Hoover Sun June 2023

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Retired

Simmons science teacher makes waves in Nashville

ROAD READY ROAD READY

Project Search provides job training for young adults with disabilities.

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Track & Field

Bucs sweep state outdoor titles for 2nd straight year.

See page B10

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Schoolhouse B4 Events B7 Sports B10

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By GRACE THORNTON

Robert Abernathy said if you had told him 16 years ago when he was just starting his teaching career at Simmons Middle School that this year he’d be getting on a bus for a country music tour, he never would’ve believed you.

But Kevin Erwin, who taught and coached with him at Simmons and later became his principal, said he’s not surprised in the least.

“He’s honestly one of those people you want to hate because he’s so good at everything,” joked Erwin, now principal of Shades Mountain Elementary School. “He’s truly a Renaissance man with a knack

for doing everything well — a great athlete, a great science teacher, a great communicator, a great artist. But the thing that really makes him lovable is he downplays all that.”

Abernathy plays right into Erwin’s last description — he says the story here isn’t that he’s good; it’s that he’s “old.”

“I’m turning 50 this year,” Abernathy said.

Abernathy started playing with a gospel group in the early ’90s when he was almost out of high school. Then after his band won first place at the Nashville Starbound Competition at the Grand Ole Opry House in 1995, “things kind of fizzled out.

See ROAD | page A19

Hoover Met Complex activity heats up June-August Summer surge

By JON ANDERSON

Don’t be surprised if the roads, restaurants and hotels around the Hoover Metropolitan Complex are more crowded than usual over the next few months.

With summertime arriving and

kids out of school, the Hoover Met Complex is hopping.

“Summer is our peak season. It’s our busiest time of the year,” said Shannon Ealy, general manager of

See HOOVER MET | page A18

SERVING HOOVER, THE 280 CORRIDOR, HOMEWOOD, MOUNTAIN BROOK, TRUSSVILLE AND VESTAVIA HILLS

Robert Abernathy, a former seventh grade science teacher at Simmons Middle School and current resident of Nashville, stands in front of a mural at Margarita Grill in Pelham before playing a show with his band on April 15. Photo by Erin Nelson.

Youth baseball teams compete in the Perfect Game Deep South Fall Elite Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in September 2021. Photo courtesy of Sports Facilities Management.

About Us

Editor’s Note By Jon Anderson

Cause and effect frequently are hard to link together, but I think it’s fair to say construction of the new athletic facilities around Hoover Metropolitan Stadium has had a dramatic impact on the economy in Hoover.

The Hoover Metropolitan Complex had an economic impact of at least $55 million in fiscal 2022, and that doesn’t count the impact of the SEC Baseball Tournament, The World Games softball competition or the Hot Rod Power Tour, which together brought in more than 250,000 people, the complex’s manager has said.

That $55 million came primarily from the many athletic tournaments being held at the Hoover Met, mostly youth sporting events. And at no time is that impact felt more than in the summer, when kids are out of school and athletic teams hit the road for multi-day tournaments.

So, I hope our cover story on what’s planned this summer at the Hoover Met

Complex will be informative for you and give you a better idea about the variety of events happening, the number of people they bring into town and the impact on the economy.

When we went to press, the Hoover Met was booked for at least 80 of the 92 days in June, July and August, not including summer camps, and all 13 weekends were booked with at least one special event. The combined expected

economic impact of five Perfect Game baseball tournaments alone is expected to exceed $17 million, with 610 teams coming into town in June and July.

That’s just the baseball tournaments.

So don’t be surprised to continue seeing more hotels, restaurants and stores pop up in western Hoover. And lots of unfamiliar young people, parents and siblings sitting next to you as you go out to eat.

I know some people would rather not see more people crowding into the city, but let’s make sure to show some hospitality to our guests and treat them the way we like to be treated when we’re on the road. Have a great summer!

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Volunteers put crawfish in containers at the 2023 Hope for Autumn Crawfish Boil in the Ross Bridge community in Hoover on April 29. Photo by Jon Anderson.

WE’RE LEAVING A INVESTING IN THE FUTURE, ONE LEGACY AT A TIME

Dora and Sanjay Singh understand investing. That’s why their estate plan includes a gift to the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

By focusing on education and cultural opportunities, Dora and Sanjay believe their gift will make Birmingham a more inclusive home for people from all over the world and build bridges to a better future for generations to come.

Sanjay says, “We trust the Community Foundation to manage our legacy gift because they have the experience, history and collaborative spirit to drive the transformational change we envision for Birmingham.”

Visit cfbham.org/legacy and learn how you can join Dora and Sanjay in creating a lasting legacy for our community.

Hoover council OKs $1.4 million for drainage projects

By JON ANDERSON

The Hoover City Council in May agreed to spend almost $1.4 million to correct four stormwater drainage problems in and around Bluff Park.

The biggest project is a $1,080,526 job in the 600 block of South Sanders Road that includes replacement of a culvert, increasing the capacity of a roadside ditch and the construction of a retaining wall to keep cars out of the ditch, City Engineer Chris Reeves said.

That job came in about $826,000 over budget, Council President John Lyda said. Reeves said the project will be extremely challenging because a lot of the work will have to be done by hand. There is a dam nearby, and contractors believe use of heavy equipment would compromise the dam on adjacent property, Reeves said.

Gillespie Construction, which submitted the lowest responsible bid, was expected to start the repair job in late May and has 120 days to complete it, Reeve, he said.

The council also awarded a $300,000 contract to Avery Landscaping & Associates for three stormwater drainage projects, to replace a culvert on Maiden Lane, add an extra drainage pipe on Linda Avenue and replace a drainage inlet at the bottom of the cul-de-sac on Pavillon Drive.

Those projects, which came in under budget, were to start in late May or early June and be completed within 45 days, Reeves said.

All the projects are within public rights of way, except the headwall of the culvert on Maiden Lane extends into an adjacent easement, he said. Also, the South Sanders Road and Linda Avenue projects were recommended improvements in a drainage study done by Schoel Engineering in 2021, Reeves said.

In other business on May 1, the Hoover council:

► Agreed to pay Avery Landscaping & Associates $225,000 to build a sidewalk along Old Columbiana Road between Patton Chapel Road and Green Valley Elementary School. The project, which came in within budget, should be done before school starts, Reeves said.

► Approved the agreement between the city, Hoover Parks and Recreation Board and Southeastern Conference to have the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Hoover

Metropolitan Complex in 2023 and 2024 and to give the SEC a one-year option to extend the agreement under current terms for 2025.

► Declared 29 vehicles and furniture being replaced in the suites at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium as obsolete, so they can be disposed of or sold at auction. The vehicles include eight Chevrolet Tahoes, four Chevrolet Impalas, three Dodge Chargers, three Ford Crown Victorias, two impounded Freightliner trucks, two Harley Davidson motorcycles, two 14-passenger buses, a Ford F-150 pickup truck, a Ford F-750 truck, an International 4300 truck, a

The Hoover City Council has agreed to pay $1,080,526 for a stormwater drainage improvement project in the 600 block of South Sanders Road that includes replacement of a culvert, increasing the capacity of a roadside ditch and the construction of a retaining wall to keep cars out of the ditch.

by Jon Anderson.

Chevrolet C-3500 truck and a Chevrolet Silverado. The vehicles were made from 1995 to 2014, and problems ranged from engine or transmission failure to high maintenance costs and being past service life, records show.

► Declared 330 broken MiFi portable routers as obsolete.

► Approved an agreement for Alabama Power to relocate utility lines between Veterans Park and along Valleydale Road and Inverness Parkway as part of a road widening project.

► Agreed to pay Willo Products Co. $16,085 to maintain the doors at the Hoover Jail.

Photo

Christine seeks to replace Ammons on JeffCo Commission

By NEAL EMBRY

With Jefferson County Commissioner Steve Ammons stepping down to become CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance on May 31, that leaves a vacancy on the County Commission.

As of May 15, only one person had announced to run for the spot — Mountain Brook resident Brian Christine, a urologist who ran unsuccessfully last year for the Alabama Senate District 15 seat held by Dan Roberts.

The District 5 seat on the Jefferson County Commission that Ammons is vacating covers much of southeast Jefferson County, including Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and portions of Hoover and Homewood.

The county’s election commission will have seven days from May 31 to set a date for a special election, and the election must be held between 40 and 100 days from the time it is set, said Helen Hays, director of public information for the county.

Christine, who works at Urology Centers of Alabama in Homewood, praised Ammons’ work on the County Commission, specifically in economic development. He said his goal would be to continue that effort and take care of existing businesses while recruiting new ones.

“I really understand we have to promote a positive environment and a business- and worker-friendly environment,” Christine said.

Christine said he was approached by members of the County Commission who felt he could do well as a commissioner. Being a partowner and manager in his business and managing others has equipped him to serve on the commission, he said.

If elected, his goals would include maintaining county infrastructure, overseeing the budget, recruiting new businesses and taking advantage of Jefferson County’s technology pipeline, highlighting the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Kratos SRE and Southern Research, he said.

As a longtime resident and employee in Jefferson County, Christine said he owes the

community a lot, and this position allows him to serve and give back.

AMMONS’ NEW ROLE

Ammons, who lives in Vestavia Hills, will begin his new role with the Birmingham Business Alliance on June 1. The BBA is the seven-county region’s primary economic development agency. Ammons’ role will be to lead collaboration between the BBA and its community partners across the region to “ensure the alignment and achievement of strategic objectives,” the BBA said in a news release.

“When we began the process of identifying a new CEO, the goal was to identify a successful candidate who understands the unique fabric of the Birmingham community and who would also bring immediate credibility and confidence to the role,” said Greg Curran, the BBA’s board chairman. “Steve Ammons has shown great leadership to the BBA over the years, and we

are all energized by his thoughtful vision for the organization’s future.”

Between November and December 2022, the BBA’s leadership approached Ammons about his interest in the role, he said, and while he didn’t think much of it at first, as he thought and prayed about it, he realized he had the skill set and relationships for it, he said.

“I’m looking forward to doing economic development full time,” he said. “I am excited to expand my service to the seven-county greater Birmingham region with the BBA. Birmingham has more opportunities in front of us than ever before. I look forward to working closely with the team, our investors and our partners in the community to advance economic growth and regional cooperation together.”

Ammons has served as chairman of the County Commission’s Economic Development Committee and Information Technology Committee.

He managed the recruitment of The J.M. Smucker Co., which resulted in a $1.2 billion capital investment. “He played a critical role in driving cohesion for the region through the Jefferson County Mayors Association as well as the establishment of the Jefferson County City Council Coalition,” the BBA said.

Ammons also served as the county’s primary liaison to the BBA, Alabama Department of Commerce, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama and the Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority.

Ammons said he is most proud of bringing Jefferson County into the top two counties statewide when it comes to capital investment and job development, and of helping create more regional cooperation among municipalities.

He also initiated the process of consolidating multiple 911 public safety answering points and championed legislation to streamline effective emergency management systems.

Far left: Dr. Brian Christine. Photo courtesy of Brian Christine. Left: Steve Ammons, a Vestavia Hills resident who has spent the past five years on the Jefferson County Commission, is leaving his current role to become CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. Photo courtesy of the Birmingham Business Alliance.

Mayor’s Minute

By

The city of Hoover continues to make a name for itself on the sports tourism map. This summer will be no different. I’m proud to say we’ll include an event in our lineup not just this year, but next year also, that allows all our athletes to take part.

Frank V. Brocato

Also, this year, for the first time in many years, The Hartford Nationals will expand to include adults as well as youth athletes with physical, visual and/or intellectual disability.

From July 8 to 15, the city of Hoover will host The Hartford Nationals at the Hoover Met Complex and other locations around the Hoover-Birmingham metro area. We’re thrilled that Lakeshore Foundation and the Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau will partner with us to help hold a great event.

Frank V. Brocato

It’s incredible to see our Hoover businesses already rallying around this wonderful event, preparing their venues to be as accessible as possible to our visitors. Events like this always bring thousands of dollars into our city. But more importantly, we want to greet our guests and visitors with the first-class, Southern hospitality we are known for.

The Hartford Nationals is the largest and longest-standing national sport championship event for athletes with a physical, visual and/or intellectual disability. 2023 marks the 66th year of competition. There are a few similar events around the country, but what sets The Hartford Nationals apart is that athletes must qualify to compete. They do so through one of more than two dozen local or regional Move United sanctioned competitions, a national governing body or high school athletic association sanctioned event, or other event held across the country and approved by Move United. In other words, these are the best of the best.

As your mayor, I encourage you to get out and enjoy this wonderful event. Even better, gather your family and friends and help by volunteering at one of the competitions. To sign up or find out more information, go to volgistics.com/ appform/2051969095.

I hope to see you next month enjoying The Hartford Nationals!

Business Happenings

NOW OPEN

Charm Thai, a Thai and Japanese steakhouse, has opened in the River Oaks Village shopping center at 3732 Lorna Road.

205-238-5796, charmthaihoover.com

My Phan has opened The Nail Spot in the Southlake Village shopping center at 4524 Southlake Parkway, Suite 17, next to Razor's Barber & Style Lounge, offering manicures and pedicures.

205-326-7397, The Nail Spot on Facebook

Scenthound, a dog grooming business, has opened its third location in the Birmingham area at 5190 Medford Drive, in The Shoppes at Highway 150 shopping center near Sprouts. Business partners Jacob Lee and Brett Basik already have Scenthound locations at The Village at Lee Branch in Hoover and on Hollywood Boulevard in Birmingham. The partners plan to open a total of 10 Scenthound locations in the Birmingham and Nashville areas. Scenthound focuses on cleaning dogs' skin, coat, ears, nails and teeth and, since opening its first location in Lee Branch a year ago, already has 1,700 members in its monthly care club. Monthly memberships, starting at $35, include a bath, ear cleaning, nail clip and teeth brushing. Haircuts and other services can be added as needed.

205-526-4266, scenthound.com

Steve Estress, Jeremy Hale and Brian Skelton have opened a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning installation and maintenance company called Air Experts at 7154 Cahaba Valley Road.

205-977-1642, theairexperts.net

COMING SOON

The Inspiration Co. plans to open a jewelry store at the Riverchase Galleria. The company has more than 50 locations in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. inspirationco.com

A new car wash called The Car Wash Guys is under construction on Valleydale Road between Taco Bell and the former Rite Aid Pharmacy, near the intersection of Valleydale Road and Caldwell Mill Road.

The Flipsies Furniture store at 4431 Creekside Ave. in the Patton Creek shopping center has relocated to 1811 Crestwood Blvd. in Irondale.

205-957-4001, flipsiesfurniture.com

The T-Mobile store at 4421 Creekside Ave., Suite 125, in the Patton Creek shopping center has relocated to 1707 Montgomery Highway in the Riverchase Promenade shopping center. 205-444-0138, t-mobile.com

NEW OWNERSHIP

Dr. David Friddle, who started Alford Avenue Veterinary Hospital 42 years ago, recently retired and sold his practice to Dr. Haley Burke and her husband, Dr. Adam Cooner. Burke has been with Alford Avenue Veterinary Hospital since 2010. Dr. Lisa Frederick, who has been a part of the practice for more than 20 years, will continue there as well. A retirement celebration for Dr. Friddle was held May 6. 205-823-6002, alfordavenueveterinaryhospital.com

NEWS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

ANNIVERSARIES

What's Your Flav, a shaved ice and funnel cake shop opened by Mia Thomas in The Plaza at Riverchase shopping center at 1851 Montgomery Highway, Suite 107, celebrated the one-year anniversary of its first brickand-mortar location in April. The business started as a food truck, which still operates. 205-461-6456, whatsyourflav.fun

Gabriel's Cafe, at 3706 Lorna Road in the River Oaks Village shopping center, celebrated its 30th anniversary on May 6. 205-985-0983

Baba Java Coffee at 4730 Chace Circle #124 is opening a second Hoover location off Alabama 119, across from Taco Mama and Edgar's Bakery. The new shop is expected to open this fall and will serve a full coffee menu, plus gelato pops and gelato shakes, the company said. 205-777-5984, babajavacoffee.com

RELOCATIONS AND RENOVATIONS

The Ted Townley State Farm agency recently located from Homewood to Inverness Corners in the Winn-Dixie shopping center. Office hours are Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

205-870-8696, statefarm.com/agent/us/al/ birmingham/ted-townley

The former Pizza Hut building in the River Oaks Village shopping center at 3740 Lorna Road was torn down in mid-May.

Dr. Bruce Irwin, who founded American Family Care as a single urgent care clinic at 1680 Montgomery Highway in Hoover in 1982, died April 14 at the age of 73 after a sudden illness. Irwin expanded his single Hoover clinic to dozens of other locations statewide and in 2013 launched its franchise model when the company acquired and rebranded a national urgent care franchise called Doctor's Express. Today, the American Family Care health care network encompasses more than 300 locations across 30 states. The company headquarters is at 3700 Cahaba Beach Road. The original clinic is still at 1680 Montgomery Highway in Hoover, and there also are locations at 5569 Grove Blvd. and 5410 U.S. 280. 205-403-8902, afcurgentcare.com

The American Heart Association has awarded Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama its national gold-level recognition for its commitment to employee health and well-being, as measured in the association’s 2022 Workforce Well-being Scorecard. The scorecard evaluates factors such as mental health policies, organizational well-being strategies to address burnout, health equity measures, employee financial resources and more to provide a comprehensive assessment of an organization’s culture of health. Gold is the second highest level of recognition and was achieved by 45% of the 381 organizations that completed the scorecard in 2022. 205-220-2100, bcbsal.org

PERSONNEL MOVES

Burn Boot Camp's Meadow Brook location at 1801 Doug Baker Blvd. has hired Abby Welborn as a front desk ambassador. She is a senior at Central Alabama Community College and plans to graduate in December with an associate's degree and pursue a bachelor's degree in exercise science. She also works as a nurse assistant in the pediatric intensive care unit at Children's of Alabama hospital. 205-903-8154, burnbootcamp.com/locations/ meadowbrook-al

DSLD AquaScapes recently celebrated its fourth anniversary. The AquaScapes division of DSLD Land Management is a water garden retail center offering pool supplies and pond and fountain resources. 205-437-1012, dsldland.com/water-gardens

Five Guys recently celebrated its first anniversary at the location in the Cahaba Market shopping center. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with delivery ending at 9:30 p.m.

205-407-4301, fiveguys.com

Besitos Mexican Kitchen is celebrating its one-year anniversary. It serves a combination of authentic Mexican dishes and Tex-Mex classics.

205-326-7248, facebook.com/ besitosmexicankitchen

BenchMark Physical Therapy is celebrating its one-year anniversary at the Valleydale Road location. BenchMark offers outpatient physical therapy options including manual therapy, injury prevention, return-to-performance therapy, total joint replacement, concussion management and vestibular rehabilitation programs. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

205-905-6922, benchmarkpt.com

The Lee Branch location of Express MRI is celebrating its three-year anniversary. It offers $499 all-inclusive MRIs with no doctor referral required and exam results within 24 hours.

205-834-8118, expressmri.com/mri-scanimaging-birmingham-al/

CLOSINGS

Bed Bath & Beyond is closing all of its stores, including the one at 1771 Montgomery Highway in Hoover, due to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The store is expected to close by the end of July unless merchandise sells out before then, a store employee said. Discounts will increase over time.

205-987-0106, bedbathandbeyond.com

Buy Buy Baby, a subsidiary of Bed, Bath & Beyond, is closing all 122 of its stores, including the one in the Patton Creek shopping center at 4351 Creekside Ave., as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

205-988-3027, buybuybaby.com

The Hoover Animal Clinic at 3249 Lorna Road has closed after 20 years of business.

Business news to share? If you have news to share with the community about a brick-and-mortar business in Hoover, let us know at starnesmedia.com/business-happenings

Birmingham Recovery Center offers telehealth with virtual drug testing

By JON ANDERSON

The Birmingham Recovery Center, an outpatient alcohol and drug treatment center in Hoover’s International Park, this year started offering telehealth services to help people who live farther away get treatment.

Officials there say they believe their center is the only one in Alabama that offers drug testing virtually as part of the treatment process.

The Birmingham Recovery Center utilizes a smartphone app called clearMINDnow, which uses saliva testing kits to determine if a person is using illicit substances during the treatment process.

Telehealth clients download the clearMINDnow app on their smartphone and are sent drug testing kits that are about the size of a pack of cigarettes, said Ian Henyon, executive director for the Birmingham Recovery Center.

Clients are tested at random times five times per month, Henyon said. They are sent messages on their phone and given six hours to complete the virtual testing process.

For each test, the client must do a live video of themselves opening a sealed testing kit and putting a large cotton swab in their mouth to gather saliva samples and immediately put the swab into the testing kit, Henyon said. A person is reviewing the video live to make sure the test is conducted properly, he said. Results are sent electronically to both the client and staff at the Birmingham Recovery Center within a few hours, he said.

If a person fails the test, they are asked to come in for a urine screen that is sent to a lab for analysis, Henyon said.

As of late April, only one client who completed a virtual saliva test failed the test, and that was because the client was taking a prescription drug that the Birmingham Recovery Center did not have in its records, Henyon said.

Henyon, who has been working in drug

treatment for 16 years, said most people do not use illicit substances while in treatment, but there is a small percentage who do.

“Being able to use remote testing, where we can monitor our clients for use and make sure he or she is staying on the recovery track, is vital,” Henyon said. “We have to hold clients accountable, and by coupling the virtual testing process with telehealth, we are able to do just that.”

The telehealth option is available only for people who live more than 30 miles from the treatment center or have a medical condition that impedes travel, Henyon said.

For now, the Birmingham Recovery Center is capping the number of telehealth clients at 10, and as of late April six people are using the service, he said. Clients are asked to commit about three months to the telehealth program.

In addition to the drug testing, the telehealth program utilizes Zoom for three group therapy

sessions per week, plus a one-on-one meeting each week between the client and a therapist.

Henyon said he believes in-person therapy and treatment is better than teletherapy, but teletherapy is certainly better than no treatment at all.

And people who live far away from treatment centers are going without treatment too often, he said. It’s not realistic to ask people to drive two hours three times a week for treatment, he said.

Colin Harris, managing director of the Birmingham Recovery Center, said the whole idea with teletherapy is to make treatment more accessible. “By offering telehealth options, we can help more and more people get on the road to recovery — and be successful,” Harris said.

The cost for telehealth is the same as in-person treatment: $3,600 a month, Henyon said. Health insurance plans often cover in-person

treatment but sometimes do not cover telehealth, he said.

People who are interested in the telehealth program will undergo a 15-to-20-minute phone assessment and medical screening to determine if the program is a good fit.

Since opening its 7,500-square-foot facility at the end of June 2021, the Birmingham Recovery Center has treated probably close to 1,000 people, Henyon said.

“The demand is much higher than we anticipated,” he said. “We quickly have run out of space at this building.”

To find out more about the Birmingham Recovery Center or its telehealth options, call 205-813-7400 or visit birminghamrecovery center.com.

An example of the digital saliva drug testing device used by clearMINDnow. Photos courtesy of Direct Communications.

Destination Hoover International awards $4,000 in scholarships

By JON ANDERSON

Destination Hoover International, a nonprofit that seeks to foster cultural exchange and relationships between Hoover and other countries, recently gave out $2,000 scholarships to students from Hoover and Spain Park high schools.

This year’s scholarship winners are Nena Kimble from Hoover High and Sydney Broderick from Spain Park High.

Kimble, an 18-year-old resident of the Lake Cyrus community, plans to attend Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and major in linguistics. She said she wants to help educators develop programs for children — elementary or younger — to learn other languages.

“Language has the power to bring the world together, and I want to help realize that reality,” she said.

Kimble has been part of the International Baccalaureate program at Hoover High as well as the Hoover Juniorettes service club, National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Hoover High Model UN and PEACE Birmingham, a group that seeks to unite African American and Jewish young people. She also has tutored a third grade student at Deer Valley Elementary this year and volunteered at the 2022 World Games. She is the daughter of Lisa Kimble.

Broderick, an 18-year-old resident of the Kirkman Preserve community, plans to attend Mississippi State University and have a double major in Spanish and international business. She said she would like to take language and business skills abroad and bring what she learns back to the Hoover community.

She said she already has been given the opportunity to learn more about different cultures in the Birmingham metro area. She works at Slice Pizza in Vestavia Hills, where she said the kitchen staff is made up primarily of people with Hispanic or Latino heritage, and they have shared authentic Hispanic food and Latin-American music with her.

Broderick served as vice president of her senior class and president of the DECA Club

(formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America) at Spain Park and was in the Hoover Belles service organization, National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Business Honor Society and Math Honor Society. She took five years of Spanish, including one year at Berry Middle School. She is the daughter of Randy and Maria Broderick.

The scholarships from Destination Hoover International were made possible by donations

from Jubilee Joe’s Cajun Seafood Restaurant, which provides 5% of the proceeds from its annual Crawfish Festival to DHI.

Since 2018, DHI has been able to give out more than $15,000 in scholarships by partnering with Jubilee Joe’s, said Shelley Shaw, president of the group.

Kash Siddiqui, owner of Jubilee Joe’s, said investing in student scholarships is a great way to give back to the community.

The Destination Hoover International nonprofit awards scholarships to Hoover High's Nena Kimble and Spain Park High's Sydney Broderick at Jubilee Joe's Cajun Seafood Restaurant in Hoover. From left are DHI board member Steve McClinton, DHI President Shelley Shaw, DHI board member Carolyn Turner, Nena Kimble, Sydney Broderick, DHI board member Mike Shaw, Jubilee Joe's owner Kash Siddiqui and his son, Zain. Photo by Jon Anderson.

Dismukes Gibbs Satterfield

Dismukes, Gibbs earn Arts Alliance scholarships; Satterfield awarded Bluff Park arts scholarship

By JON ANDERSON

The Hoover Arts Alliance and Bluff Park Art Association this year awarded scholarships to three 2023 graduates from Hoover High School.

The Hoover Arts Alliance gave $1,500 each to Dalton Dismukes, who plans to major in music and music composition at Auburn University, and Victoria Gibbs, who plans to major in art therapy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The students were chosen because of their talent and outstanding high school careers, said Linda Chastain, a member of the alliance.

Dismukes, who maintained a 4.0 GPA, was the head drum major for the Hoover High School band and plays three instruments, played in the jazz band, sang in the Hoover High School choir and was part of the school’s theater program.

Gibbs has been an assistant to Amy Anderson at the Art & Soul art studio on Shades Crest Road in Bluff Park for the past several years. She was a member of the National Honor Society and National Art Honor Society and performed in many of the theatrical works presented by Hoover High School.

“Hoover has so many talented students at the high school level,” Chastain said in a press release. “The Arts Alliance is happy to see that the high schools are enlarging and improving their theater facilities to showcase this talent.”

The Bluff Park Art Association awarded $3,000 to Brooke Satterfield, who plans to major in graphic design at Auburn University.

Satterfield, who also had a 4.0 GPA, was involved with the Hoover theater and choir programs and improv team for four years, was co-president of the school’s International Thespian Society chapter, a Hoover Ambassador, Hoover Belle and received this year’s Outstanding Fine Arts Student Award.

Each year, the Bluff Park Art Association Scholarship Committee selects one graduating senior visual art student from either Hoover or Spain Park high school to receive a $3,000 scholarship to the accredited college of his/her choice. Because this is an award for excellence in visual art, the applicant must major in visual art, architecture, art education, graphic design or another acceptable major from an accredited college or attend an art school.

For more information about the organizations, go to hooverartsalliance.org or bluffpark artassociation.org.

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Henry wins Service Club Community Service Award

By JON ANDERSON

The Hoover Service Club this year honored Barbara Henry as the recipient of the 2022-23 Flora Mae Pike Hoover Community Service Award.

Henry has been a resident of Hoover for 44 years. She has been involved with the Hoover Service Club since 2004 and served as the group’s president for the 2012-13 term.

She also has been chairwoman of the Service Club’s scholarship committee twice and this year took on the task of putting student scholarship applications online, said Jean Ingram, last year’s recipient of the Flora Mae Pike award and current chairwoman of the award committee. Henry also has served on the club’s ways and means committee and helped other club members learn how to use Greater Giving software for fundraiser events.

A club member who nominated Henry for the Flora Mae Pike award said she “is one of those people who seems to give every spare minute back to the community.”

She has been active in the Distinguished Young Women of Shelby County, serves on the board for the Hoover Belles service organization for teenage girls and was a longtime volunteer for Oak Mountain Missions.

Henry also is very active with Riverchase United Methodist Church, where she serves on the leadership team for the women’s ministry and works with other volunteers to provide food for needy children at Riverchase and Rocky Ridge elementary schools and Berry Middle School. She also volunteers with the church’s Vacation Bible School and made masks to give away during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When her children were younger, she volunteered with the parent organizations at Gwin Elementary, Simmons Middle and Hoover High.

“My parents were very active in the

community, so I grew up knowing that others need our support and it’s important to share our time and resources,” Henry said.

Henry has two daughters and two granddaughters, and family means everything to her, Ingram said.

Henry worked in human resources for 26 years with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and 17 years with ErgoScience, where she still works.

Pike, for whom the community service award was named, was one of 11 women who founded the Hoover Service Club in 1975 with a goal of providing aid to the needy and providing scholarships and citizenship awards to deserving students in the community.

The Hoover Service Club on May 11 installed new officers for the 2023-24 term. The new officers are President Bonnie Campbell, First Vice President and Programs Chairwoman Hope Lawson, Second Vice President and Membership Chairwoman Frances Brocato, Third Vice President and Yearbook Chairwoman Lori Callhan, Recording Secretary Bernadette Beavers-Forrest, Corresponding Secretary Heather Pierce and Treasurer Debra Taylor.

Barbara Henry is the recipient of the Hoover Service Club’s 2022-23 Flora Mae Pike Hoover Community Service Award. Photo courtesy of Barbara Henry.

My parents were very active in the community, so I grew up knowing that others need our support and it’s important to share our time and resources.

BARBARA HENRY

Service Club hands out $38,500 in scholarships

By JON ANDERSON

The Hoover Service Club in May gave out $38,500 in scholarships and awards to 11 Hoover and Spain Park high school students and honored six middle school students for exemplary academic performance and citizenship.

The scholarships and awards were made possible by Hoover Service Club fundraisers and the generosity of donors, said Barbara Henry, chairwoman of the club’s scholarship committee. Due to a successful year, the amount of scholarships grew from $28,000 the previous year.

This year’s scholarship winners from Hoover High School and the institutions they plan to attend are:

► Amaria Guyton, Tuskegee University

► Courtney Lassiter, University of Alabama

► Nia Settles, Samford University

► Pyper Shepard, Alcorn State University

This year’s scholarship winners from Spain

Park High School and the institutions they plan to attend are:

► Rana Abawi, University of Alabama at Birmingham

► Laura Broocks, Belmont University

► Lilli Kolb, Auburn University

► Zachary Lin, Rochester Institute of Technology

► Jackson Mitchell, Auburn University

The Service Club also gave out two awards to a senior from each high school who understands the importance of serving their community.

The Margaret Alford Community Service Award, named after a former Service Club member who had a passion for giving back to the community, went to Eshika Kudaravalli of Hoover High.

Kudaravalli, who is ranked No. 1 in her class and served on the International Baccalaureate Student Leadership Council, accumulated 1,351 community service hours. She was president of the Hope for Autumn Foundation Junior Board, which raises money to help families dealing

with childhood cancer and to fund childhood cancer research and awareness.

She also has served as the founder and co-president of Outstanding Women Leaders in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), organizing a STEM night events for elementary and middle school students, and she spent four years volunteering to develop and teach science experiments at the McWane Science Center. Kudaravalli plans to become a doctor.

Evan Houser of Spain Park High School received the Ardith McMicken Community Service Award, also named after a former Service Club member with a strong record of service.

Houser, who served as president of his class, has been an ambassador for the high school, played on the varsity basketball team and maintained a strong GPA.

He led an organization called Clean Hoover that has a mission of preserving the environment and has led community cleanup efforts at

the Moss Rock Preserve and along the Cahaba River. He also has volunteered at homeless shelters and with Habitat for Humanity and worked at the Greystone Golf and Country Club.

Houser plans to attend Vanderbilt University with the goal of becoming a doctor.

The Service Club also recognized one student from each of Hoover’s three middle schools for outstanding citizenship and one student from each middle school for outstanding academics.

The middle school citizenship awards went to Solomon Moore of Berry Middle, Taven Dutson of Bumpus Middle and Kristyna Helova of Simmons Middle, while the academic awards went to Ejatou Jallow of Berry, Serena Agrawal of Bumpus and Noah Maldonado of Simmons.

The scholarships and awards were presented to the winners at a luncheon at the Hoover Country Club, with representatives from their schools, the Hoover school system central office, Hoover Board of Education and city of Hoover present.

Eight years ago, Mary was in a car wreck that caused injury to her neck. As she hoped to avoid surgery and medication, she was referred to physical therapy at TherapySouth in Hoover. Mary worked with Daniel to rehab from her accident and get back to her active lifestyle. Now, whenever Mary experiences acute pain or frequent headaches, she comes directly to see Daniel for treatment. Through manual adjustments, dry needling, stretching and more, Mary is able to not only get relief from her pain, but to improve her mobility, strength and overall wellness.

At first I didn’t know I could just come for wellness— I thought I had to be referred. But now the doors are opened because when I have pain, I can call and get an appointment quickly. I come in sick to my stomach because the pain is so bad, and I leave here singing a song because I feel so good.”

Mary stays active keeping up with her two young kids, riding horses, running and lifting weights.

“When I can’t do those things my quality of life suffers. I am a happier person when I can move, and Daniel makes me be able to move!

Mary Guillory with Daniel Temple, PT, DPT

Left: The Hoover Service Club on May 11 gave out awards for outstanding citizenship and academics to six middle school students. On the front row, from left, are Solomon Moore (citizenship) and Ejatou Jallow (academics) from Berry Middle School and Taven Dutson (citizenship) from Bumpus Middle School. On the back row, from left, are Noah Maldonado (academics) and Kristyna Helova (citizenship) from Simmons Middle School and Serena Agrawal (academics) from Bumpus Middle School. Right: Recipients of the 2023 Hoover Service Club scholarships were, front row from left, Amaria Guyton, Courtney Lassiter, Nia Settles and Pyper Shepard (all of Hoover High School), Rana Abawi and Laura Broocks (of Spain Park High); back row from left, Lilli Kolb, Zachary Lin and Jackson Mitchell of Spain Park High School. On the back row, far right, is Spain Park’s Evan Houser, who received the Ardith McMicken Community Service Award. Photos by Jon Anderson.

Leadership Hoover Class of 2023 aims to involve youth, celebrate impact

By JON ANDERSON

The Leadership Hoover organization graduated its sixth class of leaders during a ceremony in May at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel. Thirty-three leaders from a variety of businesses and organizations wrapped up about nine months of intensive education about the city and presented the projects they worked on to make the city a better place to live, work and play.

The leaders were divided into five teams, each of which settled on a project to undertake. One team proposed to create a Hoover Hall of Fame with an annual event to recognize people who have played a critical role in the growth and progress of the city in business, education and the arts. Another team developed a similar idea to have an annual social gala that gave awards each year to a young person of the year, adult citizen of the year and business person of the year, with proceeds from the gala going to the Children’s Aid Society.

A third team has proposed to have a Battle of the Bands competition for young people, while a fourth team has planned out a fullday symposium for high school students who want to make a positive impact on the Hoover community, and a fifth team developed a document to help connect people with various resources in the community.

HOOVER HALL OF FAME

The Hoover Hall of Fame project is similar to the Hoover Business Hall of Fame project that a team from the fourth class of Leadership Hoover proposed in 2021, but the 2021 project has not yet come

to fruition.

“Sometimes it takes a couple of years to move those [projects] forward,” said Tynette Lynch, chairwoman for Leadership Hoover.

“We hope this group will get this truly going and it [will] not just sit on a shelf.”

This hall of fame idea stretches beyond business and includes education and the arts.

Nominees would come from business and civic organizations throughout the city and the community at large, and the idea is for a

committee from the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce to make the final selection, said James Robinson, a Leadership Hoover graduate who works for Spire.

Proceeds from the black-tie event would go to the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce’s scholarship fund, Robinson said.

The team that proposed a Battle of the Bands competition for youth had planned to have that event this month at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, but it had to be postponed.

The idea was for a Leadership Hoover team to set up the competition framework and let the Hope for Autumn Foundation Junior Board implement it as a new signature spring fundraiser, said Amanda Knerr, a Leadership Hoover graduate who is the founder and executive director of the Hope for Autumn Foundation.

But the recent death of a Hoover High School student and some unrelated issues led to cancellation of the event for this year, with the goal of having it in the spring of 2024 instead, Knerr said.

The concept is to have up to 10 bands competing, doing three songs apiece. Proceeds from ticket sales and sponsors would support the Hope for Autumn Foundation, which aids families with children battling cancer and provides money for childhood cancer research and awareness.

“It’s going to be a great event when it happens,” Knerr said.

YOUTH SYMPOSIUM

The team proposing a one-day symposium for youths who want to make a difference in their community plans to have the event in September at the Hoover Public Library.

Students from public and private schools and homeschooled students would be invited to attend a seven-hour symposium that includes speakers on life after high school, college applications and financial aid advice, workforce training opportunities, financial literacy, mental health, interpersonal and communication skills and community service opportunities, said Library Director Amanda Borden, who is a member of the 2023 Leadership Hoover class.

The idea is for students who attend to get

Mike Dozier and Christopher Washington hold a poster advertising a youth impact symposium at the graduation of the Leadership Hoover Class of 2023 at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. Photos by Jon Anderson.

a community service credit, Borden said. At the end of the day, students also would have a chance to sign up for volunteer work with various community service organizations, she said.

A team from this year’s Leadership Hoover class will organize the first symposium. The Hoover Public Library will fund expenses and provide the meeting space, and if the symposium is successful, it would become an annual event implemented by library staff, Borden said.

The final Leadership Hoover project was the development of a document called “Hoover — Where the World Calls Home,” to connect people with community resources. Hoover has quickly become one of the most culturally diverse cities in the state, said team member Christian Ronalds of Birmingham First Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hoover.

It’s sometimes hard for people who move into Hoover from other states and other countries to find and get connected with things they need, such as schools, financial institutions, medical facilities, restaurants, religious groups, nonprofits or other community resources, said team member Alice Turney, who is principal at Riverchase Elementary School.

It’s exponentially harder if there is a language barrier, Turney said.

So their team put together a document with QR codes directing people to each of those types of resources. The intention is for the document to go on the city of Hoover’s website and for hard copies to be made available at city-sponsored events or included in handout packages. Also, the document could be made available in different languages.

The QR codes link to existing lists on the city, Hoover school district and Hoover Area

Chamber of Commerce websites, so as long as those entities keep their lists updated, the QR codes would stay current.

MOVING THE CITY FORWARD

Lynch said she was excited to hear the projects presented by the Leadership Hoover Class of 2023, and Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato thanked this year’s class for taking time to learn about how the city operates and developing ideas on how to improve quality of life and move the city forward.

Brocato said Hoover is completely different than it was when it was incorporated in 1967. The city is a much more diverse place, but it has people who love each other and have learned to live with each other and not hate each other because of their differences.

Layla Hamilton, an officer with the Trace Crossings Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, said she learned so much by

being a part of Leadership Hoover this year.

The class took a day each month to learn about things such as public safety, education, city government, economic development, small businesses, diversity and various amenities the city has to boost its quality of life.

Hamilton said she particularly enjoyed the day they focused on education, visiting different schools and hearing perspectives from students.

Vino Savam, a marketing strategist with Regions Bank, also was part of this year’s class. Savam is a member of the Alabama Tamil Sangham cultural organization, which brings together people who speak the Tamil language of southern India and Sri Lanka.

Savam said she has lived in Hoover about 15 years but learned a lot about the city she didn’t know by going through this experience. She, in turn, hopes to use what she has learned to educate others, she said.

Foster Hyde, CFA®, CFP® Member & Senior Advisor

The Leadership Hoover Class of 2023 at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover on May 9.

A18 • June 2023 Hoover Sun

Above: Teams compete in the Greater Birmingham Youth Lacrosse Association Jamboree at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in May 2021. Below: Soccer teams battle in the Red Diamond Classic at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in March 2020. Photos courtesy of Sports Facilities Management.

HOOVER MET

CONTINUED from page A1

the complex. “It’s very common to have all the facilities going simultaneously. I think summer is very important for us to help drive the economic engine.”

The complex has events booked for 80 of the 92 days in June, July and August, including all 13 weekends, and that doesn’t include the summer camps for kids, Ealy said.

PERFECT GAME

One of the Hoover Met’s biggest partners is Perfect Game, a national youth baseball and softball organization and scouting service that recently renewed its contract for the Hoover Met to be a regional hub for the greater Birmingham area for three more years, through the end of 2025.

Perfect Game has used the Hoover Met to host some of its marquee events since 2019. In 2022, Perfect Game brought more than 1,300 youth baseball teams to the area, booking more than 35,000 hotel nights, the organization said. This year, Perfect Game events will occupy 81 days of the Hoover Met Complex calendar, and many of them are back to back in June and July.

The Perfect Game National Elite Championships for youth baseball players has four tournaments for different age groups between June 16 and July 25, bringing in 389 teams and having an expected $8.7 million economic impact, Ealy said.

Squeezed in the middle of those tournaments is the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association National Championships on July 13-20, which is expected to bring another 221 teams and have an $8.5 million economic impact, he said.

“Perfect Game is happy to extend its working agreement with the city of Hoover, making the Hoover Met Complex a major hub for many of our most prestigious regional events and activities,” Perfect Game CEO Rob Ponger said in a news release. “Since 2019, we have enjoyed a tremendous and mutually beneficial relationship with the city and the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau. We thank the local business community and area residents for making Perfect Game and its Hoover event participants feel at home. Perfect Game looks forward to working with all of our Hoover partners in creating more memorable moments for our players and their families.”

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said Perfect Game has been a great partner with Hoover for several years.

“They bring top-level competition, and with that competition, they bring wonderful families to enjoy our restaurants, hotels and shopping venues,” Brocato said. “We are happy to continue to host Perfect Game in the city of Hoover.”

Tonia Whatley, the sports development director for the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her organization is excited

to continue working with Perfect Game and its local partners like the city of Hoover.

“Youth sports is always a huge draw in Alabama, and the opportunity to host more than 34 Perfect Game baseball tournaments annually reinforces the fact that the greater Birmingham-Hoover area is a top sports destination,” Whatley said.

Jason Clement, CEO of Sports Facilities Management, which manages the Hoover Met Complex for the city, said the three-year extension with Perfect Game “continues the marriage of Perfect Game’s world-class events and fervent fan following with Hoover’s first-class hospitality and best-in-class operations.”

OTHER EVENTS

While Perfect Game is a major player, there are a host of other events coming to the Hoover Met this summer.

The Hustle Up National 7-on-7 Football tournament is expected to bring in 62 teams June 13-15, and the Alabama High School Athletic Association is bringing 168 boys and girls basketball teams to the Finley Center for camps June 15-17.

The Monkey Up Lacrosse Tournament has 50 teams coming June 17-18, and the National Junior College Athletic Association is bringing 80 teams for a basketball showcase June 23-24 (a new event for Hoover).

The Deep South Duals wrestling tournament has 900 participants coming July 28-30, while the 3v3 Live Soccer Tournament is bringing 57 teams to Hoover as part of a national tour on July 29, and the East Coast Pro Baseball Showcase is bringing 150 of the nation’s best high school baseball players to the Hoover Met on Aug. 2-4.

Another new event for Hoover this year is the Move United Nationals, a national recreational sport competition for youth and adults with physical, visual or intellectual disabilities.

That event was held in Denver the past two years, but Hoover was chosen to host it this year and in 2024. It’s expected to bring in 400 participants from across the country to compete in seven sports.

Move United’s archery competition will be at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, while air rifle shooting will take place in the Finley Center, and wheelchair tennis will be at the Hoover Met tennis complex, Ealy said. Other events — paratriathlon, para powerlifting, swimming and track and field — will occur at Hoover High School, the Lakeshore Foundation in Homewood and the Birmingham Crossplex, Hoover Parks and Recreation Director Erin Colbaugh said.

Counting family members and spectators, the competitions are expected to bring more than 10,000 people to the area and account for about 800 hotel room nights, Colbaugh said.

The opening ceremony is scheduled for Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, and the closing ceremony will be in the Finley Center.

Sports aren’t the only events happening at the Hoover Met. The complex, particularly the Hoover Met Stadium and Finley Center, also brings in gun shows, trade shows and corporate events.

LOCAL USAGE

While big events that bring in visitors from across the country are a hallmark of the Hoover Met Complex, the 155-acre campus also gets a lot of local usage, Ealy said.

The Hoover Parks and Recreation Department uses the complex for flag football, soccer, basketball and volleyball, but most of that usage comes in the spring, fall and winter, he said.

Ealy

“All those teams want practice space, particularly on [artificial] turf because of inclement weather,” Ealy said. “We’ve worked hard with [Hoover’s] park and rec [department], trying to coordinate so everybody has as much access to the fields as possible.”

It’s tough because there are only four regulation-size artificial turf baseball and softball fields, but the city plans to convert at least seven fields at other Hoover sports parks to artificial turf to help with scheduling problems. The city and school system also are partnering to put turf on the varsity baseball and softball fields at Hoover and Spain Park high schools.

The Hoover Met tennis complex, with 16 hard courts, has the highest league play usage of any tennis complex in the Birmingham area, Ealy said. It’s also open for lessons, annual memberships and daily court rentals.

The playground at the Hoover Met, which is built to accommodate people with disabilities, draws people from across the metro area, and the splash pad is open mid-May through mid-September.

The Finley Center also draws pickleball players. During the summer last year, pickleball had to be shut down due to summer camps for kids, but this summer, the Met staff is setting up for pickleball in the evenings, Ealy said. The indoor track at the Finley Center also draws people year-round.

Summer camps for children ages 6-12 have sold out the past two years. They’re held for seven weeks in June and July, and this year the number of campers is being expanded from 80 to 90 per week, for a total of 630 spots available over the summer, Ealy said.

CONTINUED from page A1

“In 2009, I started playing again and started writing songs. Some were good, but some were pretty bad,” Abernathy said.

But he began learning how to write songs with other people, and that changed the way he wrote, he said. Over the years, he was the front man for a country/rock band called Shotglass, and he started playing solo acoustic shows at local restaurants such as Margarita Grill and Beef O’Brady’s.

“We weren’t trying to make it big,” he said of him and his band. “We were just enjoying playing shows here and there and writing songs. When people come up to you and tell you they enjoy it, that was always my gratification.’”

He got another level of motivation to pursue his music when he was awarded Alabama Country Music Artist of the Year in 2018. But that still wasn’t enough to make him feel like he could chase his dream.

The “big moment that began to change it all” happened in 2019 as he was playing an original show at Tin Roof in Birmingham.

“Someone was there who does the bookings for all of the Tin Roofs in Birmingham and Nashville, and he invited me to have my own show in Nashville on Lower Broadway,” Abernathy said. “That was a huge honor.”

He began playing on Lower Broadway once a week, and along the way he had three No. 1 hits on Indie Radio — “Water to Whiskey,” co-written with Billy McDowell; “Heaven Has a Radio,” co-written with Paul Cofer; and “Big Bass Problem,” co-written with Durand Robinson.

After the end of the 2021-22 school year, Abernathy retired from his teaching job in Hoover, and he and his wife, Augusta, packed up and moved to Nashville to chase his dream. In November, he signed with a record label.

He’s still playing shows in Nashville, but he has expanded past that and now has a U.S. and European tour in the works and a deal with AT&T to livestream shows from the tour. He’s also got a new brand deal with Myrká Whisky and was just nominated for Modern Country

Vocalist of the Year, Modern Country Artist of the Year and Male Entertainer of the Year for the Josie Awards (given out by the independent music industry).

“These are dreams I’ve never pursued until I hit this old age,” Abernathy said. “It’s been an interesting ride. I’m going to do it while I can.”

Erwin said he and others walked with Abernathy through the journey of playing at local restaurants as he put in the hours to learn how to be the musician and entertainer he is now,

and they’re proud of what he’s achieved.

“He’s just really talented at a lot of different things and could probably still get out there and throw a baseball 100 miles an hour or coach state championship wrestlers,” Erwin said. “He could’ve gone in a lot of different directions. But as his music career grew, there were days he would need to miss work because he was playing something in California or Texas, and when that happened, you kind of knew that arc was changing.”

Erwin said as Abernathy has taught,

raised a family and played music at the same time, he has juggled all the parts of his life beautifully.

“God only gives us 24 hours, and somehow he manages to make the most out of his 24 hours. He squeezes more into it than I do,” Erwin said. “He is a great husband and great dad, and he was a great science teacher and coach. And now he’s being recognized as a great musician, too.”

For more information or show dates, visit robertabernathy.com.

Robert Abernathy, center, accompanied by his bandmates, guitarist Jonathan Laird, left, fiddler Peter Macartney, right, and drummer Kevin Smith, play during a soundcheck at Margarita Grill in Pelham April 15. Abernathy, a former seventh grade science teacher at Simmons Middle School, now lives in Nashville and is pursuing a career in music. Photo by Erin Nelson.

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Mudano: Mask decision kept her from BOE reappointment

By JON ANDERSON

Hoover Board of Education member Amy Mudano said she definitely believes her votes in favor of requiring masks in Hoover schools at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year are what kept her from getting reappointed to the school board this year.

She initially applied for reappointment for a second five-year term but withdrew in April before interviews with the Hoover City Council, saying a majority of the council did not want to reappoint her and already had their minds made up on another candidate.

“I feel like it’s a shame,” Mudano said. “A little bit of politics made its way into those [mask] decisions. I don’t think that was very helpful.”

Mudano was one of three school board members who voted in favor of requiring masks for the first 30 days of school in August 2021 and voted to extend the mask requirement in September due to COVID-19 case rates.

The school board voted unanimously to rescind the mask mandate in February 2022, but mask opponents took note of which school board members voted in favor of them initially.

Mudano said the school board was faced with an unprecedented problem.

“I feel like we didn’t get a lot of guidance from the state or county health department,” she said. “They left it up to local boards, and nobody knew the best or right thing to do.”

Guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health department was not always the same, she said.

Mudano, who at the time was a research associate and epidemiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine,

said she talked with specialists in infectious disease and tried to make the best decision she could based on the advice of experts.

One of the toughest parts of being a school board member is knowing you can’t make everybody happy, she said.

While school board members didn’t always agree on everything, she believes they worked well together as a whole. They are very different people with different personalities, she said. Some think more with emotion, and some

think more analytically, but it worked together to produce a great board, she said.

And she also knows the City Council has every right to choose whomever they want to be on the school board, she said.

Mudano said she learned a lot in five years and remains very impressed with the quality of administrators, teachers and staff in Hoover schools and dedication they have to serve children.

She was pleased to be a part of some

important decisions, including capital projects such as the expansion of Berry Middle School, ongoing construction of a new theater at Hoover High and upcoming renovation of the theater at Spain Park High.

The partnership with the city of Hoover to add artificial turf on school baseball and softball fields shows the two entities can work together, and “I hope there’s more of that in the future,” she said.

She also would like to see more progress by the school system in getting released from the decades-old federal desegregation court case in Jefferson County, she said. There was some momentum toward that early in her tenure, but that momentum was lost, she said.

She believes all Hoover schools have similar programs and facilities that give all kids the best possible opportunities for success, regardless of race, she said. She would recommend any Hoover school to anyone, she said.

Mudano also is proud that Hoover students showed less academic decline during the COVID-19 pandemic than the average student nationally and have made uncommon gains since returning full-time to the classroom. She does, however, hope school officials continue to find more ways to help struggling students, she said.

The school board also must continue to keep an eye on safety and security, prepare for the departure of Superintendent Dee Fowler and perhaps start having conversations again about a third high school, she said.

Other school board members thanked Mudano for her service. Board member Amy Tosney said Mudano, while very different from herself, brought a lot to the table and was a great board member.

Hoover school board member Amy Mudano listens during her final board meeting at the Farr Administration Building in Hoover on May 9. Photo by Jon Anderson.

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Windsor Court Stockton 1 1 Sandy Sandlin BIRMINGHAM

FINDING THEIR WAY

By JON ANDERSON

Getting out of high school can be a daunting experience, especially for some students with disabilities who aren’t sure what’s next for them.

But a program for students with developmental and intellectual disabilities was revived in Hoover City Schools this year to help these students find a pathway for their future, and leaders in the program say it was a great success.

The nationwide program, called Project Search, puts students with disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism or intellectual delays into internship positions in companies to help them gain life and job skills and transition into the workplace.

The program in Hoover is a partnership between the Alabama Department of Rehabilitative Services, Hoover City Schools, United Ability, the Alabama Department of Mental Health and the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa.

Students who have completed all 24 credits needed to graduate high school are eligible to apply, so it’s somewhat like a 13th year in school, but out in the community, said Vickii Marchant, the program instructor for Hoover City Schools.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

At the Ross Bridge resort, interns rotate through different types of jobs to give them a feel for the different employment options that are available to them. Some work as

Project Search provides job training for young adults with disabilities

or broken furniture.

Eight students from Hoover schools were selected to participate in Project Search this year, Marchant said. The interns rotated through three job stations, spending nine weeks in each role.

At the beginning of each workday, they gather for about 45 minutes in a classroom to go over their itinerary for the day and receive instruction on different life skills, such as accessing public transportation or handling personal finances.

The interns then go to their jobs and work about four hours, Marchant said. They get half an hour for lunch with their coworkers and are required to either bring lunch or bring money to buy lunch at the hotel, just like the other employees do, she said.

The goal is to help them gain employment skills and learn how to be more independent, Marchant said.

However, because the interns still technically are working within the school system framework, they typically get off at 3 p.m., she said.

bellmen, dining room attendants, bakery cooks, pool attendants or do secretarial work. Others may buff floors, serve as stewards in

the kitchen, set up and break down for banquet events or help with maintenance duties such as replacing light bulbs, remote controls

The internships are unpaid. However, the goal is to learn the skills they need so they can get a paying job, Marchant said. There are no guarantees of employment, but two of the interns were hired for part-time paying jobs at the Ross Bridge resort before they even finished the program — one in the bakery and the other as a steward to manage a storage room.

As of press time, two more were interviewing for jobs at Ross Bridge, and the other

Katie Parham shows some cinnamon rolls she made in the bakery at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa in Hoover. She got a job as a baker there after going through a Project Search internship program for young people with disabilities. Photos by Jon Anderson.

four had obtained jobs with other companies by their May 11 graduation. Those companies were Publix, AMC Theatres, Outback Steakhouse and Kilwins chocolate and ice cream store.

“I really, really am so proud of what our young people have accomplished this year,” Marchant said. “They’re amazing young adults.”

PARTNERS

Marchant is employed by Hoover City Schools, but two job coaches — Kara Harrison and Zoe Hughes — are supplied by the United Ability nonprofit to help interns learn the ropes, and employees at Ross Bridge provide mentorship as well.

Katie Dumais, the director of employment services for United Ability, said a lot of students with these types of disabilities may be told they’ll never be able to get a job.

“This program tells them, ‘Yes, you can; you will be able to,’ and it equips them with the skills to get not just a job, but a good job with competitive wages,” Dumais said. “It sets them up for success.”

The Ross Bridge resort has been a great host site for the program, Dumais said. “The staff at Ross Bridge is just second to none,” she said. “They have been so supportive and welcoming.”

Jonathan McKinney, director of sales and marketing at Ross Bridge, said PCH Resort Hotels (of which Ross Bridge is a part) is proud to be part of this program. The Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel and Spa and Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa, also part of PCH Resort Hotels, participate in Project Search as well.

McKinney, who has an 18-year-old son with special needs, said being able to work with people with any sort of disability is a privilege and said the Project Search interns have added so much to the hotel.

Part of the hotel’s mission is to show hospitality with heart and soul, and the Project Search interns exude that, McKinney said.

“They’re so loving, so caring. They greet our whole staff and leadership members by name and give hugs and high-fives with passion and fun,” McKinney said.

And their spirit is contagious, he said. “I think it’s been a neat way to enhance the culture of our resort.”

Marchant said some of the Project Search interns are really good about paying attention to details, and details are especially important in the hospitality industry. For example, the Ross Bridge hotel likes to make sure its trash cans are positioned in certain locations by the elevators and are clean and shiny, she said.

Also, “You will never find a fake flower here in Ross Bridge,” Marchant said. “They’re all fresh, and they’re changed out every week, and they have to be positioned in a certain way on the glass tables.”

Also, one of the interns this year had an incredible memory, she said. When school superintendents had a conference at Ross Bridge in February, that intern memorized a lot of the superintendents’ names by looking at their name tags the first day and greeted them by name when they returned the second day, she said. “They absolutely loved that.”

McKinney said the Project Search interns worked very hard.

“Their work ethic, their attitude, the passion they bring to everything they do — I’d love to have that with everybody who works here,” he said. “They do a pretty phenomenal

Crenshaw removes dishes off the dishwasher conveyor belt in the kitchen at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa in Hoover.

job. … That’s something that pushes everybody else to become better.”

GAINING INDEPENDENCE

Allie Simmons, a 20-year-old with Down syndrome who was part of the Hoover High School class of 2021, was one of this year’s interns at Ross Bridge. Since she walked with her class at graduation, she has worked at the CakEffect bakery in Hoover and the Unless U Scoops ice cream shop in Vestavia Hills and taken classes at the Unless U day program for adults with disabilities.

With Project Search, she was able to do filing and sort and deliver mail in the human resources department, work as a dining room attendant and help set up and break down for banquets. One of her specialties was polishing silverware and rolling it up in napkins and refilling ketchup and other sauce bottles, she said.

She said she enjoyed all the jobs and the people she met. “They’re really sweet, and they’re really nice to me,” she said. “I made some good friends there.”

Her mother, Laura Cooper, said Project Search was incredible.

“I’ve seen Allie grow leaps and bounds.

She’s not the same person,” her mother said. “I just think she’s much more independent. She’s more aware of what’s appropriate in a work setting and what’s not.”

Even before graduating from Project Search in May, Simmons got a summer job at Outback Steakhouse, doing things like polishing and rolling silverware. She also was accepted into the ACCESS program at Mississippi State University and will be moving to Starkville, away from her parents, in August.

Katie Parham, a 19-year-old intern who finished classes at Hoover High School a year ago and lives with her parents in Lake Cyrus, said she did some work at a food bank when she was in high school, but she had never had a paying job before.

The Project Search internship program at Ross Bridge gave her a chance to learn how to work in a dining room (busing tables, vacuuming and cleaning windows) and to work in the Ross Bridge bakery (making things like muffins, bread pudding and turtle pecan pie).

She also learned other life skills, like how to write checks, how to speak up for herself and how to do a job interview, she said.

She impressed the staff at Ross Bridge so much that they hired her to continue in the bakery before the program even ended in May. She was able to earn her first paycheck. “I was excited,” she said. She decided to save the money in case she needs to buy something later, she said.

Her mother, Jody Parham, said the Project Search program has helped her daughter greatly.

“She has matured a lot. She feels like she has a purpose every day,” Jody Parham said. “It has been teaching her to become more independent and self-sufficient.

“Her dream has always been to work in a bakery,” her mother said. “So this is just the perfect opportunity for her. … It opened her eyes to what her life can be like as an adult and see the next step for her — that she could work in a great environment, hold down a job alongside typical peers and be successful.”

Cameron

Meet the Hoover school board’s newest member: Rex Blair

By JON ANDERSON

Greystone resident Rex Blair takes his seat on the Hoover Board of Education on June 1. Blair, 47, is replacing Amy Mudano, whose five-year term ended May 31. Blair is the regional operations director for DaVita, a kidney care company, overseeing more than 150 employees at 14 dialysis centers in the greater Birmingham area.

He has two children who already have graduated from Spain Park, two attending there now and two more at Berry Middle School.

Before joining DaVita, Blair served 2½ years with SS&C Health, a financial services and health care technology company, and spent 20 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He has a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degree from Harvard University in applied physics. Blair also was an assistant professor of physics at West Point.

The Hoover Sun sat down with Blair recently to find out more about him and his views on school system issues. Here are excerpts from that interview:

Q: Why did you decide to apply for the Hoover school board?

A: I like being involved in making a difference in things. … I’ve got the military background of managing lots of people from lots of places, from all walks of life. I’ve got the educational background. I even taught at West Point for three years, where I was the course director for 1,000 cadets for introduction to physics, so I feel like I kind of cut my teeth a little bit from the education side. Health care has taught me a lot about the P&L [profit and loss] side, the finance side. I’ve had to manage big budgets and understand we have limited resources, so as I thought through all that and how it applied to a school system. What better way to get involved in something that’s helping to shape not just your children, but the children of this community? I’m back in this community. I’m going to stay in this community, and this felt like one of the most immediate ways I can get engaged and use my experiences and helping make sure this community stays strong … and how we educate our children and set them up for success.

Q: What do you see are the biggest issues facing the school system?

A: When you look at the numbers that the high schools have, Spain Park is over 1,500, and I think Hoover High is near 2,500, roughly. Those are pretty large high school populations. … So I worry about overcrowding. I’ve seen school systems as I’ve traveled around the country where you have very bad teacher-to-student ratios, and I’ve been at ones where you have very good, and not surprisingly, the better the student-teacher ratio, the better performance students had because the teachers have the opportunity to be engaged individually with those students. … The second part is how do we retain and bring in talent? My understanding is we lost some talent during COVID. … Are we losing people, and if so, why? And are we able to bring in the top-tier teachers in the area, and if not, why?

Q: You previously mentioned concerns about external pressures on the school system as it relates to divisive topics. Can you elaborate?

A: I think we need to be careful about anybody from any side trying to come in and change curriculum for the sake of an issue that doesn’t relate specifically to helping the students be educated. … I’m always leery of anything that sounds inflammatory. I think schools are more about — how do we make sure our students are set up for success to compete, not just with our students here in the United States, but globally. I would rather us focus on how are we doing in terms of preparing our students in English, history, math, science — in those basic subjects — compared to other folks who are around the world? Anything that distracts us from making sure our children are competitive in this global economy, that’s what I’m leery of.

Q: Superintendent Dee Fowler has made it known he likely will depart in about a year. What does Hoover need in its next superintendent?

A: I think Dr. Fowler’s done a great job. I think he’s really been a rock for us right now, especially through COVID. … I’d love to kind of get another Dr. Fowler. … How do we have someone with that growth mindset of you’re not just coming in to manage something? We’ve got to continue to grow and then be excited about it. … Are they strategic? Do they recognize this isn’t just about managing principals, staff and students? It’s thinking big picture. It’s engaging with the community. It’s engaging with the board. It’s engaging with different stakeholders. Someone who’s operational, but we’ve got limited budgets. How are we going to get the most bang for our buck? And they have the experience on how to utilize the dollars to put them in the right place.

Q: What do you think needs to be done to get Hoover released from the federal lawsuit about desegregation?

A: All I know is what I’ve read so far. I haven’t seen anything behind the scenes. It seems pretty straightforward. It seems it’s the staff and faculty, facilities, transportation, extracurricular activities and then sometimes, there was one about disciplinary action. It isn’t clear to me where we have failed to demonstrate those things. When I look around and I look at our facilities, no matter what school you go to, the facilities look the same to me. Extracurricular, we have kids from all walks of life participating in our different sports systems, so I’d like to know where we’re not meeting that factor. Plus, transportation, goodness gracious, I think we’re pretty good about getting kids to school. So I’m confused, even if we could only knock down a few, why haven’t we? What’s been the holdup? … I believe that we have done what’s been asked. I think we’ve demonstrated that we don’t have two separate school systems. I think

that’s what the original court case was about — that there was a dual system. I think we’ve integrated everyone. Our population seems to suggest that — 53 languages, all walks of life, the different percentages I saw of minority students; it makes up a very large chunk of our student population.

Q: Do you believe the Hoover school system needs more funding than it currently is getting? There has been much discussion about raising property taxes by 2.4 mills to get up to the cap of 75 mills for Hoover residents in Jefferson County.

A: I think if you’re going to raise taxes, then what you do owe the community is what is the money going for? I do believe in accountability. If we’re going to go to the community and say we need an additional millions of dollars — whatever the 2.4 mills equates to — I think it's fair to say this percentage of it is going to go to new teacher salaries, or this percentage of it is going to go to a refurbishment of this, or this percentage is going to go to that. … And we owe them some sort of metric to demonstrate that the money was used successfully because if it’s not, then we need to reallocate the money. You can’t just go on and spend money that’s being wasted.

Q: Is there anything that you would like to see emphasized more in Hoover schools?

A: I would like to know if a student needs help, how are we attacking it? … Are there things where a student can go after school and get additional help? Maybe we can’t do it because of resources or maybe we haven’t turned that back on because of COVID. There was something like that at Berry Middle School, … and one of my students took advantage of that, and it actually helped them out a lot. …

They may still be doing that. I don’t know if they are. And if they are, are they doing it at all schools? Do they have the resources at all the schools? … Are we doing the best we can to make sure we provide the students who have a desire the resources they need to be successful?

Q: If you could change one thing about Hoover schools, what would it be?

A: Technology is fantastic, and it really helped us through COVID. Anecdotally, I have seen where sometimes my kids have sat in the classroom and instead of being taught by the teacher, they were taught by a video of the teacher teaching the class. That concerns me a little bit. I know as someone who has taught physics, you can look a student in the eye and you can see comprehension or you don’t, and you can’t do that if their eyes are down looking at a computer screen. … I would want to make sure that we’re not leveraging technology so hard that we’re moving away from what makes the teacher-student relationship so important to that education.

Q: What would you like parents, students and residents of Hoover to know about you?

A: The reason I’m doing this is because I truly and genuinely want to make sure that our schools are positioned to be the best they can be for everybody. … This isn’t just some extra thing I’m doing flippantly. I gave it a lot of thought. I gave it prayer. … When something’s important enough, I think we all make decisions to step into the gap and say, ‘I’ll do it.’ It may come at a cost, but it’s so important that, if not me, then who? Will I make mistakes, or will I misstep? Yeah, because I’m human, but I’m going to bring positive intent to the role.

Q: Five years from now, what will you have wanted to accomplish in Hoover schools?

A: I would like for people when I leave, that teachers say we didn’t always agree, but we knew he cared about us and the students — and not because I always did what they liked, but because they knew that I did what I said, I meant what I said and I always was a straightshooter. … The second thing is — I’m really passionate about math and science. I have two physics degrees. It’s something I love. I think it’s important. … I don’t like that our science and math scores are lower than our history and English scores. I would like to see those gaps close.

Above: Rex Blair, the newest member of the Hoover Board of Education, stands outside City Hall on May 5. Photo by Erin Nelson.

Left: The Blair family from left, Connor, Eli, Rex, Michelle, Garrett, Ashleigh, Graham and Rex Jr. at their home in Greystone in November 2022. Photo courtesy of Rex Blair.

About 160 people attended the 2021 Hydrangeas Under the Stars fundraiser at Aldridge Gardens in Hoover.

courtesy of Diana Knight.

Meow-A-Thon set for June 3

By JON ANDERSON

People who want to help save abandoned, stray and injured cats and kittens — or who just enjoy a run or walk in the park — have another chance to do so with the 2023 Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue 5K Meow-A-Thon and 1-mile Whisker Walk.

This will be the sixth year for the event, held at Veterans Park in Hoover. This year’s 5K and walk is scheduled for Saturday, June 3. Check-in and on-site registration will begin at 7 a.m., while the 5K will start at 8 a.m. and the 1-mile Whisker Walk will begin at 9:30 a.m.

Awards will be given out to the overall top three male and female runners in the 5K, as well as the top three male and female runners in various age groups, said Kitty Kat Haven founder and Executive Director Rita Bowman.

Last year’s event drew 216 participants, which is probably one of the better turnouts, and raised about $9,000, including money from sponsors, registration fees and T-shirt sales, race director Kim Tyler said. The lead sponsors this year are Hargrove Engineering, Holmes Feline Clinic and Alford Avenue Veterinary Hospital.

The cost to register is $25 for the 5K and $15

Kitty Kat Haven 5K

Meow-A-Thon & 1-Mile Whisker Walk

• WHERE: Veterans Park in Hoover

• WHEN: June 3, 7 a.m.

• WEB: runsignup.com/meowathon

for the 1-mile Whisker Walk through Friday, June 2. The price goes up $5 for each on race day. Online registration is at runsignup.com/ meowathon.

Packet pickup and in-person registration is Friday, June 2, at Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue’s facility at 3432 Old Columbiana Road from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue has placed more than 800 cats into homes in the past year. Since the nonprofit first opened in 2016, it has saved and found homes for more than 5,500 cats and kittens. There are about 60 cats at the center and another 150 cats and kittens in foster care elsewhere, Bowman said.

Hydrangeas Under the Stars to be June 10

By JON ANDERSON

Aldridge Gardens plans to hold its 2023

Hydrangeas Under the Stars fundraiser on June 10 at 6 p.m.

Guests will gather first for a silent auction in the main house on the Aldridge Gardens campus at 3530 Lorna Road, then shift outside under the main pavilion for dinner and a live auction at 7 or 7:30 p.m., said Aldridge Gardens CEO Tynette Lynch.

Tre Luna Catering will provide the dinner, and Hoover Council President John Lyda is scheduled to serve as the auctioneer. Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato and his wife, Frances, are honorary hosts.

The live auction should include a six-night stay in a four-bedroom condominium in Pensacola Beach, a wine dinner catered by Savoie Catering for 10 people at Aldridge Gardens, a four-hour rental of the house or pavilion at Aldridge, a four-hour rental of the Hoover Randle Home & Gardens and two other destination trips, Lynch said.

The silent auction should include concert photography by Art Meripol, ladies’ jewelry

Hydrangeas Under The Stars

• WHERE: Aldridge Gardens

• WHEN: June 10, 6 p.m.

• WEB: aldridgegardens.com

by Idlewild and stays at The Hotel at Auburn University, Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel, Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa, Valley Hotel in Homewood and other hotels, Lynch said.

Last year’s Hydrangeas Under the Stars event drew about 150 people and raised about $50,000 for the gardens, she said. Money raised from the event goes to fund educational activities at Aldridge and various projects to improve the grounds, not day-to-day operations, Lynch said.

Tickets cost $275 and can be obtained at aldridgegardens.com or by calling the gardens at 205-739-6553.

Photo

Runners participate in the Kitty Kat Haven and Rescue Meow-AThon 5K at Veterans Park in October 2020.

Photo by Erin Nelson.

Hoover library brings kids, teens together for summer

By JON ANDERSON

The Hoover Public Library has a host of activities designed to keep kids and teens reading and engaged throughout the summer.

The summer reading program was scheduled to kick off May 26 with a carnival at the library. From 1 to 4 p.m., the library planned to have 10-12 carnival games such as ring toss and a football throw set up throughout the children’s department. There also was popcorn, cotton candy and ice cream in the Library Plaza, a school bus, police car and fire truck for children to see up close on the roundabout at the Hoover Library Theatre entrance, and an inflatable slide in the parking lot, said Jeremy Davis, director of the children’s department.

There also were take-home crafts for adults.

Children, teens and even adults are encouraged to sign up for the summer reading program and keep track of the number of pages they read through the end of July.

People will be eligible to receive a prize after reading 250, 500, 1,000 and 1,500 pages, and anyone who reads 2,000 pages can receive a token to pick out a free book from a book vending machine, or they can get a raffle ticket for items to be given away, Davis said. For every 500 pages read after 2,000 pages, the reader receives a raffle ticket, with a 5,000 page limit.

The last day to redeem prizes is July 31.

Last year, there were 3,971 children, 309 teens and 504 adults who participated in the Hoover Public Library’s summer reading program, for a total of 4,784 people tracking the pages they read, Davis said.

The library also has more than 70 children and teen programs and activities planned throughout June, July and early August. About 14,000 people attended the library’s programs for children and teens in June and July of last year, Davis said.

Some of the most popular programs are family shows held in the Hoover Library Theatre. They include:

► June 6-8: Latin Grammy-winning musician Lucky Diaz, who also performed at the library prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

► June 13-15: The Atlantic Coast Theatre presents the “Rumpelstiltskin” play.

► June 20-22: A high-energy bubble show called Bubblemania.

► June 27-29: Hobey Ford’s Golden Rod Puppets presents “Animalia.”

► July 11-13: A hip-hop experience that combines original songs from Grammy-winning rapper and hip hop artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo with funk and acrobatic dancers.

► July 18-20: Beatin’ Path Rhythm Events presents rhythm, stories and songs with percussion.

There are storytimes for children under 5 at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. on June 5 (Barnyard Besties), June 12 (Bug Buddies), June 26 (Forest

Friends), July 3 (Pond Pals), July 10 (Scaly Frenemies) and July 17 (Zoo Crew). There also are baby playdates for children 0-18 months that include a brief storytime activity and open-ended play at 9:30 a.m. on June 23 and July 21 (registration required) and storytimes at East 59 Café at The Village at Lee Branch at 10:30 a.m. every Friday from June 9 to July 21.

For kids grades 1-3, there will be self-portrait mural art on June 5, adoption of a stuffed dog and education about pet care on June 26 and a chance to learn how to express emotions through art and other methods of mindfulness on July 10.

For tweens grades 4-6, there will be perler bead art on June 12, international food taste tests, trivia and crafts on July 3 and old-school games on July 17. These activities for grades 1-6 require registration and will be held at 4 and 6 p.m.

Teen events for grades 7-12 include a murder

mystery party on June 1, international snack taste test on June 13, giant game night on June 27, glow art (making a 2D black light disco ball) on July 11 and pizza and game-show-inspired events on July 18. All of these events will be held at 6 p.m.

There also will be crafts in the teen department at 4 p.m. on June 8, June 22 and July 6, and board games and Nintendo Switch at 4 p.m. on June 15, June 29 and July 13.

Other activities include a Juneteenth celebration on June 17; young artist receptions on June 11, July 16 and Aug. 13; films based on popular kids’ books on July 5 (“Lyle, Lyle Crocodile) and July 6 (”The Bad Guys”); imaginative play on July 8; a kindergarten party on July 25; “Into the Spider-Verse” movie with crafts, activities and games on July 29; and football-related activities on Aug. 5.

Children and teens who read 2,000 pages in the Hoover Public Library's summer reading program will get a token to pick out a free book from this book vending machine.

Photo by Jon Anderson.

People participate in a Juneteenth celebration at Veterans Park in Hoover in June 2022. Photo courtesy of HooverAHEAD.

Hoover-AHEAD to hold third annual Juneteenth celebration

By GRACE THORNTON

Hoover-AHEAD (Ambassadors for Hoover Equity and Diversity) will hold its third annual Juneteenth celebration June 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Hoover Public Library.

The event will include activities from storytelling to kids’ arts and crafts and film screenings. An African dance troupe and local choirs will perform, and food trucks will be on site.

Juneteenth — observed officially on June 19 — celebrates the day when 250,000 enslaved African Americans were given their freedom in Texas. The decree brought by Union troops on June 19, 1865 — 2½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation — freed the last slaves still held in Confederate territory.

“I grew up in Oklahoma, and out there Juneteenth is a fact of life and always celebrated,” said Withrow Newell, ambassador and event committee chair for HooverAHEAD, which was founded in 2019. “But coming to the Deep South, it’s surprising a lot of people don’t know about Juneteenth. It’s such a beautiful and truly American story.”

He said the day celebrates “that pure joy

The Free Friday Flicks outdoor summer movie series, previously held at Veterans Park in Hoover, will move to Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham this year.

Hoover-AHEAD

Juneteenth Celebration

• WHERE: Hoover Public Library

• WHEN: June 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• WEB: hoover-ahead.com/events/ hoover-ahead-events/ juneteenth-2023

people probably felt not only knowing bondage is over, but bondage has been over.”

The event fits with Hoover-AHEAD’s goals of celebrating different cultures and promoting racial equity and inclusion, Newell said.

“With the Juneteenth celebration, we’re hoping to continue to produce an event that brings the community together and offer an opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures.”

The celebration is free, and everyone is welcome. For more information, visit hooverahead.com/events/hoover-ahead-events/ juneteenth-2023 or visit the group’s Facebook page. A calendar of other upcoming cultural events is also available on the group’s website.

Free Friday Flicks moving from Hoover to Railroad Park

By JON ANDERSON

The Free Friday Flicks outdoor summer movie series put on by Backyard Movie Parties is moving from Hoover’s Veterans Park to Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham this year.

The city of Hoover decided to end its relationship with Backyard Movie Parties and try some other things this summer, but details of the city’s potential alternative plans were not finalized or available as of press time.

Free Friday Flicks has been at Veterans Park in Hoover for 10 years and before that was at Homewood Park since the early 1990s.

Keri Lane, the owner of Backyard Movie Parties, said some Hoover residents expressed disappointment that Free Friday Flicks was moving, but overall, there has been significant interest in the move to Railroad Park.

Movies this year are “Encanto” on June 2, “Drumline” on June 9, “ThePrincess & the Frog” on June 16, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” on June 23 and “Back to the Future” on June 30.

People are invited to set up blankets and chairs in the grassy area at Railroad Park near the main pavilion to watch movies on an outdoor screen each Friday night in June. The movie images are 30 feet wide and will be shown on a 38-foot-wide screen, Lane said. Each movie is scheduled to start at dusk. The sun sets between 7:53 and 8:01 p.m. during the weeks the movies are scheduled. Lane encourages people to come early — around 6:30 p.m. — and have picnics in the park prior to the show.

Michael’s at The BoxCar at Railroad Park should be open to serve food, and there also should be other food trucks there, but people are welcome to bring their own food as well, Lane said.

To get updates on movie selections and on cancellations due to bad weather, follow Free Friday Flicks on Facebook or Instagram. Backyard Movie Parties also will be giving away picnic packs each week of the series on its Free Friday Flicks social media pages, Lane said.

Childrens AL org

In the little moments and major milestones of childhood, we are here for our patients and their families – helping, healing, teaching and discovering.

Photo by Jon Anderson.

Bucs sweep state outdoor titles for 2nd straight year

By KYLE PARMLEY

The Hoover High School outdoor track and field teams made the rest of the competition look inferior at the Class 7A state meet, held May 4-6 in Gulf Shores.

The Bucs dominated the boys and girls meets, sweeping the state outdoor titles for the second straight year.

Hoover has now won all the boys and girls state indoor and outdoor track titles over the last two years.

Hoover’s boys amassed 146.5 points, well clear of runner-up Vestavia Hills, which finished at 89.5 points. Hewitt-Trussville, Huntsville and Auburn rounded out the top five.

The girls competition was also a dominant victory for the Bucs, as they piled up 125 points. Chelsea was second with 79 points, with Hewitt-Trussville, Auburn and Foley also finishing in the top five.

Spain Park’s boys finished 13th, accumulating 14 points. The girls team notched 2 points in the meet.

Hoover had several individual state champions across the boys and girls competitions. DeMarion Gardner won the 400-meter run, George Mann took home top prize in the javelin throw, Jay Avery was the best in long jump and triple jump, and Collin Pate was the top pole vaulter on the boys side.

The boys 4x400-meter relay team also claimed the top prize.

For the girls, Gabrielle Washington put forth a tremendous meet, winning the 400. She also finished second in the 100 and second in the 200. The girls 4x400 team also posted the fastest time to win.

Daisy Luna finished third in the 400, Amyah Ellington was second in 300-meter hurdles, McKenzie Blackledge was second in the 800, Nyel Settles finished second in high jump, Sydney Durban was third in javelin and Isabella Maple finished third in pole vault to also reach the podium.

Other boys to reach the podium were Jordan Woolen in the 100, Gardner and Woolen in the 200, Bradley Shaw in discus and shot put, Avery in high jump, Connor White in pole vault, Charles Crowder in triple jump and the 4x100 relay team.

RJ Torbor finished fourth in the 110-meter

hurdles, Zachary King was sixth in the 400, Cannon Peters placed eighth in the 800, Woolen was eighth in high jump, Jack Lamey was fourth and Jeffrey Lopez was seventh in javelin, Norman Settles finished seventh in pole vault, Michael Nixon was fourth in shot put, Torbor was eighth in triple jump and the boys 4x800 team was fourth, as all added to the point tally for the Hoover boys. Also scoring points for the girls team were Taylor Canada (seventh in the 100 and sixth in 200), Amyah Ellington (sixth in 100-meter

hurdles), Luna (seventh in 200), Blackledge (fourth in 400), Langley Jung (fifth in high jump), Laurin Mack (fifth in long jump and fourth in triple jump), Lucy Benoit (seventh in pole vault), Becca Guerard (eighth in pole vault), Jamiyah Hill (sixth in shot put), Nicolette Lewis (eighth in shot put) and Dasya Harold (seventh in triple jump).

Denver Cash, Sam Kilgore, Charles Crowder, Zachary Cooper, Matthew Harden, Zander Dakis, Owen Jung, Jebreiya Chapman, Paige Momern, Catherine Wallace, Lila

Hunter, Kaitlyn Cox and Layla Wilson were among the Hoover athletes to compete at state as well.

For Spain Park, Keith Warner finished sixth in the 3,200 and eighth in the 1,600 to earn points. Zachary Erickson finished fifth in discus as well. Loren Jackson, Jonathan Graham, Delaney Vickers, Kenneth Bishop, Madison Harvey, Laila Sibley, Elizabeth Baty, Indiana Gannett, Christian Johnson, LaCoria Nelson and Rayshod Burts also competed for the Jags.

Above: Hewitt-Trussville’s Brianna Beckham and Hoover’s Gabrielle Washington cross the finish line in the girls 100-meter dash final during the AHSAA Class 7A Section 3 track and field sectionals at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on April 29. Photos by Richard Force.

Left: Hoover’s McKenzie Blackledge competes in the girls 800-meter run during the AHSAA Class 7A Section 3 track and field sectional.

Right: Hoover’s Jay Avery competes in the long jump.

4 Bucs reach finals at state tennis tournament

By KYLE PARMLEY

The Hoover and Spain Park high school tennis teams concluded their seasons at the Class 7A state tournament, held April 27-28 at the Mobile Tennis Center.

The teams had to battle the elements, as rain and severe weather pushed back the start of the tournament several hours.

Hoover’s boys finished fifth, while Hoover finished sixth and Spain Park was seventh in the girls competition. Vestavia Hills won the boys title for the second straight year. Auburn was the champion on the girls side, with Vestavia finishing as the runner-up.

Hoover’s boys accumulated 12 points, as three Bucs reached the finals in their

respective brackets.

Samuel Sellers had a strong run in the No. 1 singles flight. He edged Florence’s Tai Do 6-4, 6-3 in the first round, before posting a dominant victory in the semifinals. Sellers only dropped a single game in the win over Fairhope’s Charlie Wilson. Bob Jones’s Parker Free knocked off Sellers in the final.

Gavin Patton played three highly contested matches on the way to a runner-up finish at No. 2. He defeated Charlie Hill of Montgomery Academy by a 6-3, 6-3 score line in the opening round. Patton then beat Bob Jones’s Reed Rafferty by the same 6-3, 6-3 score in the semifinals. He suffered a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Vestavia Hills’ Luke Bedwell in the final.

Jackson Plugge also reached the final in the

No. 4 singles competition. He beat Jackson Roberds of Fairhope 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round, before routing Bob Jones’s Hunter Johnston 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals. Vestavia’s Kade Nelson defeated Plugge in the final.

On the girls side, Kristina Hwangpo reached the No. 4 final. She blanked James Clemens’s Shivani Alapati in the opening round and dropped a single game to Vestavia’s Della Tarn in the semifinals. She dropped a tight 7-6, 7-5 match to Victoria Choo of Auburn in the final.

Anthony Hill, Asim Virani and Krish Jaikumar also played for the boys at state. For the girls, Hannah Hwangpo won a match at No. 2 singles, Abby Gobbels won one at No. 3 and Misha Patel got a win at No. 5. Laci Pyron

and Nia Settles also played in the tournament. The No. 1 doubles pair of Sage Sovic and Carys Collins of Spain Park qualified for the state tournament and advanced to the semifinals, They knocked off a Huntsville duo 6-2, 6-2, in the opening round before falling to the eventual champions from Auburn in the semifinals.

Hoover’s boys and girls finished as the runner-up in the section tournament the week prior in order to qualify for state. At the section tournament, Sellers was the only one to keep Vestavia from making a clean sweep on the boys side. He won a third-set tiebreaker 10-7 to claim the No. 1 singles title. Kristina Hwangpo won her flight on the girls side as well.

Left:

Photos by Erin Nelson.

2023 REGIONS TRADITION

Left: Bo Jackson, former Auburn football star and MLB and NFL All-Star, tees off on hole 1 during the Drummond Company Celebrity ProAm of the Regions Tradition, benefiting Children’s of Alabama, on May 10 at Greystone Golf and Country Club. Right: Spectators gather at hole 1.

Above: Charles Barkley, former Auburn forward and NBA Hall of Famer, shakes hands with Jazz LaRue, 6, as he introduces himself to LaRue, Raine Keir, 15, left, and Thomas Evans, 15. The group also met Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart, below.

Above: PGA Pro John Daly tees off.

Left: Country music singer Riley Green tees off on hole 1. Right: Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy smiles as he is presented with a birthday cake.

Photos by Erin Nelson

get awayFOR A DAY

American Village

205-665-3535 • americanvillage.org

Spend a day with American patriots in the 18th century

The British are back! Join the revolution and declare your independence this summer at the American Village in Montevallo. Visitors will be fully immersed and engaged in programs designed to highlight America’s journey for independence, liberty and self-government.

Step back in time to the founding era of our nation, led by a passionate staff of costumed historical interpreters. Meet patriots of the past such as Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Phillis Wheatley, Eliza Hamilton, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Martha Washington. Discover the West Wing of Independence Hall with it’s multi-sensory experience and film “Choosing to be an American People.”

Explore the distinctive American Village campus, which includes more than 20 historically-inspired buildings on 188 acres. Play Colonial games, learn about apothecary

medicine in the herb garden, see a lighthearted puppet show and so much more.

Visitors of all ages will enjoy family-friendly activities, both indoors and outside.

The American Village is open to the public in June and July from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (excluding July 4-5). The summer season kicks offs with an American Arts & Crafts Fair June 2-3, and food trucks will be onsite every Saturday.

On July 4, celebrate Independence Day 1776 with all-day red, white and blue family fun, culminating in a spectacular fireworks display at twilight’s last gleaming.

Admission is $11 for adults, $10 for youth, $9 for seniors and free to veterans, active military and children ages 4 and younger. For more information and a calendar of events, visit americanvillage.org. Follow our Facebook and Instagram pages @AmericanVillage_Alabama.

Cook Museum of Natural Science offers exciting, hands-on experience

At the Cook Museum of Natural Science in downtown Decatur, visitors of all ages learn about the wonders of nature — and not by looking passively at dry, dull, traditional displays.

Instead, they enjoy an exciting, hands-on, immersive experience featuring state-of-the-art interactive exhibits.

Attendees touch a meteorite. They climb to the top of Big Tree. They’re mesmerized by moon jellies. They build a volcano and watch it erupt.

“Hands-on, immersive experiences engage people through more than listening, reading or watching,” said Joy Harris, the Cook Museum’s marketing coordinator. “When people not only see and hear, but also interact with something, they’re more likely to retain and recall the experience.”

The Cook Museum has drawn nearly 300,000 total visitors since it opened in 2019 and is a perfect Getaway for a Day. Less than 90 minutes from Birmingham, the facility is open seven days a week all summer and offers families the chance to make amazing memories together.

In addition, the museum is driven by a powerful mission.

“North America, and Alabama specifically, have amazing biodiversity that Cook Museum wants to showcase so people will be excited and educated about the natural world around them,” she said.

By providing amazing

experiences, the Cook Museum hopes to “spark an interest for visitors to explore topics further on their own,” Harris said.

In addition to exhibits, the museum provides extensive educational programming.

A great spot for field trips and

group visits, the museum hosted nearly 15,000 students on field trips in 2022.

The museum offers 5-day summer camps for children ages 5-12 on such topics as robotics and zoology. This summer’s theme is “Biomes Bonanza.”

Summer is an awesome time to enjoy the Birmingham Zoo

The 122-acre Birmingham Zoo is home to about 550 animals of 180 species from six continents, including zebras, giraffes, jaguars, orangutans and elephants.

The state’s most popular not-for-profit attraction, the zoo draws nearly 500,000 visitors annually.

It’s also the only Alabama zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. And summer is a perfect time to visit this magnificent facility.

There’s lots of animal experiences, including the Kiwanis giraffe encounters, goat walks, and reptile and lorikeet feedings.

In addition to its collection of animals, the zoo features the Red Diamond Express Train, the Protective Carousel and the Junior League of Birmingham Hugh Kaul Children's Zoo.

The Birmingham Zoo will also host several special events this summer.

► June 10: Zoo Brews. Sample craft breweries from around Alabama and the Southeast.

6-10 p.m. Ages 21 and older. Purchase tickets online to take part in the fun.

► Aug 2: Pancakes and Princesses. Grab your tiara and best ball gown and enjoy a royal brunch with your favorite princesses, as well as magical singing and ambassador animals. The first seating will be from 8:30-10 a.m. and the second seating will be from 10 a.m. to noon. Purchase tickets in advance for this magical day.

► Aug. 2: Fairytales and Frogs. Enjoy fairytale characters, as well as music, games and other activities. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free with zoo admission.

Fall events will include Oktoberfest Sept. 23 and Zoo Gala Oct. 5

Ticket links are created about two months before an event. Check the zoo’s website regularly for updated links and information.

Located at 2630 Cahaba Road, the zoo is open Wednesday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For details, call 205-879-0409 or go to birminghamzoo.com.

The Aquarist for a Day camps — held year-round — allow kids in grades 4 through 8 to explore careers at the Cook Museum through live animal feedings, behind-the-scenes tours, science classes and dissections of shark and squid.

Homeschool classes for grades

K-12 feature a new topic each month. All classes are hands-on, and many seventh- through 12th-grade classes include a dissection of a crab, grasshopper, sea star or sea urchin.

The Cook Museum offers event spaces for meetings, banquets and other events of all sizes, as well as birthday party packages.

Visitors can enjoy the Nature’s Table cafe in the museum lobby for healthy, delicious food with fresh ingredients, such as sandwiches, salads, wraps and protein bowls. Nature's Table also offers catering and boxed meals for events and parties.

Museum memberships offer such benefits as unlimited free general admission for a year, 10% discounts at Nature’s Table and the Museum Store, discounts on birthday party packages and camp registrations and early registration for classes and camps.

Through Labor Day, the Cook Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m.

Admission is $20 for adults ages 15 and over, $15 for children ages 3-14 and $17 for seniors ages 65 and up and military personnel with IDs. Infants ages 2 and younger are admitted free. Group packages are available.

For more information, including upcoming classes, camps and events, call 256-351-4505 or go to cookmuseum.org.

Find the perfect summer vacation rental in Gulf Shores and the Fort Morgan area

With gorgeous, white-sand beaches and a variety of recreation, The Fort Morgan and Gulf Shores area is a perfect summer getaway just four hours from Birmingham. The best way to enjoy this premiere vacation spot with family and friends is by renting a comfortable residential property on the beach.

The expert local agents at family-owned and operated Reed Real Estate in Gulf Shores can help you find your perfect rental. The agents know the homes personally, and will make your experience enjoyable from start to finish by providing friendly, personal service.

By booking directly with Reed Real Estate, you avoid unnecessary service fees of up to 25% charged by third-party websites like VRBO, Airbnb and Expedia. Reed also handles all of the details, such as contracts and 24/7 maintenance calls, allowing you to enjoy your

trip worry-free. The company will assist you with other guest services as well, including midweek housekeeping, setting up a canopy and chairs on your beach or planning a romantic getaway.

You can start planning your trip on the Reed Real Estate website by searching for the type of rental you’re looking for — pet friendly or boat friendly properties, rentals with private pools, houses that can accommodate large groups, even budget-friendly or summer daily rentals.

If you are looking for something more permanent in the area, Reed has great properties for sale, as well.

Check out their amazing year-round specials that will make your dream vacation even more affordable. You can book online at gulfrentals.com or call a friendly reservationist at 800-678-2306.

Cook Museum of Natural Science

256-351-4505 • cookmuseum.org

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