Carolyn Ketchel honored for decades of mental health advocacy and leadership in Okaloosa County

Okaloosa County, Florida – Vice Chairman Carolyn Ketchel stood with a small group of devoted community leaders at a gathering at Liza Jackson Park to honor them for their work to promote mental health. The Bridgeway Center gave Ketchel, State Representative Patt Maney, and Crestview Mayor J.B. Whitten their Mental Health Hero Award on Friday, May 16, 2025. This award recognized their work to make mental health support more available in Okaloosa County.

Ketchel took this honor very personally. “It has been a calling for me to help improve the mental health needs of our community over the years,” she said as she thought about her path as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She has worked in the field for decades and has seen both the problems and the progress that has been made in fulfilling the needs of people with mental health problems.

Ketchel’s effect goes beyond direct service. People know her for working on policy concerns, helping to create and move forward laws on everything from Social Security to child welfare and foster care. She has an effect on local programming too. Ketchel was a significant figure in creating Okaloosa County’s Mental Health Diversion Program, which works with other community leaders to help people obtain the care and counseling they need during stressful times instead of becoming lost in the criminal justice system.

Read also: Blurry VIN on Facebook listing leads to arrest and recovery of stolen Honda in Okaloosa County

Ketchel is proud of how well groups like Bridgeway Center and civic leaders work together. She stressed how important it is to work together.

“We could not make progress without the close collaboration of Bridgeway and our community leaders like Rep. Maney and Mayor Whitten.”

Each of this year’s winners has done something different to raise awareness about mental health and help individuals find the assistance they need.

Recognition of Ketchel’s work is not new. The Florida Association of Counties gave her the Presidential Advocacy Award in 2020 for her tireless work on behalf of the people of Okaloosa County. The new award from Bridgeway Center is another way for the community to show gratitude for her vision and hard work.

Read also: Florida breaks visitor record while hotel rates and occupancy hit new highs

As the event at Liza Jackson Park came to an end, it was evident that real change in mental health treatment doesn’t come quickly or by itself. It takes years of leaders who are willing to listen, work together, and do something. The job is far from over for Ketchel and the other prize winners, but moments like these remind them of how far they’ve gone and give them hope for what’s to come.