Local Folks: Emily Bellock
Emily Bellock is a native of Connecticut who moved down to the Jacksonville area for a job with the PGA Tour. She lived at The Beaches, at first, before moving to Riverside about a decade ago. Over the years, she has held a variety of titles within the PGA organization. Today, Emily is the director of community outreach for THE PLAYERS Championship, the annual golf tournament held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra.
Just like her dad, Emily is an avid golfer. She began at 14 driving the cart for him even before she had a driver’s license. “Eventually, I started having the willingness to put a club in my hand and try to take a whack at the golf ball,” she said. That was up in New England where golf season occupies a much shorter window than in Florida. One of the things Emily likes about this state is the year-round warm climate.
Emily learned to cook from her mom, whose favorite chef is Ina Garten. Growing up, Emily’s family enjoyed many meals that her mother had made from Ina’s recipes. Now, living on her own, Emily follows Ina on social media and on the Food Network where Ina is known as the Barefoot Contessa. During the pandemic, Emily and her sister were sent recipes by their mom. The young women would try to duplicate the meals and share photos of the results. “I love to do a lot of pasta dishes,” Emily said. Her favorite is Ina’s Weeknight Bolognese, which she says is very easy.
Emily enjoys cooking for her friends. “But now that I’m working so much, I don’t cook as much,” she said. When she’s eating alone, Emily prefers takeout, and she shared the following list: “I love the salmon salad a Biscottis. I love tacos from Taqueria Cinco. I love Hovan’s, the Mediterranean place.”
In addition to golf and food, Emily has a passion for travel. “I love to show my friends New England,” she said. Her parents still live up there in Connecticut. She has a sister and a brother in Texas and another brother in South Carolina. She likes flying to visit with all of them, but international travel has captivated her.
Emily studied for a single semester in Seville, Spain while she was a student at Boston College. “I used to know Spanish conversationally, but I just haven’t used it much,” she said of the language. Since then, Emily has seen Australia, Japan, South Korea, England, France, Italy and Ireland. Her trips have been a combination of pleasure and business in her former roles. “The PGA Tour has brought me to some very interesting destinations,” she said, for golf tournaments that were hosted abroad. Then, COVID came, which dampened travel for a while. Portugal last December was Emily’s first trip since the pandemic.
Emily has a dog named Darla, a brindle-colored mixed breed that she rescued from the Charleston Humane Society. Darla has accompanied Emily on drives to Connecticut and Texas to visit family, but she stays home whenever Emily flies anywhere.
“My favorite part about living in Riverside is the walkability,” Emily said. “Darla and I walk all over.” On Saturdays they walk the Riverside Arts Market together. On Sundays, they walk to Bold Bean to pick up coffee and breakfast. Multiple times per week, they visit BARK on Park to pick out a treat. Darla is somewhat of a celebrity there. Everyone seems to know her.
“I love the proximity of the river and the ability to walk along [it],” Emily said. Her favorite spots are near the Winston Family YMCA and around Memorial Park. Darla likes walking to those places, too, but she prefers a drive to Congaree and Penn. That’s the farm that has open space for dogs to run free as well as organized activities for them. Emily and Darla go up there with The Dog Gang. That’s a group of their friends — five humans and seven dogs. After play, the gang of a dozen eats at the farm’s restaurant, which Emily claims has “the best food in Jacksonville.” Darla especially likes that part of the trip because she’s allowed to dine there with the humans.
For Emily Bellock (a Connecticut native) and Darla (a South Carolina rescue), life in Jacksonville, Florida seems to agree with them. They’re living their lives in Riverside as local folks.
By Mary Wanser
Resident Community News
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