By Sherry Olney
October may say “fall” on the calendar, even if the temperatures along the Emerald Coast haven’t gotten the message yet. But a new season gives us an opportunity to look around, reconnect and think about what makes the place we call home so special. So this October, let’s fall into community.
Fort Walton Beach has beautiful beaches, a proud military heritage, thriving businesses and organizations doing remarkable work. But people are what really make a community strong — those who build something and stay, bring a fresh idea to town, turn a personal challenge into a mission to help someone else, discover that service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off or simply keep showing up, sometimes for decades.
Bob Hudgens, Justice Jones, Gelin Ducati, Shane Weddle and Paul Singleton are five very different people at different places in their lives and careers. Yet each represents something important about the character of Fort Walton Beach.
Bob Hudgens: A Legacy That Lasts
There is something special about a family business that becomes part of a community’s history. For the Hudgens family, that history is intertwined with another important part of our area’s story — the United States military.
Bob Hudgens’ parents, Bob and Edna Hudgens, opened Coastal Realty Services in 1973. His father had been an Air Force pilot and engineer stationed at Eglin Air Force Base and retired after 20 years of military service. Bob and his sister, Denise Hudgens Bavarian, grew up around the family business and later carried that legacy forward.
More than five decades later, Coastal Realty Services remains part of the Fort Walton Beach community. Bob’s involvement in real estate has extended beyond Northwest Florida through years of leadership and service at the local, state and national levels.
A business survives for decades because people trust it. A community remembers businesses that support local causes, participate in civic life and understand that their responsibility doesn’t necessarily end when the workday does. Bob represents legacy — the kind built one relationship, one handshake and one year at a time.
Justice Jones: A New Generation Finds Its Community
If Bob represents deep roots, Justice Jones represents new growth — and sometimes community starts with a social media post.
Justice is the founder of 850 Social Babes, a growing local community that has connected thousands of women through social media, events, collaborations and shared experiences. Pickleball and social events may be part of the fun, but underneath it is something more important: Connection.
We live in a time when we can have hundreds — or thousands — of online “friends” and still feel disconnected from people living right down the street. Justice has turned online connections into real-world relationships while creating opportunities for women to support local businesses, meet new people and become more connected to their community.
As a member of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, Justice also represents a bridge between generations of networking. The Chamber has spent decades bringing people together face-to-face, while Justice is showing how technology can open that door in a different way. The platform may have changed, but the need to belong hasn’t.
Gelin Ducati: When Compassion Becomes a Calling
Some community organizations begin with a business plan. Others begin with a life experience. For Gelin Ducati, it was personal.
Gelin is the mother of Trey, who has a rare disability. Like so many parents raising a child with special needs, she found herself navigating questions, resources, advocacy and challenges. She turned that experience outward, founding Beyond Disabilities to advocate for and support families of children with disabilities through education, resources and community.
At the heart of that work is something every parent understands: The desire to know your child matters and that you aren’t walking the road alone.
Gelin’s involvement doesn’t stop with the cause closest to her heart. She continues to volunteer throughout the Fort Walton Beach community, including serving as a judge for the local Miss West Florida competition within the Miss America program.
Gelin represents compassion in action. She took something deeply personal and used it to make another family’s journey a little less difficult, helping others know, “I see you, and you’re not alone.”
Shane Weddle: A Veteran Who Never Stopped Serving
In Fort Walton Beach, military service is part of our DNA. Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field aren’t simply installations near our community. The men and women who serve there — and the veterans who remain here — are part of its heart.
Shane Weddle understands service firsthand. He served on active duty in the U.S. Navy and later in the National Guard. That experience helped shape the leadership, discipline and commitment to service he carried into civilian life and business ownership.
Today, Shane owns FASTSIGNS of Fort Walton Beach/Destin, where his military connection remains personal: His business supports and employs military-connected people, including veterans, reservists and military spouses.
His service reaches beyond his business. Shane became involved with the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce soon after arriving in the community, serving on the Chamber board and in military-focused leadership. He has also participated in mentoring programs for the next generation of local professionals.
I have seen that generosity firsthand through my work with One Hopeful Place. Shane has donated to and supported our mission of helping individuals experiencing homelessness move toward stability, independence and permanent housing. For a nonprofit, those community partnerships matter tremendously. Our work cannot happen in isolation. Someone has to care enough to help, and Shane does. The uniform may change, but the mission continues.
Paul Singleton: The Man Who Keeps Showing Up
And then there is Paul Singleton. If you’ve spent much time around the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, chances are you’ve seen him. At 93 years old, Paul reached an extraordinary milestone in June 2026 — his 2,000th Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber event, part of a remarkable streak that began in 1976.
But that number doesn’t begin to tell his story. Paul is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel whose lifetime of service continued long after his military career. His civic involvement has touched organizations and causes throughout the community, including Kiwanis, the YMCA, the American Heart Association, his church and the Chamber.
He also served as president of the Guidance Clinic, the organization that would eventually become Bridgeway Center — a connection particularly meaningful to me because of Bridgeway’s relationship with One Hopeful Place. His generosity has reached beyond Fort Walton Beach as well, including support for military-connected students pursuing higher education.
The Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber even renamed its Above and Beyond Award in his honor — the Paul Singleton Above and Beyond Award. It is fitting for a man who has spent much of his life doing exactly that. Yet perhaps the most remarkable thing about Paul isn’t a title, an award or even 2,000 Chamber events. It’s that he keeps showing up, year after year and decade after decade, no spotlight required.
What Makes Fort Walton Beach Strong?
Five people with five different stories. Bob Hudgens shows us the power of legacy. Justice Jones shows us the power of connection and new ideas. Gelin Ducati shows us what happens when compassion becomes action. Shane Weddle reminds us that service can become a way of life, and Paul Singleton shows us the extraordinary impact of simply showing up.
Through my work with One Hopeful Place and involvement with the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, I have had the privilege of seeing people like these throughout our community. And here’s what I’ve learned: Strong communities don’t just happen. People build them when they volunteer, mentor someone, support a nonprofit or local business, join a civic organization, advocate for someone who needs a voice or welcome someone new. They build them when they give the one thing money can’t buy: Their time.
You don’t need to own a business that’s been here for decades, have thousands of social media followers, start a nonprofit, chair a board or attend 2,000 Chamber events. You just need to find your place. Maybe you’ve been waiting for an invitation. Consider this one.
As we head into a new season, find one way to become a little more connected to the place you call home. Volunteer. Join. Give. Mentor. Support. Advocate. Or simply show up. This October, fall into community, because Fort Walton Beach isn’t strong because of any one of us. It’s strong because of all of us.
