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Good morning!
The Okaloosa School Board has approved a public hearing on the proposed Mary Esther and Longwood elementary school closures while releasing rezoning plans showing where affected students would attend school. The Fort Walton Beach Chamber names BitWizards CEO Vince Mayfield as Life Director and installs 2026 leadership, a Crestview High School senior earns a full scholarship to Duke University, a Fort Walton Beach teen achieves Eagle Scout rank by building chess tables at Ferry Park, and get an inside look at how Megan Serafin leads community engagement at Children in Crisis.
- Plus, try today’s WordroW puzzle.
BUSINESS
FWB Chamber names BitWizards CEO Vince Mayfield as Life Director, installs 2026 leadership
The Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce named Vince Mayfield, CEO and co-founder of BitWizards, as Life Director during the Chamber’s Annual Installation and Awards Breakfast on Friday, January 9.
- The Life Director designation recognizes an individual whose long-standing commitment, leadership and service have made a lasting impact on the Chamber and the Greater Fort Walton Beach business community. Mayfield actively supports the Chamber and has earned recognition as a leader within the region’s technology and business sectors.
The annual event also marked the installation of the Chamber’s 2026 leadership and a formal transition of board leadership. Gordon King, CEO of Okaloosa Gas, who completed a successful year as chairman of the board, ceremonially passed the gavel to Bonnie Barlow, president and CEO of Bridgeway Center, who will serve as chairman for 2026.
King reflected on the Chamber’s accomplishments over the past year, highlighting continued progress in member engagement, advocacy and community partnerships.
Barlow outlined priorities for the year ahead, emphasizing advocacy, collaboration and continued economic growth throughout Okaloosa County, guided by her theme for the year: Leadership, Service and Success.
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GAMES
WordroW: January 14, 2026
WordroW is brought to you by Fort Walton Beach Chiropractic – keeping your mind sharp and your spine aligned, one game at a time.
Can you guess today’s 5-letter word in six tries?
WordroW is Get The Coast’s daily word puzzle featuring local words, places, and phrases from our community. You have six guesses to find the mystery word – green letters are correct and in the right spot, yellow letters are in the word but wrong position, and gray letters aren’t in the word at all.
HOW I WORK
An inside look at how Megan Serafin leads community engagement at Children in Crisis
Megan Serafin moved to the Emerald Coast in 2014, trading Kansas City winters for sunshine, community, and a calling that would shape her life.
- What started as a move for love quickly became something deeper — a commitment to service, faith, and building meaningful connections through her work with Children in Crisis and her church family at Destiny Worship Center.
As Community Engagement Manager at Children in Crisis, Inc., Megan’s days are anything but predictable. From donor meetings and campus tours to event planning and social media updates, her work is rooted in connection — showing up fully for her team, the families they serve, and the community that continues to support their mission.
SCHOOL
Crestview High School senior Nick Gemina earns full scholarship to Duke University
Every morning, Nick Gemina makes it a point to greet everyone he passes in the hallways of Crestview High School. It’s not a performative gesture — it’s who he is.
- “I say good morning to every single person I see,” Gemina said. “I love seeing people smile. I love seeing the change in people.”
For Gemina, a senior at Crestview High School, these small interactions matter because they reflect a larger philosophy about making an impact.
“You’re making that change, you’re leaving a mark,” he said.
That same dedication to showing up for others — whether through a simple greeting or years of community service — has now earned Gemina a full scholarship to Duke University through the QuestBridge National College Match program. Out of 27,000 applicants nationwide, only 2,500 students received matches this year.
The financial relief was particularly significant for Gemina’s family. As the oldest of seven children, he didn’t want his parents to go into debt to send him to college when they still have six other children to support.
- Gemina is a first-generation college student whose parents immigrated to Crestview from the Philippines before he was born in 2008. His parents completed high school in the Philippines but did not have the opportunity to attend college due to cost.
Now, he plans to major in biology and pursue a career as a trauma surgeon, with the possibility of studying law afterward.
GIVING BACK
Fort Walton Beach teen achieves Eagle Scout rank with Ferry Park chess tables
From giving back to investing in the future, FPL is powering strong communities. Learn more here.
A local 17-year-old has achieved the Eagle Scout rank after leading a project to create a dedicated space for chess enthusiasts at Ferry Park.
- Andrew Dali of Scouting America Troop 529 recently guided fellow Scouts through the construction of two concrete chess tables and benches at the Fort Walton Beach park. The project serves as his Eagle Scout service requirement and provides a new recreational opportunity for residents and visitors.
“Andrew has grown into an incredible young leader over the years and we are very proud of his accomplishment,” said Troop 529 Scoutmaster Chris Cutler.
The chess tables are designed to attract both experienced players and newcomers to the game, creating a gathering place for mental recreation. The concrete construction ensures the tables will provide long-lasting benefits to the community.
SCHOOL
Okaloosa School Board approves public hearing on Mary Esther, Longwood elementary closures
The Okaloosa County School Board voted Monday night to authorize a public hearing on Superintendent Marcus Chambers’ recommendation to close Mary Esther Elementary and Longwood Elementary schools, citing declining enrollment, budget constraints and the impact of Florida’s scholarship programs.
- The public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23, with a final vote expected that evening. If approved, both schools would close at the end of this school year, with students rezoned to six other elementary schools in the south end of the county.
Chambers detailed how the district’s funding has failed to keep pace with rising costs. The state increased the base student allocation by $41.62 per student this year, down from $191 the previous year, according to the Superintendent.
However, state-mandated increases in retirement contributions alone cost $33 per student, with property insurance adding another $7.94 per student. The district provided a 1% employee raise costing $67 per student.
“So we started with $41 of an increase to the base student allocation, and when you do just those things – and that doesn’t get into supplies and other things – that’s a deficit of $66.85 right off the bat,” Chambers said.
To break even, Chambers says the district would need an additional $342 per student in base funding. State-mandated textbook adoptions, which occur yearly, will cost about $6 million this year for English Language Arts alone, while the district receives only $1.8 million in textbook funding after charter school allocations.
Chambers spent considerable time addressing public questions about why the district continues building projects and installing turf fields while facing budget shortfalls, explaining the legal distinction between capital and general funds.
- The disconnect frustrates residents who see construction activity while hearing about budget cuts. State statute dictates exactly how each funding stream can be used, with no flexibility to shift capital dollars to operational needs, according to the District.
Many residents including teachers and city council members spoke in support of keeping the schools open.
SCHOOL
Proposed rezoning plans for Mary Esther, Longwood Elementary students
The Okaloosa County School Board approved advertising a public hearing Monday night on a comprehensive rezoning plan that would redistribute students from Mary Esther Elementary and Longwood Elementary to six receiving schools across south Okaloosa County.
- The proposed rezoning would assign affected students to Shalimar, Kenwood, Wright, Elliott Point, Edwins and Florosa elementary schools beginning with the 2026-27 school year, if approved at the Feb. 23 public hearing.
District officials presented detailed capacity analyses showing the receiving schools can absorb additional students without overcrowding or significantly increasing class sizes under the proposed plan.
Assistant Superintendent John Spolski said each of the six receiving schools currently has empty classrooms available.
“Each of these schools has empty classrooms. Some have one, some have two, some have three, some have six,” Spolski said. “Because capacity wasn’t established over the last few years by the number of classrooms as much as it was by teachers being allocated.”
Superintendent Marcus Chambers addressed concerns about class sizes increasing under the rezoning plan.
- “So if you’re doing this, does that mean now we’re going to have class sizes of 30, 32, 34? Are we going to be substantially different than we are currently? That answer is no,” Chambers said.
Chambers said class sizes would remain “right in the area of where we are now” if the closures move forward.
The district has built new cafetoriums at several schools in recent years, allowing former cafeteria spaces to be converted into additional classrooms. Chambers noted this infrastructure investment has created capacity that becomes critical under the rezoning plan.
“We have cafeterias that were cafeterias that are no longer cafeterias,” Chambers said. “We’ve purposely started the building of those empty cafeterias to become classrooms in order to have additional capacity.”
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Jared
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