By Carmen Reynolds
This band likes to have fun while they perform as the local Robin Hoods, having raised more than $202,000 with the help of nearly 150 sponsors so that 50 local nonprofits can thrive. In essence, the Pirates serve as the de facto Impact 100 because there isn’t one locally.
As in any tale, it started a long, long time ago at the Mardi Gras Parade on Pensacola Beach in February 2009. That’s when Jersey Jerry Foster and Ray White, members of two different Parrot Head Clubs (Parrot Heads of Pensacola and the Emerald Coast Parrot Head Club of Destin) decided it was time to start their own Parrot Head Club on Navarre Beach. Both had been members for several years and believed in the Parrot Head motto: “Party with a Purpose” as they contribute to fundraising and volunteer their hours to specific charities and organizations while socializing with people of similar interests, centered around the tropical spirit of Jimmy Buffett’s music.
By May 22, 2009, the Pirates on the Panhandle Parrot Head Club, Inc., was chartered and they were off and running and the fun really began. Both Foster and White became co-founders with Foster leading the club as their aptain (president) and White as first mate (vice-president) and over the next 2½ years, the club grew to over 250 members to become the eleventh largest Parrot Head Club in the world.
“We’ve doubled our membership and we’re always open to adding new members,” said Mark Miller, the former president. Denise Goens has recently been elected as the club’s new president, complete with a board and committees.
The first big event the club hosted was the 2010 Inaugural Penguin Plunge on New Year’s Day at Juana’s with 57 folks jumping into the Santa Rosa Sound. A donation of $2,000 went to the EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless to assist their work in Navarre, helping more than 200 identified homeless people living in the area. Four years later, more than 400 folks purchased T-shirts for the Penguin Plunge and close to $15,000 was donated to the Fisher House of the Emerald Coast.
By October 2013, the club had taken over the Annual Navarre Beach Car Show from the Navarre Area Board of Realtors who had started the event in 2000. Planning for this year’s event is already underway and the 24th Annual Navarre Beach Car, Truck and Bike show will take place during the second weekend of October with a Cruise-in on Friday night at Andy D’s Restaurant and then all day on Saturday in the Navarre High School parking lot. Each year, the show has grown to more than 150 vehicles, several vendors, and food trucks, along with live music, raising enough funds to donate at least $2,000 each quarter the following year.
For the last six years, the club has hosted the Pirate Plunge into the Gulf of Mexico on New Year’s Day, and this past year Andy D’s Restaurant was the co-host. The club is proud that they have now given more than $202,000 to 50 other nonprofit organizations within the Navarre community.
“This is real money making a real difference,” Foster said. “So far this year, the club has already donated close to $15,000.” In addition, they’ve adopted a portion of Highway 87 and perform clean ups twice per year.
Foster said each month, the club has a social event that the members vote to conduct. It could be a night out at a local restaurant or going to see the Ice Flyers play hockey and the Blue Wahoos play baseball. Members choose events they’d like to attend. They will be celebrating their 15th Anniversary on May 22 with plans underway for a Big Beach Bash.
If you’re a person who enjoys having a fun time and would like to get involved with helping others within the Navarre community, this Little Band of Pirates might be for you.