World Famous AJ’s Seafood & Oyster Bar perched upon the bluffs of Destin’s historic inner harbor with spectacular views of the Gulf of Mexico.
formance hardware and an improved safety structure. It’s taken us 10 years to get it to the nationally recognized event it is today. “And it’s only been in the past six or seven years that we’ve consistently raised more than $100,000 for charity,” Jones continued. “One thing that hasn’t changed is the fun, relaxed atmosphere of the event and the fact that we’ve always encouraged all kinds of boats to participate.” This year, Stu Jones collaborated with Stan Shipp from Crab Island Boat Rentals to arrange a pontoon boat ride for a group of kids from the Eleanor Johnson Youth Center, a foundation beneficiary. “It was a team effort all the way with a lot of players,” said Jones. “Stan was kind enough to
get us the boat for the day, our FPC staffer Drew Kravits and Captain Chris Pelly took turns at the helm with Chris Sehman providing hospitality and catering. Sehman commented, “That was a definite highlight for me. We got the kids ice cream and took them to lunch at Helen Back. Many of them had never even been on a boat.” Between the poker hands and auction at Saturday night’s Big Bash and the other accompanying Boat Week events, Sehman expected the event to raise more than $100,000 again.
“Economically speaking, the poker run brings several millions dollars into the local communities over the course of the week,” he said. “What’s nice is the people aren’t just coming in for the weekend, they’re coming in on Tuesday or Wednesday and staying the whole week. Ultimately that’s what this is all about. We want our visitors to be able to eat at the spectacular restaurants, stay at the nice hotels and enjoy the beautiful Emerald Coast water. “Turn that around and what we really do this for is the kids,” he continued. “The money we raise from this event goes a long way. This event would not be possible without the support and generosity Continued on next page POWERBOATING IN PARADISE
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