POLITICS

Jeff Peters named interim City Manager for Fort Walton Beach

During last night’s Fort Walton Beach City Council meeting, Parks & Recreation Director Jeff Peters was appointed as interim city manager by the council.

• You’ll remember from last week that current City Manager Michael Beedie officially tendered his resignation as he has decided to accept another job opportunity in the private sector.

Beedie was required to provide a minimum of 60 days’ advance notice for a voluntary resignation, however, he requested a shorter notice period of 30 days. This was approved by council last night and Beedie recommended moving forward with appointing an interim city manager.

Councilman Nathan Kelley said he spoke with Peters, Public Works Director Daniel Payne and Fort Walton Beach Police Chief Robert Bage about taking on the role. Kelly stated that while all 3 are willing to step up, only Peters showed interest in making it a full-time thing.

• With that, Kelley made a motion to appoint Peters as the interim with a second by MG Moran.

“When I came onboard 18 years ago, my goal was the same as it is now: to move the city forward,” said Peters to the council. “To do things in this community that my kids would not only be able to find a job here, but want to find a job here and a want to live here. And I’ve done that every day since I’ve been here over the 18 years.”

Peters, who grew up in Fort Walton Beach, told the council that he will work hard in whatever his role is with the city, but that he’s here for the long haul.

• “I love the employees, I love the community, and I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I live here. I want my kids to live here. I’m proud of the city and what we’ve done in the last 18 years. Thank you for the confidence and we’ll take it day by day and go from here.”

Beedie’s last official day as City Manager will be November 4, 2022. Between now and the next council meeting, the details surrounding Peters’ interim appointment will be worked out and presented to council.

• Initially, Kelley made the motion to appoint Peters as interim for a 6-month period, giving him the option to accept the position full-time, or return to his existing role as Parks & Rec Director.

COASTAL RESOURCES

‘OCEAN INVADERS’: PBS NOVA’s lionfish documentary featuring Okaloosa County premieres Oct. 26

In late 2021, PBS NOVA reached out to Okaloosa’s Coastal Resource Team and expressed an interest in covering the local impacts of lionfish and what’s being done to control them off the Destin-Fort Walton Beach coast.

Filming happened back in March with ocean explorer Danni Washington, that also included three local vessels:

• Sea Cobra, operated by ScubaTech
• Shark Quest
• Vessel #2, operated by Captain Kyle Howard

On the morning of the shoot, the crew planned to dive three artificial reef sites, including the recently deployed BIG DAWG.

The trailer for Ocean Invaders has now been released. The episode will take viewers on a journey to find out how lionfish took over, why they’re doing so much damage, and what can be done about it. 

The episode premieres on Wednesday, October 26 at 9 pm on PBS.

Click here to watch the trailer!

COMING SOON

City of Niceville set to unveil their brand new mural

During a Niceville City Council meeting last November, Amanda Grandy and Councilwoman Cathy Alley announced Janae Erickson as the Niceville mural design winner with an unveiling of the winning artwork. 

• This mural, one of the artists largest art installations to date for the city, is visible from John Sims Parkway at Turkey Creek Park.

The public is invited to an unveiling of the mural as well as a ribbon cutting for the new handicapped accessible launch at Turkey Creek on Monday, October 17 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

The mural design is a graphic representation of Niceville’s history. Anchored by the name “Niceville” in bold yellow lettering, the design is surrounded by a water background with illustrations from left to right depicting a historical timeline. 

• Starting with the 1868 establishment of mail service to Boggy Bayou, a graphic story unfolds telling a tale of community and growth through the years. 

“I am honored to have my artwork displayed in my hometown, and I owe a special thanks to Amanda Grandy for spearheading this project,” said Erickson.

Erickson has lived in Niceville since her father retired from the Air Force in 1997. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2010 and brought her talents home to Niceville where she works as the Art Director for our friends at the Frances Roy Agency. 

• Erickson and her husband, David, live in Niceville where they are raising two sons.

“The intention of this mural was to show off the history of our community while continuing to add to its landscape,” said Amanda Grandy, Mural Project Coordinator. “Trying to capture the spirit of Niceville, a concept which is clearly represented by the mural as the center focus of our town. Janae’s design does exactly this, the mural she created was perfection! It embodies many important historic details of Niceville and will be placed in the center of town for all to enjoy.”

THINGS TO DO

Emerald Coast Con evolves into ‘Really Rad Weekend,’ a celebration of gaming on Okaloosa Island

Really Rad Weekend is the evolution of Emerald Coast Con, the convention that was formed by friends to celebrate their love of gaming, both retro and modern. The core idea has always been the same: have a great time together while providing the community with an event that caters to everyone and gives back to those in need.

• Really Rad Weekend is happening Saturday, November 12 – Sunday, November 13 at The Island Resort at Fort Walton Beach.
• All the proceeds go to Fresh Start for Children and Families in Fort Walton Beach. 

Joe Alonzo, owner of Rad Bar and Rad Junk in Fort Walton Beach, says this year they wanted to make things a little smaller, a little more personal, and a lot more RAD as they celebrate the event’s 5th year! He also changed the name to Really Rad Weekend to be more on brand with his other businesses, RadBar and Rad Junk. 

• RadBar is a $10 all-you-can-play arcade and bar.
• Rad Junk is a game store that carries all kinds of video games.

“We all just get together and it’s a big gaming party,” says Alonzo. “I fly in some YouTubers, we do tournaments for money, and then we give away all the proceeds to a local charity.”

Really Rad Weekend will feature traditional convention components such as panels, special guests, tournaments, a cosplay contest, and a vendor floor. Alonzo says the event will be very much the same as previous years, but with a more rad concept. 

• “We have downsized just a little bit, not so much in space, but more so that it’s a little laid back just because of the state of the world,” he adds.  “We want everybody to have a good time without feeling so constrained to schedules.”

The annual convention started about eight years ago when Alonzo and his friends were hanging out and had the thought of putting on a gaming event here in Okaloosa County.

• The first two years were held at the Destin-FWB Convention Center.
• Alonzo took it over and moved it to The Island Resort to make it a little cooler and more intimate.
• They took a couple years off due to the pandemic and to get Rad Bar open.

In the event’s absence, Alonzo says he has received questions every single day asking when they’re going to do another convention.  Their tournaments were really popular and it’s not every day that you get niche guests in the area for retro gaming or gaming specifically. 

Because he  flies in a lot of YouTubers, he draws in guests from feeder-markets and in their best years they’ve had about 1,000 people in attendance over the weekend. And while it isn’t huge compared to other conventions, that’s a good thing as far as Alonzo is concerned. 

• “Everybody gets some time to play games and hang out, and it’s a much more intimate convention versus being crammed onto a floor where you can’t move,” he added. 

This year, Alonzo expects 30-40 vendors. The vendor floor is smaller, but he says they’ve taken time to  really curate the experience.

“We have a lot of people coming from out of state bringing some games, so there’s a little bit of something for everybody,” he says. “ If there’s something you can’t find at Rad Junk, somebody might have it there.“

Alonzo is excited about their guests, who will be putting on panels throughout the weekend, teaching various things and talking about their craft. Guests include:

• Nintendrew
• Extra Napkins
• Yoshi Vu – Star Wars, Mandalorian
• John Riggs – Rigg’d Games
• The Game Chasers
• Phoenix Resale 
• Riff Stapish 

There will be tournaments to include the $1,000 Smash Brothers Ultimate tournament.  There will also be cash prizes for Street Fighter Four and other games such as Mortal Kombat and Tekken. The event will feature a retro console room which is kind of like a video game museum. 

“I’ve curated a lot of weird stuff throughout the years, a lot of Rad Junk, if you will,” said Alonzo. “People can come in, sit down, play some games, and we’re going to have retro challenges as well.”

Every year cosplay has gotten bigger and bigger at the convention, so this year they’re giving away $1,000 in cash for the winners, plus some prizes. There will be three judges:

• Blue Knight Cosplay, a local here in town who is also an art teacher.
• Red Fox Cosplay
• yupKat, also a local

Really Rad Weekend is an all-day, all-weekend event. A VIP Weekend pass will get you admission all weekend plus early access to the vendor floor, free access to Rad Bar all weekend, a t-shirt, and more. 

• Regular admission passes include Weekend, Saturday, and Sunday.
• Kids 12 and under are free. 

“I know we’ve all been stuck inside and kind of doing our thing,” says Alonzo. “For this year, the biggest thing is everybody just come and have a good time, play some games and, outside of trying to catch your favorite YouTuber’s panel, there’s no pressure. Just come hang out and play some games and have fun.“

Visit reallyradweekend.com to buy tickets, get great hotel rates, register for Cosplay, and register for tournaments.

WINNER WINNER

Fort Walton Beach man wins $1 million prize on Florida Lottery scratch-off

On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the Florida Lottery (Lottery) announced that Andrew Hyche, 47, of Fort Walton Beach, claimed a $1 million prize from the GOLD RUSH LIMITED Scratch-Off game at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. 

• He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $795,000.00.

Hyche purchased his winning ticket from Tom Thumb, located at 1096 Beal Parkway Northwest in Fort Walton Beach. The retailer will receive a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning Scratch-Off ticket.

The $20 Scratch-Off game, GOLD RUSH LIMITED, launched in September 2021 and features 32 top prizes of $5 million and 100 prizes of $1 million! Additionally, this ticket is filled with more than 33,000 prizes of $1,000 to $100,000! The game’s overall odds of winning are 1-in-2.65.