Panama City In The News

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Several CrossFit members from across the area gathered at the Panama City CrossFit location on Saturday for a fundraiser workout to combat sex trafficking. “What they’ve done is they’ve created a workout that people are donating money to be involved with. Which goes towards Change Unchained,” Troy Ulshoeffer, Change Unchained Founder, said. Change Unchained is a nonprofit organization striving to help children who have been trafficked, get back to their families. “We work with law enforcement to do search and rescue operations for missing, exploited, and trafficked individuals nationwide,” Ulshoeffer said.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Bay County locals want Black history to always be remembered. “If we don’t know our history we can’t move forward,” Lynn Haven Resident Charlotte Marshall said. Marshall wants to serve a purpose in the community and believes she and others are Black history. “I’ve survived segregation and empty integration and have had milestones in my life,” Marshall said.

PANAMA CITY Fla. (WMBB) – A traveling wax museum is making a stop in Panama City to celebrate Black History Month.  The Great Blacks in Wax museum is originally housed in Baltimore. It highlights living and dead African American people who helped in the fight for freedom. Joanne Martin started the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum with her husband to inspire the next generation and educate them about why they fought for what they did.

There was a mobile flower shop with exotic flowers at The Sapp House in Downtown Panama City Monday. Lauren Anderson is the owner of “Late Bloomers” mobile flower shop. To kick start her new business venture, Anderson opened up her first flower market for those who still needed flowers this Valentine’s Day.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — The Krewe of St. Andrews is gearing up to host their 25th annual Mardi Gras parade. The event kicks off on Friday, February 18 with the kids festival starting at 4:30 p.m. and the festival running until 10 p.m. On Saturday, February 19, the festival runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with the main parade beginning at 2 p.m.

PANAMA CITY — Panama City has cemented another milestone in its history.  Panama City officials joined together Wednesday morning to place the first cobblestones on Harrison Avenue — another sign of progress on the hotly anticipated downtown Harrison Avenue Streetscape Project.

PANAMA CITY — Chill out after a long day at work and treat yourself to relaxation at the newest spa in downtown Panama City. Shanta and Josh Brannon recently merged their businesses to open The Spa on Harrison, a new spa that offers services from both Southern Skin and Electrology and Serenity South Massage Studio.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -Shells by the dozen are being dumped across Panama City Beaches. This is because of the beach renourishment project that started back in September. Officials with Visit Panama City Beach say that sand is dredged from the gulf and then dumped onto the beach. Over the weekend, Facebook posts by shell hunters caught the attention of many. People traveled from all over to pick from the giant pile of seashells on the beach.

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – “Elevate Bay” hasn’t been offered for long but the program is making a lasting impact by helping to get students on the right track. “We provide support and encouragement to a lot of our at-risk students,” Elevate Bay Coordinator Stacey Legg said. “Those who are struggling with challenges at home that then become challenges in the community. We’re working to help them overcome these obstacles and be more successful in the future.” Elevate Bay has roughly 265 mentors. Its goal is to reach 1000 because the demand for mentors is growing.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Valentine’s Day is coming up, and the Humane Society of Bay County celebrated the holiday once again. The organization hosted its annual True Love Valentine’s Day photo shoot fundraiser with photographer Leslie Jones on Sunday. Couples, children and furry friends came out to the thrift shop to have their holiday-themed pictures taken.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — The Junior League of Panama City will host it’s 5K race and fun run on Saturday, February 12. The race will start at the Bay County Courthouse and follow a scenic path throughout the beautiful cove neighborhood. After the race there will be an after party at History Class Brewing Company. History class has donated a free beer token with every race registration.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – They say boxing is a bit like dancing, and if you listen closely enough in Downtown Panama City, you can hear the music. In the afternoons, you can find Felix Malespin coaching boxing classes at the Downtown Boxing Club in Panama City. “I will teach you how to fight, how to move, everything,” said Malespin. Felix teaches kids and adults the art of boxing, everything from jabs to punching bags.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB)– In celebration of Black History Month, artwork by black artists will be on display at the Panama City Center for the arts. The works are a part of the center’s permanent collection and will be on display in the main hallway along with history of the artist and the piece. One of the prominent artists featured is Dean Mitchell who uses watercolor to depict what it is like to be African American in the South. Mitchell was born in Pennsylvania, but he was raised in Quincy, Florida.

PANAMA CITY — Zenvoia Goss wants to form a Black student union organization to spread more diverse organizations at FSU Panama City. In the meantime, the junior is excited her campus will offer the community a chance to learn more about Black history through art this week as part of Black History Month.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Homelessness is something that has always concerned Girl Scout Ambassador, Caitlin Holmes. “I’ve volunteered at a lot of homeless shelters and worked with the homeless community for a while, so I knew I wanted my big project to be targeted towards feeding the homeless,” said Caitlin Holmes.