08/20/2026
Weโve been digging through a little ๐ก๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐, and yโall... there are some really good stories tucked away in there.
And where better to begin than with ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐?
Her name has been tossed around pretty willy-nilly on social media lately โ along with a few ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด ๐ผ๐นโ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ about what she left to the City and what she intended it for.
So letโs go back to the beginning.
When Katie died in 2005, she left the City of Niceville her property and about $๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ณ,๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ. Roughly half of that money was set aside for scholarships, with the principal preserved and scholarships paid from the interest earned. The remaining portion was divided between the Niceville Library and what would eventually become the Niceville Senior Center. Katieโs share toward the future Senior Center was approximately $๐ฎ๐ญ๐ญ,๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ.
And hereโs one of our favorite parts of the story.
Katie also left notes describing her idea for older adults: an air-conditioned, glass-enclosed gazebo where they could sit comfortably, look out over a park and watch children play โ without getting too hot or, apparently, too bothered by the children.
Very practical. Very Florida.
In 2016, Katieโs approximately $211,000 helped purchase the original building, move it to the site, and begin preparing the property.
From there, the City of Niceville invested approximately $๐ญ.๐ฎ ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ to create the 9,200-square-foot Senior Center along with the pickleball courts and outdoor spaces, that opened in December 2018.
Pretty amazing what can grow from one generous gift and one simple idea.
Over the next few weeks, weโll share more pieces of our history โ how the Center came together, the people who helped shape it, and a few stories you may not have heard before.
Because the Niceville Senior Center didnโt just appear one day.
๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐. ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐โ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ.
(๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฆ'๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด)
