Growing up, my family spent summers in Point Clear. When I was nine years old, my parents purchased a home just north of Bailey’s Creek. Out front, there stood a cast iron bell with a long lanyard that reached back to the screen porch. It was rumored that it would ring at the first signs of a jubilee, alerting neighbors to come take part in the seafood harvest. Truth be told, our bell never rang for a jubilee. Instead, my mom would ring it to let us know it was time to get out of the water and come to supper. It worked every time. 

The Mobile-Tensaw River Delta is a 260,000-acre maze of rivers, creeks, marshes, and bayous. The Mobile, the Tensaw, the Apalachee, and the Spanish rivers all converge to create the second largest river delta, and one of the most biologically diverse regions in the US. 

I first met Bobby Switzer at a menu tasting at Jackson’s Steak House a couple of years ago. Maria Goldberg introduced him to the guests as the event was wrapping up. He was the point person for an upcoming new event in Pensacola called Foiling Week. Anything happening on the water captures my interest and Foiling was beginning to appear as a recreational sport more and more often. And it’s a different kind of sport.

After reading that the Nevada-based airline Allegiant was adding a route between Gulf Shores and Huntsville, I was ecstatic: the Rocket City is where many of my family members live.

As I ride the roads and byways through Scenic 98 Coastal, I get a nice, warm feeling when I see a family stopped along the side of the road fishing next to a creek, pond, river, or in a boat in the bay. A great bonding experience occurs when families fish together.

Wade Wellborn, the owner of Dr. Music Records, says he doesn't often take time to think about his legacy, but he probably sees it every day he's in his little shop in the heart of downtown Fairhope. 

If the Mobile-Tensaw Delta is America’s Amazon, then the Causeway is its gateway. If the Causeway is the gateway, then the 5 River Delta Center is the gatekeeper. It is one of those places that you may not know what goes on there, but you are glad it exists, hopefully working to protect and support the place for which it is tasked with overseeing.

Good evening. Thank you for having me, Dr. Kevin Scott, English department faculty. Graduates, welcome.