Steve and Ann were longtime residents of Navarre, with each having been involved in the Navarre business community and in area politics. The Hering’s were best known for their work in developing areas of Navarre Beach and mainland Navarre.
The Herings started their foray into development as individual property investors by buying a beach house in 1991 after visiting Steve’s mother, who lived in the Navarre area. At the time, they lived in Guam, while Steve and Ann held a variety of jobs in academia. The Hering family relocated to Navarre in 1995.
Over the years, as the Herings acquired more properties on Navarre Beach, they began to develop them into neighborhoods and businesses. Some of these developments were realized, such as Grand Navarre subdivision, while others remained on the drawing board, such as Topaz Beach subdivision, which was planned for White Sands Boulevard.
The family’s most recent project, Mer Sea on Navarre Beach, now faces an uncertain future with its developers gone. If built with current plans, there will be a private subdivision with 47 houses built at the corner of South Carolina Street and White Sands Boulevard. Jay was also involved in the development.
The Herings were also involved in other business ventures such as RE/MAX and the Diet Center. Ann opened her first Diet Center in 1987 and later opened more, including one in Harvest Village in Navarre.
Phil Babiak, a sometimes competitor of the Herings in business, said the deaths of Steve and Ann are a big loss for everyone. Babiak first met the Herings in the 1970s, when they came to ask him and his then business partner, Ira Mae Bruce, about Navarre Beach’s potential for development and commerce.
“He had a lot of faith in terms of the future of what Navarre would turn out to be,” Babiak said.
According to Babiak, Steve and Ann worked as a team, developing properties and subdivisions like Grand Navarre. Babiak said they were astute investors, always working, and willing to do what was needed to succeed.
Babiak was stunned when he first heard the news of what happened to Steve and Ann and is still trying to wrap his mind around it.
“I’m still trying to put all the pieces together in terms of the fact that it happened,” Babiak said.
Chuck Pohlmann, a Navarre area businessman and resident, said he has known the Herings since 2004, when he and Steve were working on the “wet/dry” issue in Santa Rosa County regarding alcohol sales.
Santa Rosa was known as a dry county until 2005. No sales of alcohol were permitted. The issue had been tried before six times and failed, the seventh time was the charm, partially because of Steve’s efforts while serving on a “pro-wet” committee.
“Steve was instrumental on that committee,” Pohlmann said. “I was always impressed with Steve; he was a go-getter. He always wanted to make Navarre better.”
After the wet/dry issue was settled, Pohlmann and Steve found something else to fight for: the reopening of the Navarre Pass. Originally opened in the mid-1960s, the Navarre Pass soon closed due to a hurricane and multiple community efforts have tried and failed to convince government officials to reopen it.
In 2017, Navarre Press wrote an article about renewed interest in reopening the pass, mostly spurred on by Pohlmann and Steve. According to Pohlmann and Babiak, the Herings were also active in the efforts to incorporate Navarre over the years.
“He understood the role that politics played in any community’s growth and development,” Babiak said.
Aside from political issues affecting Navarre, Pohlmann worked with Hering on several business deals including submitting a bid proposal to Santa Rosa County for the right to manage the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier. The bid was not accepted. Other business partners of the Herings included Jerry McGuire, Larry Kingrey, Claude Duvall, Roy DuBose, A.P. Attalla, and their children, Chris and James.
On a personal note, Pohlmann said that Steve and Ann were always positive and that he never had a negative view of either across 20 years of knowing them.
“I feel sorry for the family, I really do,” Pohlmann said.
Dave Piech, a former county commissioner and Navarre resident, said Steve and Ann were “inseparable” and never had a negative thing to say about anybody. He first got to know the couple in 2018, during his run for county commission. According to Piech, they became friends after realizing a shared connection to the island of Guam.
During their time living abroad, Steve and Ann taught classes at two of the island nation’s universities. At the University of Guam, Steve was chairman of Health and Human Services. Piech’s wife, Lynn, who teaches at Navarre High School, spent part of her childhood on Guam.
“Our friendship grew from there,” Piech said.
Piech said the Herings loved the community and worked in unison to help bring about changes they wanted to see in Navarre, whether that be with their developments or in county issues.
“It’s a huge loss and tremendous shock,” Piech said. “They deserve to be remembered.”
The Hering’s leave a legacy beyond developments and businesses in the Navarre area. They had three children and nine grandchildren, including several who played football at Navarre High School.
In response to a request for comment from Navarre Press, Chris Hering and his family have released the following statement:
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our loved ones. This unimaginable event has deeply affected our family, and we ask for respect and privacy during this difficult time as we grieve and try to process what has happened. Thank you for your understanding and support.”