The Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) named Jeanne Dailey as its 2014 Van Ness Butler, Jr. Hospitality Award recipient. Dailey first experienced South Walton as a visitor to Grayton Beach in the early ‘80s. Her time spent there enjoying the pristine beaches, expansive dune system, coastal dune lakes and the quiet serenity along 30A, made a lifelong impression.
Another Broken Egg Cafe (ABEC) celebrated the Grand Opening of its 39th location on Oct. 24 in Grand Boulevard at Sandestin. The upscale 4,500-square-foot Southern-inspired breakfast, lunch and brunch restaurant seats 110 guests inside and an additional 40 on the “al-fresco” style patio. According to President and Founder, Ron Green, the new location of ABEC created 30 new jobs in the area.
Northwest Florida’s leading resort and residential community developer, The St. Joe Company, will host a grand opening celebration of the Watersound Trail, Oct. 31 at 9:15 a.m. The 5-mile trail spans between Walton and Bay County with its trailhead located adjacent to Watersound Origins’ Village Commons.
The Fourth Annual Duck Regatta once again made a huge splash during the family-fun event at Baytowne Wharf at Sandestin Beach and Golf Resort on Oct. 11. A total of 3,000 ducks raced across the Lagoon toward the finish line. The $5,000 lucky duck was adopted by Dr. Mike O’Donnell, DMD, on behalf of his daughters, Haley and Megan.
The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA) of Northwest Florida State College in partnership with Eden Gardens State Park will hold a ribbon cutting for the newly completed ‘Living Shoreline Trail’ to promote CBA’s living shoreline initiative and showcase the diverse vegetation at Eden Gardens State Park, Oct. 30 at 4 p.m.
Our South Walton Fire District (SWFD) is a unique organization, well run by dedicated, professional folks. We who live and visit here should feel fortunate to have their life-saving services.
Since being elected to the South Walton Fire District board in April, I have had the good fortune to see the inner workings and meet many of the great people who run the organization.
What is SoWal?
The word SoWal (prounounced So-Wall) is an abbreviation for South Walton and is used when referring to the Florida panhandle beach communities of South Walton County on the Emerald Coast between Destin and Panama City Beach.
After years of sailing to exotic ports of call throughout the Caribbean, Virgin Islands, Aruba, St, Bart’s, the Bahamas, Panama, and Central America, Wendy Mignot and her husband, Jean-Noel, eventually settled in Seaside and opened La Vie Est Belle to showcase her handmade leather and pearls jewelry.
When a flood damaged Wendy’s store last December, she embraced it as an opportunity for growth and brought e-commerce maven Claire Moss on board. Now the SoWal style icon has big plans for the future.
Following the successful launch of 3D print in six markets across the country, The UPS Store is expanding 3D printing services to meet the growing demands of Santa Rosa Beach, Destin and Fort Walton small business owners. The UPS Store at WaterColor Crossings is among nearly 100 additional locations nationwide adding the service to its small business solutions.
Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation (DCWAF) donated $2.035 million to 12 Northwest Florida children's and other charities on Sept. 23 at a private ceremony at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in Destin, marking the Foundation’s largest charitable distribution to date.
