Reflections Upon Retirement

It’s autumn, and a line of smiling faces await the purchase of their signature Seaside apparel to commemorate their time in the iconic coastal town. Pam Avera, vice president and general manager of Seaside Community Development Corporation, smiles too, recalling a time when such a line wasn’t imaginable, especially outside of the summer season.

For 24 years, Avera has not only witnessed Seaside grow and change but also been integral in it doing so. With her retirement arriving at the close of 2023, Avera’s been reflecting on why she believed in Seaside from the start and how she knows the community will continue to flourish.

In 1999, Avera was working as the human resources director for a hotel company in Fort Walton Beach when she received a call that would alter the course of her life. The caller was Erica Pierce vice president of Seaside Associated Stores, who was given Avera’s information from a colleague who suggested her as a resource for an HR audit.

Avera’s contract work quickly turned into a full-time position. At the time, Seaside Community Development Corp., owned by Seaside visionary and founder, Robert Davis, had over 200 employees and needed new policies and procedures. Over the next seven years, Avera would improve staffing, institute workers-compensation policies and establish a drug-free workplace.

Impressed by her work to improve the company, and in turn the Seaside brand, in 2006, Robert Davis asked Avera to become the general manager. Avera recalls being hesitant at first, but Davis assured her she had the drive and relational skills to succeed in the role.

Davis told Avera it would only take a year to learn all she needed to know. Today, Avera revealed with a laugh that it’s taken her 24 years, and she’s still always learning.

“It turns out Robert was right, this role was always right for me because it comes down to relationships — taking care of people and creating an environment that they want to work in,” said Avera. “That energy of our employees attracts people to want to visit here.”

While no day on the job has been the same, Avera works with Seaside Community Development Corp. largely as its landlord, securing tenants and ensuring tenant happiness. Tenants and merchants that align with Seaside’s vision and meticulously maintained public spaces compose the simple, beautiful life residents and visitors know to expect. Avera noted that it’s hard to ever be in a bad mood on the job when your locale is that of a vacation.

“Since 1999, I’ve witnessed Seaside evolve and mature as we continue to consider elements in an elevated way and incorporate new ideas based on valuable visitor feedback,” she said. “We are never stagnant here, largely because Robert Davis lives in the future and is always thinking and dreaming up ways to improve.”

There are many monumental moments and policies placed that Avera is proud of, but the mark she’s most grateful to have made is mentoring and helping people excel in their own careers. Throughout the years, she’s found joy in helping staff and merchants solve problems and achieve their potential. 

Her final act of mentoring has been imparting the knowledge she’s gained about the inner workings, policies and history of Seaside. She holds no doubts that Seaside will continue to build upon the tenets with which it was founded.

“I’m thankful to have worked with Robert, Daryl, Micah Davis, who has taken Robert’s place as president and the entire staff at Seaside,” said Avera. “They’ve given me freedom, trusted and appreciated my judgment in running their business for them. Seaside is a place that’s brought countless people joy, and it makes me proud to have been a part of that.”