The Pensacola Young Professionals will host a special roundtable on my new book, “Right Idea, Right Time: The Fight for the Maritime Park,” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 30, at the Voices of Pensacola, 117 E Government St.
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- The event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase, or I can sign a copy that you have purchased.
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The Pensacola Young Professionals played a significant role in the passage of the Maritime Park referendum.
When the Leadership Pensacola (LeaP) Class of 2006 had architect Brian Spencer, Mort O’Sullivan, Charles Fairchild, and Councilman Marty Donovan debate the Community Maritime Park. Fairchild angered the group by suggesting that decisions about the city’s future should be left to its elders because they possessed the necessary wisdom and experience to make the correct ones.
LeaP member and PYP co-founder Jenni Pate responded, “It was your generation that thought putting a sewage treatment plant in downtown Pensacola on Pensacola Bay was a good idea.”
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On Monday, March 27, 2006, the Pensacola City Council convened as the Community Redevelopment Agency and opened with a moment of silence in honor of Adm. Fetterman. PYP board member Ashley Hodge spoke in favor of the project and introduced PYP officers and board members. UWF President John Cavanaugh read a message from Nancy Fetterman: “We deeply believe in this project, and we have worked to make it a reality because we believe Pensacola deserves nothing but the best.”
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At 7 p.m. on April 1, 2006, PYP members gathered around Atlas’s televisions to watch two of their peers, John Hosman and A.J. Davis, discuss the Community Maritime Park with Fairchild and Donovan on WSRE-TV’s “Connecting the Community.” The crowd cheered for the PYP leaders as they argued the group’s positions in favor of the park.
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On the day of the vote, PYP president John Hosman sent an email to his membership: “I have voted, have you? This is our time to make a difference in the community by voting yes for the Maritime Park. Your task today is to vote and let your voice be heard! Please pass this email on to everyone you know and ask them to vote! Pass it on…make and be the difference!!!”