Rick Outzen

WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT ? Thousands of poems, books and even columns have been written about love. Each tries to capture its meaning. On Jan. 25, I saw love in action.

On that cold afternoon at a ceremony at the Palafox Pier, the University of West Florida received a $1 million gift from the Lamar, Switzer and Reilly families to name the ocean aquarium exhibit at the Vice Admiral John H. Fetterman State of Florida Maritime Museum and Research Center in honor of their patriarch Charles W. Lamar Sr., who founded his namesake billboard company, Lamar Advertising over a 100 years ago.

On stage to accept the gift for UWF and the maritime museum was Jack Fetterman's widow, Nancy, who has worked tirelessly to make her husband's dream for this museum at the Community Maritime Park a reality.

At that single event, I was moved by Nancy's love for her husband and the love of the Lamar, Switzer and Reilly families for Charles Lamar Sr. The word "love" wasn't mentioned but it was so very evident.

Jack Fetterman was the penultimate community leader. For over 15 years, he pushed to make his and Nancy's adopted community the best possible place to live. Known as the "sailors' admiral," Jack served as the president and CEO of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation up until the months before his death in 2006.

He fought vigorously for a strong military presence in Pensacola during the Base Realignment and Closure processes of 1991, 1993, 1995 and 2005. Jack used his political and military contacts to raise money for a National Flight Academy at NAS Pensacola, the sinking of the USS Oriskany and the Community Maritime Park.

All along the way, Nancy was by his side working just as hard to promote Pensacola and preserve its history. She hasn't slowed down since Jack's death. If anything, Nancy has stepped up the pace a few notches to ensure the maritime museum, which will bear her husband's name, will be built.

When I see Nancy, I see Jack. Nancy's love for her husband keeps him alive for all of us.  

Sitting in the audience at the announcement ceremony were three generations of Lamars, Switzers and Reillys. Charles Lamar Sr. founded Lamar Advertising in 1902 to promote the Pensacola Opera House. Today, it has over 150 offices in 44 states.

Mr. Lamar lived on Gonzales Street just a few blocks from the future Community Maritime Park. He instilled in his offspring a deep love for the water.

At the ceremony, his grandson, Charles W. Lamar III, said, "I have never met a member of our family that doesn't love the water. How wonderfully fitting it is that we recognize the first Lamar in Pensacola with a project centered on Pensacola Bay."

The C.W. Lamar Sr. Ocean Aquarium will be the focal point of the maritime museum. It will stand three stories high and hold 135,000 gallons of sea water and hundreds of species of marine life. The aquarium will be a grand tribute to Mr. Lamar and his family.

As I drove home from the ceremony, I couldn't help but be touched by the event. The park has been a controversial project since it was first proposed in January 2005. Still today, there are those who try to undermine its construction

However, this $70-million capital project is about more than bricks and mortar. It's about a wife's love for her husband. A family's love for their grandfather and great-grandfather. And it's about their families' love for Pensacola.

Rick Outzen is Independent News Publisher. rick@inweekly.net