Bay County honors Pier 360 Recovery Alliance after national award

The Bay County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution Oct. 21 honoring Pier 360 Recovery Alliance after the group was selected as the 2025 Recovery Community Organization of the Year by Faces & Voices of Recovery.

The board’s resolution noted Pier 360 was chosen from more than 175 organizations nationwide and recognized the nonprofit’s leadership in stigma reduction, public awareness and engagement with the Recovery Community Organizations Network. ‘‘We proudly honor Pier 360 Recovery Alliance for receiving the 2025 Faces and Voices of Recovery Community Organization of the Year award,’’ the resolution read.

‘‘My name is Kyle Hanchal. I’m a person in long term recovery,’’ said Kyle Hanchal, the organization’s operations manager. He told the commission Pier 360 is a Bay County–based 501(c)(3) with roughly 15 staff and about 31 independent contractors. ‘‘One of the things that they most noted when they recognized us was the stigma reduction work that we did specifically in Bay County,’’ Hanchal said, describing free community events that do not include alcohol or drugs and peer-support trainings led by certified recovery coaches.

County officials thanked Pier 360 for its work and noted the organization also received opioid settlement funds. The board voted to adopt the resolution by voice vote.

The resolution and the board’s remarks place Pier 360’s national recognition in the context of its local services and of county support through settlement funding. The commission did not take additional action related to funding at the Oct. 21 meeting.