GIVING BACK

150 new beds for children in need in Walton County

A Bed 4 Me Foundation has been awarded a grant from The St. Joe Community Foundation, Inc. that will fund 150 new beds for children in need within Walton County. The grant was approved by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.  

“We are thankful for the mission of “A Bed 4 Me”, they are meeting a community need that supports healthcare and education”, said April Wilkes, Executive Director of The St. Joe Community Foundation. “Proper rest is truly essential for the physical development and mental health of our growing children.” 

A Bed 4 Me is now serving families in Walton County while continuing to serve in Okaloosa. The organization serves children ages two to 18 from low to middle income families.

• After a referral and introductory visit are completed, a new bed to include a twin bed frame, mattress, sheet set, comforter and pillow are provided to each child.
• A Bed 4 Me serves children who do not have beds due to economic struggles and lack of financial resources as well as displaced families starting over due to domestic issues.  

A Bed 4 Me is hosting a social and wine pull for anyone interested in the mission. The social will be held Thursday, September 29, 2022 at the Hammock Bay Lake Club, 1850 Great Hammock Bend, Freeport, Fl, 32439.

• Drop in anytime between 6:00 and 8:00pm. Refreshments will be available.  

“A Bed 4 Me is excited to be serving the families in Walton County and providing beds to children that do not have adequate sleep space,” said A Bed 4 Me Executive Director, Diane Freeman. “Expanding into Walton County has always been one of our goals. Thanks to a few great community partners, including St. Joe Community Foundation, that dream is now a reality. We can’t wait to help our neighbors and get more children into a bed of their own.”

GIVING BACK

Okaloosa Public Arts donates $14,000 to support art programs across seven high schools

On August 22, 2022, Okaloosa Public Arts presented the Okaloosa County School District with a $14,000 check to support the art programs across the county. The schools include:

• Baker School
• Choctawhatchee High School
• Crestview High School
• Destin High School
• Fort Walton Beach High School
• Laurel Hill School
• Niceville High School

This is the 3rd year that OPA has supported arts programs in schools financially, bringing the total to nearly $40,000 donated.

“Every year, the Okaloosa Public Arts organization supports our schools and when you start thinking about $14,000 going across our 7 high schools, that’s a big deal,” said Superintendent Marcus Chambers. 

• Each school will receive $2,000 for their arts programs.

“Today, there are some who might think that the arts is left out but I think this is a prime example of how it’s not, and how it is very much a focus in our school district,” said Chambers. “I just appreciate the Okaloosa Public Arts organization for all that you do.” 

“We are so proud of the Okaloosa County School System, especially the art students,” said Bernadette Sims, Okaloosa Public Arts president. “I’ve always felt like athletics, as great as they are, always get recognized. Sometimes the arts don’t get as recognized as the athletics do so we wanted to be sure that they were recognized.”

Sims added that while it’s her understanding that the arts teachers have put their current budget to good use, this is their way of continuing to support the programs’ needs. 

Fort Walton Beach High School Principal John Spolski spoke to the board after the check presentation and praised the organization. 

• “I just want to say to the board, thank you for your support of the Art Foundation,” said Spolski. “If you drive down Eglin Parkway, all of the schools have artwork hanging there. It’s not only because of our art teachers, our instructors, our Superintendent, and our board members, but it’s also because of associations like OPA.”

COMING SOON

Step One Automotive’s new ‘Center of Excellence’ to bring high-paying jobs to Fort Walton Beach

Step One Automotive Group is building a new Center of Excellence facility located inside the Fort Walton Beach Commerce & Technology Park at 97 Hill Avenue.

The Center of Excellence will be a used car reconditioning center, where Step One’s used cars will first get oil changes, brake work, etc. The cars will then go through the onsite, state-of-the-art, bright white detail facility.  The cars will then be photographed in their new 360-degree photo booth that takes high-resolution photos of the inside and the outside of the car.

• In addition to that, on the backside of the shop is a heavy-duty truck bay where there will be five commercial truck bays.
• They will also have window tinting and spray-in bed liner bays.

“I’m very entrenched in the Okaloosa Technical College,” explains Shon Kingrey, Director of Fixed Operations at Step One Automotive Group.  “We’re working with the technical college’s repair facility instructors to take the students two times every other week and bring them to our facility where they can work side-by-side with my mainline techs to work on used and new cars.”

Kingrey works closely with Automotive Instructor Donald Bates to recruit students from the very beginning of the program. 

• “I’m there two nights a week at the college, and I talk about the business,” added Kingrey.  “We’re going to bring the students to the Center of Excellence when we open up.  The relationship with OTC to recruiting techs is everything to us.”

Step One Automotive does a two-year program with the college. Once the student graduates from the two-year OTC program, they work part-time for Step One for two years.  During that period, Step One will purchase $8,000 worth of tools for them. At the end of the two-year period, they work two more years full-time, and the tools are now theirs. 

“They get the $8,000 worth of tools at no risk and now they’ve got seniority,” said Kingrey. “It works out perfectly and we have had zero failure with the college. We haven’t lost a single student.”

• Automotive Technicians routinely earn six figure salaries once fully trained at Step One. 

A new level of efficiency

The Center of Excellence will bring a new level of efficiency to getting cars on the market, called days-to-market.

Days to market is how long it takes from when the car is purchased to when it is frontline ready, that is, ready to sell, according to Kingrey. This includes a vehicle being detailed, safety inspected, pictures taken, and is ready to sell.

“We used to be 10-11 days, now we’re down to 3-5 days for days-to-market,” said Kingrey. “When the Center of Excellence opens, it will be 2-3 days. This is significant with the current car market with no cars out there to purchase. For the sales department, it’s the difference between making money or not making money on a car.”

Completion of the Center of Excellence is estimated to be done by late fall/early winter 2022. Currently, the concrete has been poured and the trenches are cut. Step One will then begin building offices for classroom training, locker rooms, and the parts department. 

The Center of Excellence is a non-customer facing facility, meaning there aren’t going to be customers there. Its function is strictly to expand Step One’s ability to provide used cars to the market. 

• “It is 100% employee-focused with everything state of the art,” said Kingrey. “It’s all bright white inside, with brand new LED lights and large fans.

Once this is built, Step One will copy the facility design and implement the concept in their Savannah, GA. stores and then in their Pensacola stores.

“The Automotive Center of Excellence will greatly expand our service capacity, allowing us to shorten wait times, making it more convenient for customers to get their vehicles repaired,” explains Maureen Bierman, Marketing Director at Step One Automotive. “It will also bring new high-paying jobs to the area which is always a benefit to the community.”

THE WEEKENDER

A few things to do around town

August 24, 2022 – Job Fair At The Niceville Community Center – View

August 24, 2022 – C.A.R.E.ing for Turtles – $10 – View

August 24, 2022 – Cyber Safety Class for Parents & Students Hosted By Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office – View

August 24, 2022 – Trivia Night in Fort Walton Beach – View

August 25, 2022 – Solar Flare – A Quilt Workshop – $46 – View

August 26, 2022 – Super Sew Day – Free – View

August 26, 2022 – Pallet Bar and Grill: Friday Night Concerts In The Backyard – View

August 27, 2022 – ANNUAL OKALOOSA ISLAND PIER CLEAN UP DIVE – View

August 27, 2022 – Farmers Market @ FWB Landing – View

August 27, 2022 – Slacker Olympics At The Boathouse Oyster Bar – View

August 27, 2022 – Book Release and Signing: Eliza Scalia! – Free – View

August 27, 2022 – Ocean Acacia Charcuterie Board Workshop – $140 – View

August 27, 2022 – 36th Annual Take a Kid Fishing Day Auction – View

Looking ahead

August 29, 2022 – Embroidery Demo Day – FREE – View

August 31, 2022 – C.A.R.E.ing for Turtles – $10 – View

August 31, 2022 – Trivia Night in Fort Walton Beach – View

September 2, 2022 – Sip N’ Stroll Gallery Night at J.Leon Gallery – View

September 3, 2022 – Step One Automotive Hosts the Saving with Soul Adoption Event – Free – View

September 3, 2022 – Beth McCurdy POP-UP SHOP! – View

September 3, 2022 – Downtown FWB Art Walk sponsored by Artesano Boutique! – – View

ELECTION RESULTS

Incumbents sweep Okaloosa County on election night

Okaloosa incumbents dominated during Tuesday night’s primary election.

District 2 Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel faced off against challengers Matt Turpin and CareySue Beasley. In the end, Ketchel secured the victory with 48% of the votes.

• Ketchel – 18,810
• Turpin – 14,127
• Beasley – 6,220

All of the Okaloosa School Board incumbents claimed a win in the District 1, 3 & 5 races. These were probably the most anticipated races in this year’s Primary for Okaloosa County.

District 1:

• Linda Evanchyk – 23,823
• Darrel Barnhill – 14,814

District 3:

• Dr. Lamar White – 20,187
• Jerry Buckman – 18,580

District 5:

• Dr. Diane Kelley – 25,280
• Cara Marion – 13,220

Other wins across the area include Congressman Matt Gaetz with nearly 70% of the votes, Doug Broxson, Jay Trumbull, and Joel Rudman.