Visit South Walton, the Northwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and Destin–Fort Walton Beach recently teamed up to honor area Hospitality Heroes. During the event at Henderson Beach Resort & Spa, nominees from Walton and Okaloosa Counties were recognized for consistently going above and beyond when it comes to making our visitors feel welcome and at home.
Among this year’s winners was Stacey Brady, Sales & Marketing Director of Grand Boulevard at Sandestin. “It was completely unexpected,” she says. “It takes thousands of people to deliver a great experience to the visitors we have in this area every year. It’s hard work and it’s important. Restaurants, retail, hotels…whether you’re getting a massage or eating a meal…everywhere you go, you’re touching the hospitality industry.”
At Grand Boulevard, Brady oversees communications and marketing for a multifaceted shopping, dining, playing and staying operation with roughly 60 retail and restaurant tenants as well as three hotels. From assisting with staffing to spearheading traditional and digital media efforts, her day-in-the-life ranges from big picture to small details, all revolving around building and cultivating relationships. During her tenure, she’s helped evolve the brand to encompass some of the region’s most celebrated events and partnerships.
“One of my favorite things over the past 13 years with Grand Boulevard was creating the Coastal Culture event brand. It’s become an award-winning events calendar and filling it in has been a big part of what I do. We partner with a charitable organization for each event. It’s a way of living our core value of being a good steward and giving back to the community.”
Among the most anticipated annual events Brady has spearheaded and the most involved is the South Walton Beaches Wine & Food Festival, held on the last full weekend of April. “We literally build a village,” Brady says of the hundreds of tents and events-within-events. Dozens of celebrity winemakers, distillers, chefs and brewmasters converge to wine, dine, educate and entertain guests as part of the three-day celebration, which marked its 10th anniversary this year and featured performances by renowned Nashville songwriters. “It’s for people who love the good life…and all proceeds go to the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation, which benefits children in need in Northwest Florida.”
On Mother’s Day weekend every year, Coastal Culture hosts the area’s longest-running arts festival, ArtsQuest, with artists from across the country. Featuring everything from photography to woodworking to jewelry, the event draws high numbers of attendees each year and benefits the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County.
Up next this summer is Theater Thursdays, Thursday evenings May 26th through the month of July with Emerald Coast Theatre Company (another great nonprofit). Shakespearean comedy under the stars condensed into a kid-friendly, hour-long timeframe with audience interaction, it’s a crowd pleaser locals and visitors love.
“It’s really gratifying to work with all these organizations, and we make it a lot of fun,” says Brady. After two full decades in hospitality in South Walton, she still loves it. “If you’re going to work hard, it’s not a bad view,” she jokes, adding “our beaches get people to the destination, but our hospitality is what brings them back.”
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