Thanks in part to a thriving Coast Guard community, which includes over 650 stationed members and another 160,000 veterans living in Pinellas County, Clearwater has been dubbed an official “Coast Guard City.”
A city, municipality or county can earn the Congress-endorsed distinction by making special efforts to acknowledge the professional work of the Coast Guard men and women assigned to its area, namely by making them feel at home at their “home away from home.” Clearwater is now one of only 14 communities in the country—and the only in Florida—to hold the title.
Since the area boasts two key Coast Guard sites—including the Sand Key Station and Air Station Clearwater, the Guard’s largest—Clearwater has long acknowledged the Coastie’s contributions, nominating Coast Guard Persons of the Year, offering welcome packages to new personnel and hosting the Coast Guard Band at Ruth Eckerd Hall.
Last month’s announcement ceremony was no exception, with the Clearwater Police and Fire Departments’ Joint Honor Guard helping to post the colors, music from the Coast Guard Quintet and the chance to get a picture against a Coast Guard backdrop.
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