Steve “The Beach Guy” Pritchett has been in the business for 25 years. His contract was up on Sept. 30, and Charlotte County put out a request for proposals, the first of two rounds of proposals. Pritchett’s proposal was ranked third out of the five received and the county attorney said he did not score the highest technical score. But more than two dozen people spoke in favor of Pritchett’s beach and said his proposal came out on top when it came to providing the public with the beach experience they’ve come to expect. The vote kicked off the second round of the bid process. The county will issue a new bid and each of the five proposals will be taken into consideration. The five proposals are: 1. Steve “The Beach Guy” Pritchett, who wants to continue his 25–year–long beach concession 2. C&H Beaches Inc. out of Bradenton, which proposed a beach cart, beach sports equipment and boating rental business 3. Smuggler’s Bang Island, proposed by a family–owned business that wants to rent.