The 2012 Sweetheart 10K, 5k Run/Walk, sponsored by the Gulf Shores based L.A. Fleet Feet Running Club, will be held on Saturday, Feb. 11 beginning at 9 a.m. at Gulf Shores Public Beach in front of The Hangout. Come enjoy a fun-filled morning at The Hangout on the beach. All the courses border Big Lagoon heading out and return along the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. There will be mile splits and plenty of water stops. Packet pick-up is at The Hangout on Friday, Feb. 10 from 4-7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 11 from 7-8:30 a.m. Registration is $25 in advance, and $30.00 on race day. For more info, call 205 966-4366 or visit lafleetfeet.com

The 18th Annual Pirates of Lost Treasure Piratefest Parade and Buccaneer Bash will be held on Saturday, Feb. 11. Scurvy pirates and winsome wenches will storm the Intracoastal Waterway and Old River beginning at 10:45 a.m., when The fleet departs Perdido Key’s Holiday Harbor Marina at 10:45 a.m. The flotilla will then storm Sunset Grill docks, travel to the Perdido Key Oyster Bar, U-turn back across the Intracoastal Waterway to shower the Perdido Bay Seafood docks, then up Innerarity Point to attack Galvez Landing. The flotilla will then head west, blasting the docks along Ole River, before dropping anchor at the State Line for a raid of the FloraBama docks. The Buccaneer Bash with live music will commence at the Flora-Bama at 1:30 p.m., where red beans and rice will be available for purchase.

Suggested viewing spots are the Sunset Grill, Perdido Oyster Bar, Perdido Bay Seafood Dock or Galvez Landing. The Sunset Grill and Oyster Bar will be offering lunch specials during the flotilla.

All boaters are invited to join the parade. Registration fee is $25 per boat. The captains’ meeting will be held on Friday, Feb. 10 at The Sunset Grill. For more flotilla info, call 850-525-1975 or 850-293-2646.

Pictured: Jimmie Sue Walters of the Pirates of Lost Treasure passes out trinkets during last year’s post flotilla Buccaneer Bash at the Flora-Bama

January 28

Island Mystics: 1 p.m.; Dauphin Island.

February 3

Conde Cavalier: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

February 4

Bayport Mardi Gras Parading Society: 2:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Pharaoh’s Mystic Society; 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.6:30 PM

Conde Explorers; 7 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

February 9

Order of the Polka Dots; 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

February 10

Order of the Inca: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Apollo’s Mystic Ladies: 6:45 p.m.; Olde Town Daphne

February 11

Pirates of Lost Treasure Boat Parade: 10:45 a.m.; Perdido Key.

(Starts at Holiday Harbor, circles to Innerarity, Ole River to Flora-Bama Docks)

Pirates of Treasure Buccaneer Bash: 1:30 p.m.; Flora-Bama, Perdido Key.

Mobile Mystics: 2 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Mobile Mystical Revelers: 2:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Maids of Mirth: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Order of Butterfly Maidens: 7 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

KOER Kights of Ecor Rouge: 7 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Fairhope Mardi Gras Parade: 7 p.m.; downtown Fairhope.

Krewe of Marry Mates: 7:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

February 12

Neptune’s Daughters: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Order of Isis: 7 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

February 13

Mobile Mystical Ladies: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Order of Venus: 7 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

February 14

Order of LaShe: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

February 16

Mystic Striper: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

February 17

Crewe of Columbus: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Mystical Order of Mirams: 6:30 p.m., Orange Beach

(Begins at Wintzell’s & ends at Perdido Dunes)

Mystic Order of Persephone: 6:45 p.m.; Olde Town Daphne

Maids of Jubilee: 7 p.m.; downtown Fairhope

Krewe of Lafitte: 8 p.m.; downtown Pensacola

February 18

Floral Mardi Gras Parade: noon; downtown Mobile.

Knights of Mobile: 12:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Order of Angels: 1 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Krewe of Mullet Mates: 2 p.m.; Point Clear

(Mullet Point Park to Weeks Bay Bridge)

Pensacola Grand Mardi Gras Parade: 2 p.m.; downtown Pensacola

Mystics of Pleasure: 5:30 p.m.; Orange Beach

(Begins at Wintzell’s & ends at Perdido Dunes)

Mystics of Time: 6 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Coronation of Queen to King Felix: 6:30 p.m.; Mobile Convention Center

Shadow Barons: 6:45 p.m.; Old Town Daphne.

Pleasure Island Mardi Gras Fest: 10 am. to 4 p.m, Orange Beach

(On Main St. – Look for the ferris wheel at The Wharf on Canal Rd.)

February 19

Perdido Key Mardi Gras Festival & Cajun Cook-Off: 11:30 a.m., Perdido Key

(Villagio Plaza, 13700 Perdido Key Drive)

Krewe of Wrecks: 1 p.m.; Pensacola Beach

Arrival of King Elexis: 2 p.m.; foot of Government Street

Joe Cain Parade: 2:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Le Krewe de Bienville: 5 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Les Femmes Cassettes: 5:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Coronation of King Elexis & Queen: 8:15 p.m.; Mobile Civic Center.

February 20

Arrival of King Felix: 11 a.m; foot of Government Street

King’s Parade and Floral Parade: noon; downtown Mobile.

MLK Business and Civic Organization: 3 p.m.; Mobile.

MLK Monday Mystics: 3:30 p.m.; Mobile.

Northside Merchants: 4 p.m.; Mobile.

Infant Mystics: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Order of Mystic Magnolias: 7 p.m.; downtown Fairhope

February 21

Mardi Gras Parade: 10 a.m.; Gulf Shores

(Begins at Hwy 59 at Intracoastal Bridge, ends at G.S. Public Beach)

Order of Athena: 10:30 a.m.; downtown Mobile.

Knights of Revelry: 12:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

King Felix Mardi Gras Parade: 1 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Comic Cowboys: 1:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Mobile Area Mardi Gras Assn.: 2 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Orange Beach Mardi Gras Parade: 2 p.m.; Orange Beach.

(Begins at Wintzell’s & ends at Hwy 161.)

Order of Myths: 6:30 p.m.; downtown Mobile.

Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday Street Party: 7 p.m.; downtown Pensacola

The fifteenth annual snowbird production at South Baldwin Community Theater will open February 8 in Gulf Shores. The play titled “The Dixie Swim Club,” written by Jesse Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, is directed by JoAnn Eddy, assisted by Gordon Halloran. This year’s production is a comedy about five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team and now set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships. Free from husbands, kids and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to catch up, laugh and meddle in each other’s lives. “The Dixie Swim Club” focuses on four of those weekends and spans a period of thirty-three years. It’s a hilarious and touching comedy about friendships that last forever.

The box office will be open January 30 through the week of February 3 from 10 am-2 pm Monday through Friday or tickets can be purchased on line by visiting www.sbct.biz.

Show dates are February 8-12 and 15-19, with curtain at 7:30 p.m. nightly and matinees only on Sundays at 2 p.m.

Pictured: The cast of the Snowbird produced “The Dixie Swim Club.’’

By Fran Thompson

He was baptized in the Jordan River by Johnny Cash. He was the first and only Nashville producer to win a Grammy for Producer of the year. He won a second Grammy for Song of the Year as co-writer of the B.J. Thomas hit “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.”

As a Nashville session player, he laid down licks for the likes of Roger Miller, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Bobby Goldsboro, Jerry Lee Lewis and Charlie Rich.

He earned CMA awards for Album of the Year & Producer of the Year. He amassed more than 100 Gold and Platinum record awards. He had songs on the country charts for 12 years running. Cashbox Magazine named him Instrumentalist of the Year. He’s on the Country Music Hall of Fame Walkway of Stars. His obit was well placed in The New York Times.

But to the majority of those filling the Perdido Bay Community Center auditorium for a Jan. 24 memorial service, Perdido resident and Pensacola native Larry Butler, who passed away peacefully on Jan. 20 at age 69, was, more importantly, a friend and a neighbor.

He was a “pal.”

“He was always so nice to me,’’ said local songwriter Brent Burns, who co-wrote “Can’t Get Away From Me’’ with Larry in a Perdido Key condo in 2010. “He was that way with everyone. It was his nature to be kind.’’

Born and raised in Pensacola, Larry sang with the Harry James Orchestra when he was six. At age ten, he sang with Red Foley. Before he was old enough to drive and while other kids were playing football, he was hosting his own radio show and co-hosting a live TV show.

LeaAnn Creswell, who sang for her friend at the memorial, appeared on the show as an adolescent, singing “My Home is in Florida Where The Orange Blossoms Grow.’’

“What a kind loving man he was,’’ Creswell said at the memorial. “If he called you ‘pal’ when he talked to you, you were definitely his friend.’’

Flora-Bama owner Joe Gilchrist grew up with Larry.

“He went to Brownsville and I went to Warrington. But we were both Westside people and friends from our high school days,’’ said Gilchrist. “I didn’t see him much after he moved to Nashville. But I followed his career closely, and we were all proud of him.’’

Larry set sails for Nashville in 1963 with a few dollars in his pocket and that God given magic in his fingers. Soon his unique style of piano was heard on such hits as “Hello Darlin” by Conway Twitty and “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro.

In the late 1960′s, he and Chips Moman formed the Gentrys and charted “Keep On Dancin’” and “Every Day I Have To Cry Some.” He co-wrote the Poppies hit single “Lullaby Of Love.” Tammy Wynette cut Larry’s “Only The Strong Will Survive,” while Billie Joe Spears cut “Standing Tall,” which was also a hit for Lorrie Morgan in 1996.

Larry’s very first single as a Capital Records producer, “Seven Lonely Days,” became a Billboard Top-20 single for Jean Shepard in 1969. So successful was Larry’s partnership with Cash that he became Cash’s producer, pianist, musical director and studio manager.

In 1973, Larry joined United Artists Records as head of the label’s Nashville division, bringing in Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Dottie West and the Kendalls.

Unquestionably, Larry’s biggest success was producing Kenny Rogers. And it was Larry who converted him to Country. Their magical studio collaboration yielded many of The Gambler’s greatest hits. Larry put Rogers and Dottie West together for the duets “Everytime Two Fools Collide” and “Til I Make It On My Own.” Larry also teamed Rogers and Kim Carnes on their smash hit “Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer.”

Later, Larry Butler Music Group, Inc. produced a string of hits for George Strait. In just two short years, LBMG produced eight Top Ten cuts and and numerous Top Forty records, including “Wonder What You’ll Do When I’m Gone,” a song Larry wrote for Waylon Jennings.

Larry is survived by Peggy, his wife of 26 years, daughter Shanda Olsson and sister Alva Chop.

Both in his memoirs, which he recently wrote and titled “For The Record,’’ and to anyone who happened to be around when the subject came up, Larry was quick to credit Peggy for saving his life.

Larry and Peggy moved into a home in Perdido Bay Country Club in 1994 and immediately became active in the Perdido Key community.

When Hurricane Ivan devastated Perdido Key in September 2004, Larry called upon Rogers and Willie Nelson, another old pal, to produce three sold-out concerts that raised more than half a million dollars for his community’s rebuilding efforts.

Larry also promoted and played a dual piano show with friend Tim Vesczy at the Pensacola Saenger, raising more than $10,000 for the Ronald McDonald House.

Phil Varion remembers when Larry played to a full house at the Big Lagoon State Park Amphitheater to raise funds for the Perdido Movers & Shakers, a grass roots community group formed by the late Bonnie Powell and others.

“Not only did he play for us, but he stayed around for an hour answering questions,’’ said Varian. “He didn’t have to do that. That’s just the kind of person he was. He was very open, very giving, very friendly.’’

Larry lent his name, as well as hundreds of plaques, gold records and photos to a Perdido restaurant & bistro, Larry Butler’s Country Club Cafe in the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, the restaurant drained money. But the scope of Larry’s memorabilia lining the walls was awe-inspiring.

Later in the 1990’s, Larry self produced an instrumental CD, “Feelings.” That CD is surely still in rotation for many of the women who shopped at Tootie Green’s in Orange Beach during that period.

“We would play the CD and people would ask where they could buy it,’’ said Tootie Green’s owner Becky (Johnston) Nichols. “We literally sold thousands of them. Tourists would take it home with them and then call us back and order five more.’’

Even with the accolades and awards he earned as a musician, songwriter and music executive, Larry loved producing and developing talent.

“The very first session that I sat down to play piano on, there was a guy telling everybody what to do — the producer,” Larry said in a 2009 appearance on Pensacola’s WSRE. “I knew that’s the job that I wanted.”

“The biggest gift to me was his way of bringing out the best in the people around him,’’ said Chris Roach, who, during the memorial, sang “Walk On,’’ a song he co-wrote with Larry.

“With Larry, everything that happened in the studio had to be tested out,” said longtime Frank Brown Songwriters Fest regular Billy Dean in the Tennessean. “He was testing it out not in a technical way, but in an emotional way. If it won out emotionally, it stayed. He always led with his heart.”

Well put Dean. And what a colossal heart it was.

(Top photo)-Larry with Kenny Rogers in the studio

Larry and Peggy Butler