View This Issue - Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce

SECOND GENERATIONS: Making A Difference
The Hiltons: Julie, Ava Symone Katherine, Lela
and Charlie.
Yonnie Patronis has been a resident of this
community for 43 years. Family includes wife
Lea of 17 years and daughters Maria, Anna
and Alexa. He attended Gulf Coast Community
College and Florida State University.
Yonnie is co-owner of Capt. Anderson’s
Restaurant.
Yonnie believes a leader is one
who can listen as well as lead. He
feels our three biggest resources needed for
this community to embrace growth and move
into the future are a new airport, our beaches,
and maintaining a positive atmosphere. Yonnie
most importantly learned from his parents,
“Keep a good, positive name…once you lose
it, you won’t get it back.”
The Hilton Family
Four generations and forty years ago,
Katherine Boatwright inspired
her daughter Lela and son-in-law
Charles to join with her in building
a 51-unit motel called the Baron-Hilton Inn,
which was the beginning of the Hilton Family’s
businesses on Panama City Beach. With
Charles heading development and Lela leading
management, along with Katherine and the
Hilton’s children Julie and Chip, the Hilton’s
hotel properties (Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort,
Days Inn Beach, Best Westerns Casa Loma
and Del Coronado, Ramada Inn Beach, and
Holiday Inn Select) have won over 125 service
and quality awards locally, regionally, statewide,
nationally and internationally.
The Hiltons expanded their business and
formed several companies with the help
of dedicated team members and partners.
These include: development of 10 motel/
hotel properties in the Panhandle, 18-hole
18 The Circuit January/February 2008
and executive golf courses, residential communities,
condominiums, competitive cable
company, beachwear store, sporting clays
facility, automobile dealership, marine engines
business, and timber business, road building
and construction companies. The Hiltons have
also formed law firms, a self-insurance company,
a family foundation, and a bank holding
company, and a small business investment
company that funded a number of hotels and
other businesses in Panama City Beach/Bay
County. Additionally, the family has operated
about 50 area businesses.
Serving on numerous community, state and
international Boards, the Hilton Family’s
extensive community volunteer efforts include
working tirelessly and contributing many
dollars of personal funds for 25 years to save
Panama City’s beaches with beach renourishment,
creating and developing the plan for the
Dan Russell Pier, creating and carrying out the
plan to obtain the land for Frank Brown Park,
mediating the public/private partnership for
Pier Park, and starting the first public/private
partnership to landscape public areas.
The Hilton family believes keys to the community’s
future growth are leadership that supports
individual freedom, less taxes, individual
responsibility, community focus on friendliness,
landscape beautification and developing
the Front Beach Road CRA, and a regional
international airport.
Julie’s lessons of success from her parents include
persistence, patience, commitment, hard
work, doing your best, learning from mistakes,
getting up before the “count of nine,” listening,
and standing up for what you believe in, no
matter what.
The Gheesling Family
In March of 1957 John and Rose Gheesling
bought the Bikini Beach Motel on
the north side of Highway 98. This motel
originally had six rooms; the family lived
in one of the units, as well as used it for an
office. Over the next 20 years the Gheeslings
enlarged the property to hold 36 units and a
swimming pool. In 1980 they purchased the
old Hilton Gulf, and operated both motels for
one year before selling the Bikini and concentrating
on what is now the Bikini Beach Resort.
John III and Ann Henry became formal
partners in 1992 even though they had worked
together as a family during their childhood.
The Gheeslings: (front row): Rose and John;
(back row): Ann Henry and John III.
In 1998 John, Ann and their parents bought the
Trade Winds Motel for a total of 202 rooms.
After four years, John and Ann bought the
business from their parents, sold the Trade
Winds, and now operate the Bikini Beach
Resort with 84 rooms, a game room, pool bar,
and swimming pool.
John Gheesling has been in the community for
56 years. Family includes wife Deborah of
24 years and son Bryan. John attended Jinks
Jr. High, Gulf Coast Community College,
University of Southern Mississippi, and is a
graduate of Florida State University. John
has managed two motels and been proactive
in civic and political ideas for the area. He is
most proud of leading the resistance to oneway
Front Beach Road.
The Griffitts: Matthew, Philip, Jerrilyn and Philip Jr.
“A leader should be intelligent,
aggressive but patient,” John
states. He believes three resources this
community needs to embrace growth and
move into the future include an effective
highway system, a new international airport
and eye appeal. John‘s father taught him a
great work ethic, along with compassion and
patience from his mother.