Kent Tinsley was unmasked as Captain Billy Bowlegs 71 (LXXI) on Saturday at the Krewe of Bowlegs annual coronation pageant, becoming a second-generation captain and carrying forward a family legacy that began before he was born.

• His theme for the year ahead: “Whiskey In, Wisdom Out,” a play on the captain and Krewe’s affection for bourbon and the wisdom they hope to share along the way.

Tinsley’s parents, Herb and Dolly Tinsley, served the Krewe on Honor Guard 23, as First Mate and First Mistress 30, and as Captain Billy 36 (XXXVI). Both of his parents passed away in the last year, with his father passing in April, just two months before the unveiling.

“I am thankful I was able to talk with him about becoming captain. He encouraged me to find his sword and his medallion,” Tinsley said. “We will celebrate my father’s year and celebrate his legacy. We will honor the traditions of the Krewe as we move forward.”

Tinsley will carry his father’s sword, a gift from his father’s Queen Carlee Foster brought in from Toledo, Spain, and will wear his father’s captain’s medallion in place of commissioning his own.

His youngest son, Brooks, 13, served as the captain’s sword bearer at Saturday’s pageant, presenting his grandfather’s sword to his father on stage. Brooks will enter Fort Walton Beach High School this fall.

His older son, William, 19, performed “America the Beautiful” on trumpet during the pageant with two University of West Florida bandmates and another former bandmate from Fort Walton Beach High School. Through the medallion, the sword and the trumpet, three generations of Tinsleys were represented on stage.

The continuity extends to Tinsley’s Children of the Court. He chose two children whose mothers served on his father’s Children of the Court, one whose grandparents served on his father’s honor guard and Carlee Foster’s own granddaughter. Some of the court’s portraits were taken at Foster’s home in Mary Esther.

• “I’m trying to link the two years together as a grateful hat tip to my father for my year,” Tinsley said.

The captain and his wife

Tinsley graduated from Fort Walton Beach High School in 1992 and earned a degree from the University of West Florida in 1998, where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega. He has spent nearly 30 years as a commercial banker and now serves as senior vice president for River Bank & Trust, helping launch the bank’s first Florida office. He is a past Rotarian, a Paul Harris Fellow and is in his eighth year on the board of the Montessori Learning Center of Fort Walton Beach. He has also coached and served on the board of Shalimar Little League.

His wife, Mary, grew up in Pensacola and graduated from UWF in 2003. She owns Tinsley Wealth Management and is president of the board of directors for Impact100 of Northwest Florida. The couple married in 2006 and celebrated their 20th anniversary in April.

The Tinsleys joined the Krewe of Bowlegs during Capt. Billy Bowlegs 54 Dan Perri’s year and served on Honor Guard 56 for Capt. Tony Gilligan two years later. Across 16 years in the Krewe, they have chaired parties, served three terms as treasurer, held multiple executive board positions and helped restart the public Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival for Capt. Billy Bowlegs 67 James Baughman.

Queen Tade Wolfe

Queen Tade Wolfe is originally from Eufaula, Alabama, and grew up an Air Force daughter, moving from place to place before eventually calling Florida home. She earned a degree in communicative disorders from the University of Alabama, where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. She later earned a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Memphis. She moved to the Fort Walton Beach area in 1993 and met her future husband, Scott, marrying him in 1996. Air Force and Delta Air Lines careers took the couple in and out of the area for years before they made it their permanent home in 2013.

• Wolfe works part time as a speech-language pathologist with Magnolia Pediatric Therapy. Over the years, she has been active in the Junior League of the Emerald Coast and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She supports the Mental Health Association of Okaloosa and Walton Counties, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Air Force Enlisted Village.

Scott Wolfe is a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate who earned a Bachelor of Science in general engineering, a Master of Business Administration from Trident University International and a master’s degree in military science from Air University. He served 24 years in the Air Force as a Special Operations MC-130P/W pilot, commanded at multiple levels and went on to a second career as a Delta Air Lines pilot before retiring. He serves on the board of the All Sports Association and was recently appointed to the board of the Mental Health Association of Okaloosa and Walton Counties.

The Wolfes have two sons, Will and Owen, and enjoy pickleball, boating and college football as a family. They served on Honor Guard 61 for Capt. Billy Bowlegs Ken Watson and Queen Sherry Locht.

First Mate Jason Floyd and First Mistress Nicole Floyd

Both Fort Walton Beach natives and Fort Walton Beach High School graduates, the Floyds bring deep local roots to the Krewe’s “Top Six.”

Jason attended LSU and returned home with a degree in architecture. After working for three firms, he opened JDF Architecture in Fort Walton Beach, where he serves as owner and principal architect. His firm’s local work includes The Landing renovation and the historic Indian Temple Mound Museum.

Nicole left the area after high school to serve as an Air Traffic Controller in the U.S. Air Force. She returned years later, pursued a career as a cosmetologist and opened her own salon, Hair Culture, which has given her the flexibility to raise her family and serve as the primary caretaker for her mother.

The Floyds met shortly after Nicole’s return, built a friendship that turned into marriage and have four children, all of whom attended Fort Walton Beach High School. Landon lives in Decatur, Georgia, with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, Ophelia. Genesis is entering her senior year at Florida State University and plans to attend law school. Jalen is entering his junior year at the University of West Florida, where he is pursuing a computer science degree, and Parker recently graduated from high school with plans to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard.

• When they aren’t enjoying “Krewe Life,” the Floyds enjoy time with their kids, granddaughter, boating and traveling with friends. They served on Honor Guard 68 for Capt. Bill Kilpatrick.

The Honor Guard

Bill “Pappy” Boyington and Marya Bard. Boyington was born in Japan, grew up on Air Force bases around the world and graduated from the Air Force Academy with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He is retired after careers as an Air Force fighter pilot and commercial pilot. Bard, a Louisville, Kentucky, native and a graduate of the University of Louisville and Harvard University, is also retired, having served as an Air Force aircraft maintenance officer before working as an Air Force civilian managing bomb and missile development programs. The couple, who met in the service, has lived in Fort Walton Beach for 29 years and been married for 28. They enjoy boating, traveling and spending time with their blended family.

Clayton and Kristen Huntley. The Huntleys moved to Fort Walton Beach in 2023 from Darnestown, Maryland, where they lived for 19 years and raised their two children. Clay grew up in Missoula, Montana, attended Whitman College and earned a Ph.D. in biology from Texas A&M University. He is a scientific research program officer at the National Institutes of Health, where he oversees a grant portfolio supporting research on bacterial pathogens. Kristen graduated from the University of Texas and also earned a Ph.D. from Texas A&M, in clinical psychology. She recently retired from NIH’s Center for the Clinical Trials Network, where she served as acting director, associate director, team leader and scientific officer. Since the move, Clay has joined a sailing racing crew, and the couple has embraced the local beach lifestyle.

Tyler and Crystal Hurt. A 19-year Air Force aviation resource management career took the Hurts from Olathe, Kansas, and Belton, Missouri, to Charleston, South Carolina, then to England and Anchorage, Alaska, before finally landing them in the Florida Panhandle. Tyler now works at HQ AFSOC on Hurlburt Field, managing the command’s flying hour program, and earned a master’s degree in cryptographic technologies along the way. Crystal works as an accounting assistant. Off duty, Tyler spends his time in a workshop filled with CNC and 3D-printing projects. The couple has three children, Mikaila, 18, Landon, 16, and Jaxson, 13, and plans to stay in the Destin area in retirement.

Jim and Barry Johnson. Jim was born in Germany to an Air Force family and grew up in Turkey and the Philippines before joining the Air Force himself, retiring in 1999 after 20 years with a last assignment at Eglin AFB. He has lived in the area since 1995 and holds an MBA in financial management from Golden Gate University. Barry also grew up in an Air Force family and graduated from Florida State University with a double major in French and Spanish before earning a master’s in clinical social work from Florida Atlantic University. Her parents, Tom and Rosemary Watkins, were members of the Krewe in the 1970s and 1980s. The couple married in 2015 and shares five children and 10 grandchildren. Now that both are retired, travel and entertaining are their priorities.

Matt and Jacqui Luberto. The Lubertos have built a family of Destin-anchored businesses that began with a single brokerage in 2020 and now includes Realty ONE Group Emerald Coast, ONE Family Property Services, Defender Insurance and the Emerald Coast Referral Network. Jacqui, a six-time Best-In-Destin Realtor, leads the brokerage and its agents. Matt, a retired U.S. Air Force Security Forces veteran, serves as director of operations across the companies. His military career included law enforcement, security, military working dog operations and training, with deployment and logistics experience along the way. The couple has two children, Jackson, 24, and Grace, 21.

Garrett and Jaime Nowack. Garrett grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula hunting, fishing and trapping, and carries those skills into adulthood. He joined the Air Force, traveled the globe and met Jaime, an Air Force linguist from Minnesota, during a deployment. The pair moved from Minnesota to England before settling in Navarre. Garrett is now a defense contractor, and Jaime works as a real estate agent. He also coaches youth baseball, and the couple has a son, Joe, and a daughter, Evie.

Bud and Andrea Roberts. Bud and Andrea met in New Orleans after a Jimmy Buffett concert and recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. Bud, born in Atlanta and raised in Washington, Georgia, played college baseball and earned a business degree from Montreat College. He has been a Clemson football season ticket holder for 30 years. Andrea grew up in Hollandale, Mississippi, and attended Mississippi State University, where she worked for the football team. The couple moved to the area in 2004 and has lived in Bluewater Bay since 2005. Bud retired from Clayton Homes in December 2024 and now invests in real estate, consults and helps run the Bluewater Bay Golf Course with business partners. Andrea is a sustaining member of the Junior League of the Emerald Coast and an avid tennis player.

Marc and Tara Starr. Niceville natives from military families, the Starrs previously served on Honor Guard 52 and decided to do it again. Marc’s parents, Gordon and Nyla Starr, are longtime Krewe members who served on Honor Guards 47 and 50, as First Mate and First Mistress 59, and Nyla was Queen 55. Marc graduated from Niceville High School, and Tara graduated from Choctawhatchee High School; both attended the University of West Florida. Marc has owned and operated Starrscape Enterprises for 32 years and also developed Highway 190 Industrial Park and North Florida Properties. The couple has three daughters, Kealy, Kaytlyn and Kinsey.

Zach and Lauren Tomlian. The Tomlians are Nevada natives who swapped the mountains for the coast six years ago and now call Florida home. Both grew up outdoors, snowboarding, hunting and fishing, and now enjoy the coastal version of that lifestyle. Zach works as a graphic designer in automotive advertising, and Lauren is a surgical assistant for an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. They have two young children, Zoey, 4, and Wyatt, 2.

Matt and Courtney Zinke. Shalimar residents since 1997, the Zinkes met as next-door neighbors in Gainesville during the summer of 1994 and have called the area home ever since. Matt was born in Washington, D.C., grew up in Shalimar and graduated from Choctawhatchee High School in 1991 before earning a degree in environmental engineering from the University of Florida in 1996. He is a vice president with Jenkins Engineering. Courtney is from Birmingham, Alabama, moved to Pensacola at age 8 and graduated from the University of Florida in 1995 with a degree in public relations. The Zinkes previously served on Honor Guard 54 for Capt. Billy Bowlegs Daniel C. Perri and Queen Bobbi Nelson. They have three sons, Zach, Colton and Reed, all Choctaw graduates who went on to attend Florida State University, the University of Florida and the University of West Florida respectively.

Princesses and Privateers

• Emilyn Kilpatrick
• Ava Odom
• Delaney Marshall
• Kealy Starr
• Stella Leibold
• Judith England
• Michael Hadley

A year of community presence

Beyond the parades and pageantry, Tinsley said the Krewe spends much of the year working in the community. Members read to elementary classrooms across the local school district in full pirate garb, interacting with students. The Krewe has also held holiday parades for residents at Bob Hope Village in past years, and Tinsley said he would like to bring that tradition back during his year.

• “We are a Fort Walton Beach organization and we are a Fort Walton Beach festival. Everything we do in the community is to promote this area and spread the good word about what a great place this is to live,” Tinsley said.

Tinsley officially takes the reins from Capt. Rique Gwin at the Krewe’s annual meeting in early July. The year’s calendar includes out-of-town events in Panama City in October, Minnesota in February, Pensacola for Mardi Gras and Tallahassee and Bradenton in the spring, along with civic appearances, school visits and community parades leading up to the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival next May.

The travel goes both ways. Each year the Krewe hosts roughly 110 to 140 out-of-town guests at the Island Resort on Okaloosa Island during festival week, drawing dignitaries from partner organizations including several Pensacola and Panama City groups, the Krewe of Hernando De Soto in Bradenton, Springtime Tallahassee and the Saint Paul Vulcans from Minnesota’s Saint Paul Winter Carnival.

When asked what he is looking forward to most, Tinsley pointed to the people next to him.

“It’s going to be so exciting to take the reins with my ‘Top 6’ and the 10 honor guard couples that we’ve picked! We will hit the ground running this summer to promote the Fort Walton Beach area,” Tinsley said.