Nearly every weekend local residents have the chance to support a nonprofit by participating in a run or walk. For some, this is part of a lifestyle but others put on their running shoes only once or twice a year as they support their favorite charity.
Two award-winning Christian rock bands – Third Day and Skillet – headline a tour March 28 at Pensacola Bay Center. Both bands released their first projects in 1996 and have collected numerous awards and sold millions of albums since then even though their musical styles are quite different.
Midway Baptist Church is hosting a speaker from the nation’s leading ministry supporting the biblical account of creation. Dr. Tommy Mitchell from Answers in Genesis will present multiple sessions March 23 – 24 at the church.
For many years, the focus of schools and many parents was to prepare children for college; however, according to Santa Rosa County Schools Director of Workforce Education Charlin Knight a new emphasis is being placed on preparing students for the world of work. She spoke at the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting March 13.
Fifteen local students participated March 12 in the first Greater Pensacola Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) investor panel showdown. Nine teams took the stage in a “shark-tank-like format” and pitched their ideas to a panel of business leaders. At the end of the competition, the panel selected The Spice Kidz, 12-year-old Eve Knight and 13-year-old Liam Knight from Gulf Breeze Middle School, as the winners. They will now compete in the Yea! Saunders Scholars Regional Competition.
A Senate committee and House subcommittee in Tallahassee last week approved bills, by split votes, that would permit certain school employees or selected volunteers to carry firearms. Senate bill 968 was approved by a 5-2 vote March 10 by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. The House Education K-12 Subcommittee approved a similar bill by a 9 – 4 vote margin March 12.
Navarre Beach is finally getting some of the recognition it deserves. We received the TripAdvisor® press release on press day that Navarre Beach was named the No. 25 beach in the Travelers’ Choice™ Awards for Beaches in the U.S. We barely made the list – but we made the list which is an accomplishment. Last Thursday my daughter called me to say that the water at Navarre Beach was especially beautiful. She told me it looked like what magazines always depict for Caribbean resorts. I called the office because I was traveling and sent one of our photographers out to get pictures and three hours later I received a call he hadn’t returned. I forgot all about it until Monday afternoon when I remembered to look at the pictures. I have lived here for more than 20 years and I was blown away by the pristine beauty of Navarre Beach all over again. I was gasping at every picture because the water was crystal clear and was a beautiful emerald green and turquoise opalescent color. And then there was the sea turtle that popped up out of the water, schools of fish that swam by, the jellyfish that appeared, and the heron that landed on the pier railing by our photographer. It was almost as if nature was showing off. We definitely got a “snapshot” so to speak – of our beautiful area.
This week is Sunshine Week, which makes it an ideal time to reiterate the importance of open government and why my office is diligently working to improve government transparency and accountability. Since taking office, I have been committed to building upon Florida’s Sunshine Law and seeking new ways to promote openness.
The first female pilot to break the sound barrier grew up in Bagdad, just south of Milton. Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran was a record setter who also shattered the glass ceiling in aviation, earning induction into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio in 1971.
The second annual Navarre Beach Songwriter Festival is scheduled May 16 – 18 but local songwriters have been honing their skills and playing original songs at Juana’s Club Pagodas for a couple of months.
