![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kelli-Garcia-595x744.jpg\")
Kelli Garcia is one of 22 nominees for Gulfportian of the Year.Photo via Kelli Garcia<\/p>\n
Kelli Garcia is one of 22 nominees for Gulfportian of the Year.
Photo via Kelli Garcia<\/p>\n
Kelli Garcia is one of 22 nominees for 2025 Gulfportian of the Year.<\/p>\n
Vote now!<\/a>Meet Kelli Garcia<\/p>\n \u201cKelli created A Gulfport Welcome, an orientation event for new residents. She hosts block parties like last year\u2019s Hulloween and an annual leftovers potluck the day after Thanksgiving. She stepped up after the hurricanes and organized food and supply deliveries to Town Shores and staffed the distribution tent in the marina. She served on the board of the [Gulfport] Merchants Chamber and she hosts events at the Gulfport Brewery and the North End Taphouse like the Elf and the Rocky Horror Picture Show interactive movies, as well as silent discos and trivia events. She always greets her neighbors with a smile and is the life of any party. She a real asset to her community and as has yet to be officially recognized (expect for the couples costume contest she won at the Gecko Ball one year),\u201d Eric Garcia\u00a0 wrote in his nomination.<\/p>\n The Gabber Newspaper? Yeah, We Go There.<\/p>\n Did You Know? In 1968, our founder, George Brann, started The Gabber Newspaper, then called the Gulfport Gabber, to hold Gulfport City Council<\/a> accountable. Read more of our city council coverage<\/a>, and learn about our policies on reporting, fact-checking, and funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kelli Garcia, in Her Own Words:<\/p>\n \u201cGulfport is my chosen home, and I feel lucky every day to be part of this community. I care deeply about helping people find their place here whether that\u2019s through my work helping new neighbors find the right home, or through the small things that bring us together, like block parties, pop-up gatherings, or co-hosting A Gulfport Welcome. Community is one of the most meaningful things we create as human beings, and Gulfport does it better than anywhere I\u2019ve ever lived. I\u2019m honored to be nominated alongside so many people who show their love for this town in their own ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Vote now!<\/a>Return to the main page of nominees<\/a>.Subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Spoonbill Scoop<\/a>, to get daily news of Gulfport and South Pinellas.<\/p>\n