On June 12, 2026, the Choctawhatchee Bay Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution hosted its “America 250 Gala & Drone Show” event at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Rigdon Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
The gala was well attended and many of the guest wore colonial styled costumes. The evenings entertainment centered around the signing of the Declaration of Independence, some little known facts, and 56 local gentlemen represented all 56 signers for the reenactment of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The evening event ended with a large birthday cake rolled down the aisle as everyone sang “Happy Birthday America” led by Skylar Smith & Chevon Corlew-Coleman. The drone show followed as well as music by Clinch46.
The master of ceremony for this event was Bernard Johnson from Florida Power & Light, with co-presenters Mel Ponder from Northwest Florida State College, and Ginger Madden with the State Attorney office of the 1st Judicial Circuit of Florida. Check out the cast list further down the page to see who else represented who.
Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy this encore event video.
Video Chapter Points:
0:00:00 Welcome
0:03:27 Entrance of the 56 Signers
0:04:18 Presentation of the Colors
0:05:04 Amercian Creed
0:06:34 Blessing by Mel Ponder
0:09:07 Dinner Time
0:10:38 Act 1 – Fun Facts of Amercia’s Founding Fathers
0:14:42 Act 2
0:15:01 African Americans in the Revolutionary War
0:17:33 Spiritual Awaken in America
0:20:33 Revolutionary Women
0:24:11 Act 3
0:25:43 General George Washington
0:26:27 Introduction of the Delegates
0:27:22 New Hampshire Delegates
0:29:15 Massachusetts Delegates
0:31:57 Rhode Island Delegates
0:33:09 Connecticut Delegates
0:35:48 New York Delegates
0:38:23 New Jersey Delegates
0:41:33 Pennsylvania Delegates
0:47:48 Delaware Delegates
0:49:52 Maryland Delegates
0:52:18 Virginia Delegates
0:56:41 North Carolina Delegates
0:58:45 South Carolina Delegates
1:01:20 Georgia Delegates
1:04:31 The Star-Spangled Banner
1:07:47 Honorable Patt Maney – Toast
1:12:04 Arrival of the Cake & Happy Birthday America
1:13:47 Freedom Song
1:17:36 Drone Show
The Program:
Cast:
Learn more about the Revolutionary battles here: www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war
Video Production by www.ProLiveVideo.com
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Honoring Our Heroes 2026 – Celebrating the End of the Gulf War
The Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce was proud to host a Military Honors event celebrating the 35th anniversary of the end of the Gulf War. Featured speakers included General Charles Albert “Chuck” Horner, Lt. General David A. Deptula, Lt. General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, Colonel Randy O’Boyle, and Dr. John Andreas Olsen.
Video by ProLiveVideo.com
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Inaugural ODA 595 Horse Soldiers Reunion 2022
On October 22, 2022, the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce hosted the Inaugural ODA 595 Horse Soldiers Reunion at the Northwest Florida Fairgrounds. Ted Corcoran, CEO of the FWB Chamber, was Master of Ceremony.
Below is a replay video of the event. If you have a Smart TV, search for and install the VidFlow app to watch this video on your big screen TV. This video player also also you to select chapter points to specific speakers and presentations.
Ten of the original 12 members of ODA 595 were in attendance for this inaugural reunion event.
Captain Mark Nutsch – Detachment Commander
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bob Pennington – Assistant Detachment Commander
Master Sergeant Paul Evans – Team and Operations Sergeant
Sergeant First Class Andy Marchal – Intelligence Sergeant
Sergeant First Class Steve Kofron. – Weapons Sergeant
Staff Sergeant Mike Elmore – Weapons Sergeant
Staff Sergeant Chad Jacklet– Engineer Sergeant
Sergeant First Class Steve Bleigh—Medical Sergeant
Sergeant First Class Vince Makela – Communications Sergeant
Staff Sergeant Will Summers– Communications Sergeant
Not in Attendance:
- Staff Sergeant USAF Steve E. Tomat – Tactical Air Control Party (TACP)
- Staff Sergeant USAF Joseph Matt Lienhard– Air Force Special Operations Combat Controller from Special Tactics Squadron
Several prominent guest speakers included Florida House District #4 representative Patt Maney, former CIA Directorate of Operations officer Alex Hernandez, former USAF Chief of Staff for a Theater Special, retired Col Glenn Thomas, and the son of Doolittle Raiders Col Dick Cole, Richard Cole.
A special commemorative canteen cup was created by the Bohlin Company and presented to each member of ODA 595 in honor and recognition of their heroic actions in America’s first response against the Taliban after the 911 attack.
This event was made possible through the support of several local community sponsors.
If you are interested in learning more about ODA 595 as well as other stories about America’s 1st response to the 911 attacks, check out these sources:
First Casualty by Toby Harnden
Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton
Swords of Lightning – Green Beret Horse Soldiers and America’s Response to 911
12 Strong – The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers
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Candidate Forum – Fort Walton Beach City Council
Interested in the upcoming March 9, 2021 City of FWB election? Twelve candidates are running to fill three seats on the City Council. The Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce & the local NAACP hosted this candidate forum on February 2, 2021 at the City Auditorium. The forum was moderated by Michelle Anchors.
Candidates:
Nic Allegretto
Gloria DeBerry
Jason Floyd
Sean T. Murphy
David Schmidt
Debra Riley
Brad Roehrig
Michael James Rojas
Travis Smith
Gareth Allan Stearns
Sonya Lynn Vazquez
T. Payne Walker
Location:
Fort Walton Beach Civic Auditorium
107 Miracle Strip Pkwy, SE
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548
Date/Time Information:
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
5:00PM-8:00P
Contact Information:
(850) 244-8191