The center rechristened various parts of the restored building after the people and groups who helped the ECCAC continue their mission to advocate for children sexually or physically abused in Okaloosa County. 

The facility was built by Randy Wise 23 years ago – and construction operations were managed once again by Luke Philpot – the same foreman who brought the original building into being in the early 2000s. For their efforts, the center named the Pathway of Courage – which every child must walk down to tell their story for the court – after the two men. 

“We’re so happy to see this building back,” Philpot said to the crowd of about 100 who came to see the ribbon cutting, “It’s a beacon to this community. Julie Porterfield’s heart was for her staff and the children of Okaloosa County. We had to deal with a supply and workforce shortage to get [the rebuild after the fire] done. And COVID,” he added.”Randy told me, it doesn’t matter, take care of it- and the involvement we got from the community shows what kind of community we live in here in Niceville, Florida.”

“I pray God’s blessing on this building – that it can continue to be the beacon it is to our community,” Philpot said at the end of his remarks.

Other parts of the facilities were named after Crosspoint Church, which allowed the ECCAC staffers to conduct victim interviews in their facilities, and Alan McGinnis – the original architect, died from cancer several years ago. 

Members of the State attorney’s office and the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) also work within the facility. While the different representatives of the groups were scattered to the four winds while the facility was rebuilt – the work became much more complicated – due to the close nature of the work law enforcement, social workers, victim advocates, child psychologists, and ECCAC members perform.