Story by RUBY KEARCE  The Walton County Economic Development Alliance (WCEDA) met for their monthly meeting Wednesday, Oct. 5, in the conference room at the Walton County Administration Building.  Walton County Human Resource Director Nathan Kervin approached the board with a job description for the Economic Development Alliance (EDA) Executive Director’s position. This description will be posted on Walton County’s website until the position has been filled. Kervin will review the applications to highlight candidates with proper qualifications and bring applicants forward for further review at the next meeting. A motion was made to approve of the job description with the added verbiage of “Certified Economic Developer.”  Paxton Mayor Ann Sexton was first in rotation for city updates, and she announced that Paxton has received the sub-grant agreement for the Senior Citizens’ Center and was scheduled to meet with the team on Tuesday, Oct. 18, to kick off the project. Paxton also received a $135,000 grant from Northwest Florida Water Management District for water meter replacements. Funding for the health clinic was obtained, and the project should be started soon. Sexton also thanked the alliance for their help with the Bobby Kemp Day Festival.  Freeport Mayor Russ Barley began his update by stating that land has been cleared near Owl’s Head Farms for approximately 300 apartments and crews are almost ready to start building, Otto’s Carwash has also cleared land, obtained a permit and will start building soon. The Mayor’s Ball, on Oct. 15, was sold out, with over 250 tickets... Read More

NEW LOGO approved for Walton County’s “Beyond the Beach” tourism promotion effort. By DOTTY NIST “Sister branding” has been approved for promotion of visitation to Walton County, with the new branding highlighting Walton County’s offerings away from the beach. The approval took place at the Oct. 11 Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting at the Walton County Courthouse. Kelli Carter, marketing director for the Walton County Tourism Department, introduced the proposed branding to the county commissioners. Carter explained that the sister branding would be an addition rather than a replacement for the existing “South Walton” branding that “has years of equity and recognition.” She discussed that in a 2020 referendum the voters had approved a two-percent tourist development tax that is now being collected on short-term rentals in the area north of the bay. This tax for tourism promotion purposes had previously been collected only south of the bay (at a five-percent rate in that area). Carter said this voter approval resulted in tourism department staff immersing themselves in finding out everything Walton County has to offer “from the Alabama state line to the Gulf of Mexico,” which is an ongoing effort. She also explained that research is ongoing on visitors who come to stay in other parts of the county than the beach. “We know that it’s a different visitor than probably the visitor that comes to the beach,” Carter said, adding that beach visitors might also visit other areas of the county if more information was... Read More