Nearly two years after breaking ground, Okaloosa County will open its new UF/IFAS Extension facility in Fort Walton Beach, named for the horticulture agent whose career defined it.
- A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Sheila Dunning Extension Building is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, at 8:30 a.m. at 1954 Lewis Turner Blvd., in front of the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Rigdon Center, formerly the NWF Fairgrounds. The public is invited to attend and tour the facility after the ceremony.
The new 3,000-square-foot building replaces a storm-damaged structure in south Okaloosa County and will house the county’s University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension programs. Services and programming will cover agriculture, coastal sciences, commercial horticulture, family and consumer sciences, residential horticulture, and 4-H youth development.
Residents can also access soil testing, free tax preparation, plant clinics, lawn care assistance, water quality help, and 4-H clubs.
“We could not have completed this project without the continued support of my fellow Commissioners, the Florida Legislature’s generous appropriation and County staff who made this vision possible,” said Board Chairman Trey Goodwin.
Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel, who first sought funding for a replacement facility when she served as board chair in 2017 — after Hurricane Sally damaged the previous building — said the new space will expand what the county can offer the south end of the county.
- “Agriculture has always been a passion of mine and I have worked with the team at the Extension service for many years,” Ketchel said. “This will greatly enhance services offered to the south end of the county. I am grateful to be part of the effort to unveil this new facility that will mean so much to our community.”
The building is named for Sheila Dunning, who served as the county’s commercial horticulture Extension agent for 23 years before her death in 2025. Commissioners voted unanimously in April 2025 to name the facility in her honor. Dunning was promoted to Extension Agent IV — the highest faculty rank in the Extension system — in 2023.
Born in rural Wisconsin, Dunning moved to Florida in 1976 and built a 22-year career in the nursery industry before joining UF/IFAS. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Horticulture and a master’s in Agricultural Education and Communication from the University of Florida, and was pursuing a Doctor of Plant Medicine degree at the time of her death. In 2024, she received the Conservation Award from the Choctawhatchee Bay Daughters of the American Revolution.
For more information about Okaloosa County’s Extension Office, visit sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/okaloosa.
