By Kelly Murphy-Redd
Passionate about the community, Stephen Perkins loves the opportunity to contribute his resources and talents as the incoming chairman of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Stephen praises the chamber because of the people. He has met great friends through the chamber, thinks the chamber staff is really hard-working, and believes the chamber accomplishments are rewarding.
He also loves the people at Warren Averett and says accounting is fun there. While it sounds cliché to say the people you work with are like family, it’s true at Warren Averett. They hang out together outside of work. The people make it easy for Stephen to stay in the field of accounting. Many of his clients are friends.
Accounting is a demanding field, but also rewarding. Stephen gains great satisfaction from growing the financial health of his clients and saving them money on taxes. Being of value is what it is all about for Stephen.
The most valuable asset in Stephen’ life is his wife. They met at Warren Averett and she works as an auditor. According to Stephen, she is best part of his life, likes to binge watch TV, travel and is a good dog mom to their German Shepherd. She even helps Stephen work on his cars.
Speaking of cars, Stephen races them. He grew up in Advance, N.C., in the heart of NASCAR country. All the teams are headquartered there. Everything is themed racing. It is the culture. Richard Petty lived near him. Racing has always been a part of his family life.
Stephen is always “turning a wrench” in his single-car garage succumbing to the perpetual drive to make his car go faster. His car is always on jack stands. His dream is to build a shop one day.
There was no turning back after his father took him to a professional driving range in Las Vegas. His first race was in 2014, but he has been racing consistently since 2016. Stephen travels to Birmingham to Indy track, Barber Motor Sports Park. He races in Texas at the Circuit of the Americas, and in Atlanta. These races are considered amateur and informal. The designated groups are Novice, Intermediate, Intermediate Two and Advanced. Stephen is Intermediate Two.
Looking down the road to 2024, one of Stephen’s goals as incoming chairman is to drive youth involvement in the chamber. He wants to create more events that would interest younger business professionals. Stephen feels it’s important to raise up the next generation of business owners and to show them the value of community involvement.
Stephen has been the treasurer for the chamber for several years and wants to continue to help grow the financial stability and health of the chamber.
Another goal involves the growth and beautification of Fort Walton Beach. Stephen would like to help shape downtown into something more aesthetically pleasing. With the new bridge and all of the exciting renovations in progress, Fort Walton Beach is accelerating towards changes that will benefit the entire community.
For Stephen, it all comes back to the people.
