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Good morning! Thank you all for the many replies yesterday! I heard great things about the newsletter template and am thrilled that there were no major issues.

Ok, let’s get to it!

Big week for Captain Leonard Destin Park

It’s finally happening…officially!

The Mayor, City Council, staff, and special guests will host a ribbon cutting and grand opening of Destin’s newest park, Captain Leonard Destin, on Thursday, May 13th, 2021, at 10 a.m.

Named after the original founder of the City of Destin who came from New London, Connecticut, in the mid-1800s to establish a fishing village along the Florida Gulf Coast, the park is located on the same plot of land as the original homestead of its namesake.

“The allure of East Pass that brought Leonard Destin here almost 200 years ago still exists today, it’s why each of us have chosen Destin to be our home. Six generations after Leonard built his homestead here, I’m beyond privileged to be a part of the City’s efforts to preserve a part of our shared heritage and identity in perpetuity,” stated former Councilman Parker Destin.

The park includes an accessible beach area, boardwalk, playground, bathrooms, a splash pad, pavilions, dock, and paddle board/kayak launch. The park is also home to a heron rookery along with educational signage highlighting over 150 years of history and natural features of the park.

The park is located at 101 Calhoun Avenue and members of the community are invited to attend and follow social distancing guidelines.

SPONSORED

Wherever the road leads, Eglin Federal Credit Union can help you get there!

Current auto rates are as low as 2.99% APR for up to 66 months on new or used vehicles (some restrictions apply).

Click here to learn more!

Parlor Doughnuts opens in Miramar Beach

Building on the success they’ve found in Fort Walton Beach, Parlor Doughnuts has opened another location.

Their newest location at The Market Shops will offer plenty of grab and go options including doughnuts, organic cookies, fresh brewed coffee, breakfast sandwiches and acai bowls for customers to enjoy on the run or outside within the shopping center courtyard. 

Parlor Doughnuts was originally founded in 2018 in Evansville, Ind. by Darrick Hayden. Hayden’s close friend, Ryan Ford, joined him in business after offering help during a busy morning rush at the Evansville location. The following year, Ford and his wife moved to Florida in the hopes of opening another location along the Emerald Coast.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 halted their original timeline requiring them to make alternative plans for the new location. Ford opened the Fort Walton Beach, Fla. location in 2020 and knew he wanted to open another location soon after. He began looking throughout Destin and Miramar Beach for the perfect spot and chose The Market Shops for its convenience and accessibility to their customers.

Parlor Doughnuts sets themselves apart from other doughnut shops with their special dough. While traditional doughnuts are made with either yeast dough or cake, they offer layered doughnuts, made with layers of dough and butter one on top of the other to make a crunchy and flaky exterior with layers of fluffy dough on the inside.

They offer 22 flavors of doughnuts along with keto, vegan, and gluten free options as well as dog doughnuts, batch brew coffee, cold brew coffee, iced lattes and a variety of cold drinks.

“We are excited to be in the heart and center of Miramar Beach,” said Ryan Ford, general manager of Parlor Doughnuts. “The family friendly environment, along with the convenience to our customers helped us choose The Market Shops as our next storefront location along the Emerald Coast. We are all about community and the idea of being able to serve the people in our backyard was a major plus for us.”

Southwest Airlines comes to Destin-Fort Walton Beach

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: Last week, the inaugural flights from Southwest Airlines made their way to Destin – Fort Walton Beach Airport. We talked with Director Jennifer Adams (TDD), Tracy Stage (VPS), Bill Tierney (Southwest), and Corbette Jackson!

Watch the video above!

Walton county fires tourism director

On Tuesday afternoon, Walton County Tourism Director Jay Tusa stood before the Walton Board of County Commissioners as they discussed his termination.

With a 3-2 vote led by Commissioner Mike Barker and supported by Commissioner William “Boots” McCormick & Commissioner Danny Glidewell, Tusa’s term as TDC Executive Director was over.

Listening to the meeting, it’s not exactly clear as to why Tusa was fired. In his comments leading up to the vote, Barker said that it had proven difficult to setup a meeting recently with Tusa and the TDC staff. One meeting that he brought up centered around a new tourism app geared toward beaching vending.

The other not-so-clear discussion was on TDC spending and how much of the revenue the TDC can spend to promote the county.

According to the Walton Sun, this “became an issue early in this year’s tourist season as the commission moved to find ways — and money — to boost beach safety as visitors were being heedless of the beach flag warnings designed to keep them out of dangerous surf conditions.”

No official statement yet from Walton County, but they are supposed to issue something