Community Clicks
August 31, 2019
August 8
Hancock Awards Gala
July 26
USM Beach Bash
July 26
Boots & Bling
August 9
Finally First Friday
August 3
CALB Celebration
Faces and Places
Nikki Moon claims Citizen of the Year award
Hancock County’s past Citizens of the Year Angelyn Zeringue (left) of South Group Insurance Gulf Coast, and Raymunda Barnes (right) of Pearl River Community College, present Nikki Moon, owner of Bay Town Inn Bed & Breakfast in Bay St. Louis, with the 2019 Citizen of the Year award during the Hancock Business & Industry Awards Gala on August 8 at Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast.
Story by Andy Kanengiser
Owning the Bay Town Inn is never a 9 to 5 job for Nikki Moon.
It’s her life, passion and desire to operate the very best bed & breakfast on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She goes to the Moon and back daily to serve customers at her luxurious hotel and cherishes the people in her Hancock County community.
Folks in her Bay St. Louis hometown feel the love. In August, Hancock County Chamber of Commerce leaders were delighted to select Nikki Moon its 2019 Citizen of the Year.
The splendid honor came at their 42nd annual Salute to Business & Industry Awards Gala at the Hollywood Casino.
There’s plenty of joy on the face of the beloved 67-year-old Gulf Coast innkeeper.
What are some of her biggest pleasures of the people pleasing innkeeper?
It ranges from seeing “lots of laundry which means lots of filled room. I love seeing guests sit on the swing under my 180-year-old oak and enjoy the view.’’ The inn sits directly across the street from the new Bay St. Louis Marina and the Bay’s beaches.
Her guests at the stylish 12-room inn include women arriving for a mother-daughter weekend or a girls trip for shopping, swimming and delish Coast cuisine. It’s just seeing a steady stream of smiling guests who “come back again and again, because they love it here and love the Bay!.’’
Charlie Glenn commands Coast headlines nearly 50 years ago
Charlie Glenn holds an original copy of the newspaper where an announcement of his birth made headlines as he became the first baby born at the Gulfport Seabee Center nearly 50 years ago.
Story by Andy Kanengiser
Mississippi Gulf Coast shoppers may know Charlie Glenn as the friendly guy who works in the meat department at Rouses Market.
He’s a hospitable Long Beach resident with an interesting distinction in his DNA that nobody else can claim.
More on that later.
With 63 locations in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, Rouses remains the official supermarket of the New Orleans Saints. So it’s no surprise that many of its 6,700 employees like Charlie are diehard fans of the Black & Gold. He enjoys seeing Saints games and cheering for future NFL Hall of Famer Drew Brees, the Saints star quarterback.
Year-round, Charlie loves helping customers curious about prime tenderloin and other delicious meats in his department. From King Cake orders to Cajun bait seasoning, the Rouses market in Gulfport & dozens of other locales cater to a variety of tastes.
Joining the Coast Guard in 1987 at age 17, Charlie relished the life of a traveler. For five years, Charlie was stationed in Boston, New York, Maine and up to Canada before returning back to Long Beach to be near his parents.
Living in Harrison County or just an hour’s drive from the many attractions of New Orleans, seems to be the perfect spot. “The people down here are real friendly,’’ Charlie says.
In the Friendly City of Long Beach, and nearby communities, only family members and a few close friends realize Charlie Glenn’s name is etched in Mississippi Gulf Coast history.
On November 20, 1969, Charles James Glenn made the news by becoming the first baby born aboard the Gulfport Seabee Center. A story printed back then said the history-making infant weighed in at six pounds, three ounces.
“Baby Born at Center A First for Command’’ was one of the headlines nearly 50 years ago.