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Rick's Blog Live: Full Show 8/26/26 · Rick Outzen: (we don’t) color on the dog

• Welcome. I'm Rick Outson. This is Rick's Blog Live. Thank you for watching. is ⁓ is really what's on the blog, what's in our newspaper, and the news that's in the community. We're bringing you them you can get to listen to them directly. And hopefully I ask the questions that you would like to have asked. This week's is rest of the best. It is last we did winners and focused on them. These are the other finalists. They got enough votes to be considered rest of the best. ⁓ watch list closely because over the years we've seen be, you know, come in that rest of the best category. ⁓ They build customers, build reader identity identity, and and sooner or they become winners. So it's it's not a thoraway in any way at all. ⁓ The other thing I want to out, and this is We had, you know, some people, well, how do I win a best of the coast? Well, you have your customers for you. It's you can't game the system. You can't use a call center in India to come in and do the work for you ⁓ or it in a computer program. ⁓ We're up to catch those kind of things. ⁓ The in this category got voted on by real people who knew they were. And that is what this is why this is the award that everybody covets. There are a lot of others out there and and I'm you know, ⁓ that's fine. ⁓ this is the one ⁓ you see all the posters in the business, ⁓ know that this is the one they have the stickers on the door, and can say this is what the community really, really ⁓ liked. what can do is take the issue, save it, and when you to decide w you know, if need ⁓ You know, where you want to go to eat tonight, or you want to go somewhere different, or there's an event that you haven't tried before, but it was the best of the coast winner or a finalist, you can go to it because you know have the stamp of approval of neighbors. That's what this different. It's a lot of effort. Joni ⁓ and and puts, ⁓ you know, the have to be counted by hand to get us to we are. So this is an important issue. Please check it out inweekly.net. We got a great show up. Well you it goes all over the place. We're gonna have David Jolly, Democrat candidate for governor here. Yes, we'll try to get Byron Donalds if he'll come on the show. We'd love to have him. We've got David Baer talking about Tourist Development Commission and how the pay the clerk won't pay bills. also have the yacht, the Pensacola Yacht Club women sailing women's sailing team won a huge Gulf Coast ⁓ We have them and then we'll have D Daniel Sowers, CEO and president. Of Gough Winds Credit Union. They've got a new name, a new brand, and they're expanding. Great, great, great story. So I'll tell you what, let's go ahead and get with it. Hi, I'm Rick Altson and welcome back to Rick's Blog Live. We've got a special guest with us, Democratic nominee for governor, David Jolly. David, thank you for joining us. Good to be with you, Rick, always. Yeah, we we go back to twenty sixteen when you were running as a Republican. When I was a Republican in the US Senate. it has been funny how the world has changed Parties have changed. it is But you won the nomination cleanly and clearly. We now know you now know who you're facing. Sure. Florida ready for a Democratic governor? Yes, voters tonight would elect a Democratic governor. ⁓ And seeing it. Look, we saw in the Congressional District one special election. Voters swung towards a Democratic candidate by fifteen points, sixteen on the coast that happened. The city of Miami just elected a Democratic mayor for the first time in thirty years. It was nineteen points, not even close. You don't always get that this cycle, right? I don't want to be naive about that. Some cycles are stay the course, some are ideological, some are war and peace. is a change environment where people are saying, look, the not working for us, housing, healthcare, education. Yeah, we're by the culture wars. Even if you're an old school Republican libertarian, you're saying enough like punching down at communities doesn't ⁓ lower the of insurance or gas. And I do we're seeing this whiff of corruption that's just been You know, cemented into our politics. And so I think we're in a nineteen seventy four post-Watergate moment. Enough voters are saying, forget about party, we're going in a new direction. Now my caution to Democratic friends is let's be careful. I'm not sure we've won hearts and minds yet, but we are winning votes, and I think Florida tonight would elect a Democratic governor. You mentioned corruption. What are you talking about? look, you can look at Hope Florida and ⁓ you think the law comes down on that, what we know is that the made that move and then was protected by his cronies. I do think we have the most corrupt campaign finance system in the in the entire country right here in Florida. I'll give a little grace to my opponent Byron Donalds in this. He's just a vessel for the special interests that have controlled Florida for thirty years. ⁓ he's raised over a hundred million dollars. ⁓ not charity. It's utilities, it's the data centers, the for profit schools, the hedge that are gobbling up rental real estate in your neighborhood so Airbnb can come in. the gambling tribes, all of the the ⁓ interests that have controlled Tallahassee now control my opponent. And so I think enough people are just exhausted by it. We've got a lot of Republicans coming our way. I we might hit twenty percent of Republicans. one thing they often say is, look, I want to see real leadership. And now what I'm seeing in in my the Republican Party, they're saying, is our leaders are whether it's by the president or special interest or the donors, whatever that might be. I'm running a very campaign. really mean it. I was a Republican. I've been an independent. I I'm a proud Democrat, not a reluctant one. But know we gotta focus on housing, healthcare and education, clean water, clean air, and keep data centers out of your backyard. I don't about your party. Those are the priorities. And if we focus on that, yeah, I want to end the culture wars just because of the old school libertarian principle of keep government out of your life. I think there's there for a new coalition in American politics. Well the affordability is a major Yeah. We see it a lot in our stories, you know. Scambia County, got nearly our population is either in poverty or living paycheck to paycheck. it is working working families living paycheck to paycheck. The property tax the issue, it's the homeowners insurance. That's right. It's having adjustable mortgages the government, you know, more the bond rates go up, insur in interest rates are going up. That's right. So their their payments are going up. It's right. And then trying to figure out health care is a nightmare. Every every candidate right now says affordability. Some don't even know what they're saying, others say it and don't have a solution. what I say. The pillars of people's economic life. It shifts for you during the generations, depending on your stage in life. It's housing, and education. ⁓ Can I my rent? Can I buy a house? If I bought a house, can I afford to stay in it because of a collapsing insurance market? Where's my family get health care? More people going without health care than ever before. ⁓ And where should I send my kids to school in a state that's abandoned public education and created a choice program that charges you tuition on top of vouchers? Housing, healthcare, and education. yes, I've got solutions. I think we need a state catastrophic fund that'll cut insurance by 60 to 70 percent for homeowners. ⁓ should scale up workforce and affordable housing using models that work. We scale up the direct delivery of health care, primary health care, using platforms work and a federally qualified health center right here serving the community in Brownsville, regardless of the ability to pay. ⁓ Use that model and scale it up. I do think we need a 10-year renaissance in public education. ⁓ the world in public education. Why shouldn't we? ⁓ creates a resilient economy, it invests in our youth. It ⁓ transforms lives. Today teachers are paid dead last in the nation. ⁓ I care about your party registration. That's wrong. ⁓ We're in per capita spending. Our eighth grade test scores are falling off a cliff. Sure, we'll choice, but a choice school should have to teach your kid to read. But before you even consider choice, you should have a local public school well funded with teachers who are paid in the top half nationally, so that you want to send your kids into Florida's public schools. you met with educators here as part of your vision to Pensacola. what was some of the feedback you got from them? Probably not that different from what you're saying now. Yeah, look, we're a state that chose to abandon public education twenty five years ago. We started chasing choice and as a result we started defunding public education and we got our priorities wrong. When you have Teachers living in Pensacola but teaching in Baldwin or across the Alabama line because they get paid ten thousand, fifteen, twenty thousand dollars more. When an Alabama school gives you an annual bonus because of a special certification instead of a once a career bonus like Florida does, lost in the competitive market. And so that's why I say forget policies for a moment, forget about teachers' unions and pay and flexibility, all that's forget about it. Let's be state that chooses to lead the world in public education. Not just Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, God bless them, lead India and China. should have a public school in every neighborhood with more teachers who are paid more that Florida's families want to rush into. ⁓ And it doesn't work for you, then we'll have a choice program. ⁓ But choice school should have to teach your kid to read, provide the same services, the same standards, the same offerings that our public schools do. They could it through a matriculation agreement. If you need trigonometry and they don't offer it, they could send you back to a public school, ⁓ but then dollar should follow the student back into the school. It's just an enterprise approach. It's not a partisan or ideological one. when you look at the state, it is it's very are issues as you move around similar when you Yeah, they are you know, that that's kinda always we've always felt like we've got three different states with ⁓ up and then the the middle part and the southern part. ⁓ Are issues resonating across the board? They're they're absolutely the same. I was on the plane coming here and the the woman next to me said, Hey, I'm a Republican, my my husband and I are gonna vote for you. how should I tell my Republican friends to to look at you? I said, want to fight for housing, health care, education, and to keep data centers out of your backyard. That's The basics. Yeah, I want to end the culture wars and do some other things, but housing, healthcare, education, ⁓ keep centers out of your backyard. Whether you're independent, or Republican, whether you live in Escambia or Collier or Palm Beach or Miami Dade, that's it. ⁓ Now some different issues pop up, right? Within the immigrant community in South Florida, People understand cruelty and broken promises, ripping a baby away from a mom, or I didn't think you meant you were taking my TPS. I thought it was gonna be somebody else's TPS. even then, politicians too often go into a community and honestly profile. If black, brown, LGBTQ plus, ⁓ you that that ⁓ that must only care about those issues. ⁓ The is everyone cares about housing, healthcare, and education. Where to send your kids to school, can I get health care? ⁓ And am I gonna have a roof over my head? That's it, Housing, healthcare, education, and NOTA data centers. coming up on that that dreaded minute break, but in looking at it, the are ⁓ are surprised at how big the data center issues become how ⁓ you know it is? You know, the intensity of sure, and I think for policy reasons, I proposed a one year moratorium. I worry about the environmental impact, the disruption of communities, the destabilization, devaluation of real estate. I think there remain some public health concerns, noise pollution. My has said, no, we're gonna let you come in. Here's the welcome at. You just have to pay us to come in. I just voters are saying we don't want you here. And at some forget about policy for a moment. ⁓ The role of governor or a candidate is to listen to voters. ⁓ And when voters saying don't do it here, then the then I'm gonna fight like hell to make sure we don't do it here. ⁓ And so I'm will I will institute a moratorium on data centers and if they want to sue me, they can sue me. But I think what the state should do is study the broad environmental impact on the natural resource. We should fund a deep economic impact study. Sure, construction jobs are great, but if there's no long-term tail to this, and by the way, five years from now, are we even going to need mega data centers? Right because it might only be a ten percent footprint there. the other 49 states build them. We don't need them in Florida. We don't need data centers in Florida. That's what voters are telling us. Regardless of policy, yeah, I on policy I think we shouldn't have them. just listen to the voters for the f for once. My taking so many millions of dollars from data center interest that he won't do it. He's telling us, ⁓ I care what you think, we're gonna build them. David, thank so much for We're ⁓ gonna take break, pay a few bills, we'll be right back. I'm Rick Alson and this Rick's blog live. Hi, I'm Kathy Holzworth, Artistic Director at Pensacola Little Theater in the Clark Family Cultural Center. Join me the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. for the center stage where I get to talk to my friends and your neighbors about all things on PLT stages. learned during my military service to train every day to fight ⁓ fight to win. If been injured in an accident, you already know one thing for sure. The insurance are going to fight you for every dollar you deserve. At Michelson Booth, we settle most of the cases we handle. if the insurance companies choose to fight, well, we're with that too. If you've interested in an accident, choose a law firm that's got the resources, training, and stomach for the fight. Michaelson Booth, ⁓ be a twice. It's baseball season. From plays to legendary this is baseball at its finest. Grab your seat, bring your energy, and witness greatness Don't watch it or feel it. The Pensacola Wahoos are back, and you can watch Pensacola Blue Wahoos home games live ⁓ on Fridays Saturdays only on Blab TV. Love the Blue but can't watch? Get your tickets now. name is Bill Sadler. the general manager with Empire Truck Sales here in Pensacola, Florida. I've been advertising with Blab TV for well over 20 years. Blab TV has been a huge success for the growth and success in our company. Blab reaches the local community. It's an advertising venue that really reaches our target audience and customers. It's not a week that goes by that we don't see somebody out in the community that says, hey, I saw your show on Blab TV. It was great. My name is Bill Sadler and I am Blab TV. Marine, your one-stop shop for all your boating needs. We offer a vast selection of parts, accessories, and electronics. Discover our range of used boats in every size, shape, and brand, all ready to get you on the water today. And we provide expert advice and top-notch customer service to ensure you have the best boating experience. We service all outboard, inboards, stern drives, jet drives, and personal watercraft. Our certified staff will get you back on the water. Visit Gilmarine at 3541 West Fairfield Drive, Pensacola. Welcome back. I'm Rick Altson. This is Rick's Blog Live. A hot issue this month tourist development and we're not paying the people that are marketing ⁓ our Came up at the visit Pensacola Executive Board. They've got about six hundred thousand dollars in cash. The county clerk owes them million. They have another $1.7 million ⁓ in advertising that they they to place, but they have no idea they're gonna get paid. It came up at the TDC meeting also. It is just a cluster that we've got to try to figure our way through to help us understand it. A man who's been dealing with this for a very long time David Baer. He a member of the Tourist Development Council. David, thank you for joining us. Thank you, Rick. Thanks for having me. Explain for our viewers the reimbursement how it's working and why money's getting stuck. Well, the way supposed to work and the way that it used to work. was obviously the county does an appropriation agreement with the outside agencies. They for their programs. And the programs are outlined in the appropriation agreement. So the county knows w exactly what they're funding. ⁓ It's under the statute of ⁓ how use the tourist development tax. And what would do is they'd go out and do the marketing programs. They're ⁓ paying for money is being used to pay for some of the programs. And a lot of advertising and promotion those are being placed. They've got inch advertising making all the creative that they're placing. And what happen is the agency, the outside agency who received the money from the county ⁓ would place the they'd pay their agencies ⁓ their fees and would also pay for the placement the advertising. They would get copies of cleared checks, match them up with the invoices they paid for those with those checks. And turn those over to the county to prove that they had made the actual expenditures. And so ended up has now, well, and let me back up. So that would happen, and then the clerk's office would reimburse them it. Everything ran smoothly and money was flowing, the product was being developed, advertising, ⁓ all this stuff, and then programs would happen they were all successful. Tourism continues to grow. We've diversified it. And we know the numbers in the state is flat. We're actually showing an increase for the last quarter? Year over year we're making record numbers in tourism. ⁓ number of people showing up here collecting the tax. so not only have more people come, that's created demand, so the the folks been able to raise their their rates and that collects more tax. But now what's happening the money is ⁓ the Advertisements being created. advertising agencies are placing the ads. The outside agencies are taking their checks that they've paid those agencies to create that work and place the ads together with invoices and submit those to the county. The county submits those to the clerk's office and clerk sits on them. And ⁓ it could be 30 it could be days, 90 days, nobody knows. And they just don't get paid. And then all of a sudden check may come through and there could be submissions and don't know what's being paid, they don't know what's being refused to be. You know, and part of that challenge, particularly in the advertising world, is if you're placing ads, let's say, in in Nashville, you know, you're doing over a series of months, well they the radio station, television ⁓ wants to get paid you know, by the Right. ⁓ And now ⁓ The ad agencies having to hold or not pay ⁓ and then r ruin a relationship, or you or go ahead and pay ⁓ and hold that for the end of contract. Right. You know, and it then what's happened in Foo Foo Fest is you've got small nonprofits trying do things that are worthwhile, approved, and they're trying to book, let's say night the concerts, trying to book concerts, but they need to have money to do it They're not able to get the check that they've been approved. though we've said we've have no real issue, no been able to show that there's any major ⁓ embezzlement, theft going on in tourism, because we've pretty good people ⁓ involved, people are trustworthy in the community. So it's got it it it's been snowballing. We've seen it happen in other places. We've last you know, this past week. ECAT, their s Temporary staffing company didn't has over three hundred and sixty thousand dollars owed to them. they pull their workers from ECAT. ⁓ they're back right now. We've nonprofits suing to get two and three thousand dollars from the clerk that she won't pay. it it's it's the focus, don't believe, has to has to be the commission has got to ⁓ push harder. I think I'm not sure. Well, no. It's kind of hard to how much they can, it's It yes, I mean they can push all day long and the clerk still does what she wants to do. I mean that's what's happened right now and while there's why there's been this lawsuit filed against her by these outside you know, these two charities ⁓ because they push, they push, they push, they've appropriated, they voted five to zero to fund those agencies ⁓ she's still not reimbursing it and so they've been forced those outside agencies have been forced to to file the lawsuit because they'd committed, they have contracts. And they're not getting paid. And so the tourist development tax, ⁓ gotten so ⁓ ⁓ the the level of documentation the office that Pam Childers is asking or demanding before she'll even consider reimbursement. It's ⁓ it's unreasonable. not just clear checks that match up with contracts for those services that match up with the appropriation agreement that the money was appropriated for. It's Okay, well you bought advertising and so we're gonna wait until all those advertisements were placed so if they're doing a bulk buy where they may buy for magazine that's gonna run they place it today to run, ⁓ you three or four months from now, they don't get reimbursed until after it runs and they have to provide the evidence that it ran. If they posters printed, they have to take pictures of the posters and windows. I mean, ⁓ next that if there's Because the tourist development tax can be pay can be used to pay for per diems. Are people gonna have to take pictures of themselves eating a sandwich to submit to the clerk's office? I mean I I we make a joke about it, but it's not funny. There's it's reasonable documentation and unreasonable documentation. That is the issue that's in front of us. that is what is could kill the golden goose, which because tourism is such a big part ⁓ of community. Foo Foo Fest has been highly successful. Yeah, Ray Palmer stood before the T D C this last meeting he's you know, he said our last set of invoices had nine hundred pages of documentation. It it's ⁓ more it's worth. David, I really appreciate you've been willing to to step out on this issue for a while. You understand it well because of your work in FUFU and tourism. you know, I it's important to our community. I mean Tourism is an economic driver for our community. obviously creates whole lot of quality of life for our citizens, but bringing here, ⁓ letting them how we love to live and what a beautiful community we have, ⁓ the natural the assets, arts, culture, entertainment, sports, you know, all of of things that we here, people want to move here. Right. want to move their businesses. That's the ripple. They want to employ our children. I mean this is and for anyone that wants to be an obstructionist to that type of growth ⁓ bad for our community. It's bad for our citizens. All right. ⁓ thank you so much for coming. I appreciate it. We'll go ahead and take a break. We'll be right back. We're Rick's blog live. I think it's all about local and I'm a big believer in local. So I think anytime you can carry a message out locally it's important. And I think it's any time the person that delivers the service can also deliver the message. Which is unusual. Do you have the people that actually deliver the project doing the talking? And I think that's a huge difference and a lot really makes a huge value difference for the consumer. So I'm really just so grateful that we have this local opportunity with Blab TV. name is Quint Steeter and I am Blab TV. Take breath and step something green. At Pensacola Seed Garden, both of our locations open seven days a week. Ready when you are. We don't just sell plants, we grow many of them right here, with care you can see. once you take one home, you'll everything you need to help it thrive. 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Join seven days a week in downtown Pensacola, located directly across from Maritime Park and the Blue Wahoo Stadium. Welcome back. I'm Rick Alpson. This is Rick's Blog Live. This is where we connect you to the stories that are going on in the community and to get to listen to and see the newsmakers that are out there. lot of it's stuff that we've reported on the blog, ricksblog.biz. You follow us. You can to the blog. You can follow me on almost all social media and YouTube. ⁓ And please and subscribe. That helps us all the time in building that algorithm. We have great Pensacola Yacht Club's Wimming Sailing Team. won the eighty-ninth annual Yachting Gnosed Ladies ⁓ Championship. first time since 1973, huge for our community ⁓ who in for the Pensacola Yacht Club, it is it's it kind of reminds of our sailing history here. Not a kind of, it we've got Susie Domegala with us, ⁓ who's the Commodore. Susie, thank you joining us. Thank you, Rick. It's my pleasure. Yeah, this was exciting news, isn't it? thrilled. I mean, it has been fifty-three years since we won the Nost from Yacht Club. It is an annual regatta held by the Gulf Yachting Association at Pas Yacht Club every year. and it was started by the Bernard Noast family. And it's something that it's a highly coveted trophy that requires years of and and preparation for the regatta. So we're thrilled that we won it this year. Well, it you know, it's funny, we were talking a little bit off air. I'd found the article in the news journal when they wrote about the first win ⁓ they call the women the skipperettes, which don't think it that's a title anymore. No, not so much anymore. Times have Times have changed. ⁓ But ⁓ ⁓ I think thing that in reading about the press release and and look this was a a victory that was built time. There there's some special associations that y'all have set that Help you get the sailing team that you had. Yes. The you know one of them is you know Friends of Navy Sailing. Talk about that. Well we're honored to be part of Friends of Navy Sailing. It's a group that was developed through the Pensacola Naval Air Station and through the Navy. And it allows a special membership category at Pensacola Yacht Club for the individuals who have their education at their service academy. Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy, so on. they're receiving training here at the Pensacola Naval Air Station as of their flight training, if you will. many of these individuals from the Friends of Navy sailing were on the Navy sailing teams at Naval Academy. So come very experienced and very excited to join Pensacola Yacht Club and continue their ability to race. ⁓ while they're receiving their flight training. What a natural partnership though. really is. And and then y'all have set up temporary membership so that they so they can be members of be full members of the club and and able to do it. So it it ⁓ that with base it just seems so And it of course you had two naval academy grads, one one Coast Guard Academy as of the team. it When I was reading, I said, gosh, this is a natural fit. And y'all, I mean for the for PYC, this is the naval history of your organization. Y'all, of course, are very big with helping us get magic here. Right. You know, cell GP, we're seeing just a ri renaissance of sailing in our community. We are, and the beauty of the Friends of Navy sailing program, as well as the No Stragata. Is that it allows us to the different microcosms of individuals who enjoy racing or even just sailing around the community. ⁓ got folks of all different age ranges, different physical abilities, men, children. And so No Stragata is the perfect example of one of those microcosms, which is women's sailing, particularly, and our to with Friends of Navy Sailing and those Service Academy graduates. who already came with a very experienced sailing resume of their own. Right. And then we have been practicing with them for over the past year and the individuals who were, you know, most involved with the team, who had the greatest number of training hours with the team ⁓ and really well from a teamwork perspective. Right, right. Well having that ⁓ having a background it helps significantly as far as ⁓ discipline and that. and it I g I you know, I think y y'all gonna have to build a new wing for trophies. ⁓ You that's the goal, isn't it? That is absolutely the goal. And you know, for this most win, we have been ⁓ preparing it for years. ⁓ This something that we just decided over, ⁓ you six months or a year ago to complete. we've got a strong group of women both within the Friends of Navy sailing as well as outside of that ⁓ organization who've been very hard at it. ⁓ you'll meet Katie in a couple of minutes and ⁓ she was our team captain this year and just did an absolutely outstanding job. Well when you look at the opportunities in sailing now and know the whole foiling brings a whole nother class it does ⁓ a type of sailing that's attracting a lot of people too. it's it's it's almost of the opportunities that y'all can offer people. It is, it is. And Pensacola Bay is perfect for foiling because it's relatively flat protected water. around the entire body of the bay. foiling is still somewhat of a niche within sailing and that's one of those great microcosms that I was talking about. you know you've got the foiling sailors, you've got the more traditionalists, you've got folks ⁓ who are in multiple different types of sailing and just having a ball out on the bay. And we're really enjoying time. Yeah we're coming up we're coming up on the break, but I think one thing that that ⁓ I don't want to is ⁓ is that Y'all offer classes. We do. You you do you help people learn how to sail. We sure do. And those classes are from, you know, complete novice to more advanced racing. So you don't really have to have sailing or racing experience to engage in the classes. Well I what I enjoy about it, and I've done a little bit of it, not not at anywhere, but it's just not having a motor. ⁓ just love being on a boat without having to this revving motor in my head, because I all I hear when I s a boat with a big motor is I just want to get somewhere. But in sailing, not it it is you it's timeless. There's just like time stops. Time stops. And you just feel nature. ⁓ when you're racing, you are completely committed, both physically as as mentally, ⁓ spiritually, you think about it. But ⁓ you it can be very relaxing and quiet, but it can also be very fast and exhilarating at the same time. Right. great. Well Susie, thank you so much for coming on. We're gonna have Katie Morgan on just a few minutes. She's the captain of the team. We'll take a break. We'll be right back. At A1 Automotive, we do it all. kinds of repairs for all kinds of vehicles. We AC repairs, ⁓ we suspensions, we do inspections. We'll diagnose your and get it fixed. Free brake inspection. We provide financing for work we do. Veteran-owned, ⁓ military, and first responders A1 403 Beverly Parkway, Pensacola. I'm Emily Echeveria. I'm the Marketing Communications Director for Council on Aging of West Florida and the host of Coming of Age. the past, Council on Aging has relied heavily on print and radio, but in the age of social media algorithms and smart devices, we know how highly prioritized and sought-after video content has become. Our really responds to video content, and yours will too, especially the quality of video that Blab produces. I'm Emily Echeveria I am Blab TV. 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Thank you for watching. show is getting a cr a lot of attention, and it's because you keep sharing the message. Please, you see it on ⁓ YouTube, share, ⁓ subscribe We Don't Color on the Dog, which is all part of the Media Empire. We just had Own, Vice Commodore, talking about huge win that the women's sailing team had. the DOS trophy. It is An unbelievable that took over a of years. It didn't happen all at one time. We've got the team captain with us. Yeah, ⁓ Morgan, thank you so for coming home. Of course. Thank you so much for having us. ⁓ Tell us a go through the roster on the team and tell us just a little bit about them. Of course. Okay, so my co-captain this year was Mallory Edwards, and Mallory and I actually grew up sailing against each other. We met back in 2015, I want to say, down at Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans at the Light Air Clinic. gonna see a reoccurring theme. I grew up with all of these girls and they're all my best friends. Celia Houston was on our team again, grew up in Texas together, and we started sailing at the Texas Youth Sailing Circuit back in 2010. then Aubin Hattendorf, again, another Texas girl, grew up sailing with her ⁓ at Rush Creek Yacht ⁓ And we have Linia Forrestberg. I did not grow up sailing with her, but she is a great addition to our team and we adore her. Well, it's amaz you know t you know, th three of them are Academy grads, Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy. was it difficult to blend with them? Because they come from a much ⁓ come from a very disciplined background. Definitely not at all. We the biggest goal we have at Pensacola Yacht Club is we are trying to make sailing fun again. All of us have sailed at such a high caliber ⁓ you kind of lose your love for sailing and so that was our whole goal with the Thursday night sailing and any other event is we're gonna go in and we're gonna have the most fun that we possibly can. And so I can't think of a better team to spend all of our time with. talk about how you got involved in the yacht club and and even ⁓ involved in in competing, developing this sailing team. Of course we moved to Pensacola just over a year ago. My husband is also in the Navy and right now the Lia's on for the Fawn sailing program. And so when we moved here, I knew that I wanted to get back into sailing and take it to the next level and be competitive again. Our friends, the Madigans, were here before us. Now they're in San Diego. Again, another Navy family. they invited us to the club one night and said, Hey, we're gonna go and sail, come and join us. And all it took. We joined, I think, the next day and haven't back ever since. The the how wha how does w the training work out? How often did you train? What what was that like? So Thursday night is our night that we kind of go out and sail all together. That's when we can get the most boats on the water. It's hard with the girls not knowing their schedules until the night before. Of course they have their night operation training and anything else that you can imagine. so ⁓ night was our hard schedule and then every in a while we'd throw in a Thursday practice. Or fr Saturday practice. So as far as competition itself, there's several events, right? about the different events that that go to win the championship. How do you win it? Definitely. So we participate in the GYA, the Golf Yachting Association, and that's basically just every weekend another club hosts an event. So we try and go to as many of those as we possibly can. I'm lucky enough to where I get to sail with my husband. some of the other girls sail with each other on the team and then with the GYA you can switch in and out of every boat and you can kind of sail with whoever you want to sail with. So we just try and make it a priority to sail with each ⁓ And at all these different clubs. And a lot of these girls that are at the events are the same girls that you're going to be competing against at NOST. And so seeing how you're going to stack up at all of these events and seeing kind of what their sailing tendencies are. Right. And which which boats best exactly. So at the GYA events you have Opties, four twenties, ⁓ fifteens, which is what we won the NOST in, and then Vipers. And Vipers are what the guys are going to sail the Lipton Cup in in a couple of weeks. okay. All ⁓ So The ⁓ how did you know, this was th this was at Pas Christiane. Yes. Right. the how did event go? Did y'all start strong and stay strong or did were the was any time you were in danger? ⁓ We started strong we stayed really strong. And it doesn't normally that way. Normally you have a couple of flukes of a race, but I think our lowest score the entire regatta was a three and that's pretty good. Yeah, Yeah, it's just It it's for the club, you could just see it in Susie's face how excited she is. And I'm I've talked to other members that you know, this is again, ⁓ a long period of time, fifty-three years since this last was done. the ⁓ what makes sailing so appealing to you? Sailing is to me because it's a lifelong sport. I started sailing when I was ⁓ five in camps and then I didn't start competing until I was ten. But you have people on the water from the age of five years old all the way up until ninety. ⁓ So you can really do it forever. It's just like golf. Okay. So when you said that you you had the lowest score you had was a three, what does a three mean? Third place. Third place, okay. thought was something more complicated that you had to go through a hoop or something. Salem and have lot of similarities. The biggest one being you want the lowest score possible. So I can't remember our exact point count overall, but ⁓ we did pretty solid job. How many races were involved in it? ⁓ I believe were nine the second time. And then you have the total point score at the end? Correct. Again, I'm sorry, I don't have it off the top of my head. That's okay. No, that's fine. That's fine. if wanted to get involved, let's say you know, someone ⁓ had a daughter that they wanted to get involved, what's the best way to do that? Get them involved in junior sailing early. They have of after school programs at Penn Scola Yacht Club, they summer camps, they have clinics. You look at the website and you can find anything. And if you are older than high school and wanting to get into sailing, there's An organization here called the Women's Collective and it's run by Lauren Chapman and she does an amazing job getting people out on the water, teaching people how to sail. Last night they had a seminar on how to buy a boat. So there are a ton of options and a ton of resources, especially here in Pensacola, but definitely get your kids in summer camp. Well you've you've traveled a lot. How do we f measure up as a sailing community? We've got about a minute left before we have Yeah. Pensacola is the best place to sail. We have really consistent wind, not a whole lot of current. ⁓ Pensacola Yacht Club is a great facility to host regottas out of, and I'm really proud to be a member there and be able to show off our club to other people. Well, congratulations on the win. Thank you. I really appreciate you coming on. Of course. We'll we'll go ahead and take a break. We'll be right back after we pay a few bills. I'm Rick Aldison. baseball season. From plays to legendary victories, this is baseball at its finest. Grab your bring your energy, and ⁓ witness greatness Don't watch it, it. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are and you can watch Pensacola Blue Wahoos home games live ⁓ on Fridays and Saturdays only Blab TV. Love the Blue Wahoos, but can't Get your tickets now. I learned during my military service she trained every day to fight and fight to win. you've been injured in an accident, you already know one thing for sure. 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And we provide expert advice and top notch customer service to ensure you have the best boating experience. We service all outboard, inboards, stern drives, jet drives, and personal watercraft. Our certified staff will get you back on the water. Visit Gil Marine at 3541 West Fairfield Drive, Pensacola. Welcome back. I'm Rick Altson. This is Rick's Blog Live. Thank you for watching. Big news yesterday out of Gulf Winds Credit Union. name change, a rebrand, True Worth Credit Union, and the acquisition of the Madison County Community Bank. We've got with us Gulf CEO and President Daniel Sowers. Daniel, thank you for coming. It's great to be here today. The challenge of of a bank for a credit union, I'm sure there Some hoops that are involved here. Talk a little bit about that. Absolutely. So we have two regulatory bodies that regulate us, you know, because you want your money to be safe. so there is there's a process to go through that and sure your regul reg your those regulators will approve it. ⁓ Then the bank side, they have regulatory bodies as well. So you have four regulatory bodies that you go through to finally get it approved, make sure it's it's sound. But in our ⁓ because we are so well capitalized. mean the credit union has just run so well over the years, such a beloved credit so thankful to have been able to be part of this. Because of we have great capital and we don't any ⁓ any any issues there. that makes it a lot more smoother sales for us for sure. Now what does that do the expansion, how big does your reach become now? Yeah, so ⁓ a lot of don't know but we actually have We have a territory in Tallahassee today. ⁓ we have three branches over there now. then we have three branches over in the Alabama market. And then of course we have six branches in Pensacola. So already been operating over in that Tallahassee area. So what this does is just strengthen that market. It puts branches, puts two branches about forty-five minutes from some of our other branches in either direction. There's no real duplication, which is which is kind of what you want to look for. Absolutely. Absolutely. ⁓ And you go into Georgia also? So we our territory expands to South Georgia, South Alabama, and all of North Florida from a territory standpoint. Okay. From a branching perspective, we're in Tallahassee, Pensacola, and then South Alabama. the ⁓ when you look at w what was decision with the name? You know, True Wealth, ⁓ True Worth, Union, the why not keep Gulf name? Well, you know, it's it it's been a debate for a long time at Gulf Winds. We knew there would be a day as we continue to expand and grow the wind of a Gulf ⁓ not hit where we're at, right? Right. So as we're going into Georgia and we're we're we're expanding in the southeast, th the name maybe may make sense. And we've ⁓ Gulf Winds changed their name. This is this will be the fourth time to change the name. So when we got started, we were Kim Strand, Credit Union, and Monsanto Credit Union, then Gulf Credit Union, and then now we just felt like it was time, it's been about 20 years, ⁓ we felt it's time to ⁓ to really the essence of who we are. And so ⁓ people walk Gulf Winds or they go online or they give us a call, we've always looked at and said, do we, how do we say yes? How do we Help this person not just get a mortgage, but want a home. How do we get that given that home or that car? How do we how do we help them get their dream or whatever? And so captures the I think, of who we are. So True Worth Credit we've we've always seen their worth. And you'll still be a credit Absolutely. So you'll still be able to member member oriented. That's right. So nothing really changes other than the name and we've We've we've been growing, we've been expanding. the members have seen the benefit of that. And this just gives us more ⁓ more to keep growing and keep offering more and more services to our members. ⁓ I the tagline, you know, see your true worth. th where that how did y'all come through while we through that one a little bit? Well, so we have we have a creative director that we hired and so the all of this work was done in-house. We we built this all in-house. And ⁓ we did market research to try to understand what our members thought of us, our members thought of other places, what the community thought of us and other financial institutions. And just kept coming back to this of of that our and our wanted something that would really them for what they are, someone that could make them the hero. And so that's what we wanted do. And so when we finally landed on the name True Worth. We see your true worth. We're like, this is it. We found it. And it's incredibly hard to find a name that's not used down in the credit union land. So it took us months time to finally get there. Well, look at ⁓ at know challenges of that, the challenges of of incorporating new employees to the culture, because you all have a very strong culture. How this is not going to happen overnight. This will be next spring when we'll see all the new signs go up. but what change for for the member the Gulf Winds members now? What's gonna change for them when this happens? You know, w right away nothing, other than we're gonna continue to try to add more services, more tools, more people, but I think we'll just be able to better communicate what we offer to our community. Why was Madison County Bank a good fit? Madison County Community Bank their culture, they've got a great culture as well, and they very relationship focused. They love their community. The the CEO who started that bank ⁓ back in started it because he didn't feel like anyone ⁓ was taking of his community. And that's very to the reason Gulf Winds was started. In nineteen fifty-four we started because ⁓ the big banks at time weren't lending money to the people at Chemstrand. so they said, let's pull our money together and take care of our friends. So ⁓ was taking care of his friends, we taking care of our friends, and now we just have more friends. The you it it's philanthropy has been a big part of of Gulf Winds. mean just y ⁓ so many different that do ⁓ and your employees are heavily in those decisions. Is there gonna be any change So it's just gonna be the it's gonna be more people, dollars to be able to invest back, but same mission, the same values, you know, we we call it we're growing for good. So the for us to grow, to increase our size and be able to offer even some products that they have that we don't have, they're very strong on the commercial side. And so to able to bring those products in and be able to offer more commercial services to our to our members is gonna be great for us. And so you're gonna more. of what you're seeing now, not less. So we are growing for good. I've was joking you before we came over there. You you've never sit still. You're you know you're all y'all are always looking at ways to be better. this is this is a pr huge challenge. We have an amazing team an amazing team of leaders team members ⁓ and you know We are, I guess, a glutton for punishment. you know, I think at the end of the day, like within there's this ⁓ drive make that we are making a difference. When I first came into the credit union, I said, I want there be the day where if golf wins to go away, the community goes, Where are they at? Where's golf winds? And so that that's what I true worth to be. I want us to be such a powerful in the community, ⁓ our community in Pensacola and the communities we can expand into that are a driving force for that for the community. Well coming on the break, but I I think that, you know it to me it's interesting to watch. One, I've I've I've we've followed Gulf Winds for a long time, almost just you know, ⁓ since the beginning of the ⁓ I've watched your leadership coming It's What makes that job special for you? you know, this was ⁓ I first came to when I first graduated from college, there any jobs here. And so back, it is such a privilege ⁓ that I'm how do I more jobs for the community so that people can their dream job? Our marketing department has doubled in size since I've been there. ⁓ Our risk department has expanded. ⁓ We launched a commercial we're expanding our mortgage department. We have added nearly a hundred people since I started. to me, the every single person is a job ⁓ the community and reinvestment back. great. Dan, I thank you for coming. I mean, it has been fun to watch. for you, you want to read more about it, you can go to their website, you can go to the blog, we've got more on it, and of course we'll we'll watch it as it evolves and the new signs go up with the new logo. ⁓ Daniel, thank you much for coming. All right, we'll take a break. I'll try to wrap this show up somehow. Be right back. The medic sergeant first class E7. We went in the first waves of the deployment. And when I came back, I you know I didn't come back the same way as I as I left. I was in 11 Bravo, I was infantry. is what we signed up to do. You know, fighting wars, protecting civilians back home. I got to do that. So there's a bit of embarrassment there. I was the gunner ⁓ top of Humvee ⁓ and IED exploded 10 feet from me. I have scars that never go away. The loneliness and the emptiness that I felt. Suicide was I thought of every single day. I still feel weird around the title of veteran. If could say anything to that veteran, ⁓ what you say? I would any veteran ⁓ You deserve Reach for help now because it'll change your life. It takes courage to do that. And you realize you're not alone. Do you want to them? They're here. You deserve because you served. If you're struggling with life after service, don't wait. Reach out. in the heart of Pensacola, ⁓ is a one of a kind community driven cocktail bar by Oasis Florida, created sustain vital HIV and STI care across the Florida panhandle. Inspired by Wizard of Oz, ⁓ rooted in and dripping with character, ⁓ Dorothy's is welcoming space ⁓ with award Oz inspired cocktails, food by Steel Diner. And an unmatched atmosphere. us seven days a week in downtown Pensacola, located directly across from Maritime Park and the Blue Wahoo Stadium. ⁓ ⁓ I'm Kathy Hallsworth, Artistic Director at Pensacola Little Theater in the Clark Family Cultural Center. Join me the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. for the center stage where I get to talk to my friends and your neighbors about whole things on PLT stages. People me how lucky my daughter is to have been adopted. But really? We are the lucky ones. Learn more at adoptuskids.org. Yeah, I'm trying to figure out how to sum up this show. We went so many different directions. We didn't went heavy into politics, w ⁓ politics, county politics, ⁓ and a victory for our community. ⁓ Then looked at a a business that is expanding and growing ⁓ and bringing on a new brand. you get a feel for what's happening in our community and it's an exciting time. ⁓ It's great be a part of it. I love working with Blab and what we're here, but I also like reporting. Like I try to do every day on what's happening here. blog, nweekly.net, We Don't Color on the Dog, where you can watch these ⁓ again. ⁓ please like and share everything that we do. Follow us. ⁓ helps ⁓ the algorithm ⁓ do more and more. 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