The Beaches Watch Board of Directors is honored to announce Bill Gulliford as the recipient of the 2020 Friend of the Beaches Award.  The award will be presented at the Beaches Watch Membership Social on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, at 6 p.m. at the Beaches Museum, 381 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville Beach, FL.  The Friend of the Beaches Award honors individuals, businesses or organizations who have greatly contributed to enrich our quality of life at the beaches.
“Bill’s commitment to protecting and enhancing the quality of life for our beaches communities has been far and wide and too many to mention here,” says Beaches Watch president, Maria Mark, “which is why we are honoring Bill at our membership social. But just to name a few, Bill spearheaded the St. Johns River Ferry Task Force and through his and many others’ efforts, saved the ferry from shutting down. As Jacksonville City Council representative for the beaches, he lobbied and received $9.88 million to repair the Jacksonville Beach pier and $7 million for dune restoration from Atlantic Beach to Jacksonville Beach, all of which had been destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. Bill epitomizes the Beaches Watch Friend of the Beaches award and we are proud to honor him.”
Previous Friend of the Beaches Award recipients have been Pete Modica, Mary Emerson-Smith, Bennie Furlong, Marcy Silkebaken, the River Branch Foundation, Gretchen Ferrell and the Beaches Local Food Network, the St. Johns River Ferry Task Force, Lillie Sullivan, the Beaches Branch Library, Kathy Christensen, the Beaches Neighborhood Accountability Board, Doug Brown and Fland Sharp (posthumously).