July 2025 Update from One Okaloosa EDC
By Nathan Sparks, CEcD
Executive Director of One Okaloosa EDC
On behalf of the One Okaloosa EDC team, we hope this newsletter finds you and yours enjoying a fun and prosperous summer! Here at One Okaloosa, it is looking like one for the record books. In addition to the monumental announcement earlier in the summer that Williams International will be investing a grand total of $1,040,819,000 to construct a 1,000,000-square-foot aircraft turbine engine manufacturing facility at the Shoal River Industrial Park, TalkingParents (a locally-borne Software-as-a-Service business) announced its intentions to invest $16,000,000 in constructing a 50,869-square-foot headquarters at the Freedom Tech Center in Fort Walton Beach. Our sincere congratulations to Vince Mayfield and the teams at TalkingParents / Bit-Wizards, and also to The Jay Odom Group for their continued success with this state-of-the-art development. One Okaloosa EDC assisted TalkingParents with applications for Okaloosa County’s recently renewed Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption (EDATE) program, and we sincerely appreciate the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners’ approval of this request.
More good news arrived on July 8, when Governor DeSantis acted on our request to add northwestern Okaloosa County into the Northwest Florida Rural Area of Opportunity (RAO). This designation, which must be reauthorized every five years, provides a number of benefits – including waivers of match requirements for state grants and access to state Job Tax Credits for employers that are creating new jobs within the designated geography. We sincerely appreciate the Governor continuing to lead the way for transformational economic development in areas that need it the most.
We also wanted to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have taken the time to respond to our survey. Sent via email to our One Okaloosa investors, County / Municipal Partners and also to the broader community through our four local chambers of commerce, feedback generated from this survey will prove extremely helpful as our Executive Committee and staff embark on the development of our FY 2026-2028 Strategic Plan later in August.
Last but certainly not least, I wanted to take a moment of privilege to congratulate two of my teammates on some recent well-deserved recognitions. First, One Okaloosa’s Project Manager Cole Randall was recognized with the “Emerging Young Leader Award” during the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce’s recent Annual Awards Breakfast. Cole joined our team here at One Okaloosa two years ago and truly brings a servant’s heart to all that he does. Secondly, we are especially delighted to announce that our own Kay Rasmussen, Associate Director and Defense Support Initiatives (DSI) Manager, has been selected to be inducted into the Okaloosa County Commission on the Status of Women Hall of Fame as the Military Inductee! Those of you who know Kay know how passionate she is about advocating for the growth and sustainment of our vital military missions – both locally and also statewide in her capacity as a member of the Florida Defense Support Commission. Please join me in congratulating Kay and Cole!
