FUNDRAISER

Niceville’s Robotics Team fundraising so they can go to World Championship

In March, the Niceville Robotics Team won the FIRST Robotics Tallahassee Regional Competition. This win qualified them for the World Championship in Houston, Texas, near the end of April.

The RadioActive Roaches will compete with over 450 of the best teams in FIRST from around the world. This is where they need your help.

The expense of transporting and lodging their team during the 4-day competition will exceed $20,000. This cost has risen due to the price of fuel and inflation costs. The robotics team has a small travel budget, but it falls short of what they need.

• They are currently almost a third of the way towards their $7,000 goal.

Click here to help them out!

TECH

TeCMEN, the Gulf Coast’s leading one-day tech & manufacturing expo is back!

One Okaloosa EDC is hosting the 5^th annual TeCMEN Industry Day on April 26, 2022 at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. 

• Initially launched in 2017, TeCMEN Industry Day (TID) brings together a broad spectrum of companies and industry representatives from across the Gulf Coast region and beyond for a full day of networking and educational content.

The 2022 TeCMEN Industry Day will feature more than 50 exhibitor booths in the event’s Technical Showcase.  While attendance at TeCMEN Industry Day is open to representatives of all industry sectors, TID Technical Showcase exhibitors are required to be in the technology, manufacturing, engineering, aviation, aerospace, defense, education or workforce development sectors.  

“Not only do we have some of the most dynamic technically-oriented companies from throughout northwest Florida confirmed to be with us again this year, but we also have several companies joining us from out-of-state,” said Nathan Sparks, One Okaloosa EDC Executive Director. “What a wonderful way to introduce them to the many opportunities and partnerships found in our area”

In addition to the Technical Showcase, TeCMEN Industry Day attendees will once again be treated to an impressive line-up of speakers and panelists.  Col. Anthony Meeks, Commander, Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Munitions Directorate, will serve as the luncheon Keynote Speaker. 

Additional topics to be spotlighted throughout the day include:

• Future of Aerospace Growth at Bob Sikes Airport
• Eglin Air Force Base Contracting Opportunities
• Northwest Florida State College Aviation Center of Excellence 

The event’s closing panel – titled “Industry Newcomers to the Great Northwest” – will feature the leaders of four businesses from the manufacturing, defense contracting, technology and biomedical sectors who recently made decisions to locate new facilities in northwest Florida.

“With this event marking the fifth anniversary of the TeCMEN Industry Day, our planning committee has worked incredibly hard to develop an agenda that will appeal to a wide range of business interests,” stated Nic Dezinski, TeCMEN’s FY 2022 Chairman. “Whether you are involved in the technical sector – or whether you are a banker, accountant, attorney, or other professional service provider looking to expand your awareness of opportunities within our region while networking and building relationships with technical companies – TeCMEN Industry Day will meet, and hopefully exceed, your expectations.”

Registration for the 2022 TeCMEN Industry Day closes on Friday, April 15. 

For more information or to register please visit www.tecmenindustryday.com.

MILITARY

Eglin Airman creates Air Force-themed design for NASCAR race car

Story by Samuel King Jr.

Tech. Sgt. Andrew Brockman grew up watching NASCAR on Sundays with his father. Being from Southwestern Illinois, the opportunity to see and feel the speed and fury at an actual race seemed near impossible.

• On April 24, 2022, at Talladega Superspeedway, the Airman will get to experience the sights and sounds for the first time ever and cheer on a car with a paint scheme he helped design.

Brockman, a 96th Maintenance Squadron senior munitions inspector, recently won the Petty GMS and Air Force-sponsored Paint Scheme Fan Vote Contest. All submissions came directly from Airmen. 

“We wanted to get Airmen across the Air Force involved in our most visible partnership. With more than half of our enlisted jobs involving maintenance, this partnership reaches mechanically inclined people we need recruited into our ranks,” said Master Sgt. Shawn Emmerling, Air Force Recruiting Service events marketing. “We wanted to showcase the talent of our Airmen outside of their normal jobs and then let the NASCAR fans decide their favorite design. This paint design doesn’t just represent Air Force Recruiting, but it reflects the entire Air Force and our heritage.”

The top three paint scheme designs were voted on via a Twitter poll, with Brockman’s Air Force heritage theme winning out with approximately 4,500 votes.

“The design pays tribute to those before us, who flew in the face of death knowing they may never return home,” said the 32-year-old, nine-year veteran. 

Brockman’s dark green paint scheme design was modeled after a B-29 Superfortress with glass up front and riveted panel design.

Brockman said his idea came from searching for Air Force beginnings with the Army Air Corps and images of the World War II bomber. He also wanted to bring attention to the Air Force’s 75th Anniversary this year.

“I wanted to somehow convey where we are and also how far we’ve come,” said Brockman, whose brother, both grandfathers and grandmother were Airmen. “Bombers paved the way for victory throughout the Air Force’s reign in the skies.”

The Airman said he tried to channel his family connection, the ups and downs of his career and his love for history and heritage into his design.

Brockman said he was thrilled to hear his paint scheme would be voted on by fans. He researched various NASCAR and AFRS social media platforms so he’d be ready to vote, promote and share his design when voting started in mid-January. He didn’t have a Twitter account yet, but created one so he could be sure to vote for his paint scheme.

Eventually, he received the congratulations and plans began to use his paint scheme on the Number 43 Chevrolet Camaro sometime this year. Not long after the 2022 racing season started, Brockman, who collected NASCAR die-casts as a kid, saw his paint scheme available on the new model.

“That was just such a crazy thing to see,” said Brockman, a Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle fan in his youth. “There’s going to be a little die-cast of this thing I helped inspire.”

The Airman said he can’t wait to see his design, which so far has only been seen on monitors or a phone, become a reality in the form of a full-size stock car.

“It’s going to be a super exciting weekend and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

LEAVE NO TRACE

The importance of filling in your sand holes at the beach

Building sandcastles and digging holes at the beach can be fun. I did it as a kid, and now watch my children do it at the same beaches I grew up on. However, leaving behind those sandcastles or holes can have a negative affect on our sea turtles.

“From a sea turtle perspective, I can tell you that a really great piece of advice that our Okaloosa County Coastal Resource Team shared is that when we have those holes or we have a sandcastle, it can prevent the Mom sea turtles from laying their eggs, or they can become disoriented,” said April Sarver, Public Information Officer for Okaloosa.

• Sea turtle nesting season starts May 1st.

There is also a safety aspect too.

“At night, residents and visitors will be out there looking for ghost crabs and things of that nature,” added Catherine Card, Public Information Manager with Destin. “When you’ve got big holes out there, that can cause some problems with people falling into them because they’re not seeing it.”

Card says that something we can all easily do is leave the beach better than we found it.

“Take the initiative, fill in the holes, because it’s helpful to human beings, as well as our sea turtles,” she said.

To learn more about the Leave No Trace campaign, click here or here.

ROAD WORK

Median “beautification” project underway in Destin, from Marler Bridge to Airport Road

On March 31st, the Florida Department of Transportation’s contractor began the Median Beautification/Improvement Project on on Highway 98 in Destin.

• The beautification will take place from the Marler Bridge to Airport Road.
• The initial phase of the project will include the removal of selected plant material and groundcover, the installation of a new irrigation system, and groundwork. 

“This beautification project has been fully funded by FDOT at $1.4 million,” said Michael Burgess, Public Works Director for the city of Destin. “It is estimated to take about 180 days.”

This new project will involve: 

• Removing the ground-cover
• Removing the shrubs 
• Removing the turf
• Replanting with FDOT compliant ground-cover 
• Adding Zoysia sod
• And installing a new irrigation system

The corridor will display approximately 34 new Southern Live Oaks along with 24 Yaupon hollies, pavers, and small plants such as:

• Liriope
• Loropetalum
• Dwarf Buford holly
• and others.

The new design will provide a colorful native palette to include:

• Azaleas 
• Confederate jasmine 
• And Adam’s needles. 

Burgess says that this improvement project is just phase one, with more to come.

“We’ll have the entire city limits of Destin undergo a beautification over the next year,” said Burgess. “With phase two stretching all the way to the county line.” 

Burgess emphasizes that, “it’s imperative to focus on driver safety as well as the safety of the workers that are out there.” 

“Please use an abundance of caution while driving,” he says. “There will be workers and equipment out there for the next several weeks.”