Born in Jacksonville, FL, grew up mostly in Jax. Living in Atlantic Beach for the last 5 years. Worked for a premier custom home builder before getting into Real Estate Sales. Over 12 years of Real Estate Experience and a Broker Associate with United Real Estate Gallery.

My wife and 2 Elementary kids LOVE the beaches and DUUUVAL! We are avid Jaguar fans, we love going out to eat and try new places or frequent our favorites at the beaches and around town.

Mike has lived on the First Coast his entire life and was a leading figure in surfing and skateboarding for most of his life. After promoting music for many years on the local music scene, Mike now brings a unique perspective to FirstCoast.Life as a contributing writer.

Caitlin Flynn is a professional visual artist living in Neptune Beach, FL. She has been writing and covering the arts beat since her college years.

Jenna Jacobs has been writing about music for over 20 years. She has written for both local and national publications such as garageradio.com, and Prax Magazine. She studied Broadcasting at Florida State College at Jacksonville and Music Essentials at NYU.

Living my personal mission statement, “Each One, Teach One,” my greatest blessing is being the mother of two, grandmother of three and a lifelong educator. A graduate of UF and UNF, I am the former principal of St. Paul’s Catholic School in Jacksonville Beach, Florida and executive director of Tree Hill Nature Center in Jacksonville.

Since retirement my avocation is now my vocation – freelance writing. The technical writing of past professional life evolved into more creative genres of poetry, short fiction and memoir. My goal is to invoke the entire spectrum of human emotions in my reader: longing to laughter, pain to promise, despair to discernment.

Jeffrey Spear is the President & Creative Director at Studio Spear, a global branding agency working exclusively with food and consumer lifestyle products and services. His creative and strategic leadership accounts for Studio Spear’s successes, numerous industry related awards and stellar reputation. With client engagements on every continent except Antarctica and more than 40 years in operation, Spear applies his strategic and creative skills to a variety of branding and growth-oriented activities.

On a culinary note, Spear has obtained training from professional cooking schools in Australia and the United States. He is an accomplished trade journalist and food writer, providing recipes, stories and industry insights to a variety of trade and consumer publications. Jeffrey has also produced three cookbooks “Yum: Tasty Recipes from Culinary Greats,” “The First Coast Heritage Cookbook,” and “My Life in Gluttony: A Culinary Adventure.”

I invested 33-fulfilling years of my life as a classroom teacher. Starting with 7th-grade students and ending with college students. Along the way, I have written thirteen (published) books, written and recorded two music CDs, have written an upbeat blog since May of 2010, produced a monthly podcast channel (for five years), and created original videos for my YouTube channel (for more than a decade). I have had the pleasure and honor to deliver keynote talks and workshop facilitations in every region of the United States. I recently completed the manuscript for my first novel and am currently seeking representation for that work.

One of my community service activities sees me working with the Baptist Medical Center Beaches Pet Therapy Program. This worthwhile service brings smiles and comfort to staff, patients, and family members.

Why do I do what I do? Conversation (true dialogue) has become a lost art. Collective monologues have taken center stage. Authentic questions about the person in front of us have given way to either diatribes or inarticulate silence. I believe to build community we must have meaningful, at times difficult, and yet respectful conversations about people, places, and purpose. Before we can do that, we must see the person in front of us.

Linda Schilling Mitchell has spent 99% of her life in Florida. She enjoys warm weather, the sights and sounds of the ocean and anything and everything to do with her family.

After retiring from the Hotel/Hospitality industry, she spent three years writing Florida history articles for a newspaper in south Florida. These articles were the inspiration for her book My Color-Full Florida.

My book “Dear Miss Schneider, Please excuse Walter…” takes place during the Great Depression, and is a tribute to her mother Victoria Schneider who was a third grade teacher during 1937-1940. It gives a personal look at family life during those difficult years.

And Maggie’s World, well that was Maggie’s idea!

My Color-Full Florida
“Dear Miss Schneider, Please excuse Walter…”
Maggie’s World

The Duracell Principle … “If you shine your proverbial flashlight on someone, the reflected light that comes back to you can be ten times as bright.”

Another way to look at it is … Highlight the good things others are doing and accomplishing. Everyone needs a cheerleader now and then. In return, people will seek you out to do business with and form lasting relationships. By doing so, I have connected with more people than I can imagine and in return, many of those same people, like many of you, have helped and uplifted me…

Jacksonville native, local artist/art lover who has found her voice through promoting other local artists. Avid traveler but my heart and soul lies within the First Coast.

Enjoying the mostly retired life. Playing Pickleball, golf, fishing, dancing, and laughing as much as possible. I enjoy dog being a dog walker & dog sitter extraordinaire.

I started staging photos at the age of six. I hung a Morton pot pie pan upside down from a tree with a fishing line and took a nighttime photo of what else? A UFO. Through the years, my interest in capturing images took me to video. I created, shot, and produced several shows seen on local cable. I worked in production at WTLV-12, where I was the news Floor Director and Lighting Director. Also, I was a news videographer at both 12 and WAWS-30. I was mentored by a pro-Hollywood shooter (Homeland, Ozark) on how to get the best composition and lighting. Now I’m bringing all these skills to photography and I love it.

Claire Lemaster is a social media manager and budding writer who explores St. Augustine through her camera lens. As a newbie to the area, she brings a fresh perspective to discovering the wonders of St. Augustine.

Professional Photographer, photojournalist, and all-around adventurer.

I’m a late-blooming guitar-wielding singer-songwriter who recently came down from the mountains to retire at the beach. I didn’t know I wanted to be a rock star until I was 63. At the time I was sundowning my CPA practice that I started in 1983. You do the math. Anyway, I got so hooked on music that it changed my life.

I’ve learned that I operate on both sides of my brain, both analytically & creatively and that’s pretty handy. It’s such a rush to write a song, such a cool way to express one’s self. My muse is a friendly butterfly that flits by from time to time with a song story. Gotta dig that! So I’m busting at the seams to share my JOY of music with others.

That’s why I created The Debi Jean Show. I get to have fun doing covers and originals and I chit chat a little. I have other local musicians as guests which helps plug into the amazing music scene here in Atlantic Beach. I have found a new purpose in life and it suits me to a tee. I live in a beautiful place, I get to play music—life is good.

Atlantic Beach FL Photographers – After many requests to turn our passion and hobby into something more, we are taking the leap and now offering our photos to you! Images by Saul and Deborah. Thank you for your encouragement and enthusiasm for this venture.

Author of more than 28 dog and dog training books, writer of hundreds of dogcentric magazine articles, and internationally awarded pet photographer of more than 1000 canines, Joan H. Walker relates that her life has literally gone to the dogs.

When she’s not photographing or writing about dogs, she is, you guessed it, spending time with her dogs. Walker is currently owned by four Havanese and is the chief pawtographer at Jacksonville, Florida’s Joan H. Walker PAWtography.

Welcome to my gallery where you’ll see the sights I photograph on my morning walks along Jacksonville Beach, Florida. I knew I had to share this beauty with the world so thank you for stopping in.

John Miller is the Special Magistrate for the City of Neptune Beach. His law firm, Rock Solid Law, focuses on Estate Planning, Real Estate Closings and Title, and representing entrepreneurial small Business Owners. (904) 241-1113.

Do you have any questions of law or custom that are of particular interest to those living the Sand Life on our beautiful island? Please submit them to Judge John for consideration for a future article. john@rocksolidlaw.com

I did not connect with clay as an artistic outlet until mid-life. During a hectic and demanding career, while juggling family, job and my MBA, I needed a healthy outlet to release my frustrations while appealing to my sorely under-utilized creative needs.

One summer class gave me the impetus to redirect what little down-time I had into punching, pulling, coiling, pinching, slapping, and throwing this amazing and malleable material into anything my imagination desired. I found therapy through clay.

In the years since, I have received an Associate’s Degree from the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, and set up my first studio in a basement of our house. Currently, my studio has moved above ground – to my garage, but includes a wheel, large Skutt kiln, slab roller and an array of clay and glazes that would make a chameleon dizzy. I am a proud member of the Professional Artists of St. Augustine Fine Art Gallery since October of 2021.

I work with a variety of clays and glazes – from mid-temp stoneware and shiny glazes to low-fire and matte underglazes. I find inspiration in nature, children’s stories and fables, and my own untamed imagination!

Layla Perchal Neal is a UK photographer based currently in Jacksonville.

Photography has been a passion of Layla’s ever since her father gifted her with his 35mm camera as a teenager. Layla has spent a third of her life living outside the UK as an expat and is drawn to documenting the stories of the people, and places she experiences.

Layla worked for Al Jazeera in Doha for eight years amongst a wealth of media experience. Currently she is studying for her Masters in Photography at Falmouth in the UK.

Mike is a writer now living in Atlantic Beach, and loves to tell stories about growing up in and around the First Coast. He also love animals …

Capturing beauty any way he sees it, photographer Mark Krancer loves exploring and seeing what’s around the corner. His love of photography has been exhibited in multiple local, regional, and international exhibits, and his prints hang in public and private collections around the world. His favorite photograph is the one he takes tomorrow.

Maxime is the founder and chief editor of WisdomQuotes. He has been writing and collecting quotes since 2004. He’s also into personal development and productivity. Most of all, he’s dedicated to help you live a simpler and more peaceful life. Learn more about him on his about page.

My photography illustrates seascapes and landscapes and offer a wide variety of colors, moods, subjects, and photo techniques. I sell my work in a few local art galleries as well as online.

Vimaris Concepcion’s love and joy for photography are apparent in her playful photographs. Her timing and experience behind the lens captures those special candid moments just as her whimsical images give us a moment to reflect and smile. Her love and reverence for the outdoors and connection to people are embedded in her images. Vimaris is originally from Puerto Rico. She lived in Massachusetts for 20 years before moving to Florida. Currently residing in Ponte Vedra Beach Vimaris delights in the lack of snow, and never misses a moment to enjoy the outdoors. Her images beckon us all to get outside!

You can find Vimaris throughout the city of Jacksonville and the beaches enjoying nature and capturing those special moments with her camera.