Eglin influences 11 separate and distinct communities in three counties. Eglin is committed to positive base and community relationships that enhance mutually supportive programs and initiatives. A sense of mission and pride is carried throughout the entire organization to surrounding communities.
Eglin families and personnel have discovered the Emerald Coast. It’s balmy summer, delightful spring and fall, and crisp winter months combine to give the area four seasons of enjoyment.
A wide range of activities are available in the area, as well as different shopping areas to visit and points of interest to see.
Fishing is one of the major attractions - bottom, trolling, pier, bridge, surf or fresh-water - whatever the choice. Water activities, such as swimming, sailing, boating, surfing, skiing and diving, or just sunbathing along the shore, are favorite past times.
Numerous golf courses, tennis courts, clubs, marinas, diving centers and other facilities make the Emerald Coast a center for fun, sports and relaxation. From the Indian Temple Mound Museum, to the Gulfarium, Old Schoolhouse, and nearby freshwater canoeing and fishing, it’s all here. In addition, there are many festivals, air shows and other activities available throughout the year.
Area shopping includes downtown Fort Walton Beach’s Miracle Strip Parkway, which offers many fine gift shops, clothing stores, specialty shops and art galleries. Convenient to the beaches, it’s a favorite of tourists and residents alike for browsing and shopping.
The Santa Rosa Mall, on Mary Esther Boulevard, is the largest shopping center in the area and affords convenience with department stores, clothing stores and restaurants. There are also several factory outlets in the immediate area.
Smaller shopping areas can be found along Eglin Parkway, Beal Parkway, Racetrack Road and Mary Esther Boulevard.
The Emerald Coast sparkles as a gem among gems in the heart of Northwest Florida’s panhandle region. Extending about 50 miles east and west of Fort Walton Beach, the Emerald Coast offers unparalleled opportunities for the vacationer and resident alike. This is a place where golfing, fishing, swimming, tennis and dining are unquestionably superb, and the spectacular Gulf of Mexico’s pristine white beaches set the stage.
Situated between Panama City to the east and Pensacola to the west, the Emerald Coast stretches over hundreds of square miles of beach, pine forests and fresh-water lakes filled with bass and bream. The area embraces 100 miles of the whitest beaches in the world. Tallahassee, Florida’s state capital, is approximately 160 miles east.
The pleasant sub-tropic temperatures on the Emerald Coast are synonymous with year-round outdoor activity. Short sleeves are almost always appropriate as one enjoys golfing, fishing or any of the other sports.
During the warm summer months, the Gulf of Mexico absorbs the sun’s heat and stores it for the cooler months, when it acts as a source of heat. This means (^top of section)


that temperatures in the beach areas of the Emerald Coast are significantly warmer during the winter months than inland, creating a perfect outdoor environment.
The average temperatures on the Emerald Coast are 64 degrees in the winter, 80 in the spring, 89 in the summer and 79 in the fall. The average annual water temperature is 75 degrees.
The Emerald Coast area has long been famous for the world’s whitest beaches. Composed of quartz crystals that give the sand its fine, confectioner’s sugar quality, most everyone agrees they have never seen whiter sand anywhere. The Emerald Coast waters are also famous and can be compared in color and clarity to the beautiful waters of the Caribbean.
There is no end to the beaches on the Emerald Coast, which run unobstructed from Pensacola Beach to Walton County. Snorkeling and swimming are extremely popular and scuba diving trips to nearby reefs are available as well.
Emerald Coast waters are extremely conducive to pleasurable boating for both amateurs and veterans. Full service marina facilities are available throughout the Emerald Coast. Natural harbors off the Gulf of Mexico and Choctawhatchee Bay on the Intercoastal Waterway offer overnight protection for the boater. Boat rentals are available for all types of boats, from small single sail varieties of catamarans to large charter boats or sailboats for overnight trips. Powerboat, windsurfer and jet ski rentals are available as well. For the novice boater, trained captains are on hand for lessons and to act as guides.
The Emerald Coast is without a doubt one of the most exciting sport-fishing locations in the world. Destin boasts one of the world’s largest sport-fishing fleets, with charter boats available for hire and crews waiting to help bring home a trophy. Tournaments abound on the Emerald Coast with shark rodeos, billfish tournaments and other competition throughout the summer. October is the month for the Destin Fishing Rodeo, which awards a cash purse and attracts avid fishermen from around the world. Fresh-water fishing is also available in the myriad of fresh-water lakes that dot the area. Boat rentals are also available for fresh-water fishing, allowing fisherman to enjoy the Emerald Coast bass and bream.
Each beautifully manicured Emerald Coast golf course has a personality of its own and offers a challenge to the golfer. From full-service resorts to country clubs to municipal courses, the Emerald Coasts boasts 177 championship holes of golf. Most are open to the general public for specified green fees. Eglin’s golf course is in Niceville.
2006 James E. Plew Outstanding Community Abassador Recipients
In 2005, the Air Armament Center commander established the James E. Plew Outstanding Community Ambassador Award to honor Eglin’s long lasting friends in the community that have supported it throughout the years.
These recipients have demonstrated long-term support for Team Eglin and its military communities. These civic leaders are always there to help – they regularly attend all military events – and they appreciate and support the local military. They go above and beyond every day to demonstrate their
Retired Lt. Gen.
Gordon E. Fornell
Private Consultant
zeal for Eglin’s mission and to aid the men and women of Eglin, Hurlburt Field, Duke Field and the surrounding areas.
A. Anthony “Tony” Hughes
Beach Community Bank President, and Chief Executive Officer
Elaine A. Tucker
Former Okaloosa
County Commissioner

Fort Walton Beach

While many of us think of Fort Walton Beach as a new resort area, history reveals that as long ago as 500 B.C., representatives of various Indian tribes chose this area as the center for ceremonial activities and as the seacoast center for food.
The modern history of Fort Walton Beach began in the period following the Civil War. In 1897, John Brooks selected an 11 acre site upon which he built a three-room cabin. He was the first of many settlers that came to the area. Not surprisingly, the area’s first name became Brooks Landing and was later revised to Brooksville.
It was about this time that the area’s name was changed to Camp Walton to honor the
colonel of the Walton Guard, who had encamped on Santa Rosa Sound during the war.
In 1937, with a population of 90 people, the city was incorporated and renamed Fort Walton after a fort established during the Seminole Wars.
The name was changed to Fort Walton Beach in 1953 to reflect the area’s vacation potential and coastal location on national maps and other listings. The economic condition of the area is excellent, with a high standard of living at low cost. This is due, primarily, to the amount of money coming into the area from tourism and the economic influence that Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field have on the area. The combined active and retired military, civil service, exchange and non-appropriated fund payrolls for this area total in excess of $400 million, and purchases by the military provide a ready market for area businesses.
This is Fort Walton Beach, where dynamic growth, controlled through strict zoning and thoughtful planning, has created a beautiful haven for residents and visitors alike.
Destin
It was in 1830 that Capt. Leonard Destin, a shipmaster from Connecticut, arrived in the area, found it to his liking and decided to settle here. He started the first commercial fishing business, and today’s prosperous commercial and charter fishermen are his lineal descendants by trade if not by family tree.
Captain Destin wasn’t the only one to appreciate the fishing, scenery and climate of the East Pass area. Other commercial fishermen soon followed him and by the early 1900s there were 18 independent fishing camps built on stilts and strung along the shoreline of the inlet. For almost a century, only one road connected the peninsula with the rest of the world. Mail came in by boat from Fort Walton. Then in 1936, U.S. Highway 98 and the bridge over East Pass were built, and the world discovered Destin. Sports fishermen will go almost anywhere to test their luck against

the marlin and sailfish, both are plentiful and accessible in this part of the Gulf.
It wasn’t long before the commercial fishermen also began to reap the harvest as charter boat skippers. Some commercial fishing still exists in Destin, and people can sit in a waterfront restaurant and watch the boats move up and down the channel.
Year after year this friendly fishing village welcomes thousands of people who come to enjoy the modern gulf-side resorts, condominiums and the white sand and sparkling waters. Though growing every year, there is little formality in this resort community. Visitors are treated like good friends and introduced to the pleasures of the fairways and putting greens of landscaped golf courses and the unparalleled fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. The finest in luxury accommodations and modestly priced rental cottages are offered to the many year-round visitors who spend their vacation time here.
Walton County
Walton County boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in the world including 13 certified Blue Wave Beaches. The county has extensive timberlands as well as agricultural areas. The county was founded in 1824 and included more than 2,900 square miles including parts of Okaloosa, Washington and Holmes counties and Fort Walton Beach.
Today the county incorporates 1,028 square miles and more than 40,000 people. Walton County is one of the fastest growing counties in Florida. The Coastal Dune Lakes that dot the coastline are so rare they are only found in Walton County and remote portions of Africa. Walton’s diverse ecosystem and population make the county an inviting place to live and work.

Okaloosa County
Okaloosa County in Northwest Florida is popularly referred to as Florida’s Emerald Coast. Situated along the Gulf of Mexico, Okaloosa County’s 24 miles of dazzling sugar white sands and brilliant green waters have been voted the #1 beach in the South and Top Family Destination for eight consecutive years by Southern Living magazine. An estimated 4.5 million people visit the Emerald Coast Annually, but we are lucky enough to call it home.
In North Okaloosa County, leading technological industries and Department of Defense contracting is bringing unprecedented growth, but the area has managed to keep its small town charm and down-home southern hospitality. It’s no wonder this area has gained national recognition as Expansion Management Magazine’s, “Top 100 Places to Live and Work” and Forbe’s, 2000 “Top 10 Best Smaller Places in America.”
It’s an exciting time in Okaloosa County. Our Ad Valorem tax rate is the fourth lowest in the State and our unemployment rate is far below the State average. In fact,

Fort Walton Beach has the State’s second lowest unemployment rate and has been ranked as one of the “Top 10 Places to Work in the Nation” according to CNN/Money Magazine. Okaloosa County is home to the number one Ranked Emergency Services Division in the school system in the state earning the claim of being the “best of the best” by the Education Commissioner.
Ground has been broken on a $27.9 million terminal expansion for the Okaloosa Regional Airport (VPS) with additional destinations and new carrier service for the region continually increasing. The new Emerald Coast Conference Center opened its doors in 2003 bringing new cultural events and various entertainment activities to the area and the Destin Commons $80 million dollar shopping complex and pedestrian village will open in late 2003.
As you can see, Okaloosa County is a very diverse and dynamic community. Our military influences, tourism aspects, and rural culture all intertwine to make Okaloosa County’s Emerald Coast “Simply Irresistible”. For more information, visit www.co.okaloosa.fl.us to learn more about our piece of paradise, Okaloosa County.
Navarre
Navarre had a romantic beginning. Guy H. Wyman, returning from World War I, brought his French bride with him. They moved to his father’s estate two miles east of the Navarre Bridge. Colonel Wyman laid out a subdivision in 1925, which his wife named Navarre. The name was derived from the province of Navarre in Northern Spain.
Today, Navarre and Navarre Beach, on U.S. Highway 98, 10 miles west of Hurlburt Field’s front gate, stand as a monument of ecological and economic resource management. This is a great place to live, with warm sub-tropical climate providing ample sunshine and warm breezes throughout the year. The Navarre area has

every water-oriented activity available - sailing, jet skiing, deep-sea fishing, diving, etc. Tennis and golf courses are nearby.
Niceville-Valparaiso
The Twin Cities of Niceville-Valparaiso, bordering Eglin’s East Gate, possess the warm feeling that is uniquely Florida. Choctawhatchee Bay makes the area a sailor’s dream. The intercostal waterway, stretching from Panama City to Brownsville, allows travel between Florida and Texas for sailors and powerboat enthusiasts alike without venturing into the Gulf of Mexico.
The fishing enthusiast is king here, having several streams, rivers, lakes and bayous as well as the salt-water bay and Gulf of Mexico in which to drop a line. The beaches are blessed with the white sands and blue-green waters typical of the area. Water recreation is limitless and land -bound sportsmen can find tennis, golf, jogging, biking, hiking and picnicking.
The annual Mullet Festival, held in October, is the largest of its kind in Northwest Florida. The arts, crafts, food and continuous entertainment attract over 150,000 people during the three-day event.

Niceville, Valaparaiso and the Bay Area boast a population of 38,000 residents who are proud to be a part of this military community and welcomes the influence afforded the region by the presence of our armed forces.
Crestview
Crestview, Eglin’s nearest neighbor to the north, is located at the crest of the Yellow and Shoal Rivers, at 235 feet above sea level. It is one of the highest elevations in Florida, and is 18 miles from Eglin main. Crestview was incorporated in 1916 with a population of 400 and in 1917 was named the Okaloosa County seat. Today, the population of the Crestview area is 70,000.
Residents enjoy the advantages of a mild, healthy climate and a high quality of life. The area is home to many outdoor recreational sites. One of the largest in the state, Black Water River State Forest has

190,000 acres of foliage, clean, clear sand bottom streams and spring-fed lakes, campsites with grill, electricity, running water, fishing, swimming, boating, canoeing, horseback riding and hiking are all available.
Beginning the last weekend in April and continuing through the first weekend in May, Crestview hosts thousands of visitors celebrating our heritage through the Old Spanish Trail Festival, a week of entertainment, crafts and sporting events. Crestview also hosts a Music Festival the second week of September and a Family Fun day the second or third week of March.