Fernandina names skate park after Poe Pinson

Fernandina Beach’s skateboard park will be officially named for local Olympics skater Poe Pinson on Friday afternoon.

Then the city will celebrate the 19-year-old competitor’s homecoming with a parade at 6 p.m..

Pinson competed July 28 in the Women’s Street Skateboard competition, finishing fifth in the finals. The City Commission approved the park naming on Aug. 6.

Only three of the five commissioners voted in favor of the renaming. One said it is not proper to name a park after someone who is still alive. Mayor Bradley Bean disagreed and voted for approval.

“She has represented our community with distinction; she represented her country with distinction,” Bean said. She came from here; this is her home skate park. This is something that doesn’t happen every day. It doesn’t happen every decade. This doesn’t happen all the time. To have an Olympian from Fernandina is special in itself, and this is something that we need to recognize.”

The Poe Pinson Park sign will be unveiled at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the skateboard park on Tarpon Street.

The Friends of Fernandina Skatepark’s Homecoming Parade for Poe will start at 6 p.m. at Central Park and head down Centre Street.

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