CRESTVIEW — As part of her article on how helpful biographies can be for a reader, Crestview reference librarian Sandra Dreaden recommended the books listed below.

“And the Good News Is . . . Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side” by Dana Perino. Perino writes a buoyant, insightful memoir, describing her childhood in Denver; years in the George W. Bush administration, in which she served as press secretary from 2007 to 2009; and her success as a TV pundit. She also gives excellent advice for those aspiring to media careers.

“Keep Moving and Other Tips and Truths About Aging” by Dick Van Dyke. Show-business legend Dick Van Dyke is living proof that life does get better the longer you live it. Who better to offer instruction, advice, and humor than someone who’s entering his ninth decade with a jaunty two-step?

His optimistic outlook is an invigorating tonic for anyone who needs a reminder that life should be lived with enthusiasm, despite what the calendar says.

“Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story” by Rick Bragg. For nearly 60 years, Jerry Lee Lewis has been a monumental figure in American life. The wildest and most dangerous of the early rock and rollers, he electrified the world with hit records such as “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and “Breathless.”

Now, for the first time, Lewis’s story is told in its full human complexity, as he shared it over two years with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Rick Bragg. The result is a story of fire and faith and resilience, informed by Bragg’s deep understanding of the American spirit, and rich with Jerry Lee’s own unforgettable voice.

“Laura Ingalls Wilder, Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography” by Pamela Smith Hill, editor. Having grown up 25 miles from “Little Town on the Prairie,” DeSmet, South Dakota, I love anything Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Hidden away since the 1930s, Wilder’s never-before-published autobiography reveals the true stories of her pioneering life. Some of her experiences will be familiar; some will be a surprise. “Pioneer Girl” re-introduces readers to the woman who defined the pioneer experience for millions of people around the world.

It also contains 125 images, eight fully researched maps, and hundreds of annotations based on numerous primary sources, including census data, county, state, and federal records, and newspapers of the period.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview reference librarian recommends these biographies

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans-owned and -based GLO will expand its non-stop service from the VPS Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport to New Orleans in the summer months.

The Corporate Flight Management, Inc. startup will offer non-stop service from VPS to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport beginning June 24.

Monday and Friday service is through Sept. 5, with introductory "GLOForIt" $99 fares (round-trip required). Tax, fees and three checked bags are included in the fare structure.

Friday schedule

●Depart MSY (New Orleans) at 1 p.m. CT, arrive at VPS at 2:05 p.m. CT

●Depart VPS at 2:35 p.m. CT, and arrive at MSY at 3:40 p.m. CT.

Monday schedule

●Depart MSY at 10:40 a.m. CT, arrive at VPS 11:45 a.m. CT

●Depart VPS at 12:15 p.m. CT, arrive at MSY at 1:20 p.m. Ct.

Flight dates

●June 24 and 27

●July 1 and 4

●July 8 and 11

●Aug. 5 and 8

●Aug. 12 and 15

●Sept. 2 and 5

"The route between Destin-Fort Walton Beach and Little Rock launched with a great response. Now that schools are winding down and Southerners are looking to book weekend getaways and summer vacations, we have received a quick uptick in requests for service between Destin-Fort Walton Beach and New Orleans," said Trey Fayard, GLO’s founder and CEO.

"A select flight schedule will operate on Friday and Mondays and accommodate both the weekend traveler and those looking to getaway for a full week of vacation."

The company began seasonal air service between VPS and Little Rock’s Clinton National Airport on March 25.

To book flights and find out more, visit FlyGLO.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: GLO offers non-stop Northwest Florida flights to New Orleans

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. — The Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors chairman has greater insight on national security matters after attending a military forum.

Marian McBryde, who received a personal invitation from the Secretary of the Air Force, attended the 63rd annual National Security Forum May 3-5 at Air War College on Maxwell Air Force Base.

The event exposed influential citizens to senior U.S. and international officers and civilian equivalents. They exchanged ideas and perspectives on Air Force, national and international security issues. McBryde attended lectures, met in seminars for in-depth discussions and participated in social events.

Approximately 160 U.S. civilian business, education and government leaders met with senior military leaders to explore national security issues. The NSF provided an opportunity for an open, candid exchange of ideas among these guests, senior military and civilian leaders, and Air War College students.

The Air War College is the senior professional development school in the Air Force officer education system as a part of Air University. AWC educates selected senior officers to lead at the strategic level in the employment of air and space forces. Its curriculum focuses on coalition warfighting and national security issues, with emphasis on the effective employment of aerospace forces in joint and combined combat operations.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview chamber official attends national security forum

CRESTVIEW — The ninth annual Military Appreciation Recognition Day is May 21, national Armed Forces Day, in Crestview.

The free event is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Old Spanish Trail Park, Crestview. Parking opens at 10 a.m. and the ceremony starts at 11 a.m.

Free entertainment, displays, music, food and games will be available to military members and their families.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Military Appreciation Recognition Day is May 21

During Pawsitively Scrumptious's May 7 Catterday event, My Safe Place Cat Rescue brought several cats for adoption, at least one of which found a new home. “Cats are so much harder to adopt than dogs,” boutique owner April Meier said. “But we had three cats that came in to shop.” Those cats received a goodie bag with samples of cat food, snacks and toys. Cat owners received free samples of food and treats for their feline friends, and one lucky cat owner won a year’s supply of cat food during the cats-only event.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview's cat day afternoon (VIDEO)

PENSACOLA — The Panhandle Pilot Program will focus on lionfish removal efforts off Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties, where lionfish can be found in high densities.

For every 100 lionfish checked in from this seven-county region between May 2016 and May 2017, the harvester will be eligible to receive a tag allowing them to take a legal-sized red grouper or a legal-sized cobia that is over the bag limit from state waters.

The state will issue 100 red grouper and 30 cobia tags to successful participants. In addition, the first 10 persons or groups who check in 500 or more lionfish during this one-year period will earn the opportunity to name an artificial reef.

To qualify for this program, tails of any lionfish harvested must be brought to an approved FWC checkpoint (list coming soon to MyFWC.com/Lionfish by clicking on “Lionfish Challenge and Panhandle Pilot Program”).

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Panhandle Pilot Program champions lionfish removal efforts

Need something to do this week? Check out these fun events:

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 3 things to do this week in Northwest Florida

PENSACOLA — Naval Air Station Whiting Field will receive a national-level award.

The Association of Defense Communities honored NAS Whiting Field with its Installation Excellence Award for 2015. This recognizes the command’s continuing emphasis on strengthening relationships with Northwestern Florida and Southeastern Alabama localities.

ADC presents awards to individuals and organizations that support enhanced ties between military and the area in which the military bases reside. The organization reviews Department of Defense installations from any military branch that has successfully built strong partnerships with communities, regions and/or states to “enhance community-military collaboration; promote installation efficiency and innovation; advance DoD energy efficiency goals; and/or serve as a national model for community-military partnerships.”

To be eligible for the award, an ACD member must nominate an installation.  Jim Brightenfield, the Tri-County Defense Support Initiative’s manager, submitted NAS Whiting Field’s nomination.

“I have seen firsthand the outstanding work done at NAS Whiting Field, training our future aviators. The commitment Whiting makes to its students, staff and the community are without parallel,” he said. “Whiting Field has, over the past few years, received numerous unit and installation awards. The ADC award representing Installation Excellence brings together all the work and awards and commitment under the appropriate banner that signifies true installation excellence.”

NAS Whiting Field’s nomination package detailed aspects of the installation’s relationship with the community. Specific items included the base’s land-buffering initiatives with the county, the renewable energy project at Holley Field in Navarre, a proposed land-swap concept with Escambia County and volunteerism within the community.

NAS Whiting Field Commanding Officer Capt. Todd Bahlau was pleased with the recognition, but emphasized that the key word for the ADC award was partnership.

“The team here at NAS Whiting Field continues to set the standard by working tirelessly to be good neighbors in the community,” Bahlau stated.  “The residents and businesses of Santa Rosa County likewise take care of our team in a way that I have not seen before in my 25 years of service. I am truly fortunate to be part of such a tremendous relationship.”

Bahlau will receive the award during ADC’s annual symposium June 21 in Washington D.C.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: NAS Whiting Field recognized as Top Shore Installation

PENSACOLA — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s second annual Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day is Saturday, May 14.

The occasion raises awareness about lionfish, a nonnative, invasive species that has a potentially negative impact on native species and habitat. The second annual Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day Festival — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 14-15 at Plaza de Luna, 900 S. Palafox St., Pensacola — will include celebrity chef and fillet demonstrations, lionfish tastings, family-friendly activities such as games and a fountain to play in, and more than 40 art, diving and conservation vendors.

Among festivities is the Lionfish Challenge kickoff: remove 50 or more lionfish between Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day (May 14) and the end of September and get entered in the FWC’s Lionfish Challenge. 

Rewards include:

●A commemorative coin to mark membership

●An event T-shirt

●Lionfish Hall of Fame recognition on MyFWC.com

●Be entered in drawings to win prizes including fishing licenses, lionfish harvesting equipment, fuel cards and dive-tank refills

●If qualified before the relevant harvest season starts, the opportunity to take an additional spiny lobster per day during the 2016 mini-season (July 27-28)

●Whoever checks in the most lionfish will be crowned Florida’s Lionfish King or Queen and will receive a lifetime saltwater fishing license, have his or her photograph featured on the cover of the FWC’s January 2017 Saltwater Regulations publication, be prominently featured on MyFWC.com’s Lionfish Hall of Fame, and be recognized at the November 2016 FWC Commission meeting.

To enter the program, email photos of your first 50 qualifying lionfish to Lionfish@MyFWC.com. Include the harvester’s name, the date harvested and your signature in the photo (written on a piece of paper beside the fish for example) and your mailing address in the email.

To qualify for additional prizes and a chance to win Lionfish King or Queen, bring the tails of any lionfish harvested in excess of the initial 50 to an FWC-approved checkpoint (list coming soon to MyFWC.com/Lionfish by clicking on “Lionfish Challenge and Panhandle Pilot Program”).

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day Festival set May 14-15

 MILTON — CrossFit SRC will raise money for Marine Special Operations Command personnel’s families while remembering 11 service members who died last year during Black Hawk training on the Santa Rosa Sound.

CrossFit’s second annual MOJO 69 Memorial Throwdown is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 14. ‘MOJO 69’ refers to the designated call sign of the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, which crashed while transporting seven U.S. Marines and four U.S. National Guard soldiers.

Pace resident Tyler Bennett, CrossFit SRC’s head coach, who also is a flight paramedic for the Lifeguard Ambulance Service, said the workout is a way to honor the fallen men while allowing participants to get in a WOD, or Workout of the Day.

“We call them hero workouts, just to memorialize the men and women perished in combat or, like in this case, a training exercise,” Bennett said. “It’s just exercising with a little higher intensity.”

That means:

• 69 air squats
• Four rounds of a 400-meter run
• 11 dead lifts
• 11 cleans
• 11 strict pull-ups

Barry Brinker, a manager at Anytime Fitness in Milton, said the workout can be adjusted for participants in need.

“We scale the workouts,” Brinker said. “If someone has a knee problem or they can’t run for whatever reason, we can always give them a different option. We don’t want anyone to injure themselves … it should always be your workout at your level.”

Several sponsors will provide refreshments, mist fans and provide trophies and medals. All proceeds will benefit Raising Raiders, a North Carolina-based nonprofit organization that helps MARSOC families in need. 

Last year’s event raised almost $8,000, Brinker said.

“With this event we just hope to be able to give a little something back to the men and women who serve, and show our appreciation for all that they do; and we greatly appreciate all the local businesses who have donated their money, time, and services to help us make this event great,” Brinker said.

“We couldn't have done it without them.”

—

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: 2^nd Annual MOJO 69 Memorial Throwdown

WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 14^th

WHERE: CrossFit SRC, 6568 Caroline St., Milton

NOTES: Competition will include Rx and Scaled divisions for the 18-39 and 40-and-older age groups. There will also be teen, ages 14-17, and adaptive athlete divisions.

ONLINE: Register at http://bit.ly/1SN6kHq

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Memorial Throwdown to honor fallen service members May 14 in Milton