Tag: panama city beach

Cut That Ribbon: The Palms is Now Open

palms15On Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Suite Hospitality, accompanied by both the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Bay County Chamber of Commerce, cut the ceremonial ribbon on the new Palms Conference center, with plans to also cut into an under-appreciated business niche market on Panama City Beach.

Mayor Gayle Oberst and other officials were on hand to welcome the new addition to the Sleep Inn on the corner of Joan Avenue and Front Beach Road. With dozens in attendance, the ribbon cutting event turned into a nice social for everyone, as the facilities proved comfortably genial.

Previously the Mariner Restaurant, The Palms is an impressive 6,000 sq. ft. conference center, complete with outdoor patio and, the rather nicely appointed, Leaping Lizard Sports Bar, that has been revamped perfectly to suit meetings, seminars, wedding receptions and fundraisers. The Palms’ impact has been so well received that already, within a week of opening its doors, has been home to several seminars and has pre-booked weddings, Christmas parties and even a ballroom dancing event this July. What becomes apparent the moment you enter the Palms’ doors, is that it also fills the void of one of Panama City Beach’s most eschewed niches: the business traveler.

The facility at the new Palms Conference center lends well to every sort of endeavor requiring lots of space, food and a state-of-the-art sound system outfitted with projectors, surround sound and wireless internet. They offer in-house catering for events, prepared by local chef Dee Brown who, by Sales Manager Kathy Barrs’ account, makes “the best crab cakes on the beach. ” The layout of the building is broken into three large rooms, the largest of them able to seat 20 tables of 10 while the adjacent room provides additional seating or can be used as a buffet. The third room extends over to the Leaping Lizards sports bar. This addition, open to the public, has wall to wall 40-inch flat screens and an enormous 130-inch projection screen, for those who can’t miss a second of the game. If you’ve ever eaten at the Mariner Restaurant years back, you’ll notice immediately that the Leaping Lizard maintained the old nautical theme by keeping the infamous bar-top as well as the inlaid tables.

The Palms Conference Center and Leaping Lizard Sports Bar are both open to the public. For additional booking information please contact Kathy Barrs at 850-624-4150 or Kathy@suitehospitality.net

The Secret of What Your Home's Worth – REVEALED

I, like many other Realtors, send out a postcard when I sell a property proclaiming my excitement in hopes that someone will give me a call. Thankfully most of the people are sweet and just want some information, mostly on the value of their own home in that neighborhood and I am tickled to give them that information. This week I made a mistake. Although I knew better, I let a man convince me to give him a value of his home with only a little information. He was determined that I tell him what his house was worth sight unseen with little knowledge of his home other than the number of rooms and the year it was built. I kindly calculated what I thought it would be worth based on the homes that I know that have been selling and provided him a range of what I thought was reasonable. Apparently, I was WRONG, he did not like the number I gave him so that brings us to this weeks tip.

There are some things that your Realtor must know in order to give you an accurate value of your home. Doing it blindly over the phone is not the best bet and keep in mind it is every one’s best interest that she give you the right value. Realtors do not get excited about listing property – they love to sell it.

  1. Location: We have heard that one forever and it still remains one of the key factors in determining a homes value. For us at the beach, location to the beach and whether it is near a dedicated beach with easy access is a great factor as well. Also important is how many homes in your area are for ssle? How many are foreclosures? What is the general condition of the area? Are there high association fees in your area? If you live in an area with few houses for sale then you have a better chance typically of selling your home so make sure you ask your Realtor about the level of inventory in your neighborhood.
  2. Design, square footage and lot-size are all important to determine your homes value. Generally your Realtor will do a FREE Market analysis that will give you statistics of what the homes are selling for in your area and how long they have been on the market. If she is an active Realtor then she can give you a very good opinion of what your house will sell for but remember an estimate over the phone leaves her lacking vital information. PRICE is important today in that there are certain price categories that garner the greatest number of buyers.
  3. Loan availability and appraisals: Today more than ever it is important that buyers and sellers are aware if a property qualifies for a loan. Consumers are unaware that the type of property may determine whether a buyer can get a loan for that property. It is not safe to assume that if you qualify for a loan that qualifies the property as well. It is vital that you tell your lender what type of home you are considering and in the best case scenario have your Realtor send the mls listing to your lender that you are considering. Condos do NOT typically qualify in the same way a Detached single family home would and lots are an entirely different subject today.

There are many things to consider so please be patient with your Realtor and trust that she or he spends many hours working at her job and wants to provide you with good accurate information. Hey I did not even mention the economy because I figured you had enough to ponder for one week.

Of course I have to share the happy stuff as well because everyone that I talked to this week did not shoot the messenger. I got the sweetest note and flowers from a very kind lady that was grateful for me and that just made my day and made me think. . . I love this job I think I will stay.
Enjoy your week and be sweet to your Realtor!!!!!

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-16

  • heading up to thomas donuts with wifey and one kiddy. #
  • mmmm, eating this German Pancake thingy that my wife made…. mmm, so good. #
  • Blog Post 5 Extreme Father’s Day Ideas on Panama City Beach: Happy Father’s Day
    1. Kayak Fishing .. http://tinyurl.com/laeo94 (via @seepcb) #
  • RT @pierpark we’re getting ready to go up to #Pier Park to see all the cool cars. pictures coming soon! #
  • Support our friends, BetsyAnn Riverboat http://ow.ly/dTJX #
  • Don’t forget to stop by the big top treats airstream trailer tonight in pier park. They open tonight for the first time #
  • Man its hot. #
  • Tons of people out at the summer concert series at pier park – Photo: http://bkite.com/08pA5 #
  • Already loves computers. At 6 mos old. That’s my boy! – Photo: http://bkite.com/08pkS #
  • Sneak peek new airstream snack shack at pier park – Photo: http://bkite.com/08p6P #
  • Jason at the end ofnthe new pier. http://twitpic.com/71qy2 #
  • Cebo and I on the new pier in panama city beach – Photo: http://bkite.com/08mE9 #
  • Going out onto the new pier. http://twitpic.com/71oz3 #

Dunkin Donuts Opens Wednesday

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The highly anticipated maker of sweet round treats is all set to open this week as even today, excited teenagers train and eat donuts.  Dunkin Donuts on Panama City Beach has been under construction for a couple months, but “in the works for two years,” said owner, Bo Rivard.

Dunkin Donuts opens on Wedesday at 5 am serving all their donut and coffee goodness.

Located at the new Publix Shopping plaza at the intersection of R Jackson Blvd (formerly Bechrich Road) and Back Beach Road, the building is fresh and new and the donuts will be even fresher.

7 Ways for PCB to Get Ready for the New Airport

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Brand New Name:
This is a big one.  What’s in a name?  Everything.  A name identifies what something is and can convey the magnitude of its existence.  Panama City-Bay County International Airport just isn’t going to cut it for a 10,000 foot 4,000 acre international airport capable of receiving the largest of passenger jets from anywhere in the world.  We need a name that conveys a much larger representation.  Suggestions here on Pcbdaily have included Sunshine State International Airport, Emerald Coast International Airport, Florida International Airport, Gulf of Mexico International Airport, and Southern U.S. Intercontinental Airport.  Several readers in a previous post emphasized their favor towards Emerald Coast International Airport.  This name will literally be in front of millions, and the first impression that is imminent needs to be great.

Better Sense of Arrival on Highway 79:
What is the first thing fliers will see when they are driving down to our beautiful snow-white sand beaches?  A newly widened road with power lines and no landscaping; snore.  We need to excite them with a fantastic sense of arrival, a road adorned with huge, gorgeous palm trees, lush green grass, sidewalks, curbs, street lights, and underground utilities.  Put simply, it needs to look just like Beckrich , ‘er’uh’ R. Jackson Blvd.  This is another one of those “first-impression” things that we can’t afford to screw up.  I know that “officials” will say that there is a reason that we are doing the CRA in the order that it’s being done, but we need to find a way to change it up.  Highway 79 needs to be top priority, then next Front Beach Road needs to be addressed.

Improve Front Beach Road First:
It was remarked in another post’s comments that more emphasis needs to be placed on Front Beach Road’s improvements than on the improvements of the north/south corridors.  This is so true, tourists spend most of their time driving on Back Beach Road and Front Beach Road and very little time on the roads taking them in between.  Why did we spend money improving Churchwell, then Beckrich first?  Now we’re moving onto south and north Thomas Drive?  I know these areas needed improvements, badly, but we need to focus on what is more responsible regarding servicing our number one customers, tourists.  They don’t care what Beckrich looks like, they don’t EVER drive on Churchwell , but they see (and remark to me all the time, frankly) the ugly power lines and crave sidewalks to accent their stay with a little recreation.  This needs to be addressed NOW.

We’ve Got to Reintroduce Ourselves to the World:
Known as the redneck riviera and the spring break capital of the world (I don’t even want to dignify those titles with capital letters) we’ve got to totally re-introduce ourselves to the world.  Comments that came out of recent focus group sessions that took place in Atlanta discussing Panama City Beach were very revealing.  100% of the people in attendance had traveled to Panama City Beach, yet we were given the least favorable rating when compared to neighboring destinations.  Quoting a commenter, Bryan Durta, explaining remarks of some of the focus group attendees, “Negative comments included tacky, kinda like being at a bar with a bunch of drunks, dirty, rednecky, party city, too honky-tonky, and lots of cigarette butts on the beach.”  We need people to not only think of us as a classy destination that they’d want to come back to in a heart beat, but a classy destination that they’d recommend to their friends just as quick.  How do we do this?  We do this through innovative PR and Marketing efforts, much of which is much under way – bravo Jennifer Barbee Inc. and the CVB Marketing Team.

We Need a Year-round Destination
Every year businesses across the beach close down to save on expenses because the cost of operating exceeds the money they make during the winter season.  In Panama City Beach, we need to create more things for winter travelers to do so as to attract some of that shoulder-season money.  Right now, there are quite a few events that bolster weekend traffic during a time in which long weekends are king, but we need more.  And, they have to be good, real good.  We’re doing great, but we need to do better.  Events like the Panama City Beach Seafood Music and Wine Festival and Pier Park’s New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop have been immensely successful in the past, and will continue to bring people to our beaches year after year.  In addition, we need to better market to our winter-traveling retired friends.  We need to be sure that we have promotional materials created speaking directly to them and ensure they know we exist.

Transportation Sector:
In order for us to prepare for all the new people that will be traveling to our little slice of paradise, we need to centralize our transit system and educate our “transportation representatives”, aka cab-drivers.  We need a standardized licensing and education system to be sure that the first people that our tourists spend time with are not only knowledgeable, but that they are courteous as well.  In addition, in order to ensure a pleasurable experience, we need to be sure that the cab cars are of consistent quality and that the first impression of our new visitors is great enough to keep them coming back for years to come.

Standardized Hospitality Training
Here we go on the training thing again, but it is just so important.  Who is the first person you see when you check into your resort on vacation?  The person working the front desk.  So, if that person is grouchy, or doesn’t speak English or is just plain rude – how will that set the stage for your vacation?  I wouldn’t feel happy, and neither would many tourists.  The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach’s Edgewater Beach Resort teamed up with Gulf Coast Community College last fall to create a 20 hour training course that provides the hospitality and tourism businesses in our community with a consistent industry wide training program to increase customer service standards and the customer’s experience while visiting our destination.  This not only ensures that the people meeting our visitors are trained in how to interact with them, but that they are interacting in a quality that is consistent all down the beach.

Miracle League Field Christened by a Bunch of Winners

It was a perfect day for baseball as several Bay County youths were able to play ball at the new Miracle League Field in Frank Brown Park, Panama City Beach.

The organization is still putting plans together for the season, so if you know any youths in Bay County between the ages of 3 and 19 who may be interested in playing in the Miracle League, please visit their website . The Miracle League also needs “Buddies” who work with the players on the field to win the game!

Several local dignitaries were there, including Panama City Beach Mayor Gayle Oberst, state Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna,  and Bay County Commissioners.  Kudos to the leaders of Bay County who contributed to making this project come to life.

The Onion of Arts in Panama City Beach

Let’s play a word association game. It’s simple, I say a phrase and you tell me the first thing that comes to mind. Okay, ready? The phrase is: “Panama City Beach”. What was the first thing that popped into your head? Let me take a stab at this. Was it any of the following: beaches, emerald beaches, sugar sand, party, pier park, parasailing, or golf? Was I close? Maybe, maybe not, but let me tell you what I am sure that it wasn’t: culture, theatre, arts. When one thinks of Panama City Beach, the last thing thought about is any cultural events.

Right across the Hathaway Bridge we have Panama City, which has been named one of “America’s 100 Best Small Art Towns”. At BayArts.org, you can see all the supporters and events that are listed. Although the organization encompasses all of Bay County, except for the library on schools, there is not one of the groups listed that has it residence on the beach. Which begs the question, “What does the beach have to offer to the arts?”. Well, there is an onion of art here, and one must peel that onion to uncover its gems.

Since my interest in the arts mostly lay in ballet, I would like to share a gem that we have right here on the beach. We have a local ballet company, The Willis Ballet, that is run by Dr. Peggy Willis-Aarnio. It is a professional dance school, I do not want to get into the programs that are offered there when ballet classes are offered at other local schools.  I want to focus on what is different.  Dr. Willis-Aarnio, taught at Texas Tech for 31 years, and is currently a Professor Emeritus of that University. She is a leading international authority on the Classical Ballet Teaching Method. She is the Director of the Willis Ballet, and a choreographer whose productions have aired on PBS and has performed in England before Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip.  She is the Director of the Willis Conservatory of Classical Ballet and most importantly a Teacher of Teachers.

Dr. Willis-Aarnio will be hosting the 13th Annual International Teacher’s Congress and Student Workshop in July 2009. This is not only special because Dr. Willis-Aanrio will be sharing her extensive knowlege in Classical Ballet to aspiring ballet teachers from around the country. It is additionally special because Galina Panova will be teacing a class during the workshop to students participating in the Teacher’s Congress.

If you are one of the many who says, “Who is Galina Panova?”, don’t feel bad. Many would not recognize her name, but you should recognize some of the names of famous ballet dansuers (male equivelanet to ballerina), since she has partnered with some of the greats of the 20th century, including Valery Panov, her husband; Mikhail Baryshnikov; Fernando Bujones; and Rudolf Nureyev. George Balanchine, artistic director of the New York City Ballet, cast her in the Broadway musical “On Your Toes,” which he choreographed. Panova did a straight run of over 500 performances which is unprecidented.

This treasure is being brought to Panama City Beach to teach a Variations Class during the Teacher’s Workshop. It would be an honor for any serious ballet teacher or student to attend. So yes, there is art on Panama City Beach, and I will continue to hunt out these rare gems and report them to you.  If you are aware of any events, please feel free to contact me, and we can peel the arts onion together.

Pet of The Week – Friends of Bay County Animal Rescue

smudge-2This week’s pet of the week is Smudge, an fun-loving Terrier mix.

Smudge was a tiny girl to start and has grown into an adorable little fuzzy faced Terrier Mix who just wants lots of love and has high energy.  She is very sweet and loves to sit with you, but is also rambunctious and full of spirit and very playful.  Smudge will snack on raw carrots and play with her toys, and will also wait until she is let outside to use the potty.

She would love a forever home that had a fenced yard and lots of room for her to run and play, and where her family would spend time with her.

You may see more about her at http://friendsofbcac.rescuegroups.com.

VIDEO: PCB Gets A Main Attraction Back Better Than Ever

Right about now all Panama City Beach residents should shout, “Finally!” then collectively sigh. By the 4th of July, Panama City Beach will have the long-awaited Dan Russell Pier re-construction completed, its platform opened, designed to be light-years better and safer than its predecessor.

For those who don’t know much about the new city pier, here is a quick recap: The 8 million dollar structure (the cost for both the county and city piers) was funded by Fema after the previous pier was severely damaged in a hurricane. Designed by Baskerville Donovan, the city pier will extend out over the gulf a lengthy 1500 feet, 29 feet longer than the old pier. The pier stands 8 feet higher than its predecessor and wider at 17 feet. A super-structure, the pier is built to withstand hurricanes of all kinds. Six hundred pound bolted blowout panels line the platform that, when met with storm surge and winds, relieve the pressure on the structure by releasing the panels to safely drift onshore to later be reset. The previous structure also had a T shape at its head. Baskerville Donovan designed the new pier with a much larger head shaped in a rectangle. The rectangular area has a dual purpose of form and function as it accommodates more gazers and fishermen while providing additional protection during storm surge. What may be surprising to some, the pier is turtle friendly. Track lighting embedded into the stone frame, runs down the pier from end to end, eliminating the need for canopy lighting.

Along the Front Beach Road, the pier’s best asset won’t be open until the spring. At nearly 300 feet wide, a boardwalk will be added that could make the pier, coupled with Pier Park, Panama City Beach’s new downtown area. This boardwalk, conformed to potential new form-based design regulations will make room for a ticket booth, a 62ft wide restaurant, a tackle and bait store, public bathrooms and a large outdoor area with umbrella seating for those seeking stellar views. This area will, most likely, wear the same beachy-guise as Pier Park seeming to extend the popular mall to the shore.

Parking for the new pier will line along the roadside and additional overflow parking will be across the street just west of Pier Park’s entrance. Costs will be $6.00 for entrance for fishing and $2.00 for individuals. Senior citizens, military and disabled will receive 50% discounts. Year long passes will be sold for $180.00.

The pier reopening will be heralded by a stunning 4th of July fireworks display, the perfect kickoff to welcoming back a pier that’s been sorely missed.