Marissa Stewart-Dix is president of the Gulfport Kiwanis Club, a social worker at Gulfport Elementary, and a new board member at the Gulfport Historical Society. She’s pictured here with her husband, Derrick Dix.
Marissa Stewart-Dix
Since its formation in the early ‘80s, the Gulfport Historical Society has yet to appoint a Black member to sit on one of its boards.
That is until last month, when Marissa Stewart-Dix, joined eight other board members of the Gulfport Historical Society. GHS runs the Gulfport History Museum and the soon-to-reopen Gulfport Arts Center.
She’s President of the Gulfport Kiwanis Club, creator of Gulfport’s first official Juneteenth celebration, a social worker with Gulfport Elementary, and a West Virginia transplant.
“Being from West Virginia, a mainly white state, I’m pretty sure this is not the first time I’ve been a first; it’s natural for me,” Stewart-Dix said. “I’m used to being in spaces where I’m the only person who looks like me.”
The GAC [2726 54th St. S.] is across Chase Park from the Gulfport History Museum (5301 28th Ave. S.) and will offer arts classes, programming and events. Stewart-Dix is hoping to steer the center toward programming for Gulfport’s younger generation.
I’m used to being in spaces where I’m the only person who looks like me.”
“My default is to look through the lens of the community for children,” Stewart-Dix said.
As a board member Dix looks forward to possibly providing scholarship opportunities from the GAC, summer art camps, and long-term staple programing for kids.
“Gulfport Elementary is a Title 1 school, and I see a lot of families who don’t live in Gulfport, but they come here to have fun, they have their birthday parties on the beach… I would hope families from areas like Childs Park will take advantage of our programing,” she added.
Stewart-Dix moved to Gulfport in 2017, after visiting GeckoFest.
“I thought to myself: I’ll move here when I retire,” Stewart-Dix said.
It wasn’t long after her visit before she made a permanent cross-country trip.
Stewart-Dix has a bachelors in psychology from the University of West Virginia and worked in Charleston, West Virginia as a social worker for a 55+ housing complex. She may be a busy woman with a bundle of titles, but the Gulfport resident makes a point to enjoy her Florida home as much as she can.
“I spend a lot of time on the beach, especially in the summertime,” Stewart-Dix said. “I’m a certified spin instructor and I like to hang out with my dog a ridiculous amount.”
The other eight GAC board members include Berkeley Grimball, Amanda Hagood, Amanda Hersem, David Kanter, Jim Thaler, Michelle Lee, Cathy Salustri Loper, and Nicole Spence. Dix sits on the steering committee to re-open the Arts Center, which has a tentative date to reopen this fall. GHS is currently raising funds to prepare for a proper reopening.
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