Community

Resilience and Courage Define One Hopeful Place’s Sherry Jones By Doug Stauffer This story began four decades ago and details the extraordinary journey of a local girl who, at the tender age of 18 and fresh out of high school, found herself unwittingly intertwined with a drug kingpin. This captivating narrative chronicles...

By Christopher Manson In January 2022, a partnership between Okaloosa Island’s Gulfarium and the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism Department was launched. “C.A.R.E.”ing for Turtles takes place at the Gulfarium every Wednesday through the end of July; then every other Wednesday in August. The hour-long program is $15 for ages eight...

By Lisa Woodrum For 20 years, Children in Crisis has answered the desperate need for foster care through its group homes at the Fort Walton Beach property. It has provided stable and consistent home environments for a multitude of displaced children in the midst of severe circumstances. CIC originated from a small...

By Doug Stauffer The All Sports Association (ASA) recently celebrated its 54th Annual All Sports Association Banquet at the Emerald Coast Convention Center. The auction raised a record-setting $138,500, amassing an impressive $319,000 for the year. That support concluded on the fourth Friday in February by recognizing a Who’s Who...

More public beach access in Destin is coming soon. A nearly 340-foot beachfront “Tarpon Beach Park” is now on its way to becoming a reality. The City of Destin, Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners, Trust for Public Land and Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourist Development Council have partnered to...

By Lori Leath Smith, Publisher As the new year is now a reality, I have been thinking about our city’s rich heritage and how it influences our local lifestyles today. It helps to know some of our history in order to appreciate our piece of Paradise and how far we’ve...

By Kenneth Books In the late 1990s, three teenagers ran their hearts out as members of the Fort Walton Beach High School cross-country team. Today, all three – Mike Lowe, Ken Dwyer and Austin White – are colonels in the armed forces. Lowe and White are in the Air Force,...

By Gueary Clendening Many years ago, My wife, Linda, and I lived in Illinois. Memories of driving to southern Illinois to spend Christmas with her family are truly cherished! On one particular Christmas, we left on Christmas Eve, driving down on Interstate 57. We traveled at night and had the...

By Lori Leath Smith Are you looking for ways to help our community? As always during the holiday season, there is an ongoing need for giving. Many children don’t have enough food to eat over a weekend, much less over Thanksgiving or Christmas, and have to return to school hungry....

By Doug Stauffer “You don’t lose until you quit trying!” is an oft-repeated quote from Sammy Davis. You might recognize that name, but this Sammy is not an entertainer, he’s a Vietnam War American hero. I love to meet inspiring people, but there is always more to the story. These two...