View This Issue - Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce

AROUND TOWN
Updates on Community, Education, Workforce, Governmental Affairs & Military
Sales, who did a great job and also got to watch
Mark Sokoloski, manager of the Gateway Inns
and Suites visitor quarters at NSA PC, was
recently named “manager of the year” among all
Navy lodging professionals. Mark’s leadership
has resulted in our visitor’s accommodations
having the longest winning streak of 5-star ratings
of any Navy base in the country…just one more
reason I have the best job in the Navy!
FSU-Panama City Has Just
Completed Its 25th Year as
Branch Campus
Dr. George DePuy, FSU-PC Dean
We began 2007 with the groundbreaking
ceremony for the new Holley
Academic Center Building on January
17th. A naming gift of $1 million
was made for this building by Russell
C. Holley in honor of his parents. On
March 21st, the new Administrative
Services Center Building on our
campus was dedicated.
In May, Congressman Allen Boyd
announced that an agreement in
principal had been reached for the Air
Force to give 40 acres of waterfront
property to FSU in Lynn Haven.
This will serve as the cornerstone of
a research park to be developed there.
Legislation to make this possible is
winding its way through Congress.
In the fall, it was announced that the FSU Circus
will be performing next summer in Panama City
Beach. The circus should serve as a major tourist
attraction for the region.
Our final event for 2007 was the fall convocation
where we recognized the 142 people who completed
their degree requirements in the fall semester.
Between 350 and 400 people earn bachelors or
masters degrees from our campus each year.
Our first big event of 2008 will be our annual golf
tournament with celebrity golfer Bobby Bowden.
This year’s tournament will held at Hombre Golf
Club on March 7th.
The major event of 2008 will be the opening
of the new Holley Academic Center in the fall.
This building will greatly expand the capacity of
our campus and it is much anticipated.
24 The Circuit January/February 2008
Community Update
Mayor Gayle Oberst,
City of Panama City Beach
The City recently held a workshop conducted by
HHI, a design/planning firm headquartered in Orlando,
to consider building heights, shadows, and
setback requirements for the Front Beach Road.
This presentation combined with other recent
workshops led the council to solicit a request for
proposals for modifications to the proposed land
development regulations. Concerns about tourist/
The new Academic Building at FSU-PC, broke ground in early 2007
commercial businesses located adjacent to residential
areas and the need to conform to codes that
lend themselves to a walking/pedestrian friendly
community require that changes be made.
Frank Brown Park offers opportunities for remembering
and honoring individuals in our
community. Recently a marble bench was placed
near the soccer fields and dedicated to Captain
English and his family, several trees have been
planted in memory of loved ones, and other
benches situated at the trail head and on the trails.
Parks and Recreation personnel will be happy to
assist in arranging for this.
Churchwell Drive is nearing completion with the
contractor ahead of schedule. The tree lined street
will have sidewalks, bike paths, underground
utilities, and additional lanes. A parking lot with
over 125 parking spaces is located on the south
end of the street and restrooms will be added to
that area. The work on Beckrich is progressing
and while it is a heavily traveled street, the contractor
is keeping the traffic flowing. Once it is
completed (about 18 months) it will be worth the
wait and inconveniencies.
All of us are eagerly awaiting the grand opening
festivities at Pier Park. Simon Properties is planning
several weeks of exciting events as other
stores/shops begin to open. The City Pier and the
buildings on the south side of Front Beach Road
are being torn down and a new pier has been designed,
engineered and permitted. The City and
Bay County shared plans for piers and
once they are completed we will be the
only twin piers on the Gulf.
Gulf Coast Workforce
Board Launches
“Next Step”
Kimberly Bodine, Executive Director
Gulf Coast Workforce Board
The Gulf Coast Workforce Board and it
partners are launching a new program
called “Next Step” to provide free training
for approximately 200 employed
workers.
The program is made possible by Workforce
Florida’s Workplace Investment
Now (WIN) grant, an award the GCWB
recently received. In general, the free
training will be short term and result in
credentials such as a certificate of completion or
industry recognized certification.
Kim Bodine, Executive Director of the GCWB,
said, “Next Step is designed to enhance the skills
of our most vulnerable workers - workers who
need specific skills to improve their earnings.
This includes single parent employees who
struggle to support their families, disabled workers,
or workers who have other issues in their
lives that keep them in the ‘working poor’ (200%
of poverty level) income range. In some cases,
we have two-parent working families with a lot
of children who just can’t work their way out of
that ‘working poor’ category.”
In order to qualify for the training, workers must
1) be currently employed; 2) have a child under
the age of 18 in the home or be pregnant; 3) live
in Bay, Gulf or Franklin Counties; and 4) have a
low annual income (certain thresholds apply):