280 Living
August 2016 | Volume 9 | Issue 12
neighborly news & entertainment
New Neighborhood
Mountain resort-style upscale community — with amenities like an amphitheater and natural rock stage — in works off U.S. 11 in Chelsea.
See page A20
Football Preview
2016 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
IN THE
RUNNING By ERICA TECHO
I
INSIDE
f you are voting in this August’s municipal election, there are a few things you need to know — how to register, where to vote and who is running. Make sure you are up to speed on important dates and who will be on the ballot in your city. Both Chelsea and Hoover hold at-large elections, meaning candidates can run for any place on the council, no matter in which area of the city they live. The City of Chelsea is going to have a new mayor for the first time since the city’s founding 20 years ago, but that will not be the only change this election season. Three of Chelsea’s city council members have thrown their hat in the ring for the mayoral seat, and a fourth is retiring after this
► Bios of candidates running in Chelsea and Hoover municipal elections, A10.
See RUNNING | page A10
That’s right — high school football is on the horizon. Find out what Chelsea, Briarwood, Spain Park and Oak Mountain have planned.
See page B12
INSIDE Sponsors ......... A4 280 News ........ A6 Business .........A21 School House ..A28 Events .............. B4
Opinion ............. B11 Sports .............. B12 Faith ................ B26 Real Estate.....B28 Calendar ......... B29
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IN CHELSEA
IN HOOVER
DALE NEUENDORF
ALISON MOORE NICHOLS
TONY PICKLESIMER
FRANK BROCATO
GARY IVEY (I)
STEVE MCCLINTON
Running for mayor
Running for mayor
Running for mayor
Running for mayor
Running for mayor
Running for mayor
Park’s archery course hits the mark in 1st year By ERICA TECHO Most days when Kelly Ezell drives past the archery park at Oak Mountain State Park, there is someone on the course. The park opened in August 2015, and Ezell said it has been a successful addition to the nearly 10,000acre park. “I never dreamed it would be used this much,” said Ezell, superintendent for Oak Mountain State Park. The archery park was the 11th community archery range in the state when
it opened last year, and it includes targets for adults and children as well as bow hunters and newbies. “It has been very well received, not just for the hunters but for the enthusiasts as well,” she said. After the archery park opened, Oak Mountain State Park started hosting training lessons for children younger than 12, under the instruction of park naturalist Emily Cook. The courses
See ARCHERY | page A31
Oak Mountain State Park Superintendent Kelly Ezell said she’s seen only positive results since opening the archery course one year ago. Photo by Erica Techo.
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About Us Editor’s Note By Sydney Cromwell I wrote about elections in last month’s editor’s note, but they’re so important that I feel the need to briefly mention them again. Chelsea and Hoover will be voting for their city council members and mayors this month. If you live in those cities, you have until Aug. 8 to register. Before going to the polls on Aug. 23, make sure to check out our election guide inside, with profiles of candidates running for each position. This month, high school fall sports will also be kicking off. We have season previews for football, volleyball and cross-country inside. 280 Living will be covering football games throughout the season online at 280living.com, and we will also be profiling some of the coaches and players who are representing their schools on the
field, the court or the trail. If your kids are heading back to school this month, be sure to check out our information on the upcoming tax-free weekend to stock up on school supplies and our feature on this year’s PTO presidents. Finally, the summer heat may be blistering now but fall is heading our way. Make sure to take advantage of some of the last summer events of 2016, including the Shake and Bake Run, Mayhem on the Mountain, the Save the O’s 5K and Chirps and Chips. See you at the polls!
BEHIND THE LENS By Frank Couch Cars congest three lanes on a bridge over the Cahaba River on U.S. 280, ironically parallel to an empty two-lane bridge. Traffic fills ast-bound or westbound lanes depending on the time of day and work patterns of commuters. Technical Data: NIKON D810, Lens (mm): 70, ISO: 200, Aperture: 6.3, Shutter: 1/640 Got a question or have an idea for next months’ Behind The Lens? Email me at fcouch@starnespublishing.com.
Correction
On page A12 in the July edition of 280 Living, the final da e to register to vote in August’s
Publisher: Managing Editor: Design Editor: Director of Photography: Director of Digital Media: Sports Editor: Page Designers:
Dan Starnes Sydney Cromwell Kristin Williams Frank Couch Heather VacLav Kyle Parmley Cameron Tipton Emily VanderMey Community Reporters: Ana Good Erica Techo Jon Anderson Tara Massouleh Staff Writers: Emily Featherston Sam Chandler Copy Editor: Louisa Jeffries
Advertising Manager: Matthew Allen Sales and Distribution: Warren Caldwell Don Harris Michelle Salem Haynes Brittany Joffrion Rhonda Smith James Plunkett Jon Harrison Gail Kidd Contributing Writers: Rick Watson Leah Ingram Eagle Marienne Thomas Ogle Jesse Chambers Grace Thornton Interns: Katherine Polcari MaryEllen Newton
municipal elections was incorrect. The final d y to register is Aug. 8. We regret the error.
280 Living neighborly news & entertainment
Contact Information: 280 Living PO Box 530341 Birmingham, AL 35253 (205) 313-1780 dan@starnespublishing.com
Please submit all articles, information and photos to: sydney@ starnespublishing.com P.O. Box 530341 Birmingham, AL 35253
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For advertising contact: dan@starnespublishing.com Legals: 280 Living is published monthly. Reproduction or
use of editorial or graphic content without prior permission is prohibited. 280 Living is designed to inform the 280 community of area school, family and community events. Information in 280 Living is gathered from sources considered reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. All articles/ photos submitted become the property of 280 Living. We reserve the right to edit articles/ photos as deemed necessary and are under no obligation to publish or return photos submitted. Inaccuracies or errors should be brought to the attention of the publisher at (205) 313-1780 or by email.
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Please Support Our Community Partners 30 A Realty (B27) Aesthetic Dermatology (B9) Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center (B3) Alabama Outdoors (B24) ARC Realty (B10) Asbury United Methodist Church (A11) Avani Rupa Fine Jewelers (A9) Batts’ Chimney Services (A12) Bedzzz Express (A3, B1) Bellini’s (A15) Ben Franklin - One Hour (B6) BenchMark Physical Therapy (B17) Birmingham Duplicate Bridge Club (A6) Birmingham Heart Clinic (A8) Birmingham Speech and Hearing Associates (B26) Cabinetry Refinishing & Restoration (A1) Cahaba Glass (B26) Cahaba Valley Animal Clinc (B11) California Closets (B23) Candidate for Chelsea Mayor Alison Moore Nichols (A6) Carbon Recall (A12) Carden Heating and Cooling (A27) Central Alabama Cadillac Dealers (A29) Chelsea Party Center (B19) Children’s of Alabama (B30) Chiropractic Today (B2) Club Pilates (B22) Dance South (A5) Decorating Dens Interiors (B1) Derrick Murphy for Hoover City Council (A1) Dieguez-Marino Orthodontics (B4) dk2 Gallery (A9) Encore Rehabilitation (B6) Everyday Pet Styles (A24) Exclusively Ballet (A15) Expedia CruiseShipCenters (A7) EZ Roof & EZ Restoration (A17) Flat Fee Real Estate (A2) Gary Ivey for Mayor (A14) GradePower Learning of Birmingham (A13) Grandview Medical (B13) Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce (A31) Healthy Smiles of Birmingham (A5)
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280Living.com
August 2016 • A5
280 Living
A6 • August 2016
280 News Chelsea council OKs animal control ordinance amendment By ERICA TECHO The city of Chelsea’s animal control ordinance now includes sections against animal cruelty. Chelsea City Council approved at its July 12 meeting the addition of two sections, on cruelty to animals and the tethering of animals, to the city’s animal control ordinance. During pre-council, Mayor Pro Tem Juanita Champion said the issue was before the council following an incident where a family would leave their dog tied up in the yard for several hours at a time. “We had a horrible electrical storm, in fact it knocked out power here in City Hall, and that poor dog had to stay out in that electrical storm without shelter or anything,” Champion said. Champion said the hope was for the amendments to the ordinance to give the city “teeth” in this sort of situation, as contract deputies through the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office are supposed to enforce local ordinances. The amendment to the ordinance listed several acts under Section 6, Cruelty to Animals, including failing to provide adequate food, water, medical attention or shelter; any action causing an animal pain, suffering or death; and keeping an animal in unsanitary or inhumane conditions, among other acts. Section 7, Tethering of Animals, specified, “It shall be unlawful for anyone to inhumanely tether a dog, cat, kitten or puppy and
it shall be unlawful for anyone to leave a tethered dog, cat, kitten or puppy in such conditions as to result in inhumane treatment or injury.” Penalties for any violation of the ordinance, including previously existing sections, include a $100 fine on the first offense, a $300 fine for the second offense in the same calendar year plus 20 hours of community service and court costs, and additional fines and community service for any other offenses within a 12-month period. Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Cody Sumners said during pre-council that while deputies will be able to issue citations in regard to ordinance-related offenses, a lack of municipal court means there will be a lack of enforcement. During the city council meeting, a Chelsea resident brought up the city’s lack of a municipal court and asked how the amended ordinance would affect enforcement without a designated enforcement officer. Champion said the amendments would help the city when dealing with individuals not following the ordinance and noted that the city’s contract with the sheriff’s office said, “the deputies will familiarize themselves and enforce our ordinances.” “Well, it depends on who you talk to in the sheriff’s department and the city of Chelsea and the animal control folks in Columbiana, what action is taken when you call about that,” the resident said. “I’ve talked to others on the council about it, and it’s a concern
The Chelsea City Council recognized the Chelsea 6U Bombsquad All-Star team during its July 12 meeting. Photo by Erica Techo.
to some of us residents.” Council member Dale Neuendorf said the city and council were in agreement that the city is in need of a code compliance officer as soon as it is possible. “As soon as we can reasonably get another code compliance officer, I think we’re all in agreement that we need one, as well as a municipal court to hear those complaints and where citations have been handed out,” he said. Council member Alison Nichols also noted that animal cruelty is covered by state law, and can be enforced that way. The council unanimously approved the amended ordinance, which will go into effect after five days. The council also approved a resolution in support of law enforcement officers during the
meeting. The resolution thanked the deputies with Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, school resource officers and other law enforcement agencies for their hard work. After being unanimously approved, the resolution was met with standing applause from those in attendance, including Sheriff John Samaniego. “I just want to thank the citizens of Chelsea because it’s just like you said, it’s a beautiful, safe city and we try to make it as safe as we can, and I’m very fortunate to have outstanding men and women that work with the sheriff’s office that provide you with that safety,” Samaniego said. Also at the meeting, the council: ► Recognized the Chelsea 6U Bombsquad All-Star team. ► Approved a de-annexation of
nearly 35,000 square feet of property off of Highway 11 near the Chelsea Sports Complex. The property is part of the Highlands subdivision and was de-annexed so that the entirety of the subdivision can be annexed into Pelham city limits. ► Approved an annexation request for a 45-acre property on Highway 336, a half portion of a 69.1-acre property on Highway 336, a 21.6-acre property and a 3-acre property at 161 Stirrup Cove. ► Approved a resolution to appoint the municipal election poll workers. ► Accepted a bid for the maintenance building at the Chelsea Sports Complex. The bid was from Double J Steel in the amount of $43,000 for the 40-by-60-by-14 building. ► Approved to pay the city’s bills.
280Living.com
August 2016 • A7
EBSCO has revived plans for the 75-acre Tattersall Park development near the northeast corner of U.S. 280 and Alabama 119. The company now is trying to get part of the property — the 18 acres in blue at the corner of Alabama 119 and Greystone Way — rezoned as a community business district. Photo courtesy of RBY Retail.
EBSCO plans for Tattersall Park by Greystone revived By JON ANDERSON EBSCO is trying to revive commercial development plans for about 75 vacant acres near the corner of U.S. 280 and Alabama 119 next to Greystone. The Tattersall Park commercial, office and residential development, approved by the city of Hoover in 2002 at the northeast corner of the intersection, ended up stalling and never happened. As a result, the Planned Urban Development mixed-use zoning that had been approved went away after a year and reverted to the previous zoning on the land, said Hoover planning consultant Bob House. That means that, now, 57 acres are zoned as a community business district (which does not allow residential use), and an 18-acre lot carries no zoning, House said. EBSCO now is trying to get the city to zone the 18-acre lot as a community-business district as well as give the entire property the same zoning. The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission on July 11 recommended the City Council rezone the property, and the City Council is scheduled to take up the matter Aug. 15. The 18 acres in question are at the corner of Alabama 119 and Greystone Way, just across Greystone Way from the St. Vincent’s One Nineteen Health and Wellness center. Andrew Phillips, an engineer representing EBSCO at the July zoning board meeting, told the zoning board there are no immediate plans for developing the 18 acres. Richard Yeilding of RBY Retail, the development agent for EBSCO, said EBSCO is concentrating on the portion of the 75 acres closer to the new Brookwood Medical Center freestanding emergency department off Alabama 119. EBSCO has a few contracts for portions of the property but is not ready to disclose development details because the deals have not yet closed, Yeilding said. When Tattersall Park was approved in 2002, it included about 700,000 square feet of retail space, several mid-rise office buildings with 340,000 square feet of space, a 200-room hotel, movie theater and 120 to 200 condos, town houses or loft apartments. But those plans never materialized as the economy soured. Now that the economy has improved, development efforts have been revived.
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We continue to look at all opportunities for restaurants, hotels, office buildings and retail uses on the property.
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RICHARD YEILDING
A November 2015 site plan for the 75-acre Tattersall Park development on the RBY Retail website shows a 123,000-square-foot anchor store, six “junior anchor” stores, a gas station and 11 outparcels, but Yeilding said the site plan has been amended since then and frequently changes based on business prospects. That November site plan also included a 5.6-acre outparcel for a four-story, 200-unit residential development, but Yeilding said the residential portion is no longer in the plans. “We continue to look at all opportunities for restaurants, hotels, office buildings and retail uses on the property,” Yeilding said. That includes entertainment venues, he said. House said if EBSCO wants to pursue a shopping center as pictured in the November site plan, the company would have to come to the city for “conditional-use” approval in the current community business district zoning. The proposed site development plan shows three entrances off Alabama 119 to the commercial part of the development, one off U.S. 280 and two off Greystone Way. Community business district zoning in Hoover allows office buildings, barber or beauty shops, banks, convenience stores, drug stores, dry-cleaning businesses, laundromats, daycare facilities, grocery stores, restaurants, auto dealerships, building material sales (no outside lumber yards), bakeries, motels and hotels, theaters, veterinary clinics, nursing homes, department stores, furniture stores, auto parts stores and other retail stores. The “Tattersall Park” property has been mostly cleared for more than a decade and used as off-site parking for PGA golf tournaments at the Greystone Golf & Country Club and Shoal Creek Country Club.
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280 Living
A8 • August 2016
New HealthSouth facility gets final approval By ERICA TECHO A 34-room inpatient rehabilitation facility off of I-65 in Pelham has received final approval. HealthSouth announced the approval on Monday, July 11, in a press release and at the Shelby County Commission meeting. Work on the project began in 2009, and HealthSouth filed a certificate of need (CON) and went through an appeals process and to the Supreme Court in the last six years. “Recently, we got the CON for that project, and we’ll begin to build the hospital sometime next year,” said HealthSouth Regional Vice President Terry Brown. “We have to go to the state now to submit our plans, and we will start building that hospital either this year or sometime in the first quarter next year.” The hospital will have 34 all-private rooms, an on-site therapy gym and rehabilitation technologies. It will take about a year to build, Brown said, and will bring about a $25 million investment and 85 full-time jobs to the community. “When I say full-time jobs, many of our positions go by full-on, part-time persons, so the actual number of people employed will be larger than that,” Brown said. The hospital will be located off of I-65 exit 242, across from the County Services Building. Brown said HealthSouth has already acquired the property for the hospital. “I want to thank everyone for all of their help in getting this process done,” Brown said. “It’s been a long and arduous process, but I think this is going to be a great benefit to the citizens of this county.” Linda Wilder, regional president of HealthSouth, said in a press release that they are excited to provide services closer to home for Shelby County residents. “Currently, Shelby County residents have limited access to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital, which requires patients and their families to
HealthSouth Regional Vice President Terry Brown speaks at the July 11 Shelby County Commission meeting. Photo by Erica Techo.
travel to Jefferson County for treatment,” Wilder said. “This new hospital will ensure that residents have appropriate and reasonable access to the latest rehabilitative treatment and technology in a hospital setting. We thank the many supporters who worked so hard to make these services more accessible to those who need them.” Also at the meeting, the commission received an update on the Dunnavant Square Cooperative District. County Manager Alex Dudchock said there
have been multiple meetings about a potential pedestrian tunnel, and preliminary design work has been completed. This is all conceptual at this time, Dudchock said, as a way to see how much more right of way would need to be added. “There is a series of meetings on right of way needs that still needs to happen,” Dudchock said. Also at the meeting, the commission: ► Approved a resolution to purchase mix, bituminous plant for the highway department in accordance with the State of Alabama bid law.
► Accepted bids for doors and door hardware and for calcium hypochlorite tablets. ► Approved a digital information cooperative agreement between the county and ALDOT regarding digital orthophotography. The agreement allows for ALDOT and the county to use and share the digital land information between entities, rather than both entities taking the same photos. ► Approved a petition to vacate an area of public property.
280Living.com
August 2016 • A9
The Chelsea Sports Complex is set to open in early August or late September. Sod was laid on the fields mid-summer. Photo by Erica Techo.
Chelsea complex to open this fall; no games likely until ‘17 By ERICA TECHO Even though the Chelsea Sports Complex is set to open in late August or early September, it likely will not see baseball games until 2017. “I don’t want to get out on the grass until it gets a good hold,” said Mayor Earl Niven. Phase I of the sports complex — which includes three baseball fields, batting cages, a concession stand, a walking trail, a lake and a children’s play area — has been in the works for almost two and a half years. The land was purchased at that time, and the city of Chelsea went through several months of planning before work began. “I think it’s gone real good,” Niven said of the construction process. “We had a little delay on the permitting for the concession stand that set us back about a month, but other than that it’s gone on schedule.” Batting cages, two per field, will help teams practice before their games in addition to providing a general practice area for teams on non-game days, Niven said. The project will hopefully bring more baseball tournaments to Chelsea, he said, which can help benefit the city. The baseball fields also will be a way for Chelsea’s youngest residents to practice and help boost the city’s sports programs, Niven said. “The demographics of our city, there’s so many youths, and this is just going to provide places for them to play and prepare them for a 6A school,” he said. “This is just a start because
Chelsea Business Alliance hosting candidate forums By ERICA TECHO The Chelsea Business Alliance is working to help residents stay informed prior to municipal elections Aug. 23. CBA is hosting two candidate forums, one for city council candidates Aug. 4 and one for mayoral candidates Aug. 11. “We decided to hold this forum because we are the local business community organiBlackwell zation, and our businesses represent over 80 percent of the revenue that the Chelsea City
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This is just a start because we have a second phase, which will be five additional fields, and it will have one that high school players can play on.
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EARL NIVEN
we have a second phase, which will be five additional fields, and it will have one that high school players can play on.” Phase II of the sports complex includes five baseball and softball fields, a soccer field and a football field. Niven said it will probably be another year before work is started on that phase, although that will be up to the discretion of the new city council and mayor. “I think there would be a few months just to let things settle and to see the need of the city from their viewpoint,” Niven said. Niven said there are plans to hold a ribbon— cutting or opening celebration before November so that the city officials who helped put the sports complex plans into motion can participate.
Council and the Mayor manage for the area,” said CBA Director Je Anne Smith. Both forums are sponsored by the Birmingham Association of Realtors and will be emceed by State Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-Birmingham. There will also be moderators from the business community and residential community who will ensure answers stay on topic. Residents can submit questions for the candidates via email at chelseabusinessalliance@gmail.com. Smith said CBA has already received several questions and will accept them through the day of the forums. “People are very excited about this,” Smith said. “They’re very excited about the passing of the guard and the opportunity for changing a few things in the area.” Each forum will be a “shotgun” format, Smith said, where questions will be drawn out of a hat. Candidates will have a set time to answer, and Smith said that time will be strictly enforced. “It will be a very specific format,” she said. “There will not be any debate, there will not be any back and forth.” For more information about the event, visit The Chelsea Business Alliance on Facebook.
280 Living
A10 • August 2016
2016 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
IN THE RUNNING
CONTINUED from page A1 term. All city council seats and the mayoral spot are contested, and Place 3 council member David Ingram is the sole incumbent seeking to return. Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey is facing a challenge from former Hoover Fire Marshal Frank Brocato and former Hoover
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RUNNING
City Schools Foundation President Steve McClinton. All seven city council seats are contested, and the councilmen for Place 1, Place 2, Place 3 and Place 7 are running for re-election. In this month’s election guide, you will find profiles on the 14 candidates in Chelsea and 19 candidates in Hoover as well as information on their main platform points and how to stay up-to-date on their campaigns.
Candidates have focused on bringing new businesses to Chelsea, improving the city’s roads, expanding available amenities and working with the school system, as well as other topics, this election season. In Hoover, candidates have cited funding for the school system, control over residential growth, long-term planning, public safety and transparency from city leaders as important topics. Also make sure to check out full
DALE NEUENDORF
ALISON MOORE NICHOLS
TONY PICKLESIMER
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea mayor ► Main campaign issues: • Attracting new businesses: I want us to contract with a business-recruiting firm that specializes with going out and finding the types of business that Chelsea really needs, and I want to get non-competing businesses. • Improve community amenities: We’ve got a lot at the community center for teenagers and senior citizens, but we don’t have a lot for young children, and that’s one of the reasons I want to look at putting in a splash pad for the young children to enjoy. • Intersection improvements: One of the big projects I do want to look at as soon as I become mayor, if I’m fortunate enough to be elected, is restructuring the intersection of Highway 47 and 39…Traffic would not have to stop there unless a train was coming. All other times, traffic would continue to flow without having to stop at a traffic light. • Speed limit changes: I want to continue to work with ALDOT to lower the speed limit even more. I would like to see it 45 miles per hour all the way through the business district on Highway 280 and past the entrance to the Chelsea Park subdivision. • Improve community involvement • Build citizen advisory committees ► Political experience: Six years on Chelsea City Council. ► Contact: daleformayor.com
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea mayor ► Main campaign issues: • Public safety: Public safety is my number one thing, and I probably was made more aware of it because of driving the school bus and recognizing how much we have grown. Our roads have not kept up with our growth. • Traffic improvements, including a traffic light at Old Highway 280 and Highway 11 • Supporting schools: Obviously the schools need more money because we have the same size school as we had when we were a 4A school. We’re a 6A school with a three-year projection to become a 7A school, and the numbers aren’t a surprise. • Attracting new businesses • Increasing community involvement: Our goal is to get more people, more citizens to participate in city government because it can’t reflect something it doesn’t know. ► Political experience: Elected to City Council in 2012. ► Contact: Alison Moore Nichols for Mayor on Facebook
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea mayor ► Main campaign issues: • Public safety: One of the first things we have got to tackle is we have outgrown our contract with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. We’re too big. We are too big for the amount of coverage [we have]. • Street and road improvement: We’re 20 years old now, we have some streets and roads that are 20 years old, so we have some streets and roads in Chelsea that need attention, just from a maintenance standpoint. • Complete neighborhood roads: We have neighborhoods that the developers have gone bankrupt and left and left without doing the finished coat of their streets. …They need the city to step up and help them get their roads finished. • Attracting new businesses: Bringing new businesses into the community, it serves a couple of purposes. The people who already live in Chelsea, it gives them a couple of choices of where to shop, where to eat … but secondly, when people come to Chelsea and start or move a business, it gives them incentive to move to Chelsea. • School improvements: Our schools, as everyone knows, are operated by the Shelby County Board of Education. We have to keep ourselves in a position that when they get ready to do an expansion, a new construction, anything school related, we have to be ready as a city to partner with them.. ► Political experience: 10 years on Chelsea City Council, one term as Mayor Pro Tempore. ► Contact: tonypicklesimer.com; Tony Picklesimer Serving the City of Chelsea on Facebook
candidate profiles online at 280living.com. There will also be a chance to hear Chelsea candidate’s viewpoints at the city council and mayoral candidates forums, on Aug. 4 and Aug. 11, respectively. A candidate forum for Hoover City Council and Mayoral candidates will be held Aug. 16 at The Wynfrey Hotel. If you have any questions for the Hoover candidates, email janderson@starnespublishing.com.
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AUG. 8
Deadline for the city to select election officials. Last day to register to vote in the municipal elections.
AUG. 18
Last day to apply for a regular absentee ballot.
AUG. 22
Last day to apply for an emergency absentee ballot. Absentee ballots must be hand-delivered by end of business day on Aug. 22, or postmarked Aug. 22 and received by noon Aug. 23.
AUG. 23
Election day. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
AUG. 30
Election results will be counted and certificates of election will be issued to all candidates who receive a majority. Runoffs will be planned for any seats where no candidate received a majority.
SEPT. 5
Last day for candidates to contest election results. Candidates participating in runoff elections must continue their weekly campaign disclosure reports up until the runoffs.
SEPT. 29 OCT. 3 OCT. 4
Last day to apply for a regular absentee ballot for runoff elections.
Last day to apply for an emergency absentee ballot. Absentee ballots must be hand-delivered by end of business day on Oct. 3, or postmarked Oct. 3 and received by noon Oct. 4. Runoff elections.
OCT. 11
Runoff results will be counted and certificates of election issued.
OCT. 17
Last day for runoff candidates to contest election results. Candidates who do not win election must file with the Jefferson County probate judge to dissolve their campaign committee.
NOV. 7
Mayor and council members take office.
280Living.com
August 2016 • A11
KETE QUICK CANNON
PAID ADVERTISING
RE/MAX SOUTHERN HOMES Kete Quick Cannon grew up in the real estate business. Her parents, both successful Realtors, owned VIP Realty Company in Homewood for 35 years. Although Cannon grew up in a real estate household, she didn’t jump right into the industry. After graduating from Homewood High School, she opted to study interior design. But in 1992 after the birth of her daughter, Kete’s parents convinced her to get her real estate license and join the family business. She quickly learned that having a background in interior design, combined with the knowledge of home sales, gave her a unique set of skills when marketing and selling homes. “You never get a second chance to make a fi st impression, so before I put a client’s home on the market,” Cannon said, “I go through the entire house, room by room, as well as curb appeal and the full exterior of the home. I formulate a design plan to prepare my client’s home for maximum marketability. It may be as simple as moving furniture around to give the house a more open and functional fl w, updating paint colors or taking down curtains to allow more natural light into the home. “Each home is different and requires evaluation to present it at its best. I not only create the design, I also coordinate and oversee the complete process. This is a service I offer at no charge to my clients, and I’ve seen fi sthand just how valuable my design background can be,” she said. Cannon’s motto is, “I’m not selling a house; I’m selling a home.” When Cannon fi st entered into real estate, marketing a client’s home or representing a buyer was fairly simple. “But not today,” Cannon said, “where 87 percent of all purchases are pre-purchased online. The internet, social media, YouTube and other online sources are rich environments for marketing homes. Preparing a home to sell in today’s market is crucial. The truth is most purchasers don’t want reality — they want what they see on HGTV or on a Pottery Barn website. I put my listings in front of as many eyes as possible. I stage and photograph all the homes I list and immediately place them on numerous websites, as well as social media sites. I don’t just put them there and walk away. “My team is constantly working to make sure each
► WHERE: 903 Montgomery Hwy ► CALL: 601-4148 ► WEB: ketecannon.com listing is refreshed. It’s about getting my client’s home in front of as many people as possible, properly prepared
and with high quality photos.” Now 23 years later, with more than $75 million sold, Cannon enjoys working with her clients whether selling their home or finding the per ect new home. She has achieved many awards in real estate, but said her greatest success lies in the referrals she receives and her repeat clients. “I am very lucky that I love what I do!” Cannon said. “The best thing about my job is definitely seeing the smiles on my clients faces. Assisting them in achieving their dream is what I love about this business.”
280 Living
A12 • August 2016
ROBERT BARNES
CODY SUMNERS
CHRIS THOMAS
SCOTT WEYGAND
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 1 ► Main campaign issues: • Conservative spending: My fear is a lot of money has been spent, there’s a lot of debt for the city. When you see what happened in Fairfield when Wal-Mart pulled out, they’re barely surviving over there, … and the city of Chelsea depends an awful lot on the Wal-Mart that’s in city limits. • Road improvement: One thing that’s been an ongoing issue is just roads. Some of the roads in subdivisions are in need of repair — the money just wasn’t there when the market collapsed. • Keeping experience on the council: Having been through the process for four years, I would have an immediate understanding of how things function and the process you have to go through to get things done. Where somebody coming in new, I remember the first few months as a councilman, you just kind of sit there and try to take things in. • New parks and amenities, built conservatively • Maintaining city property ► Political experience: Served on Chelsea City Council from 2008-12. ► Contact: Elect Robert Barnes for Chelsea City Council Place 1 on Facebook
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 1 ► Main campaign issues: • Public safety: I feel like we need more deputies. At this point, we probably can’t afford enough to go two [deputies] 24-hours a day, but to at least get two more deputies and do them on a swing shift would help. • Traffic changes: With the school, Chelsea Park, out there, I’d like to see a red light out there. Just for the number of children that come in, not just on the buses but families coming in and out of there every day, there’s a whole lot of traffic. • Creating a municipal court. • Attracting new businesses: We don’t have a property tax and don’t really want to have one right now. With Chelsea being as fragmented as it is as a city, this person would pay property tax and the person next to them wouldn’t. So sales tax needs to be our main source of revenue still. We need to have businesses for that. ► Political experience: Lieutenant with Sheriff’s Office. ► Contact: Elect Cody Sumners — Chelsea Council Place 1 on Facebook
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 2 ► Main campaign issues: • Accountability in the administration: I just felt like we needed some new people in there with new ideas, and I thought we should have someone that’s in there that doesn’t have a second agenda. You don’t have a business you could promote through the city council, or you don’t’ have property in a certain area where you’re trying to get to a certain point. • Attracting new businesses: I feel like this is a time we’re really fixing to grow, and we can do things with getting more companies and businesses into Chelsea. • Improving intersections, including Highway 11 and Old 280, Chelsea Road and Old 280 and the railroad tracks in front of city hall. • City amenities: We’ve built a lot of recreational centers that have catered to retired people; we’ve also got to get something that appeals to the youth and your younger children. • Work with new mayor to allow more council input on city council agendas: Right now if the mayor doesn’t want to put it on the agenda, it’s not going to be discussed. ► Political experience: None ► Contact: Chris Thomas Place 2 on Facebook
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 2 ► Main campaign issues: • Examine city finances for future projects: That’s where I want to come in and audit the city’s budget and see any places we can cut or squeeze and make the city of Chelsea’s dollars do more. • Traffic and intersection improvements: I don’t necessarily know what the answer is, but the speed limit is by far too fast [on U.S. 280]. I’d love to see the speed limits dropped and see what happened. They dropped it from 55 to 50 [mph], which is not enough. Harpersville and Vincent and all of those places on 280 are 35 to 45 [mph]. • Attracting new businesses: I’d like to see it grow in a manner, that is, where it won’t overly compete with the people [and businesses] that are already existing, but will bringing new, fresher businesses that people will be excited to see. • New community amenities: A lot of people want splash pads and pools, and I definitely think that that’s necessary. Four years ago, the big issue was ball parks, and the city has done very well with addressing those issues. So I think the next issue would be tennis courts and pools and splash pads. The biggest thing is all that stuff costs money, so figuring out how to pay for it.. ► Political experience: Chelsea Planning Commission. ► Contact: Vote Scott Weygand Chelsea City Council, Place 2 on Facebook
280Living.com
August 2016 • A13
GARY ISBELL
DAVID INGRAM (I)
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 3 ► Main campaign issues: I am a lifelong resident of Chelsea, a man of great faith, with a heart to serve the community. It is my desire to contribute to the well-being of this city in its continued growth, development and prosperity. I want Chelsea to continue to be one of the finest communities in which to live. I am retired and able to devote time to serving our community well. ► Political experience: None ► Contact: garyisbell@msn.com
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 3 ► Main campaign issues: • Continue to improve public safety and community amenities: In the next four to six years, we need to continue that momentum to improve the way of life for people in the community. • Create a master plan for the Chelsea Community Center • Attract new businesses • Improve community involvement: I would like the idea of having routine town hall meetings, where everyone is invited. … It’ll arm the city council and mayor with what the community is looking for. • Establish a municipal court • Work with the City of Pelham regarding neighborhoods affected by the 2014 separation agreement with Pelham City Schools: This has not been addressed since the separation agreement. …I think it’s not something we can continue to ignore, and a good time to address it would be with the new administration with both cities. ► Political experience: Elected to City Council in 2012. ► Contact: Re-elect David Ingram for Chelsea City Council Place #3 on Facebook
TIFFANY BITTNER
DAVID CALHOUN
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 4 ► Main campaign issues: • Improved communication: I think there’s always room for improvement when it comes to communicating with the public, through social media and through the city’s website. • City infrastructure and amenities: Under the category of when I say dream big for the city, that would include the addition of sidewalks. Also, I would like to try and seek out a convenient location for an amphitheater, so that we could have events in the city. • Traffic improvements, including at the intersection of Highways 47 and 39. • Giving the baseball fields on Highway 47 a face-lift. • Continuing momentum: Just building on the success that the community has, that’s basically my goal. ► Political experience: None ► Contact: Tiffany Smith Bittner on Facebook
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 4 ► Main campaign issues: • Public safety, including increased patrols from law enforcement and increased fire protection coverage. • Expanded city services and recreational opportunities: [City leaders] are already taking steps to try to address those things, but as we grow, those needs will expand and grow as well, so I think that’s an area of focus we need to continue on with. • School facilities: You can look at the high school and the fact that we have quite a few portable classrooms, that’s an indicator that our student numbers are growing. Just as classroom needs grow and expand, the needs to expand and grow athletic facilities to serve those kids grow along with it. • Attracting new businesses. • Maintain Chelsea’s charm: A challenge that we have is trying to preserve the things that have made Chelsea so special to all of us. Obviously there was something about Chelsea that resonated with us all when we decided to relocate here once upon a time, and I want to try and hold onto as much of that as possible. ► Political experience: Building principal at Chelsea Middle School and Chelsea High School, Chelsea Planning commission ► Contact: davidcalhounplace4.com; David Calhoun Place 4 on Facebook
280 Living
A14 • August 2016
TOM HOLCOMBE
CASEY MORRIS
ELIZABETH COOLEY
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 5 ► Main campaign issues: • Chelsea’s schools: Support and maintain our excellent school system through proper funding and outstanding facilities through the appropriate level of city council interest. • Road improvements: Improve traffic flow throughout the city and work with all interested and affected parties to resolve and/or improve the Highway 280 traffic flow issue thereby enhancing “family time.” • Attracting new businesses: Continue bringing new and different types of businesses to our city through an outstanding business recruitment program and innovative ideas so our citizens do not have to travel great distances for shopping, dining and recreational facilities. • Public safety: Diligently support our law enforcement and firefighter personnel by ensuring they have all training and equipment needed for our community’s protection. Lay the groundwork for eventual development of a city police department. ► Political experience: None ► Contact: tcholcombe2001@yahoo. com
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 5 ► Main campaign issues: • Attracting new businesses: There’s lots of businesses in the area that have been here for a long time, and I want to attract new businesses to come to the area to see the loyalty that the citizens of Chelsea have to their businesses. You don’t have businesses that stay open 25 years because of happenstance. The citizens of Chelsea are very diligent in shopping Chelsea. • Don’t raise taxes: I don’t want to raise the sales tax. I think property-wise, there’s no reason to raise an ad valorem tax. I think retail development and rooftops are key issues on how to raise revenue. • Grow and develop amenities, including the community center and new parks and recreation areas. ► Political experience: Serves on Chelsea Planning Commission, vice chair of South Shelby Chamber. ► Contact: Elect Casey Morris to Chelsea Council Place 5 on Facebook
► Office/place you are seeking: Chelsea City Council, Place 5 ► Main campaign issues: • Traffic/ safety issues: We’ve had way too many deaths on [U.S.] 280 in our Chelsea area. I don’t necessarily have the answers for those things, but I’m willing to work towards finding the answers. … I know it’s hard for a policeman to tell if people are texting and driving, but there have to be some answers as to why these things are happening on our streets. • Improve school buildings and facilities: I know as a community if you put pressure on the Board of Education, they’re more than likely going to do things that will make the community happy, and I think as a community we have to go down there to the Board of Education and voice our opinions. • Unity between lifelong and new residents: My personal opinion is there is kind of a split between people that have lived here their entire lives and people that have moved into our community, and I think we all need to realize we all want what is best for the community. • Open communication: I want to be the voice of the community, so if people will communicate a good place for their wants, their desires for the community, then I would bring that to the city council. ► Political experience: None ► Contact: elizabethcooley2016@gmail.com
280Living.com
August 2016 • A15
FRANK BROCATO
GARY IVEY (I)
STEVE McCLINTON
► Office sought: Hoover mayor ► Age: 63 ► Residence: Ross Bridge; has lived in Hoover since 1973, except for a few years in Irondale in the mid-1970s. ► Political experience: First run for public office ► Professional experience: Served 42 years with the Hoover Fire Department; was the city’s first paramedic and first fire marshal; spent 24 years as head of emergency medical services and retired as fire marshal and chief of operations ► Civic experience: Board of directors for Literacy Council of Central Alabama; was in Leadership Birmingham and Leadership Shelby County and now serves on advisory council for Leadership Birmingham; represented city of Hoover with United Way for many years; served on medical direction committee for Birmingham Regional Emergency Medical Services System and on state committees dealing with EMS issues ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Birmingham-Southern College; associate’s degree in fire science from Jefferson State Community College ► Main issues: Provide leadership and vision for the city; maintaining a great public safety program; increasing funding for Hoover schools; develop a master plan with input from city department heads, the city planner, landowners and neighborhoods; identify vulnerable pieces of land with incorrect zoning that could negatively impact neighborhoods and figure out what zoning is appropriate; create city center ► Website/social media: frankbrocatoformayor.com; Frank Brocato for Hoover Mayor on Facebook
► Office sought: Hoover mayor ► Age: 61 ► Residence: Riverchase; has lived in Hoover 33 years ► Political experience: Has been Hoover’s mayor since September 2011, when he was appointed to fill the final year of Tony Petelos’ term; was unopposed for mayor in 2012; served seven years on Hoover City Council, all as president (elected in 2004 and ran without opposition in 2008) ► Professional experience: President and CEO of Crest Cadillac since 1989 ► Civic experience: Served eight years on Hoover’s Planning and Zoning Commission; trustee at Church of the Highlands; served on board of SafeHouse of Shelby County, a service center for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, for 12 years ► Education: Attended Auburn University and Walker College ► Main issues: Invest heavily in public safety to protect the physical safety of Hoover residents and first responders; invest in education; maintain conservative business practices to create an atmosphere where existing businesses can grow and where new companies want to relocate ► Website/social media: mayorivey. com; Mayor Gary Ivey on Facebook
► Office sought: Hoover mayor ► Age: 47 ► Residence: Lake Cyrus; has lived in Hoover 18 years ► Political experience: First run for public office ► Professional experience: Has owned and run the Security Financial Advisors retirement planning business in Bessemer the past three to four years; spent 20 years with Primerica ► Civic experience: President of Hoover City Schools Foundation the past two years (now on leave of absence to run for mayor); co-founded Deer Valley Dads; served as president of Bumpus Middle School PTO for two years; serves on boards of directors for the Hoover YMCA and Hoover Helps nonprofit that works to provide food for needy children in Hoover schools; member at Hunter Street Baptist Church; has volunteered at Jimmie Hale Mission for 10 years ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminology from Auburn University ► Main issues: Refocus city’s attention on its school system and city planning; increase funding for Hoover schools; develop strategic master plan with input from elected officials, city staff, school officials, developers, builders and residents ► Website/social media: Steve McClinton for Hoover Mayor on Facebook
280 Living
A16 • August 2016
TREY LOTT
CURT POSEY
JOE RIVES (I)
GENE SMITH (I)
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 1 ► Age: 61 ► Residence: Greystone; has lived in Hoover since 1976, except for a recent oneyear stint in Alabaster ► Political experience: Served more than 10 years on Hoover City Council (elected in 2004; no opposition in 2008; overcame one opponent in 2012; resigned from council in January 2015 when he moved to rented home in Alabaster; now is back in city) ► Professional experience: Started as chiropractor in 1983; added sports medicine in 1995; now owns and runs Lott Spine & Sports in Hoover ► Civic experience: Council liaison to Hoover Parks and Recreation Board; member at Church of the Highlands; team doctor for numerous youth sports teams ► Education: Doctorate in chiropractic from Texas Chiropractic College; doctorate from University of Alabama School of Medicine; bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of South Carolina ► Main issues: Investing in public safety is highest priority; finding long-term financial solution to support Hoover City Schools; maintaining outstanding city services such as park and recreation offerings and the city library; improving council communication with the public ► Website/social media: drtreylott.com; Dr. Trey Lott for Hoover City Council Place 1 on Facebook
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 1 ► Age: 39 ► Residence: Bluff Park; lifelong resident of Hoover ► Political experience: First run for public office ► Professional experience: supervisor for lecture center and 32 conference spaces at Children’s of Alabama hospital; previously worked three years as producer and editor for Diamond Studios in Birmingham and six years in studio production for WBRC Channel 6, WTTO Channel 21, WABM Channel 68 and WTVM Channel 13 ► Civic experience: Board of trustees chairman and recruitment advisor for Alpha Tau Omega fraternity at University of Alabama at Birmingham; teaches 2-year-olds in Sunday School at Hunter Street Baptist Church; volunteer performer with Birmingham Ballet; youth coach with Hoover Soccer Club; former Cahaba-Coosa chapter president of Alabama Society Sons of the American Revolution; applied for seat on Hoover school board in 2015 but was not appointed ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in communications from University of Alabama at Birmingham ► Main issues: Fostering open communication between residents and elected leaders; ensuring responsible, measured growth through growth management ordinances; increasing funding for Hoover schools ► Website/social media: curtposey.com; Curt Posey for Hoover City Council Place 1 on Facebook
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 1 ► Age: 74 ► Residence: Has lived off Patton Chapel Road for 46 years ► Political experience: Appointed to Hoover City Council in February 2015 to replace Trey Lott; first time to seek election ► Professional experience: Worked 34 years for BellSouth, specializing in computers, and then spent less than a year in computer project management for AmSouth Bank and 5 ½ years doing computer consulting before fully retiring about 11 years ago ► Civic experience: Has been active at Shades Valley Presbyterian Church for 25 years and serves weekly with a Habitat for Humanity volunteer group from the church; spent past 11 years volunteering with the AARP Foundation to help with free tax return preparation, mostly for low-income and moderate-income people, at Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from University of Tennessee ► Main issues: Balance needs of all departments of the city and not give into demands of just one; make sure the city continues to be run well and maintains its AAA credit rating; make sure the new Hoover sports complex is a success ► Website/social media: Joe Rives for Hoover City Council on Facebook
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 2 ► Age: 59 ► Residence: Magnolia Grove; has lived in Hoover 48 years (since before it was a city) ► Political experience: Twelve years on Hoover City Council (elected in 2004; no opposition in 2008 and 2012) ► Professional experience: Owns short-term loan companies with 18 locations in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee; owns 40 percent stake in Hoover Tactical Firearms; worked 18 years for Hoover Fire Department ► Civic experience: Served five years on Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission and about four years on University of Alabama at Birmingham 310 Mental Health Board ► Education: Completed paramedic studies at University of Alabama at Birmingham; took some fire science courses ► Main issues: Maintain financial stability of the city; improve public safety, particularly adding more firefighters to match city growth and improve fire insurance rating; support law enforcement with needed personnel, equipment and training; work with school officials to address education funding needs without letting city services suffer ► Website/social media: GeneSmith 2016.com; Gene Smith III on Facebook
280Living.com
August 2016 • A17
► Office sought: Hoover justice sciences from UniCouncil, Place 2 versity of Alabama at ► Age: 33 Birmingham ► Residence: Bluff ► Main issues: Increase funding for Hoover City Park; has lived in Hoover Schools; increase public three years engagement in city issues ► Political experience: and attendance at council First run for public office meetings; ensure smart, ► Professional expesustainable residential rience: Claims specialist growth; work toward with State Farm Insurance growth development plan the past nine years ► Civic experience: that includes input from all Attends Shades Mountain facets of the community, including residents, the Baptist Church, where he has volunteered as a worschool system and police SAM SWINEY and fire departments ship care leader; coaches 5-year-old T-ball team at ► Website/social media: Hoover Sports Park West Sam Swiney on Facebook; @SamSwiney1 ► Education: Bachelor ’s degree in on Twitter
► Office sought: Hoover member of Friends of Hoover; Council, Place 3 serves on board of directors ► Age: 42 of Red Elephant club of Bir► Residence: Green mingham; Assistance League Valley; lived in Hoover 20 of Birmingham and Alabama years Civil Justice Foundation; in ► Political experience: Birmingham Business JourHas served one four-year nal’s 2012 class of “Top 40 term on Hoover City Coununder 40” cil; on board of directors for ► Education: Master’s Mid-Alabama Republican degree in business adminClub; managed the successful istration from University of campaigns of his father, John Alabama at Birmingham; Lyda, for Jackson County bachelor’s degree in business Board of Education and his administration from Univerfather’s unsuccessful bid for sity of Alabama JOHN LYDA (I) Jackson County probate judge ► Main issues: Helping ► Professional experithe city sustain its economic ence: Operations manager in claims admin- vitality by luring more visitors to city and recruitistration for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of ing high tech/research companies to diversify the Alabama; senior financial services manager, tax base; ensuring “smart” residential growth by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Birmingham negotiating with developers to decrease housing branch, 1996-1997 density; working with school leaders to address ► Civic experience: Four years on Hoover funding needs Library Board; past president of Hoover Metro ► Website/social media: electjohnlyda.com; Kiwanis Club and Hats and Horns Societe’; John Lyda on Facebook; @johnlyda on Twitter
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 3 ► Age: 79 ► Residence: Riverchase; has lived in Hoover more than eight years ► Political experience: Ran unsuccessfully for Town Council in Edison, New Jersey, and twice for Edison Board of Education ► Professional experience: Retired; previously was principal technical coordinator for Edison Township, and proprietor of AIM-UP, a ARNOLD company that wrote technical manuals; and produced custom software for small and medium-sized businesses and hardware/software systems ► Civic experience: Board president for The ARC of Shelby County group that helps people with developmental disabilities; board member for Hoover Historical Society; vice president of programming for Friends of Hoover; member of Shelby County Voluntary Organizations Active
e r e Wh POLLING LOCATIONS
► IN CHELSEA: The only polling location for Chelsea Municipal Elections is Chelsea City Hall. ► IN HOOVER: Most people will vote at the same place where they vote during other elections as long as the voting location is in the city limits, City Clerk Margie
in Disaster; regular attender of Hoover council, school board and library board meetings; former secretary for Hoover Metro Kiwanis Club; former stage manager for Celebrate Hoover Day; has volunteered at SEC Baseball Tournament and Regions Charity Golf Classic; assisted city of Hoover with U.S. Census; Alabama Civil War Roundtable board member ► Education: Attended Hunter College and New York University ManageSINGER ment Institute in New York City and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. ► Main issues: Develop master plan for city; develop close and respectful but not rubber-stamp relationship with school board; increase funding for Hoover schools (sales tax increase of .0025 designated for schools); make sure city staff trained well enough to replace retiring top-level administrators.
Handley said. People who normally vote at a polling place outside the city limits will be reassigned to another polling place for the municipal election, she said. Handley said she plans to mail out forms to registered voters informing them of their polling places, but residents also may call the city clerk’s office at 444-7500 for election information.
280 Living
A18 • August 2016
MICHAEL HOLT
MIKE SHAW
JOEL SMITH
DAN ELLIS
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 4 ► Age: 52 ► Residence: Russet Woods; lived in Hoover 15 years ► Political experience: First run for public office ► Professional experience: More than 20 years in industrial sales management, including jobs with Black Creek Integrated Systems, Mayer Electric Supply, Walden General Contractors, Schneider Electric and now Graybar Electric; adjunct instructor in electronics engineering at ITT Technical Institute in Bessemer; spent 11 years on active duty with the Army, 10 years with the reserves and one year with the National Guard, serving in both Gulf Wars, Bosnia, Korea, Germany, Egypt and Central and South America; retired from military in 2007 as sergeant major, earning Legion of Merit commendation ► Civic experience: Has been the committee chairman of the Boy Scouts of America Troop 23 at Discovery United Methodist Church since 2011; member at Hunter Street Baptist Church ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from University of Alabama; nine credit hours left to earn master’s degree in business administration from University of Alabama at Birmingham ► Main issues: Make the city’s new 124-acre sports complex and event center as profitable and successful as possible;; give school system 10 percent of city’s sales and use taxes ($6.9 million in 2015); make the school board elected rather than appointed; create citizens advisory committee to elicit more public participation; video public meetings and publish them online; add at least 10 more police officers ► Website/social media: HoltforHoover.com; SGM Michael J. Holt-Ret. on Facebook; @SGMHolt on Twitter
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 4 ► Age: 44 ► Residence: Loch Ridge; has lived in Hoover 15 years ► Political experience: First run for public office ► Professional experience: More than 20 years in information technology, including the past 10 years as chief technology officer and senior vice president for Mutual Savings Credit Union ► Civic experience: Founding member of A2 church, where he has served in music ministry and co-led small group Bible study; served on Hoover school superintendent’s rezoning advisory board; treasurer of Birmingham chapter of Infragard organization that works with FBI to protect U.S. from hostile acts ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in public administration from Auburn University in 1995 ► Main issues: Develop comprehensive city plan; re-evaluate school funding cuts the council made in the mid-2000s and restore cooperative relationship with school system; protect integrity of older neighborhoods with revamped housing ordinances, programs to help senior adults and low-income people better maintain homes, and upgraded infrastructure and amenities to more closely match newer neighborhoods ► Website/social media: electmikeshaw. com; Mike Shaw for Hoover City Council on Facebook and @ElectMikeShaw on Twitter
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 4 ► Age: 40 ► Residence: Lake Crest; has lived in Hoover five years ► Political experience: First run for public office ► Professional experience: Has been in car business for 17 years, 15 with Hendrick Automotive Group; moved to Hoover five years ago and now is executive general manager for Hendrick Chevrolet and Hendrick Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram; preparing to open Hendrick Subaru ► Civic experience: First vice president for Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce; treasurer for Aldridge Gardens board of directors; among 2015 Birmingham Business Journal Top 40 Under 40; Shades Mountain Christian School board of directors ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in business with advertising focus from North Carolina State University ► Main issues: Maintain strong public safety departments; find ways to address school funding needs without increasing taxes if possible; maintain strong business climate and draw many visitors to Hoover with new sports complex ► Website/social media: joelsmithforhoover.com
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 5 ► Age: 45 ► Residence: Trace Crossings; lived in Hoover 15 years ► Political experience: First run for public office ► Professional experience: Regional sales manager for Total Administrative Services Corp. (human resources services); 25 years experience in sales, including 15 years in mortgage industry; formerly ran his own mortgage company; other employers included Wachovia Bank and NCP Solutions ► Civic experience: Former president of Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce; won fundraising Leadership Award from National Multiple Sclerosis Society; volunteer with American Heart Association Heart Ball; member of Hunter Street Baptist Church ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgia Southern University ► Main issues: Continue and promote economic growth in Hoover; increase funding to Hoover City Schools; encourage moderate residential growth; attract more visitors to Hoover
DERRICK MURPHY
JASON DELUCA
CASEY MIDDLEBROOKS
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 5 ► Age: 36 ► Residence: Ross Bridge; has lived in Hoover 11 years ► Political experience: First run for public office ► Professional experience: Client services and project manager for Gresham Smith & Partners engineering firm; worked for Birmingham Water Works Board from 2002 to 2015 ► Civic experience: Served five years on Hoover school board, including this past year as president; founded and organized Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup past two years; former member of Hoover Board of Zoning Adjustments; mentored eighth-grade boys in leadership skills through Alpha program at Bumpus Middle School; served on YMCA of Hoover board and Alabama Association of School Boards advisory committee; member at Hunter Street Baptist Church ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and master’s degree in engineering, focusing on construction management (both from University of Alabama at Birmingham). ► Main issues: Ensure excellent schools; maintain standard of excellence with regard to public safety; keep Hoover’s momentum with smart, sustainable growth; work toward creation of citywide performing arts facility to provide large venue for live theater, musical performances, school productions and more ► Website/social media: derrickmurphy.com; Derrick M. Murphy for Hoover City Council on Facebook; D_Murphy2016 on Twitter; d_murphy2016 on Instagram; Derrick Murphy on flickr
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 6 ► Age: 32 ► Residence: Green Valley; lived in Hoover one year ► Political experience: Ran unsuccessfully for Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee in 2014; was appointed to the state Executive Committee by Shelby County Republican Party, for which he served as secretary; former secretary for Greater Birmingham Young Republicans; has been involved with Young Republican Federation of Alabama and serves as adult advisor for Greater Birmingham Teenage Republicans ► Professional experience: Manager at Homewood Suites by Hilton in Inverness; manager for Homewood Suites in Montgomery 2011-2014; manager of Fairfield Inn by Marriott in Inverness 2009-2011 ► Civic experience: Member of Hoover Metro Kiwanis Club; involved with Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce; started River Region Hotel Olympics in Montgomery (team-building competition that collected three tons of food for Central Alabama Food Bank) ► Education: Bachelor’s degree in management from Auburn University in Montgomery ► Main issues: Increasing funding for Hoover schools; ensuring transparency in city government to increase community engagement; making sure growth and development coincides with infrastructure, public safety and education needs; keeping business taxes low; supporting public safety; promoting Hoover as destination for meetings and events ► Website/social media: JasonJDeLuca.com; Jason DeLuca for Hoover City Council on Facebook
► Office sought: Hoover Council, Place 6 ► Age: 39 ► Residence: Ross Bridge since 2014; also lived in Hoover 1996-2000 ► Political experience: First run for public office ► Professional experience: Librarian at Spain Park High School since 2010; librarian at Midfield High School 2007-2010; clerk at Hoover Public Library 1996-2007; was city of Hoover’s 1998-99 Employee of the Year ► Civic experience: Volunteer with Lakeshore Foundation, Special Equestrians at Indian Springs School and Alabama Childhood Food Solutions ► Education: Doctorate in leadership in educational administration from Capella University; master’s degree in library and information science from University of Alabama; bachelor’s degree in justice sciences from University of Alabama at Birmingham ► Main issues: Restoring adequate funding to Hoover schools and cooperative relationship between the council and school system; creating a community-driven, comprehensive, strategic master plan for responsible growth and development; creating more transparent city government that promotes community involvement ► Website/social media: Dr. Casey Middlebrooks on Facebook
280Living.com ► Office sought: Hoover citizens group; 40 years of service with U.S. Army, Council, Place 7 including National Guard, ► Age: 64 ► Residence: Shades Reserve duty and 2½ years Mountain/Bluff Park; has lived of active duty (retired as lieuin Hoover 33 years tenant colonel) ► Political experience: ► Education: MasHas served eight years on ter’s degree in education and bachelor’s degree in Hoover City Council ► Professional expericriminal justice, both from ence: Fraud investigator with University of Alabama at Travelers Insurance InvestigaBirmingham tive Services since 1999; Bir► Main issues: Listen to mingham Police Department residents and vote accord1977-97 (retired as sergeant) ing to their voices; ensure ► Civic experience: financial stability, purposeJOHN GREENE (I) Member of Hunter Street ful planning and high qualBaptist Church, Hoover Hisity of life for Hoover; bring torical Society, Friends of Hoover, Friends of school funding up to appropriate level to ensure Hoover Library, Friends of Shades Mountain, excellence in education; increase collaboration Hoover Metro Kiwanis Club, Hoover Veterans between the council and residents and open disCommittee and Hoover New Horizons senior cussion of all issues.
► Office sought: Hoover seat on Hoover school board Council, Place 7 earlier this year; youth baseball ► Age: 54 umpire at Hoover Sports Park ► Residence: Bluff Park; West 1997-2007; taught youth has lived in Hoover 28 years Sunday school classes at Green ► Political experience: Valley Baptist Church; founded First run for public office Learning To Be The Light, ► Professional experiwhich refurbishes computers ence: Owner of PC Medics and gives them to Hoover students from low-income families of Alabama ► Civic experience: ► Education: Microsoft systems engineer certification Founded bluffparkal.org in 2006 to share information from New Horizons; has taken about and for the communumerous information technolnity; helped lead a push ogy certification courses for a police substation and ► Main issues: Increase ROBIN SCHULTZ better police presence in funding for Hoover schools and Bluff Park; helped orgatransparency in city government nized neighborhood watches with Hoover police; ► Website/social media: robinforhoover. a leader in the effort to reverse Hoover school com; Robin Schultz for Hoover City Council bus elimination; regularly attends school board on Facebook; @robinforhoover on Twitter and and council meetings; unsuccessfully sought Instagram
w o H REGISTERING TO VOTE ► FIRST TIME: Applicants who are registering to vote for the first time must complete a State of Alabama Voter Registration Form and submit it to the county where they live. The applicant must provide a physical address — not a P.O. box — as well as their date of birth and an original signature. A State of Alabama Voter Registration Card will be mailed to the voter, and that will show the voter’s polling location. ► FINDING FORMS: Voter registration forms can be found at the office of the Board of Registrars, satellite licensing offices in Inverness and Pelham and public libraries. It is also available for download at shelbyal.com. ► VERIFYING INFORMATION: Voters who are already registered to
August 2016 • A19
vote should make sure their information, including name and address if there has been a recent change, is up to date. Voter registration does not transfer between counties even within the same state, and any voters who have moved into Shelby County will have to complete a new registration. Name changes and changes of address within the county must be made in writing and forwarded to the board of registrars. Voters can check that they are registered to vote by entering their last name, county and date of birth at alabamavotes.gov. ► QUALIFICATIONS: To vote in a municipal election, such as the Chelsea election, a voter must live in the city for 30 days before registering to vote. Applications sent by mail should be postmarked before Aug. 10 and sent directly to the board of registrars.
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280 Living
A20 • August 2016
Mountain resort-style living coming to North Shelby County By LEAH INGRAM EAGLE North Shelby County soon will be home to a living experience like no other in the area. The Highlands Community, off U.S. 11 near Chelsea High School, will offer mountain resort-style living just 20 miles from downtown Birmingham. The land is split between Pelham and Chelsea jurisdictions. The concept for The Highlands Community was created by David Brogdon, president and CEO of The Brogdon Corporation. It is designed as a haven, a place of respite and relaxation, with all the conveniences of the city close by, he said. “I fell in love with the land and thought it would be a great place for a community,” Brogdon said. Brogdon purchased the property in 2013, and immediately set aside the first 200 acres into a land trust to ensure it was preserved. He has since added another 50 acres. A third of the property will never be harvested or developed and nearly every lot will touch the land trust area. The master planned property will have 250 total lots on 725 acres. Construction on the first phase already has begun and will feature 35 mountain ridge homes on two-acre lots. These homes will open in early fall and will be zoned for Pelham schools. Others will be for Chelsea schools. Award-winning architect Chris Reebals of Christopher Architects has designed the house plans and elevations to fit with the mountain lifestyle, with ideas to allow the buyer to have a home with great features modified to their desires, he said. “We wanted to create concepts that felt like an organic outcropping of the beauty in the natural environment” he said. “This is a one-of-a-kind
To schedule a tour • ARC Realty: 969-8910, arcrealtyco. com • David Brogdon: 991-6500, thebrogdongroup.com • The Highlands Community: facebook.com/thehighlandscommunity or thehighlandscommunity.com
The Highlands Community features outdoor amenities including walking trails and a lake. Photo courtesy of Christopher Architecture and Interiors.
site and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of something that is unparalleled in Birmingham and the surrounding communities.” Brogdon said he wanted the homes to have a distinct look. About 20 house designs have been finalized with more to come. “I want the houses to feel like upscale timber frame homes with posts and beams with timber frames and rocks for an old-world look,” he said. “This will allow people to come in and buy an upper-end house plan. It’s a cost effective way to have a customized home.” Brogdon said he is excited to offer year-round resort style living with astonishing views in a gated community. “Why go to North Carolina and spend two weeks, when you could live here 365 days a year with lakes and cool breezes on a mountaintop?”
he said. Brogdon’s long-term plan will include concierge services, including delivery and also maintenance needs, as well as a 3,000-seat amphitheater with a natural-rock stage. There will be pedestrian tunnels under the roads for hikers and golf carts. Other features of the community are streets and mailboxes lit by gas lanterns, AT&T Gigabit fiber internet and underground utilities. The poolside owner’s clubhouse will feature a glass treehouse hanging over the mountain with a 270- degree view and a two-tiered gravity-edge resort pool. A timber-framed lakeside pavilion with a 34-foot timber-frame moss-rock fireplace already has been built with imported white virgin pine from Maine. Tommy Brigham, CEO of ARC Realty, has a
five-person team of high-producing, high-quality real estate agents working on-site on a rotation basis assisting in selling the homes in The Highlands Community. He has been in the real estate business since 1974 and said the concept, from the development standpoint, is unheard of. “David is developing a community unlike anything ever developed in metro Birmingham,” he said. “It will be a paradise kind of experience behind gates. It’s a perpetual undisturbed park not far from the city.” Brigham says the development will provide a variety of price points and offerings as the 700 acres are developed over the next few years. “Putting the amenities up front is not something many local developers do,” Brigham said. “The club house, pool, lakes and trails are important to the consumer. They get something of value immediately.” Brogdon said the area can be for a permanent home, or home away from home. “Not only do we anticipate folks moving there permanently, but there is also an emerging market for those who want a second home getaway less than 20 miles outside Birmingham,” he said.
280Living.com
August 2016 • A21
280 gym aims to meet ‘hot need’ for sport-specific t aining facility By GRACE THORNTON Randy Beckham hadn’t been in Birmingham for long when he realized the U.S. 280 area could use something he could provide — a top-of-theline athlete training facility. “With Spain Park, Chelsea, Leeds, Oak Mountain, Briarwood and other schools around, there was a great location to start something here,” said Beckham, co-owner of BlackWatch Sports. “There are a variety of businesses here that offer some kind of training, either health and wellness, or team building, or speed and agility training. What we bring to a table is a very holistic approach — it’s all of the above under one roof.” And it’s a big roof for BlackWatch Sports at its new location in the former Sports Blast building at 19220 U.S. 280, said Kit Arrington, business development director. “We’ve come in there and re-turfed the whole facility, and we have a retractable dome for infield practice,” he said. “We also have the former BJCC basketball court installed in our building.” And the facility is ready to offer “total sports training” and run multiple sports leagues and camps in its wide span of fields and facilities starting in August, Arrington said. “It was a hot need in the area, and a couple of the owners talked about it, and the vision came together.” BlackWatch Sports will have trainers in speed and agility, strength training and sport-specific training, such as soccer, football and basketball. The trainers will use pure motion as their equipment, and BlackWatch Sports’ facilities will be available to rent for use from charity events to team batting-cage practice. BlackWatch Sports also will offer sport-specific summer camps, as well as general sports camp programs to expose children to a number
Kit Arrington with BlackWatch Sports Performance on U.S. 280 in the former Sports Blast building. Photo by Frank Couch.
of different games, Arrington said. “It’s really exciting,” he said, noting that the facility will start running volleyball, flag football, baseball and other leagues in the next year. It also will host events and tournaments and other avenues for its clients to get involved in sports. It’s a dynamic team sports offering, Beckham said, and it’s a dynamic training program for
athletes of all skills and ages. It’s definitely great for kids wanting to learn a sport, he said, offering the foundations of running, jumping and movement. But it’s also for young athletes wanting to hone their skills or older athletes who just want to stay fit and live well, Beckham said. “At the end of the day, we want everyone to have a good time. Athletics should be something
that people enjoy and learn from,” he said. And at the end of the day, he said he wants to help people in Shelby County live well, enjoy exercise and live better lives. “We have a platform that is unmatched in this area, and we want to use that platform to build better people,” Beckham said. For more information, go to blackwatchsports. com or call 518-6591.
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280Living.com
August 2016 • A23
Now Open
New Ownership
Sweet Escapes Nails and Organics is now open at 5479 U.S. 280, Suite 122. They offer pedicures, manicures, gel, acrylic, waxing and other nail services. 438-6789
The Shops at the Colonnade, located at the intersection of U.S. 280 and I-459, have been sold to an investment group headed by local real estate company Shannon Waltchack. The property includes many tenants including Gold’s Gym, Johnny Ray’s BBQ, Cracker Barrel, Edgar’s Bakery, Avadian Credit Union and more. shanwalt.com
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LUSH Cosmetics has opened its first retail location in Alabama at 220 Summit Blvd. 977-4088, lushusa.com
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Chiropractic, a structural correc3 Core tion chiropractic office, is now open at 4851 Cahaba River Road, Suite 103. The clinic is owned by Dr. Garrett Chow, who focuses on structural correction of the spine, a specific and gentle approach. Dr. Chow is now scheduling patients for complimentary consultations. 206-9341, corebirmingham.com BlackWatch Sports Performance is now open at 19220 U.S. 280 in the former Sports Blast building. The facility offers many different programs including athletic performance training, speed and agility/ strength and conditioning, personal training, team sports, massage therapy and much more. 518-6591, blackwatchsports.com
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Coming Soon Dreamland Bar-B-Que will open a restaurant in the former Chili’s location, 101 Inverness Corners. dreamlandbbq.com
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Relocations and Renovations Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center moved to a new location on July 11 inside St. Vincent’s One Nineteen, 7191 Cahaba Valley Road. 939-3699, andrewssportsmedicine.com
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Fitness Xpress is now under the ownership of Clint Welch. The gym is located at 701 Doug Baker Blvd. in the Village at Lee Branch. 995-5505.
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News and Accomplishments The Hampton Inn & Suites Birmingham/280 East - Eagle Point, 6220 Farley Court, was awarded a 2016 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. 981-0024, hamptoninn.com
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Dr. Weily Soong of Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center, 16691 U.S. 280, Chelsea, and Dr. John Anderson of sister company Clinical Research Center of Alabama, were presented with the Class of 2016 – Top 25 Award for Excellence in Business by the UAB National Alumni Society on June 24. The Top 25 award program is designed to identify, recognize and celebrate the success of alumni business leaders. Each company must have been founded, owned or managed (most senior leadership team or regional/division leadership team) by a UAB alumnus/alumna. 871-9661, alabamaallergy.com
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Anniversaries EmbroidMe, 5266 U.S. 280, is celebrating its first anniversary in August. 518-6407, embroidme-birmingham.com
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280 Living
A24 • August 2016
Fashion with a down-home flair Birmingham native’s boutique caters to the Southern woman
Annabelle’s Southern Boutique • WHERE: 601 Doug Baker Blvd., Suite 105 • HOURS: Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. • CALL: 807-7800 • WEB: annabellessouthern boutique.com
By MARIENNE THOMAS OGLE Although she’s only 25, Anna Lawley has spent almost as many years involved in her chosen profession as some invest in an entire career. From the time she was a child, the Birmingham native accompanied her mother to the family’s Southside salon and boutique, chatting with customers and trying on inventory. “She even had her own child-size hair station — pink, of course — and one day I had a male customer waiting,” Susie Lawley said. “When I went to get him, Anna had him in her chair and his hair full of clips.” Today, Anna Lawley, now a Chelsea resident, is owner and operator of her own store, Annabelle’s Southern Boutique, which opened in May at its Lee Branch Shopping Center location. The shop — which boasts her own nickname — caters to the Southern woman, Anna Lawley said, featuring a variety of clothes, shoes, hats and jewelry, plus soaps and candles. “We carry a number of brands but have a focus on those more popular with boutiques like Umgee, Flying Tomato, Hem and Thread and others,” she said. “You can find jeans, shorts, overalls, rompers, tanks tops and tunics — and most everything is in sizes small to extra-large.” Fringe is popular now, and Annabelle’s Southern Boutique has it from tassel necklaces to sandals and boots in
Chelsea resident Anna Lawley stands inside her Lee Branch store, Annabelle’s Southern Boutique, which opened in May. Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
the fall. And while many clothing items come in several colors, customers will notice a lot of black and tan, she said. “Many women can be self-conscious about their bodies, and we keep that in mind,” Anna Lawley said. “We have a variety of flowy styles and lots of neutrals.” While Anna Lawley’s career in fashion sales appeared to be a sure thing, she said it took a detour after high
school when she pursued a degree in kinesiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, setting her course to become a physical therapist. “I know that’s completely different, and I think I was going more toward a 9-to-5 job,” she said. “But I never forgot working with my mom and eventually realized that’s what I really wanted to do.” Just before receiving her diploma,
Anna Lawley launched her online website, Annabelle’s Southern Boutique, and for two years she worked to establish her retail reputation and build a customer base before opening her Lee Branch store. “Her father, Mike, and I were behind her 100 percent,” Susie Lawley said. “We’ve always told our children to follow their dreams so [as] not to end up in a job they dislike. The worst that
can happen is if it doesn’t work out, they change to something else.” But Anna Lawley’s venture is in no danger of not working out, according to Greystone area resident Leslie Jennings, who shopped the online boutique for more than a year and now frequents the store. “Her online service was great, and she’s been able to expand it with the store,” Jennings said. “It’s such a pleasure to shop there because Anna offers so many trendy styles and has a great eye for what works for different generations and body types.” Anna Lawley said while she’s pleased with her steady increase in customers at the Lee Branch shop, she has no plans to cut back on her 60-hour work week. “I’m very excited, and although working retail requires a lot of hours, it doesn’t bother me because I’ve always worked, and this really doesn’t seem like work at all,” she said. “It can be stressful because all the decisions are on me, but I love it.”
280Living.com
August 2016 • A25
Good eats at Good Ole Boys BBQ By KATHERINE POLCARI Wooden paneling, comfortable booths, clean floors and great food are not what usually come to mind when you think of a gas station restaurant, yet Good Ole Boys BBQ works to accomplish all of this with an added touch of personable customer service. This past March, the restaurant’s newest branch opened in Chelsea. Andrew Jernigan, brother-in-law of founder Kenny Boggan, has taken on the position of manager. “This is my family’s business,” Jernigan said. “Kenny Boggan and his son Daniel started it, so it’s their heritage.” By having a family run the restaurants, Good Ole Boys BBQ has a homey, feel-good atmosphere. In the Chelsea location in particular, Jernigan said he works to accomplish this by putting as much effort into the quality of his food as he does with customer relations. “It’s so much fun, seeing the folks happy with good food and taking care of them,” Jernigan said. “That’s what Kenny has instilled in all of us.” Jernigan said it is common for him to be able to shout a customer’s order
Good Ole Boys BBQ • WHERE: Inside the Marathon gas station, 16634 U.S. 280, Chelsea • WEB: goodolebbq.com
back to the kitchen well before he or she can even reach the front counter. Even if first-timers come in, Jernigan makes the effort to treat them as family. “The best moment is seeing all of the kids from Little League baseball that have been in here with their parents,” Jernigan said. “It always makes me smile when I see this place full of families with kids.” Jernigan said that achieving a family atmosphere was not difficult, seeing as the restaurant was in Chelsea, which he already sees as a family town. Although he is not a Chelsea resident, Jernigan and his family live nearby in Inverness and have had no problem becoming acquainted with the Chelsea community.
Andrew Jernigan, manger of the Chelsea location, with a heaping plate of wings. Photo by Katherine Polcari.
Good Ole Boys BBQ has also been tied to Chelsea for years through catering events and fundraisers for local high schools and churches, which has made this new opening a great addition to the area and to the company, Jernigan said. “We have wanted to have a restaurant here for quite some time,” Jernigan said. “The spot became open, and we were blessed to be able
to grab the spot.” Even with opening in such a welcoming community, Jernigan has noticed one small setback. “One challenge is the stigma of [being] in a gas station,” Jernigan said. “Folks kind of expect that because it’s a gas station that it’s a fast food place.” However, this is not the case. Jernigan explained that the food is made to order. Rather than fast food,
the term “casual family” better represents the dining experience. The food is cooked well and is served with Good Ole Boys’ award-winning sauce. And not only is it good food, but there is lots of it. “We give large portions, more than folks can usually eat,” Jernigan said. “The family really just loves to see people happy [and] getting fed great food.”
280 Living
A26 • August 2016
After 18 years, Some Wear In Time embraces a change By KATHERINE POLCARI For a business going through changes, store owner Denise Cox keeps the atmosphere of Some Wear In Time just as homey as you would expect a family-run store. Some Wear In Time is a consignment boutique that has been in business for 18 years. The boutique started in Vestavia Hills, where it was located for three years, before moving to Chelsea. After being settled for so long, Cox said she began to notice that the store needed a change. “People were coming in all day long asking for things we didn’t have,” Cox said. “I lost my direction.” While staying true to the fact that Some Wear In Time is a consignment boutique, Cox also decided to include vendors in her business. This sudden change was met with a great response, and Cox said she had a surge of vendors asking to be a part of this new opportunity. But because the store only had so much space available, Cox found herself turning down the majority of the people who contacted her. The choice of which vendors to include, and which to turn away, was a deliberate process, Cox said. She wanted to keep the store specialized for ladies, and said it was important for a vendor to sell a product that would appeal to women. Even with this classification, Cox still had to narrow down her options, so she then based her decision on the vendor’s previous experience. “I was looking for aggressive people,” Cox
Some Wear In Time • WHERE: 16161 U.S. 280, Chelsea • HOURS: Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. • CALL: 678-9155
said. “Around 80 percent of our vendors already have online sites and databases of thousands of customers.” Cox has brought in about 25 new vendors in these past few months, so established customer bases were key for a smooth transition. “This way one person isn’t doing all of the work,” Cox said. “They set up their space [and] they do the merchandising, straightening and cleaning.” In turn, Cox only charges vendors $150 for their spaces to ensure that they will be successful in the store. Cox said that by offering such a modest price for the space, the vendors are able to make their products more affordable. The addition of vendors has changed the range of products available to customers. Most of the vendors are bringing in clothing that is more trendy and current. One particular item that Cox has seen popping up in her store, ever since the switch, has been tunics. The item is popular among vendors and customers alike. “Tunics, it’s what everyone wants,” Cox said.
Some Wear In Time owner Denise Cox has brought in about 25 new vendors over the past few months to add variety to available products. Photo by Katherine Polcari.
“We have hundreds.” Cox, on the other hand, is particularly excited to see the addition of household items in her store. While the new, trendy clothes have been an exciting new addition, Cox is happy to have decor in the mix, too. “I personally love all of the household decorations,” Cox said. “I could have every one of
those frames and be so excited.” The addition of vendors has brought in chic clothes at affordable prices, and Cox said both thrifty and trendy shoppers will find something in the store that interests them. “It’s not flea market vendors,” Cox said. “These are all upscale vendors and business owners [that] really know that they are doing.”
280Living.com
August 2016 • A27
Chamber UM president shares business advice By MARYELLEN NEWTON Under President John W. Stewart III, the University of Montevallo has prospered. Stewart shared some of the university’s successes at the June 28 Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce luncheon. The 44 percent increase in first-year applicants was one of the examples he gave. U.S. News & World Report also named the university’s master’s program number one in the state of Alabama, and, Stewart said, in the last five years, medical school acceptance for Montevallo students has neared 100 percent. The university also boasts six new facilities including a classroom and Barnes & Noble on Main Street, new athletic facilities for softball and track and field, and a 3-D art building. These improvements and additions around campus were thanks to a partnership between the university, the city of Montevallo and Shelby County, Stewart said, and he thanked them for supporting the University of Montevallo. In addition to the university receiving recognition, last year Stewart was nominated to be the CEO of the year in Birmingham. He came in third, and Stewart said he was struck by the fact that so many people recognized higher education as a business. During this time, someone told Stewart to offer business professionals, CEOs and leaders some advice. “I never really thought that I could do that before, but I’m going to try today,” Stewart said. Stewart offered words of advice to the
University of Montevallo President Dr. John W. Stewart III speaks at the Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Photo by Erica Techo.
business owners gathered at the Pelham Civic Complex — each followed by an anecdote. His first lesson was to not let stress “get to you.” “It’s really easy to lose yourself, and take life too seriously,” Stewart said. Stewart said he realized he’d let the stress get to him after his 5-year-old grandson made a joke. He was taking care of his grandson and needed to make an important call to a trustee. He asked his grandson to be quiet and not interrupt him. Once he’d hung up, he found his grandson to tell him he had done a great job behaving. When he walked up, however,
his grandson was holding a plastic phone to his ear, and told his grandfather not to interrupt him because he was on the phone with “a trustee from his preschool.” “It was that moment the light bulb went off, and I said, ‘Stewart, you’re taking yourself way too seriously,’” he said. One of Stewart’s other pieces of advice was that things are rarely as bad as they seem. When he was in college, Stewart’s younger brother and a friend had fallen through the ice on a nearby lake. Stewart jumped into the water after them and said he was revered as a sort of “town hero” for the next few weeks. It was just a few years ago that his fiancée pointed out to him the lake was only three feet deep. Stewart also advised to “be yourself,” and listen to your inner voice because people know what the smart decisions and right things to do in their gut. “I would say the best decisions I’ve made in my career have come from right here, from my gut,” he said. When his dad was 24 and worked in an oil refinery, Stewart said he trusted his gut about an unsafe work situation and pulled his crew out of the situation. When the next team went in, a spark led to a fire that killed one man and severely burned others. “I really think that oftentimes, we know what the right decisions are, what the smart thing to do is,” Stewart said. With the approaching holiday weekend, Stewart said he’d leave the chamber with one last piece of advice. “My last nugget of advice is do what makes you happy,” he said.
Preview of
August
Luncheon
Neika Nix Morgan The Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce’s August community luncheon will recognize Shelby County Healthcare Professionals of the Year. The program is intended to recognize individuals who have made a contribution to healthcare in Shelby County and its communities. Nominations were accepted in any healthcare profession, as long as the individual was employed in the Shelby County area. Recipients will be announced at the luncheon and presented with an award. The luncheon will also feature a guest speaker, health educator Neika Nix Morgan from St. Vincent’s Health System. She will discuss being healthy during a busy life and share lifestyle tips as well. This month’s luncheon will be Wednesday, Aug. 31, at the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena. Doors will open at 11 a.m. for networking, and the program will start at 11:30 a.m. The luncheon is $20 for chamber members and $30 for “future” members, and that includes a lunch buffet. Reservations should be made by noon on Monday, Aug. 29. To register, contact the chamber at info@shelbychamber.org or 663-4542 or go online to shelbychamber.org.
The Quality and Expertise of St. Vincent’s.
The Convenience of Walk-in Care.
We offer walk-in care for minor injury and illness, ranging from minor cuts that may need stitches to to coughs and colds. Open after hours and seven days a week, our center provides the quality and expertise of St. Vincent’s with the convenience of walk-in care. We provide on-site diagnostics, advanced technology, a new state-of-the-art facility, and experienced and compassionate staff – all at a lower overall cost than an emergency room visit.
St. Vincent’s One Nineteen 7191 Cahaba Valley Road Hoover, AL 35242 (205) 408-2366 Mon.-Fri. 1-9 p.m. Sat. and Sun. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
stvurgentcare.com
A28 • August 2016
280 Living
School House
Meet this year’s PTO presidents By ERICA TECHO In the 2016-17 school year, there will be fundraisers, parent-teacher events and celebrations to keep in mind. Here’s a list of Parent Teacher Organization presidents and the best way to keep in touch so that you’re up-to-date with your child’s school. Oak Mountain High School Julie Holstad OMHSPTO@gmail.com “It has been a privilege to work alongside other members of the PTO as we learn and grow with the changes in our school and community. I have a sense of commitment to those things that I am passionate about — this includes my kids, our schools and overall our community. I see being a member of PTO as a way to show my commitment by being involved, being a contributor and sharing in the responsibilities of this organization. Our role is to help transform our school from a building into a community where the administration, teachers and students know they are supported. What we work on this year, and each year to come, is what makes our school a better learning environment for our children, We plan to continue our focus on our teachers by supporting a grant for the National Board Certification Training (NBCT). We will also be working with the parent involvement team, made up of teachers and leadership at OMHS, to increase the communication with our parents. We are excited for another successful year at OMHS. Go Eagles!” Oak Mountain Intermediate School Becky White Bwhite306@gmail.com “It’s important to me that my children know I care about what they are involved in. I’m looking forward to working with all the wonderful people who have volunteered this year at the school. I’m excited to work with Dr. LeQuier, the principal at the school. She is a great principal and cares so much about the students there.” Oak Mountain Middle School No PTO president had been named as of press time School number: 682-5810 Oak Mountain Elementary School Trisha Cooper trishacoop@gmail.com 538-5532 “I became PTO President to build positive relationships between the parents and the staff in order to achieve the best school environment
for our children. I want to create opportunities for every parent to be engaged in their child’s school, either by serving on the PTO board, volunteering their time at school, or serving from home, and I want to lead them to the place they can be most effective.” Chelsea High School Donna Bowles CHHSPTO@yahoo.com “I am so excited to serve as President of our amazing PTO this year! By partnering with other parents, the staff and administration, our goal is to work together to offer the best possible learning environment for the students at Chelsea High School.” Chelsea Middle School Nicole Erwin tylererwin@bellsouth.net “I decided to stay on as PTO President this year because we have so much going on at the middle school. I wanted to continue to be a part of the changes taking place. We are working to make sure all of our classrooms have updated technology and that our students and faculty have everything they need to be successful! Both of my children will be at the middle school this year so I want to do everything I can to help out.” Chelsea Park Elementary Lisa George chrisandlisageorge@yahoo.com 222-0093 “This will be my second year as PTO President at Chelsea Park Elementary. There are several reasons I wanted to stay on as President. First of all, I work with an amazing PTO Board. They are very dedicated and care about our school so much. We also have incredible parental involvement. Whenever we have a need, the parents at
CPES are ready to fill that need! At one point, we needed new mulch for our playground. It took only one Popcorn/Team Spirit Day to raise the funds we needed! Last year we were also able to raise money for 39 new pieces of technology in the form of iPads and Chromebooks from our Spring Coin Drive. This summer, we will begin construction on an asphalt running track — a project that was brought to life from funds from our Fall Festival this past year and from funds we had saved from the year before. I am looking forward to the new school year and how we can work together to make CPES the best that it can be!” Forest Oaks Elementary Ashlee Harper foespto@gmail.com “This will be my third year as PTO President. I love our school and love working closely with the principals, teachers and office staff to help our school achieve the goals we set for each year. I also love being able to give back and help with my children’s school.” Mt Laurel Elementary Tara Walker tlvwalker@hotmail.com “I look back at times and wonder how different my life would be if I had not gotten involved in Mt. Laurel’s PTO. I’ve met some of the most wonderful people, that I would not have, had I not walked into that first meeting. I volunteered to be PTO President because even though it is hard work and requires a lot of time, I get so much more in return. Having input in the various programs we support from our fundraisers and then seeing those programs in action for the benefit of the students is my favorite part. The Snap reading program we implemented last year and the various web subscriptions like Raz Kids and Brain pop are only a few. Mt Laurel is such a special school with the most amazing administration, teachers and parents, and I’m excited to see all that we will accomplish next year!” Spain Park High School Sharon Baroody sharon baroody@ bellsouth.net 492-9621 “Our PTSO goals for this year are to increase membership, partner more with the community and continue to provide support to the dedicated
faculty, staff and students at Spain Park. We have three sons who have graduated, and our last son will be a junior. My husband and I consider ourselves blessed to be part of such a vibrant and passionate community. I’m looking forward to working with other parents who love Spain Park as much as we do! Go Jags!” Berry Middle School Ruth Cole 249-4074 “As a part of the Berry Middle School PTO, I’m looking forward to supporting the school as they educate our students through new and innovative strategies. I anticipate another great year of connecting our school, parents, and the community to ensure continued excellence.” Greystone Elementary Jodi McNulty jodimcnulty@aol.com 306-1575 “We’re getting a new principal this year, so we want to welcome the new principal in and have as few bumps in the road as possible. We want to have successful fundraising again with parents and a lot of parental involvement and keep the flow that Dr. (Kathy) Wheaton has established these past three years she has been here. We’ve had a great run with her. … It will be great to have a new principal. Our goal as a PTA is to make that transition for students and parents and teachers as smooth as possible. When you have change, a lot of times people panic. If we can alleviate that as a PTA board, that’s what we’re going to try to do.” Inverness Elementary Amy Tubre inverness.pto.pres@gmail.com “I’m excited about another fun and successful year as PTO President at IES! It’s so rewarding working with a wonderful group of parents, faculty and administrators for a common goal — to help make IES the best school for our children and teachers! We have a fun year planned, and I look forward to aiding in building relationships with our community.”
280Living.com
August 2016 • A29
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A30 • August 2016
280 Living
SouthWest Water Company gives scholarships to graduates
Back-to-school shoppers can purchase their schoolhouse needs tax-free the weekend of Aug. 5-7. Photo by Katherine Polcari.
School year starts off with annual tax-free weekend By KATHERINE POLCARI Alabama will host its 11th annual tax-free weekend from Aug. 5 through midnight on Aug. 7. Alabama’s sales tax will be waived throughout the weekend on items such as school supplies, books, computers or similar technology and clothing. The tax-free holiday weekend aligns with the start of the school year, and the products that are exempt from taxes all fall under the title of back-to-school items. This will include items such as backpacks, pens and binders, as long as the supplies are $50 or less per item. School supplies may also include art supplies or teaching materials such as textbooks or globes, as long as they are within the $50 limit. Books, for both pleasure and required reading, are also exempt from sales taxes during this
weekend. The books must stay under $30 and must be a hard copies, not digital. Computers and computer software are also eligible to be exempt from taxes as long as each item is under the sales price of $750. Other products that might fall under this category are printers and handheld electronic schedulers, as long as they are not cellphones. Finally, clothing is also a part of Alabama’s annual tax-free weekend. Clothing may include products such a shoes, hats and belts. However, most accessories such as jewelry and handbags are not eligible to be exempt. Clothes must be for humans, not animals, and must stay under the price of $100 per article of clothing. For a more details, visit alabamaretail.org to find a full list of what products will be eligible to be exempt from sales taxes.
As part of its continuing commitment to the communities it serves, SouthWest Water Company has announced cash scholarships for four graduating high school students in Shelby County who plan to make engineering their main course of study in college. The scholarship recipients are high school seniors who have been accepted to attend an accredited four-year college or university degree program with the intent to major in environmental science, environmental engineering or general engineering curriculum. The recipients have demonstrated academic achievements during their high school careers and also have achieved an exemplary record of community service and participation in school extracurricular activities. SouthWest Water Company Managing Director Craig Sorensen said that SouthWest Water Company feels the need to help upcoming leaders in this important field. “As a company that is charged with protecting the world’s most valuable resource, we feel responsible for encouraging the next generation of leaders in our field,” Sorensen said. “We are very pleased to announce this year’s outstanding recipients.” The scholarship recipients, each of whom will receive a $1,000 cash scholarship, are Daniel Stanton, of Birmingham and Oak Mountain High School, who will study general engineering at the University of Michigan; Dorothy Plante, of Birmingham and Spain Park High School, who will study civil engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Andrew Wallace, of Hoover and Briarwood Christian School, who will study general engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; and Aaron Wilkes of Pelham and Pelham High School, who will study chemical engineering at the University of Alabama. SouthWest Water Company owns and operates water treatment and reclamation facilities throughout Shelby County. – Submitted by Stephen Bradley.
Guy Locker, left, of SouthWest Water Company, presents the SWWC scholarship to Aaron Wilkes of Pelham High School. Photos courtesy of Stephen Bradley.
Craig Sorensen, left, managing director of SouthWest Water Company, presents a SWWC scholarship to Andrew Wallace of Briarwood Christian School.
Harry Chandler, left, of SouthWest Water Company, presents a SWWC scholarship to Daniel Stanton of Oak Mountain High School.
Ste 11 inside of Salon Suites
280Living.com
August 2016 • A31
Clockwise, from left: James Smith of Coffee Springs lines up a shot during a June ASA qualifier match presented by Shelby County Bow Hunters on the 3D range at Oak Mountain State Park. Skipper Booth of Northport looks at a shot. Smith, Tammy and Wes Murphey of Ariton and Kenneth Gunnells of Prattville pose with a target. Photos by Todd Lester.
ARCHERY
CONTINUED from page A1 were complimentary after park entry fees were paid, and each lesson would fill up. The educational aspect of those archery lessons is important for the park, said event coordinator Anna Jones, and there are plans to continue lessons this fall. “I just think it’s really important to make sure kids can have that kind of exposure, get them outside, get them active and get them involved with our natural resources,” she said. While there are other places to learn and practice archery in the area, most of those are indoor ranges. Ezell said it is always nice to see children outside and remaining active. In addition to classes taught by Cook, there have been a few competitions at the park, and groups such as the Shelby County Bow Hunters Association have held events on the course. In addition to the adult and youth targets visible from the parking lot, the course includes a 3D target range. Jones said this area serves a variety of uses from competition to everyday practice
to qualifications for Oak Mountain State Park’s bow hunting season. “There’s always somebody out there shooting, and there’s not even one type that’s favored,” she said, noting that people will use all sorts of bows and use the variety of targets. The archery park was the result of a partnership between the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Shelby
County and Alabama State Parks. Thanks to support and funding from the county, the archery park also has resources available to park goers who are not planning to pick up a bow and arrow, Ezell said. The archery park provides extra parking near trails in Oak Mountain State Park, and the county also funded the construction of a covered pavilion and bathrooms nearby. “It’s offered a rest station for the bikers as
well,” Ezell said. Shelby County Chief Development Officer Chad Scroggins said the county was glad to help contribute to the archery park project, and the area also serves as a rest stop or picnic spot for park goers. “It’s really nice to give people a covered place to get out of the rain in case a littler shower comes through, [or give] a place for people to sit down and eat,” Jones said. The archery park also brings a new user group into the park, Ezell said. By reaching out to the archer community, she said the park is able to expose a whole new group to Oak Mountain State Park’s other amenities. “For me personally, it is just a success to have kids and to have a whole new user group in the park,” she said. Adding in an archery park not only provided an opportunity to reach out to a community the park previously did not cater to, but it also provided a way for individuals to learn about a sport they might not practice otherwise, Scroggins said. “It’s a good opportunity for folks, especially beginners or someone who has kids who may want to go out and try it,” he said. Events at the archery park might also have a financial benefit for the county, Scroggins said. “Anytime there’s an event, it allows for folks to generate sales tax, but depending on that [event], people might come in and stay overnight and generate lodging tax as well,” he said. “That is certainly one of the good things about having the amenity there.” Although there are no celebrations planned for the archery park’s one-year anniversary, Ezell said the park is expected to maintain its momentum. Reactions to the archery park, seen through attendance and feedback, have been positive, and when the weather begins to cool for the fall, the park expects usage of the targets and course to ramp back up. “It’s just been positive,” Ezell said. “We certainly haven’t had any complaints. We’ve only had positive feedback. What’s not to like? It’s nice; it’s in a great area. When you’re here, you don’t feel like you’re in town. You feel like you’re way away from it all, and that’s a good thing.”
How My Chamber Investment Works for Me
Cynthia Bertolone Owner Cake Art by Cynthia Bertolone 783-5220
Being part of the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce is a great way of meeting other small businesses who support each other in becoming successful. Thank you for the encouragement and words of wisdom. For more information on how your business can benefit by being an Investor in the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, contact Keyla Handley at 663-4542, ext. 106 or email keyla@shelbychamber.org.
1301 County Services Drive Pelham, AL 35124
663-4542
shelbychamber.org
280 Living neighborly news & entertainment
SECTION
B AUGUST 2016
Events B4 Opinion B11 Sports B12 Faith B26 Calendar B29
Left: Lisa Bond and Brett Hackett, 9, run after a ball to continue their volley in pickleball. Right: Kay Colgan, front, and Taylor Hackett play pickleball. Photos by Erica Techo.
PICKLEBALL FOR ALL
Chelsea Community Center, Heardmont Park add courts for sport gaining traction in South
By ERICA TECHO What do you get when you combine badminton, tennis and ping pong? Pickleball. The racquet sport, first played in 1965 according to the USA Pickleball Association website, has made its way into Shelby County. “I think the South, except for Florida, is behind on pickleball,” said Kay Colgan, a Chelsea resident who helps coordinate games at the Chelsea Community Center. The county is picking up on the trend, however, and has official pickleball courts at the Chelsea Community Center and Heardmont Park. The sport involves two to four players on a 44-by-20-foot court, and each player has a paddle-type racquet. The players bat around a lightweight ball, which is similar to a whiffle
ball, and the first team to 11 points wins. Colgan said she first heard about the sport through a friend and played in Trussville for a while. The drive and cost to play, however, got tedious. After the Chelsea Community Center was up and running, Colgan said she approached Mayor Earl Niven. “I said, ‘I’d like to start playing pickleball here,’ and the mayor said, ‘OK,’” she said. She continued to think she had done an excellent job selling the idea of pickleball to Niven, at least until she found out one of the mayor’s friends already had suggested the idea. Once the basketball courts were complete, Colgan said the mayor had lines for the pickleball court painted
See PICKLEBALL | page B27
280 Living
B2 • August 2016
Your Health Today By Dr. Irma Leon Palmer
Maintaining a truly healthy lifestyle can be difficult with constant change in schedules, activities, holidays, weather and all the details that make up life. But if there is one thing we can always depend on, it is change! Therefore, developing permanent health habits that cannot be pushed to the back burner because of a beach trip, finals week or a crazy sports schedule is a must! Now that summer is over and the kids are going back to school, what habits do you fall back on, to make sure your schedule fluctuation does not produce a weight and wellness fluctuation? Here are a few of our suggestions for things that you should be intentional about going into the school year. Meal-prep days: It may seem time-consuming and inconvenient to spend a Sunday afternoon in the kitchen, but you will thank yourself each week day when you reach into the refrigerator or freezer to grab a home-cooked meal or have dinner waiting for you in the evenings. It can take a bit of planning and practice to shop and cook once, but eat several times. There are many phone apps that can help with meal planning. First, find a few healthy recipes for lunch and dinner. Create your one-time grocery list to ensure you don’t overspend is the easiest way. Have a plan, stick to it and only buy what you need. An even better option would be to double or triple the recipe and cook it one time. This way you load your refrigerator and freezer with just one effort. Pinterest has great resources, tips, tricks and endless recipes. Choosing Extra-Curricular Activities: Keeping kids active is always a great idea, but do your research before allowing kids to take part in things their growing bodies may not
Step up your routine after summer
be ready for. We all love football, especially those young males. Football workouts can be intense and even dangerous to a developing spine. Unassisted deadlifts and max squats with no Smith machine to guide the movement can cause vertebral fractures, strains, disc issues and more. Choose age and strength appropriate sports for kids. If your child complains about painful workouts, listen verify and seek help immediately. Water: Even though school is back in session, the weather is still in full summer swing! Keep kids and yourself well hydrated to support energy levels, good digestion, immune system, and mental clarity. Sugary drinks and caffeine are not only addicting, but can cause mood swings, mid-day crashes, headaches, and weight gain. Hydrate well at home and send everyone out the door with a water bottle so that good choices are available when thirst hits. Beware of Bleacher Back: Whether its basketball, baseball, football or even hockey, parents end up on metal, plastic or wood bleachers for hours at a time. This can cause severe lower back tightness, soreness, and pain. Along with the hard sitting surface, many individuals will slouch forward to compensate for having no back on their seat. Be prepared with the personal seats that have lumbar support and a thick cushion. Also, take the time to get up, to walk around every 30-45 minutes. Do a chest or leg stretch and drink plenty of water. Avoid Lunch Room Food: There are way too many great kid recipes on Pinterest to let your kids go to school and eat junk! When tomato sauce on pizza is considered their daily vegetable, we have bigger problems then time spent on cooking.
Here are two of our favorite simple recipes for breakfast and lunch that will please kiddo taste buds but not take up a lot of your time. Banana Pancakes 1 large banana (fully ripe is best) 2 eggs Cinnamon to taste Mix all ingredients until you have a semi-smooth batter. Cook just like pancakes in a pan and serve. No sugar, no grains, and deliciously moist! Greek Turkey Burgers 1 pack Thawed & drained frozen spinach Several sliced sundried tomatoes ¼ Chopped red onion 1cup Feta cheese 1lb ground turkey 1 egg Salt, Pepper and Greek seasoning of choice Mix all ingredients and form into patties. Cook in coconut oil over medium-high heat until slightly browned on both sides and cook through. Optional- Serve with a cucumber dill sauce and veggies. We drive our health north or south based on our daily choices. Choose today to live the wellness lifestyle from a chiropractic point of view. Visit our webpage or come join our practice for your wellness journey to begin!
280Living.com
August 2016 • B3
Breathing should be the last thing on your mind. Celebrating 50 Years HOMEWOOD HOOVER CHELSEA ALABASTER CULLMAN TRUSSVILLE
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Make an appointment with our board-certified allergists today.
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visit www.alabamaallergy.com
280 Living
B4 • August 2016
Events
Laura Langley’s memory saving countless lives By LEAH INGRAM EAGLE Five years after her death, Laura Langley continues to save lives. The 2007 Oak Mountain High School graduate, who had just completed her studies at the University of Alabama, died from injuries sustained in a car accident June 3, 2012. More than 50 units of blood were used in the attempts to save her life, and her family, including parents Jim and Ann Langley, has turned their loss into a way to save the lives of others. Ann Langley said if the fifth annual Laura Langley Blood Drive — planned for Aug. 27 — is as successful as the previous ones, more than 1,000 lives will have been saved with blood donated in her memory. “Blood is critically important for many people on a scheduled and anticipated basis,” Ann Langley said. “I’ve come to be friends with a young mother at First Christian Church who has a chronic health condition that requires transfusions monthly.”
That friend is Molly Springfield, a 37-year-old mother of two who was diagnosed with hypogammaglobulinemia in 2005. The immune disorder is characterized by a decrease in gamma globulins, including antibodies that fight infection. While research on this disorder has been done over many years, a real diagnosis wasn’t reached until the 1990s. “I don’t have an immune system,” Springfield said. “I grew up military and got sick frequently. I was never seen by the same doctor, so no one could connect things.” Springfield became so ill in 2005 that she nearly lost her life. As a last ditch effort by her pulmonologist, the last test they ran revealed her diagnosis. She depends on regular blood transfusions to live, receiving treatment every 21 days at the Cancer Center at St. Vincent’s. She has a port in her chest, and the treatment takes more than eight hours. “I receive chemotherapy, but it is a
Bob Whitehead, Ann Langley’s brother and Laura’s uncle, surprised the family last year by coming from his home in South Carolina to donate blood. Photo courtesy of Ann Langley.
blood product, IVIG, that comes from plasma,” she said. “For a very, very small amount of immunoglobulin, it takes thousands of donors. If there are no donors, then there is no plasma and no immunoglobulin.” While Springfield did not have the chance to meet Laura Langley, she became friends with Ann Langley when she started attending First Christian Church two years ago. “I never thought that I would be the one receiving it [blood donations],” Springfield said. “Without blood, I
would not be here, guaranteed.” Langley said she appreciates Springfield’s family members supporting their blood drive. “They appreciate how vital blood donations are for an entirely different reason than what my family experienced,” she said. Due to her condition, Springfield can’t work or be around people. Her doctor suggested she home-school her daughters, ages 5 and 9, but she wanted them to be able to attend public school. “You just come to a point where you
have to decide, are you going to live in a bubble,” she said. “I have to make very controlled decisions what I do with my daughters. There are things we have to do that seem ridiculous. When they come home from school [at Inverness Elementary], they have to take a shower. I’m also in constant contact with their teachers to find out if anyone in their class is sick.” The fifth annual Laura Langley Memorial Red Cross Blood Drive will be Aug. 27 at First Christian Church from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
280Living.com
August 2016 • B5
The 2016 Southeastern Trail Series encourages runners to up the ante with each run. The fifth race includes a 10- and 20-mile option. Staff photo.
Embrace each day with peace of mind.
Ridge 2 Ridge Trail Race back at OMSP By ERICA TECHO Runners who are up to a challenge will find one as the Southeastern Trail Series continues this month. The Ridge 2 Ridge Trail Race, the fifth race in the series, continues the steady increase in distance and difficulty as the series progresses. The Aug. 27 race includes a 10- and 20-mile race through Oak Mountain State Park, up from July’s 9- and 18-mile Hotter ’N Hell Trail Race. Due to the heat of the day and the difficulty of the race, all runners must carry water — no exceptions — according to the Southeastern Trail Series website. Runners start at Redbud Pavilion, kicking off the race with a short loop around the BMX track. The race continues along the Yellow Trail, up the mountain to Peavine Falls and around Tranquility Lake. The loop is 10.5 miles, and those
running the 20-mile race will go through the trail twice. There will be multiple aid stations along the trail, and runners should consume electrolytes during the race in addition to remaining hydrated. Registration for the 10-mile race is $35 before Aug. 19 and $45 after, and registration for the 20-mile race is $45 before Aug. 19 and $50 after. There is also a $5 fee to enter Oak Mountain State Park. Online registration for the race closes Aug. 25 at 11:59 p.m., but there will be late registration at Mountain High Outfitters in Cahaba Village Plaza Aug. 26 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Day-of registration will begin Aug. 27 at 7 a.m. at the White Oak Pavilion in Oak Mountain State Park. Both races start at 8 a.m. For more information or to register, visit southeasterntrailruns.com/Race5-Ridge-Ridge. html.
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Mayhem on the Mountain, a fitness competition with a mix of challenges found at most CrossFit meets, is scheduled for Aug. 6-7 at Oak Mountain State Park. Photo courtesy of Jessica Giles/Jadore Photographie.
Fitness competition showcases versatility of area athletes By JESSE CHAMBERS The challenging Mayhem on the Mountain fitness competition will be back at Oak Mountain State Park Aug. 6-7. It’s hosted by Forge Fitness Powered by CrossFit Shades, a facility in Vestavia Hills. Organizers at Forge Fitness said their goal in staging Mayhem on the Mountain is to offer athletes a great test, one with a different mix of competitive events from most CrossFit competitions. In the event, “you’re going to see people compete in many different types of events — gymnastics, Olympic lifting, swimming and running,” said Forge Fitness founder Rich Pennino. “This is the kind of event where you get to see
the versatility of athletes.” CrossFit is a general fitness regimen with more than 11,000 affiliated gyms worldwide. Participants follow a regimen of “constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity in a communal environment” in order to achieve health and fitness, according to the official CrossFit website. Oak Mountain State Park is the largest in the state and offers a variety of outdoor activities, including biking, hiking, golf and swimming in the park’s man-made lake. Space in Mayhem on the Mountain is limited, and those interested are urged to sign up soon. For more information, call 569-1874 or go to forgevestavia.com or facebook.com/ mayhemonthemountain.
Call 800.704.3077 or visit RiverHighlands.com for more information. 1851 Data Drive, Hoover, AL 35244 Memory Care Application & License Pending
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280 Living
B6 • August 2016
Chirps and Chips returns for 5th year By KATHERINE POLCARI
Above: Guest Richard Esposito plays the roulette table at last year’s event. Far right: Guest Brent Warren poses with Education Ambassador Coosa the Barred Owl. Photos courtesy of Doug Adair.
If you are looking for a night out and a way to give back to the community, the Alabama Wildlife Center is hosting a fundraising event that promises to do both. Chirps and Chips, as its name would imply, is combining a night of poker with a fundraiser to support the AWC’s Junior Board and Raptor Force, which works to rehabilitate Alabama native birds. Rounds of poker, a silent auction, food, drinks and live entertainment will all be part of the casino-themed fundraiser. The event will be Aug. 19 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Doug Adair, executive director of AWC, said Chirps and Chips is one of two main annual fundraisers. “This fundraiser is particularly important because the spring and summer baby bird season
is the busiest time of year,” Adair said. “Before baby bird season ends, we will have treated over 1,000 Alabama native birds.” Not only will Chirps and Chips be an opportunity to have fun for a good cause, but it also aims to be an educational experience, Adair said. As in years past, there will be Education Ambassadors, which are gloved-trained raptors. These raptors will be out during the fundraiser so that people will have a chance to get their pictures taken with them. “We have a new eastern screech owl,” Adair said. “She will be at the event, and folks will have the opportunity to meet her for the first time.” Tickets are $50 each and are available at awrc. org or by calling 663-7930. If you do not get the chance to purchase your tickets beforehand, there will also be tickets sold at the door.
Sozo Children hosts dinner, auction to boost efforts to house orphaned children By JESSE CHAMBERS The Greek word “sozo” means to save, nurture or rescue, both physically and spiritually, and that’s what Sozo Children, a Birmingham faith-based nonprofit, is working to do for orphaned children in Uganda. The organization will hold its sixth annual Sozo Children Fundraising Dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Wynfrey Hotel at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover. Attendees will be offered a full-course meal, an inspiring program and a chance to bid on items included in live and silent auctions. The effort to help orphans began in 2010, when missionaries Jay Clark and Allen Nunnally — both 2004 Oak Mountain High School graduates — saw the horrible conditions for children in an orphanage they visited in Kampala, Uganda. In a few weeks, they arranged
for 17 kids to move to a house they called the Sozo Children's Home. The organization has since raised money to provide safe, permanent homes for the children and, in March 2015, bought 28 acres in a village near Kampala. It is now raising money to complete the first phase of the project and build 15 new homes, allowing it to give up some rental properties. The organization — a certified 501(c)(3) and a registered Ugandan non-governmental organization — is also seeking individuals who would like to become monthly donors or sponsors. Admission is $80. Corporate tables for 10 guests are $2,500. To donate items for the silent auction, email Laura@sozochildren.org. For tickets and more information about the event, contact 612-0338 or go to sozochildren.org/bhamdinner.
A child drinks from a new water well in Uganda. Photo courtesy of Sozo Children.
NEW NEW
280Living.com
August 2016 • B7
Save the Os 5K raises funds for cancer research By JESSE CHAMBERS The mission of the Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation is to promote awareness about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and raise money for research. In fact, the NLOCF has donated almost $1 million to the Department of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Area residents can help the cause when the NLOCF hosts its Save the Os 5K fundraiser, which also features a one-mile fun run, Aug. 27 at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Hoover. 5K registration will be from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m., with the race starting at 8 a.m. There will be a DJ and food beginning at 7 a.m. The one-mile fun run will start at 9:15 a.m. There will be awards, door prizes and the annual belly flop competition beginning at 9:30 a.m. Awards will include the top overall male and female in the 5K, with winners receiving $75 in cash, and the top males and females in several age groups. There will also be awards for teams — including the one that raises the most money — and for the fun run. The registration fee for the 5K will be $30 through July 31 and $35 beginning Aug. 1. (For participants ages 14 and younger, the fee is reduced by $5.) The sleep-in option — where you can donate without the run — is $20. Greystone Golf & Country Club is at 4100 Greystone Drive. For more information, including registration fees for the fun run and times and locations for packet pickup, go to savetheos5k.com. For more information about the foundation, go to nlovca.org.
Area residents can help the cause when the NLOCF hosts its Save the Os 5K fundraiser, which also features a one-mile fun run, at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Hoover Aug. 27. Photo courtesy of the Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation.
The fifth annual “R(un) For One 5K” will be held Aug. 20. Photo courtesy of Lifeline Children’s Services of Hoover.
Hoover R(un) For One 5K to support orphan care ministry By JESSE CHAMBERS Lifeline Children’s Services of Hoover will raise money to support “(un)adopted,” its international orphan-care ministry, when it hosts the fifth annual “R(un) For One 5K” and the 1 mile “Kids Fun R(un)” at Veterans Park Aug. 20. Registration begins at 7 a.m., the 5K at 8 a.m. and the fun run at 8:45 a.m. Orphan care is a critical issue because less than 1 percent of the 153 million orphans worldwide will be adopted, said Krystal Brummitt, Lifeline events and merchandising manager. Even worse, Brummitt said many of these un-adopted orphans who often are not equipped to make a decent living, can fall prey to sexual exploitation, drug abuse and slavery. All proceeds will go to “(un)adopted,” which works with government officials, orphanages, businesses, schools and homes in about 10 countries, including China, Uganda, Guatemala and Haiti, to mentor orphans and equip them with life skills. Participants will run through shaded woods
and alongside ponds on the scenic cross-country course at Veterans Park. After the run, there will be food, live music and other diversions. Dina and Alan Long, a Mountain Brook couple who adopted two boys from Pakistan, took part in the run in 2015. The event “is not only fun, but gives people a tangible way to be part of an important solution,” Dina Long said. The registration fee for the 5K is $30 by Aug. 19 and $35 on race day. The fee for the “Kids Fun R(un)” is $15 by Aug. 19 and $20 on race day. Awards will be given to the first-, secondand third-place male and female finishers overall and to the first-, second- and thirdplace male and female finishers in 10 other age groups. Veterans Park is at 4800 Valleydale Road adjacent to Spain Park High School. For more about Lifeline Children’s Services, call 967-0811 or go to lifelinechild.org. For more information, including packet pickup, go to runforone5k.org/al.
280 Living
B8 • August 2016
13th Shake and Bake 5K to support Vapor International
Oak Mountain student selected for Birmingham Fashion Week By ERICA TECHO
By ERICA TECHO Runners are set to take to the shaded streets of Mt Laurel on Aug. 6 for this year’s Shake and Bake 5K. This is the 13th year for the run, which rotates beneficiaries each year. Race director Bill Kreis said organizers selected Vapor International, a Sylacauga-based nonprofit, after friends introduced him to the organization. Vapor aims to establish sustainable systems in third-world environments and works to share the Christian message, alleviate poverty and build sustainable ministry centers in the communities where Vapor works. Vapor is currently working in Kenya, Togo and Haiti, and president and COO Bill Boycott said the Shake and Bake 5K is a good fit for a partnership because it is organized by the Alabama Women’s Soccer Foundation and Vapor is a sports-based ministry which works primarily through soccer. Kreis said they look forward to partnering with Vapor for this year’s race. “I just know it’s going to be a good marriage for the race, and we’re looking forward to helping them raise some additional support,” he said. The race starts at the intersection of Olmstead and Croft streets, and Kreis said the shade and soft hills make it a fun course for all runners. “It’s a super family-friendly run,” he said. “It’s well participated by a wide range of runners, from beginning to experienced runners.” Mt Laurel residents also get involved in the race by cheering on runners, boosting the atmosphere, Kreis said. “The community turns out, people will be on their front porches waving and clapping,” he said. “We run through the neighborhood, so it makes for a fun, festive race.” The race normally has between 150 and 200
A child plays soccer at one of the Vapor International centers in Haiti. Photo courtesy of Bill Boycott/Vapor International.
runners, and Kreis said they’re hoping for an even bigger turnout this year. The race is certified, and this year it will be chipped, meaning it is electronically timed. There will be awards for the top two finishers in each age group and monetary awards for the top two male and female finishers. Following the race, Kreis said many participants stick around for Mt Laurel’s Farmer’s Market, and there will be refreshments provided near the finish line. Online registration is open until Aug. 5 and costs $20. Day-of registration will be from 6:30 to 7:45 a.m. and costs $25. The race will start at 8 a.m. For more information, visit shakeandbake5k.com.
Hayley Anderson said she remembers enjoying fashion from a young age, when she would participate in fashion weeks hosted at The Summit, but cannot pinpoint the day she was first drawn to it. “It’s just always been something I enjoyed,” she said. As a rising senior at Oak Mountain High School, Anderson said she chose to apply to be a Birmingham Fashion Week Rising Design Star after seeing another Oak Mountain student participate last year. Although she said she didn’t know the student, she thought the experience sounded like a good way to try something new. Birmingham Fashion Week is a yearly event that brings together local and national designers and boutiques. The weekend event also includes a Rising Design Star Challenge, which gives middle and high school students the chance to design garments and show them off on the runway. Each year, these garments are made of nontraditional items and are put together through alternative methods such as glue, staples or tape rather than traditional sewing. This year’s theme is “Future of Fashion,” which Rising Design Stars are encouraged to factor into their designs. For Anderson, the theme led her toward an idea that used items that will one day become obsolete. CDs, buttons from television remotes and tape from VHS cassettes all come together to make up her outfit. “I just picked things that I figure we won’t be needing in the future, so we would recycle them into our daily fashion,” she said. Although she has not previously participated in other fashion competitions, Anderson said her art teacher and art classes at OMHS — where she will take Art III this school year — have helped prepare her. “Before, I really was not good at drawing
Hayley Anderson, a rising senior at Oak Mountain High School, was named a Rising Design Star semifinalist in this year’s Birmingham Fashion Week. Photo courtesy of KC Projects/Birmingham Fashion Week.
at all, and so learning how to draw has helped me be able to draw the designs, and it’s helped me use my creativity more and express it in a different way,” she said. As a Rising Design Star semifinalist, Anderson will showcase her outfit on the runway Aug. 25 or 26 during Birmingham Fashion Week. Attendees will be able to cast their vote for “2016 People’s Choice Winner,” and top-scoring designs will move onto a fashion finale on Saturday. The top three garments will receive grand prizes. Anderson said she is excited to get an inside look at Birmingham Fashion Week and to see other rising stars’ designs. “I think it’s really cool,” she said. “I’ve never been able to do something like this before, so it’s really neat that something I’ve envisioned is coming to life and other people get to see it.” Birmingham Fashion Week is at Boutwell Auditorium in downtown Birmingham from Aug. 25-27. For more information, go to bhamfashionweek.com.
280Living.com
August 2016 • B9
Ride4Gabe: Cycling for Duchenne By KATHERINE POLCARI Nine states, 2,200 miles, 11 days — and all on a bike. This is what Michael Staley, Wes Bates and Payne Griffin will undertake to raise awareness for Duchenne muscular dystrophy during the third annual Ride4Gabe. In 2008, at just 3 years old, Gabe Griffin was diagnosed with Duchenne, and since then his family has done everything they can to find a cure. Duchenne is genetic disorder that slowly weakens and kills muscles, and most of those who are diagnosed are restricted to a wheelchair before they leave their teens. The Griffin family first met Staley, who was at the time chief of staff for Rep. Spencer Bachus, when they went to Washington, D.C. seeking help in getting FDA approval of a drug. The family had come in to see Bachus, but he was out of the office, and the family met with Staley instead. After listening to the Griffins tell their story, Staley said he decided to join their cause and soon became a leading voice in the fight for Gabe’s cure. “I fell into the cause,” Staley said. “I wanted to help them understand the law and the FDA and be a part of what they were trying to do.” Staley helped start Ride4Gabe, now an annual bike ride, as a way to raise awareness for Duchenne and for Gabe. Staley already had a love for cycling and decided that combining cycling with Gabe’s fight was the perfect way to contribute. However, Staley could not make this enormous trip by himself, which is why he recruited Wes Bates for the 2014 ride. Staley said that he was able to find Bates on Facebook and then the two were able to pull together a few more people to act as the crew. The ride successfully captured people’s attention across the country as Staley and Bates made their way through 11 states in 2014. This year’s ride will go through nine states,
Above: Gabe Friffin and his class sit in front of the Ride4Gabe motor home. Right: Staley and Bates taking a quick break on their first Ride4Gabe. Photos courtesy of Michael Staley.
but the ride itself will be much more challenging, Staley said. The route will run from Maine to Mobile so that the cyclists can end in their home state. While just the three men have officially decided to ride the total 2,200 miles, other cyclists are encouraged to join for segments of the trip anywhere along the route. “We chose the bicycle ride to get people’s attention,” Staley said. “It’s not every day that somebody chooses to ride the Tour de France in half the number of days.” This ride requires an immense amount of training, planning and sheer willpower, Staley said, but at the end of the day it serves its purpose.
Any new attention toward the Hope for Gabe Foundation is well worth the effort. “When it hurts or when I’m tired, I think about Gabe and all of the people who can’t ride bikes or who will never be able to ride a bike,” Staley said. “That is my motivation.” Ride4Gabe is meant bring awareness to the Hope for Gabe Foundation, a nonprofit that was founded in 2010. The foundation is working to make a change for future children who will be diagnosed with Duchenne, and hopefully eradicate it altogether. As of right now, Duchenne is a terminal diagnosis, but access to proper medicine could change that in the future.
Just this year, the foundation was able to see the Alabama legislature pass the Gabe Griffin Right to Try Act. In short, the state will now allow access to drugs that could possibly help patients facing terminal cases, as long as the doctor, patient and the drug company all agree that it is the best option. “We wanted to send a message to Washington,” Staley said. “Dying patients should have access to drugs that could save their life, and [we] don’t believe that the FDA should be the only barrier to getting those drugs.” While this was a big step in the right direction, Staley said there is still so much more to be done in the fight to end Duchenne. “Our mission will never be a success until we have done every single possible thing we can do to get Gabe a treatment for Duchenne,” Staley says. Eradicating a genetic disorder is no easy feat, and the Hope for Gabe Foundation will need the continued support of the community and nation to be able to accomplish their mission, Staley said. This can be done through monetary donations, as well as dedicated time, especially to help coordinate and organize Ride4Gabe. To see what you can do to help eradicate Duchenne, visit ride4gabe.com or hopeforgabe. org and join the cause.
280 Living
B10 • August 2016
Chelsea churches Morningstar, New Heights join forces By ERICA TECHO On June 5, Morningstar United Methodist Church and New Heights United Methodist Church were treated with baby shower, marriage and wedding cakes. That Sunday was the first day both congregations worshipped in the same building. Although an original welcome cake was ordered, Morningstar Pastor Mark Puckett said the event-specific cakes the churches got instead worked out even better. “What I thought was fitting was we’re giving birth to a new ministry idea; we’re hoping for a new marriage, and we’re in the courtship phase of this,” Puckett said. Puckett and New Heights Pastor Keith Beatty first came together after New Heights’ lease at Forest Oaks Elementary was coming to an end. New Heights was looking for a place to worship and hoping to partner with another church and gain momentum in Chelsea, Beatty said. “Morningstar was very gracious, welcomed us, and given the similarity of age in our two congregations — both of our congregations are fairly young — so we have a similar vision, and both churches are able to reach out to our community as we worship God together,” he said. Puckett said he felt drawn to a
partnership with New Heights because when he was a church planter, his church encountered leasing issues and could not find another church to welcome them. At that time, he said he told God that he would assist anyone in a similar situation if he had the chance. “One of the things that I shared with Keith was you’re not going to have to worry about a place to worship,” he said. “I don’t know how the details are going to work out, but you’re not going to have to worry about that.” Bringing two congregations together strengthens both churches and their ties with the community, Puckett said, and each church has brought its strengths to the partnership. “The strengths they [New Heights] have is a very strong children’s ministry and youth ministry,” he said. “The beauty of that, being in the same location, is that our children are students that go to school together; they know each other, so it hasn’t been this huge ‘get to know you’ season.” New Heights also has a great worship band for modern worship, which Puckett said Morningstar was in search of. “Anytime you blend groups that have a unique set of skills, it is going to increase the quality of what you’re doing,” Puckett said. “To me, that’s
Morningstar UMC and New Heights United Methodist are both holding services at Morningstar’s campus on County Road 11. Photo by Erica Techo.
one of the biggest benefits of what we are doing because talent and the ability of the team, so much hinges on the right amount of that, as to how successful you’re going to be.” Both churches also have a vision of reaching out to the community and welcoming new members. If someone moves to Shelby County, they might worry about encountering a “family church” dynamic where they will not fit in, Puckett said. “It’s very hard for someone who moves here to fit into a family church dynamic, and Shelby County has a lot of those,” he said. “We’re a different option for people who don’t want that.” The two churches coming together will allow for a ministry that is “large enough to make things happen, small enough that you’ve still got that family
vibe,” Beatty said, and they said they hope to welcome individuals who have not found a church. Morningstar continues to hold its worship service Sundays at 9 a.m., and New Heights worships at 11 a.m., but Beatty and Puckett said members of both congregations attend both services. “A lot of that is going to be time preference for the family, too,” Puckett said. The churches’ merger is a special situation, because both congregations are healthy, he said. “In most merger scenarios, you either have one very strong church and the other church is struggling or close to death, and this is an entirely different scenario in that both churches are vital and have life,” Beatty said. “It’s the circumstances that brought us
together, so this is a very unique and different concept.” Both congregations have also been open to the merger, Puckett and Beatty said, and some of the youngest congregation members already have come together through joint Vacation Bible School classes and projects during Serve Week. The first Sunday after Labor Day, the Beatty said the churches hope to “ramp up” community involvement and merge small groups. The goal is to get to a point where everyone says “our” rather than “us” and “them,” Puckett said. “It is still two churches operating under one roof with the hope and expectation that within 24 to 36 months that we will be able to officially merge, although that process has already officially begun,” Beatty said.
280Living.com
August 2016 • B11
Opinion My South By Rick Watson
To this day, mowing grass more than just a chore
Jefferson State Community College. Photo courtesy of David Bobo.
Like most people my age, I started doing people in our community. Word spread fast, chores early in life. Some tasks were more and my business boomed. Most summer enjoyable than others. It seems like as soon evenings when I returned home after a day as I could stand unassisted and understand of cutting grass, my bones were weary, the words my mama said, I had daily chores which made it easy to sleep at night. — hauling scuttles full of fireplace ashes out I had two clients with front yards so steep to the ash pile each morning in winter and that mowing the usual way was impossible. emptying the slop jar (if you don’t know I solved this problem creatively by tying a what that is, look it up) were two chores rope around the frame of the mower and delegated to me. Apparently both my older lowering it up and down the embankments. siblings had this chore in the past, so my By summer’s end, my arms looked as if I’d whining fell on deaf ears. been lifting weights. Some of my friends As I grew older, the chores changed. One gained weight over the summer vacation, Watson chore that felt almost like a privilege was but I was as thin as a reed. mowing grass. I loved mowing grass. After retirement, my knees began giving me fits, so Each spring when the sun got warm, my dad and I I broke down and bought a riding lawnmower. I feared would load the old lawnmower up and take it to the local riding would take the enjoyment out of the chore, but it mechanic for servicing. Cecil Kitchen was a wizard with took the experience to the next level. It doesn’t give me as all things mechanical. In a few hours he’d have the engine much exercise as the old push method did, but it has other tuned and the blade as sharp as a scythe. benefits, like a cup holder for water — or adult beverages. Every few weeks I’d top off the tank, pull the crank, and Another thing I enjoy about the chore of mowing grass the old beast would spring to life and buzz like a mechan- is that at the end of the day, I can look over my work and ical bee. get a sense that I’ve accomplished something. After a few rounds, I’d almost always fall into a zen I’m thankful that indoor plumbing made slop jars obsostate. The drone of the engine, the aroma of freshly mowed lete, except for antique dealers, because that’s one chore grass along with the warm sun on my shoulders felt a little I wouldn’t wish on any child. But mowing grass is one like heaven. summer chore I think most young people would enjoy if I’ve always been fascinated with patterns, and, as a given the chance. result, I cut our yard into squares, rectangles, parallelograms and pentagons. Each round made the design a little Rick Watson is a columnist and author. His latest book, smaller. “Life Changes,” is available on Amazon.com. You can In high school I earned extra money cutting grass for email at rick@homefolkmedia.com.
Jefferson State to add golf and sports marketing program Jefferson State Community College will add a men and women’s golf program, as well as a sports marketing academic program, for the 2016-17 academic year. The golf teams will begin this fall and will compete in the Alabama Community College Conference and National Junior College Athletic Association. “We are very pleased to bring athletics back to Jefferson State,” said Jefferson State Dean of Enrollment Mike Hobbs. “The Birmingham area is a fantastic location for golf and we look forward to all the benefits both teams will bring to our community and our college.” There will be eight scholarships available for the men’s team and eight scholarships for the women’s team. Scholarships will cover tuition and fees. The new sports marketing program also begins in the fall. Jefferson State is working in conjunction with the Pete McAskile Sports Marketing Program to provide this postgraduate academic opportunity for students interested in pursuing a long-term career in sports and entertainment marketing. – Submitted by David Bobo.
Breakfast with the Doc Tips for Effective and Healthy Weight Loss Tuesday, August 23 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Join Adam Carroll, MD, family medicine physician with Birmingham Internal Medicine Associates, for a fun and interactive discussion about losing weight effectively. You will receive practical advice on how to both lose weight the healthy way and distinguish fact from fiction. Additionally, you will learn how healthy weight affects your overall health and wellbeing. Bring your questions and enjoy a light breakfast.
Please call 408-6550 to register for this free seminar.
7191 Cahaba Valley Road, Birmingham, Alabama 35242 onenineteen.com
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280 Living
B12 • August 2016
Sports
BRIARWOOD
PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: 2016
Lions aim to capitalize on returners’ experience as they enter Class 5A play By SAM CHANDLER
T
he Briarwood Christian School football team is finally back where it belongs. After 16 seasons of playing against schools with far more populous enrollments — due to the 1.35 multiplier forced upon private schools — the Lions return to a classification that truly matches their size. Resulting from the most recent wave of AHSAA realignment, Briarwood drops from Class 6A to 5A for the 2016 season. “The 1.35 doesn’t put us out of 5A,” Lions head coach Fred Yancey said. “We’re kind of in the top six or eight of 5A, but in reality we would be third from the bottom, but that’s OK. We’re in 5A.” Prior to this fall, 1999 marked the last time Yancey’s team enjoyed the luxury of playing in its enrollment-correlating classification. After winning back-to-back 3A state championships in 1998 and 1999, Briarwood made the lofty jump to 5A at the turn of the century. Entering his 27th season at BCS, Yancey said the longawaited shift should help his team in 2016. “Absolutely. I’m hoping it does,” he said. “I hope that our boys take the challenge to realize they’re playing against schools our size that play good football, and we’re going to have to match them.” The Lions will compete in 5A, Region 5, which is headlined by
BRIARWOOD CHRISTIAN’S SCHEDULE AUG. 19: @ Vestavia Hills (Jamboree) AUG. 26: @ Chelsea SEPT. 2: Moody SEPT. 9: @ Wenonah SEPT. 16: Fairfield SEPT. 23: @ Mortimer Jordan SEPT. 30: @ St. Clair County OCT. 7: Woodlawn OCT. 14: @ Shelby County OCT. 21: Pleasant Grove OCT. 28: @ Madison Academy
Wenonah High School and Pleasant Grove High School. Like Briarwood, both of those teams advanced to the second round of the state playoffs last season. Although the Lions posted a 4-6 regular-season record in 2015, they managed to secure a playoff spot for the 23rd straight season. Once there, they scored a hard-fought — and unexpected — first-round victory over 6A-7 champion Fort Payne High School. “We had to come from a place where we weren’t so good to become a good team, and that was our goal all year—to become a good team and beat a good team—and we really did,” Yancey said. “That was a big win to kind of prove the point that the kids were still getting better.” Briarwood will aim for further improvement this fall.
OFFENSE
Despite losing a trio of college-caliber defensive starters in Carter Bankston, R.J. Jennings and Sam Sherrod, the team returns much of its core, especially on offense.
Quarterback William Gray, wide receivers Carson Eddy and Kolby Kwarcinski and linemen Hunter Whatley and Nathan Cale enter the season with a year of varsity experience under their belts. “The chemistry on the offense is going to be really good,” Whatley said. “We all know each other and have been playing with each other forever.” Yancey Gray, a senior, will once again be tasked with directing Yancey’s option-based spread offense. After battling through growing pains in his first year under center, the dual-threat QB said he spent the offseason sharpening his ability to read defenses. Yancey said he expects Gray — a stellar student with a GPA over 4.0 — to grow more comfortable in his starting role this fall. “I think William is such a good student that he’s not overwhelmed with information, and he’s got a year of starting under his belt,” Yancey said. “That’s a good sign that he’ll handle the offense fine.” But the success of Briarwood’s season, Yancey said, will boil down to the play of its running backs. Facing increasingly athletic competition in their new region, the Lions need a ball carrier who can make opposing defenses pay for their mistakes. “That will be the toughest thing,” Yancey said, “is do we have a running back that’s really quality?” Only time will tell who emerges as the bell-cow back. J.R. Tran-Reno, Ashton Domingue and Wilson Hand are among the potential candidates.
DEFENSE
Briarwood will also be searching for rising stars at key positions in the team’s 4-3 defense. In Sherrod’s absence at linebacker, Yancey said he expects senior Ethan Housel and sophomore Mark Hand to step up and fill the void. “We’re hoping that as a sophomore he steps up and becomes a big-time player for us,” Yancey said in reference to Hand. Up front, three-year starter Champ Stewart will anchor a line missing two significant pieces in Bankston and Jennings. Yancey said Stewart, a senior defensive end, has already received an offer from Jacksonville State. He will be joined in the trenches by seniors Jordan Harmon and Cooper Thompson. Bennett Miles, Bradford Pattillo and Carson Donnelly will contribute to a veteran secondary.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Gray will double as Briarwood’s punter. Although the kickoff specialist and place-kicker positions represent question marks, the Lions will look to discover viable options as they march toward their season goal: a state title. “Only one team in the classification’s going to win it, but we tend to think that we want to be in that hunt,” Yancey said. “We want to be a team that has a reputation for playing at an extremely high level, fast pace; and that we have a reputation of playing with a lot of pride.”
WILLIAM GRAY, QB Photos courtesy of Todd Kwarcinski.
280Living.com
August 2016 • B13
280 Living
B14 • August 2016
CHELSEA By KYLE PARMLEY
T
PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: 2016
Hornets gunning for return trip to playoffs by staying focused on moment
CHELSEA’S SCHEDULE
he last two years have been similar for the Chelsea football team, in the fact that the Hornets have started out 5-0 both times. In 2014, Chelsea lost the next four and missed the playoffs, but last year, the Hornets turned the tide and won two of the next four to secure a postseason berth. Head coach Chris Elmore’s squad lost to Opelika and Benjamin Russell both times around — not losses for any team to hang its head about — but the difference was how his squad responded last year, as opposed to 2014. “We came out of those two games and got two more victories against Pell City and Oxford, and that was the difference from the year before,” Elmore said, who enters his third year at the helm of the program. Chelsea gave No. 5 Blount all it could handle in the teams’ first-round matchup. The game was tied after three quarters before Blount pulled away in the final period for a 41-28 win, a performance Elmore called a “testament” to the team’s belief in themselves and the system. Elmore is taking the results from last year’s slate to instill confidence. Blount defeated McGill-Toolen, the Class 7A state champion and nearly knocked off 6A champ Spanish Fort, and the Hornets played them to the wire. Opelika and Benjamin Russell were each Top 10 teams in 6A, and the Hornets battled with them as well. “We felt like overall that we couldn’t have asked anymore of our players than what they gave us this season,” Elmore said. “7-4 maybe doesn’t look that impressive to some people, and I understand why, but we were proud of it, because of who we played and who beat us.” The Hornets played the exact same schedule the last two seasons, but shuffle things up in 2016 with a few new opponents in Class 6A, Region 3. Out are Valley, Oxford and Pell City. In are Helena, Pelham and Wetumpka. Outside the region, Chelsea travels to Oak Mountain to begin the season, hosts Briarwood Christian and Gardendale, and goes to Cullman to wrap up the regular season. If Chelsea is to make a second consecutive playoff appearance, it will have to maintain the strategy of staying focused on the moment. “Coach Elmore preaches it quite well,” senior running back Zalon Reynolds said. “We have to have that 1-0 mentality. We take every week, every practice, every rep that we do, we take it as if it’s the first game of the season.”
AUG. 19: @ Oak Mountain AUG. 26: Briarwood Christian SEPT. 2: Wetumpka SEPT. 9: @ Benjamin Russell SEPT. 16: @ Pelham SEPT. 23: Gardendale SEPT. 30: Open OCT. 7: @ Opelika OCT. 14: Chilton County OCT. 21: Helena OCT. 27: @ Cullman Zalon Reynolds form the backbone of a dangerous attack. “I think Matt and Zalon are as good of players around,” Elmore said. “They’re both hard-working kids that are never going to give you any trouble.” The Hornets will need to replace AJ Jones’ production out of the backfield, and Reynolds’s increased workload will shoulder much of that, but Elmore would still like to establish some depth. Jay Vickers leads a receiver group that will feature a handful of guys that played significant minutes a year ago. Vickers established himself as a go-to threat in 2015, and guys like Zach Adams, Josh Gregg, Lee Rickard among others will be counted on as well. On the offensive line, Chelsea graduated three players, but had to go eight men deep into the rotation last year, and that developed depth will provide the core of the line in 2016. The challenge there will be for the Hornets to find quality depth should injuries strike.
OFFENSE
An offensive unit that averaged nearly 32 points per a game last season returns a host of playmakers for the Hornets. QB Matthew Marquet and running back
ZALON REYNOLDS, RB Photos courtesy of Cari Dean.
DEFENSE
Chelsea has to replace three linebackers and a free safety, all among the team leaders in tackles in 2015. There will be some familiar faces in new places, as the
Senior Regan Wortham makes the transition to linebacker for the 2016 season.
deck is reshuffled a bit. Senior Regan Wortham moves to linebacker from defensive end after the departure of the trio of Blake Travelstead, Justin Painter and David Hardenbergh. Fellow senior Bryson Hardy slides over from corner to free safety to fill a void. Elmore said, “They’ve played in those games and they know what to expect. Now it’s just a matter of getting them ready to go at those different positions.” Jalyn Miller will start at defensive end and could see time at linebacker, Zac Young will get his chance to play the ‘Hornet’ safety spot and junior defensive lineman Warner Wright impressed coaches with his toughness and work ethic during the offseason and will see significant playing time.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Tyler Thomas will handle the placekicking duties for the third straight year for the Hornets, and his leg has gotten stronger according to what his coach has seen from him. Chelsea will have to find a replacement at punter after Painter’s departure. Marquet is a possibility if needed, and would add a playmaking threat to make opposing teams think with his ability to throw the football.
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August 2016 • B15
280 Living
B16 • August 2016
OAK MOUNTAIN O
PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: 2016
With big holes to fill — including QB — incoming Eagles feel need to prove themselves By KYLE PARMLEY
ak Mountain finished the 2015 season strong, winning five of its last seven. The problem was in the first three games, as the Eagles fell behind the 8-ball quickly with and 0-3 start to the campaign. “We’ve got to do a better job this year, start a little faster,” head coach Cris Bell said. As with any high school team, there are vacated spots to fill, leaders to replace and obstacles to overcome, but the pain of last year has the 2016 group determined to right the wrongs of a season ago. “This group feels like they have something to prove,” Bell said. “Nobody was real satisfied with the results from a year ago. Certainly had some bright spots, but we had a couple early that we’d like to have done a better job with.” The Eagles will have to replace a handful of players that were the powerful force behind a 10-2 record in 2014. Quarterback Warren Shader, offensive lineman Justice Hammond, defensive lineman Armond Lloyd and others have graduated and left large voids, literally and figuratively. “We’re going to be young in spots, especially on defense. We’ve got a lot of folks we’ve got to replace there. We’re probably going to be a little bit undersized, but that’s OK too. We’ll make up for it by giving great effort,” Bell said. Oak Mountain competes in the always tough Class 7A, Region 3, which houses defending state finalist Spain Park. After reclassification, Huffman takes Hewitt-Trussville’s spot in the region, while the rest remains the same. Hoover and Vestavia Hills also made the postseason last year, while Thompson and Mountain Brook are expecting improvements in 2016. In non-region contests, the Eagles add games against Chelsea and Hazel Green to go along with Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa.
OFFENSE
First and foremost, Oak Mountain has to find a way to replace Shader, a three-year starter at quarterback for the Eagles. The positive is that senior Wyatt Legas got two starts last season in relief of an injured Shader, and was 1-1 in those two games. “In his second start, he played really well,” Bell said. “He’s a senior and he’s ready to play.” Bell emphasized the importance protecting the football from the signal caller, not fumbling or throwing interceptions. The offensive line lost its leader in Hammond, but returns the other four starters from last season.
OAK MOUNTAIN’S SCHEDULE
AUG. 19: Chelsea AUG. 26: @ Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa SEPT. 2: @ Huffman SEPT. 9: Vestavia Hills SEPT. 16: @ Thompson SEPT. 23: Open SEPT. 30: Hoover OCT. 7: @ Tuscaloosa County OCT. 14: Mountain Brook OCT. 21: Spain Park OCT. 28: @ Hazel Green
“That’s a pretty big hole to fill, but we’ve got some guys that we think are ready to do it,” Bell said. Coleman Reeves departs at one of the halfback positions but Daniel Salchert is back to man the other one. Bell said Salchert really knows the offense, and some options to replace Reeves are Jaylin Gaines, Connor Wilson, Ethan Duncan and Glyn Humphrey. Bell believes that his team is as deep at running back as its ever been in his time at Oak Mountain. Carson Bobo will be counted on to take over the tight end spot for the Eagles, and Noah Egan, Nathan Jones and Garret DeAraujo will team up to give the team some production at receiver, despite the loss of Payton Youngblood. “Offensively, I feel like we’ve got a chance to be pretty good…Those are big shoes to fill but the guys we have that are competing for that spot, we like the guys that are around them,” Bell said.
DEFENSE
The Eagles have to replace Armond Lloyd and linebacker Avery Holsomback. Jordan Davis is a name Bell mentioned that could make an impact along the defensive line.
Wyatt Legas is expected to take over the big hole at QB left by Warren Shader’s graduation.
“We’ve really got to work hard up front to improve,” Bell said. Thomas Pechman is the only man back in the secondary, and Bell said the Eagles have a lot of work to do to replace the departures, but he feels like he has some options. Brett Cruce, Zach Nelson and Davis Manning will compete for time at cornerback, while Manning and Jackson Murphy could potentially crack the rotation at the safety spot. Bell also mentioned Connor Webb and Hunter Martinez to fight for snaps in the secondary. Bell said, “We’ve got a lot of guys that have put in an awful lot of time and work to make themselves better and now’s their opportunity to see what they can do out there.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Shader handled the punting duties for Oak Mountain, so the Eagles will need to find a new man for the job. Nick Carney returns as the place-kicker, and punted while Shader was out last year, and could potentially handle both if needed. Garrison Frisch and Christian Hood could also find their way on to the field at both spots.
NOAH EGAN, WR Photos courtesy of Barry Clemmons.
280Living.com
August 2016 • B17
280 Living
B18 • August 2016
SPAIN PARK W
By SAM CHANDLER
hen a high school football coach identifies the graduations of his punter and kicker as his team’s most significant losses, it can mean one of two things: the pair was immensely talented, or the team is stacked with returners at all other positions. Spain Park can relate to the former. In graduating kickoff specialist and punter Tyler Sumpter, along with place-kicker Crosby Gray, the Jags lost two pivotal assets from their 2015 team that won 12 games and reached the Class 7A state final. “Two of the best I’ve ever been around,” Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney said. “Those two kids in every facet— kickoff, punt that Tyler did to the field goals that Crosby did—it was just almost automatic. I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of something like that, especially at the high school level.” The pair proved invaluable down the stretch last season as the Jags eked out victory after victory. Sumpter’s booming kickoffs and punts continually tilted the battle for field position, while Gray’s sure-footed field goals lifted the team to critical victories in both region and playoff matchups. Sumpter averaged over 45 yards per punt and induced touchbacks on more than 75 percent of his kickoffs. Likewise, Gray converted nearly 75 percent of his field goal attempts, including three from over 40 yards. “I think the margin of error in our region, and especially with us, is very small,” Raney said. “I thought what separated our margin of error last year was the outstanding kicking game.” Although searching for a punter, the Jags appear to have at least one prospect capable of stepping into Gray’s cleats: junior Cole Starr, an athlete Raney recruited from the school’s soccer team. Starr looked crisp in spring practice, consistently hammering field goals through the uprights. But it’s going to take more than strong special teams play for the Jags to replicate their prior success. Playing in highly competitive 7A, Region 3, Spain Park will need its team members to demonstrate the same level of commitment and resolve as they did in 2015. “I thought our team last year had the ‘it’ factor that a team needs to have…just a never say die, never quit, and that comes from great leadership from coaches and from kids,” Raney said. “If we can continue that, I think we’ve got the talent to have another successful year.”
SPAIN PARK’S SCHEDULE AUG. 19: @ Gadsden City AUG. 26: Muscle Shoals SEPT. 2: Vestavia Hills SEPT. 9: @ Hoover SEPT. 16: Mountain Brook SEPT. 23: Open SEPT. 30: Huffman OCT. 7: @ Thompson OCT. 14: Tuscaloosa County OCT. 21: @ Oak Mountain OCT. 27: @ Minor
OFFENSE
In Raney’s conservative, run-first offense, the method is clear and simple: pound the ground until peppering in play-action passes. As a result, the Jags have an annual demand for a corps of versatile running backs prepared to shoulder a heavy load. In 2016, expect the majority of those duties to fall to senior Larry Wooden. Selected All-State Honorable Mention in 2015, Wooden scored nine touchdowns and accumulated over 1,200 all-purpose yards during his breakout junior campaign. “I think he’ll be one of the best kids in this area as far as being a college-recruited kid,” Raney said. “I think he can do a lot of things, and I think his work ethic has really improved since last year.” In addition to toting the ball on handoffs, Wooden poses a dangerous receiving threat. With soft hands and elusiveness, he has the ability to make opposing defenses pay in open space. He’ll be joined in the backfield by junior D’Arie Johnson, who is coming off a torrid junior varsity season. Raney said he envisions the Wooden-Johnson combo resembling the formidable one-two punch formed by Wooden and Wade Streeter in 2015. Although he anticipates an extensive position battle, Raney will look to either senior Hunter Howell or junior Braxton Barker to take over quarterback duties. Howell gained small
PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: 2016
Jags ready to fight their way back to state finals chunks of playing experience late in games last season when former gunslinger Joey Beatty had already padded Spain Park’s lead. “He’s paid his dues in the program first, but we’re going to play the best player,” Raney said in reference to Howell. “I mean that’s the attitude at every position.” Regardless of who surfaces as the starter, it’s going to take a group effort to protect him, as former offensive linemen Johnathan Mote and All-State center Grey Best will be hard to replace. Senior Thomas Jordan will play at the No.1 receiver position.
DEFENSE
On the opposite side of the ball, Spain Park’s defense will attempt to duplicate its audacious string of performances from 2015. Over the course of the season, the Jags pitched four shutouts and allowed only 58 points in their final nine games. But a few key pieces have since graduated, including AllState linebacker Perry Young and defensive lineman Markell Clark. “You think of Perry, since I’ve been here, he’s been the cornerstone of this defense, so to lose him is a huge loss just because he’s such an outstanding playmaker.” Nevertheless, Raney said he believes he has guys ready to rise to the occasion. In Young’s absence, seniors Houston Hollis and Josiah Johnson will anchor the linebacker corps, while fellow seniors Douglas Henze and Damon Wright will tether the defensive front. With seniors Cameron Toyer, Jack Connell and Damarius Farmer returning, the Jags’ secondary—a question mark entering 2015—should be one of the team’s strong suits. Schematically, Spain Park lines up in a 4-3 base package, though it is capable of switching to a 3-4 depending on the opponent. Despite requiring greater flexibility from players, the two-package system provides the team with an extra degree of versatility. “Everybody’s just got to buy in,”Henze said. “It really just boils down to not singling any guys out. Everybody has to do what they’re asked to do.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Jags are searching for a punter, but junior Cole Starr is a candidate to step into the place-kicker role.
LARRY WOODEN, RB Photos courtesy of Ted Melton.
280Living.com
August 2016 • B19
280 Living
B20 • August 2016
Commitment to MSU paying dividends for Seitz By KYLE PARMLEY Vann Stuedeman remembers the moment like it was yesterday. Sitting in a Starbucks on the campus of Mississippi State University, the new Bulldog softball coach sealed a coveted commitment. That pledge came from Oak Mountain High School product Caroline Seitz, someone that Stuedeman knew she could build her program around. “I’m tickled to have gotten that from her,” Stuedeman said. “It just shows the level of trust that they had in me as her parents, and would trust her to come here, away from home, and for me to be the coach to help her.” Seitz shattered the record book in her prep playing days. She left with the Eagles’ career home run record, including a junior season with a .494 average, 19 home runs and 69 RBIs. Through her first three years at Mississippi State, Seitz has led the Bulldogs in too many categories to count. As a freshman in 2014, she hit for a .340 average, tops on the team along with hits, double, triples, total bases and slugging percentage. Seitz was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-South Region First Team and the SEC’s All-Freshman team as a result. In 2015, her 15 home runs on the season slotted her third all-time in the Mississippi State record books. She bolstered the middle of the Bulldogs’ lineup once again in 2016, with a team-high five homers and 31 RBIs. “She’s just one of the most sound offensive hitters. She’s going to swing at everything. She’s aggressive,” Stuedeman said. Seitz played shortstop primarily at Oak Mountain because of her tremendous athleticism, although her coaches knew she would end up at the hot corner in college. She also showed impressive intangibles. “She approached every game with the confidence that she was going to and if she struggled,
Oak Mountain product Caroline Seitz has excelled in her three seasons in Starkville, leading the team in many categories. In 2015, her 15 home runs on the season slotted her third all-time in the Mississippi State record books.. Photo courtesy of Mississippi State Athletics.
she was going to find a way to help her teammates succeed,” said Kellie Eubanks, her head coach at Oak Mountain for her senior season. Seitz made an appearance on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays this past season, leaping high for a chopper to third base. She made the snag, came down and fired to first to get the out to complete the gem. The thing that makes Seitz such a good third
baseman is not her ability to make the spectacular play, but to make the plays that are supposed to be made on a consistent basis. “The routine plays are at times harder than the great plays,” Seitz said. “The great plays, you don’t have time to think about it. But the routine ones are slower, and you have more time to think about it.” Mississippi State had only two seniors on this
season’s team, a young squad that did not have the campaign it hoped for. However, there were flashes, as two of the Bulldogs’ three conference victories were against teams that advanced to the Women’s College World Series, Georgia and Auburn. “We know we’re good enough, and we’re right there, and we just have to have a couple things go our way,” Seitz said.
280Living.com
August 2016 • B21
Cole Dillard, seen warming up for a summer training session at Veterans Park, is the top returner for the Spain Park High School boys cross-country team. Photo by Sam Chandler.
Growth, experience to help Spain Park boys in 2016 By SAM CHANDLER Spain Park High School head cross-country coach Michael Zelwak said he wants his boys team to enter the fall with a chip on its shoulder. In 2015, a young and inexperienced Jaguars squad weathered a turbulent season that culminated in a last-place finish at the Class 7A, Section 3 meet. The gloomy performance extended Spain Park’s absence from the state championship to a third straight year. “We had a young group of guys that were talented and they worked hard,” Zelwak said, “but I think they just learned what competitive high school cross-country is like.” This fall, the Spain Park boys will aim for improvement as they draw motivation from the past. Led by juniors Cole Dillard and Andrew Gedgoudas, along with sophomore Jacob Warner, the team now boasts a more experienced roster that returns its top 10 runners. “We have a lot of guys that are really close, and I think that’s going to be their strongest point,” Zelwak said. Dillard emerged as the team’s front-runner last fall, recording a 5K personal best of 16 minutes, 53.74 seconds. He is the lone returner to have broken the 17-minute barrier, though a slew of teammates have come close. Junior Morgan Becker holds a personal best of 17:04 and Warner has run 17:05. The rest of Spain Park’s top seven from 2015, including Gedgoudas, have posted times in the 17’s. Collectively, Zelwak said he expects to have 12 runners capable of contending for his team’s top five spots on any given day. “The one thing that’s separating them is who’s going to be tough enough,” Zelwak said. “In the races, they need that toughness and that confidence. That’s really going to be the difference between last year and this year.” Zelwak said the process of developing those key mental traits has already begun. To date, Zelwak said he has incorporated a strength and conditioning component to his team’s training regimen while also placing an added emphasis
“
In the races, they need that toughness and that confidence. That’s really going to be the difference between last year and this year.
”
MICHAEL ZELWAK
on hill workouts. “I want them ready to fight,” Zelwak said. “[I want them] sort of saying, ‘Hey, we were young last year and we took our lumps, but we’re ready to go and we can run with anybody and we’re ready to prove it now.’” The Spain Park girls find themselves in a slightly different position. Behind the consistent efforts of All-State performers Sarah Sims McGrath and Zoe Shore, the girls team charged to a third-place finish at the 2015 state meet. But now McGrath and Shore, along with fellow top performer Emily DiMercurio, have graduated. Their departures leave senior Isabel Caddo and freshman Holland Lidikay as the only returners from the team’s top six. Last season, Caddo ran 18:54 and Lidikay ran 19:26 for the 5K distance. Zelwak said he expects sophomore Kristen Hopkins to join seniors Alyssa Gaston, Lily Pudlik and Mary Katherine Tedder as key contributors who can fill holes left by graduation. “I believe in them, and I know what they can do, but that doesn’t mean anything on race day,” Zelwak said. “They have to believe it, and I really think that they can go out and really surprise some people.” The Spain Park boys and girls cross-country teams will kick off the 2016 season at the Montevallo Early Bird Classic on Friday, Aug. 26.
280 Living
B22 • August 2016
‘Not just a doormat’: Jags ready to prove their status By KYLE PARMLEY
Sarah Prince is the Lady Hornets’ libero and is one of six seniors ready to lead the team in 2016. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
Lady Hornets enter fall with experienced squad By KYLE PARMLEY The ceiling during coach Jessica Pickett’s three seasons leading the Chelsea High School volleyball program has been well-defined: a berth in the Class 6A Super Regional each year, including last fall, when she led the program to a 24-21 record. In 2016, the Lady Hornets hope to break through to the next level and have the pieces to do so. After losing only two players from last fall, six seniors highlight an experience-laden squad. “They expect more. They’re not just satisfied with getting to Super Regionals. These girls want to get to state,” Pickett said. “They’re not quick to be satisfied. They want to take it to the next step.” Among those seniors, Lexie Riggins has been on varsity since ninth grade and plays middle. Taylor Hackett is a setter and also will play on the front row. Princes Embry and Maurica Marsh play on
the right side. Sarah Prince is the team’s libero, and Olivia Moody is also a senior. “Our seniors are going to have to step up in their leadership roles,” Pickett said. “We do have a strong senior class, and they’ve been with me since they were freshmen.” Sophomore middle Jules Hamer is another player Chelsea will look to for big production and will be a “huge leader” according to her coach. The Lady Hornets spent much of the offseason focusing on the defensive facets of the game. Offense has been a strength during Pickett’s tenure — a characteristic that should remain this fall — but Chelsea aims to improve on the other side of the court as well. “We are very strong offensively, and that’s why we’ve really been focusing, as far as fundamentals, on defense and getting our defensive players stronger,” Pickett said. Chelsea opens the season at home Aug. 25 against Jeff Davis.
Spain Park volleyball is trending in the right direction. From a 9-24 record in 2014 to a 22-23 mark in 2015, this season promises to be the best yet for Kellye Bowen and her Lady Jags in her third year at the helm. “Last year’s team, we were very competitive, much more than the year before. Now, people are starting to notice that we’re not just a doormat, and that we’re competitive. We’re in every game,” she said. The Jags’ season ended last year at the hands of Vestavia Hills in the fifth set at the area tournament. That result has left them hungry, Bowen said. Spain Park will still call Class 7A, Area 6 home, but welcome in a pair of new faces. Mountain Brook remains, while Oak Mountain and Huffman join the fray. The Spartans and Eagles Senior Karlee Moss is a blocker for the Jags, and coach will likely be strong, making Kellye Bowen will lean on her experience in the middle. Photo by Kyle Parmley. the area tournament all the tougher, as only the top two teams advance. leaders, from senior setter Ellie Norton to If the Jags are to be one of those two teams, they will have to improve middle blocker Karlee Moss. On the outside, upon executing at the same level from begin- there is Marlee Johnson and Sha’Kevia Hogan. ning to end. They are so intent on it, their prac- In the middle, Maddie Dease. Ali Close’s name also was mentioned as being a great leader. tice shirts read: ‘Finish.’ Don’t discount the actual on-court talent, Bowen said she senses some urgency among her group of girls, most notably the eight either, Bowen said.. “This year will probably be the best team seniors. That, combined with the results from I’ve had, ability-wise,” she said. “It should be last year, allows optimism for 2016. “They made a drastic improvement with the very good for them, especially since we were in some competitive tournaments and some hard same strong schedule,” she said. Spain Park should have no shortage of games [last year].”
280Living.com
r e m m u s PHOTO CONTEST ? S U E K A T U O Y L L I W E R E WH
DEADLINE IS AUGUST 5 Winners will be announced in our September issue. Category 1: Any summer fun photo Category 2: A summer fun photo displaying a copy of 280 Living wherever you are To enter: Email high resolution photos in .JPG format, captions including location and photo credits to kwilliams@starnespublishing. com. Four photos allowed per person.
August 2016 • B23
280 Living
B24 • August 2016
OMHS alumna takes fashion knowledge
to NYC
By ERICA TECHO When it came to starting her career after college, Courtney Maddox said she didn’t expect to end up in New York City. “I went to University of Alabama, and I was studying fashion merchandising and business,” the Oak Mountain High School graduate said. “I never had New York on my mind at all really, except for an internship.” But after she graduated from Alabama in 2015, New York is where she ended up. Maddox works as a sales professional for an Italian luxury brand on Madison Avenue. Her company has a strict no-advertising policy, so she could not share the company name. Maddox’s first working experience in New York was during the fall semester of her senior year. Her college at UA has relationships with several businesses in
Birmingham, Atlanta, Tuscaloosa, Nashville and New York City, and students are able to apply and interview for internships in those cities. Maddox chose to apply for internships in New York because she knew interning with a NYC-based fashion company was a great opportunity. During her junior year spring break, Maddox traveled to New York and interviewed with multiple companies. “It was the most nerve-wracking week of my life,” she said, “but it was so exciting just to be there and get a taste of the New York life, more so than I had experienced on previous vacations.” She received internship offers from each company she interviewed with and ended up selecting an internship with Diane Von Furstenburg. During her internship, Maddox said she learned more about the fashion industry and helped out with Market Weeks, but
Maddox graduated from the University of Alabama in 2015. Photos courtesy of Courtney Maddox.
280Living.com
August 2016 • B25
when the internship ended, she said she was happy to return to Alabama. “I was so happy to be there, but I looked forward to returning to school,” she said. “I re-adapted to Alabama and fell back in love with it.”
“At school, I definitely wasn’t expecting to be in a sales job, I guess, but with this particular job, I was learning about textiles, and I was learning about marketing and advertising in school and just the fashion business, so there’s a lot of crossover,” she said. Clients range from longtime customers to international royalty to new shoppers walking in off Madison Avenue, Maddox said. “When people come in, that’s why it’s so important for me to know about the product and speak about the product,” she said. “There’s so much to romance about because it’s not just a new sweater to show somebody.”
THE JOB HUNT
In the spring of her senior year, Maddox began applying for jobs, and options in New York City were not at the top of her list. Her internship coordinator at UA, however, sent an email about a job at an Italian luxury brand to all of the fashion students. The company with open positions normally went through Alabama’s business school, but chose to extend applications about its open sales professional positions to the fashion school as well, Maddox said. After hearing about the company and doing research on its involvement with textiles and clothing, Maddox applied. “I was doing all this research on the company, just trying to learn about them, and went to a group interview breakfast,” Maddox said. “I think I was just really impressed with the candor of the event.” The breakfast included a few other girls interviewing for the position, as well as three representatives of the company. Maddox was asked to continue the interview process following the breakfast and completed a personality test and went for an in-person interview in New York City. “They were so hospitable, and it wasn’t even an interview. It was more so them just spending time with us and observing our character and how we were,” Maddox said. On the last day of her New York trip, interviewees were asked to be “secret shoppers” for the company and to visit competing stores on Madison Avenue. The girls had to report back on how they were treated, what the store’s layout was like and how sales professionals stood up to those in the company for which they were interviewing. “That was really interesting because it kind of opened my eyes to that sort of world and how
BUILDING ON A FOUNDATION
Maddox, second from left, on the subway with some of her friends in New York City.
[this company] does things is very above the rest,” Maddox said.
LEAP OF FAITH
Two days after returning to Alabama, Maddox got a phone call and a job offer for the company’s store in New York City. She had been applying for other positions while going through the interview process, and the call came after she received a job offer at a Tuscaloosa-based boutique as well, she said. “It [the decision] took me a really long time because I also had a job offer from a boutique that I was working at in Tuscaloosa that I loved,” she said. “It was just easy
and comfortable.” The decision took her two weeks to make, and Maddox said she went back and forth between staying comfortable in Tuscaloosa or taking a leap of faith and moving to New York. In the end, however, she said the choice to move to New York was an easy one. The opportunity to be part of a prestigious international company was too great to pass up, she said. As a sales professional, Maddox works to develop client relationships at the store. The position requires her to stay educated on the textiles used by her company as well as have good interpersonal skills.
The job is difficult sometimes, Maddox said, but she has found it easy to be passionate about her company’s product and the work they do. Skills she learned at UA and Oak Mountain High School have also helped her manage her many responsibilities. “In high school, I was super involved,” she said. “That’s always been my personality, I just want to have responsibility and be part of whatever I can be a part of.” Maddox also was assistant drum major during her junior year and head drum major during her senior year, which she said taught her the importance of developing trust with the people you work with. She learned to lead and communicate with her band mates during those years, she said, and she has applied those skills to client relationships in her current job. “Being able to do that [drum major] was a huge, huge blessing and opportunity,” she said. “It was probably one of the best experiences of my life so far, and it really taught me to serve and care for people.” Maddox said she credits the opportunities she has received in school and in life to continuous prayer and God, and she is grateful for the many things she has been blessed with. “It’s been a really cool journey, and I look forward to seeing where it goes in the future,” she said.
280 Living
B26 • August 2016
Faith Life Actually By Kari Kampakis
12 Back-to-school prayers It’s that time of year again, time to pull out the backpacks, get haircuts, set up alarm clocks, and make 20 trips to Target because school is about to start, and Mom is on a mission. Wherever your heart is this season - whether you’re jumping for joy because you’re ready for some space, or crying on the sofa because you aren’t ready to let your kids go - you probably have mixed emotions about the school year ahead. You hope it will be a great one, but what if it’s not? You want your kids to excel and be happy, but what if they fall and struggle in ways you never saw coming? We moms like control, and not having control over the next nine months can make us a little, well, anxious. And since my favorite cure for anxiety is prayer, I’d like to share some prayers that might calm an anxious heart. Here goes: Dear Lord, Thank you for the gift of a new school year. Thank you for our school community and the great education our kids enjoy. With gratitude I pray for the following: 1. Confidence. Help my children see themselves through your eyes and draw strength from their confidence in you (“God is within her, she will not fall.” Psalm 46:5). 2. Kindness. Enable my children to be a blessing and a light to those they encounter (“So encourage each other and build each other up,
just as you are already doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11) 3. Wisdom. Open my children’s hearts and minds to your ways, and enlighten them with insight into your will (“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5) 4. Self-control. Give my children the discipline to work hard, control negative impulses, and grow in the virtues that draw them to you (“ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11) 5. Strong relationships. Surround my children with positive influences and godly friends who help them grow in your image and become the best version of themselves. (“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” 1 Corinthians 15:33) 6. Courage. Instill in my children the courage to be true to themselves and faithful to you, even if it means standing alone (“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8). 7. Faith. Fix my children’s eyes on the big picture and keep their minds in awe of your ability to create, control, and sustain the universe (“The men were amazed and asked,
‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him.’” Matthew 8:27). 8. Peace. Calm my children’s hearts when they feel stressed, worried, or lost. Remind them you are the God of peace, not confusion. Make your presence known as you carry them through trials and challenges (“I am leaving you with a gift; peace of mind and of heart. And the peace I give you is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27). 9. Clarity. Help my children hear your voice and see you at work in their lives. Make it clear what you want them to do (“For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.” Job 33:14). 10. Fortitude. Give my children strength and grit when they get tested, and help them recognize any escapes that you provide (“And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13). 11. Protection. Armor my children physically, mentally, and spiritually. Surround them with angels to guard them and guide them. Cultivate sharp instincts in each of them that allow them to be gentle yet smart. (“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16) 12. Hope. Equip my children to bounce back quickly from daily disappointments. Keep them
anchored in the hope of heaven, the joy of Jesus, and the security of your promises (“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. Moms, I’m thinking of you and your families as this new school year begins. Whether you’re sending your baby off to kindergarten, your oldest child to college, or something in between, I pray that God watches over your children and blesses them with positive growth as they start new adventures and spread their wings wide. It’s all good, and it’s all going to be okay. Our kids have lessons to learn and so do we, and if we can settle our fears and anxieties, we can get excited about what’s in store and maybe even anticipate the thrill of the unknown and the pleasant surprises that await. Kari Kubiszyn Kampakis is a Birmingham mom of four girls, columnist, and blogger for The Huffington Post. Her newest book, “LIKED: Whose Approval Are You Living For?”, releases Nov. 15 and is available for pre-order on Amazon. Her first book, “10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know,” is available everywhere books are sold. Join Kari’s Facebook community at “Kari Kampakis, Writer,” visit her blog at karikampakis.com or contact her at kari@karikampakis.com.
280Living.com
August 2016 • B27
Kay Colgan, right, and Taylor Hackett play together on a team in a match of pickleball, a sport all ages can play, Colgan said.
PICKLEBALL
CONTINUED from page B1 as well. The gymnasium now boasts two courts. Colgan and a small group of pickleball players started playing at the community center in April, and in the last few months, their numbers have grown from six players a day to often more than 12. They play in the Chelsea Community Center every Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m., and Colgan said they also have attracted some players at Heardmont Park. Heardmont Park broke ground on two pickleball courts in March, said player Lisa Bond, and they have seen their group double in size since getting designated courts. Bond said she typically prefers to play outside, but having the option between indoor and outdoor courts is beneficial. “It’s great to have those out there [at Heardmont Park], but if it’s raining or even in the winter time when it’s really cold, we’ll be able to play indoors at Chelsea,” she said. “It gives you the best of both worlds, really.” The pickleball groups in Chelsea and at Heardmont Park both hold game play and practice during the day, but Bond and Colgan said they would like to start night play for people who work during the day. All it would take to get that started is proof of interest, Colgan said. One of the appealing qualities of the sport is that it can be played by people of all ages, Colgan said. For seniors, the sport is a good way to remain active and get exercise without the strain that comes with other sports. “You can play this longer than you can play tennis,” Colgan said. The lighter weight balls also help, she said. They move more slowly and are easier to hit, and because of that, they do not hurt as badly if they accidentally hit you. “There are really two categories of people [who play],” said Neill Beavers, a Mt Laurel resident who plays pickleball at the community
center. “If you look at the old people like me who are retired, it’s a great way to get an elevated cardio state for a time and to have fun at the same time. … Secondly, there’s a lot of people who play sports like tennis and have joint problems.” Because pickleball is easier on joints and gives a fun mode of exercise and friendly competition, Bond said it has grown in retirement communities. Even though it’s popular among seniors, Colgan said that people of all ages can and should play. When they would play at the community center during the summer, Colgan said she would call over any kids who were standing around watching. “I’d say, ‘Come over here, and let me teach you pickleball,’” she said. Age and strength are also not as vital in pickleball as they are in other sports, Beavers said. Sometimes strategy wins over strength, and a 70-year-old could easily beat out a 20-year-old on the court. “It’s more on touch than it is on power,” Colgan said. “It’s about placing the ball, kind of like ping pong. The winner shot is always between the two people.” In states where pickleball is well known and thriving, there are tournaments and competitions. While some pickleball players, like Colgan, hope to join in on the competition, others are content with just having fun. “I just think that we are not competitive about it,” Bond said. “We are just out there to have fun. I do think it can get competitive, but for right now, we are just enjoying being out there and hitting the ball.” As pickleball play grows on its new designated courts in Shelby County, Bond said she would encourage people to join them and ask questions. And if they’re still unsure about the sport, a web search can show them more. “Google it and see what it’s about,” she said. “That’s what we always tell people when they’re like, ‘What’s pickleball?’” For more information about pickleball in Shelby County, visit Pickleball North Shelby on Facebook.
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280 Living
B28 • August 2016
280
Real Estate Listings MLS #
Zip
Address
Status
Price
756728
35242
5420 Afton Drive
New
$449,000
756731
35242
2993 Kelham Grove Way
New
$398,000
756706
35242
5368 Pineywood Road
New
$289,900
756600
35242
1061 Belvedere Cove
New
$319,999
756575
35242
5364 Pineywood Road
New
$525,000
756532
35242
3191 Crossings Drive
New
$310,000
756510
35242
1121 Monaghan Drive
New
$239,900
756499
35242
1017 Eagle Crest Circle
New
$414,900
756476
35242
2317 Maury Place
New
$374,000
756472
35242
4840 Shady Waters Lane
New
$975,000
756470
35242
36 Abbott Square
New
$319,000
756608
35242
2325 Altadena Crest Drive
New
$319,900
756439
35242
3001 Somerset Trace
New
$529,000
756404
35242
1564 Laurens Street
New
$334,900
756352
35242
1001 Kingswood Road
New
$359,000
756742
35043
10 El Camino Real
New
$549,900
756522
35043
1004 Edgewater Lane
New
$319,989
756489
35043
119 Autry Drive
New
$129,000
756399
35043
207 Woodbridge Trail
New
$369,900
756392
35043
3095 Chelsea Park Ridge
New
$249,900
Real estate listings provided by the Birmingham Association of Realtors on July 19. Visit birminghamrealtors.com.
5420 Afton Drive
2325 Altadena Crest Drive
280Living.com
August 2016 • B29
Calendar 280 Area Events Saturdays: Valleydale Farmers Market. 4601 Valleydale Road. 8 a.m.-noon. Visit valleydalefarmersmarket.com. Saturdays: Lee Branch Farmer’s Market. 8 a.m.noon. Kids activities, fresh fruits and vegetables and Alabama artisans and craftsman. Visit facebook.com/ themarketplaceatleebranch. Aug. 2: Greater Shelby Chamber Small Business Mentorship Program. 8 a.m. Greater Shelby County Chamber, Pelham. Visit business.shelbychamber.org. Aug. 3: Greater Shelby Chamber Ambassadors Work Group. 11:30 a.m. Location varies. Visit business.shelbychamber.org.
Aug. 14: DivorceCare & DC4K (DivorceCare for Kids). Inverness Vineyard Church, 4733 Valleydale Rd. 1:30 p.m. A special weekly support group and seminar to help deal with the pain of the past and look forward to rebuilding your life. DC4K is a special group (Ages 5-12) to help your children heal from the pain caused by a separation or divorce. Visit invernessvineyard.org. Aug. 18: Network280. Carrabba’s Italian Grill, 4503 Riverview Pkwy. Expand business contacts at this event. $10 Chamber investors/$20 future investors. Visit business.shelbychamber.org. Aug. 19: Athleta Trunk Show. All day. Pure Barre 280, 610 Inverness Corners. Call 991-5224.
Aug. 3: Greater Shelby Chamber Small Business Work Group. 4 p.m. Location to be determined. Visit business.shelbychamber.org.
Aug. 20: Open House. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Pure Barre 280. Free classes during open house/retail items on sale. Email 280@purebarre.com
Aug. 9: Greater Shelby Chamber Education Work Group. 8:30 a.m. Location varies. Visit shelbychamber.org/benefits/work- roups.
Aug. 20: GoodFellas Jazz Duo. 7:30 p.m. Shelby County Arts Council, 104 Mildred St., Columbiana. $20. Visit shelbycountyartscouncil.com.
Aug. 10: Greater Shelby Chamber Existing Business & Industry Work Group. 8:30 a.m. Location varies. Visit shelbychamber.org/benefits/work- roups.
Aug. 20: Autism Shines Gala. Birmingham Marriott Hotel. Complimentary cocktails, seated dinner and live and silent auction. $65. Visit eventbrite.com.
Aug. 12: Greater Shelby Chamber Health Services Work Group. 8:30 a.m. Location varies. Visit shelbychamber.org/benefits/work- roups.
Aug. 25: Greater Shelby Chamber Governmental Work Group. 8:30 a.m. Location varies. Visit shelbychamber.org/benefits/work- roups.
Aug. 13: Night Excursion. Oak Mountain State Park. 6:30 p.m. Evening walk through the woods no more than two miles in length. Visit shelbycountytourism. org.
Beginning Sept. 8: GriefShare. Faith Presbyterian Church. Thursday nights from 7 p.m.-8:45 p.m. Helping with the loss of a spouse, parent, child or family member. Trained facilitators will guide through difficult experiences Runs through Dec. 15. $20 registration fee. Visit griefshare.org/groups/63460.
Aug. 13: SCAC Story Teller Night. 7:30 p.m. Shelby County Arts Council, 104 Mildred St., Columbiana. $25. Visit shelbycountyartscouncil.com.
Chelsea Library Wednesdays: The Tot Spot. 10:30 a.m. 30-minute story time for preschoolers with reading, singing and dancing.
Birmingham’s Premiere Design/Build Custom Home Builder
We’ve built 300 custom homes in Birmingham. Our process starts with your wish list and a realistic budget. We’ll guide you every step of the way—in developing one-of-a-kind plans to creating memorable details for your dream home.
Fridays: BYOC (Bring your own crochet/craft). 10 a.m. Aug. 13: Lego Club. 9:30 a.m. For ages 5 and up.
North Shelby Library Adults Aug. 18: NSL Book Club. 10: 30 a.m.-noon. “A Soft Place to Land” by Susan Rebecca White. Contact Michelyn Reid at 439.5510 or nsref@shelbycounty-al.org Story-Time Programming Wednesdays: Mr. Mac (Storyteller Extraordinaire!). 10:45 a.m. Stories, puppets and lots of music for every member of the family. All ages. No registration. Teen Fridays (Aug. 12-19): Gaming. 3-5:45 p.m. Come to the teen department each Friday afternoon for open gaming. Board games, card games, Wii, XBOX ONE and Minecraft. Contact Kate at 439-5512 or nsyouth@shelbycounty-al.org for more information.
www.wedgworth.net (205) 967-1831 Our Neighborhoods: Viridian Glen Manor Village Place
280 Living
B30 • August 2016
St. Vincent’s One Nineteen Wednesdays: Wellness Wednesdays. To promote healthy living and to highlight the wide range of services and offerings here at St. Vincent’s One Nineteen, we have started Wellness Wednesdays! Stop by the Fitness Center for the following events: August 3: Packing Healthy Lunches; August 10: Sunscreen Promotion; August 17: Active Moms – New Routine, New You; August 24: Immunizations by BIMA Nurse Practitioner, Elizabeth Fuller; August 31: Back to School Basic Hygiene – Urgent Care. Wednesdays: Baby Café. 10 a.m.-noon. We invite breastfeeding moms to join us for our lactation support group meeting. Moms will have the opportunity to meet with a lactation consultant, as well as network with other breastfeeding moms. The group is designed to give breastfeeding moms encouragement and support, as well as helpful information and tips from our expert. This event is free, and registration is not required. Aug. 9: Blood Pressure/Body Mass Index Screening. 8-11:30 a.m. A representative from Wellness Services will be screening for blood pressure and BMI in the front entrance. This screening is free. Aug. 11: Coping Skills for Labor and Delivery. 6:30-8:30 p.m. This class is designed for the expectant mother and a support person to participate together in practicing relaxation, breathing and comforting techniques for labor. Please call 939-7878 for reservations. The cost is $10 a couple. Aug. 16:Comprehensive Diabetes Education. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. If you have diabetes or are at risk, this seminar is a must. A physician’s referral is required. Pre-assessments given preceding the class time. To register, please call 939-7248.
Aug. 18: Walk and Talk. 9-9:30 a.m. Have a burning food or nutrition question? Join one of our dietitians, Jessica Cox, RDN for a walk and ask questions related to healthy food choices, shopping, cooking and more. Meet at the Fitness Desk at 9 a.m. We will walk the outdoor trail or indoor track depending on weather. Aug. 18: Cuisine at One Nineteen - Farmers Market Finds. 6-7:30 p.m. Come and enjoy the healthy, fresh and local tastes from Chef Sean Butler of the new Revolve Kitchen & Brew in Lee Branch. Chef Butler will prepare fish tacos and salsa, slaw and succotash while discussing basic vegetable preparation. Bring a friend and a bottle of wine and enjoy a relaxing evening. Call 408-6550 to register. The cost is $25 per person. Aug. 19: Summer Salads and Simple Dressings. 11 a.m.-noon. Making your own homemade salad dressing can seem daunting, but master the basic method and you can create endless combinations while cutting sodium and added sugar as compared to store-bought dressings. Come learn easy base recipes that can be adapted whatever your taste preference, and taste some of our favorite salad sensations. The cost is $12 per person for tasting and recipes. Please call 408-6550 for your reservations. Aug 23: Breakfast with the Doc – Tips for Effective and Healthy Weight Loss. 8-9 a.m. Join Adam Carroll, MD, family medicine physician with Birmingham Internal Medicine Associates, for a fun and interactive discussion about losing weight effectively. You will receive practical advice on how to both lose weight the healthy way and distinguish fact from fiction. Additionally, you will learn how healthy weight affects your overall health and wellbeing. Bring your questions and
DHL
enjoy a light breakfast. Please call 408-6550 to register for this free event. Aug. 25: Breastfeeding: A Great Start. 6:30-8:30 p.m. This class is designed to help you gain knowledge and skills needed for a successful breastfeeding experience. Common challenges and solutions will be identified and discussed. Please register by calling 939-7878. The cost is $15 per couple. Aug. 26: Tiny Tot Chef Club. 8:30-9:30 a.m. or 9:45-10:45 a.m. Join us for this new simple cooking class for ages 3-5 years where your little chef will experience food with all of the senses. We will make a dragonfly sandwich and a strawberry pizza and read “The Hungry Caterpillar.” Help your child get started eating well for a lifetime. The cost is $10 per child with an eight-child minimum. Please call 408-6550 for reservations. Aug . 30: Wellness Screenings. 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. To stay abreast of your numbers, cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure, BMI and waist circumference screenings will be held by appointment. Results and interpretation in 15 minutes with a simple finger stick. The cost is $20 for members and nonmembers. Call 408-6550 to register. Aug. 30: Thyme to Cook. 4-6 p.m. with dinner served at 6 p.m. Help your kids get ready to make dinner for the family with this kid-only cooking class. Kids will learn valuable skills to ready them for a lifetime of better eating, while enjoying summer favorites. Jamaican pork tenderloin with herbed potato salad and a broccoli grape salad will set the stage for a fun class. The cost is $25 per child. Enjoy dinner with your young chef for $5 per family member with an advance reservation.
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280Living.com
August 2016 • B31
Area Events Saturdays through Dec. 10: Pepper Place Market. 7 a.m.-12 p.m. Visit pepperplacemarket.com. Aug. 1: BAO Bingo. Birmingham AIDS Outreach. 7 p.m. $15 for 5 games. Visit birminghamaidsoutreach.org. Aug. 1-4: Birmingham Barons v. Tennessee Smokies. Regions Field. $7-$14. 7:05 p.m. nightly. Visit barons.com. Aug. 4: Meta Fitness New Year, New You Reveal Party. 6 p.m. Benefiting the Children’s Center for Weight Management at Children’s of Alabama. Featuring food, fun and silent auction. Tickets $20 advance, $25 at the door. Visit metafitstudio.com/ nyny16. Aug. 4: WWE Presents: NXT Live. BJCC Concert Hall. 7:30 p.m. $20-$75. Visit wwe. com/events. Aug. 4-6: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. South City Theatre, Pelham. Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. $13 students/seniors, $16 general admission. Visit southcitytheatre.com. Aug. 4-6: Disney’s Beauty & The Beast Jr. Virginia Samford Theatre. Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m. $15 students, $25 reserved seating. Visit virginiasamfordtheatre.org. Aug. 5-6: Three on a String: 45 Year Reunion Show. Lyric Theatre. $22-$40. 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Visit lyricbham.com/events. Aug. 5-6: Secret Stages Music Discovery Festival. Downtown Birmingham Loft District. $15-$75. Friday, 6 p.m.-12 a.m. and 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturday. Visit secretstages. net. Aug. 5-6: Magic City Reggae Festival. Boutwell Auditorium. $35 and up. Visit magiccityreggaefestival.com. Aug. 6: Southeastern Outings Beach Party (Not on the Gulf Coast). Near Marion, AL. Depart 9 a.m. from McDonalds Galleria location. Contact seoutings@bellsouth.net. Aug. 6: Ignite Birmingham 2016. Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Conference about social advocacy, social entrepreneurship, and special needs issues in the world today. Visit kulturecity.org. Aug. 6: Pup Crawl. Avondale Brewing Company. 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Benefiting the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. $10 donation. Visit avondalebrewing.com. Aug. 6: The Oak Ridge Boys. 7:30 p.m. BJCC Concert Hall. $29.95-$59.95. Visit ticketmaster.com. Aug. 6: KultureBall 2016. Events at Haven. Celebrity and philanthropy walk hand in hand to promote acceptance, foster awareness and raise funds for programs benefiting children & families with autism. Visit kulturecity.org. Aug. 11-15: Birmingham Barons v. Chattanooga Lookouts. Regions Field. $7-$14. Thursday-Friday, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m.; Monday, 7:05 p.m. Visit barons.com. Aug. 13: Babypalooza Baby & Maternity Expo. BJCC Exhibition Halls. Free, registration required. Visit birminghambabypalooza2016.eventbrite.com. Aug. 13: SCAC Story Teller Night. 7:30 p.m. Shelby County Arts Council, 104 Mildred St., Columbiana. $25. Visit shelbycountyartscouncil.com.
Aug. 13: Baby Steps Memorial 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run. 7 a.m. Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park. Proceeds benefit the Amelia Center at Children’s of Alabama. Registration $15-$30. Visit babystepsal.org. Aug. 13: Beer, Bands & Bullies 2016. Avondale Brewing Company. Benefiting Bama Bully Rescue. $10 donation. Visit avondalebrewing.com. Aug. 17: Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon and Tesla. 7 p.m. Oak Mountain Amphitheatre. $25-$125. Visit livenation.com. Aug. 17-21: Birmingham Barons v. Jackson Generals. Regions Field. $7-$14. 7:05 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. Visit barons.com. Aug. 18: Vino & Van Gogh. 6 p.m. Iron City Birmingham. Silent auction, music, wine tasting and more. $35/person or $60/couple. Visit ucpbham.presencehost.net/events. Aug. 19-21: Cirque du Soleil Presents: Toruk- The First Flight.” Legacy Arena. 7:30 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday. Visit cirquedusoleil. com/toruk. Aug. 20: Alabama Tour de Cure + Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes. 6:30 a.m. Railroad Park. $25 for cyclists, free for walkers. Visit diabetes.org/Birmingham. Aug. 20-21: Tannehill Trade Days. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park. $3-$5. Visit tannehill.org. Aug. 20: Just A Call Away 5K & 1 Mile Run. 8 a.m. Uptown Birmingham. Presented by Crisis Center. $15-30. Visit runsignup. com. Aug. 20: 3rd Annual EAB Heart+Sole 5K and Kids Run. 8 a.m. Campus Green $20$30. Visit active.com. Aug. 20: Autism Shines Gala. 6 p.m. Birmingham Marriott Hotel. Complimentary cocktails, seated dinner and live and silent auction. $65. Visit eventbrite.com. Aug. 20: GoodFellas Jazz Duo. 7:30 p.m. Shelby County Arts Council, 104 Mildred St., Columbiana. $20. Visit shelbycountyartscouncil.com. Aug. 21: Southern Bridal Show. BJCC Exhibition Hall. 12 p.m.-5 p.m. $12 advance/$15 at the door. Visit eliteevents.com. Aug. 21: Family Bible Records Preservation Workshop. Birmingham Public Library. Offered by the Lily of the Cahaba Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution from 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Registration is encouraged, but not required, with an email to lilyofthecahaba@ gmail.com.
The Southern Living Idea House is now our house. This summer, we invite you to see the Town of Mt Laurel’s latest collaboration with Southern Living Magazine. What began with our recognition as a Southern Living Inspired Community has expanded to include the 2016 Southern Living Idea House. Mt Laurel is proud to have been chosen for this showcase event that also coincides with Southern Living’s 50th anniversary celebration.
The Southern Living Idea House at Mt Laurel is Now Open, Wednesday–Sunday. Tickets $15 at the door.
Aug. 25: Live at the Lyric: Lewis Black. Lyric Theatre. $39.50-$54.50. Visit lyricbham.com/ events. Aug. 26-28: 18th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival. Downtown Birmingham. Visit sidewalkfest. com for information. Aug. 26-28: Rick and Bubba Outdoor Expo. BJCC Exhibition Halls. 5 p.m.- 9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 12 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. $10 adults, 12 and under free. Visit rickandbubbaoutdoorexpo.com. Aug. 27: Southeastern Outings Creek Wade in Collier Creek, Bankhead National Forest. 8 a.m. Meet at Hayden/Corner Park and Ride, exit 284 off I-65 North. For information, email seoutings@bellsouth.net. Aug 27-28: Sports Car Club of America. Barber Motorsports Park. 8 am.-5 p.m. Visit scca.com/events.
mtlaurel.com
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(205) 408-8696
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