IN THE NEWS

Local golf club recognized in Golf Inc. magazine

Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club was recognized in the Renovation of the Year competition in Golf Inc. Magazine’s July issue.

• This publication is for golf course developers and operators worldwide and their Renovation of the Year competition seeks to identify the best-renovated golf venues each year. 

Golf Inc.’s judges chose the winners for the Renovation of the Year competition through a blind judging process, where they reviewed comprehensive packages without logos or names to avoid bias.

Winners were selected based on how well the project realized the vision of the development team, as well as course aesthetics, environmental and economic sustainability, among other factors.

• In the private course category, five winners were chosen.
• Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club was named among those five as an honorable mention. 

The recognition highlighted Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club’s $3.8 million course renovation, completed in October 2021. Throughout the course of this project, several mechanical needs of the golf course were addressed, including new greens, bunkers, tees, and drainage. Since the original course was narrow and overgrown, many improvements were made to the aesthetic elements of the property. 

“The golf course epitomizes my belief that golf should basically be an ebb and flow between challenging holes and opportunities to score,” said architect Bill Bergin. 

The renovation aimed to work with the natural terrain and landscape by creating dunes with appropriate vegetation. Maintainability was a key focus of this renovation and even adjusted the cart path to reduce turf damage. 

• “The goals of the renovation and the bottom line far exceeded what anyone could have dreamed possible for Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club,” said General Manager, Michael Bickett. “From person to person, we had hopes that the renovations would be a milestone renovation for the club for future generations of our club.”

Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club’s new design provides a challenge for the most skilled golfers, but is also approachable for the recreational player. The new design added about an acre to the current greens complexes, which made room for more holes and a more dispersed traffic pattern. 

Not only did this renovation address the course’s operational needs, it addressed the desire to bring the course up to USGA standards, make it environmentally friendly, and a course that everyone would talk about. The course has improved in all areas and now has a waitlist for the next 2-3 years.

EVENT

Hammers and Hotrods Car Show this weekend!

On Saturday, August 27, 2022 at the Okaloosa Technical College in Fort Walton Beach, the Building Industry Association will host the first annual Hammers and Hotrods Car Show.

• 8 a.m. Registration for Car Entries
• 10 a.m Open to Public

This new event was designed to raise money for the Building Industry Association of Okaloosa & Walton County and to help fund their construction scholarship program for local students entering into trade school.

“We wanted to think outside of the box and bring something different to the area,” said Jason Carducci, BIA President. “That’s why we are hosting it at Okaloosa Technical College next-door to the BIA because this is where the students will attend school.”

The event is FREE to the public and there is a $35 car registration fee the day of.

The show already has cars lined up such as:

• 1966 Chevelle Convertible
• 1971 Pontiac GTO
• 1941 Oldsmobile
• 1929 Ford Street Rod

“There will be huge variety of cars, from old to new, and special interest such as exotic” added Carducci. “There’s 14 categories and we have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards for each category.”

Okaloosa Technical College is located at 1976 Lewis Turner Blvd, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547

OKALOOSA GAS

Relighting the eternal flame in Fort Walton Beach

This is a really good story and one that I’m happy to say I witnessed from the very beginning. I was at a FWB Chamber meeting when Representative Patt Maney expressed his desire to see the eternal flame relit at City Hall and Okaloosa Gas immediately took on the challenge!

On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, a large group gathered at City Hall in Fort Walton Beach to witness the relighting of the Eternal Flame monument.

The monument was originally erected in Fort Walton Beach on November 11, 1973. It is dedicated to the veterans of all wars of the United States and was donated by the Rogers-Hinson American Legion Auxiliary Unit 235.

• The flame has been out for a number of years.

City Manager Michael Beedie introduced Rep. Patt Maney, who was instrumental in getting this eternal flame fixed.

“When I moved to Okaloosa county, this flame was burning and I was so impressed that this community honored its veterans and honored the deceased veterans by having an eternal flame,” said Rep. Maney. “I noticed a bit ago that the flame had gone out and it troubled me, and I wanted to see about how to get it re-lit.”

Representative Maney originally made his request during a meeting at The Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce. Okaloosa Gas District’s Gordon King was in attendance at this meeting and immediately offered to help.

“The FWB Chamber is an organization that gets things done and so we volunteered as our organization to make it happen,” said King. “We’re happy to have it back in an operating order today to honor those veterans past, present and future.”

• King went on to thank his staff at Okaloosa Gas for making it all come to life. From the fabrication shop, to the welders, to their technicians, this was a project they undertook and got completed.

Not only did Okaloosa Gas fix and relight the eternal flame in Fort Walton Beach, but they also fixed the one in Crestview too.

“This is so important to me and to those who come behind us, to show that we have not forgotten,” added Maney. “And so a huge thank you to Okaloosa Gas.”

“This is a momentous day because it’s a day we can honor our veterans,” added Fort Walton Beach Mayor Dick Rynearson. “All the veterans that went before us, who gave up their lives, and all of our living veterans as well. This flame is for each and every one of you.”

Click here to watch the video recap

COASTAL RESOURCES

62-foot tugboat deployed as new artificial reef off Destin-Fort Walton Beach coast

On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, Okaloosa County deployed a 62-foot tugboat named MISS NELLIE off the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach.

• MISS NELLIE sits in 112 feet of water approximately 21 nautical miles southeast of the Destin East Pass

MISS NELLIE was built in 1982 and donated to the county in the Spring of 2022 from Inland Construction and Engineering in Panama City, Florida, according to Mike Norberg, Okaloosa Coastal Resource Coordinator. 

• Inland Construction and Engineering wanted the decommissioned vessel to be deployed as an artificial reef.

“The artificial reefs create habitat for fish and it provides really great diving and fishing opportunities for tourists and locals in the area,” he said.

As with every artificial reef deployed by the county, vessels like MISS NELLIE undergo a cleaning process that removes anything that is non-metal from the structure. 

• Once the vessel has been cleaned, it can then be deployed within the county’s permitted site.

The tugboat did land right side up which Norberg says “is always a great thing!” Reef Smart Guides was also on scene to collect the data necessary to create another 3D model and reef card.

“It’s in great condition and I think it will be a really great wreck for everybody,” he said. 

As for more artificial reefs, Norberg added that the Coastal Resource Team does have several boats in various stages of preparation.

MISS NELLIE is located at 30° 07.916’ N, 86° 17.512’ W