BP Oil Spill and the Effect on One Person's Life

Destin, FL---The hotels were completely booked and every indication was that it was going to be a prosperous summer.  Dee had bought a map company catering to tourism businesses that provided them with opportunities to advertise to visitors.  Her business had been growing.  She felt good about her investment and the years ahead.
But then one thing happened:  170 statute miles away it would change everything.  The 2010 BP Oil Spill in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico put her city on a tailspin.  People cancelled their plans to vacation in Destin regardless of the reality or the condition of the beach. The media frenzy put 1,631 miles of beaches into one word, “the Gulf.”  From Texas to Florida regardless of the actual condition of the beach, people didn’t separate them and didn’t want to take a chance on the all-to-short American summer vacation and changed plans away from Destin.

Businesses had to close, clients couldn’t pay their bills.

But in her world it was the disaster that didn’t happen;  “The weather was great and the beaches were fine.  We got some small tar balls that were immediately cleaned up,” she explained. “But everything else was out of fear from what the media was putting out about the area.”

And so Dee returned to a past job and continued with two jobs to get through the turn of events.

Then to make matters worse, the much reported misuse of area advertising dollars came to light two years later.  The director of the area’s convention and visitor’s bureau had purchased a $710,000 yacht and a $747,000 home by unorthodox and secretive means. His suicide days after his resignation would cap off the tragedy and leave investigations and unanswered questions.

“It was terrible to see the businesses close.  It all seemed so pointless.  But you do what it takes. For me it was working two jobs.”