Questions remain after the brains behind THE Beach declare mission accomplished

Coastal Vision 3000’s decision to close up shop this coming Friday has some local leaders questioning the group’s earlier promises of regional unity.

The tourism engine, which emerged in 2008 with plans to brand Northwest Florida as “THE Beach,” touted itself as committed to creating a single identity that could be marketed worldwide.

But last week Coastal Vision 3000 declared “Mission Accomplished,” citing Southwest Airline’s decision to serve Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, now under construction near Panama City.

Some Okaloosa County officials say the group’s efforts — and close ties to major economic driver St. Joe Co. — were slanted toward Bay County. St. Joe Co. has pledged $26 million to Southwest over its first two years of operations if the carrier does not meet revenue projections at the new airport.

“Coastal Vision 3000 did very little to help Northwest Florida Regional Airport,” said Okaloosa County Airports Director Greg Donovan. “I don’t think the impartiality that was being sold with regard to regionalism was ever truly realized.”

Davage “Buddy” Runnels, who served as chairman of the Coastal Vision 3000 board, said he and other members never “slanted any support” toward Bay County.

“It’s not the actuality of what happened,” said Runnels, who added that the group made itself available to all airports in Northwest Florida. “We wanted with integrity to help each other succeed rather than fail as a region.”

Okaloosa County Administrator Jim Curry remembers that representation of regionalism. But he says Coastal Vision 3000 did not follow through on its pledge.

“We’re disappointed that it wasn’t more of a regional approach,” he said. “I’m not real sure what Okaloosa County got out of the experience.”

Lino Maldonado, vice president of ResortQuest and a Coastal Vision 3000 board member, said there was no bias in the group’s effort to bring a low-cost carrier to the region.

“Where Southwest decided to go really didn’t matter to the folks of Coastal Vision 3000,” he said. “Is Panama City going to get a bigger, more direct effect? Of course they are. … But we were pulling for all three airports.”

Donovan disagrees.

“They have a responsibility to prove what they’ve done to brand the region,” he said. “They should have some accountability. … I had hoped Coastal Vision 3000 would have shown the same enthusiasm for Northwest Florida Regional Airport as they showed for the Panama City airport, and I’m not seeing it.”

‘Here for everyone’

Maldonado asserts that regional benefits from Southwest’s decision already can be seen along the coast.

“Southwest announced. Delta went down in fares at VPS,” he said. “That you can quantify. It happened.”

Maldonado said the organization was formed to benefit all of Northwest Florida.

“There are no lines in this group,” he said. “There are lines in TDCs and chambers, but we, we’re here for everyone.”

Coastal Vision, which charged dues of varying amounts to its members, built an extensive Web site, www.thebeachfla.com, that highlighted coastal communities and attractions from Pensacola to Apalachicola. Founding members paid $15,000 while Trustees paid $5,000 and Stewards paid $2,500. The two lowest levels of membership, Champions and Advocates, required dues of $500 and $100, respectively.

In Okaloosa, 35 businesses and community agencies joined the group, contributing a total of $144,500, according to data from Coastal Vision’s Web site.

For Okaloosa County Commissioner John Jannazo, the return on that investment has been disappointing.

“I would be very hesitant to support a group like this in the future,” he said. “St. Joe Co. landed Southwest Airline for the Panama City Beach airport, make no mistake about it.”

Jannazo said groups such as Coastal Vision 3000 “come and go” and that no single organization is going to accomplish regionalism.

Kate Wilkes, who heads the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council, said she is “not terribly surprised” that Coastal Vision is going dormant.

The TDC paid $2,500 to join, she said.

“We do feel we got our money’s worth for the advertising,” Wilkes said. “That’s why we joined at a small level. We wanted to stay part of the whole thing.”

Wilkes said she and her board understood that Coastal Vision 3000 was oriented more toward the eastern Panhandle than the west, and were not surprised when Southwest landed in Bay County.

“I’m disappointed,” she said. “We did back the Southwest initiative to go into Fort Walton Beach or Pensacola.”

Inactive but intact

Coastal Vision 3000’s founders say the recession is the driving force behind shutting down, adding that the group has “a zero balance.”

The money collected from members’ dues was used to pay for staff and for at least $750,000 in regional and national advertising, said Dawn Moliterno, president of the Walton Area Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s becoming inactive,” Moliterno said. “The actual entity will still be intact. … There’s a reality to what the business community can support.”

The Walton chamber will act as the custodian of the organization until it is revived for another regional effort, Moliterno said.

The organization’s Web site will stay up.

Some see the group’s decision to shut down as a loss to the region.

“Anytime you lose an organization that is promoting your region, it’s a sad day,” said Destin City Councilman Jim Bagby, who also sits on the Okaloosa TDC. “I was never one that thought Coastal Vision 3000’s sole existence was to get that airline in. One of their goals was accomplished but not all of their goals.”

Indeed, the group’s Web site lists nine “initiatives,” and only one of them calls for “attracting more competitive air service” to the region. Other initiatives include creating “an internationally recognized” brand for the region, being a “catalyst for bridging the geographic, political and economic boundaries,” and education, training, and data sharing.

Bagby said more work is needed to cement a regional brand.

“I don’t know if it’s feasible, but I will tell you, ‘THE Beach’ never caught hold,” he said.

Local developer Peter Bos agreed, saying “people did not buy into it.”

But the regional approach still is critical to Northwest Florida, Bos said.

“We’ve got to get people here one time,” he said. “Then we’ve got a really good chance of them telling their friends and them coming back again.”

Panhandle communities are “pearls along the coast” that must be marketed regionally, but also for their individual qualities, Bos said.

“Everyone took a big sigh when the (Southwest) airline thing got done,” he said. “But the reality is, there’s a lot more work to be done.”