Dear Gulfport Historical Society Members, Well, it’s been quite a year! While most of us will be happy enough to see the end of 2020, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on what we as a community have been able to accomplish, even in difficult times. 2020 started strong with two porch parties that packed the house—one honoring Gulfport’s first woman mayor, Mayor Yvonne Johnson, and another featuring research on Flamingo Tour ’20 homes presented by one of our outstanding volunteers, John Avery. And, of course, we wagged in five new elected “pawficers” through our first-ever Pet Mayor competition. (By the way, due to the smaller number of live events we hosted this year, we have decided to extend their terms for another year, giving them a few more opportunities to represent our four-legged constituency. But we do plan to hold another pet election in 2022!) Then COVID hit, and, like everyone else, we had to rethink how we did just about everything. We had to close the museum, but we found new ways to reach our community through virtual Florida Snapshots presentations on everything from local shell mounds to Florida food traditions to Florida’s natural history. We brought you back to the museum—just outside, on the lawn—for socially distanced porch parties, celebrating Gulfport’s spirit of volunteerism alongside Gulfport Votes 100% and hearing fabulous tales of the early settlers of Pinellas County from Erik Anderson. With the help of our fantastic volunteers, we also worked to get the Gulfport Arts Center ready to become a hub for local artists and arts classes that will help us fully engage our mission to celebrate Gulfport’s history and culture. We are looking forward to the year to come! As the pandemic situation begins to improve, we plan to reopen the museum in February and launch our first programs at the Gulfport Arts Center. We are working on another year of great porch parties, both virtual and in person, to bring our community together for fellowship and learning. And, as ever, our walking tours, offered every third Saturday of the month, remain a great way to get to know Gulfport’s unique history. Your support makes all of this possible. Please consider donating to the Gulfport History Society. Giving is easy—you can do it online here—and every bit helps us keep on preserving and celebrating the history of the town we all love. Wishing you all a happy new year! -Gulfport Historical Society | 
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