View This Issue - Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce

Around Town Updates on Community, Education, Workforce & Government
Community Update
Mayor Gayle F. Oberst
City of Panama City Beach
While most of the
nation is struggling
to recover, Panama
City Beach is seeing
some movement in
commercial development.
Target is
undergoing a renovation
and now will
include a grocery
section/store, Mc-
Donald’s on Front Beach Road had a grand
reopening after extensive renovation, and
Burger King on Panama City Beach Parkway
is in the process of remodeling.
The Wicked Wheel, Hardees and Matty’s
Irish Pub are opening in the spring. The
Wicked Wheel is owned by the Buskells and
the décor features antique cars and motorcycles.
It is located on Hutchison Blvd. The
Pub is at the west junction of Front and Middle
Beach Roads. The new medical facility
located in Breakfast Point is open. Dr. Jon
Ward hosted a ground breaking for his new
dermatology clinic off Clara and Back Beach
Road. Planning to break ground during the
spring are Harley Davidson Motorcycles,
Pier Park North Mall, Wal-Mart Super Center,
Whataburger, and Express Oil.
The City is moving forward with building
a new stage, restrooms, and parking/soccer
fields at Aaron Bessant Park. The renovations
are being financed by the Tourist Development
Council. New policies for using
the park are being put in place so the number
attending, noise levels, time and number of
usage can better be controlled.
Staff and officials have been working with
the West Florida Planning Council and Department
of Transportation (DOT) and have
gotten the six-laning of Back Beach Road
moved up in priorities. Once installed along
PCB Parkway, a high speed technology
system will increase the traffic efficiency
approximately 20-25%. The turn lane onto
South Nautilus will be extended to the Surfside
school driveway and assist in eliminating
stacking problems. DOT is planning to
install sidewalks on the north and south side
of Back Beach Road from Frank Brown Park
to Alf Coleman.
Hiring Florida’s Heroes
Kim Bodine, Executive Director
Gulf Coast Workforce Board
With approximately
17 percent of returning
soldiers and
airmen looking for
work, the Gulf Coast
Workforce Board
along with workforce
leaders across
the state are encouraging
employers to
strongly consider
hiring veterans for their open positions.
“Today’s veterans bring unique skills and
experience to the civilian workforce. Their
advanced training and ability to adapt to new
circumstances make them excellent employees,”
said Kim Bodine, Executive Director
for the Gulf Coast Workforce Board.
Recently, Governor Rick Scott joined business
leaders and veteran organizations to
launch Hiring Florida’s Heroes, a yearlong
campaign aimed at promoting the availability
of these returning veterans to Florida’s
employers and connecting employers with a
variety of resources to assist in the hiring process.
One of those resources is the new Employ
Florida Marketplace hotline for employers
interested in hiring veterans. Through the
hotline employers can connect with a local
workforce specialist that can assist employers
by posting job listings, assembling lists
of qualified candidates and answering questions
about available training options among
other services.
For more information, please visit veterans.employflorida.com
or call the Employ
Florida Marketplace hotline toll-free at (866)
352-2345.
FSU PC 30 th Anniversary
Dr. Ken Shaw, Dean
FSU Panama City
At FSU Panama
City we begin
2012 with a special
reason to celebrate.
This year we mark
the 30th anniversary
of FSU Panama
City. This anniversary
provides us
with the opportunity
to reflect upon
our history and the tremendous support
that has been given to our campus from
our community. It is also the perfect time
to plan for the future to ensure that FSU
Panama City is a campus that continues to
excel in meeting the unique educational
needs of our community by providing affordable,
high quality education for future
generations of students.
In 1982, FSU Panama City was established
with five faculty members, six administrative
staff and approximately 560 students.
To meet the anticipated higher education
needs of our community, the Bay County
Commission in 1975, 1981 and 1987 donated
a total of 25 acres of prime waterfront
property that has been developed
into a place where now over 1,200 students
come each week in pursuit of their
higher education and career goals. On behalf
of our graduates and current students,
we thank these past members of the Bay
County Commission for their leadership
and foresight. We also thank the thousands
of businesses, individuals and organizations
who have so generously supported
our campus and the students we serve for
the past three decades.
One of the most important things to celebrate
during this special year is that since
1982 FSU Panama City has granted degrees
to nearly 6,000 alumni. Approximately
75% of these alumni are living and
working in the communities of Northwest
54 THE CIRCUIT March/April 2012