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Brent Peacock, VBOV Director and Business Consultant/Analyst
How long have you lived in Bay County?
- Thirty-eight years. I moved here on January 2 1987
If you could acquire one skill or hobby instantly, what would it be?
- An actor.
What is your current career &/or what brought you to this profession?
- Prior business ownership, worked for GCSC Career Source, former Dept. of Labor.
What’s something everyone should know about our community?
- great local restaurants
What’s one project you’ve been a part of that people might not know about?
- As the Director of the Florida Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC), I have testified before Congress twice on behalf of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Veterans Business Outreach Center Program, which includes thirty-one offices nationwide. My first testimony was in 2017 before the Small Business Subcommittee during a hearing titled “Tech Talks: How SBA Entrepreneurial Development Programs Have Evolved with Technology.” The second time I testified was in 2022 before the Committee on Small Business, during a hearing named “Military to Main Street: Serving Veteran Entrepreneurship.” This second testimony contributed to the codification of the Boots to Business Program into law by the Office of Veterans Business Development at the U.S. Small Business Administration. Additionally, the Florida Veterans Business Outreach Center was recognized as the top VBOC in the nation in both 2014 and 2019.
What’s a wild idea you have for a future community project?
- Transforming the Panama City Mall into a residential facility for service workers or senior citizens, complete with shopping, dining, and supportive services, including medical offices.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
- Do not let todays clouds ruin tomorrow’s sunshine.
What’s the best place you’ve ever traveled and why?
- Charleston, South Carolina, is known for its cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages, and pastel antebellum houses, particularly in the French Quarter and Battery districts. The city has ties to the coastal Pirates, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War. Both the Battery promenade and Waterfront Park overlook Charleston Harbor, where Fort Sumter, the site of the Civil War’s first shots, is located. Additionally, Charleston served as a hub for pirates like Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet, and famous female pirate Anne Bonny had ties to the city. My favorite thing about Charleston is the food. Low Country cooking includes shrimp and grits, Frogmore stew, oyster roasts, barbeque and roasted oysters
What’s something about you that might surprise people?
- I experienced two near-death incidents. A head-on collision left me in a ninety-day coma, and I was also car-jacked and stabbed in the side.
What’s your go-to source of inspiration when you need a boost?
- Robert Frost poems.
If you had to describe our community in three words (or one quote), what would they/it be?
- Historic, Local, Friendly.
What is one thing you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?
- Act in a movie.
What is your favorite music?
- Underground alternative and punk rock particularly from the late 1970s and 1980s.
Anything else you’d like to share?
- There is an unspoken bond among Bay County residents who experienced Hurricane Michael. Each of us carries a unique story filled with desperation, courage, resilience, and sorrow. Many homeowners and small businesses have not fully recovered, and some have not recovered at all. Such impactful tragedies have made our community stronger.
Kimberly Hobden, General Manager, Ace Handyman Services Panama City
How long have you lived in Bay County?
- I moved here from Denver Colorado June 2024
If you could acquire one skill or hobby instantly, what would it be?
- I have had one desire as a little girl watching my grandma play the organ…I would love to learn to play the piano!
What is your current career &/or what brought you to this profession?
- I am the General Manager for Ace Handyman Services Panama City. I worked in the corporate owned location in Denver, Colorado since 2013. I am a beach, warm weather and love jet skiing.
What’s something everyone should know about our community?
- That’s easy! Everyone that I have met has the biggest servant heart. I lived in Colorado for over 30 years and I have more friends and peers in the short amount of time I lived here.
What’s one project you’ve been a part of that people might not know about?
- Honestly, I have not had the time to find my one project yet. It will be something with children, I want to invest in our future. I am workaholic and striving to start this business in our community!
What’s a wild idea you have for a future community project?
- I would love and my team would love to help someone with a project that is desperate need. It could be an elderly person trying to stay in their home and needs grab bars for example. Any thing that would impact someone’s life.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
- Trust your team and share the work. Never take credit, give credit!
What’s the best place you’ve ever traveled and why?
- London! I have always been intrigued and obsessed with London, the royal family…infatuated really. The week before I left, I received my DNA and 80% of my ancestry was from Sussex. It was always in my heart!
What’s something about you that might surprise people?
- Everyone always comments on how I am always dressed up (princess) but I am actually a Tom-boy at heart.
What’s your go-to source of inspiration when you need a boost?
- My brother, although I always get a dose of sarcasm…that’s a sibling!
If you had to describe our community in three words (or one quote), what would they/it be?
- Salt, Sand, Home
What is one thing you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?
- Skydive
What is your favorite music?
- 80’s and 90’s
Anything else you’d like to share?
- I love where I live, the people, a career and brand that I love. Best decision I ever made was to pack up my camper trailer and drive here and camp out until I found my home!
Marlene East, Board of Directors President, Panama City Symphony
How long have you lived in Bay County?
- Since 2001
If you could acquire one skill or hobby instantly, what would it be?
- I’d love to be able to paint like Renoir, my favorite impressionist painter. His ability to capture color, light, human expression, and emotion inspires me. I look for his paintings in galleries wherever we travel and recently viewed two in Virginia Beach!
What is your current career &/or what brought you to this profession?
- After retiring from my counseling practice, I’ve embraced my passion for fused glass art. Currently, I’m dedicating my time to leading the Panama City Symphony as President of the Board of Directors. My love for music and commitment to music education fuels my involvement in this vital cultural gem.
What’s something everyone should know about our community?
- Our community is a great place to live! We have a beautiful emerald coast with miles of white sandy beaches, endless recreational activities on land and in sea, a vibrant and growing art and music community, a charming and connected hometown that welcomes visitors and new businesses, numerous local restaurants and boutiques, scrumptious fresh seafood, excellent schools, and great people.
What’s one project you’ve been a part of that people might not know about?
- In 2007, I co-founded the Arnold High School Collegiate Studies Parent Advisory Council with other dedicated parents, establishing it as a non-profit to support and recognize students striving for academic excellence. For 18 years, this organization has empowered students to excel and reach their full potential.
What’s a wild idea you have for a future community project?
- The Cultural Arts Alliance in Walton County sponsors the amazing Underwater Museum of Art off the coast of Grayton Beach. I’d like to see local organizations apply to create art pieces that represent Bay County. It is a way to promote Bay County and create needed habitats for sea life. I am hoping Panama City Symphony will apply one day soon!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
- An education philosophy professor in my doctoral program often said, “When in doubt, don’t”. That phrase resonates with me often in personal and in business life.
What’s the best place you’ve ever traveled and why?
- Of all my travel adventures, nothing compares to our horseback riding trips in the Colorado Rockies. The thrill of navigating trails along cliff edges, the serenity of crystal-clear streams, and the awe-inspiring beauty of snow-capped peaks in July created an unforgettable experience. Evenings spent savoring cowboy-style campfire meals under a canopy of stars were pure magic. Catching a mountain trout from horseback and cooking it over the fire? An unforgettable bonus!
What’s something about you that might surprise people?
- I spent much of my early childhood years with my parents in our orange grove, farm, and “honey house”. My parents inspired in me a deep love of nature, gardening, fishing, and bees. Today I catch and cook fish from our backyard dock and raise egg laying hens, fruit, and veggies in our front yard, mini-beach farm! I love continuing the century-old tradition of canning and enjoy a bountiful pantry of fruit and veggies grown on our little slice of paradise!
What’s your go-to source of inspiration when you need a boost?
- My garden is my daily sanctuary, a source of endless inspiration and joy. I find deep satisfaction in nurturing life, growing food for our family and chickens, and composting waste to enrich the soil. The cycle of the fruit trees, from delicate spring blooms to abundant harvests and the gentle flutter of falling leaves, fills me with wonder. It’s a haven for butterflies and bees, a peaceful oasis where I can relax and connect with nature.
If you had to describe our community in three words (or one quote), what would they/it be?
- Enchanting. Vibrant. Thriving.
What is one thing you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?
- Learn to scuba dive.
What is your favorite music?
- I love symphonic music and also love the 70’s music of Styx and Little River Band!
Anything else you’d like to share?
- Thanks for all you do to make Bay County shine!