Where is the Emerald Coast?

[Kurt]

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/emerald-41325-wants-log.html

...Okaloosa County tourism officials are working to take ownership of the moniker. The county’s Tourist Development Council has partnered with the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce to cement the southern edge of the county as the official Emerald Coast.


“The goal here … is for Okaloosa County to own the Emerald Coast,” chamber President and CEO Ted Corcoran said at a County Commission meeting last week. “We’re rolling it out to the municipalities. We’re also rolling it out to the business community.”


In late March the TDC unveiled a new Emerald Coast logo featuring sea oats. Now officials are urging the county and its cities to display the Emerald Coast name on their websites and letterheads.


Officials in Cinco Bayou, Fort Walton Beach, Mary Esther and Shalimar have passed resolutions in support of the effort.


“Imagine coming from the Alabama border and seeing the Okaloosa County sign … and underneath that, it would say, ‘Home of the Emerald Coast,’ ” Corcoran told commissioners.


Welcome signs at various entrances to the county also could feature the name, he added.


Commissioner Wayne Harris, who represents the Crestview area, supported the idea.
“I know the perfect place for the ‘Gateway of the Emerald Coast,’ ” he said.
The board approved a resolution to support the TDC’s effort.


County Administrator Jim Curry told commissioners he would have to check with state officials about placing the name on signs at the county line.

 

[Jdarg]

We don't need it. We are SoWal.

 

[Beach Runner]

I thought that the beaches along 30A are part of the Emerald Coast.

 

[Rita]

.
Where is the Emerald Coast?...I think it is part of THE Beach. Wonder where the "Gateway of the Emerald Coast" will be? ........ oh well - to each, their own. ..

.

 

[Lake View Too]

You mean we could have just grabbed "The Emerald Coast" before Okiloosa did, instead of that catchy name we go by (which I can't quite remember)?

 

[DuneLaker]

Duh, Okaloosa. The reason you find Emerald Coast used from Pensacola and all across Northwest Florida is it was being broadly used across Northwest Florida before Okaloosa tried to corner the market. Sorry Okaloosa guys, you don't own Emerald Coast and never will. Just because it is all you know since you showed up or started trying to play the branding game, doesn't mean you "own" the name. Look at old threads here on SoWal. This was discussed in detail years ago. By the way, welcome to SoWal, the jewel of the Emerald Coast.

 

[DuneLaker]

I thought that the beaches along 30A are part of the Emerald Coast.

They are. You should see our Emerald Coast Middle School at Pt. Washington in SoWal.

 

[DuneLaker]

Okaloosa Island is actually Santa Rosa Island. Okaloosa County wasn't even formed until 1915. Look at most maps from the 1600s on and you'll see that island as Santa Rosa Island. What will Okaloosa try to rename next. Heck, lets just change Florida to Emerald Coast, Okaloosa.

 

[Douglas the Intrepid]

Kudos to Okaloosa for trying to maximize the impact of an already great name. South Walton TDC should take notes as the dismal "The Beach" and I can't even remember the current lame moniker have been uninspiring and a waste of money at the best.

 

[Arkiehawg]

Looks like the Okaloosa TDC has already "claimed" rights in wikipedia....


The Emerald Coast is an area in the US state of Florida on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico which encompasses Okaloosa County that has cities such as Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Mary Esther and Cinco Bayou.
It had previously been dubbed the "Playground Area of the Gulfcoast" from the 1940s through the 1980s, as witnessed by the name of the Fort Walton, Florida, later Fort Walton Beach, Florida (from 1953) newspaper, the Playground News, later the Playground Daily News, now the Northwest Florida Daily News. Another unofficial term is the "Redneck Riviera," which also is sometimes considered to stretch to Gulf Shores, Alabama.[1]