With the nesting season for Navarre Beach’s shorebirds moving along, Audubon Florida is in need of volunteers for its bird stewardship program. Shorebird Program Manager Caroline Stahala said these volunteers act as bird babysitters, keeping an eye out for the handful of colonies that call this beach home. Read the full article in the […]
Bulldog Beach Volleyball held its inaugural tournament Sunday for new volleyball courts built alongside the Springhill Suites on Navarre Beach. The successful beach volleyball program is an arm of Navarre Beach Sports and Recreation LLC, owned by volleyball professional Judd Smith and Kim Larson. Read the full article in the Dec. 6 issue of Navarre […]
From breathing exercises to essential oils, 27 moms of exceptional children in Northwest Florida took a break from endless appointments and 24-hour childcare to relax at the Emerald Coast Exceptional Families’ Give Mom a Break event. This therapeutic retreat was held at Springhill Suites on Navarre Beach Friday through Sunday. Read the full article in […]
From the moment Riley was born, doctors did not give him a good prognosis. With muscular deformities, issues of the hands and feet, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism, he had quite a battle ahead. Doctors did not think he would live, said his mom, Carol Stevens. But he did. Read the full article in the Sept. […]
After two years of dwindling nest numbers, shorebirds along Navarre Beach produced nearly 100 chicks that reached fledgling status. Audubon Florida Panhandle Shorebird Program Manager Caroline Stahala said this has been a good year for black skimmers and least terns, both listed as threatened species by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Read […]
The Independence Day celebrations on Navarre Beach were rounded out by the fireworks show put on by the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Office. As seen in the July 12 issue of Navarre Press. Click here to subscribe for as little as $38 per year!
Along the shoulder of the Navarre Beach bridge, roughly 100 threatened shorebird chicks have started to emerge from their eggs. Audubon Florida needs volunteers to help chick-sit. The causeway has served for many years as a nesting area for both black skimmers and least terns, said Audubon Florida Panhandle Shorebird Program Manager Caroline Stahala. Read […]
Navarre Beach vacationers were joined by locals in shopping hand-made art and sipping Navarre’s own craft beer June 20 at the Springhill Suites second Art of Local event. The Gulf beachfront hotel plans to host the events quarterly. Read the full article in the June 28 issue of Navarre Press. Click here to subscribe for as […]
Navarre Beach’s feathery migrators have returned for another nesting season. Black skimmers with their long, snap-trap-like beaks and squeaking, scissor-winged least terns have flown the hundreds of miles from South America to once again lay their eggs in colonies along the beaches of Navarre Beach. Audubon Panhandle Shorebird Program Manager Caroline Stahala led a team […]
Emerald Coast Warrior Run has been approved for a $15,000 Tourism Development Event Marketing Grant to bring a 5k obstacle course run to the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds in April. This is the first year for the event put on by the Okaloosa County-based Emerald Coast Warriors. Event lead Chandler Robbins said his group hopes to […]
Unemployment is on a downward spiral. For several months now the United States and the state of Florida have been seeing a trend downward in the unemployment rate. And, according to a report from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Santa Rosa County is ahead of the curve. The local rate, 3 percent, is more […]
A day after Irma had cleared south Florida, Teresa Focaracci, her son, his girlfriend and their friends headed back home from the Springhill Suites on Navarre Beach. They were six people, five large dogs and a cat crammed into two cars, and rode out the storm in the hotel. For roughly 14 hours they made […]
Hotelier Marilyn Hess and former District 4 Commissioner, Jim Melvin cut the ribbon celebrating the grand opening of the beach hotel. Melvin said the finished project was more the he could have imagined. Hess credits Melvin for making the hotel possible during his term as commissioner. Featured in the June 22 issue of Navarre Press. […]
West Navarre Intermediate School students in Janet Bryan’s and Jessica Teague’s classes closed out the school year with a hands-on project to wow their parents. Bryan’s class created Neon Navarre. This underwater –themed display glowed with black light paint turning the students’ classroom into a foreign looking nightscape. Read the full article in the June […]
While bed tax collections are up for another month, the board responsible for making recommendations on how to spend that money is shrinking. Attendance at Tourist Development Council board and committee meetings has been spotty. Nearly half the board is absent at any given time, and Commissioner Rob Williamson, who serves on the board, has […]
Springhill Suites on Navarre Beach will feature a lazy river pool, an indoor heated pool, outside jacuzzi, gift shop, food market and workout room. The restaurant, Beach House Bar and Grill will be open to the public and seat 130 patrons. The hotel is expected to open in early June. Featured in the May 11 […]
The opening of Navarre Beach’s newest hotel has stalled again. Though previously expected to open in March, the SpringHill Suites by Marriott is not likely to see its first guest until at least Memorial Day weekend, Director of Sales Angie Lee said. Read the full article in the March 23 issue of Navarre Press. Subscribe […]
Dakota DeMars sat at a table in the Navarre High School cafeteria Tuesday morning filling out job applications. A senior at Navarre, DeMars was taking advantage of school’s fifth annual job fair, which continues to grow and presents students with a chance to land a job. Read the full article in the Feb. 16 issue […]
Atlanta-based Hotel Equities named Kristin Iversen as the general manager and Angie Lee as the director of sales for SpringHill Suites by Marriott Navarre located on Navarre Beach. Read the full article in the Feb. 9 issue of Navarre Press. Subscribe online at navarrepress.com for as little as $38 per year.
Finishing touches are underway at the Springhill Suites by Marriott on Navarre Beach as construction winds to a close. Ben Harris is the project manager with Alabama-based general contractor Stewart Contracting Company, Inc. Harris said though it still does not look like much from the outside, the next two weeks will bring quite the transformation. […]
Hotel Equities’ Revenue Manager Mike Lorea didn’t hesitate to jump into action when he was approached about helping out with the Weekend Food Program in South Santa Rosa County. At the Springhill Suites on Pensacola Beach Tuesday afternoon, he and members of his staff were on hand participating in a regional training conference and they […]
Most hotel managers balk at sharing details of their occupancy rates without assurance those figures won’t be made available to competitors, yet Santa Rosa tourism officials are about to mount a new effort to obtain that data. The month-to-month figures are considered important in the planning of leisure industry promotions, but the Santa Rosa County […]
Although growth in Santa Rosa’s tourist tax collections slowed this summer compared to last year, leisure industry leaders say the new Springhill Suites on Navarre Beach will provide a needed boost. The 161-room hotel is projected to add $250,000 to the county’s 2017-2018 revenue from bed taxes – the 5 percent fees on hotel bills […]
When it opens in the spring of 2017, SpringHill Suites will feature resort-style amenities including the indoor and outdoor pools, full-service restaurant, bar and lounge and numerous beach side activities. The hotel will have a 4,000-square foot meeting space with sweeping views of the Gulf designed to accommodate social gatherings, receptions, business meetings and weddings. […]
The rate of Santa Rosa County tourism tax collections, while still on the rise from recent years, has slowed a bit during the past four months and caught the eye of area leisure industry leaders. Although the county’s share of lodging receipts, the so-called bed tax, totaled about $93,000 in February, the latest figures available, […]
Completion of the $30 million SpringHill Suites on Navarre Beach has been delayed until sometime in the first quarter, perhaps as late as March, because of occasional rain and high winds that have slowed construction. Read the full article in the April 7 issue of Navarre Press. Click HERE to subscribe online.
Zamir Jones is eager to find a job and took full advantage of the opportunity to speak with potential employers at the Navarre High School Job Fair Thursday morning in the cafeteria. With 24 area businesses in attendance, Jones had plenty of options. Read the full article in the Feb. 25 issue of Navarre Press. […]
Every hotel and motel room in Santa Rosa County would have to be filled for an entire week in April by Tough Mudder enthusiasts to achieve the economic impact of the two-day event as estimated in a request for state funding filed by the Tourist Development Office. That’s because while there are 695 such rooms […]
Construction of the $30 million SpringHill Suites on Navarre Beach has resumed after overcoming some obstacles, and the 161-room hotel is tentatively scheduled to open in December. Originally planned to open 15 months after breaking ground last June, the hotel was hampered by the discovery of about 200 wood pilings from the site’s former occupant, […]
The Navarre Beach Leaseholders approved an increase in the amount of commercial property taxes for fire protection at their monthly meeting Saturday. The current commercial rate is $900 for up to 10,000 square feet and $3,600 for more than 10,000 square feet. The new rate for commercial is $900 for the first 10,000 square feet […]
