Each year, the Beaches Museum honors individuals, families and businesses who have made a significant contribution to the island communities of Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach and Palm Valley.
“Throughout our history, the Beaches Museum has proudly preserved and honored our heritage,” said Executive Director Chris Hoffman. “This year’s Legends — the Proctor Ace Family, Karen Wolfson and Bill Longenecker — embody the values and spirit that make our community unique. We are honored to celebrate their lasting legacies.”
Proctor Ace Family
Founded in 1936, Proctor Ace Hardware is a fourth-generation, family-owned business with longstanding roots in Northeast Florida. Operating three Jacksonville-area locations, the company has earned a reputation for exceptional customer service, innovative retail practices and steady growth over nearly 90 years.
Led by members of the Proctor family, including Steve, Joe and Lizz Proctor, the business has remained deeply committed to community involvement alongside its commercial success. Proctor Ace Hardware supports numerous local initiatives, including Habitat for Humanity, community gardens, youth sports programs and regional charitable campaigns. The company has also emphasized environmentally responsible business practices and neighborhood engagement.
In 2018, Proctor Ace Hardware was recognized as one of the nation’s “Coolest Hardware Stores,” highlighting its creative retail approach and strong community presence. Today, the company continues to balance tradition with innovation, maintaining its role as both a trusted local retailer and an active community partner throughout Jacksonville and the Beaches region.
Karen Wolfson
Karen Wolfson is a longtime educator, volunteer and civic leader whose service to Northeast Florida has spanned more than 50 years. A former Girl Scout, she began her career in education in 1968, teaching at Florida Community College at Jacksonville before later joining the faculty at Fletcher High School, her alma mater. There, she met her husband, Don Wolfson, who later served as mayor of Atlantic Beach.
Since 1985, Wolfson has been a dedicated advocate for Wolfson Children’s Hospital, serving 26 years on its board of directors, including five years as chair. She is also a past president of the hospital’s Women’s Board and remains active through several fundraising and outreach initiatives.
For nearly four decades, she has volunteered with Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry (BEAM), where she founded programs providing school supplies, clothing and dental care to children in need. Through her lifelong commitment to children and families, Wolfson has become one of the Beaches community’s most respected civic leaders.
Bill Longenecker
Bill Longenecker is a longtime surfer and respected figure in the Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach communities. Having lived for decades near A1A in the same family home his father purchased in the early 1950s, he has maintained deep ties to the Beaches and its surfing culture.
Beginning in 1984, Longenecker became one of Florida’s longest-running daily surf reporters, providing phone-in surf reports for local surf shops, including Hixon’s and later Sunrise Surf Shops. For more than 40 years, surfers throughout Northeast Florida relied on his detailed updates about wave conditions, winds, tides, weather and water temperatures.
A surfer since the early 1960s, Longnecker has also helped preserve Florida’s surf history through his collection of vintage surf magazines and memorabilia, supporting the Florida Surf Museum’s archival efforts. Helping others is another of his passions. As a trained paramedic, he worked in area hospital ERs assisting doctors and nurses for 25 years and still works shifts as a volunteer at Beaches Baptist Hospital.
Through decades of dedication and community involvement, he has become recognized as a local surf legend and an enduring voice in Jacksonville’s surfing community.
The 2026 honorees will be celebrated at the 13th Annual Beach Legends Gala on Friday, Sept. 18, at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse. The event, the museum’s largest fundraiser of the year, includes a seated dinner and a silent and live auction, and helps fund the museum’s educational and operational needs. Tickets are now available for the Beach Legends Gala by going to https://www.beachesmuseum.org/events/beach-legends-2026.
