Legend has it that Walt Disney came to St. Joe Company officials in the 1960's, wanting some land to build a theme park in the Panhandle. But St. Joe's CEO, Ed Ball, turned Disney away without ever speaking to him. He allegedly said, "I don't work with carnival people."

St. Joe Company vice president Jerry Ray recalled the story late last month to a group of business leaders, talking about missed opportunities. The speech came on the heels of what some are calling this area's golden opportunity, sealing a deal with Southwest Airlines for local airline service.

Ray says, "This is an opportunity to have a tipping point for northwest Florida. Generally speaking, if you look back over history, these kinds of positive tipping points come about once every three generations."

Ray is referring to Malcolm Gladwell's successful book, "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference." While hardly a little thing, officials agree this will put the Panhandle on the map.

Without the St. Joe Company, Bay County probably didn't stand a chance with Southwest Airlines. The area's largest landowner has agreed to cover Southwest's losses, up to $26 million in the first two years.

Ray says, "No airline, no company in this economy, could afford to come in with a new service to an unproven market, particularly with the way the economy is now."

Bob Montgomery, vice president of properties with Southwest Airlines, says, "Our relationship is simply that they are providing a backstop for some of our services. We both think that the market here is good and that it's going to be successful, but joining together in this alliance can mitigate the risk for both of us."

The $26 million was just the latest investment for St. Joe. The company donated the 4,000 acres of land for the airport site, and another 10,000 acres of wetlands for environmental mitigation.

Some critics say the company is leveraging the Southwest deal to make their property surrounding the airport more valuable. But, Ray says the company's interests are the same as everyone else's in the region: "When you own this much land in a region, and in the case of Bay County, half the county, what that does is align your interests with the county. What is good for the county becomes good for St. Joe. What's good for St. Joe, in the case of this effort, is good for the county."

Montgomery says Southwest has been interested in providing service to this region since about 1985. The St. Joe Company just made the timing and the location easier.

But, community leaders across the Panhandle point-out Southwest is just a piece of the economic development puzzle, and that the success of Southwest depends on regional players coming together and working as a team.

Jerry Ray says he knew Southwest was going to come to this region since 2007. Both he and Southwest officials say Southwest gives people an affordable and convenient way to get here -- and they believe our beaches will ensure they come back.