Brian spoke about the achievements of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce website since its launch one year ago, and he also spoke about the future plans for the website and online marketing of the Chamber.

Below you can view the intro video that Brian Joseph Studios and Brian Yerkes produced

The art association is currently registering students for the upcoming Famous Artist workshops that will be held in the fall and winter season. Carrie Burns Brown, NWS, will be at the gallery from November 30 to December 4 to teach her collage techniques using watermedia. Her work is nature based, rich in texture and displays luscious color harmonies. She brings the collage to the level of fine art. Class is limited to 18 students. For more information call Karen Borden at (239)463-0343 or email bordenkelly@comcast.net. John Salminen, NWS,AWS,TWSA,WW and Karlyn Holman, will be teaching in January and March respectively. Watch also for information about our own FMBAA artists, Danica Walker, Neal Walling, Bea Pappas, Patty Kane, Fred Dingler, MaryAnn Devos and Michele Buelow who will be teaching classes in workshops their various art mediums. For more information see the website at www.fortmyersbeachart.com.

The Fort Myers Beach Art Association gallery is located on Donora, at the blinking light off Estero Blvd. For more information call 239-463-3909 or see the website above

Guest Author: Nancy, North Carolina

How can I describe Ft. Myers Beach?  One word is all it takes: AWESOME!  The island is beautiful year round, the people are very friendly, the beaches are clean and the water is gorgeous, and to top it off….it doesn’t take a lot of money to vacation here.  A seven day vacation just isn’t long enough for me anymore, and I am looking forward to retirement (only 5 more years) when I can spend more time on the beach looking for sea shells and fishing.

In 2008 I will have visited the area three times for a total of 25 days, and already know that in 2009 I will be returning in late May to fish for tarpon and then again in July, November and December.  There is no other place I would rather be…..I have taken two other vacations (Alaska and Florida Panhandle) and return home disappointed because FMB is paradise to me.  I have learned my lesson, and will only vacation in this area which has become my second home.

What is there to do?  Ft Myers Beach has it all…..fishing, shopping, restaurants, shelling, walking and watching the beautiful sunsets.  I always start my vacation at the Waffle House or other restaurant on Estero Blvd for breakfast, grab a sandwich at Publix and head to the beach.  In the evening I will visit various restaurants for a seafood dinner, watch the sunset, take a shark fishing cruise or walk around and shop at Times Square and people watch.  The next morning I will start the cycle again.

When I start heading back to North Carolina, I am always sad when I cross the FMB bridge and head north.  But I know I will be back and I start counting the days down.  Right now……only 20 days to go until I return to Paradise!  This will be my 15th visit to FMB in six years.  See you soon! ]]> http://fortmyersbeach.org/blog/2008/11/14/guest-article-2-fort-myers-beach-fun/feed/ http://fortmyersbeach.org/blog/2008/11/14/guest-article-2-fort-myers-beach-fun/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FortMyersBeach/~3/15DfP8dyAzQ/ http://fortmyersbeach.org/blog/2008/09/30/guest-article-a-bit-of-fort-myers-beach-history/#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:57:12 +0000 admin http://fortmyersbeach.org/blog/?p=47 Guest Author - Anonymous from MN

Ft. Myers Beach…This is a place that has grown to be our second home during the Christmas & New Years holiday seasons. My grandparents bought a lot on Jefferson near the channel and built a small retirement home in 1956. My first visit was in 1961 when I was 6. My brother and I would explore the area all the time which in those days was still “jungle” like. Since that first trip in 1965, we have been coming to FMB every other season and almost yearly since the early 80’s.

In the early days we drove down. I can remember sitting in traffic outside the island’s welcoming arches waiting for the boats to pass under the swing bridge. In fact on one trip while waiting in traffic, we went into a local establishment and had a cool beverage before the bridge closed. Traffic was bad but for some reason, it wasn’t like traffic back home. I remember going down to the fishing docks (where Snug Harbor now stands) at 5:00 to watch the boats come in with there catch. The captain’s would clean them and feed the dozens of pelicans floating around the dock looking for a free dinner.

During the 70’s we would rent the same beach house near Alva Ave. In fact, this was next door to where the Lani Kai is today. Back then, it was a resort with a hand full of beach cottages. Staying in the beach house was great. Having the beach just steps from the door was awesome for us northerners… Our Aunts, Uncles & cousins would rent close by as well. The island has helped build special family memories - island walks, beach volleyball, football, baseball and of course riding the waves of the gulf. The house still stands today but needs a lot of TLC.

Times have changed the Times Square area as well. I can remember when there was a one way road down to almost the pier and turning left past the shops and restaurants before joining the rest of the traffic just past the Spiniker. If I remember right, the road may have even been a sand road. The Dairy Queen has been a constant forever. I remember going there in the early 70’s and putting a pin in the map showing where everyone was from. The map is long gone but not the memory of a cone on a hot December beach day.

In 1978 we bought a timeshare since we were going down so frequently. Then in1983, we introduced this special FMB to the “next generation” – our newest family member. We now have three kids (bought another timeshare for more space) who have spent just about every holiday season in FMB. They love it as much as the three generations before them. Two of the three got married this year and they plan to keep FMB in their family’s future as well. Retirement brought the first generation to FMB it also brought the second. My retirement is not too far off and FMB will be a winter haven for us.

FMB, so many good memories. The waves of time change the landscape a bit but have not changed the special meaning FMB has brought to our family for the last four generations.

FMB, we will see you again December 15th…

Editor’s note: Thank you for your contribution with this enjoyable look back on the history of Fort Myers Beach as you experienced it.

If you would like to be a guest author, please send your article (any Fort Myers Beach related topic) through our contact form on the website. If you have a website, you will be linked to for some nice link juice also!

It is not only a great opportunity to excersise your writing skills and to provide valuable information or an itneresting story, but it will also give your business and your website some nice exposure and free advertising (not to mention the link juice that we will give by linking to your site!).

So, get your ideas together and submit them to webmaster [ at ] fmbchamber [ dot ] com. (email address typed out this way so that spam bots cannot read it as an email address **members, you should do this on your site also.**

Thanks, and we look forward to your contribution! Do you have a question? Please fill out the comment form below if you would like to comment or ask a question about this post.

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Our investment in the website is an important part in continuing to ensure that our members grow and succeed in our business community and we believe that this new powerful online advertising tool will provide them with new ways of doing business with our Fort Myers Beach visitors.

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Photo captured during the 21st Annual Sandsculpting Festival in 2007 on Fort Myers Beach

The 22nd Sandsculpting Festival will be held on Fort Myers Beach again this year, and as always, it is a wonderful few days out for the all the family. It runs from November 5th - 9th 2008. Did not make it to the Festival last year? Have a look at some of the photos from the event in 2007.

For more information on this event, check out the Official Sandsculpting Website