

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THE B E AUF ORT B ONNE T CO M PAN Y NOW O PEN

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February-March 2022

We’re the

CENTER

of attention! 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! 15750 Panama City Beach Pkwy PierParkNorth.com

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182020–January February-March ZINE.COM December 20212022 2020 EMERALDCOASTMAGA EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

CASTOinfo.com

wave

THE

FEB/MAR 2022

A CONSCIOUS, COOL COMPENDIUM OF COASTAL STUFF

PERSONALITY

ENTREPRENEUR IN RESIDENCE Retired Waffle House executive urges students to hang around successful people by HANNAH BURKE

CHAMPION photography by STEVEN GRAY

A Responsible Steward

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

February-March 2022

THE

wave

→

In 1975, four years into his decades of service at Waffle House, Bert Thornton became the business’s vice president. In 2004, he was named president and COO of Waffle House, perhaps the only business that is linked to a hurricane severity index. (If Waffle House is about to close, you know it’s gonna be bad.)

hen I inquired about Bert Thornton’s availability for an interview, he told me he’s like Waffle House. “Available 24/7/365 — we never close.” I at first thought this was humorous — Thornton is the familiar breakfast franchise’s vice chairman emeritus — but after an hour-long phone call with Thornton, who was en route to Atlanta with his wife, Kathy, I realized this was simply true. This is a man who has never stopped linking, learning and achieving. “Kathy asks me all the time if I’m really retired,” Thornton said. “I never have a day that’s not full.” Thornton’s indefatigable drive, it seems, has always been present. Following an education at Georgia Tech, where he played football under Coach Bobby Dodd, Thornton served two years as an artillery officer with the United States Army. He completed a tour in Vietnam, then

February-March 2022

separated from the services and worked as a salesman and systems analyst for NCR. His foray into IT was cut short when his old fraternity brother gave him a call. His father had just opened the first Waffle House, and he successfully recruited Thornton in 1971. Four years later, Thornton became the business’s vice president. He spent the next 35 years of his life overseeing the expansion of the franchise to over 2,000 locations, and in 2004, he became its president and chief operations officer. Today, Thornton spends his time authoring personal improvement books, participating in his condominium’s postHurricane Sally revitalization efforts and more recently, serving as entrepreneur in residence at the University of West Florida College of Business’s Center for Entrepreneurship. Though the COVID-19 pandemic messed with his first year at UWF, Thornton said he’s excited to see it

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

“ramping back up.” He has delivered several presentations to students on leadership, success and mentorship, contributed to panel discussions and serves on the College of Business advisory board. Thornton said his academic undertaking resulted from the craftiness of Quint Studer, founder of Pensacola’s Studer Community Institute and the university’s other entrepreneur in residence. The pair met around 2015 when Thornton keynoted Pensacola’s inaugural EntreCon, a local business, leadership and entrepreneurship convention. “Quint Studer, you see, tricked me,” Thornton said. “One day, he asked if I’d be on a panel discussion with him at UWF, and I said, ‘Sure.’ I get there, and there’re about 120 students gathered in the library, but I see no panel set up. I asked Quint how this was going to work, and he said, ‘Simple, I’m going to introduce you, and you’re going to talk about your book!’” photography by STEVEN GRAY

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BERT THORTON (WAFFLE HOUSE AND BOOK)

Studer had taken an interest in Thornton’s first book, Find an Old Gorilla: Pathways Through the Jungle of Business and Life. Thornton said its pages are full of advice that he both gave and received throughout his professional career, as well as articles that resonated with him. The theory is that if you’re attempting to navigate a jungle, you’d seek the aid of an old gorilla. He’s been around a while, you see, and knows the way to the ripest bananas. Thornton still lectures on this topic but said most of his work at UWF is conducted during the question-and-answer sessions that follow his presentations. Among the most frequent queries is, “How do I become successful?” “There is a silver bullet for success,” Thornton said. “If you want to be successful, hang around successful people … and listen. You’ve got two ears and one

mouth for a reason: You’ve got to listen twice as much as you talk. Who you hang around with early in life will largely dictate where you end up. “You can be successful if you care, if you try, if you learn and if you STAY. You’ve got to care the most, try the hardest, learn something every day and you need to stay and bloom where you’re planted.” He believes one should read something every day and is prepared to recommend books, articles and podcasts that align with students’ interests. Too, he talks about how students can make themselves attractive to people of substance and what it takes to become a worthwhile mentee. Find an Old Gorilla is largely centered around personal leadership skills. Thornton’s new book, High Impact Mentoring: A Practical Guide to Creating Value in Other People’s Lives, describes how to be a resource for others. Thornton, a

mentor to many, co-wrote the title with Dr. Sherry Hartnett, who owns a marketing consultant firm and teaches marketing courses at the UWF College of Business. “We wanted to write this because there’s a great paradox out there,” said Thornton. “You’ve got a rising group of high achievers who desperately need mentoring, but they aren’t aware of the resources out there and they don’t know how to ask for them. The irony is there’s a legion of savvy business people and organization leaders who could be helpful. Yet, these two groups don’t get together.” This book, he said, is an effort to unite mentors and mentees. Thornton participates in Hartnett’s Executive Mentorship Program at UWF, where matches between students and business leaders are made based on the interest, availability, skills and commonalities between both parties. Hartnett has constructed what Thornton considers the best mentoring effort he’s ever seen, involving the likes of lawyers, doctors and “hamburger flippers like me.” “These students are absolute sponges,” Thornton said. “The good ones have a sincere interest in wanting to learn, and I’ve made it my life’s mission to help emerging leaders. “It’s my goal to take potential superstars and turn them into superstars. I find that my happiest friends aren’t the ones who play the most golf and take the most cruises, but the ones who live a life of gratitude. You’ll never find anyone more grateful for what they have than Kathy and me. We give back and try to help others become successful, but this is where the worthwhile mentee thing comes in. You have to want it, be willing to do it and have the capacity for it.” EC

NAVIGATION

Even the most experienced of fishing guides may need a guide when visiting unfamiliar waters. And today, the business world changes so rapidly that it doesn’t stay familiar for long. Writes Bert Thornton in Find an Old Gorilla: Pathways Through the Jungle of Business and Life, “Even if you feel at the top of your game, navigating the jungles of life and business is tricky business, and it helps if you take an ‘Old Gorilla’ along. Working through challenges is a process, and most low achievers don’t get it. The ones I’ve met spend a great deal of their time complaining. They blame others for their problems, and they beg random people for help in mending the consequences of their poor judgment rather than seeking informed advice on how to move forward.” As to high achievers? Thornton finds that many times they are too proud or confident to seek the counsel of others. EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

February-March 2022

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CHAMPION

A RESPONSIBLE STEWARD Lee Perry sets example as a businessman with a conscience by STEVE BORNHOFT

SAFE WATER 22

↑ Walton County businessman Lee Perry built and now manages the only Class III, lined Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill in a multi-county area. Perry was a major supporter and board of directors member at Safe Water for Walton.

they created with trash when they closed them down. “Anybody with a backhoe and a dump trailer was in the dirt business,” Perry said. County commissioners addressed the problem by enacting an ordinance that knocked out the small pits, imposed tough requirements for obtaining permits to establish new ones and shrank the dirt supply. Perry was the first landowner to seek a borrow pit permit under terms of the ordinance. “I was the guinea pig,” he said. “It took me 2½ years to obtain my permits. The county put me in a position where I had to know a lot about what it was going to take to get them.” Today, Perry additionally operates the only lined Class III landfill in Northwest Florida, a business that is owned by his wife, Margie. A Class III facility does not

receive household waste, but it can receive materials such as treated lumber and brown goods (TVs, computers, printers) that are not allowed in construction and demolition (C&D) landfills. Conscientiousness was a factor in Perry’s decision to go with a Class III landfill versus taking the C&D route. A factor, too, was the certainty that future hurricanes will visit Walton County. When a major storm flattens communities, as Hurricane Michael did in 2018, haulers don’t have time to sort through debris. Indeed, the state Department of Environmental Protection may at its discretion allow C&D landfills to operate on an emergency basis as if they were Class III landfills. “The problem,” Perry said, “is that they will not have been built to handle Class III material.”

“Kelly Layman saw something that had the potential to create a problem,” Lee Perry said of the founder of Safe Water for Walton. “Even though the injection well would have gone all the way through the aquifer, a seismic shift could cause that pipe to crack. There is no such thing as a surefire, never-gonna-fail system. Even if nothing ever happens, the optics are not good. It doesn’t give you a feeling of comfort knowing that you have that much toxic contamination going down through the source of your drinking water.” Perry recognizes that continuing vigilance will be required to ensure that Walton County is developed responsibly. “I assume that if something comes up that needs to be addressed, Safe Water for Walton could be reactivated,” he said.

February-March 2022

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PHOTO COURTESY OF SAFE WATER FOR WALTON

hen a friend told Lee Perry that a nonprofit had been established to contest a giant household waste hauler’s plans to site a leachate disposal well in Jackson County, he immediately contacted the organization. Perry knew something about groundwater contamination and regulatory agencies and thought he could be helpful. Soon, he was a member of the intentionally soft-spoken but effective board of directors that founder Kelly Layman assembled to lead Safe Water for Walton. Perry grew up in Andalusia, Alabama, graduated from Auburn University and went to work buying, selling and from time to time, developing real estate along the Emerald Coast. He had his finger on the pace of development in Walton County and could see that the county was likely to run out of landfill space and sources of fill dirt the way things were going. He stepped in to help fill the void. At one time, Walton County was home to some 200 small dirt pits, sometimes called borrow pits. The pits, generally, were poorly maintained, resulting in erosion problems. Too, pit owners often backfilled the holes

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Perry’s place, by contrast, is built to prevent any groundwater contamination. “We control all of our leachate,” Perry said, referring to the liquid that accumulates in the bottoms of landfills. “We contain it, treat it and test it before we can return it to the groundwater.” At the Azland Landfill, Perry has eight lined ponds that he planted with cattails and other vegetation resulting in what he called “vegetative wetlands.” Those ponds are triple lined. A geosynthetic clay liner containing bentonite makes the ground impervious. Above it are two 60-mil pond liners separated by a foot of fill dirt. Azland runs leachate through the ponds to a holding pond where it is tested. Before the treated liquid can be routed to a percolation pond and allowed to seep into the ground, it must meet drinking-water standards. Siting a landfill in Walton County isn’t easy. They must be placed away from wetlands, and as Perry said, “The last thing anybody wants in his backyard is a landfill.” Azland is located two miles east of U.S. 331 off Rock Hill Road in a rural area. To the west of the landfill is 1,000 acres owned by Orlando Technologies, Inc., which does explosives testing on the property. The landfill is otherwise surrounded by timberlands. At 30 acres in size, it sits in the middle of a 132-acre parcel that provides for substantial setbacks. The landfill is made up of four cells, and at this writing, Perry is preparing to close out one cell and move on to No. 2. Upon closure, a Class III landfill must be monitored with wells for 30 years — versus five years for C&D landfills. Walton County is building a Class III facility, but for now, Perry receives debris from throughout the county except for an area along U.S. 98 and east of County 395. “With the housing boom in Walton County, we’re seeing a lot of material, and that’s a good thing,” Perry said. He is trying to get into recycling, but entry costs are high and there’s not much money in it. Markets for recycled material can be hard to find. “China is no longer buying recycled material as it once had,” Perry said. “There are several things we’d like to do with recyclables, but you need offsetting income. I’m working on that.” The nonprofit was phased out as of Dec. 31, 2021, after achieving its chief objective, stopping the Waste Management leachate-disposal, deep-injection well; for four years, it had been engaged in activities including policy research and preparing for a possible court fight. Waste Management withdrew its permit application on Jan. 10, 2020. Layman said she didn’t want to perpetuate an organization that would have to devote much of its energies to fundraising just to sustain itself. Safe Walton, she said, was a good example of an “ad hoc, hyper-focused nonprofit that prevailed on the basis of science and facts.” Perry agrees. EC

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February–March 2022

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Golf Cart Shopping Made E-Z

2022 E-Z-GO LIBERTY ELITE 4.2

DIXIELECTRICAR SELLS QUALITY FROM MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

magine heading out in your golf cart and spending your day shopping, hitting the beach, heading back to the house to freshen up and then out again for a night of dinner and drinks. All without the worry of constantly stopping to charge. Not too long ago, this was a fantasy, but the E-Z-GO Liberty has made it a reality. Dixielectricar takes pride in exclusively providing the premium products that E-Z-GO brings to the golf cart market, including the new luxury Liberty line. Its eco-friendly technology activated by a Samsung SDI lithium battery provides the highest performance in the industry. The battery administers consistent power regardless of charge level, and the onboard rapid charging system has dramatically reduced charging time. Golf carts historically took eight to 10 hours to charge completely, but a complete charge can now be attained in two to four hours. Plus, this premium battery doubles the cart’s range, putting drivers at ease. Golf carts are becoming more like automobiles, offering high-quality motors and suspensions, LED lighting, leather upholstery, USB charging ports and many more desirable features. The E-Z-GO models come with an exceptional eight-year warranty. Should the need for warranty work arise, Dixielectricar is able to replace parts and make repairs at their on-site services shops.

“Everyone loves their golf cart until it gives them issues, and that’s when we are able to step in and provide the best service possible to our customers,” said Colin Gorman, an owner of Dixielectricar. “There are other companies that will sell you a golf cart at a lower price, but it will not come with the level of service and care that we’ve provided since 1972.” The company’s outstanding reputation has been a factor in sales volume that warranted the opening of two stores in addition to their original Santa Rosa Beach location: a store in Fort Walton Beach and coming soon, a store at Pier Park in Panama City Beach.

“When customers choose to spend local, their money stays local,” said Gorman. “We invest back into the community by offering the highest-quality brand coupled with reliable service.”

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February-March 2022

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ELEMENTS OF STYLE RANGING FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE MORE SUBLIME

→

Clothes make the woman? Well, they can help as indicators of her style and attitude. Here, personal stylist Angie Roberts makes a statement with a dress from Nordstrom and boots by Vince Camuto.

CITIZEN OF STYLE

BRINGING LIGHT TO CLOSETS

Angie Roberts builds wardrobes and confidence by HANNAH BURKE

WHAT'S IN STORE photography by MICHAEL BOOINI

Retail Round-up

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

February-March 2022

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← Angie Roberts, in photo at left, sports J. Crew loafers, PAIGE jeans, a 360 cashmere sweater and a Blank NYC leather jacket. Above, she scans a book as a possible source of ideas that may find a place in her wardrobe or those of clients.

he late Bill Cunningham, a style chronicler and photo columnist for the New York Times, famously deemed fashion “the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.” You likely possess at least one item of clothing that makes you feel bulletproof: a figure-flattering dress that tempts and turns heads, or a pair of stilettos that elevate your confidence as much as your stride. But, imagine if every piece of your wardrobe inspired such self-assurance … A girl could conquer the world.

February-March 2022

For Angie Roberts, a personal stylist in Santa Rosa Beach, that is precisely the goal. Through her business, Amazing Grey, Roberts has helped inspire dozens of professional women and aspiring entrepreneurs to chase their dreams with the power of dress. “Amazing Grey started seven years ago in Tallahassee, where I was working in an administrative role and in desperate need of a creative outlet,” Roberts said. “I got a practical degree like I was always told to, but I wanted to be able to help people. Some may argue that fashion is self-serving, but it’s so much more than matching skirts with blouses. Helping people find their personal style so they can walk out the door with their shoulders back — and with far more confidence than insecurity — is invaluable.”

EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

Roberts said she caters her services to women in the business world because she knows well the nuances of professional dress and life. Women may enlist her for closet “edits” and facelifts, or sign up for the full “Sort, Shop and Style” experience. “Everything starts in the closet, where no one wants to be because it’s dark, dirty and where we have our mental breakdowns,” Roberts laughed. “But, it’s important to roll up your sleeves and really get in there to see what you’re working with. You can’t shop without first knowing what’s there.” TLC’s What Not to Wear fans will be familiar with this process, but versus a televised exposure of all your fashion crimes and hoarder tendencies, Roberts offers an intimate, nonjudgmental and cooperative approach. This is where she photography by MICHAEL BOOINI

gets to know someone’s inhibitions, lifestyle and fashion sense, and helps identify which pieces work and those that don’t. Roberts said many clients are surprised at their own style evolutions, especially post-quarantine. Embracing society’s newfound love for simplicity, she is a huge believer in establishing key, foundational pieces that can be transformed with accessories. A white, chiffon blouse can be given new life with a colorful blazer and handbag one day, and a leather belt and statement jewelry the next. Upon ascertaining the client’s tastes, Roberts collaborates with them on a “vision board” to inspire and inform shopping. “I don’t classify style by saying, ‘Oh, she’s a romantic,’ or ‘She’s a classic,’ because style is fluid, and you can like girly dresses and studded leather jackets, too,” Roberts said. “Some people are afraid to step outside of the box because they don’t trust their own judgment, and sometimes, they may just need someone to tell them what looks good and what doesn’t.” Roberts speaks from experience. Her own wardrobe underwent transformation after she moved from Atlanta to Watersound last year. She considers her style to be a lot more casual now, citing her love for Veja sneakers and a good pair of jeans. Locally, she loves shopping at Indigo Watercolor and BECASA, and loves “mixing the feminine with the masculine,” a la New York socialite Olivia Palermo.

For her clients at Amazing Grey, Roberts said she “sources REVOLVE and Nordstrom like it’s my job.” For activewear, Roberts tends to recommend the Vuori brand, while the FRAME Denim, PAIGE and Free People labels lend themselves to both professional and leisure modes. After Roberts completes the shopping, she informs her clients why she selected certain pieces and teaches them how to incorporate them into their wardrobes. Roberts will then style outfits and upload photos of them to a virtual closet program for her customer’s future reference. To expand her outreach, Roberts performs style workshops and presentations for organizations and community groups. At this writing, she has just addressed the Capital Women’s Network, a nonprofit devoted to helping women advance their careers in Tallahassee, about the importance of building a stylish wardrobe with confidence. When you’re not worried about yourself and what others might think of you, she said, you’d be surprised what all can be accomplished. “Many of my clients come to me in times of change,” Roberts said. “They could be recently divorced, are now empty nesters or maybe they just moved and got a new job. It can be overwhelming when you walk into your closet and feel stuck. “It’s challenging, and we get into some deep stuff during the closet editing process, but having the opportunity to be the one by their side is a big deal and not something I take for granted.” EC

↑ With a smile that suggests that she is pleased with what it has to offer, Angie Roberts, top photo, sorts through her closet. Madewell earrings, lower photo, are among her favorite accessories.

On Getting Unstuck

↑

“You are stuck because you are busy,” personal stylist Angie Roberts says of women today. “You are overwhelmed by your to-do list, and at the very bottom of your list might be shopping. So, you reach for one of the same five outfits you always wear because you at least know it works. You are stuck, and you feel incapable and unequipped to shop for your body and your lifestyle.” Roberts helps women overcome such inertia by offering services including wardrobe styling, closet facelifts and one-on-one styling assistance. EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

February-March 2022

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LULULEMON

Work It Out ➸ Everyone’s favorite workout

wear retailer, LULULEMON, has made its way to a new location at Grand Boulevard. What began as a pop-up shop has now become permanent. A company largely responsible for the rise in athleisure, lululemon offers high-quality women and men’s athletic wear in a rainbow of colors and a plethora of styles.

Pier Park Placements

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

➸ Two new stores are arriving at Pier Park, AERIE and PARIS BAHN MI. Aerie, a subset of American Eagle, features women’s clothing and intimates. Paris Bahn Mi is a sandwich shop that merges the flavors of France and Vietnam. Think fresh baguette brimming with Vietnamese ingredients.

Grand Boulevard Grabs ➸ Need an in-home spring update? ARHAUS STUDIO is a service-first concept store that is an outgrowth of the national home design retailer. From furniture to décor, both indoor and outdoor, the in-house consultants are there to help clients through the design process every step of the way. ➸ Stop and smell the roses and other flowers at ROSE & CO., a locally owned European flower and accessory shop, which has opened its doors in Grand Boulevard. The scents of fragrant bouquets continuously exit its doors. The store carries cut flowers from growers and vendors in New York, City, California, Hawaii and other locales. Create bouquets for any occasion, and grab a gift from the lovingly curated gift shop offering candles, tableware and more.

For the Babes

LA LUNA is a specialty boutique for the little ones. The store favors organic products and nontoxic dyes to keep babies safe. Founded by a mom, the store offers beautiful, comfortable clothing and a play area for children to enjoy while parents shop.

VROOM, VROOM! 30

February-March 2022

THE BEAUFORT BONNET COMPANY is making its move

to Grand Boulevard. This familyowned business will bring their signature Southern style to a brick-and-mortar flagship store. Outfit the little guy or gal in an adorable, timeless outfit with a matching bonnet or hat, of course.

DIXIELECTRICAR, a one-stop shop for carts and accessories, is adding a third location in Pier Park in Panama City Beach. The 4,700-square-foot flagship store will open in late spring. The company offers the best in the business, E-Z-GO golf carts, along with everything you might want to customize your new ride. The store will be located next to Dick’s Sporting Goods north of Back Beach Road. Dixielectricar’s original location was established in Santa Rosa Beach in 1972. EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROSE & CO., LA LUNA AND LULULEMON

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February–March 2022

The Skinny on Skin Care Regimens Aqua Medical Spa aesthetician, Katie Metzger shares what should be in your bathroom cabinet

kin care is everywhere, and rightly so. As the largest organ on your body, it’s essential to take care of it. Yet, with an abundance of product promotions coming at consumers from media, social media and word of mouth, the world of skin care can quickly become all-consuming. The team of aestheticians at Aqua Medical Spa seeks to simplify, streamline and stylize your skin care routine. Day creams, night creams, serums, balms, scrubs, moisturizers and more are familiar terms in the face-centric world. Terms that become a bit more complicated are retinol, vitamin C, hyaluronic, peptides and glycolic acid, just to name a few. In this information and science age, we are grateful for the influx of information, but your most trusted source when it comes to skin care is a licensed aesthetician. “We love to see patients for skin care consults because we are able to take into account your concerns, current medications, past skin care regimens, skin type, budget, lifestyle and more in order to cocktail and customize the products that are best suited for you,” says Katie Metzger, an aesthetician at Aqua Medical Spa in Fort Walton Beach.

KATIE METZGER

Generally, three steps are deemed necessary for nearly every person’s skin care routine: a cleanser, a moisturizer and sunscreen. Cleansers contain a multitude of benefits, such as washing away dirt, makeup, oils and dead skin cells to prevent breakouts and irritation. Moisturizers keep the skin’s barrier functioning by preventing environmental damage, slowing aging, decreasing acne and irritation and balancing both oily and dry skin. Metzger states that sunscreen is not only notable for its prevention of skin cancer but is also arguably the No. 1 product for antiaging, working to prevent fine lines and wrinkles. After the basics, skin care becomes increasingly catered to your skin’s needs and your own desires. Aqua Medical Spa focuses on medical-grade, clinically tested skin care lines, such as Obagi, Revision Skincare, AlumierMD and Skinceuticals. In addition to the trinity of skin care, Metzger suggests most can benefit

from topically applying vitamins C and A. Vitamin C is applied in the morning as a means to prevent free radical damage, wrinkles, pigmentation and accelerate the production of collagen and elastin. Vitamin A, retinoic acid, is to be applied at night to smooth and brighten skin, prevent fine lines and wrinkles, and promote the turnover of healthy cells and new blood vessels. Metzger suggests Revision C+ Correcting Complex 30% as a vitamin C product and Suzan Obagi MD Retivance Skin Rejuvenating Complex as a vitamin A product. “When used daily and correctly, medical-grade products do exactly what they say they will,” said Metzger. “And, you get custom advice for your unique needs from a licensed aesthetician, so you are confident you are using the best products with the best ingredients, in the purest form, at the appropriate strength and in correct combinations.”

AQUA MEDICAL SPA & DERMATOLOGY SPECIALISTS OF FLORIDA | (850) 659-9393 CUSTOM CONTENT

February-March 2022

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Mimmo invites you to enjoy and experience traditional authentic Italian cuisine from his hometown of Sicily.

I TRAVEL THE WORLD CAPTURING BEAUTIFUL IMAGES FOR YOU TO ENJOY

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February–March 2022

A Happening Place with Great Energy Grand Boulevard’s Town Center marks 15 years as a diverse center of activity 34

February-March 2022

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rand Boulevard at Sandestin is a destination, and when you arrive, it’s exactly where you want to be. Exclusive local boutiques and eateries along with nationally recognized brands line Grand Boulevard. The merging of nearby and nationwide sets the collection of retailers apart. The mixed-use property is home to more than 50 retail shops, 14 restaurants and eateries as well as three hotels, a cinema and more than 30 professional offices. Here, you can shop, dine, play and stay.

Since its beginnings in 2007, Grand Boulevard has been a place that vacationers and locals both frequent. For the parent ducking the sunlit beach to take kids to the movies, a business owner connecting with new clients over dinner or a solo shopper on a mission for the ideal gift, the destination works and works well. At Grand Boulevard, the landscaping is immaculate, and parking is a breeze. It’s apparent the Howard Group designed the property intending to emphasize ease and maximize appeal. The location

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itself is ideal, fronting Highway 98 and lying between Pensacola and Panama City Beach in continuously evolving South Walton. From the start, Stacey Brady, director of marketing and communications, wanted customers to be a part of a carefully crafted experience. Prospective tenants are thoroughly vetted, gauging how they would contribute to Grand Boulevard’s culture and energy. Grand Boulevard has introduced more than two dozen first-to-market stores and restaurants including Anthropologie, Lilly Pulitzer and Pottery Barn. The Beaufort Bonnet Company arrived with its first flagship store ever. Entering its 15th year, Grand

Boulevard is opening the highest number of new tenants at one time in its history. “Our growth has been intentional, but it’s also been very organic,” Brady said. “What we hoped for has come to fruition; this is a happening place right now. People have found Grand Boulevard, and it really feels like there’s great energy and it’s thriving. Who doesn’t want to be part of something like that?” Brady is passionate about community involvement and was integral in starting cultural and community events and experiences under Grand Boulevard’s Coastal Culture banner. The Foster Gallery operated by the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County and Emerald Coast Theatre Company, both dedicated to promoting cultural arts, are cornerstone tenants. Throughout the year, Coastal Culture hosts seasonal celebrations such as Coastal White Christmas, Halloween on the BOOlevard, Festival of Trees, Theatre Thursdays with Shakespeare in the Park and more. Grand Boulevard is renowned for award-winning annual events including the South Walton Beaches Wine & Food Festival, 30A Songwriter’s Festival, ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival and Best of the Emerald Coast. Each event has a charitable component — which is at the heart of one of Grand Boulevard’s key core values — being a good community steward.

“Whether it’s people coming to a live theatre performance, going to a restaurant for dinner or shopping before or after a weekend event, there is definitely a positive impact on the bottom line, but first and foremost we’re looking at giving our customers another compelling reason to come and enhance that experience,” Brady said. “We’ve created something multifaceted and unparalleled, which translates into good business and happy people.”

GRAND BOULEVARD 495 GRAND BOULEVARD, MIRAMAR BEACH (850) 837-3099 | GRANDBOULEVARD.COM

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February-March 2022

Discover the Coastal Difference! FELLOWSHIP-TRAINED MOHS SURGERY ADULT • PEDIATRIC • SURGICAL • COSMETIC

David C. Adams MD, FAAD, FACMS

Nicholas G. Papajohn MD, FAAD

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Elizabeth A. Clark MD, FAAD

Layne M. Fielder MD, FAAD

Jessica L. Clark MD, FAAD

Cather McKay MD, FAAD

Zac Carter MD, FAAD

Board Certified by the Board of American Dermatology

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NICEVILLE / BLUEWATER BAY 850-897-4900

FORT WALTON BEACH 850-314-7546

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C o a s ta l S k i n S u r g e r y. c o m BEST DERMATOLOGY PRACTICE 2012-2021 2021

February–March 2020

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Larry Weidell PA-C

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gastro&gusto FEB/MAR 2022

DINING, IMBIBING AND LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST

CUPS OF CALM

A BEVERAGE FIT TO A TEA Steepers of leaves enjoy a host of health benefits

PHOTO BY OLEGKOV / ISTOCK/ GETTY IMAGES PLUS

by LIESEL SCHMIDT

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February-March 2022

gastro & gusto

ea — people throughout the world take time out of their day to enjoy it and to slow down and savor the experience of making it, like they are communing with the leaves as they infuse the water. It’s a calming practice that soothes the mind and body. And, tea has some great health benefits that make drinking it even more appealing. Studies have shown that regular tea drinkers are less likely to develop heart disease or die prematurely than tea teetotalers. These health benefits are especially noticeable among people who drink tea at least three times per week. And, green tea versus black tea is especially beneficial. Tea’s ability to reduce blood pressure is thought to reduce the risk of a fatal stroke. Tea is also rich in flavonoids, which reduce oxidative stress and alleviate damaging inflammation in the body. Additional studies indicate that drinking tea can help protect your teeth and possibly even help you avoid cancer. It’s also an effective way of getting the needed amount of daily fluids. Before you go out and just start buying tea willy-nilly, you should know that the type of tea you’re drinking actually makes a big difference in the benefits you receive. Non-herbal teas are made with the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, and the processing time for the leaves determines whether a green, black or oolong tea results. Green teas are the least processed and generally have the highest amounts of polyphenols, which are beneficial micronutrients that your body uses in tandem with antioxidants to help reduce oxidative stress and the resulting health issues. Green teas are also the only type to contain catechin, which helps prevent

↑ TEA UNDER GLASS A cup of black tea, freshly brewed and poured from a companion teapot. Tea, known to provide people with boosts of energy, has other pluses; it may prevent bone loss and strengthen immune systems.

cell damage in the body. And certain herbal teas are also known for medicinal properties such as their ability to soothe the digestive system. For anyone looking for anti-aging properties, white tea offers antioxidants

The Spice & Tea Exchange is located THE SPICE & TEA EXCHANGE at 4317 Legendary Drive in Destin. For more information, call (850) 837-1095 or visit spiceandtea.com.

February-March 2022

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that help prevent the adverse effects of aging and exposure to pollutants. Because white tea is less processed than black or green tea, it retains more of its beneficial antioxidants. Looking for a boost without the caffeine and its resultant crash? Try herbal tea. Herbal blends are caffeine-free, while traditional teas contain less than 50 percent of the amount in coffee — great news for your nervous system, which

PHOTOS BY STOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS : OLEGKOV (LEFT), TATIANA ATAMANIUK (BLACKAND WHITE TEA), DOMNICKY (GREEN TEA), IRYNA KHARKOVA (HERBAL TEA), PICTUREPARTNERS (ROOIBOS TEA) AND DMYTRO SYNELNYCHENKO (OOLONG TEA)

takes a hit every time you consume caffeine. Coffee addicts take note: Chicory root teas have a similar mouth feel and flavor to coffee and are known to be a stress reducer. They are also full of prebiotics that help keep your gut happy. “Tea is such a great way to get a boost of energy without the crazy jolt you get from coffee,” said Madi Hanna of The Spice & Tea Exchange of Destin. Daughter to owners Jen and J.J. Hanna in addition to being one of the shop’s employees, Hanna has sampled all the teas stocked by the store and appreciates the benefits and flavor profiles of many different teas. “Tea offers a more slow-burning source of energy, which makes you feel better and helps avoid the crash that comes with drinking a cup of coffee,” she said. Another benefit: Drinking tea may help prevent bone loss. Moringa tea, made from a plant found in South Asia, contains more calcium than milk, in addition to iron and vitamins A and K. Along those same lines, research indicates that tea can decrease tooth loss because it alters the pH in your mouth when you drink it, which may prevent cavities. It also does not appear to erode tooth enamel, something that coffee is known to do. Looking for a great way to boost your immune system? Studies have shown that teas like holy basil or tulsi tea can help keep the immune system strong following injuries or illnesses because of their antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. The digestive system also benefits from your daily tea intake. Herbal teas such as chamomile may help irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) because it is an antispasmodic. Additionally, ginger teas can calm nausea. Over centuries, tea has earned its reputation as a healthful, helpful beverage — no matter what you do with your pinkie. EC

Types of Tea

BLACK TEA

Made from the Camellia sinensis tea plant — fully, or almost fully, oxidized.

BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST multiple award winner

GREEN TEA

Made from the Camellia sinensis tea plant — fully, or almost fully, unoxidized.

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WHITE TEA

Made from the Camellia sinensis tea plant — slightly oxidized.

DELIVERY

from your favorites Residents and visitors can enjoy the food of local restaurants at their convenience.

HERBAL TEA Made from infused dried herbs, fruits and flowers.

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ROOIBOS TEA

Made from the dried rooibos plant — partially oxidized.

OOLONG TEA

Made from the Camellia sinensis tea plant — partially oxidized.

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February–March 2022

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LIBATIONS

BREW HOPPING

Aficionado goes in search of beer he can get hopped up about by EMMA WITMER

hen it comes to beer, Viktor has discerning tastes. He is a craft beer man, a lover of IPAs, sours and adventurous distilling. On a recent Saturday, Viktor and his driver embarked on a Panhandle-long milk run hoping to find a beer that meets his exacting expectations. The first stop came late Saturday morning. Odd Colony Brewing Company is a groovy joint in Downtown Pensacola with a modern industrial vibe. Behind the bar, assistant brewer Taylor Wyrosdick looks the part with a thick beard and pineapple tattoo. “We try to incorporate as much of natural Florida as we can with ingredients like scuppernongs, citrus and chanterelles,” Wyrosdick said. The brewery lives by a slogan: Scavenge, Ferment, Transcend. As the flight arrives, Viktor adds a T-shirt and beanie to his tab. The four-beer sampling is rife with harebrained flavor combinations. The

February-March 2022

Entropy Engine kettle sour contains passion fruit, banana, guava, blueberry and (inexplicably) lactose. Strangely, banana is the dominant flavor. Perhaps more strangely, Viktor is into it. The real star, though, is the Wave Tamer. This 6.8 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), hazy IPA, “smells like an IPA,” according to Viktor. It’s fruit forward, a zesty blend of lime and pineapple. This one may go down a bit too easy. The product of Chilton County peaches and a house-mixed culture, the Moth Boar is the first Trojan horse of the day. It packs the punch of a sour and smells like peach pie. It is magnificent. Another IPA, the Behind Every Cloud is puzzling. Modeled after a Dreamsicle, it is citrus forward with sort of a creamy vanilla aftertaste. It’s not a flavor Viktor relishes in an IPA, but he has to admit the Odd Colony team has flavor balance down to a science. On to Destin. Destin Brewery is housed in a commercial warehouse space. There’s no bar inside, just a few menus taped to a small wooden table, brew tanks and tables on a makeshift patio. People are piling in. The Passion Fruit Sour is, in Viktor’s words, “boring, but easy to drink.” It’s pretty hoppy for a sour, and the flavor is very mild. Drinkability? High. Tastiness? Not so high. The Blueberry Pomegranate Beeliner sour tastes almost exactly the same. At 8.2 percent ABV, the Bridge Rubble Double enlivens the typically steely faced

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Viktor who mumbles, “This one is going to slap me in the face.” A New Englandinspired IPA, it is no frilly Odd Colony. The Mango Habañero IPA, meanwhile, smells like heartburn. “It’s super beachy,” Viktor says, musing. “This would go great with a nice view, some coconut shrimp, guacamole. … I’m hungry.” Approaching Santa Rosa Beach, Viktor is getting a bit red in the cheeks. Hopefully, Grayton Beer Company has food to soak up the first half of the day. No such luck. The 30,000-square-foot taproom off Serenoa Road is cozy despite its size. Grayton has carried home quite a few awards for its brews over the past decade, particularly for its ales. Viktor has to agree, the 30A Beach Blonde Ale and Staff Pale Ale are simple, classic and smooth. The Sour-Dipitous is hoppy and not particularly sour. So far, Odd Colony reigns supreme in that department. “OK, this is the one I’m most excited about,” Viktor says, reaching for the Big Talk tropical IPA. A large gulp is followed by a long pause. “Honestly, when the illustrations by LINDSEY MASTERSON

2 3

← PRECEDING PAGE: Viktor (seen from behind), a man whose beer thirst is not easily slaked, bellies up at the bar at the Odd Colony Brewing Company; a flight of beers from the Idyll Hounds Brewery; the Beeliner, Destin Brewery’s blueberry pomegranate sour. ABOVE: Patrons cue up to order favorites at the History Class Brewing Company in Panama City.

pineapple and coconut flavor come together with the wheat and fermentation, it’s a little offputting, but the aftertaste is good.” When Grayton closes at 5 p.m., Viktor joins the rush to the nearby Idyll Hounds Brewery. By some act of providence, this place has food. After a much-needed hot dog and a bag of chips, Viktor is back in the game with a colorful flight of sours and IPAs. If Odd Colony had a rebellious little sister, it would be Idyll Hounds. The end-of-the-road hideaway is covered in stickers and graffiti. Shopworn games like Jenga and Cards Against Humanity are piled up in a corner. First up is the Red Dragon, a dark pink sour with a mellow flavor blend of grapefruit, dragon fruit, guava and pomegranate. Unlike some of the earlier sours of the day, Viktor says the Red Dragon’s flavor isn’t overtaken by hops.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EMMA WITMER

TOP 5 1 WAVE TAMER Odd Colony Brewing Company The Wave Tamer earns its spot as the perfect pour for a bright balance of citrus notes in this heavy-bodied hazy IPA.

“Overall, nothing has matched Odd Colony’s flavor profiles,” Viktor says. “But this is the most well-rounded, easy-drinking sour I’ve had today.” Scratch that. The Strawbergrams sour is just as good if not better. The light pink sour is sweet and robust, cloudy without tasting thick. The Area 51 Dropout IPA has Viktor nodding excitedly. It’s light and fruity. “This is what the Big Talk at Grayton was trying to be,” Viktor says. As for the Grapeful Opossum, it’s just strong. This hazy IPA is brewed with a variety of grape skins, but it mostly just tastes like impending regret. By the time Viktor reaches History Class Brewing Company in Panama City, the artsy wooden tabletops look to him to be perfect for a nap. History Class sits at the midpoint of trendy and nostalgic. The walls covered in Panama City memorabilia would have been much more interesting to Viktor had been less tired and, let’s say, less beerzy. The Bella Booth blonde ale isn’t bad, but there is an out-of-place citrus flavor, and it’s pretty thick. The Saints Bay passion fruit sour is perfectly all right, but stacked against Odd Colony and Idyll Hounds, it falls short. Using one hand to prop up his head, Viktor grabs a Sheriff Sherm hazy IPA. After one sip, he’s sitting up straight again. “This is really light, even though it’s hazy. There are fruit elements to it. You can taste the alcohol, but it’s not overbearing. “This is really nice,” Viktor beams. A fine finish. EC

The Road Traveled

Hopping along the beer trail PENSACOLA

1. Odd Colony Brewing Company 260 N. Palafox St. OddColony.com DESTIN

2. Destin Brewery 505 Mountain Drive N. DestinBrewery.com SANTA ROSA BEACH

3. Grayton Beer

Company

217 Serenoa Road GraytonBeer.com

4. Idyll Hounds Brewery 845 Serenoa Road IdyllHoundsBrewingCompany.com PANAMA CITY

5. History Class Brewing Company 6 E. 4th St. HistoryClass.beer

Northwest Florida from Pensacola to Panama City is home to a good many good craft breweries whose products are equal parts craftsmanship and creativity. “Viktor,” who may or may not resemble the character at right, stopped by a select few during a recent field trip. Any attempt to be comprehensive could be dangerous. His favorites are listed below. Purely a matter of taste. 2 STRAWBER-

3 AREA 51

4 BEHIND

Idyll Hounds Brewing Company Sweet and sour, this concoction of strawberries and graham cracker flavor is innovative and delicious.

Idyll Hounds Brewing Company With tropical flavors and a light finish, the Area 51 Dropout IPA is your ideal beachside six-pack.

Odd Colony Brewing Company The Behind Every Cloud is as smooth and refreshing as the Dreamsicle that inspired its creation.

GRAMS

DROPOUT

EVERY CLOUD

5 RED DRAGON Idyll Hounds Brewing Company The guavapomegranate flavor of this dark pink sour makes the Red Dragon as bold as it is beautiful.

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February-March 2022

CUSTOM CONTENT

chefyi

Dan Tederous

Executive Chef, Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa Dan Tederous, Hilton Sandestin Beach’s new executive chef, comes to the kitchen with a cornucopia of experience. He began his tenure as the Hilton Sandestin Beach’s executive sous chef and quickly worked his way to his current position, where he provides culinary direction to the property’s chefs, creates new menus and oversees all food, beverage and catering decisions. With more than 20 years of culinary experience, Tederous most recently was chef de cuisine at Delmonico Steakhouse of Las Vegas. Tederous also held positions as executive sous chef at Mauna Kea Resort in Waimea, Hawaii, and banquet chef at Four Seasons Hualalai in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. What sets the Hilton Sandestin Beach’s dining options apart? The location right on the beach provides beautiful views, and the nearby water provides super fresh ingredients. The chefs here are phenomenal, they love to create and are very passionate about what they do. We constantly strive to evolve and provide the best. What do you hope diners experience from dining at Hilton Sandestin Beach? More local Florida cuisine and fresh seafood. The wonderful variety of options, from fine dining at our four-diamond steakhouse Seagar’s, to our over-the-top breakfast at Sandcastles, to laid-back but delicious food at Barefoot’s by the beach and pool. What ingredients do you most enjoy cooking with? Fresh fish. When I moved to Hawaii, I really became obsessed with cooking fresh fish in a variety of ways. Now, being right on the Gulf, there are so many species of fish in my backyard to work with.

What are the most important items to have in a kitchen? Garlic, kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper and butter, I love cooking with it — especially butter. I know it’s not the healthiest, but it’s a staple. What’s your favorite dish to cook and eat? To eat? Ramen. To cook? Anything I get to cook when I am with my girlfriend and daughters. What do you love most about your job? I enjoy the people I work with a lot and the guests I get to meet working at such a big resort. It’s fun getting to talk with guests about the food we create here and capture their feedback.

HILTON SANDESTIN BEACH GOLF RESORT & SPA 4000 Sandestin Blvd. S., Miramar Beach | (850) 267-9500 | HiltonSandestinBeach.com

February–March 2022

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Capt.on Dave’s the

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February–March 2022

↘ Anaya Palay, a doctor of Chinese medicine with the Calhoun Chiropractic Clinic, administers an acupuncture treatment. The alternative to Western medicine often comes into play when conventional approaches fail to yield progress.

February-March 2022

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H A N D S - O N

HEALERS Alternative practices can fill gaps in Western medicine story by EMMA WITMER // photography by DAVE BARFIELD

WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMS OF CONCERN, YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR. A visit to a primary care physician may lead to referrals, tests, medications and procedures. Figuring out what’s wrong can be an exhausting process. In extreme cases, people may be left after months or even years without answers and without relief. “Eventually, Western medicine fails everyone,” said Anaya Palay, a doctor of Chinese medicine with the Calhoun Chiropractic Center. “At some point, your doctor is going to say, ‘There’s nothing else we can do.’ Just saying that gives me chills. I can’t imagine being in that position.” When traditional medicine doesn’t have answers, people may turn to alternative forms of treatment. Among the most popular — and often misunderstood — are acupuncture, cupping and cryotherapy.

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February-March 2022

Although usually associated with pain management or relief, acupuncture is used to treat a wide array of ailments. By lightly inserting thin needles at key points on the body, acupuncturists work to alleviate many chronic conditions including digestive issues, emotional distress, incontinence, allergies, heart arrhythmia and thyroid issues. In Chinese medicine, good health is associated with a free flow of qi, or chi, throughout the body. Depending on the location and combination of needles inserted during an acupuncture session, the acupuncturist can pinpoint certain disruptions of qi that may serve as the underlying cause of symptoms. When a new patient comes into Palay’s office, she takes a full hour to assess every aspect of the patient’s state of being. A patient may complain about stomach pain, but Palay is still going to ask about eyesight and sleep. In Chinese medicine, it is crucial to see the full picture so that treatment is geared toward the underlying cause rather than just the symptoms. “The body is its own ecological system,” Palay said. “If you are having a problem growing vegetables, you don’t just ask what’s wrong with the plant, you look at the soil it is growing out of. That is how we treat the whole body.” This holistic approach to diagnostics is typical of Chinese medicine, which produces diagnoses unlike those of Western medicine. Palay said that Western medicine effectively treats blood pressure issues, traumatic injury, organ failure, cancer and infection. But she finds that Chinese medicine can be extremely beneficial in conjunction with or as a substitute for Western medicine in many other circumstances. For example, cases of “blood stasis” are often treated with cupping. This is a condition recognized only in Chinese medicine and characterized by a slowing or irregular flow of blood that may cause pain, fatigue and stiffness.

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↑ An acupuncturist inserts needles as a way to address disruption of qi, whose free flow is thought to be essential to good health, according to Chinese medicine. The chart above identifies acupuncture points, each of which may relate to a specific health condition. Cupping, at right, involves applying suction to drive additional blood into an area of treatment.

“In Western medicine, we know that there is no such thing as blood that doesn’t move,” Palay said. “In Chinese medicine, there is this concept that blood can slow down or move in a jagged way.” That condition may result from injuries or arthritis. Cupping, or applying suction to certain areas of the body using special cups, draws additional blood into the area of treatment. The practice is believed to correct the irregular flow of blood so that muscle tissue is properly nourished.

“The body is its own ecological system. If you are having a problem growing vegetables, you don’t just ask what’s wrong with the plant, you look at the soil it is growing out of. That is how we treat the whole body.” — Anaya Palay, doctor of Chinese Medicine with Calhoun Chiropractic Center

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February-March 2022

↑Tara Santosuosso uses localized cryotherapy to treat tissue damage, rejuvenate cells, improve skin tone and slow the effects of aging. She is located at Pensacola’s Chill Cryotherapy.

Many Americans got their first exposure to cupping at the 2016 Rio Olympics when swimmer Michael Phelps was seen to compete while covered in circular reddish-purple marks that had the whole country asking questions. Palay explained that athletes use cupping to draw blood into heavily used muscle groups to flood the tissue with oxygen and improve muscle performance. This increased blood flow is also said to maximize the bloodstream’s carrying capacity for waste byproducts of muscle metabolism. Little modern research addresses the purported benefits of cupping, but there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence that suggests the practice is effective and low-risk. Unlike cupping, some forms of alternative healing can be dangerous when improperly practiced. That is why Tara Santosuosso of Pensacola’s Chill Cryotherapy takes a no-nonsense approach to safety at her practice. “I wish Florida required a license to practice cryotherapy because I think a

February-March 2022

lot of people open these clinics thinking they will make a lot of money, but they don’t research the proper procedures or educate their clients,” Santosuosso said. “I would say 90 percent of people in the business should not be.” Cryotherapy is the broad term for a variety of treatments that involve exposing the body to sub-zero temperatures. Most popular with athletes, cryotherapy is used to decrease inflammation and boost metabolism. Among non-athletes, cryotherapy is used to alleviate chronic pain, stress and symptoms of mental illness as your body responds to freezing temperatures by releasing endorphins. Additionally, certain forms of cryotherapy have been shown to help kickstart weight loss by freezing fat cells and can even smooth out common forms of cellulite after multiple treatments. “It’s not going to cure anything,” Santosuosso said. “I tell all my clients that. But if you have a chronic condition or an acute injury, and you don’t want to just be medicated, then it’s a really good alternative.”

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Santosuosso has a few guidelines that people can use to be sure that a procedure is going to be safe and effective. First, she recommends that people ask what type of unit they will be exposed to. If the unit uses nitrogen rather than electricity to achieve cooling, you should be provided with over-the-knee socks. If your head will be closed in, make sure you have a facemask to protect your lungs. In all circumstances, you should be provided with socks and thick mittens, and you should be completely dry. Additionally, avoid alcohol on the day of treatment, and don’t come in more than once every two weeks. Failure to adhere to these standards can lead to lung damage, frostbite and liver complications. “These are things I just don’t compromise on,” Santosuosso said. EC

↖ Whole body cryotherapy treatments take just three minutes and use extremely cold temperatures to stimulate healing of circulatory, nervous and energy systems. It may also serve to alleviate chronic pain and stress.

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February-March 2022

GETTING BAD STUFF

All the Way Out Reiki master assures clients that the past need not define them STORY BY HANNAH BURKE // PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE FENDER

Dr. Mikao Usui founded Reiki, a Japanese energy healing practice believed to assuage anxiety and stress and promote relaxation and recovery, based on five principles … Just for today: I will not be angry. I will not worry. I will be grateful. I will do my work honestly. I will be kind to every living being. Reiki is grounded in the belief that your “ki,” or life force energy, may be guided by the “rei,” a higher wisdom or spiritual power. When a chakra (one of the body’s seven energetic centers) is blocked, the balance of mind, body and spirit may be disrupted. The goal of a Reiki session, then, is to realign that vital energy so as to make for a harmonious, more intentional existence. That’s heavy stuff, but Reiki masters such as Lori Beasley of Free Spirit Heart in Destin are said to gently guide and transfer energy with just the palms of their hands.

February-March 2022

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February-March 2022

“I see in color, so if a client really needs some work, I see a sort of pooling, prismatic circle, and that’s when I know they need a big release. When I open myself up, I can feel where it is. Then, I get in there, dig and move the bad all the way out.” — Lori Beasley of Free Spirit Heart in Destin Beasley is a seventh-generation Reiki master, meaning there are six practitioners between her and Usui. She said Reiki is a healing art that can be learned by anyone and, equally, offers everyone the opportunity to heal. Beasley herself is proof of this. While working for Managed Care in Alabama, she suffered a maelstrom of maladies — Epstein-Barr virus, acute bronchitis and carbon monoxide poisoning — and began exploring holistic treatments. In conjunction with allopathic treatments and intravenous and chelation therapies, Beasley turned to herbal remedies and Reiki. “Within two weeks, I was doing much better,” said Beasley. “There’s a reason more and more hospitals and hospices are offering Reiki.” Beasley, who grew up in a Baptist household in Mississippi, coupled her pursuit of energy work with expanding her spirituality. She is now an ordained minister with the Universal Brotherhood and has worked with people and animals providing intuitive/spiritual guidance, vibrational and chakra balancing and crossingover journeys. “I am much happier in life being less judgmental and thinking everything is possible,” she said. “It’s my job to hold the space for whatever a client is experiencing. You could tell me you’re seeing purple people in your house and I’ll go, ‘Okay, let’s work this out.’” At Free Spirit Heart, Beasley treats everyone from mental health therapists and doctors to abused women and lost souls. Our emotions have frequencies, she said, and much of her work consists of transforming lowvibration emotions, such as anger, grief and depression, into a “coherent frequencies alignment.” “There is also power in words and affirmations,” she said. “Dr. Masaru Emoto once conducted an experiment with two sealed jars of rice and water. One jar was labeled ‘love,’ the other ‘hate.’ For a week, people said nice things to the ‘love’ jar and complimented it, while the other was bullied. Guess which one turned brown and blackish while the other flourished?” If that result was truly driven by the vibrational frequencies of words, one could imagine how a selfdeprecating and deleterious inner monologue would impact the demeanor of people and their treatment of others. Beasley, who has extensively worked with domestic animal rescues and centers for abused men, women and

February-March 2022

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children, said many of her clients attend Reiki in hopes of resolving trauma. She once treated a woman who, growing up, had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her father and couldn’t so much as utter his name without breaking down. “I work a lot with cutting these energetic chords associated with abusers and reprogramming traumatic events,” Beasley said. “We don’t ever forget, but we can take the trauma out. After working with this girl, she was not only able to talk about it, but went on to speak in front of other women who suffered similar abuse and empower them.” There are those who approach Beasley who don’t know the source of their issues, but they feel something is off. After an initial interview, Beasley has these clients lie down on her massage table and assesses their frequencies using a dowsing rod, which relies on intuition and divination to detect auras and chakra blockages. “I see in color, so if a client really needs some work, I see a sort of pooling, prismatic circle, and that’s when I know they need a big release,” said Beasley. “When I open myself up, I can feel where it is. Then, I get in there, dig and move the bad all the way out.” Beasley said it’s important she practices “detached compassion,” aiming to be present and to soberly guide sessions while protecting herself from absorbing the feelings and energy of others. When it comes to physical or emotional distress, it is the client who must enter what Beasley calls the “energy gym” to work on selfacceptance, welcoming improvement and allowing their body to heal. “People have cried, laughed and have even fallen asleep on my table,” she said. “When I encounter someone, I can generally get a sense of their emotions; it’s not something I can really turn off. But, a session is dependent on you, the client, and what you’re ready to handle. My job is to just facilitate and guide.” When Beasley invited me to return to Free Spirit Heart for a complimentary session, I wondered if she had sensed something in me. The session began with a simple conversation about what was going on in my life, my aspirations and emotional state. I was instructed to clutch an “intention disk,” a spherical, flattened stone made from Poppy Jasper and engraved with sacred geometry, as I repeated positive affirmations and set (continued on page 95) goals for myself.

Free Advice and Happiness

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Lori Beasley of Free Spirit Heart in Destin demonstrates Reiki techniques on massage therapist Sarah Wiseman. Beasley uses Reiki techniques to upgrade low-vibration emotions such as anger, grief and depression.

Holistic health and spiritualism don’t always go together but more than often overlap. To balance the mind, body and spirit, some turn to the metaphysical. Dr. Sal Gandolfo is a fourthgeneration supplier of such tools at the Live and Let Live Spiritual Store in Pensacola, a place he calls “the home of free advice, love and happiness and soul we can’t control.” “We cater to all faiths, paths and anyone looking to enhance their life,” said Gandolfo. “We have over 300 crystals, oils, herbs, tarot cards and candles. Often, people come here with a problem, and so long as they have the right intention, we can help them find a solution.” Gandolfo, a practitioner of New Orleans-style voodoo, believes in the medicinal and superstitious power of rootwork, a type of African American folk magic purported to improve one’s quality of life. His nephew, Matthew Ferguson, is Live and Let Live’s herb consultant and draws upon the unique properties of over 100 aromatics, roots and leaves to help treat clients’ psychosocial obstacles and maladies. “If you have a problem, we listen and make suggestions the same way you go to see a doctor and receive a prescription,” said Ferguson. “How you use them is up to you: We dress all our candles with herbs, make specialty baths and even have a few edible formulas for potions and tinctures.” “We’re here to help people,” Gandolfo added. “If you’re ever having a bad day, we invite you to come in and feel the good vibrations.”

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February-March 2022

expression FEB/MAR 2022

CREATIVE WORKS LAND ON PAGES, CANVASES AND STAGES

MUSIC

THE MEASURES OF A MAN

↗ Jimbo Thornton and his wife Dale had loaded their belongings onto a rental truck and were about to head for their new home in Panama City Beach when Hurricane Michael hit Bay County. The storm delayed their departure from Nashville, but Jimbo is glad now to be a coastal dweller.

In odd time, picker combats memories with music by STEVE BORNHOFT

↓

ART photography by MIKE FENDER

So Much More Than Lip Service

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February-March 2022

expression

n May 1966, Jimbo Thornton had a band called the Strange Bedfellows on St. Simons Island where it had come out on top in a 23-entry Battle of the Bands and attracted the attention of Mercury Records. Under contract, it recorded a song about pills, Mother’s Little Helper, that had been written by Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones and was getting airtime. Folks lined up to see the Bedfellows who, wearing pajamas, would pop out of a bed as the stage lights came up. Thornton was on a good roll. Then, he learned that he had been drafted by the U.S. Army. Mercury pulled the song back in, the Stones themselves recorded it, and it topped out at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. Thornton went to Vietnam. “I didn’t run,” Thornton said. “Boys were coming home in body bags, not on foot. Who would sign up for that? I said that if they wanted me, they were gonna have to draft me, and they sure did. Draftees were running to Canada. The guys in the band encouraged me to shoot myself in the foot. I told them no. I was going.” He served on the front lines as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, known to people close to it as The Herd. He was an infantryman and paratrooper who came to be surrounded by young men who were convinced that we were going to die in that country. They were right, mostly. Early on, they had been told that the Army needed “bullet stoppers.” “Not me,” Thornton said. “I told ’em I was going home.” Thornton made it out physically intact. His tour of duty in Vietnam complete, he

↑ Jimbo Thornton was a front-lines sergeant

in Vietnam in 1967 when he was photographed feeding a hungry child.

February-March 2022

flew into Seattle at night. The hour notwithstanding, he was greeted by anti-war protestors who spat at him and called him a baby killer. Thornton has written a song, Prisoners of War, inspired by his time in Vietnam and its aftereffects. You can find it on Spotify or on YouTube where it is accompanied by Thornton’s painting of the Hamburger Hill battle site. The song is not intended to be just about America’s failed fight against North Vietnam and the Vietcong but instead to speak to a universal truth: The experience of war leaves combatants in all conflicts with images and memories and questions that don’t much go away. They trained me to kill a man they called the enemy, But I don’t know him and he sure don’t know me. One thing for sure, just trying to endure this place where we don’t want to be. We are prisoners of war trying to close an open door. Prisoners of war, in our minds stuck on a foreign shore. In a photo that he keeps on his phone, Thornton is seen feeding a child of about 4 or 5 in Vietnam. The boy had approached an American camp and gestured, pointing first to his stomach and then to his mouth. “Sometimes, they would send kids into camp with explosives strapped to them,” Thornton said. “But this boy had been checked out. I wish they had put that photo on the cover of Time magazine. Maybe then, perceptions would have been different; maybe people wouldn’t have called us baby killers.” Saw three old soldiers living on the street downtown today. Dressed in dirty old fatigues. As I handed them a twenty, I wondered just how many were lost in the wars of yesterday. Lookin’ tired and worn, but somehow still goin’, It took me back to a troubled time in history.

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↗ “If a messy desk is a sign of genius, I must be off the charts,” Jimbo Thornton said. His man cave/recording studio contains souvenirs and memorabilia from his lengthy career as a musician and a founder of bands, including the Peachtree Posse and Rats in the Attic.

Much to my surprise, when I looked into their eyes, I come to realize one of them was me. Thornton has attended classes for Vietnam veterans with PTSD. Teachers decades younger than he have told him that it should be possible for him to compartmentalize his thinking, tuck thoughts of Vietnam away so that he no longer will be bothered by them. One counselor suggested that he take a folding chair into the woods and sit and look at kudzu vines as if he might win a stare-down with the vegetation and cause the jungle to recede from his consciousness. “I wanted to tell them that they had surely lost their minds,” Thornton said. We are prisoners of war trying to close an open door. Prisoners of war and in our minds still stuck on a foreign shore. Misshapen by trauma, the door cannot be shut. photography by MIKE FENDER

“I wish no one would have to go to war,” Thornton said. “But war just seems to be inevitable.” Inescapable, too, was Thornton’s emergence as a musician. He was born in Colquitt, Georgia, in the southwestern corner of the state, and moved a few miles up State 45 to Arlington at age 5. Three years later, the family moved again to Albany where Thornton went to school with Paula Hiers, later TV personality and restaurateur Paula Deen, and with Eddie Middleton, a founding member of the Christian band NewSong. “Dad was a guitar player, mom was a singer and I had an uncle who played guitar and mandolin,” Thornton said. “We didn’t have a TV until I was in the ninth grade, didn’t even have a phone. So, after supper, we used to get on the front porch at Grandma’s house and play guitar and dance and sing.” He studied music for two years at Kennesaw College on the GI bill after returning from Vietnam but is otherwise without formal training.

Thornton, 74, lived in Atlanta for more than 40 years. His wife, Lady Dale, whose mother owned a real estate company, was born there. “I married way up,” Thornton said. “Way up.” In Atlanta, Thornton’s band, Kudzu, played the city’s hottest 1970s nightspots — Funochio’s, the Agora Ballroom, The Headrest, Richard’s. At the time, the experimental musician/songwriter and free-speech advocate Frank Zappa, he of the monster soul patch, was cruising those clubs looking for players. “He had flipped out over the Allman Brothers,” Thornton said, “and he wanted to play some Southern rock and blues.” Zappa liked how Kudzu played in odd time, 11/4. When his bass player broke a finger, he snapped up Birdlegs Youmans from Kudzu. Not long thereafter, he convinced Thornton to join him and play slide guitar. Thornton admired Zappa, but the relationship was short-lived. Zappa wanted him to move to Los Angeles, and

Thornton was unwilling to move his family across the country. “Zappa carried around a collapsible coffee pot, grounds and creamer and a cup in an old violin case,” Thornton said. “I never saw him smoke a joint or snort anything, and coffee was the only thing I ever saw him drink.” Countless times, Thornton has bumped up against music greats. Strange Bedfellows opened for Roy Orbison. Later, Kudzu opened for acts including ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan, Little Feat and the Atlanta Rhythm Section. In 2002 and 2003, Thornton toured England and France with a band, Rats In The Attic, and recorded a live double CD at the Cavern Club, home of the Beatles, in Liverpool, England. In Atlanta, Jimbo and the Peachtree Posse, as the house band at the Rainbow Music Hall, warmed up audiences for an all-star lineup of performers: George Jones, George Strait, Mel Tillis, Waylon Jennings, John Conlee, Con Hunley, The Judds, The Marshall Tucker Band, David Allan Coe, Johnny Lee, Delbert McClinton and John Anderson. The list goes on. Thornton was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. He appeared in a 1978 film, They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way, a comedy written by Tim Conway and featuring a cast that included Chuck McCann, Ben Jones and Richard Kiel. After 5 ½ years as lead guitarist for Restoring Hope Church in Nashville, home of the Crabb family, Thornton and Lady Dale moved in 2018 to Panama City Beach. Going on three years, Thornton has performed regularly at a Panama City Beach restaurant, Dat Cajun Place. He’s made appearances at other Bay County spots such as the Salty Goat, Sharky’s, Barracuda Beach Bar & Grill, House of Bourbon, Bayou on the Bay, Alibi and Lorrie Morgan’s Chicken Coop. On Sundays, he plays guitar at Gulf Beach Baptist Church. “This place is just right for us,” Thornton said of his home on the coast. “Lemme play one more for you.” It’s a song about a wild woman who’s never gonna change. At times, sadly and at times thankfully, some things never do. EC

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February-March 2022

expression

ART

SO MUCH MORE THAN LIP SERVICE

Artist Bradley Copeland speaks to holistic balance by STEVE BORNHOFT

he artist Bradley Copeland paints lips. Luscious, alluring, sensual, inviting, pursed, puckered, provocative, vivid, bee-stung, intensely colored, indelicate, maybe dangerous lips. They are not defiant, but they are exaggerated characterizations of lips that possess a certain “kiss you” energy, the most gentle of kiss-offs. Nothing vulgar about them; they are instead confident. While “girly,” to use Copeland’s word, they are also strong. “We all have masculine and feminine energy inside of us,” Copeland said. “It doesn’t even have to do with male and female so much.”

February-March 2022

But societal expectations, mores and pathways can discourage a blending of those energies or even an acknowledgment of them. “Most men have been told that emotions are a sign of weakness, and women have been dismissed as hysterical,” Copeland said, pointing out that “hysteria” stems from hystera, the Greek word for uterus. The lack of feminine-masculine balance in the lives of people, it seems to her, accounts for countless failed relationships. “I wish that we would all stop just trying to win,” Copeland said. “If we all had each other’s best interests in mind and it wasn’t about righteousness or being better

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than the other party, and we just balanced, everything would run a lot smoother.” Righteousness can equate to suppression, even where lipstick is concerned. Flapper fashion caused a flap among school boards in the 1920s. As school was resuming in Clay County, Arkansas, in September 1921, principals including N.E. Hicks of Knobel High School, announced to students a rule newly adopted by the school board: “The wearing of transparent hosiery, low-necked dresses or any other style of clothing tending toward immodesty in dress, or the use of face paint or cosmetics, is prohibited.”

↑ Bradley Copeland, opposite and above, in her Santa Rosa Beach workspace. Despite their steely

exterior, Copeland’s upstairs studio and downstairs gallery are lively and warm inside: abundant plants, a vocal dog, a tiny kitten and colorful works, some finished, other in progress.

Three girls were sent home on Day 1 and ordered to wash their faces. Two complied. The third, Pauline Pugsley, retained an attorney and sued the school board in what came to be known as the Lipstick Case. The matter reached the Arkansas Supreme Court, whose justices ruled that school officials had acted within their authority in dismissing Pugsley and placing conditions upon her return. Whether the dress code was silly was not for the courts to decide, according to the majority opinion. Still, Pugsley had made a statement and won over supporters. photography by SEAN MURPHY

“It is not only for my rights that I am fighting, it is for the rights of those hundreds who have written to me to continue my fight,” Pugsley said as her trial date neared. Lipstick would prove irrepressible, of course, and it is fair to ask whether anyone lost thereby. Copeland, for whom lips have formed the basis of statement pieces of her own, has not. Copeland graduated from Auburn University with a degree in art. A native of Birmingham, she followed a boyfriend to South Walton upon graduation. The relationship dissolved, but Copeland stayed. Today, she lives with her Australian shepherd, Ella, and a kitten in a two-story, metal-sided place in a light industrial park in Santa Rosa Beach. Her gallery is on the first floor, her living quarters and studio on the second. On the walls, along with paintings, are handwritten lists of painting ideas. Before she began to enjoy financial success as an artist, Copeland gave herself the freedom to do “trash art” not intended to impress anyone. “I did a ton of faces, eyeballs, hands, random categories of things just to keep painting,” Copeland said. “I just enjoyed

the process of it without worrying about the outcome.” Copeland resolved to paint “10 or 15 drag queens because they are fun, and they are strong.” In so doing, she arrived at a series of “messy faces” with, aha, prominent red lips. She proceeded to make a painting of lips, only. Gallery owner Anne Hunter, who now represents Copeland, saw it, liked it and suggested that Copeland participate in an outdoor tent event at Seaside. She arrived with four sets of lips and several messy faces and painted more lips on-site. People liked them. “Now, the lips are an easy thing for me to do,” Copeland said. “So if I get stuck and I don’t know where I’m going with a painting, I can easily crank out lips and it’s a bit of a mindless thing for me to do.” Lips, then, have become something that people can associate with her. It won’t be surprising if one day she adds a pair in signing and numbering prints featuring other subjects she paints. Indeed, to reduce Copeland to lips would be an unfair exercise in synecdoche. She paints plants, which she sees as emblematic of events and milestones she has experienced, and she suggests that a EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM

February-March 2022

expression person’s life story might be expressed as a painted garden. She has begun to play with realism. She is creating big pieces first by making a mess of a blank canvas and then releasing paints onto it and seeing what emerges. She has plans to build a chandelier out of prescription bottles that she has been collecting for years. At this writing, she is working to unite her disparate works in preparation for shows that will take place this spring in DeFuniak Springs and later, she hopes, in New York City. Copeland departed Auburn not believing that she would soon be able to support herself solely as an artist. “Maybe when I’m 50,” she thought. She was working retail in Seaside, doing some commissioned paintings — someone might want a painting of his dog, for example — and had little time left over for trash art. Things changed. Copeland lost control of a pot of boiling water and scalded herself, sustaining second- and third-degree burns over much of her body. Horribly blistered, she could not wear shoes for weeks. “The tips of my fingers had grown light bulbs,” she said. Unable to work or much less walk, Copeland, with bills to pay, threw herself into her religion, that is, her art. And, she’s making it, not at 50, but at 24. “Everything happens for a reason,” she said of her accident. People, Copeland believes, are reservoirs of energy that always has been present and cannot be destroyed. With that energy, she strives to be the Bradley she is intended to be as best she can. Signs are good. EC

↗ Bradley Copeland anticipates doing shows in DeFuniak Springs and New York City in coming months. She is represented by a gallery owner in Seaside. Her portraits — of herself, of drag queens and others — tend toward messy, by design.

Schedule a gallery visit by contacting Copeland at (205) 369-6797.

PLANT LIVES

Among Bradley Copeland’s favorite subjects are plants, a reflection of her nearness to nature and her belief in the interconnectedness of all life forms. She paints plants that connect, for her, to events in her life. It is like her to suggest that a life might be represented as a garden, that a garden is like a silent symphony, organized in rows with each section contributing to a bountiful whole. Everyone is privileged, Copeland would tell you, privileged to be a repository of energy that existed long before we came along and will be around long after we are gone. Division is an enemy. We should turn our energies toward connection. — Steve Bornhoft

February-March 2022

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photography by SEAN MURPHY

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CUSTOM CONTENT

A Timeless Tale, Reimagined

The Northwest Florida Ballet brings ‘Beauty & The Beast’ to the stage

elle, with an enchanted audience in thrall, pirouettes through the formidable forest to a mystical castle where we meet other characters we know — Lumière, Chip and the Beast, himself. The scene is set and the faces familiar, but the concept is contemporary — this is Beauty and the Beast as ballet. The Northwest Florida Ballet will perform Beauty and the Beast on March 12 and 13 at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center in Niceville under the direction of Todd Eric Allen, artistic director/CEO of Northwest Florida Ballet. The show, choreographed

by Katia Garza of the Mobile Ballet, will feature 55 dancers, including NFB soloist Luciana Ato as Belle and international guest artist, Raul Peinado as the Beast. The story originated as a French fairytale before being adapted to its most well-known form, the Disney version. In taking on the beloved classic, the Northwest Florida Ballet was challenged to communicate the storyline without relying upon dialogue. The ballet speaks instead through enchanting scenery, breathtaking special effects, music that resonates from ear to soul and brilliant choreography.

Allen notes that Garza carefully selected music by Alexander Glazunov, costuming by Brisa Dinorah Gomez of Mexico City and scenery supplied by the Mobile Ballet. The elements, in combination, merge to tell a love story that intrigues people of all ages. “Our audiences tend to love story ballets,” said Allen. “Ballet is a unique way to tell a story because all of your senses have to be turned on and attuned to the music and the movement. At its core, this ballet is a romantic comedy, it tugs on the heartstrings and does what all good art does, evokes an emotional reaction.”

FOR TICKETS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION VISIT NFBALLET.ORG/2021-2022SEASON

February-March 2022

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CUSTOM CONTENT

Award-Winning Women

t takes a truly holistic approach to continually evolve South Walton without losing the innate charm that makes this such a unique travel destination. The effort involves everyone from tourism industry professionals to accomplished artists who can capture the essence of these 16 beach neighborhoods and share it with a wider audience. As a show of respect and appreciation, dedicated awards have been established to honor those whose visionary work is helping to advance the cause in more ways than one. And when you peruse the lists of past winners, you can’t help but notice

February-March 2022

strong representation by the talented and driven women of Walton County. Through its annual Artist of the Year program, the Walton County Tourism Department spotlights an artist who not only showcases their vast talent but also uses it to draw attention to the destination. If not a direct representation, their work is often a reflection of the inspirational natural beauty here. Each winner is commissioned to create a special piece of artwork for Walton County. These artworks can be found in public places throughout the county, such as the South Walton Annex, the

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of Walton County

Visit South Walton Visitor Center and Conference Room. Several incredibly talented women have won this award over the years. While their styles and mediums vary widely, they share a common connection to the everyday wonder of their local community. The most recent example is Jenna Varney, who earned the award in 2019. Her signature style of hyperrealism captures so many little details of the area’s pristine landscape. This captivates her audience, providing them a reminder of South Walton wherever they may be.

Left, 2019 Artist of the Year, Jenna Varney Top Right, Work by 2014 Artist of the Year, Mary Hong Bottom Right, 2016 Artist of the Year, Melody Bogle

Below are lists of the female recipients of these two prestigious awards:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

In 2018, Kathleen Broaderick of Santa Rosa Beach was honored for her work that focuses primarily on watercolors. Her past experience as an elementary school teacher was essential when she opened her gallery CHROMA and began offering painting classes that help others express their own personal inspiration. Creativity also plays a major role in attracting visitors and ensuring that they have a singular experience while here. Each year, the tourism department presents the Van Ness Butler Jr. Hospitality Award in recognition of excellence in hospitality, service, travel/tourism, advertising, promotion and contributions to the local community. The honor typically goes to a pioneer whose leadership and vision has helped to continue the shaping of this premier destination. And as you might imagine, several local ladies have gotten their names etched on the award.

In 2019, Tracy Louthain won for her work as Director of Marketing and Communications for Newman-Dailey Resort Properties, Inc. Even in her free time, Louthain has continually given back by supporting organizations that help protect and enhance natural resources, empower area students and promote the thriving local art scene. She also works to help visitors learn how to “Vacation Forward” by taking simple actions that can improve the destination for not only their fellow visitors but the community as a whole. All told, our community appears to be in good hands with these creative and innovative women. Their work has had a lasting impact on the local community, while also inspiring other like-minded ladies to step forward and carry the torch (or paintbrush) into whatever the future might hold for this one-of-a-kind destination right here in our community.”

2019 Jenna Varney 2018 Kathleen Broaderick 2017 Marisol Gullo 2016 Melody Bogle 2014 Mary Hong 2012 Allison Craft 2011 Allison Wickey 2008 Donna Burgess 2004 Susan Lucas 2003 Dorothy Starbuck

VAN NESS BUTLER JR. HOSPITALITY AWARD 2019 Tracy Louthain 2016 Jennifer Steele 2014 Jeanne Dailey 2007 Pat Potter 2004 Joann Saucier

VisitSouthWalton.com

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Abodes FEATURED HOME

The Right Kind of Chill In a beach retreat, couple makes a sound investment

FEB/MAR 2022

TRENDS FROM FLOOR TO CEILING, FRONT TO BACK

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CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE The kitchenette at Beachin’, a Gulf retreat designed and owned by Krystal and Jon Nite, is outfitted with furniture that is both rugged and attractive.

by HANNAH BURKE

GREEN SCENE Blooms and Bugs photography by LESLIE BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY

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February-March 2022

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here’s a song performed by country artist Jake Owens that Krystal Nite says perfectly captures the ambiance of Navarre.

And it’s sunshine, blue eyes, tan lines, it’s low tide Rolling white sand, cold can koozie in my hand, just a summertime strollin’ Chillin’, breezin’, sippin’, singin’ whoa-oh-oh Beachin’

That song, Beachin’, not only happens to be written by her Grammy award-nominated, songwriter husband, Jon Nite, but it also shares a name with the pair’s newest home. The Nashville-based couple had long been searching for a space to build their dream retreat, and upon stumbling across the serene, seaside community of Navarre, they knew they had found just the place to chill, breeze, sip and sing. “Navarre has that old beach town vibe that we love,” said Nite. “It’s quiet, naturecentric and it feels like no one knows about it the way they do the Destin and 30A areas. With all the crazy hustle and bustle of Nashville, we needed a place to disconnect and gather our family, friends and neighbors.”

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Hosting is something Nite, who has been in home design for over 20 years, was mindful of when planning the home. She said it was important to her and Jon that there was no wasted space, and while the three-story, five bedroom/five bath abode’s footprint is small, its location on Santa Rosa Sound lends itself to congregating and outdoor living. “Jon actually found the lot on Google Earth,” Nite said. “We bought it without ever really seeing it and began putting together our thoughts and visions for our home. We’re remodelers and have previously built a tiny house in Nashville. But, this was my first time designing a structure from the ground up, which was exhilarating. Exhausting, but exhilarating.” Nite, who got her start with Ethan Allen as a manager and designer, has spent the past 15 years as a freelance designer in Nashville and the Emerald Coast with

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↑ The cobalt blue cabinets in the kitchen at Beachin’ suggest the rich color of the Gulf of Mexico’s offshore waters. (Paint color is Benjamin Moore California Blue 2060-20.) Stylish stairwell in the center of the home features Moroccan tiles and whitewashed shiplap. The guest studio room, opposite page, is adorned with vintage Mexican shutters and a collection of old-timey straw hats.

her business, Krystal Nite Interiors. Upon arriving at a blueprint for Beachin’, she interviewed local architects, engineers and suppliers to ensure a structurally sound, coastal home that would withstand the elements and artistically reflect them. photography by LESLIE BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY

↑ Light cascades from full-view windows onto open dining room and living room. A vintage surfboard adds a nice touch, and a sectional coffee table makes for flexibility in seating arrangements. The bunk room at lower left sleeps four little people.

Nite said she installed windows everywhere she could, relying on the Gulf to supply pops of color to the home’s “earthy, neutral and organic” interiors. “We took a bit of inspiration from Nantucket and East Coast-style homes and put a cedar shake siding accent wall in the entryway, so you’ve got

a coastal feel as soon as you walk in,” Nite said. “We hung a vintage wooden surfboard in the living area and decorated with lots of wicker and texture to complement the views. Some of the accent colors of the room feature the same blues and greens you see outside.” With bright, cobalt blue cabinets, the kitchen, Nite said, may be the most colorful room in the house. It is an extension of the living area and, with a mini-island and kitchenette, features plenty of space to cook and entertain. Larger parties may be seated in the dining room, staged with a long, wooden table that can accommodate up to 12 people. “My favorite part of the house is the back deck,” Nite said. “It’s about 1,500 square feet and has another dining table and some Adirondack chairs arranged in a circle for entertaining. It’s the perfect place to enjoy some coffee or a cocktail while you watch the sun rise or set.” A close second is the master bedroom, which Nite has accented with Moroccan details and a wall of draperies against a sliding glass door leading to a small, private balcony. The view of the Gulf from the balcony is gorgeous. A hammock is ideal for afternoon naps and light reading. Nite’s 8-year-old son favors the “bunk room.” The kids’ quarters

feature colorful, sea-inspired artwork, four bunk beds and splashes of coral, turquoise and green. There is a window to the backyard, where children love to search for hermit crabs and kayak in the bay. As for Jon, you can most likely find him in the home’s main level music studio. “Another reason we wanted to build this home is to make a songwriter’s retreat,” he said. “We made a secret little studio in the main level bedroom’s closet and built that room to accommodate multiple artists. They’ll meet for the weekend, write several songs a day, and when they need a break, they can go outside for inspiration.” Nite said Jon, who has written No. 1 hits for artists including Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Luke Bryan, has already written about two albums of songs for major country artists during his time at Beachin’. The Nite family officially moved in around the time the COVID-19 lockdowns began and plans to split time between Navarre and Nashville. “The house is more than we hoped it would be,” said Nite. “We took a lot of care in making this an unpretentious place where people could be comfortable and relax, and guests have told me they feel that right away; they don’t feel like they’re intruding on our personal space, and as a designer, that’s everything I strive for.” EC

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February-March 2022

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GREEN SCENE

BLOOMS AND BUGS Spring weather restarts life cycles by

LES HARRISON

ne of the best ways to make improvements to your home landscape quickly while controlling costs is to plant ornamental annuals. The color possibilities are many and varied. Cool-season annuals will flourish until the weather warms consistently. Dusty miller plants, pansies and dianthus are readily available options, but their lifespans are limited by lengthening days. Warm weather annuals that can be started as spring nears include zinnias, angelonias, wax begonias and marigolds. Marigolds have several desirable features that go beyond their varied color and texture patterns, including an ability to suppress parasitic nematodes. There are many types of nematodes, with most being microscopic. Marigolds deter root-knot nematodes, the most damaging local species.

Root-knot nematodes cause swollen galls on the roots of many ornamental plants, vegetables and fruit trees. To compound the situation, there are no over-the-counter nematicides (nematode killers) available for homeowners. The French marigold (Tagetes patula) is thought to be the most effective against the widest variety of nematodes. Alpha-terthienyl, a compound produced by marigolds, is also effective against some fungi and bacteria. Ideally, marigolds should be planted two months before a vegetable crop is begun at the same site. Marigolds are available as starter plants or as seed. Rich, well-drained acidic soil is the best for growing, and medium and full sun is required. Plants should be spaced 12 to 18 inches apart.

Azaleas bloom profusely and add bright hues to the spring landscape. When the bloom is finished, it is time to consider pruning and shaping. If the plant has become too large or unbalanced, clip and shape to the desired size. This task must be completed before early July, or the following year’s flowering will be reduced. Peaches bud in the early spring with blooms soon to follow. It is time to begin insect and disease prevention protocol. The necessary treatments are available at garden centers, and the University of Florida/IFAS Extension Office can provide advice and recommendations. It is important to always read and follow label directions. Slugs are getting active, that is, as active as they can get. These shell-less cousins to snails are easy to track to their meal sites by their slime trails. Early removal will likely prevent large destructive populations later.

PLUCK SLUGS, SHAPE AZALEAS

February-March 2022

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The lengthening days of late winter and early spring activate many bugs that have overwintered in the home landscape’s unseen and protected sites. Some are a benefit, while others, as we all know, are destructive. Hundreds of spider eggs can be encased in a small, tangled ball of webbing covered by leaves and other detritus. The warming weather instigates hatching and a mass exodus from the nest. Those that survive predation from birds and other animals will scatter and provide insect control as the season progresses. Those leaf-footed bugs that survive the winter will move quickly to deposit eggs on tender new leaves. The egg clusters hatch in a few days, and hungry little insects emerge. These tiny gold-toned future problems contrast starkly with the new green leaves. Careful observation and examination can easily identify these eggs. The leaf-footed bug uses its straw-like proboscis to puncture leaves and stems and suck out juices. Classified as a piercing-sucking insect, it will prey upon a wide selection of vegetables and ornamentals. Given their quick reproduction cycle during the warm season, it is wise to destroy the eggs before the leaf-footed bugs hatch in the spring. Eliminating them early will leave fewer to reproduce and damage plants later in the summer. The leaf-footed bug’s feeding activity opens plants to bacteria and decay. If vegetables are attacked, they can rot while still on the plant.

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

PHOTOS BY AJT (SLUG), SANDER MEERTINS (LEAF-FOOTED BUG), VERONIKA LUNINA (MARIGOLDS) / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES

Spring triggers bugs’ return

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February–March 2022