At the Fisher House Benefit Cookout, 6 BHGRE Emerald Coast Agents competed for top honors as the ‘Soup Chef’ for 2018. Clark Turnipseed, Broker took home the 1st Place finish with his ‘Taco Chick’ soup recipe! Congratulations Clark!
Great meeting this morning at the Kiwanis Club of Destin as they blessed local charities with their annual giving. Opus One entertained and Fisher House board member Bryan Creager was on hand to receive our donation of $500. Wonderful group of big hearts caring for the community!
Thanks to the combined talents of Kathryn Guidry, who decorated our tree and Lauren Reho, who dressed as Dorothy and woo-ed the judges, our Fisher House of the Emerald Coast placed third, netting $1,000 for our home on Eglin AFB. This month long event supports 12 charities at Grand Boulevard and provides a great outreach tool. We leave our buddy bench onsite and encourage selfies posted on our social media.
Melissa and our friends at Navy Federal Credit Union donated $350 to provide a meal for our guests staying at the house over the Thanksgiving holidays. We are grateful for their support and care for our guests. 
Sandestin Wine Festival Raises More Than $65,000 for Local Charities Proceeds from the festival benefit Fisher House and Sandestin Foundation for Kids Miramar Beach, Fla (July 18, 2017) – The 31st Annual Sandestin Wine Festival, the most established and continuously running wine festival in the Florida Panhandle, announced today the organization donated $65,920 to two deserving local charities. The proceeds are from the four-day event, held this past spring at The Village of Baytowne Wharf at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.
Due to the success of this year’s festival and sold out grand tasting events on Friday and Saturday, both the Fisher House of the Emerald Coast and Sandestin Foundation for Kids were presented with checks totaling $32,960 each.
“This event continues to bring a wide range of experiences for guests, wine experts from across the globe, and hard to find selections of wine. But we want the Sandestin Wine Festival’s focus to remain on the local community,” commented Alan Meyers, The Village of Baytowne Wharf executive director. “With the help of sponsorships, community partners, and the continued support of our festival from the locals and visitors alike, we were able increase our giving from last year. We hope to continue to ultimately benefit our local non-profits in need,” concluded Meyers.
“We are blessed with community partners and volunteers with big hearts who believe like we do that family is the best medicine,” said Teresa Halverson, president of Fisher House of the Emerald Coast, Inc. “A team effort, combined with the popularity of this annual world-class event and the generosity of our supporters contributing their time and resources helps us keep military families together when facing a medical crisis, furthering the legacy began by Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher.”
Sara Becnel, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort executive director and co-trustee of the Sandestin Foundation for Kids, said, “Since our founding in 2011 our goal has been to make a meaningful and positive difference one child at a time. I want to thank our community, the volunteers and everyone associated with the Sandestin Wine Festival for providing these proceeds to support the Sandestin Foundation for Kids. Through your generosity, the Foundation will continue to make an immediate and direct impact in the lives of children and their families suffering from a variety of tragedies including health and economic issues throughout the Emerald Coast and abroad. We are grateful and humbled.”
The 32nd Annual Sandestin Wine Festival is set for April 12-15, 2018. Chief sponsors of the Sandestin Wine Festival include Coastal Living, Meiomi, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Good Grit, Visit South Walton, Publix, 30A, GPL Landscaping, EC Magazine, 850 Magazine, Destin – Fort Walton Beach Airport and SoWal.
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About the Sandestin Wine Festival
The Sandestin Wine Festival is the longest, continuously running wine festival in the Southeast. Thousands of people enjoy festival events including Sparkling Wine and Holiday Lights in November, plus wine dinners, seminars and grand wine tastings in April. For more information, visit www.sandestinwinefestival.com.
About Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is a major destination for all seasons and all ages, and was named the #1 Resort on Florida’s Emerald Coast. The resort invites guests to a world of 2,400 acres and 30 charming neighborhoods featuring 1,300 vacation rentals, condominiums, villas, town homes and the best in hotel accommodations. As a member of Visit South Walton and Visit Florida, the resort features more than seven miles of beaches and pristine bay front, four championship golf courses, 15 world-class tennis courts, 19 swimming pools, a 113-slip marina, a fitness center and spa, meeting space and The Village of Baytowne Wharf, a charming pedestrian village with events, shopping, dining and nightlife. People are invited to download Sandestin’s APP for iPhone and Android devices, or become a Facebook Fan or Twitter follower for the latest events and news.
Media Contacts:
BrookeScholl@sandestin.com
Marketing and Communications Manager
MaureenHolden@sandestin.com
Marketing and Communications Director
Rob Reyes, owner of Stripes Pub & Grill in Navarre, Florida, recently presented a $2,800 donation to Fisher House of the Emerald Coast, Inc. through their 7th Annual Navarre Beach Pub Crawl, t-shirt sales.
The check was presented to board members Jim Fisher and Richard Dick, along with Administrative Director, Mia Hughes. This event has raised $14,326 in its seven year history.
“We appreciate Rob’s military service and his continued devotion to our mission,” said Teresa Halverson, board of director’s president. “The annual Pub Crawl continues to gain momentum, both in popularity and prosperity for our organization, year after year and has encouraged other communities blessed with Fisher Houses to model their events after the success of Rob’s. “
Huston led the Leadership class and ROTC program from Choctawhatchee High School, collecting 2 pallets of items from the pantry wish list from Sam’s Club. They delivered their blessing to the house and were greeted by house manager and base leadership. “Train up a child in the way he should go” has not fallen on deaf ears in these amazing leaders of tomorrow!
Johanna and our friends at Blountstown Pharmacy raised $8106 for your local Fisher House in the inaugural 5k Veteran’s Day run. Our footprint is from Pensacola to Panama City and approximately 25% of our guests come from Panama City/Tyndall area. We have some great partners across the panhandle taking care of our military and their families.
What happens when a group of dedicated people come together to make good things happen? Great thing happen – the AMVETS of Post 78 hosted a roast and raised $720 for your local Fisher House. We love our AMVET friends across the region.
For their second year in a row, this group of dedicated athletes and military supporters have hosted a successful event and donated proceeds to your local Fisher House. Next year’s is already on the schedule, register early, it’s fun and for a great cause. Dan, Bo and Dalia present the check to Teresa Halverson.