One of our favorite parts of working at Riverside is seeing who comes through the door. Sometimes it’s someone we just met on a tour. Other times it’s a face we’ve seen so often that we skip the introductions and go straight to, “How’ve you been?”

We thought that was a good place to start on World Kindness Day. Some of the kindest things that happen around here are easy to miss. Someone pulls up another chair when a guest walks in. A vendor lends a hand while the room is getting set up. Two people who haven’t seen each other in months run into each other on the deck and stay a little longer to catch up.

Brianna, one of our crew members, first came to Riverside as a guest. She got to know Heather, liked it here enough to apply for a job, and now she’s one of the people welcoming guests herself. We love that story. There’s something sweet about being welcomed into a place and getting to do the same for somebody else.

People have been looking out for this place since before it opened. The Port Orange South Daytona Chamber of Commerce and the Halifax Sport Fishing Club worked together to build the Pavilion with support from both cities. People donated materials, equipment, and their own time to get it ready for its dedication in 1995. More than 30 years later, we still get to see people show up for each other here. At the Chamber’s A Tasteful Affair this spring, local restaurants filled the Pavilion with food for a fundraiser that helps support scholarships for local high school seniors.

To the crew who comes in early and stays late, the vendors who always find a way to help, and the neighbors who bring a friend along the next time they come by, thank you. And if someone here has made you feel welcome, we’d love for you to tell them. There’s a good chance they remember you, too.

Happy World Kindness Day from all of us at Riverside Pavilion. We’re glad you’re part of our little corner of Port Orange.