Those flinging the fish the farthest aren’t the only winners annually at the Flora-Bama’s Interstate Mullet Toss & Greatest Beach Party. In a longstanding tradition, several local charities and youth sports groups have been winners on the fundraising front for most of the years the toss has happened on the sugar-white sands adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico.

Co-owner Pat McClellan had a hand in starting the Mullet Toss in 1985 and just closed the books on number 40 last month. He said the fundraising and its target is a way of giving back to the community that has helped the Mullet Toss explode to what it has become today.

“The community has helped us grow so much and the fact that I stopped drinking almost 25 years ago I thought it was important for us to give something back to the community and proactively help the youth to avoid the pitfalls of drug and alcohol abuse later on in life,” McClellan said.

A main focus of all fundraisers are youth services and athletics, McClellan said.

“The most precious natural resource that we have is our youth. We’re going on a third generation of kids now and my two-and-a-half-year-old twins, grandsons, dropped a mullet this year,” McClelland said with a chuckle. “It’s three generations of families now.”

A total of $29,000 was distributed and this year’s biggest winners were the Makos Academics, Arts & Athletics Club with a $10,000 donation and the Community Drug & Alcohol Council at $5,000. Others benefitting from the Gulf Coast’s Greatest Beach Party include:

Drug Education Council of Mobile - $3,000

Boys & Girls Club of Escambia County - $2,000

Boys & Girls Club of Escambia County Montclair - $2,000

Snook Youth Club of Foley - $2,000

Southern Youth Sports Association - $2,000

Perdido Bay Youth Sports Association - $2,000

Mr. Robbins Neighborhood - $1,000