When you think of librarians, do you conjure up cranky old ladies shushing you from behind a desk? Luckily, you will not find that at the Crestview Public Library!

The librarians there strive to do so much more than what is required of their daily jobs.

In fact, they are teachers, writers, poets, artists, problem solvers, event planners and coordinators of fun! They provide community / social relations and tech advising. They are proctoring partners for area colleges, school liaisons, storytellers and actors. They are more than happy to assist you in finding a particular book, or placing a request for an item that the library does not have on hand. They always greet you with a smile, say hello and wish you well.

Last, but not least, when you visit the Crestview Library you will find friends in these fascinating women.

When an up and coming Crestview photographer, Jessie Williams, graciously volunteered her time and services to treat the librarians to a fun photo shoot, some were more than happy to participate.

Jessie’s passion is searching for subjects that she can turn into works of art. She enjoys capturing the magic of the moment from behind the lens of her camera. We were very pleased to see she was able to do justice to every photo.

She effortlessly found each librarian’s inner charm. In doing so — and to our delight — she revealed an irresistible children’s librarian playing in the rain, and a captivating superhero reference librarian.

Additionally she discovered a glamorous and romantic art coordinator, a spellbinding book enchantress, a sassy motorcyclist, a volunteer hypnotic book charmer and a winsome library director.

For more information on Jessie or to arrange your own fantasy photo shoot, you can visit her @Abraphotodabra Facebook page. You can also reach her by email at Jessie@abraphotodabra.com, or by phone at 850-259-4633. 

Holly Jacobs is the former art director at the Crestview Public Library.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Local photographer has an 'eye for inner charm'

NICEVILLE — Northwest Florida State College and the Mattie Kelly Arts Center will have a gallery exhibit, AQUIFERious, Aug. 20-Nov. 2 in the McIlroy, Holzhauer and Corridor galleries.

Margaret Ross Tolbert curated AQUIFERious, which is based on her award-winning book by the same title. The exhibition will juxtapose Tolbert's dramatic, large-scale springs paintings and eloquent poetry with contributing artists' and scientists' photographs, videos, cartography and writings. The exhibition includes contributions from Jill Heinerth, Eric Hutcheson, Mark Long, Tom Morris and Georgia Shemitz. 

Over the past 25 years, these artists have worked to document some of the springs’ unique features. They emphasize the urgent need for the preservation of Florida’s freshwater springs and the Floridian Aquifer that feeds them. 

Among the most remarkable natural wonders of the Sunshine State is the seldom-seen, underground Floridian aquifer system, a 100,000 square mile life force that reaches into neighboring states and feeds more than 1,000 freshwater springs throughout Florida. AQUIFERious is intended to give the audience a greater understanding and appreciation of Florida’s subterranean water system, while celebrating its extraordinary beauty and that of the fragile springs that arise from the system’s depths. 

The galleries are open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and 90 minutes prior to most Mattie Kelly Arts Center Mainstage and Sprint Theater performances. For more information about the Mattie Kelly Arts Center Galleries, contact Director KC Williams, 729–6044 or artgalleries@nwfsc.edu.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Mattie Kelly Arts Center Galleries host AQUIFERious exhibition

CRESTVIEW — Two job fairs are planned in Crestview, one this weekend and another next week.

The first is at American Elite Molding. Hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 9 at 5680 John Givens Road, Crestview. The company will have on-the-spot interviews and job offers.

A construction mini job fair is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 12 at the Crestview Public Library, 1445 Commerce Drive. Positions include HVAC, electrical, civil engineering and general construction, and employers include the Building Industry Association, Lowe's, One Hour Air Conditioning, Kelly Services, The Home  Depot, Anderson Engineering and Gulf Coast Insulation.

Visit www.careersourceokaloosawalton.com for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Companies offer local job fairs

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Embroidery group donates sampler to Habitat for Humanity homeowners

CRESTVIEW — Jennifer Garcia, a full-time nurse at Eglin Air Force Base and mother of four, runs a photography business in her spare time.

The Crestview resident started her company, Jennifer G Photography, in 2013 after some prodding from her husband, Benjamin Garcia II, a crew chief at Hurlburt Field.

"I’ve always loved taking photographs. It started out as a hobby taking pictures of my family and eventually became a business. My husband bought me my first Nikon DSLR and put the idea in my head that I could start my own business, and the rest is history," she said.

Her photography sessions are normally of weddings and family portraits, but in April she shot her first "ugly location" shoot for fun. The shoots consist of photos taken in an area not normally used or arranged for professional photos.

"No one would even think about having his or her family pictures taken at say, Lowe's or an auto body shop. These 'ugly' locations are challenging. I use whatever lighting there is at that location and I don’t move anything out of the way. I don’t take any extra lighting or equipment with me. It’s just the model, my camera, and me," Jennifer said.

Garcia's June 3 shoot was at Main Street Automotive in Crestview.

When asked how he felt about MSA being considered for such a shoot, co-owner Jason O'Daniels said, "It made me raise my eyebrows until it was explained to me that it's not necessarily an ugly establishment, but just something that's not your usual photo shoot location. I was fine with that."

The family owned, veteran-operated shop opened specifically for the shoot, the first one in the whole 25 years O'Daniels has worked there.

They didn't have to do anything in particular to prepare the space, O'Daniels said.

"They told me to leave it the way we usually have it. You know at the end of the day we clean up anyways, to a point," he said with a laugh.

"We are an auto shop, and we just made sure that it was safe and nothing for tripping hazards, and made sure that they had what they need, which wasn't much of nothing except opening doors."

And what did model Terisa Collazo think of the ugly shoot process?

"It's lots of fun. I enjoyed every bit of it," she said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview photographer takes on 'ugly shoot' challenge

CRESTVIEW — Margie Greene celebrated her 47th anniversary as a Crestview business owner in May. She opened Margie's Nylon and Lace Boutique in 1971 at 2014 Lacey Lane.

"In that era there was about 13 nylon and lace shops in Pensacola, one in Fort Walton," she said. "I was tired of driving up into Pensacola every time I needed something for my customers, because I had a custom dressmaking business out of my little trailer out of my house."

Greene spoke to her husband Richard about moving into a three-room building on their property.

"I convinced him to move over here and let … me move my sewing into there to keep people from coming into — like, you get off from work. You come by to try on your stuff. I'm trying to get supper for the family in the same room you have to try on your dress, you know," she said.

"I opened up with $1,500 worth of merchandise. That's all I had," she said.

Even though she had no formal business training, the self-taught seamstress was careful to reinvest profit into her growing company.

"Starting with nothing and reinvesting every dime that came in for many years to build the business wasn’t easy. I didn't take home a paycheck from the business for (20) years, but I did earn some money from dressmaking I did for customers," Greene said.

Her company also provided a way for her to stay close to home and her children, a daughter, Tammi, then age 7, and a 9-year-old son, Shawn, a special needs child. Few options were available for after-school care.

Tammi Hudson, the store's machine technician and part owner, said watching her mother build her business taught her to work very hard for what she wanted.

"You have to listen to your customers and be willing to be flexible and move your business with what the customers are looking for. For instance, we began with lingerie fabric, added t-shirt kits, moved to more fashion fabrics for garment and evening/wedding wear. Now we are focused on quilting fabrics and embroidery," Hudson said. "I hope that I can keep Margie's Sew Much Fun going for several more decades using the principles she has taught me."

The store has gone through several expansions and a name change to Margie's Sew Much Fun to encompass the variety of classes and products available. Customers take quilting, embroidery and individual project classes. There are also classes that teach sewing techniques and how to use specialty fabrics such as Kraft-Tex — made from leather — and material from corks.

A family affair

Greene said she's had too many students through the years to count.

"We have grandchildren of people she taught how to sew taking classes," Hudson said.

"In the summer, we're fixing to have our varsity and junior varsity kids' camp classes, and a lot of these kids that come are children of people that we taught. Even great-grandchildren," Greene said.

With Hudson, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

"I worked in the business from the time I could stand up and cut fabric," Hudson said.

She and her mother would make Bulldog cheerleader uniforms in the summer. Hudson said she also made her own clothes since store-bought clothes rarely fit her.

"I made nearly everything I wore to school," Hudson said, "and what's really funny about that story is I thought my peers knew how poor I was because I made all my clothes. I'd come in wanting a new outfit for the dance or something tonight, and I'd make me something real quick … All that time I was in school I thought my peers all looked down on me," she said. 

A few years ago, she spoke to one of her fellow classmates, she said, who told her that her peers thought she'd actually gone to Birmingham and Atlanta and bought all her clothes.

Even when Hudson was in kindergarten, her mom said, customers would give Margie the left over fabric from their dresses to make clothes for her daughter. She also would barter with her mother-in-law for feed sack material.

"She wore a lot of feed sack dresses … to get one of Mrs. Greene's (her mother-in-law) feed sacks I had to agree to make her something out of feed sack so I could get one for Tammi," Greene said.

Hudson graduated from Crestview High School, went to college for a year, and after that began working for the distributor who introduced her mother to the Bernina sewing machine, Derrel Slaughter. She was a Bernina district manager until 1994.

The Bernina connection

Slaughter owned a company called Derrel's Sewing Center in Pensacola, with four franchises, and was a southeastern U.S. distributor for Bernina machines and supplies.

He contacted Margie one Sunday to show her a Bernina and see if she would sell them to her customers. Greene said the buttonhole and blind hem features she tried that day were what sold her on the brand.

"I've been sewing on a Bernina ever since," she said.

The staff of 10 at Margie's provides in-person, in-depth instruction for every machine they carry, whether Bernina or Janome, quilting, sewing or embroidery-related. Customers ideally leave the store knowing exactly how to use their new purchase.

Hudson said one customer looking at a 16-needle embroidery machine asked her, "What do I get with this machine?"

"I looked at her and I said, 'The most important thing you get with this machine is me,' and she said, 'Sold.' … She didn't need to know anything else, because she'd already done all the research. And I didn't know it but she'd been somewhere else and asked the same question and got the wrong answer."

The other business had given her the option of home delivery and teaching herself from online videos, according to Hudson.

When Hudson came back to Margie's, her dad was the store's technician and repair person. She has fond memories of working with him on customer's machine repairs. She had volunteered to attend all the training classes for the new machines Bernina released in 2008.

"When we had those kind of machines come in, I would do that service and my dad would kind of work with me, and when he had older machines, I would work with him on those. He passed in 2014, so now I have to do all of them," she said.

Greene, 74, and Hudson became partners in 2016 to address the continuity of the business.

Greene recognizes that she's not going to be here forever, "but I can't imagine doing anything else, so I guess I'll just be doing this," she said.

HOURS: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday

ADDRESS: 2014 Lacey Lane, Crestview

WEBSITE: www.margiessewmuchfun.com

Margie's Sew Much Fun

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'I can't imagine doing anything else'

CRESTVIEW — Families flocked to Allen Park last weekend for a day of celebration and entertainment at the 42nd annual Crestview May Day festival, hosted by the Carver Hill Memorial and Historical Society.

Mayor David Cadle was on hand to officially declare May 26 May Day in Crestview.

“The activities of the day beginning with the May Day parade provide an opportunity for families to spend time together and give recognition to those ancestors who left a legacy of overcoming adversity to provide for family and community,” Cadle said.

Crestview’s May Day festival celebrates the history of Carver-Hill School, the last segregated school in Crestview. The school closed its doors in 1969, after Okaloosa County schools were desegregated.

Despite the threat of thunderstorms and the first named storm of the season bearing down on Northwest Florida, the bad weather held off for the duration of the daytime May Day festivities.

The festivities began with a parade that ran along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and McClelland Street, ending up at the Carver-Hill Museum and Allen Park. The dedication ceremony and announcement of the May Day court was held on a stage set up on the museum grounds.

This year’s May Day Queen was Sharonnia Larkins, a retired Army veteran and Crestview resident.

“Thank God for change,” Larkins said in her acceptance speech. “We have come a mighty long way, but we still have a long way to go.”

The May Day festival in Crestview blends a celebration of the city’s African-American history with traditional European May Day activities like singing, dancing and wrapping the maypole. May Day is traditionally celebrated May 1 in other places.

For the remainder of the afternoon, the festivities included live music, food, vendors and games. Some of the games included tournaments that festivalgoers could sign up to participate in, including a three-on-three basketball tournament at neighboring Allen Park.

Many of the parade floats were put together by alumni classes from Carver-Hill. The class of 1968, one of the final upper classes to attend Carver-Hill School, won first place for best decorated float.

“If you were at the event last night, you got a good trip back into the 1960s, because that class of 1968 did an awesome job of putting that program (together),” Carver-Hill Memorial and Historical Society President David Wheeler said, referring to the Fellowship Night event held Friday evening.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Rain holds off for May Day Festival

CRESTVIEW — A group of Crestview students put on one last event before the end of the school year, offering a dinner and a show to the deaf community.

American Sign Language students at Crestview High School hosted a deaf community banquet May 23 at the school.

The banquet was followed by entertainment in the auditorium, featuring songs, skits and educational demonstrations focused on the deaf community.

Connie Salvador, who teaches American Sign Language at the school, said the banquet was intended to celebrate the deaf community and to thank them for giving the students the opportunity to be a part of that community.

“It’s our way to say thank you, that we appreciate that you let us learn your language,” Salvador said. She said it also helps fulfill one of the ASL standards her program has.

This is the first year the school has hosted an event like this, and Salvador hopes to make it an annual occurrence. Each of the students in her classes pitched in to make the event a success.

“We put it together in a month and every student had something to do with it,” Salvador said. “Every student had a talent and they all gave it, and they’re here tonight providing their talents.”

Students from the Fort Walton Beach High School ASL program took part in the entertainment program as well, performing their version of Will Smith’s theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Mark Ehrlichmann, director of the non-profit Agency for Deaf Advocacy and Services, helped with outreach for the event. Ehrlichmann, who is deaf, spread the word within the community and provided Salvador and her students with names of people to contact for the event.

“We work together professionally and collaborate ideas on how we can make a better positive impact for the deaf community,” Salvador said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview students host deaf community banquet

CRESTVIEW — The wait is finally over.

The highly-anticipated opening of Crestview’s first Chik-Fil-A restaurant officially came May 31, when new owner Kyle Schisler cut the ceremonial ribbon in front of the building.

The wait especially paid off earlier that morning for 100 lucky customers who camped out overnight in order to win free Chik-Fil-A for a year. The first 100 customers to show up May 30 were given gift cards for 52 free meals.

Chik-Fil-A fans began arriving just before 6 a.m. the day before the opening and built a tent city in the parking lot. Customers played games, enjoyed free food and drinks and bonded over their love for the fast food establishment.

“Family, friends and camaraderie; meeting new people,” Thomas Adcock said when asked why he would wait in line for 24 hours at a Chik-Fil-A opening.

Adcock played cards with a group of people including Suzanne Hartzog as they passed the time before the grand opening.

“I’ve always wanted to do one of the first 100 for a good long time,” Hartzog said. “It’s really fun. We’ve played games, we’ve had free food, and we’re playing cards.”

The restaurant will be the second location Kyle Schisler and his wife Morgan have owned. They previously owned a franchise in Omaha, Nebraska, but sold the franchise to move to the Crestview area.

“For me, it’s always felt like home,” Schisler said. His wife’s family lives in the area, and he attended college in Pensacola. “There’s just something special about it. Whether it’s the ocean air or whatever … it just feels like home, like this is where I want to live. Most people want to vacation here, and I’ve always felt like I wanted to live here.”

The new Chik-Fil-A, located at 3000 South Ferdon Boulevard, will be open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Chik-Fil-A opens in Crestview