(Gulf Shores, Alabama)
It’s still not too late to enter your team in the Learning For Life Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce, and benefitting the Coastal Baldwin Educational Enrichment Foundation. The tourney, formerly known as the National Shrimp Festival Golf Tournament, will take place Friday at the Gulf Shores Golf Club.
“This tournament is our largest fundraiser of the year,” CBEE Foundation Chair Yolanda Devine Johnson said. “Without the proceeds from this tournament, we wouldn’t be able to give out nearly the number of student scholarships and teacher grants we distribute each year.”
CBEE Foundation Vice-Chairman Fred Peninger said this is the second year the tourney has been held in the spring. “Traditionally the tourney has been held in the fall near the time of the National Shrimp Festival. CBEE has always received the proceeds from the tourney, but during the past couple of years, the Foundation has taken a larger role in putting the tournament on,” he said. “Because of the name change and the change in the time of year, I believe many teams that normally participate in the tourney may not be aware that this is the same event.”
Johnson said the more individuals and teams that participate in the tourney, the more money CBEE can distribute to deserving students, teachers and public schools in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. “I can’t stress enough how important it is to our Foundation and to our community for teams and individuals to come out and support us through their participation,” she said. “We welcome anyone who wants to come out for a good cause Friday. You don’t have to have a full team. We’ll make sure everyone who wants to play is placed on a team.”
“The golfers that come out and play Friday will not only receive a great lunch, a great round of golf and a great post-tourney party,” Chamber Special Events Director Ann Motes said. “The wet weather from Wednesday and Thursday is supposed to be about gone, and the temperature should be in the 70s. We should have excellent weather for soft greens and low scores.”
Fees for the tourney are $125 per player or $500 per team, and include green fee, cart, lunch, complimentary beverage cart, two mulligans, a red tee buster, a goody bag and entry to the post-round awards ceremony in the clubhouse. Entry forms can be found on the Chamber’s website at alagulfcoastchamber.com/pages/RegistrationforGolfTournament1 or call Motes or Lauren Turner at 251-968-6091. Persons or individuals who don’t get the chance to fill out a form online may register on-site at the golf club until lunch begins at 11 a.m. Friday.
“I can’t say enough about our tourney sponsors,” Motes said. “Their sponsorships go a long way toward paying the expenses of putting on the tourney, so the entry fees can go toward the scholarships and grants CBEE distributes.” Tournament sponsors include Gulf Publishing Company, Budweiser, Cotton’s Restaurant, Gulf Island Grill, Staybridge Suites, Suncoast Beach Services, F&E Sportswear, McCarron Insurance Group Inc. and Kutter’s Ground Maintenance, Inc.
The CBEE Foundation has awarded scholarships to graduating seniors from Gulf Shores High School and grants to teachers in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores public schools since 1999. Anyone who is interested in making a difference in our schools is welcome to become a part of CBEE. For more information on the foundation, see its website at www.cbee.la, or contact Johnson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or 205-613-0001.
(Gulf Shores)
Many of the area’s top business leaders turned out Feb. 3 as the Coastal Baldwin Educational Enrichment Educational Foundation honored the recipients of its annual Teachers of the Year awards at the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce’s First Friday Forum. Recipients are chosen from the four public schools in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and are nominated by their peers.
“These teachers represent the best of the best in their respective schools,” CBEE President Yolanda Devine Johnson said. “We believe our schools are home to the best teachers anywhere, and our winners were picked by their fellow teachers – hence they are the best of the best. Congratulations to them all.”
This year’s winners include Kimberly Hollis of Orange Beach Elementary, Nicole Godbold of Gulf Shores Elementary, Debbie Kenyon of Gulf Shores Middle and Lynn Lowell on Gulf Shores High.
Hollis, a kindergarten teacher who has been at OBES since 1997, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montevallo. She is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Teaching Society International, Baldwin County Advisory Committee for Kindergarten and the
UBGOOD Scholarship Board
.
According to OBES Principal Jonathan Ellis, Hollis “creates learning experiences that instill a love of learning in children at a very early age. She is dedicated to creating memorable and engaging lessons for her children that never leave out the ‘fun.’ We are very fortunate to have her here at Orange Beach Elementary.”
Godbold, a fourth-grade teacher, is in her eighth year of teaching, and in her seventh at GSES. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University at Montgomery and a master’s degree from Grand Canyon University. She was selected through a rigorous process as an “enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies” – better known as eMINTS - instructor, which encourages the use of technology in the classroom.
“I am so honored to be a part of such an amazing and supportive community, with the most outstanding group of individuals as colleagues and friends,” Godbold said. “The teamwork that surrounds me leads to powerful results in the classroom, as well as student success.”
GSES Principal Julie Pierce said she is proud of Godbold. “She is a learner who loves to implement the best teaching practices in her own classroom. By attending tons of professional development, she works diligently and collaboratively with other teachers to help improve instruction across the entire school,” she said. “In recent months, her instruction has attracted visitors and dignitaries from eMINTS, ARI, AMSTI and even our state legislature.”
Kenyon, in her 10th year of teaching and has been at GSMS for the past nine years. She is a seventh grade civics and geography teacher at GSMS, where she is the yearbook sponsor and girls soccer coach. She is an eMINTS teacher and was also the GSMS Teacher of the Year for the 2005-2006 school year. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Athens State University and a master’s degree from the University of North Alabama.
“I was honored and humbled by my colleagues to be chosen as Teacher of the Year. I am blessed to have a career that I truly enjoy doing every day. I love working with my students,” Kenyon said. “The colleagues that I work with are amazing. Any one of them could have easily been Teacher of the Year.”
“She has done an outstanding job during her tenure here at Gulf Shores Middle School. She puts her students first and works tirelessly to meet their needs whether academic, social, or athletic,” GSMS Principal Phillip Fountain said. “She is well respected among her students, colleagues, and parents. She is such an integral part of our GSMS family it gives me great pride that she is our Teacher of the Year.”
Lowell is a biology and honors biology teacher at GSHS. She has been teaching for 17 years, the past six at GSHS. She is a Level III AMSTI teacher. She holds a bachelor’s degree from AUM and a master’s degree from the University of West Alabama. “The highest honor of my career is having been chosen by my peers as teacher of the year,” she said.
“She is an outstanding teacher and cares about her students. She offers tutoring before and after school,” GSHS Principal Dr. Ernie Rosado said. “Every time I walk in her classroom she is teaching and I learn something interesting about biology. Also, she will be teaching advance placement biology next fall- a first for GSHS.”
CBEE member Jason Holt announced the award recipients at First Friday Forum, which was sponsored by Krebs Architecture and Engineering. Holt said he wanted to thank Krebs for their support of the foundation, and said the foundation membership hopes to do more for teachers in the future. “We've been able to fund projects for several teachers of the year through the foundation,” Holt said. “We look forward to working with our teachers - including future teachers of the year - closely as we move forward in pursuit of excellence in education on the island.”
For more information on the foundation, go to their website www.cbee.la or contact President Yolanda Devine Johnson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
(Gulf Shores)
December 3, 2010
7:30 a.m. Lulu's at Homeport Marina
Sponsored by Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism
Guest Speaker will be Robert Ingram,
Baldwin County Ecomonic Development Alliance
Topic:
Marketing Update and Year-end Summary
Reservations are required. Contact Vicki Stillings by
Noon, Thursday, December 2nd at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
( Gulf Shores )
First Friday Forum - November 5th Topic: Tourism Update Reservations are required. Contact Vicki Stillings by noon Thursday, November 4th by calling (251)968-7200 or email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism
Herb Malone, President and CEO of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau speak in front of The House Energy and Commerce Committee. Here is his testimony.
Mr. Herbert J. Malone, Jr., President
Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau
July 27, 2010
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
“The BP Oil Spill and Gulf Coast Tourism”
Good morning and thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the committee for this opportunity to appear before you and to share our story. Before I begin, please allow me to extend my condolences to the families of the eleven crew members who lost their lives during the explosion of the Deep Water Horizon Rig. I also ask that you join me in extending condolences to the families of the twelfth victim, Orange Beach Charter Boat Captain Alan Kruse, who tragically took his own life amidst the anxiety and despair at the loss of his way of life.
OVERVIEW OF OUR DESTINATION
My name is Herbert Malone and for the past 22 years I have enjoyed the privilege of leading the tourism industry of Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Our destination consists of two small cities of Gulf Shores (pop. 7,760) and Orange Beach (pop. 6,359). We have 32 miles of beach front in Baldwin County (pop. 177,000), one of Alabama’s two coastal counties. The inland city of Foley (pop. 11,393) is also considered by our tourists as integral to our destination because of its status as the retail center of the small region.
We share many of the same features as our neighboring Florida panhandle destinations: sugar white beaches, emerald green waters, world class fishing, championship golf and a variety of family friendly attractions, shops and restaurants.
*Visitor research confirms that our beaches are the dominant reason people visit Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, especially those who visit during the summer months. Specifically, when asked by researchers to list the most influential factors in making the choice to vacation in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, 90% of the guests consistently listed “White sandy beaches” at the top of the list. Other beach related factors listed in the top ten are: “Sunning on the beach” and “Safe beaches for children.” “Clean, unspoiled environment” is also listed as one of the top factors.
When asked what activities you enjoyed during your visits, nearly 98% of our visitors listed “Beaches” as number one. Nearly 20% of our visitors enjoy fishing in our waters while boating also ranks high as an influential factor.
Alabama’s Gulf Coast has approximately 16,000 resort accommodations, mostly along or very near the beach front. We have a dozen championship golf courses and approximately 100 charter fishing boats that ply our waters daily.
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE OIL SPILL
**Research by the Alabama Department of Tourism concludes that in 2009, 4.6 million guests visited Baldwin County and accounted for $2.3 billion in “direct” spending. This supported over 40,000 jobs with a combined payroll of $915 million. Extrapolating from this report, I have estimated that nearly $1.7 billion of this occurs during our high season – Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. During this high season, our destination accounts for over 47% of Alabama’s total tourism spending.
The above numbers described what the oil spill has put at economic risk. News of the oil spilling into the Gulf was widely reported early in the last week of April. From the first days of these reports, Alabama’s coastline was under severe threats as indicated by the NOAA projections charting the movement of the oil slick. Cancellations began to occur immediately.
Our first sporadic landing of tar balls were reported on May 11, 2010 and cancellations increased. Then, two weeks of favorable winds and aggressive marketing allowed us to salvage a decent Memorial Day weekend crowd. But the following Friday, June 4, 2010 we were inundated with tar balls, tar patties, and eventually tar mats. Cancellations then began en masse. The second weekend of June we were “slathered in oil” as reported by one news outlet.
So what has this cost us? We expect to lose at least 50% of the aforementioned $1.7 billion of visitors’ spending. $850 million to $1 billion loss is in my professional opinion, a reasonable expectation. And this is only at the front line “direct spending” level. As these lost dollars fail to move through the economy, the impact will be multiplied many times.
As the retail level, lodging, eating and shopping establishments dropped sales, they have also dropped their business to business purchases of wholesale goods and services and staff reduction measures have been implemented. Those employees have likewise reduced their spending on goods and services. I am not aware of a single business in our community that has not suffered financial decline as a result of this oil spill.
BUSINESS SURVIVAL
With the aid of a $15 million tourism marketing grant to the State of Alabama, our entire business community has pulled together in an attempt to overcome these declines. Aggressive non-conventional marketing programs, creative value added discounting and new special events have combined to provide a base of customers that has allowed us to at least survive through the summer. But the end of high season is near and along with this many business owners have told me they are struggling to find ways to pay debt service and to make weekly payrolls. The last two years of recession has eroded most reserves of both businesses and local governments, including our school system. Unlike the hurricanes we have survived, this disaster occurred on the eve of the high season, not the end of it. Without immediate relief in some form, many of our small businesses will not survive through the off season.
THE BP CLAIMS PROCESS
Many of our local businesses have prior experience dealing with adjusters on “loss of revenue” insurance and all of the trials and tribulations of that process. As a result, several groups banned together and attempted to develop a productive approach with BP early on. Despite these efforts, the claims process has been erratic, somewhat convoluted, and at times dysfunctional.
I have personally spoken with a large number of business owners who have yet to see a single payment, in spite of filing claims since the end of May. These claims varied from a few hundred thousand to a million dollars or more. So this lack of payment is devastating. Small claims of under $5,000 have been readily processed and paid, but larger claims are subjected to vast amounts of documentation (one reported filing over 2,200 pages) and onerous scrutiny by forensic accountants before claims are processed and even partial payments are made.
Latest claims reports contained on BP’s website (as of 7/22/2010) reflect that to date there have been $36,827,074 commercial “loss of profit” claims paid to 16,965 factors. This calculates to $2,171 per factor. Hardly enough for a business to sustain itself.
While a few of our larger businesses who have sizeable accounting staffs and IT departments seem to be having improved experiences, the vast majority are having their claims stymied for unknown reasons.
Currently, the largest fear regarding claims is the transition from the BP claims process to Mr. Feinberg’s program. From the beginning, BP has stated publicly that they “will pay all legitimate claims,” but no definition or eligibility standards have ever been disclosed. In public forums, questions raised to BP officials present were frequently answered with, “We plan to make you whole”’ again with a lack of definition. This has led many people and business owners throughout the region to feel protected, but apparently this was unfounded trust.
At the time of this writing, I have had the opportunity to participate in one 45 minute meeting with Mr. Feinberg. Our group came to this meeting to present him information on the problems experienced with the BP claims process. However, we were quite surprised to learn that his perspective on “eligibility” was much narrower than any of us had ever dreamed. Obviously, this caused us grave concern and we expressed this to him. He indicated a willingness for further discussion.
Another concern to us was the process for payments that he described. The good news was that he offered to consider claims for the projected losses over the next 6 months so he can pay a business in advance rather than BP’s practice of paying in arrears. But his plan to offer a one time, final settlement raises many questions. How the future impacts which could last for many years are projected and calculated? Why is a claimant being asked to sign away their legal rights forever with so much debate and uncertainty of such things as subsurface damage to the environment, long term health risks, etc.?
Our understanding that day was that a business owner could either accept the offer or proceed to litigation and that the ongoing claims payment process will cease at the time the offer is rejected. By almost all accounts in the legal community, the anticipated litigation will certainly last many years and possibly, a few decades. A law professor from the University of Alabama stated at a recent forum that the attorneys who will try these cases have probably not been born yet.
The bottom line is that a business owner, in order to survive will have no logical choice but to accept Mr. Feinberg’s offer. Is this fair?
During our meeting with Mr. Feinberg, I personally found him to be open for reasonable discussion and debate regarding his view point. We all agreed to have a follow-up meeting to further discuss our concerns. At the time of this writing, that follow-up meeting has yet to occur.
IMMEDIATE NEEDS AND LONG TERM OUTLOOK
Our destination consists primarily of family owned businesses, many of whom are multi-generational. They have no diversification in other markets so they are extremely vulnerable. Most are categorized as small businesses. As previously stated, this oil spill has occurred at the worst possible time. They need immediate relief within the next few weeks.
First of all they need an expedited claims resolution process to put cash in their hands right away. The process BP claims adjusters are using is akin to the IRS deciding to audit every tax return prior to sending the taxpayer his refund. This is unconscionable. Secondly, the majority of our businesses are carrying debt of various types and sizes. A commonly used practice is a seasonal line of credit much like farmers use. They draw on their credit line in the early spring as they prepare their businesses and their markets for the coming season. These credit lines frequently come due at the end of the high season. But today there is no money for payment because this year’s crop of tourists failed to appear.
The recent turmoil within the banking industry has caused both bank policy makers and regulators to reduce or remove much of the flexibility they have previously exhibited. Informal discussions with regional bank leaders and regulators have shown some willingness to find ways to help, but at this time I am not aware of any action in that regards.
As suggested by several business leaders at a recent Chamber of Commerce board meeting, there is an urgent and immediate need for flexible banking policies in the form of such things as loan modifications, forbearance agreements, payment extensions, etc. As one man said, “It is time to quit talking and demand some action NOW!”
As for the long term, the lack of the ability to understand the future ramifications of this monster appears to be the top contributor to the high degree of anxiety and stress that is rampant in our community. I see desperation in faces where I have never seen it before. Our destination attracts predominantly families due to the fact that we are family owned and operated businesses. If we lose these business owners, we lose the entire culture of our destination.
How long will it take to restore our environment to pre-oil spill conditions? How long will it take to attract our tourists back? Will there be adequate financial assistance for businesses and employees? These are all real and difficult questions. But we are survivors. Our community has a proven record of working together both in good times and in bad. We never have and never will ask for a handout. All we ask is that you, BP and Mr. Feinberg help us help ourselves.
Thank you for your time.
*Study conducted by The Klages Group
**2009 Economic Impact Report, Alabama Travel Industry
