The Beaches Museum will host its 45th Annual Beach Legends Gala on Friday, Sept. 12, at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse.
Since its inception, the event has recognized local individuals as “Beach Legends,” who are doing their unique part to help the local beaches area communities with an awards ceremony.
The night will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail hour and silent auction, followed by a seated dinner to recognize the 2025 honorees, William “Bill” Gulliford, Lori Anderson and Gabe Goodman, as well as conduct a live auction.
This annual gala is the Beaches Museum’s largest fundraising event with proceeds from tickets and sponsorships going toward the museum’s educational programs and operational needs.
Gulliford actively works to improve the quality of life for the Beaches community by bringing about energy and other practical solutions to government, civic, and nonprofit institutions throughout Northeast Florida.
His belief in the future potential of historic Mayport led him to a seat on the board of directors of the Mayport Waterfront Partnership, and in January 2023, The Community Center in Mayport Village was named in his honor in recognition of his many contributions to the revitalization of Mayport Village.
Gulliford also spearheaded the St. Johns River Ferry Task Force, which saved the ferry from shutting down, and he also spent time as a Jacksonville City Council representative for the Beaches and served as mayor and commissioner for the City of Atlantic Beach.
Anderson has become very familiar with the nonprofit world and its impact locally and helping others is at the core of who she is.
She even met her husband during a Food for the Poor mission trip and moved across the country from California to become a Beaches resident months after they got married.
Anderson’s impact on the area started as executive director of Mission House, a Jacksonville Beach non-profit working to assist the homeless population in the Beaches area.
During a Food for the Poor mission trip, she met her future husband, who lived in Ponte Vedra Beach. The couple eventually married, and Anderson moved across the country to become a Beaches resident. Six months later, the California transplant was hired. Using her management and interpersonal skills, Anderson transformed Mission House, expanding services, renovating the building, and changing the community’s once negative attitude toward the organization to a more positive one.
She stepped down as executive director after 10 years but still serves on the board.
Following that role she became the first professional executive director of Beaches Council on Aging, an organization working to improve the quality of life for Beaches senior residents.
The primary service of BCOA is Beaches Dial-A-Ride, which provides personal and affordable transportation throughout the community to promote the health and social engagement of homebound seniors and disabled persons.
Finally, Goodman has become known by many as the “Bishop of the Beaches,” an honorary title he relinquished after retiring as the longtime pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in Atlantic Beach.
After 34 years at the pulpit, Goodman can look back with pride on his many accomplishments and the people he touched, both from the pulpit and throughout the Beaches area.
He was the long-time lead pastor at the annual Beaches Sunrise Service on Easter Sunday at Sea Walk Pavilion, and as a member of the Beaches Ministerial Association, he helped establish Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry (BEAM), a community-based organization serving low-income families, and Mission House, a nonprofit providing food, clothing, and medical care to the homeless.
