Sun
February 2014 • 1
HooverSun.com
Neighborly news & entertainment for Hoover
New leadership
Volume 2 | Issue 5 | February 2014
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Decision from top prospect Humphrey to highlight Signing Day Which Hoover High and Spain Park athletes are expected to sign? Find out inside. By JEFF THOMPSON What’s in store for the upcoming school year? Find out from our interview inside with Dr. Mary Lynn Hanily, new executive director of the Hoover City Schools Foundation.
School House page 19
Celebrating service
This month, eyes across the state — and the nation — will be on Hoover Buccaneer Marlon Humphrey. Humphrey, a state record holder in multiple track and field events and All-American cornerback for the Buccaneer football team, is ranked as one of the nation’s top high school recruits. As of late January, Humphrey had yet to select which university he would attend in the fall of 2014. Humphrey is expected to announce his decision on Feb. 5, National Signing Day. He’s currently considering offers from Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan State, Mississippi State, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. He
See SIGNING DAY | page 22
This Valentine’s Day, the Hoover Service Club will host the Hearts and Harmony Gala at Embassy Suites. Proceeds benefit local charities and fund scholarships for students. Read more inside.
Hoover cornerback Marlon Humphrey put on dazzling displays throughout the 2013 season, leading the Buccaneer defense to its second consecutive AHSAA State Championship. Photo courtesy of Kevin Brooks / Hoover City Schools.
An anniversary of hope Ladun Conquer Cancer Run to celebrate 10 years this month
Community page 11
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Community ...... 10 School House .. 15 Sports ............... 22 Calendar ........... 26
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Sarah Salzmann is in her first year of working with the Brenda Ladun Conquer Cancer Run. She is currently fundraising chair at UAB.
By JEFF THOMPSON and REBECCA WALDEN As the Brenda Ladun Conquer Cancer Run prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Hoover Sun looks at where some of the people involved in the race found their motivation to aid others in the fight.
Kristin Berney, right, is associate executive director of the American Cancer Society’s Birmingham Chapter. She is pictured with her mother, Angie McDonald, before McDonald’s death more than a decade ago.
Sarah Salzmann All four of Sarah Salzmann’s grandparents battled cancer around the same time. It was a decade ago, and Salzmann was 12 years old. Their fights were all different, suffering from lung, ovarian and thyroid cancers. She remembers most of all what it
Brenda Ladun Bell founded the Conquer Cancer Run 10 years ago after surviving breast cancer. This year’s event will be held March 1.
was like for her mother, helpless as these despicable diseases consumed her parents. “It’s been 10 years, and it’s still hard to talk about it,” Salzmann said through tears. “As a child, you don’t want to see your parents hurt like that. Think about your own mom and what that would look
like. All I wanted was to take her pain away.” Though she might have tried, she never could. But what little difference she made became a theme in her life. In high school, she discovered an insatiable urge — a passion,
See CONQUER | page 25
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