Community Archive

Pickleball’s overall popularity has skyrocketed in recent years. According to SFIA Topline Participation Report for 2025, at least 19.8 million Americans played the sport in 2024.

With the gaining popularity, churches are using it to reach people, both in their own congregations and throughout their communities. One church in Navarre, Gathering House, hosts pickleball nights on the last Friday of each month.

The Kiwanis Club of Navarre is launching a new program to bring American Flags to your yard.

Before every performance, Pamela Strecker made one final walk.
She moved through the backstage area from one side to the other, checking on every actor, calling out final cues, making sure nothing had been missed. Then, just before heading up to the booth, she would turn around, look out at the cast and raise a hand in the air.
“Be brilliant.”
It caught on. Cast members started saying it to each other.
Strecker,61, who served as stage manager and eight-year president of Stage Crafters Community Theater in Fort Walton Beach, died earlier this month after a battle with cancer. She had been part of the organization for more than two decades, arriving as a shy backstage helper in 1999 and becoming the heartbeat of one of Northwest Florida’s most beloved volunteer arts organizations.

Over two dozen lifeguards gathered at Tower 3 on Navarre Beach Friday, May 22, for a special competition.

The group was there for the Iron Guard race, a relay event in which lifeguards test their endurance and skills on land and in the water.

East Bay Church celebrated their graduates earlier this month with a special prayer service and ceremony.

The Pirates on the Panhandle, a social group which organizes fundraisers for local charities and nonprofits, recently delivered a check for $12,000 to Friends of Santa Rosa Veterans Treatment Court.

Thursday, May 21, Midway Fire District Station 35 played host to Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Florida Department of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie.

The two state officials were in the area as part of a statewide hurricane preparedness tour.

Just because its summer, doesn’t mean you should take a vacation from Jesus.

That’s the message Steve Mendez of Momentum Church is sending ahead of what promises to be an eventful summer for the church.

There is a new place to let your creative juices flow in Navarre!

Haven Art Studio, located at 9542 Navarre Parkway, recently held an open house event on May 16. Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce was on hand for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. The business officially opens June 1.

As temperatures rise this summer, it’s important for the elderly to stay cool.

With that in mind, Pete Moore Automotive Team is once again partnering with Council on Aging of West Florida for the Senior Chill Out, an annual one-day donation drive.