Did you know that Keith Brown played water polo on the Jamaican National Team and competed in the Pan Am and Caribbean Games? Or that in his spare time Keith builds and flies model airplanes?

Our longest serving beach attendant chose to live here after stopping in Naples on a fluke. Keith had been living in New York, and while visiting Southwest Florida he needed to go to the Naples airport to pick up some lost luggage. Taking a drive down 5th Avenue he was astonished to see a parked Jaguar convertible with a briefcase sitting in plain view on the front seat. He was impressed that someone could do that here without fear of it being stolen!

When he moved to Naples he was instantly impressed with the friendliness of the people. His neighbors came over with a cake and a card and introduced themselves. Keith thought that only happened in the movies! Within one week he knew everyone on his street and felt right at home.

This is one of the many reasons he's enjoyed working at the beach park for the past 16 years. He loves Naples, its people, and the Moorings Beach Park.

Dan Carter is the newest member of the Moorings Beach Park staff. Dan joined us as a Park Attendant in January 2019, and works primarily on weekends. Dan hails from Columbus, OH and Memphis, TN. He retired in 2015 and moved to Naples in March, 2017. He and his wife, Sue, love to golf and have 3 adult children; a son and twin daughters.

Dan truly loves his role at the park. He likes working part time and appreciates being outside surrounded by the beautiful scenery of our beach park. He also enjoys meeting and getting to know our park visitors - a nice bonus!

Ron is from Scranton, PA but lived most of his early adult life in Marin County, northern California. A lover of the beach, Ron has been drawn to the water his entire life, embracing sailing, scuba diving, fishing and kayaking. He is trained as an accountant and is a CPA, now using his expertise primarily on personal financial management. Ron has led an active volunteer life over the years serving others at veterans’ homes, hospitals, and soup kitchens. Ron was a member of the Secular Franciscans, an organization founded by St. Francis himself for people who live everyday lives, but feel inspired or called by the message of this saint.

Regular Beach Park visitors likely knew Ron before he was officially on staff because his routine included (and still includes!) visiting the Moorings Beach Park three times each day. In the morning as part of his daily bike ride he visits the park to 'check the water'. Mid-day he brings his kayak to the park for a daily paddle, calculating that he logs over 100 miles per month kayaking from the Beach Park to the pier and back each day. In the evening, he returns to enjoy the close of the day at the Park. Ron says, "When I come down in the evening, I put aside the cares of the day and take time to simply be thankful for all my blessings."

Ron enjoys reading the inscriptions on the beach park benches, sensing the love and appreciation both he and MPOA members have for the park.

Pete calls the Moorings Beach Park 'The Nicest Reading Room in the World", which speaks to both his appreciation for the natural beauty of the park and to one of his favorite pastimes, reading. Pete is an avid reader and especially loves mysteries from the authors Ian Rankin, Ed McBain and Matthew Dunn.

In his previous life, Pete was a very successful businessman, with experience both with his own businesses, and employed with a privately held manufacturing business. Originally from New Jersey, Pete, his wife, and their five children decided in 2000 to look at moving to Florida for a change of scenery, lifestyle and weather. Staying in Old Naples while checking out the area, on a fluke they happened upon a great home for sale located between their hotel and the beach--and they bought it!

Pete commuted for a few years before retiring, and now when he's not working at the Beach Park he substitute teaches. He just secured his real estate license as well!

Pete has been working at the park since March, 2013 and loves to talk about the people he's met there, especially the regulars who come nearly every day. Pete knows them by name and speaks affectionately of the young families who come in the morning, the sunset watchers who visit in the late afternoon, and the families who have been enjoying the park for generations.

Meet Jim, a Gold Member, who has joined us at the Park as an attendant to work Sundays and fill temporary vacancies with the added benefit of being near the water he loves. After his retirement in 1992 from business and the practice of law in Indiana, he and his wife Sue were very fortunate to live on the water inside Doctors Pass for over 20 years. Jim, a former US Navy Officer during the Vietnam Era with three years of Sea Duty, was licensed by the USCG as a 100-ton Master and was also certified as a Full Cave, Wreck, and Mixed Gas instructor. He has had the good fortune to teach, explore, and dive all over the world with many articles and photographs published. He and his partners maintained the custom dive boat, Gone Astray, in the Bahamas for ten years to primarily explore the “Out-Islands.”

Jim served on the Naples Moorings Bay Special Taxing District, was an Interim President of the Collier Athletic Club, was a Board member of the Indiana Health Care Association and is a current member of the First Naples Investment Club.

He is excited to be of assistance to one of the premier recreational assets in Collier County, our Moorings Beach Park! Stop by and say hello to Jim.