The Pensacola International Airport is the presenting sponsor of Entrecon 2025. Mayor D.C. Reeves welcomed the participants on Wednesday and tried out a few jokes about being his “Welcome to Pensacola” announcement that plays continuously at the airport.
“I don’t really know how to react whenever I hear my own voice while I’m sitting at the airport,” he said. “Am I supposed to be standing and waving? I suppose you can put yourself in my shoes, but there is no sympathy for me in this case. I do proactively apologize to every airport employee as I come through and say, ‘I’m sorry, you have to hear me.’”
When he flies out the airport, the mayor said he has empathy for the families waiting to board their morning flights. “The poor family that’s been up since 3:45 in the morning. The anxiety is at a hundred. The wife is taking care of the kids and telling the husband to go get something from the concession stand, and as she’s trying to say that my voice booms and they can’t hear her. That’s what I’m really worried about.”
Reeves joked that he has considered a few different announcements. “I think for this year, we’re going to try a few more just to change it up, help our employees, make sure you guys aren’t hearing the same thing.”
He continued, “Like one I thought about of saying, ‘Hello, welcome to Pensacola. This is Mayor D.C. Reeves. Please do not rent a box truck and drive down 17th Avenue if you happen to, because then our police have to come out, and it floods down there a lot.’ And I don’t know, but we haven’t timed it. That seems like a little long.”
Another possible announcement is, “This is Mayor D. C. Reeves. Welcome to the city of Pensacola. Please, please do not park in the red private parking lots and email me about it. Whatever you do, I’m begging you to use the blue signs. It’s way cheaper.”
