Village living august 2014 by Starnes Media

Village Living Volume 5 | Issue 5 | August 2014

Boil n’ brag

neighborly news & entertainment for Mountain Brook

Food on the move

Kick off football season with an annual event beneﬁting Children’s of Alabama at Otey’s Tavern. Find the details inside.

City page A16

Fashion forward

Council considers food truck regulation ordinance By MADOLINE MARKHAM and SYDNEY CROMWELL

Find our picks for back-to-school cool for any age in this issue.

Business page B4

INSIDE Sponsors ...... A4 City ................ A6 Business ....... A9 Community .. A17

Faith ................A22 School House..B9 Sports ............ B13 Calendar ........ B18

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Shindigs food truck is a regular sight next to Mountain Brook Elementary on Tuesdays. However, the truck may not be able to sell its salmon burgers and specialty “L.A.” balls there

in the near future. A new ordinance being considered by the City Council would regulate where Mountain Brook resident Mac Russell parks his Shindigs food truck, and the latest version would disallow it from the spaces on Heathermoor Road it has occupied one day a week for the past two

Food trucks such as Shindigs could be affected by a new ordinance Mountain Brook City Council is considering.

years — or anywhere that’s not private property. This draft, presented on July 14, would exclude businesses such as ice cream trucks that don’t park for more than 10 minutes in one location. Russell said he was pleased with an earlier

See FOOD TRUCKS | page A23

New council members to assume ofﬁce By MADOLINE MARKHAM For the second time in a row, Mountain Brook’s municipal election has been canceled. Only one person qualiﬁed for each City Council seat open for election, which was scheduled for Aug. 26. The qualifying period for candidates ended July 15. New on the council starting in November will be Alice Womack and Lloyd Shelton, who will take the places of Amy Carter and Jesse Vogtle. Both Carter and Vogtle are stepping down to pursue other commitments. Shelton and Womack both currently serve on the city’s Finance Committee and on the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation Board. Shelton is the chair of the committee and the current

president of the foundation board. A 1980 graduate of Mountain Brook High School, he works as an accountant with Lovoy, Summerville & Shelton, LLC. Womack is the vice president at First Commercial Bank, where she is employed in the Private Client Group as a lender and relationship manager. Billy Pritchard’s seat was also open for election this year, but no one qualiﬁed to run against him, allowing him to remain for another four-year term. Council Member Jack Carl, Council President Virginia Smith and Mayor Terry Oden’s terms all end in 2016. The City Council is made of ﬁve representatives plus the mayor. Places are held at-large, not by district. There are no term limits, and the members are not compensated.

Lloyd Shelton

In 2012, incumbents Smith, Carl and Oden all entered the ballot uncontested, but in 2010 eight candidates applied and campaigned for three City Council positions. The election being canceled will

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Alice Womack

save both the city and the candidates money. An election usually costs the city between $25,000 and $27,000, no matter how many seats are open.

A2 • August 2014

Village Living

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August 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ A3

A4 • August 2014

Village Living

About Us Please Support our Community Partners

Photo of the month

Mountain Brook residents Patricia Stutts, far left, and Sarah Grace Sparks and Caroline Lee, far right, were recognized for being ofﬁcers for the top fundraising chapter of Delta Delta Delta in the country. The University of Alabama Delta Mu chapter raised $204,414.79 last year for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, making them the ﬁrst chapter to ever raise more than $200,000. Photo courtesy of Patricia Stutts.

Village Gold Winner

Congratulations to Emily Frost for winning a Village Gold gift card from Village Living’s Market Day drawing. Contact morgan@starnespublishing.com to claim your prize.

Editor’s Note By Jennifer Gray If you were taking dance in Mountain Brook around the time I was, then you probably remember Time Step Studios. Owners and teachers Lee Whatley and Louise Beard held classes in Crestline where Pasquale’s Pizza was and near where A Social Affair is located today. This month, we caught up with Louise, and wow, has she been busy since those dancing days in Crestline. While many dancers only dream of Broadway, Louise has made those dreams come true in a big way. Although she is not dancing on stage, she loves every minute of being a Broadway producer — a Tony award-winning producer. Learn all about her journey and the amazing experience she had at this year’s awards inside this issue. Also this month we have updates on

our new city council members — no election necessary — and what they have to say about Mountain Brook and the important issues they would like to tackle. In other city news, plans continue to bring the Piggly Wiggly back to Crestline; the latest updates can by found on page A8. The council is also tackling the issues surrounding food trucks conducting business in Mountain Brook. Construction at Lane Parke is as busy as ever. Residents have moved into some of the apartments, and walls are going up on the new Grand Bohemian Hotel. Read all about the latest on the development. August always means it’s time to go back to school, too. In the pages ahead, meet this year’s PTO Presidents from each school and hear their plans for the year. If this is your ﬁrst year in the

Mountain Brook schools with a kindergartener, we have you covered. We interviewed rising first graders and got some great tips from them on what to expect in kindergarten. Relevant to all grades, Superintendent Dicky Barlow talked to us about the upcoming school year and answered some questions on topics such as the Core Curriculum and new standardized testing. And finally, what to wear on those first few days is always a big deal to students. Mountain Brook fashionistas and bloggers Caroline Gidiere and Martha Thompson have all the latest trends and where to find them in Mountain Brook. Enjoy those remaining days of summer vacation!

Village Living Publisher: Creative Director: Editor: Managing Editor: Sports Editor: Staff Writers: Editorial Assistant: Graphic Designer: Advertising Manager: Sales and Distribution:

Contributing Writer: Intern: Published by:

Dan Starnes Keith McCoy Jennifer Gray Madoline Markham David Knox Katie Turpen Jessa Pease Sydney Cromwell Madison Miller Emily VanderMey Matthew Allen Rhonda Smith Warren Caldwell Michelle Salem Haynes Morgan Robinson Nathan Pearman Kari Kampakis Olivia Burton Village Living LLC

School House Contributors: Catherine Gasque & Catherine Bodnar - Cherokee Bend, Lisa Stone - Crestline, Kathleen Woodry - Brookwood Forest, Suzanne Milligan - Mountain Brook High School, Hilary Ross- Mountain Brook Elementary, Elizabeth Farrar - Mountain Brook Junior High Contributing Photographer: Image Arts Contact Information: Village Living #3 Ofﬁce Park Circle, Suite 316 Birmingham, AL 35223 313-1780 Dan@VillageLivingOnline.com

Please submit all articles, information and photos to: Jennifer@VillageLivingOnline.com P.O. Box 530341 Birmingham, AL 35253

For advertising contact: Dan@VillageLivingOnline.com

Legals: Village Living is published monthly. Reproduction or use of editorial or graphic content without prior permission is prohibited. Village

Living is designed to inform the Mountain Brook community of area school, faith, family and community events. Information in Village Living is gathered from sources considered reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. All articles/photos submitted become the property of Village Living. We reserve the right to edit articles/photos as deemed necessary and are under no obligation to publish or return photos submitted. Inaccuracies or errors should be brought to the attention of the publisher at (205) 370-0732 or by email.

Please recycle this paper

A Little Something (A16) Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center (A16) Alabama Outdoors (B5) Alabama Power (B14) Alabama Symphony Orchestra (A19) Amy Smith (A20) Architectural Heritage (B7) Batts’ Chimney Services (A22) Bedzzz Express (B19) Birmingham Heart Clinic (B7) Birmingham Speech & Hearing Associates (B6) Brandino Brass (B6) Bromberg & Company, Inc. (B16) Canterbury Gardens (A8) Canterbury UMC (A21) Children’s of Alabama (A11) Classic Gardens (B16) Dish’n It Out (B3) Etc. (A12) Fab’rik (B4) Fi-Plan Partners (B1) Fred Smith Group (A6) Home Care Associates (A15) Homewood Toy & Hobby (A20) Hufham Orthodontics (B9) Iz Café (B15) John-William Jeweller (B18) Just Happy Hounds (A17) Kevin J. Alexander D.M.D., P.C. (A5) Kirkwood by the River (A6) Korduroy Krocodile (B18) Lamb’s Ears, Ltd. (A8) Lane Parke - Evson Inc. (A23) Lane Parke/Daniel Corporation (B9) Levy’s Fine Jewelry (A1) Little Flower Day Spa (A7) Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce (A13) On Time Service (B3) Otey’s (A21) Premier Psychiatry (A22) RealtySouth (A24) Renasant Bank (A3) Sally Bergquist/RealtySouth (B8) Sew Sheri Designs (B10) Sherwin Williams (B12) Simply Ponds (A20) Swoop (A22) Taco Mama (B12) The Fitness Center (B8) The Maids (A15) TherapySouth (B11) 35 Trinity Medical Center (A2) Tutoring Club Cahaba Heights (A18) UAB Medicine (A14) Uptown Nail Spa (A18) Village Dermatology (A10) Vitalogy Wellness Center (A9, B2) Weigh To Wellness (B13) Wendy Kanable (B19) Winn-Dixie (A5)

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • A5

1,000’s of new

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A6 â&#x20AC;˘ August 2014

Village Living

City Beech Circle flooding issues to be addressed

CRIME REPORT June 13-19 Burglary / Residential A burglary occurred on the 10 block of Glenview Circle between June 15-17. Unknown suspect(s) stole silver and jewelry. A burglary occurred on the 100 block of Ross Drive between June 13-15. Unknown suspects stole electronic equipment. A burglary occurred on June 13 on the 3000 block of Canterbury Lane. Unknown suspects stole silver and jewelry. June 20-26 Robbery On June 23, a robbery occurred in the 3100 block of Cahaba Village Plaza. The incident happened in the parking lot as the victim returned to her vehicle. A Mountain Brook patrol officer was in the immediate vicinity and responded to the scene. A suspect was arrested shortly after the offense occurred. Burglary / Residential A residential burglary occurred in the 2500 block of Beverly Drive on June 25. An unknown suspect entered the residence through a window and stole a television.

The city is now seeking to address potential flooding in areas such as the drainage culvert that runs between 221 Beech Street and 225 Beech Street. Photo courtesy of Leah Rice.

By MADOLINE MARKHAM Residents of Beech Circle and Beech Street have dealt with basement flooding and other effects of rushing creek waters following the construction of Tapestry Park apartments on Montclair Road, and now the City is helping them prevent it. Residents Matt and Meredith Kilgore, Pryor Rice and Randall Pitts addressed Mountain Brook City Council about the issue at its July 14 meeting. According to the residents, the apartment construction has exacerbated the issue caused by run off from surrounding areas of 52nd Street, Montclair Road and St Francis Xavier Catholic Church entering the drainage system around their homes. Residents have built retaining walls, raised bridges and installed drainage systems, and most of the time these serve the water drainage adequately. However, they are concerned

about the potential effects with an increase in volume of water and are asking for intervention from the city. The council approved a proposal from Walter Schoel Engineering Company for hydrologic consulting to investigate drainage conditions in the Beech Circle drainage way, which would cost $13,500 and take two to three weeks. Meredith Kilgore also brought up the possibility of closing the one-way exit from Beech Circle to Montclair Road, which would require an easement from a property owner for a turn-around to be created for emergency vehicles. Virginia Smith recommended that the residents start a neighborhood petition to bring this separate matter before the Council in the future. Matt Kilgore said residents have talked with Birmingham City Council members and the minister at St. Francis about the issue, and they are in favor of closing the route.

June 27-July 3 No incidents reported. July 4-10 Unlawful Breaking Entering Vehicle A UBEV occurred in the 2600 block of Beverly Drive between July 6-7. Unknown suspect(s) entered an unlocked vehicle and stole credit cards. July 11-17 Burglary / Residential A burglary occurred in the 2500 block of Beverly Drive on July 14 between 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Unknown suspect(s) entered a residence and stole electronic equipment. Unlawful Breaking and Entering Vehicle On July 10 at 5 p.m., patrol officers were dispatched to a report of a white female breaking into a vehicle on the 900 block of Beech Lane. A responding officer located the suspect on Beech Circle where she was attempting to gain entry to a vehicle. The suspect, Janese McDuff, 41 of Pelham, was taken into custody and charged with Unlawful Breaking and Entering of a Vehicle.

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ A7

City Council Updates

The Council has approved an Eagle Scout project for Trail B in the new Cahaba River Park that is now under construction.

At its recent meetings, the Mountain Brook City Council addressed the business below.

June 23 Lawn equipment time regulations. The council considered prohibiting the operation of any mechanically powered lawn equipment for commercial purposes within a residential district between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. This would amend Section 34-7 of the City Code to Announcement. Bryan Word, president of Blackjack Horticulture, requested that they be allowed to start working around 7 a.m. on weekdays instead. Mountain Brook Parkway lighting. The council approved adding a streetlight to Mountain Brook Parkway at the pedestrian crossing signals east of Cahaba Road as well as an upgrade of existing lighting on this street to brighter, more direct lights. These will cost an additional $1,500 a year, which is still within the street lighting budget for the city, according to City Manager Sam Gaston. This project was initially presented by Leadership Mountain Brook students. Corner beautification. The council approved permission to use a right-of-way for a proposal to beautify and landscape the four corners of Mountain Brook Parkway and Overbrook Road by Nimrod Long. Tommy Luckie had contacted City Manager Sam Gaston after the wall on his corner lot was partially knocked down, and his neighbor Nimrod Long offered to donate landscape design around the walls and hoped a Boy Scout troop could help the city with the project. Luckie offered to donate $500 toward the project. Safe-Routes-to-Schools funds. The council approved a request for an additional $2,400 for construction administration for the Safe-Routes-to-Schools project from Nimrod Long of Nimrod Long & Associates. Tree Commission appointment. The council reappointed Billy Angel1 to the Tree Commission with a term to end May 9, 2017. Construction code update. The council approved an ordinance amending Section 109-32 of the City Code (Residential Code) regarding the waiver of certain replacement

fenestration provisions. Park at Overton development adjustment. The council held a public hearing to consider an amendment to The Park at Overton Residential Infill District (RID) master development plan. It would provide for consolidation of two lots into one and limiting the development to 18 or fewer lots to allow for the future consolidation of lots without council approval. The amendment was passed.

July 14 Little Hardware right-of-way. As Little Hardware prepares to move to English Village, the Council approved improvements to the Park Lane public right-of-way in front of its new building. The improvements will enhance maneuverability for 18-wheel delivery trucks that would be exiting the Little Hardware property. It will result in the loss of one of 12 public parking spaces along Park Lane, but another space would be added with proposed on-site parking reconfiguration. The proposal also includes a two-hour parking signage for the 11 spaces along Park Lane. Cahaba River Park Eagle Scout project. The council approved Hunt Cochraneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposed Eagle Scout project for the new Cahaba River Park. A member of Troop 28 at Independent Presbyterian Church, Hunt will install the interior spur trail on Trail B, create informational signs about the bioswale area and plant identification signs, and add native plants to aid in the bioswale water-filtration process. 280 speed limit. The council approved a speed limit ordinance amendment for U.S. 280 so that the limit set by ALDOT can be better enforced by Mountain Brook Police Department. New Western windows. The council approved an ordinance amending the PUD development plan for the Lane Parke development that would allow a reduction in the required amount of window transparency for the grocery building. Western Supermarket has found that the minimum window transparency of 40 percent would be detrimental to the wine section that will face Jemison Lane. The proposal would reduce the requirement to 30 percent transparency.

A8 • August 2014

Village Living

Crestline Pig plans presented to Council By MADOLINE MARKHAM The Pig is officially coming back to Crestline. Robert Jolly of Retail Specialists presented information about the plan for a site adjacent to where it was initially announced to be built at the June 23 Mountain Brook City Council meeting. Original plans called for building on the property where CVS is currently located. However, the site has been adjusted to sit between the current CVS, the Board of Education building and Crestline Elementary’s field. At the council meeting, architect Jeff Slaton presented a preliminary rendering for a 19,000to 20,000-square-foot building with a mezzanine level for storage, which would be comparable to the space in the River Run store and slightly larger than the former Crestline Piggly Wiggly. Its front doors would face the Board of Education building, with possible access and service vehicles coming off of Vine Street. This preliminary plan calls for 98 new parking spaces that would face Regions and the Board of Education building. Jolly acknowledged the space for the building and its parking will be tight. “We are studying urban village market designs in very densely populated areas,” Jolly said. “There are developments like this all over the country. A lot of these questions are case studies we are able to study, but we don’t have an answer at the moment.” Council Member Billy Pritchard echoed these ideas: “This is not going to be a grocery store you would see on Montclair Road. There are a lot of factors that will be much different than a typical grocery store.” A study regarding traffic access from Vine Street for the property has been undertaken, and a report on how traffic flow will work is scheduled to be released soon. “I can’t tell you how the traffic is going to flow, but we are going to study it. I believe this project can help address some of the other traffic

Preliminary renderings of a new Crestline Piggly Wiggly were presented to the Mountain Brook City Council on June 23.

issues in the area,” Jolly said, noting that there will be further discussions about parking and traffic specifics for the plan. Several residents and business owners expressed concerns about the proposed plans at the meeting. Chris Hellings, who lives on the 100 block of Dexter Avenue, presented the details of what he called “massive density problems” and traffic and parking issues in the area around the proposed site. “Nobody wants the Pig to come back more than my wife, but when we start talking about

this footprint, we are talking a lot of traffic going a lot of different ways with no way to get there,” Hellings said. Pritchard responded by saying all the concerns he raised are being taken into consideration and the traffic study will look at a larger surrounding area around the proposed site as well. Another resident requested that a more organized carpool plan be taken into consideration at Crestline Elementary as a part of this process. Resident Bill Israel addressed concerns regarding noise existing in the village, and the owner of a neighboring daycare said she was concerned

about the safety of her business’ children. Retail Specialists is working with both Andy and Stanley Virciglio, owners of the former Crestline store, and Naseem and Basim Ajlouny and family, partners in the River Run store, on its plans. “We have been working with property owners needed to make the plan a reality,” Jolly said. “Those have gone well and we feel like we are working in harmony with the community to make this happen.”

Lane Park Rd

VillageLivingOnline.com

Business Spotlight

Trocadero Salon

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August 2014 • A9 Read past Business Spotlights at villagelivingonline.com

2839 Cahaba Road 870-7650 trocaderosalon.com Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Ca Thursday, 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ha ba Saturday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Rd

By SYDNEY CROMWELL After nearly 40 years in business, Trocadero Salon looks very much the same as ever. Many of the faces behind the reception desk and hairdressers’ chairs have been there for more than 25 years. Even a few of the clients have been walking through Trocadero’s doors for two or three decades. “In the generations we have seen in the shop, it’s probably been at least three generations and sometimes we’ve had four,” said Mary Melof, a co-owner who has worked at the salon for 38 years. “It’s very much a family shop.” Since 1974, Trocadero has provided hair and nail services to clients of all ages. Sharon Kellum, a co-owner and retired hairdresser who worked at Trocadero for more than 30 years, recalled a client bringing in her daughter for her ﬁrst haircut. Thirty-eight years later, the daughter is still a regular at the salon. “We’ve watched them grow up, and it makes us feel old a little bit, but we like it,” Melof said. Rima Deep and Rachel Gaudel are also co-owners along with Kellum and Melof. In many cases, the salon employees have become part of their clients’ families. Melof said Trocadero hairdressers are frequently invited to weddings, baptisms and bar mitzvahs. Within the salon’s walls, clients share life stories and problems over the sounds of scissors and hairdryers. “People love to be pampered, but they also like to visit,” Melof said. “We listen to all their problems, and they listen to ours.”

(above) Yvette Jackson, left, and Mary Melof work at the reception desk for Trocadero. Melof has been working at the salon since she was 18. (left) Stylist Michelle Lindsey cuts a client’s hair at Trocadero Salon. Photos by Sydney Cromwell.

A hair salon is a people-oriented business, and Melof said that managing different personalities can be a “rollercoaster ride” at times. However, she loves making a happy atmosphere for her employees and their clients. “You’ve got 100-plus people walking [in] through the day — plus you have 15 employees — and everybody has their different personalities and moods,” Melof said. “Thankfully, there

have been more great days than bad days. I will deﬁnitely say that. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been here so long.” In October, Trocadero will begin its anniversary celebrations, which will include 40 days of giving away products or services and an event near Thanksgiving to thank their customers. The salon will be recognizing its longtime staff members and customers, as well as inviting former

employees and clients to join the celebrations. Melof said that even after 40 years, there is no place she would rather be. “We’re cruising along, and God has blessed us with never really having to think that hard about it. It’s kind of nice that we’ve been totally blessed,” Melof said. “We’re happy that we were afforded the opportunity to take care of these clients this long. I hope we get to do it another 40.”

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Village Living

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Now Open Schaeffer Eye Center now has a location open at 200 Cahaba Road, Suite 100. The center offers comprehensive eye exams, advanced medical testing and complete contact lens care. Hours are Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

870-3937. schaeffereyecenter.com.

August 2014 • A11 Linda Dobbins Dance, 2416 Canterbury Road, is holding a free festival on Aug. 9 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Play at Mountain Brook Village will feature clogging, hip-hop, jazz dancing and lyrical dancing as well as face painting, crafts and balloons.

305-0281. lddance.com.

Dallas-based women’s clothing store The Impeccable Pig is now open in the former Cookies by Design space next to Bromberg’s in Mountain Brook Village. The store is located at 2812 Cahaba Road.

For the month of June, Oak Street Hair Group participated in a Charity Challenge. The salon chose to raise money for the National Organization of Rare Disorders, which advocates for a variety of lesser-known diseases. Their theme was “Nerd for NORD,” and each stylist chose a rare disease to learn and become a “nerd” about. The salon, which is located at 125 Oak Street, raised more than $2,000 from community donations and stylists made their own contribution of $1 for each service they performed that month.

theimpeccablepig.com.

879-3222. oakstreethairgroup.com.

Relocations and Renovations

Anniversaries

Psychiatry, P.C., an 2 Premier outpatient clinic specializing in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, is now open at 4 Ofﬁce Park Circle, Suite 305. 870-2005. premierpsychiatrypc.com.

Gallery 1930, 1930 Cahaba Road, has been approved for mixed-use rezoning that will allow for a 1,000-squarefoot addition to the building in front of the existing gallery and ﬁve additional on-street parking spaces on 20th Ave. S. The gallery will primarily use the space, but Vino would cater some joint events also.

870-1930. artgallery1930.com.

News and Accomplishments

Kevin J. Alexander, DMD, Family Dentistry, 48 Church Street, celebrated its 25th anniversary on July 10.

871-7361. drkevinjalexander.com.

Hirings and Promotions RealtySouth, 105 Euclid Ave., has hired Brittany Hammock as a Realtor. She will be based out of the Crestline ofﬁce.

879-6330. realtysouth.com.

Brick & Tin, 2901 Cahaba Road, is now open for brunch on Sundays from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

502-7971. brickandtin.com.

Business news

to share? Now Open Coming Soon

Relocation Expansion Anniversary

If you are in a brick and mortar business in Mountain Brook and want to share your event with the community, let us know.

Village Living iving Email dan@villagelivingonline.com

Restaurant Showcase

Pizza 120

Read past Restaurant Showcases at villagelivingonline.com

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By MADOLINE MARKHAM David Kahn pushes his ﬁngers apart to zoom in. The image on screen has taken a year’s work, and he wants to show off the air bubbles in the pizza crust. After tasting hundreds of pies, he now has a dough he’d put up against anyone else’s. It makes for a light and airy crust that doesn’t leave you feeling overly stuffed, he said. Kahn wouldn’t think twice about where to debut the pizza made from his signature dough. A 20-year Mountain Brook resident, he owned a Blockbuster in Crestline Village for years, and he chose Cahaba Village as the location for the ﬁrst of what would become 46 Yogurt Mountain locations, which he sold the last of in July 2013. His new Pizza 120 concept, boasting a buildyour-own pizza ready in 120 seconds, is set to open in Mountain Brook Plaza between Taziki’s and Moe’s in mid-August. By late fall, he plans to have Tuscaloosa, Madison and Montgomery locations open as well. “I am excited [for customers] to truly be able to design their own [pizzas] and to give Birmingham something it hasn’t seen yet,” said Pizza 120 vice president Tasker Hewitt, whom Kahn recruited from California Pizza Kitchen. “I am also excited for the opportunity to work with David. He has an amazing track record of growing businesses.” Upon entering the restaurant, customers will pick out their sauce and veggie and meat toppings in a Subway-style line, or choose from 10 specialty options such as Cheeseburger,

David Kahn and Tasker Hewitt stand in front of Pizza 120’s rotating oven, which cooks up to 14 pizzas in 120 seconds each. Photo courtesy of David Kahn.

Barbecue Chicken, Margherita, White Pizza, Pesto Pizza and Philly Cheesesteak. From there the single serving pizza enters a special rotating oven manufactured in Italy, which cooks the pie in two minutes.

Village Living

Lane Park Rd

A12 • August 2014

“It’s the most traditional Italian Neapolitan style pizza, and we have captured that for a fast casual concept,” Hewitt said. Hewitt and Kahn have spent more than half a year researching the ingredients for Pizza 120.

2737 U.S. 280 West, Suite 151 Mountain Brook Plaza Pizza120.com Ca Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. ha ba Rd Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. The pepperoni and sausage come from a Chicago company that uses no ﬁllers or MSG. The hamburger, chicken and steak, Hewitt said, taste like they came off the grill. Their red sauce will be made in-house from tomatoes imported from Italy. Grown in the rich volcanic soil around Mount Vesuvius, Hewitt said you could eat the tomatoes themselves by the spoonful. They’ll also make the Alfredo and pesto sauce options. As far as cheese options, mozzarella, fresh buffalo mozzarella, feta and cheddar will all come from Wisconsin, and there will also be a nondairy vegan cheese alternative, along with a gluten-free crust. Beyond savory pizza, customers can order salads with any pizza topping available as well as dessert pizzas. The menu will also feature beer and wine in addition to Coke products. The 10-inch single serving pizzas range from $5.99 for cheese to $7.99 for any build your own option. Pizza 120 also offers a $4.99 kids meal that features a cheese or pepperoni pizza with a drink and cookie. All are available for dine in, take out, or a take-and-bake-at-home option. Soon an app will be available for placing orders so you can skip the topping line if you are short on time. No matter the customer’s taste, Hewitt emphasizes that at Pizza 120 you can build your pizza however you want to build it. “You can turn anything into a pizza,” Hewitt said. “We will encourage employees to not be afraid to break the rules. The only limit is your imagination.”

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VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • A13

Lane Parke amenities open, moving forward By MADOLINE MARKHAM

Tenant mix for Phase I close to complete

Joe Saling of The Kessler Collection, second from left, shows plans for the Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook to Chamber President Kaye Emack, Chamber Director Suzan Doidge, Terry Chapman and City Manager Sam Gaston. Photo courtesy of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.

Grand Bohemian Hotel on track to open in summer 2015 Construction on the new Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook Village is scheduled to start going vertical early this month. Rainy weather delayed foundation work this summer, pushing the luxury boutique hotel’s estimated opening date back from April to June 2015, according to Mark Kessler, chief operating officer of The Kessler Collection. The groundbreaking for the $35 million building was held in January. While the hotel is under construction, Kessler’s team has been connecting with local stakeholders to determine how it can best meet the needs of the community. In late May, Kessler’s spa team visited another area spa to make sure the services the Grand Bohemian offers will be complementary to its neighbors. “Our message is to continue to reach out to make sure we are good partners to other local businesses, to help drive our business and help drive their business as well,” Kessler said. Since March, Joe Saling, new regional director of

sales and catering for The Kessler Collection, has been overseeing the Mountain Brook development and another Kessler property in Charleston that is under construction. He is the first Birmingham-based staff person for the Orlando-based hotel chain. Among other duties, Saling has been meeting with corporate contacts to share the hotel’s features with them. “The response has been very encouraging,” Saling said. “We don’t have a product like what we are building in the Birmingham area that is going to stand out. I think the business community is very excited about it.” Saling noted that he thinks the 32-seat private dining room with adjoining billiards room and access to an outdoor terrace will especially appeal to businesses. Kessler said that all features of the hotel announced at the groundbreaking are still in the works: an art gallery, rooftop bar, restaurant, sculpture garden, event space, two dining rooms, a cooking school and spa. For more, visit kesslercollection.com.

Construction is expected to begin on the first phase of Lane Parke retail development in the fall, with stores to open by the final quarter of 2015. John Evans of Evson Inc. announced on July 14 that the Mountain Brook Village development is in negotiations for the final tenant needed for preleasing, which will complete about 80 percent of the tenant mix for Phase I. Once that tenant has been finalized, the developers will approach financial institutions. After funding has been secured, they will announce

the specific tenants coming to the development as well as a timeline for construction. “With Kessler [Collection] coming on board, interest from high end retailers percolated up,” Evans said. “We have a pretty good pick for the community.” Robert Jolly of Retail Specialists said that all of the tenants will be the first to open a location in Alabama. “All in all, we are in good shape,” Evans said. “We believe interest will increase once construction starts.”

Apartments unveil second phase The newest phase of Lane Parke Apartments is set to open at the beginning of August. Sixty-six new apartment units will be available as well as the community’s swimming pool and health and wellness center, according to Leah McDonnell, community manager for the Mountain Brook Village complex. The first building of 66 units opened June 1. “They have been incredibly popular,” McDonnell said. “We are leasing about eight to 10 per week; some are preleases for buildings opening in the fall. We are moving in about six to eight per week.” The remaining three buildings of the complex will open in September and October and will feature plans distinct from the first two, including a three-bedroom plan. When all

construction is complete, there will be 276 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. “A lot of new people are coming into Mountain Brook,” McDonnell said. “It’s been an incredible experience to be a part of. Every day we are seeing it unfold more and more.” The apartments feature stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, wood flooring, stand-alone showers, and gas and electric options. Rent starts at $1,530 for one-bedroom units, $1,580 for two-bedroom units and $3,000 for three-bedroom units. The permanent leasing office for the complex is now open at 1000 Lane Parke Court. It is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. For more, visit laneparkeapartments.com or call 443-4567.

Crestline Tent Sale 3rd Annual

Saturday, August 16 - 8:00am - 5:00pm MOUNTAIN BROOK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.welcometomountainbrook.com • 871-3779 facebook.com/mtnbrookchamber

A14 • August 2014

Village Living

New sidewalks connect Mountain Brook neighborhoods

and some near Crestline Elementary with zero construction cost. According to Gaston, construction for these new sidewalks was 100 percent federally funded, while the City only had to pay approximately $150,000 for engineering, inspection and design.

By OLIVIA BURTON Mary Balkovetz of Cherokee Bend hasn’t skipped her daily walk in more than 800 days. For her and other avid walkers and runners in the community, the recently added sidewalks and pedestrian bridges in the Mountain Brook Village Walkway System (MBVWS) have opened up new possibilities for enjoying the natural beauty of the area. “I think more people are walking because of them,” said Balkovetz. “I love running into people I know when I’m out there in the mornings.” The system now includes approximately 40 miles of walkways and trails. Making progress “When I came here about 21 years ago, I was amazed at how many people walked and ran in the community,” City Manager Sam Gaston said. According to Gaston, sidewalks were built in Mountain Brook without any overarching plan for many years. In the mid-1990s, however, the city put together a committee to develop a master plan to connect the different neighborhoods and villages of Mountain Brook. “The project has been well received by our residents,” he said. “Through this plan, we’ve linked our commercial villages, the schools,

The new pedestrian bridge on Old Leeds Road was built as part of the recently completed Phase 6 of the sidewalk master plan. Photo by Olivia Burton.

our neighborhoods and places of worship.” Although he said some community members are reluctant to have the new sidewalks built in their neighborhoods, Gaston strongly believes in the long-term value of the walkway system. “Once the sidewalks are in, the improvements are done and people are using them, [people] realize how much of an asset they are to the community,” he said. “[The sidewalks] make their homes more valuable.” City Council President Virginia

Smith can often be seen on the new sidewalks in the Cherokee Bend and Brookwood Forest areas. She looks forward to the benefits that future sidewalk projects will bring to Mountain Brook. “[The sidewalks] encourage people to get out more often, use their cars less, get more exercise, and enjoy the beauty of Mountain Brook,” she said. The master plan Phase 6 of the master plan’s 12 phases was completed in early 2014. Next on the list for the MBVWS is Phase 9, scheduled to begin in the

spring or summer of 2015. Most of the sidewalk projects so far have been 80 percent federally funded with the city picking up 20 percent of the bill. The sidewalks most recently completed as part of Phase 6 cost a total of approximately $2 million, with the city picking up 20 percent of that cost. According to Gaston, the city currently does not have any certainty of funding past Phase 9. Thanks to the Safe Routes to School grant, however, Mountain Brook was able to build sidewalks around Mountain Brook Elementary

Looking ahead In the future, Mountain Brook residents can anticipate walkways connecting Jemison Trail with Brookwood Village and eventually with Lakeshore Trail. Smith looks forward to additional walking routes between Mountain Brook and Homewood near the Birmingham Zoo that are currently in their planning stages. “We’ve tried to follow the vision of Robert Jemison, who was the individual who laid out the original part of Mountain Brook in the ’20s and ’30s,” said Gaston. “He envisioned Mountain Brook to be like a residential haven from the pollution, smog and industrial clutter of Birmingham, which was a heavily industrial town at that time.” Gaston believes that the city has followed Jemison’s vision well, especially considering that Mountain Brook is only 2 percent commercial with a large park system. More information about upcoming city projects can be found at mtnbrook.org.

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • A15

Grab your walking shoes! To help you enjoy some of Mountain Brook’s trails and sidewalks, we’ve come up with five walks in a range of difficulty and length. Mountain Brook Village Loop 1.4 miles After you leave Mountain Brook Village down Montevallo Road, turn right on Overhill Road and enjoy the quiet streets of one of Mountain Brook’s oldest neighborhoods. Next, turn right on Watkins Road. Stop and take in the Cahaba River as you turn right on Cahaba Road and pass Mountain Brook Elementary. Finally, treat yourself to a limeade at Gilchrist when you’ve completed this easy, yet rewarding, walk. Cross Country Challenge 2.8 miles Mountain Brook Junior High’s cross country team often uses segments of this loop for practice. Starting at MBJH, walk up Overbrook Road and turn right on Montevallo. Next, turn right on Montrose Road, then right again on Beechwood. Take a right on Overbrook and follow dirt Jemison up to the intersection, where you’ll continue along Overbrook back to your starting point. The Furnace Loop 1.9 miles Start your journey on the historic Irondale Furnace Trail, where you’ll see the restored blast furnace and maybe some local wildlife. Walk to the end, and then take a right on Old Leeds Road on the new pedestrian bridge. After getting a good workout on the new sidewalk along Old Leeds Road, enjoy the scenery of the houses on Forest Glen Drive. Use the stepping stones across the river to get back on the Irondale Furnace Trail and complete the loop. Be sure to check the water levels before you go so you don’t get stuck.

Mild Walk Moderate Walk Strenuous Walk Very Strenuous Walk Uphill Both Ways from MBJH to MBHS 4.7 miles Start at MBJH. Walk down Overbrook Road, and then stroll alongside the river along Jemison. Look out for golf balls as you skirt Mountain Brook Club along Overbrook until you turn right on Cherokee Road, and then follow the new sidewalk until you turn left on Overcrest Road. Walk downhill until you reach Brookwood Road, and then turn left and follow the sidewalk past Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church. Turn right on Westbury Road, and after a steep hill, turn right again on Bethune and walk downhill to the high school.

Overton Hills and Far Away 5.4 miles This isn’t a walk in Overton Park. Starting at Brookwood Forest Elementary, follow South Brookwood Road down a steep hill, up a steeper hill and then down another steep hill to Brookwood Road, and then take a left. Next, turn left on Robin Road, and then turn right on North Woodridge Road. You’ve made it to the top! Turn left on Overton Road and follow it past Overton Park and Overton Village until you turn left on South Brookwood Road and make your way back to BWF. Reward yourself with a chocolate chip muffin from Magic Muffins.

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A16 • August 2014

Village Living

Cooking for a cause

Otey’s to host sixth-annual Boiling n’ Bragging

Boiling n’ Bragging Benefits Critical Care Transport at Children’s of Alabama Aug. 16, 6-9 p.m. Otey’s Tavern boilingnbragging.org By OLIVIA BURTON In 2009, 30 people raised approximately $1,200 for the Critical Care Transport unit of Children’s of Alabama at the first-ever Boiling n’ Bragging event at Otey’s Tavern. Four years later, more than 800 attendees raised approximately $63,000 for the cause. Since Alabama’s Rotary District 6860 partnered with Children’s Hospital of Alabama in 2008 to raise funds for the Critical Care Transport team, the event has become one of the top five fundraising events each year for Children’s of Alabama. The sixth annual football season kickoff party will take place at Otey’s Tavern in Crestline Village on Saturday, Aug. 16 from 6 to 9 p.m. Event organizers expect the event to continue to grow. “I think we can attribute this success to our relationships within the community and our sponsors that are involved,” said Mindy Wald, community development coordinator at Children’s of Alabama. To kick off the football season, Boiling n’ Bragging will have team tents, team mascots, face painting, bouncy houses and a cornhole tournament sponsored by the Alabama Cornhole Association. The event will also offer drink specials, a low-country boil, jambalaya, hamburgers, hot dogs and other grill items for purchase. All proceeds from the event will go to Children’s of

The annual event at Otey’s Tavern in Crestline Village offers a low-country boil, hamburgers, hot dogs and drink specials.

Alabama. Attendees are encouraged to embrace the game day atmosphere by wearing their team colors. Since its origins in 1983, the Critical Care Transport team has transported more than 1000 critically ill and injured children safely to Children’s of Alabama each year. Critical Care Transport’s specially trained group of registered nurses and respiratory therapists have extensive pediatric and neonatal

experience. They travel by ambulance, helicopter or jet regionally and occasionally even internationally to transport patients back to Children’s for care. All of Critical Care Transport’s vehicles contain the equipment necessary to make the Critical Care Transport unit a mobile extension of Children’s of Alabama. “For lack of better terms, it’s the sickest of the sick, the most injured of the injured that we transport back here for care,” said Jason

Peterson, transport coordinator for Critical Care Transport. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $20 or at the door for $25. Sponsorships are available starting at $500. Registration and tickets are available online at boilingnbragging.org. For more information about Boiling n’ Bragging, Children’s of Alabama or Critical Care Transport, visit the boilingnbragging.org or contact Mindy Wald at mindy.wald@childrensal.org.

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • A17

Community Eat, shop and groove Crestline Rocks to return Sept. 27

Big Head Todd and the Monsters headlined last year’s Crestline Rocks. This year, local bands will compete in a vote by donation competition leading up to the Sept. 27 event. Photo courtesy of David Smith.

By OLIVIA BURTON Save the date: the second-annual Crestline Rocks will return to Crestline Village on Saturday, Sept. 27. The all-day, village-wide event presented by Otey’s and Taco Mama and sponsored by Iberia Bank will offer live music from local bands in the field across from the Emmet O’Neal Library, Touch-a-Truck for the kids, and restaurant and store specials around the village. Leading up to the event on Sept. 27, local bands will have the opportunity to compete in a vote by donation fundraising competition to determine which bands will ultimately play at the event and in what order. One dollar for PreSchool Partners equals one vote for a band, and community members can vote as many times as they want for multiple bands. Following the bands from the vote-by-donation competition, bands Ham and Rollin’ in the Hay will take the stage until the event ends at 10 p.m. This year, event organizers aim to reduce

ticket prices from last year’s $35 in advance and $40 at the door to $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Money raised from the event will support PreSchool Partners, which was founded more than 19 years ago to provide quality preschool education for at-risk children in the Birmingham area. The program serves to support and educate both the students and their parents through its highly structured learning environment. Students in the program receive more than 800 hours of instruction and enrichment annually, and their parents attend over 100 hours of classes on topics such as child development, money management and family literacy. Stay tuned for more information about this year’s live music over the coming weeks. For updates and announcements leading up to Crestline Rocks on Sept. 27, visit crestlinerocks.com or its Facebook page. To get involved, call PreSchool Partners Director of Development Allene Neighbors at 936-3754. To learn more about PreSchool Partners, visit preschool-partners.org or call 951-5151.

Peter Pan Jr. coming to LJCC

The Peter Pan Jr. rehearses for its Aug. 7 debut.

Neverland can be found at Theatre LJCC this month. A production of Disney’s Peter Pan Jr. will run Aug. 7-19. Based on J.M. Barrie’s play and the Disney film, Peter Pan Jr. tells the timeless tale about a boy who wouldn’t group up. Attendees will meet the Lost Boys, mermaids, Indians and even the infamous Captain Hook. Songs such as “You Can Fly,” “Yo Ho, A Pirate’s life for Me” and “Following the Leader” make it a show families can enjoy. Cast members from Mountain Brook are

Caroline Bates, Anna Grace Owens, Kyra Berger, Adah Schilleci, Talia Fleisig, Ava Fleisig, Carolyn Dunn, Julia Gresham, Marley Nadler, Joseph Moellinger, Kennedy Knight and Asher Smokey. Show times are Thursday, Aug. 7 and 14 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 9 and 16 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Aug. 10 and 17 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for students or $15 for adults. For more, call 879-0411 or visit bhamjcc. org.

A18 • August 2014

Village Living

Cherokee Bend residents celebrate retirement of mailman Lonnie Brewster By OLIVIA BURTON When I introduced myself to Lonnie Brewster at his retirement party and told him my name, he immediately told me my home address in Cherokee Bend. “No way,” I said. “How did you know that?” With 30 years working for the United States Postal Service (USPS), Brewster explained, you start to pick up a few things. Brewster recalled his first day on the job in Ensley. After growing up in Pell City, he knew very little about the Birmingham area. “I was scared to death,” he said. Brewster started picking up routes in the Cherokee Bend area in 1991, and he officially began working in the area in 1998. Upon his retirement, his delivery route included approximately 475 households in Cherokee Bend and surrounding areas. In his 30 years working for the USPS, Brewster has seen a lot of changes, most of them having to do with technological advances. “It’s not big steps, just small steps at a time,” he said. “But it’s to the better.” Brewster said that he was shocked when he heard of the neighborhood’s plan to host a retirement party for him on June 24, a few days before his retirement on June 27. To the residents on his delivery route, however, there was no question. “He just goes out of his way,” said Cherokee Bend resident Tricia Pugh. “If you’re out, he stops and talks to you and asks what’s going on or asks about the kids and the family.” The celebration took place on the corner of Appomattox Road and Stone River Road. Attendees wrote thank-you letters to Brewster and “delivered” them to him in a mailbox. Neil Patrick, “the Ice Cream Man” from Goodies Ice Cream, brought his truck to the party, and attendees enjoyed a Fourth of July

Lonnie Brewster and his wife, Pam, attend festivities for his June 27 retirement in Cherokee Bend. Photo by Olivia Burton.

themed cake for Brewster. Debbie Chandler, who helped organize the event along with Betsy McKewan Byars and several other neighborhood volunteers, explained how everyone seems to have a “Lonnie story.” “If somebody’s lost their dog, they tell Lonnie, and if somebody hits a dog, Lonnie stops to help,” said Chandler. “And if somebody’s sick,

Lonnie brings the mail to the door.” Cherokee Bend resident Jonibel Smith said that although she has lived in Cherokee Bend longer than Brewster delivered mail there, she will miss his dependability and his friendly persona. “I saw him at the grocery store one day, and he said, ‘Hello Mrs. Smith!’” she said. Brewster said that what he will miss most

about his job is the people he makes friends with along his route. He described himself as a people person who cannot go through the day without talking to someone. Brewster is married to Pam, who works at Kirkwood by the River. He plans to spend a lot of time fishing along the Coosa River during his retirement.

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • A19

Tickets now available for Foundation fashion show The latest in fall fashions around Mountain Brook will meet the runway next month for the Schaeffer Eye Center Fashions for the Foundation. The event, held by the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce, is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 11:30 a.m. at The Club. Doors open at 11 a.m. Mountain Brook merchants’ apparel exclusively will be featured in the show, and all proceeds from the event benefit the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation. Its projects include iPad pilots; a model interactive classroom at Mountain Brook Junior High School; new books, magazines, software and supplies in all six school libraries; a summer learning conference hosted at the high school open to all system faculty and administrators; math coach salaries; and a new Mountain Brook Center for Innovation where faculty can research ideas relevant to their field and the classroom. Tickets are $50 or $800 for a table of eight. For more, contact Foundation Director Anne Womack at 414-0042 or mbcsfoundation@bellsouth.net, or Hannon Davidson or Suzan Doidge of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce at 871-3779. Parents, students and school administrators will walk the runway at this year’s Schaeffer Eye Center Fashions for the Foundation on Sept. 16.

Signing for Muscle Shoals music history book coming to Church Street A piece of Muscle Shoals music history is coming to Crestline this month. By combing through decades of articles and music reviews related to recording studio Muscle Shoals Sound, local writer and editor Carla Jean Whitley reconstructed the history of how the studio created a sound that reverberates across generations. The studio is responsible for many of the 400 gold records that have been recorded in the Muscle Shoals area. The result is her new book, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music. Whitley will hold a signing on Aug. 19 at Church Street Coffee & Books in Crestline Village. For more information on the book or event, visit carlajeanwhitley.com. Carla Jean Whitley. Photo courtesy of Cheryl Joy Miner.

Tent sale coming to Crestline Merchants in Crestline Village will hold a sale of sales Saturday, Aug. 26 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The Crestline Tent Saale, similar to Mountain Brook Village’s Market Day, will feature street sales as merchants clear out their summer merchandise. Organizers are encouraging merchants to set up sale tents for the event.

“It’s good comrade for the community,” Mountain Brook Sporting Goods Owner Mike Morrison said. “There are always special sales gong on. Everyone mixes and mingles. It’s a good fun time right when school is starting back.” For more information, visit welcometomountainbrook.com.

Dining deals return for Restaurant Week There’s extra incentive to eat at Davenport’s Pizza Palace, Chez Lulu, The Garden Cafe by Kathy G, The Pantry and VINO this month. As a part of the fifth annual Birmingham Restaurant Week, these restaurants will offer special two and/or three-course prix-fixe lunch and/or dinner menus in the $5, $10, $20 and $30 per person from Aug. 15-24. Several menus will also include beer and/or wine flight components, brunch offerings and other drink specials. Around 50 restaurants are expected to participate in this year’s event; 43 were a part of the event in 2013. In addition to Mountain Brook establishments, restaurants already committed to BRW include Asian Rim Sushi Company,

Dixie Fish Company, Primeaux Cheese and Vino, JoJo’s on Broadway, FoodBar, Satterfield’s, Ocean, 26, Century Restaurant and Bar, Highlands Bar & Grill, Bottega, Chez Fonfon and Silvertron Café. Restaurant Week is organized by REV, which works to revitalize places and energize business to create vibrancy in the City of Birmingham. REV is an economic development organization that stimulates business growth and improves quality of life in Birmingham’s City Center and its Neighborhood Commercial Centers. For more visit bhamrestaurantweek.com, the BRW Mobile Site Dining Guide or revbirmingham.org.

A20 • August 2014

Village Living

Addressing the tough questions at

Canterbury’s Beeson Forum on Aging SPEAKER

SPEAKER

Daniel C. Potts, M.D.

Teepa Snow

MS, OTR/L, FAOTA

Neurologist, author and educator American Academy of Neurology’s 2008 Donald M. Palatucci Advocate of the Year A Maria Shriver Architect of Change Advocates art therapy for dementia patients through his foundation Cognitive Dynamics Used watercolor painting to help his own father with dementia

By OLIVIA BURTON As people grow older, their caregivers often face new and difﬁcult questions. How do you care for a loved one who has Alzheimer’s or dementia? What do you do if your loved one no longer recognizes you? What kinds of therapies will work best for your loved one? When is it time to seek palliative care, and where? On Aug. 9, Canterbury United Methodist Church’s 11th annual Beeson Forum on Aging will offer some answers. According to event co-chair Christy Baynes, the event began in 2004 with about 100 attendees. Since then, it has grown to 500 or 600 attendees, including family caregivers, nurses, assisted living and nursing home administrators, occupational therapists, social workers, home health

providers and hospice providers. “I think part of what makes [the Beeson Forum] special is that we have a lot of family caregivers that come and we have speakers from all over the country,” Baynes said. Over the course of the day, attendees will receive approximately 6.5 hours of education. Speakers from around the country will address a variety of issues at the conference. Attendees can look forward to speakers including occupational therapist Teepa Snow and neurologist Daniel Potts. In addition, Canterbury member Liz Prosch will speak about how music therapy can help calm people with Alzheimer’s or dementia. “It’s an incredible opportunity for people who are trying to do their best to provide the best care for their loved ones,”

Occupational therapist Dementia care and dementia education specialist More than 34 years of experience in geriatrics Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association Has presented over 350 programs per year for the past seven years Will meet one-on-one with families at the Beeson Forum free of charge in the morning

said Baynes. Besides speakers, the Beeson Forum will also host 20 local vendors who will offer information about how their services can help in caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s or dementia. After attending programs on aging both locally and nationally for the past 20 years, Baynes believes that the Beeson Forum is one of the best. “I think we always offer something new, but we also offer very practical programs that people can go back and implement in their homes or in their communities,” she said. The Beeson Forum is supported by the Beeson Trust, established by Lucille Beeson in part to help facilitate the education of caregivers and professionals that take care of seniors in Jefferson County.

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VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • A21

Stepping her way to Broadway Longtime dance teacher now a Tony Award-winning producer As a producer today, Beard’s primary role is to recruit investors for the production. She also attends the show openings and meetings for marketing and advertising when she is in New York. “Producing is something you do because you love the thrill of it, but you sign something saying that if you do not get your money back, you will be okay with it,” she said. “As they say, there’s no business like show business.” Amongst all the business, though, it’s being involved in the arts that excites her.

By MADOLINE MARKHAM When Louise Beard hears music, she sees steps. Her ears led her to direct music, her eyes and feet enabled her to choreograph tap dances for decades, and now her combined passion for the arts has brought her the 9-inch trophy that sits on the mantel of her living room. As a producer for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Beard won a coveted Tony Award this summer — and a chance to place a plastic pink pig, her signature “calling card,” in Hugh Jackman’s palm. Surrounded by movie and theater stars in Radio City Music Hall that evening, Jackman laughed as she explained that he had been blessed with good luck, because in the old days in Germany, if you had a pig you had something to eat. Beard said the act makes people remember her and reminds her of how her dad would draw pigs for her and her younger twin sisters as children. Today, she runs a production company, Swine Stars, and decorates her home with a tasteful smattering of pig statues and figurines. These days she visits New York about 10 times a year, watching Broadway for the most clever, people-pleasing musicals and then supporting them with her show business savvy. A start at tap Beard’s career started not in theater but in music. She majored in it at Birmingham-Southern College and then served as the assistant music director at Independent Presbyterian Church for seven years. A couple of years after her first child was born in 1977, she saw a tap number at Birmingham Festival Theatre and thought, “I have to learn how to do that.” She recruited a friend to teach her how to do just that. That led her to choreograph a tap

Louise Beard’s home is full of signs of her passions. A fan of Bette Midler since the early 1970s, Beard invested in Midler’s show I’ll Eat You Last and brought home Midler’s photo and a pillow used in the show in a Red Mountain Theatre Company fundraiser. She also uses pigs as her “calling card” and for décor in her house. Photo by Madoline Markham.

number for the Junior League Follies, which led to a friend, Lee Whatley, suggesting the two of them open a dance school together. For nearly three decades, Beard taught adults at Time Step Studios, which was located in Crestline Village for much of its life. Each year, Beard choreographed a dance school show for 100 to 150 adults at the Alabama Theatre. By 2008, Beard knew her knees couldn’t continue with teaching dance. She and Whatley closed the school in 2009. With that, Beard had an idea for a new venture doing what she loved, and what she loved was good theater.

Theater work When her daughter Lanford turned 13, Beard started taking her on long weekend trips to New York every Christmas. On every trip, they would see at least six musicals.Wherever Beard went in the years to come, if she could, she would see a show. In 2009, Beard started traveling to New York City, where Lanford now lives, to see more shows, taking note of the dance steps she saw. She bought sound tracks from musicals, paid close attention to dancing conventions and started to get to know people in the theater business.

Winning productions By 2011, Beard attended her first Tony Awards show for The Scottsboro Boys, which was nominated for 12 Tony Awards. This year was the first that she came home with an award herself, accepting it with her production group, Four Ladies and One Gent, and around 25 other producers of the show. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder was nominated for 10 Tony Awards this year and brought home four: Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Musical and Best Book of a Musical. After the Tony nominations came out in April, Beard said the money for the show tripled. In the show, Jefferson Mays plays the role of eight characters who are victims of a man who discovers he is ninth in line to inherit a sum of money. All 14 actors played multiple parts, so it felt as if there were more like 40 on the roll. Beard hit the apex of musical theater at the Tonys this year, but she still intends to remain in the middle of Broadway business. This summer she has been attending rehearsals for Dames at Sea, a show she is producing that should be eligible for the Tonys next year, and she has fronted money for a new production of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. “It’s part of a community I really like to be around,” she said. “It invigorates me.”

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A22 • August 2014

Village Living

Faith Life Actually By Kari Kampakis

Hurt people hurt people:

Why I feel sorry for bullies, haters and critics “There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sometimes I don’t understand all the meanness in this world. There is meanness at school. Meanness on the Internet. Meanness among enemies. Meanness among “friends.” Add it all together, and it can threaten your hope in humanity. There was a time when I thought I had nothing in common with mean people. They were bad, I was good, and that was the end of the story. But with age and maturity, I’ve grown to understand that nobody is 100 percent good or 100 percent evil. We are all good and evil, a community of sinners in a fallen, broken world. A turning point in my mindset came years ago when I started writing fiction. After submitting a partial manuscript to an agent, she pointed out a mistake I’d made that was common among novice writers. In short, I’d made my villain too villainous. She had absolutely no good or redeeming qualities, and since this didn’t reflect the reality that no one is “all good” or “all bad,” my villain seemed cartoonish and unbelievable.

The best villains, this agent explained, are three-dimensional. They have feelings, emotions and back-stories that help explain why they’re hateful. The best villains have moments where the audience actually empathizes with them because as terrible as the villain appears on the surface, there’s a different storyline playing in their head. There is pain from the past that has led the villain to this point, where they believe they’re justified in whatever they’re doing or saying. So these days when I see vicious remarks on the Internet, or hear about an act of cruelty, I wonder about the back-story of the real-life “villain.” I wonder what may have happened to make that person a bully, hater or critic. Because nobody falls into that role haphazardly. Nobody wakes up one day and decides to adopt a negative lifestyle for fun. Hurt people hurt people, and when someone is dumping their hurt onto others, it’s a sign that they’re desperately trying to get rid of the negative feelings inside them. Sadly, what begins as one person’s inner turmoil can ultimately affect many. As the old expression goes, “The boss yells at the man, and the man goes home and yells at his wife,

the wife yells at the kid, and the kid kicks the dog.” Until someone breaks the cycle, the hurt keeps getting passed on. I used to feel nothing but anger for bullies, haters and critics. But now, there’s a part of me that gets sad for them. What comes out of a person reflects what’s inside, so when someone spends their life looking for things to bash, refusing the see the good in anyone or anything, it reveals the state of their interior. Imagine living in a mental prison of self-hate and vicious self-talk. Imagine having no escape from meanness because you can’t run away from yourself. Victims of hate have an escape. They have loving and welcoming arms they can run into, safe places where they can heal, people who want to help them bounce back and restore their self-esteem. But what love exists in the life of a bully, hater or critic? Who wants to be in their inner circle, encouraging them when they’re down? Who wants to extend the very thing they need most, kindness, when they’re so hard to love? Frankly, I can’t think of a more miserable way to live than to be stuck in your own poison. And that’s why I feel sorry for bullies, haters and

critics. That’s why I understand the call we’ve all been given to love our enemies, because only love can break the spell of hatred. The answer to meanness is never more meanness. The answer is to look at a hostile person like you might a well-drawn character from a story and ask yourself, “Why are they doing this? What must be going on inside them to make them dump their hurt on me?” And then — this is the hard part — your answer is to respond in love. If you can’t love that person yet, love someone else. Let the vicious email in your inbox inspire you to write a nice email to a friend. Let the putdown you just heard inspire you to build someone else up. The point is to break the cycle, to turn the tide so you don’t spread more harm. Truth be told, we’re all capable of being bullies, haters and critics. If we really want to understand cruel people, all we have to do is look inward. By admitting our worst urges, and things we’re tempted to do when we’re hurt, we can better understand them. The message to take away here, for you and me, is this: Be aware of where you dump your hurt. Deal with it in healthy ways instead of randomly

releasing it on others. Before writing that email that gives someone a piece of your mind, posting something snarky on social media, or flying into a rage that hurts a child, a spouse, even the family dog, think about why you’re so upset. Pray for self-control and a peaceful solution that brings inner harmony instead of turmoil. The world doesn’t need more meanness. What the world needs is more people willing to look past negativity to recognize the root of meanness: pain. We were all created to give and receive love. The more love we give, the more we receive, and when we live this way, we create a new cycle, a cycle of love that can trump all evil and pass on joy and hope instead of anger and pain, bringing much-needed light into a dark world. Kari Kubiszyn Kampakis is a Mountain Brook mom of four girls, columnist and blogger for The Huffington Post. Join her Facebook community at “Kari Kampakis, Writer,” visit her blog at karikampakis.com or contact her at kari@karikampakis.com. Kari’s first book, 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know, releases November 2014 through Thomas Nelson. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon.

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • A23

FOOD TRUCKS

CONTINUED from page A1 draft of the ordinance, which specified that trucks must operate at least 50 feet away from any existing restaurant or outdoor dining areas when the restaurant is open, and at least 10 feet away from intersections, crosswalks, fire or police stations, fire hydrants and other mobile vendors. It also would not allow a vendor to operate for more than three continuous hours. At that point, he had praised City Planner Dana Hazen and the city for listening to truck owners’ recommendations. With a restriction of operating no less than 50 feet from a business, he did not believe the ordinance would have a negative impact on his business. However, Russell said he thought the latest draft restricting trucks to private property was stepping too far, especially since no village businesses have complained about his truck’s presence. Overall, he would like to see an ordinance that restricts vendors who do not have the best interests of the community in mind. However, preventing the positive impacts of the trucks, which he said can act as incubators for future brick-and-mortar businesses, would be a mistake. Still, the council is trying to consider the interests of business owners in the villages. “I love Shindigs and others, but being a brick and mortar store myself, I understand where the brick-and-mortars are coming from,” Sew Sheri owner Sheri Corey said. “We pay a lot to have our stores and restaurants here in this community. We also love this community and give a lot back and not just in taxes. I think we have great restaurants in our villages, and I don’t see them going under because they aren’t good. We need this community to support their locals that give back to this community.” Since mobile vendors first entered Mountain Brook in 2012, the city has been considering regulating them. Over the past two years, the city issued mobile vendor licenses to eight businesses

What

You Said Residents share their opinions on the food truck ordinance draft

I love the food trucks and do not like this new ordinance. -Leslie Berry McLeod It’s backward thinking. Across the nation cities large and small are experiencing a surge of delicious offerings from food trucks. Many suburbs make it a community event having a food truck gathering weekly. If citizens didn’t like them, they wouldn’t come. It wouldn’t be worth it. Clearly Mountain Brook citizens like the food trucks. -Adele Stockham Culp There’s room for everyone, let the public decide who they like best. No one else is serving Olexa’s warm vanilla cake, from what I understand. There are many more reasons to allow these trucks than to ban them from what I can see, but that’s just my opinion, to which I’m entitled. I’m not sure I heard anyone say they didn’t care if businesses went under, they like food trucks. That’s absurd. -Kimberly Fasking We live in Alabama, which is pretty hot in the summer. Brick-and-mortar have A/C. Trucks don’t. They can exist together. As long as there is a reasonable place for them to park, I don’t see the problem. -Jon Lewis

including Shindigs Catering, Melt, Spoonfed Grill, Our Ice Cream, Hole in One Donuts, Repicci’s Italian Ice, Birmingham Fashion Truck and Gypsy Blue Fashion Truck. “We think it’s not great when retailers park in front of retailers,” City Council Representative Jesse Vogtle said in a June Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce Board meeting, noting that truck vendors don’t pay property taxes to the city. “They come in and sell their wares and leave.” When the city decided to take steps forward with regulation this year, Hazen first met with food truck owners and village merchants about what would be best for the city. Merchants did not want the trucks on primary frontage roads. In the first two meetings where the ordinance was discussed, the City Council looked at prohibiting trucks from parking in the right-of-way or in spaces that were not parallel. Once those areas were eliminated, Hazen found that there wasn’t much city property remaining for parking. “There really isn’t anywhere for them to park, regardless of whether you are for them or against them,” Hazen said. Hazen did note that exceptions to the ordinance’s “only on private property” rule could be made in the ordinance. At a July 17 Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce Board meeting, she mentioned providing for a special permit for trucks to park at Crestline Elementary during certain hours, as well as possibly inviting trucks to Overton Park or the new Cahaba River Park one day a week. The next step for the ordinance is to gather input from residents. A public hearing regarding it will be held at either the second council meeting in August or the first one in September, according to Hazen. Check villagelivingonline. com for updates on the hearing date.

I work in Mountain Brook Village, and parking is a critical commodity. Food trucks have taken up as many as four parking places at once during the busiest hours of the day. I love the food from Birmingham’s food trucks, but I do think that there needs to be some attention paid to managing the issues that come along with them. -Katie Yancey Pfitzer I feel in all seriousness that the mobile food trucks actually bring business to the area. Today I felt like some Off the Hook, so I looked up online where it’d be and headed down to Children’s Hospital to get me some Off the Hook. I had to park my car, so [I thought that I] might as well do some shopping but decided there was not very good shopping there. -Kim Echkhoff As with many things in life, we just need a few rules or boundaries. The city should work with the food trucks and not against them to come up with reasonable parameters that meet city ordinances and let the food trucks conduct business. Food trucks are a new industry that most neighborhoods love, so hopeful the city will listen to the people and work it out. -Lisa Gant Reich There must be rules and regulations to protect people here, who pay taxes and make investments, provide jobs, contribute to organizations, make it a better place to live. I have not one thing against food trucks, but it’s not fair for the city to allow them to freely poach the territory for revenue for themselves, while others have made huge commitments here. I believe Mountain Brook residents value their local businesses more than an occasional taco from a truck. It comes down to that, it can’t be both ways. -Billy Bromberg

Village Living Rushbiddies takes the

rush out of

recruitment By OLIVIA BURTON If you’re going to go through sorority recruitment, you will need to perfect your resume. You will also need a week’s worth of fashionable and appropriate ﬂats, sandals, heels, sundresses, cute shorts, cocktail dresses, purses and sunglasses. Recommendations need to be secured as soon as possible, and don’t forget the thank-you notes. Be sure to practice your small talk, try to remember people’s names, and if all else fails, keep smiling.

Pat Grant holds a binder full of information she uses for her Rush Biddies workshops. Photo by Olivia Burton.

Rush week can be a little overwhelming. “It has become a lot more competitive,” said Pat Grant of Rushbiddies, a sorority recruitment consulting team based in Mountain Brook. As a consultant, Grant advises clients on every aspect of recruitment that they can control to help her clients develop the best way to present themselves on an individual level, from simply getting on the radar in the spring and summer before recruitment begins to how to

dress and act during rush week itself. “You can’t really control [recruitment], what you can control is what you bring to the table,” she says. Small talk and walking the walk One of the most difﬁcult skills for her clients to master, Grant said, is the lost art of small talk. Grant helps her clients think of conversation starters and encourages them to practice by going through scholarship, pageant or job interviews. Regarding wardrobe, Grant’s go-

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School House B9 Sports B13 Calendar B18

to advice is, “When in doubt, be more conservative.” While brands such as Lilly Pulitzer are traditionally associated with sororities in the South, Grant said, she encourages her clients to wear clothes that are not only appropriate for the party, but appropriate for their personalities as well. “You do not want to be a cookie cutter,” she said. “There’s a ﬁne line there.” Pat Grant and her daughter, Paige, will often visit clients’ homes to work on perfecting recruitment week outﬁts. Although most Rushbiddies clients attend southern schools such as Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas, Tennessee and SMU, Grant has worked with clients going to schools as far away as California. She has taken advantage of available communication technology, often using apps like Skype or FaceTime to work with her clients.

“You want all those young women to ﬁnd their spot and feel good about where they end up being,” said Grant. Paige currently works with her mother, who said Paige brings a fresh perspective to Rushbiddies. Their mother-daughter model works well in an environment where, according to Grant, “Moms are their daughters’ biggest advocates.” Grant’s background with Panhellenic and alumni activities as well as in education, marketing and simply being a mom, has helped her assist clients. She said she is not above calling college campuses to ask questions, especially when parents do not want to because they worry about seeming overly anxious. “In most cases, there’s someone in the Panhellenic ofﬁces on college campuses that I can call for information,” she said. “A lot of it is available, you just have to know where to look.”

Teaching “chicks” to ﬂy The idea for Rushbiddies emerged in 2009 after Paige went through sorority rush at Auburn. While Grant said that Paige had a “wonderful time” in rush and thought that her sorority was a good ﬁt, several of Paige’s friends at other schools did not fare as well. Grant named her business “Rushbiddies” because “it is like the old chicks helping the new chicks.” The name also refers to the ultimate goal of any Potential New Member (PNM): getting the bid.

Joining the ﬂock Rushbiddies has two spring workshops as well as an “early bird” fall workshop targeted toward high school juniors and seniors. Grant is considering starting a workshop for high school freshmen and sophomores to allow them to begin thinking about resumes and networking in advance. The next organized Rushbiddies group workshop will be their “Early Bird” workshop in October. Pre-registration is available at rushbiddies.com.

B2 â&#x20AC;˘ August 2014

Summer Fun Photo Contest Capture the fun of summer with your camera and send us your favorite shots of wherever you and your family are.

Village Living

Prizes will be awarded to contest winners Category 1: Any summer fun photo Category 2: A summer fun photo displaying a copy of Village Living wherever you are To enter, email your photos in a jpeg format to photos@villagelivingonline.com. Please send high quality images and include a caption and photo credit. Only four photos are allowed per person.

Visit villagelivingonline.com for more information.

Deadline has been extended to August 10, 2014

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • B3

Junior High students ‘kick’ multiple sclerosis with creative fundraiser By OLIVIA BURTON On the bench between games of a double-header last summer, eighth grade boys on Mountain Brook Junior High’s baseball team had an idea. They were discussing how teammates Liam Powell and Ford Clegg both had mothers with multiple sclerosis (MS), an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system that disrupts information ﬂow to and from the brain. The boys decided to do something. Kickball, they realized, was the perfect activity to get other MBJH students involved in the ﬁght against MS, which affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide. “Kickball is a great equalizer because you don’t have to be a great athlete to play it,” said Leigh Ann Sisson, whose son, Hamp, helped organize the event last year. “The boys wanted to do something that anyone in their grade could participate in, and they wanted to promote community within their grade.” Last summer, 98 eighth graders from MBJH on 12 co-ed teams raised more than $11,000 for people living with MS through individual fundraising efforts such as car washes and donut sales leading up to the kickball tournament. “That’s not what we were expecting at all,” said Hamp Sisson. “Everyone had a lot of fun, and each team did something different.” This year, both eighth and ninth grade students are invited to participate

Each team designed and made its own T-shirts for Kickball for MS.

in Kickball for MS, which is almost completely run by students. As of the signup deadline on June 15, the number of participants had already more than doubled from 98 students on 12 teams to 208 students on 26 teams. “I ﬁrst got involved when Hamp

invited me to do [the tournament] with this year’s rising eighth graders,” said Paul Tyson, the event’s eighth grade coordinator. “A lot of my friends’ parents are affected, and we’re raising money to help fund research to ﬁnd a cure.”

A new case of MS is diagnosed every hour, and there is no known cause or cure. “Unfortunately, MS is growing and now children are starting to be affected,” said Ashley Powell, who has been diagnosed with MS since

Kickball for MS Open to the public Sunday, Aug. 10 1 p.m. MBHS nationalmssociety.org 2011. “It’s also becoming more and more understood to be genetically linked, so for my kids and for future generations, it’s really great to see this generation of kids do something to ﬁght MS.” This year’s tournament will take place on Sunday, Aug. 10 at MBHS. Games start at 1 p.m. and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Alabama-Mississippi chapter will provide cookies, lemonade and barbecue. The MS Society will also host the MS experience tent where participants can have a hands-on experience of how it feels to live with MS. “Part of our goal is to help explain what MS is,” said Jan Bell, president of the Alabama-Mississippi chapter of the MS Society. “Even when people with MS try to describe vertigo, dizziness, balance issues, cognition issues or numbness in their ﬁngers – all of which are symptoms of MS – people don’t understand why it’s a big deal.” Money raised through the event will support the MS Society’s goals of research, advocacy and service. “Our mission is to create a world free of MS, and we really focus on addressing the challenges of each person affected by MS,” said Bell. Community members are invited to attend to learn about MS as well as to support the teams as they raise money for MS research. To learn more about multiple sclerosis and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, visit nationalmssociety. org or contact the local chapter of the society at 879-8881.

B4 • August 2014

Village Living

Keep it

Cool meets youthful

cool

for back to school How to hit the hallways in style By CAROLINE GIDIERE & MARTHA THOMPSON As the calendar turns from July to August, if you are anywhere from 5 to 25, just the words “back to school” are enough to flip your stomach. Knowing what you are going to wear the first day (and maybe the next five as well?) can help ease the jitters. Stylebriefs headed out recently to

find out just what was in store in some of Mountain Brook’s hottest shopping venues for a little first day/back-to-school inspiration. Because we know we can expect at least two more months of blazing hot days here in Alabama, summer fashion is still the name of the game. Martha Thompson and Caroline Gidiere write a weekday style blog at stylebriefs. com.

Lowery Thompson shows off a look from Stella Blu. Photo by Martha Thompson.

Who: Lowery Thompson is heading to the junior high this year, so she wants something cool and, of course, we wanted it to still be youthful. We thought the selection at Stella Blu would hit the perfect balance. Lowery’s look: Lowery is wearing distressed jeans by SOLD ($148), a Rory Becca Silk Tank Top ($178) and a tribal scarf ($48).

The jewelry is from Stella Blu, too. Each of these pieces are closet basics and can work with a thousand other looks. This tank would be awesome with some fun shorts for a Friday night at the movies. The scarf can do double duty around the neck for a solid go-to look for any day of the week. Just have fun with it and, if you get stuck, ask the ladies at Stella Blu for help!

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • B5

Hip and effortless

College chic

Anna Jackson Cooper, Eleanor Baddley, Drew Graham and Lindsey Brakefield model looks from Laura Kathryn and Mobley and Sons. Photo by Caroline Gidiere.

Who: Anna Jackson Cooper, Eleanor Baddley, Drew Graham and Lindsey Brakefield will be cruising into their junior year at MBHS. Safe to say, they know the drill. Hip and effortless was the look we were after for the high school girls. Leslie Pittman at Laura Kathryn in Crestline always has her finger on the pulse and put together some great looks for us.

by BCBG ($62). We think this is great look for that first Friday night of the school year.

Anna Jackson’s look: Anna Jackson’s fitted black tank by Kerisma ($39) and faux wrap skirt by BCBG Generation ($120) definitely put a sophisticated spin on the first day. We say add a casual sandal and a scarf and its a perfect look for dinner at Lake Martin or the beach.

Drew’s look: We were looking for the perfect game day look for Drew, so we headed to Mobley and Sons because we knew they could hook us up right. His shirt ($ 99.50) and chino shorts ($72.50) are both by Southern Tide, a Mountain Brook classic these days. His woven cotton belt by Martin Dingman ($55) works as well with jeans as it does chinos – and isn’t that just what every high school guy needs – fool proof fashion?

Eleanor’s look: Eleanor’s spaghetti strap silk tank from Alex & Trixie ($225) is paired with a mini skirt ($75) and a matching clutch

Lindsey’s look: Lindsey scored our favorite piece for summer – the romper! The one she wears here is by Nell ($169). The romper is cool and cost effective – it’s a shirt and shorts all in one. And, keep your eye open for great looking jumpsuits for the fall – they are a sure bet.

Anna Wynn and Abbie Rodgers looked to Marella to spiff their college wardrobes. Photo by Martha Thompson.

Who: Abbie Rodgers is heading to Alabama this August and needed a dress for rush, and Anna Wynn Rodgers is a rising junior, also at Alabama. April at Marella is huge help and definitely knows a thing or two about pulling together great looks for rush. Abbie’s look: Abbie is wearing a beautiful blue dress from Hunter Bell ($374 but currently on sale) (who by the way also graduated from Alabama as well). We thought it would

be perfect in the heat and for bustling from house to house. We paired it with a necklace made by April herself. Gorgeous. Anna Wynn’s look: These printed pants from Ella Moss ($148) are the perfect complement to the college wardrobe. We think they would be perfect for a night out with friends or for that cute boy who knocks on your door. We paired them with a tank from ecoSkin ($62) and a blue scarf from Vince ($55).

B6 • August 2014

Village Living

Meet Mountain Brook Schools’ new PTO presidents By OLIVIA BURTON

TRICIA PUGH Mountain Brook High School Background: I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and graduated from the University of Alabama. My husband, Bubba, and I have been married for 27 years. We have three children. Shane is a freshman at Alabama, Lindsay is in tenth grade and Blake is a sixth grader at CBS. Bubba grew up in Mountain Brook. I enjoy sports, volunteering at my church, and spending time with family and friends. About MBHS PTO: The MBHS PTO promotes volunteering and fellowship among families. It also funds projects that enhance learning and communicates

with the school on behalf of parents. This year we will be hosting Parent Power Lunches and two book studies (fall and spring). Money from our annual fundraiser will go toward upgrading the library. Vision for the upcoming year: I hope to use my experience as PTO president of CBS and the PTO Council to continue building a strong sense of community within our school, provide opportunities for open communication to foster parent fellowship, and support and help the group with fundraising. I look forward to the upcoming year and welcome comments and ideas.

JEANNE MONK Crestline Elementary Background: I grew up in Mountain Brook and attended Crestline, MBJH and MBHS. I graduated from Sewanee and worked for Southern Progress Corporation before becoming a stay-at-home mom. I am married to Richard and have three children: Alice (12), Richard (9) and Ann Caldwell (4). I enjoy tennis, traveling and watching my kids play sports. About Cougar PTO: The Cougar PTO’s main fundraisers are Cougar Contributors and the Boosterthon. Funds from these events will go mainly towards renovating our media center. We are hosting 250 students from our partner school Brookville again

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for Celebrate Writing on Feb. 27. Other important PTO-sponsored events are the Book Fair, Red Ribbon Week, Fall Festival, Expressions Contest, Career Day, Circle of Friends Week and Teacher Appreciation Week. What makes CES special: Crestline is the largest elementary school, but the caring and professional teachers and support staff make it seem small. Crestline’s focus on community, respect and character is emphasized just as much as academics. As president, I hope to continue building community through PTO-sponsored events and volunteer involvement.

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • B7

AMY SANDERS Brookwood Forest Elementary

MELANIE TORANTO Mountain Brook Elementary

LAURA COPE Mountain Brook Junior High

MARY MARGARET HENDRY Cherokee Bend Elementary

Background: I grew up in Decatur and met my husband, Brantley, at the University of Alabama. He grew up in Mountain Brook and went to BWF. I taught middle school and high school math before becoming a stay-at-home mom. We have four children: Mary Della (eighth grade), Bud (fifth grade), John Robert (second grade) and George (kindergarten).

Background: I grew up in Decatur. I have an undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama and a graduate degree from the University of Montevallo. I taught high school for eight years. My husband, Steven, and I have been married for 20 years. We have three children: Will (15), Ellie (14) and Mae Helen (8).

Background: I was raised in Huntsville and graduated from Birmingham-Southern. My husband, Allen, and I have three children. Griffen is a senior at MBHS. Grace and Wes are twins who will be ninth graders this year at MBJH.

Background: I have been married to Jeff for 14 years and have two children at CBS, Mary Winston (11) and John (10). I graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in marketing and advertising and worked in Atlanta with WGST Radio and Turner Broadcasting. I am involved in civic and volunteer activities around the city and enjoy tennis, golf and time with my children.

About BWF PTO: BWF’s library is being renovated this summer and will be ready when the children return in the fall. Ranger PTO helps fund projects like the library. We also provide fun activities throughout the year, such as Forest Fling, Grandpal’s Day, field day, Circle of Friends week, Writers Festival and BWF’s Got Talent. We have three fundraisers: Boosterthon, Ranger Round-Up (auction) and Ranger Sponsors Program. What makes BWF special: BWF feels like “home.” It felt like a family when my oldest started kindergarten, and it still does today. We are so grateful to have amazing administrators and teachers! I am so excited to be Ranger PTO president this year.

About MBE PTO: MBE celebrates its 85th anniversary this year. To mark this occasion, the PTO is selling slate tiles this fall from the original roof, cut in different shapes and sizes. We will continue fundraising through the Lancer Sponsors and the Boosterthon Fun Run. What makes MBE special: MBE opened its doors in 1929 to 143 children and is the oldest school in the district, currently serving over 500 children. Our excellent administrators and staff along with community volunteers are the cornerstone of MBE. MBE is very fortunate to have a talented and hardworking group of volunteers and over 30 committees on our PTO Board.

About MBJH PTO: The MBJH PTO will continue supporting the school with events such as Spartan Day, Art Forms and dances while also having a daily presence at the Filling Station. We are continuing our “One Check Campaign,” which enables families to donate to our PTO by writing one check instead of multiple for various fundraisers. This year, we are hoping to raise funds to update classrooms. Vision for the upcoming year: Because the junior high is a transition for both parents and students, I hope to increase the connectivity between the parents and the junior high. By using social media, the PTO hopes to spread information about news and events, thus creating a more unified experience.

About CBS PTO: This year we are endeavoring to consolidate fundraising, concentrating on programs that will return 100 percent of the net proceeds back to the school. We will continue with Chief Sponsors, The Bend’s Got Talent, Carnival and Permanent Brick Pavers on the Playground. New events this year will be the Red and Yellow Run and an off-site winter auction and dinner called Winter Flight. Vision for the upcoming year: I hope to bring fresh ideas that will provide additional funding to CBS. Another goal is to build community among all stakeholders: schools, parents, teachers, students, school board and community leaders.

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B8 • August 2014

Village Living

State of the school system Superintendent Dicky Barlow shares how state and national education issues affect Mountain Brook

Q A

curriculum. And so our teachers have been a part of that. They’ve had their hands on it... We do support the standards in and of themselves because we do believe the standards are more rigorous than the past standards. So because of that, the conversations and the learning sometimes are not more, it’s deeper. And that’s what we’re working through: a more robust, deeper curriculum that involves critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills.

Q A

How will the new College and Career Ready Standards prepare students for the future? Standards don’t prepare students, you know. Our teachers prepare students. The number one indicator of student success is the teacher. So, you can have the highest standard in the world, and if the teachers and students aren’t fully engaged in the work, it doesn’t matter what the standards are. We all know that... Our teachers are committed to growth and our students’ learning and helping students be engaged in their learning. And when we do that and we continue to move students forward, then they’ll be ready for college when they go through our curriculum.

the ACT... I think [scores] will stay pretty close to the same... You might be talking about a fractional difference. But most of our students, take the ACT, so I don’t think it’s going to be a big drop for us. By SYDNEY CROMWELL

Q A

What programs do you think are the most important to focus on in the upcoming school year? It’s not like I’m excited about our career tech program or any program that schools have. What I’m excited about is that our teachers continue to talk about engagement and what real learning looks like. What excites me is that our system is on a trek. We’re always trying to improve, we always try to get better, and I’m amazed with what our teachers end up doing and the product our students come away with.

Q A

How is eliminating the graduation test and replacing it with the ACT going to affect schools? I don’t know that we completely know, but I will say I don’t think the fact that our students are taking the ACT in the 11th grade now will change dramatically, because the vast majority of our students already take

Under the new system, how are schools going to be ranked, and how are teachers going to be assessed? They’re still working on that in the state level. I don’t think there’s an answer to that. I’m not sure the state knows yet... We have a new teacher development system that we implemented in 2010, I believe. It’s more reflective in nature, in that we really believe if teachers are going to be evaluated, they’re a part of that process. They’re in the classroom every day, and so it needs to be a more reflective process rather than somebody going in and taking a 20-minute block and saying, ‘This is the kind of teacher you are.” What differences can parents expect to see in the curriculum with Common Core? We’ve been implementing those standards over the past couple years, and so it’s not new... We have a process in our system where teachers are an invaluable part of the curriculum process. Now, the standards are standards, so then out of that you develop

How can parents help their students adapt to the Common Core curriculum?

I don’t think it’s helping adapt to the standards. How can parents help their students? In elementary schools, they can read to their students every day. Have in-depth conversations with their children about their learning and about their day... I don’t think there are any special things parents can do to help their students with the standards, but there are certainly a number of things that parents can do to help their children be successful in learning... When you talk about middle school and high school, that’s completely different... What I would say is don’t disengage. Continue to have conversations with your children. Be interested in the things they’re interested in.

What are the differences between the ACT Aspire test versus the Alabama Reading and Mathematics test for grades 3-8? The main difference is that the Aspire is correlated to College and Career Ready Standards, where the ARMT was not... Those scores are really just indicators that help us know what to do with the student to help them stay on a track of continual improvement. You know, if someone makes a great score in third grade, it’s an indicator. It helps us. It’s not an end-all.

the

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • B9

School House Jackson takes first for photo in national contest

Lane Allen, Ben Jackson, Christina Harmon and teacher Andy Meadows. Photo courtesy of Ben Jackson.

Ben Jackson, who served as the president of Mountain Brook High School SGA this past year, won first place in the national Junior American Citizen photographic essay contest for Outstanding 12th Grade Photo. In addition, Lane Allen and Christina

Harmom received certificates of recognition for their photo essays. The students were sponsored by the Princess Sehoy Chapter in Birmingham for the Daughters of the American Revolution competition.

CES celebrates its PTO officers

Crestline Elementary PTO Officers By COLLINS CLEGG

A luncheon was recently held at the home of Martha and Robert Haley to honor the outgoing PTO Board at Crestline Elementary, to celebrate those whose last sixth grader was graduating from Crestline and to introduce and install the 2014-2015 PTO Board.

Members serving on the new board are Walton Foster (VP technology), Laura Dillon (VP fund development), Kristen Ritter (parliamentarian), Lee Alice Estes (secretary), Jeanne Monk (president), Britt Redden (president-elect), Kim Orr (treasurer), Collins Clegg (VP communications), Laurie Bowers (treasurer-elect) and Lucy Hawkins (VP volunteers).

CES hosts author Jakicic By COLLINS CLEGG Author and consultant Chris Jakicic, Ed.D., came to Crestline Elementary School in June to lead teacher workshops on understanding the role of essential standards and designing assessments to measure the standards and guide instruction. She met separately with the kindergarten

to third grade teachers and the fourth to sixth grade teachers. The Crestline PTO provided the funds for the speaker, and lunch and stipends for the teachers. Principal Laurie King said that Jakicic was so effective that CES hopes to have her back on Jan. 5 to continue working with the teachers on designing effective assessments.

B10 • August 2014

Village Living

Summer memories, school anticipations Mary Harbin Porter First grader Summer favorites: Gymnastics camp and also a game she invented called “sprinkler soccer.” As it sounds, you play the game of soccer while running through the sprinkler. Misses: Her friends and teachers . Hopes: To learn cursive handwriting. She has already been practicing this summer!

Luke Schweﬂer Third grader Summer favorites: Playing ﬁrst base for the second grade Spartans National baseball team. It is particularly fun being with his friends, he said. Misses: His second grade teacher, Mrs. Allyson Martin. Hopes: To learn multiplication next school year.

By HILARY ROSS Village Living caught up with a few Mountain Brook Elementary students this summer and asked them the same three questions: What have you enjoyed doing this summer? What do you miss most about MBE during summer vacation? What do you hope to learn next school year?

Carolyn Dunn Third grader Summer favorites: Summer camp. Her favorite things about camp were the zip line and Wet Willie, a huge water slide. Misses: Seeing her MBE friends every day. Hopes: To learn about time and multiplication.

David Wood Second grader Summer favorites: Going on a boat ride at the beach over Father’s Day weekend. Besides catching hermit crabs, he and his brother loved spending time with his family on the boat. Misses: Math class because it is his favorite subject. Hopes: To learn how to spell Spanish words.

John Noles Fourth grade Summer favorites: Going to Orange Beach for a baseball tournament with his friends. What says summer more than baseball and water? Misses: Recess with his classmates and lunch. Hopes: To learn about Alabama history.

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VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • B11

MBHS students participate in Alabama Governor’s School

Students from Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills: Andrea Zhang, Kathryn Jason, Graham Llivina, George Keller IV and Caroline Boone. Photo courtesy of Mary Wimberley.

Caroline Boone and George Keller IV from Mountain Brook High School were chosen to attend Alabama Governor’s School at Samford University in June. They were among 91 outstanding rising high school seniors from 24 counties who participated in the two-week

honors program. AGS participants are nominated by their schools on the basis of academic ability, leadership qualities, creativity, community service and a written essay. -Submitted by Mary Wimberly

Cherokee Bend parents attend Kentucky Derby party

Steven Burns, Kathryn Burns and Chad Fooshee.

The Cherokee Bend Elementary PTO recently held a Kentucky Derby-themed party. Everyone wore hats, and traditional derby fare was served. Roses were used

Muffins for Mom at BWF In May, Brookwood Forest held its annual Muffins for Moms performance and breakfast. This event is coordinated by the BWF kindergarten teachers Diane Waud, Tara Smith, Sammye Davis and Heather Cates as a way for kindergarteners to honor their moms. The kindergarteners performed songs, featured a video of the kindergarten students and their moms, and then dined on light refreshments. -Submitted by Kathleen Woodry Rhea Pelekis and daughter Lillian with Brooke Williams and daughter Madeline.

for the decor at the home of Julie and West Harris, and the mailbox was transformed into a saddle.

B12 • August 2014

Village Living

Words from the wise Last year’s kindergarten alumni share their advice for rising kindergarteners “It is really, really fun. You learn a lot. Don’t be shy to anybody, because you will make friends with them. Be good and stay still at school.” Millie Hard, Crestline Elementary

“Don’t be scared or cry. Just say hi, and you will make new friends. The teachers are super nice, and they will teach you to be smart. I learned that 10x10=100.” Owen McMillan, Brookwood Forest

“Be a good listener. Have fun!” Kenna Gage, Brookwood Forest

“My best advice is to be on your best behavior so that each day you can earn enough money for a trip to the Treasure Box.” Steele Darnall, Cherokee Bend

Voted

BEST OF MOUNTAIN BROOK Village Living 2013 Best Mexican Food

“Try not to lose your stamp and be sure to remember your lunch code. You will love your classroom!” Charlotte Morrow, Mountain Brook Elementary

“My advice for new students is to listen in class, do your homework and read a lot.” Catie Gasque, Cherokee Bend

“You get your own locker on the ﬁrst day, and you get to go on good ﬁeld trips. If you talk at rest time, you will have to pull your card.” Pierson Avery, Crestline Elementary

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • B13

Sports

Spartans’ hopes spike coming off Final Four season By WILL DAVIS After advancing further than any team in school history last season, Mountain Brook is looking to go even further in 2014. With a finish in the Class 6A state semifinals, last year was the first time in school history the Mountain Brook Spartans volleyball team made it all the way to the Final Four, and the first time since 1997 that the team made it to the Elite Eight. Its season came to an end with a loss in five sets to 2012 state champion Huntsville, but with all but one player back, the Spartans could be poised to replicate their historic 2013 season. Mountain Brook will have to replace Claire Gorman, who was the lone senior and a co-captain on the Spartans’ 2013 team. The Spartans, however, will return their remaining players, which gives reason for optimism that a return to the 2014 AHSAA Elite Eight at the Birmingham CrossPlex could be in the cards. This season, senior Abby Garrett will once again lead the team in the front court as the middle blocker, while junior Sara Carr and senior Julia Smith will lead the team in the backcourt as the outside hitter and setter, respectively.

Sara Carr and Abigail Garrett attempt to spike the ball at the AHSAA elite eight in a game against Baker. Photo by Image Arts.

“If this 2014 roster can play selflessly and as a unit with no drama, we could potentially have an opportunity to be the first 7A state champions,” said Spartans coach Haven O’Quinn said, who is entering her third season as head coach. Garret agreed: “We really want to

use last [season] as a stepping stone.” The turning point for the Spartans included coming together in a team meeting last season. “We had some nagging injuries and what seemed to be a tired roster,” O’Quinn said. “I feel like once we got (players) healthy and back on

the court at the Homewood Blalock Tournament, it was a fresh start. We had a team meeting and from then on played crazy.” While team success ultimately is the measuring stick, Mountain Brook also had its fair share of individual awards and honors in

2013. Outside hitter Carr and setter Sara Chandler Mitchell and defensive specialist Smith were all named to the AL.com All-Metro team, while Garrett received honorable mention recognition. Smith, who also took home AllMetro player of the year honors, will once again be a main leader for the Spartans. “Julia Smith is a leader on and off the court,” O’Quinn said. “She leads by action and brings intensity.” Mountain Brook’s 2014 season will begin in Orlando with the KSA Orlando Tournament that stretches from Aug. 27 to 31. The Spartans’ first home game will be Sept. 3 against Hoover, which also reached the Elite Eight last year. Other notable events this season include the area tournament at Spain Park, the “Rebel Rumble” at Vestavia, a road game at Hoover on Oct. 9 and Briarwood Christian at home on senior night on Oct. 14. “A lot of teams that we’re going to be facing are going to be a challenge,” Smith said. “Most, if not all, of our matches could go either way.” If the youthful Spartans team that reached the Final Four can learn from the experience, the schedule could include a return trip to the semifinals and perhaps beyond.

B14 • August 2014

Village Living

MBHS cross-country primed for another title run By WILL DAVIS Expectations are always high for every Mountain Brook program, but in terms of championship pedigree, the school’s cross-country program might top them all. The Spartans girls’ team has won 11 consecutive state championships – and 21 in all. The boys have won six state championships in that same time period, to go along with the 13 championships that they have won throughout their history. The Spartans measure success in state championships. That’s the goal again as they enter Class 7A. “We will have a strong returning team,” senior Jessica Molloy said. “I am very excited to run with some very talented girls as we train on the ‘Road to 12.’” Does the team feel any pressure to continue the streak? “We never talk about it much, but the pressure is there, for the coaches more than the players,” Mountain Brook coach Greg Echols said. “Of course, there’s always pressure, but Mountain Brook girls have won the past 11 [state championships] because they enjoyed what they were doing,” Molloy said. “We run because we enjoy the sport and the company of the girls on the team and with that comes state championships.” No. 11 came last season despite an inexperienced roster. The Spartans claimed the title by a margin of 44-95,

Mountain Brook’s Brantley Sanders, middle, attempts to outrun the competition. Photo by Image Arts.

with Molloy leading the way as Mountain Brook’s top scorer and finishing second overall with a mark of 18:17.00. Junior Frances Patrick finished eighth overall with a time of 18:52.60, while sophomore Parker Cobbs and eighthgrader Anna Littleton finished 12th and 13th overall with times of 19:11.10 and 19:11.60, respectively. Mountain Brook has lost Emily Bedell, Elizabeth Haberstroh and Murray Manley from last year’s team, but nearly everybody else will return in 2014. Echols mentioned Molloy, Patrick and Cobbs as potential leaders. Last season, the Mountain Brook

boys came up just short in their quest for another championship, finishing fourth in 2013 behind Auburn, Vestavia Hills and Opelika. They were led by departing senior Davis Kelly, who finished with a time of 16:26.10. Unlike the girls’ team, the Spartan boys will be a fairly young team. The Spartans lose Kelly, Stewart Hawk, Will Hargrove, Russell Galloway and Sam Neal. “We’re going to be young, but we’re a real tight pack,” Echols said. He said his young team is “figuring out how to hammer” but still complimented their intensity in practice.

The Mountain Brook boys’ cross country team leaves the starting line. Photo by Image Arts.

“’Are you jogging or running or are you hammering?’” Echols asks them. Echols mentioned seniors Marshall Smith and Michael Clark, junior Drew Williams and sophomore Griffin Riley as some who will step into leadership roles. “I’m optimistic about this upcoming season,” Smith said. “We have a great deal of talent, we’ve been working hard this summer, and I fully expect our team to go to state and do our best to beat out the competition.” If either the girls or boys team are to return to state, the team will have to go a different route with the addition

of a 7A classification. Both teams will have to get through the Central Alabama region, which will feature the likes of Hoover, Vestavia, Spain Park and Oak Mountain. Mountain Brook will begin its season on Aug. 29 at Montevallo in the Early Bird Twilight Classic. The state championships will take place on Nov. 8 in Oakville. Other notable meets include the Hoover Invitational on Oct. 23 at Spain Park, the TCBY invitational in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 20 and the sectional championships at Hewitt-Trussville on Oct. 30.

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • B15

Spartans join Class 7A’s ‘Region of Doom’ By DAVID KNOX High school football is a Southern tradition, and Alabama is one of its leading celebrants. It’s been that way for generations. But this season finds Alabama high school football undergoing its biggest change in 30 years. The Alabama High School Athletic Association, by unanimous vote of its central board, has added a seventh class for the largest 32 schools in the state. This creates entirely new regional and class alignments and affects rivalries, travel and, most importantly, whether your school will make the playoffs. In the Over the Mountain area, the so-called “Region of Doom” returns in a slightly different form in highly competitive Class 7A, Region 3. Mountain Brook is grouped with back-to-back Class 6A state champ Hoover — rated by some preseason sources as a national championship favorite — along with Spain Park, Vestavia Hills, Thompson, Oak Mountain, Tuscaloosa County and Hewitt-Trussville. Six of those eight made the 2013 Class 6A playoffs, including Mountain Brook; three were region champions. But only four of these teams will make the 16-field 7A playoff bracket in 2014. This is the first major classification change the AHSAA has adopted since 1984, when the governing body increased from four classes to six. The remaining six classes were divided as equally as possible with 60 schools in 6A, 61 in 5A, 60 in 4A, 60 in 3A, 58 in 2A and 58 making up Class 1A. This change affects all sports, but it’s King

7A Region 3 2013 Records Hewitt-Trussville

5-6

0-1

Hoover

15-0

5-0

Mountain Brook

7-4

0-1

Oak Mountain

4-6

0-0

Spain Park

8-3

0-1

Thompson

4-6

0-0

Tuscaloosa County

7-4

0-1

Vestavia Hills

11-3

3-1

Region Totals

61-32

8-5

Football that has garnered the most attention. “The seven-classification system will allow more student-athletes to participate in championship events, and more will experience firsthand what it means to play in some of the best venues in our state,” Central Board President Lamar Brooks said. “With the addition of an extra championship game, revenues should increase, which will mean much-needed

additional money for all schools through the AHSAA revenue sharing program.” AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese said the seven-class system allows the organization to group schools more closely in enrollment, reduces the need for nine-team regions in football and has created fewer five-team areas in sports such as basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball.

“It also will allow more schools to make the state playoffs and will crown more state champions than at any other time in the history of our organization,” he said. Some members of the media have taken to calling Class 7A a “super class,” but 6A may be even more competitive. Class 6A is comprised of 60 schools in eight regions, and Metro Birmingham schools landed across four of those regions. Class 6A, Region 5 is home to three schools: Homewood, Briarwood Christian and John Carroll. The other schools in their region include Pelham, Minor, Jackson-Olin, Hueytown and Walker. Moving to Class 6A, Region 3 is Chelsea, who will play against Alexander City’s Benjamin Russell, Opelika, Valley of Fairfax (north of Auburn near the Georgia line), Pell City, Oxford and Chilton County. In all classes except 7A, 32 schools will make the playoffs. The Super 6 Championships now become the Super 7. The championships alternate between Tuscaloosa and Auburn, and this year it’s Auburn’s turn. The AHSAA Central Board also voted to allow football teams 11 weeks to schedule 10 games. Schools may elect to play a non-region contest the week of Aug. 21-23 and then have 10 weeks to play the remaining nine regular-season games. Schools can still agree to play a non-counting jamboree or regulation game that first week but would then have the remaining 10 weeks to schedule the maximum 10 regular-season contests. This format will give schools more flexibility to schedule non-region games.

B16 • August 2014

Village Living

Mountain Brook Spartans 2014 Season Preview

The Spartans’ Drew Odum (4) is the team’s top receiver and kick returner. Photos by Image Arts.

2014SCHEDULE Date 8/28 9/5 9/12 9/19 9/26 10/3 10/10 10/17 10/24 10/31

Opponent Huntsville Hoover* Thompson* Vestavia Hills* James Clemens Tuscaloosa County* Oak Mountain* Hewitt-Trussville* Spain Park* Huffman *Region game

Location Away Away Home Away Home Home Away Home Home Away

Time 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m.

That kid Every team needs “that kid,” a player who displays heart, leadership or other intangibles — not only under the Friday night lights but also during the sweltering heat of August practices. Hill Kirkland and George Eagan represent what it takes to be successful in football at Mountain Brook,” said. “Hill has the intangible quality to make those around him elevate their game. George is unselfish and is passionate about reaching his maximum potential as a person and athlete. -Coach Chris Yeager

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • B17

Spartans confident heading into 7A wars By DAVID KNOX Mountain Brook High faces a rocky climb. The third-smallest school in Class 7A, the Spartans are in Region 3 with Hoover, Spain Park, Vestavia Hills, Oak Mountain, Thompson, Tuscaloosa County and Hewitt-Trussville. But Spartans coach Chris Yeager, entering his ninth season as head coach, has never backed down from a challenge, and his warriors won’t this season, either. Coming off a 7-4 record and a state playoff berth in Class 6A, Yeager said, “I personally like the challenge of being one of the smallest teams in our classification. Returning a two-time starter at quarterback and one of the top athletes in the Birmingham metro area at wide receiver boost that confidence, and six starters return on defense. Mountain Brook figures to survive the battle to place among the top four teams in this region to make the playoffs. But it’ll be a war every Friday night.” OFFENSE Jacob Carroll is back as the starter at quarterback for the third straight season. Drew Odum had a fabulous junior year, hauling in 64 receptions for 1,081 yards and 10 touchdowns. If he can match that season or even better it, Mountain Brook should be able to move the ball in chunks. Yeager is still looking for a workhorse running back, or maybe a group of backs, to lead the ground game, but he always seems to find some. Yeager cites tight end Hill Kirkland as one of the leaders on offense. “Hill … represents what it takes to be successful in football at Mountain Brook High School,” Yeager said. “Hill has the

Mountain Brook quarterback Jacob Carroll (15) takes off for a big gain against Hewitt-Trussville last season.

intangible quality to make those around him elevate their game.” DEFENSE Six starters are back: Joe Donald, Ridley Culp, George Eagan, Daniel McCool, Parker Crane and Weston Williams. Stephen Little has moved to defensive back from wide receiver, and Yeager raved about

his improvement. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone work harder … he has had a great summer.” Yeager is looking for more improvement from his secondary and leadership on both sides of the ball as some veteran leaders graduated. But one of those leaders will definitely be linebacker Eagan. “George is unselfish and is passionate about reaching his maximum potential as a

person and an athlete,” he said. SPECIAL TEAMS The Spartans are always solid in the kicking game and special teams, and this year should be no different. Harrison Ritchie will handle most of the kicking duties. Odum will be a threat on returns. Will Davis contributed to this report.

Village Living B18 • August 2014

Village Living

Celebrations Pitts-Austin Mr. and Mrs. Keith Pitts of Mountain Brook announce the engagement of their daughter, Jessica Jane Pitts, to Mr. Robert Charles Austin III, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Charles Austin Jr. The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Seburn Jackson Pitts of Clay and the late Mr. and Mrs. James Swift Culverhouse Sr. of Trussville. Miss Pitts is a graduate of Mountain Brook High School and a 2013 cum laude graduate of The University of Alabama, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and was named to Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta honors fraternities. She was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. She was presented at the 2009 City Lights Ball. The future groom is the grandson of Mrs. Gladys McNair, the late Mr. Wilmer McNair, Mr. Robert C. Austin Sr. and the late Mrs. Francis Austin, all of Birmingham. Mr. Austin is a graduate of Vestavia High School and a 2014 graduate of The University of Alabama, where he received a bachelor’s degree in constructional engineering. He is currently employed with Doster Construction. The wedding is planned for early October at Camp Desoto in Mentone, Ala. After a honeymoon in Paris, the couple will reside in Birmingham.

Mountain Brook Events Aug. 2: Otey’s Fest. 5 p.m. Otey’s Tavern, 224 Country Club Park. Live music, hamburgers and hotdogs and beer tent on site. Call 871-8435. Aug. 3: Neverland Pancake Breakfast. 7-9 a.m. Birmingham Levite Jewish Community Center. Visit bhamjcc.org. Aug. 4-8: UK Soccer Camp. 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Birmingham Levite Jewish Community Center. Ages 5-16. $125. Visit bhamjcc.org. Aug. 7-17: Disney’s Peter Pan Jr. Thursdays 7:30 p.m., Saturdays 8 p.m., Sundays 2 p.m. Birmingham Levite Jewish Community Center. $15 for adults, $12 for students. Call 879-0411 ext. 233. Aug. 9: Free Play Day. 11 a.m.1 p.m. Linda Dobbins Dance, 2416 Canterbury Road, Mountain Brook Village. Dance, face painting, crafts and balloons. Visit lddance.com.

Have an engagement, wedding or anniversary announcement? Email jennifer@villagelivingonline.com to have it included in an upcoming issue!

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Aug. 11-14: Preschool Flip into Fall at Mountain Brook Gymnastics. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Ages 3,4,5. $50 per day. Email becky@ mountainbrookgymnastics.com or 9694889. Aug. 13: First Day of School. Mountain Brook City Schools.

Aug. 13: LJCC Book Club. 1 p.m. Birmingham Levite Jewish Community Center. Discussing 97 Orhard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman. Call 879-0411 ext. 233. Aug. 16: Boiling N’ Bragging. 6-9 p.m. Otey’s Tavern. Benefits the Critical Care Transport program at Children’s of Alabama. $20 in advance or $25 at the door; kids 10 and younger free. Visit boilingnbragging.org. Aug. 16: Tent Sale. 8 a.m.5 p.m. Crestline Village. Visit welcometomountainbrook.com. Aug. 24: American Red Cross Babysitting Class. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Birmingham Levite Jewish Community Center. Provides youth who are planning to babysit with the knowledge and skills necessary to safely give care for children and infants. Ages 11-15. $85. Call 8790411, ext. 253. Aug. 26: Community Education Series. Noon. Birmingham Levite Jewish Community Center. Learn about the stages of senior care. Call 978-0411 ext. 233.

VillageLivingOnline.com

August 2014 • B19

Calendar Area Events Aug. 1-29: Celebrate America! 10 a.m. American Village. Enjoy red, white and blue family fun for all ages this summer. Adults $10, Kids 5-17 and Seniors 60 and up $9, Veterans, active military and children 4 and under free. Visit americanvillage.org.

American Village draws crowds for its various event’s such as Celebrate America! and the Independence Day Celebration. Photo courtesy of Melanie Poole.

Emmet O’Neal Library Adults All month: Tech classes. Small, one-hour, free classes. Registration required. Call Marylyn at 445-1115. Wednesdays: Brown Bag Lunch Series. 12:30 p.m. Doors open at noon. Aug. 2 & 9: Library closed on Sundays through Aug. 10. Aug. 5: Storyteller Bill Lepp. 6:30 p.m. Aug. 11: Great Books Book Group. 6:30 p.m. Discussing short

story “For the Relief of Unbearable Urges” by Nathan Englander. Aug. 12: The Bookies Book Group. 10 a.m. Discussing Transatlantic by Colum McCann. Aug. 19: Documentaries After Dark. 6:30 p.m. A film about debt and wealth. Aug. 26: Genre Reading Group. 6:30 p.m. Books about WWII. Aug. 30-Sept. 1: Library Closed. In observance of Labor Day. There will be no teen or children’s programming in August.

Aug. 1-2: Secret Stages. Downtown Loft District. For two nights, a diverse group of music enthusiasts will be treated to over 80 bands performing on up to 11 different stages. Visit secretstages.net. Aug. 1: Summer Film Series: Mamma Mia! 7 p.m. Alabama Theatre, 1817 Third Ave. North. The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular ’70s group ABBA. 108 min. PG-13. There will be a sing-along and Mighty Wurlitzer performance before the film. $8. Call 252-2262. Aug. 3: Summer Film Series: Blue Hawaii. 2 p.m. Alabama Theatre, 1817 Third Ave. North. Chad Gates has just gotten out of the Army, and is happy to be back in Hawaii with his surf-board, his beach buddies, and his girlfriend. 102 min. PG. There will be a sing-along and Mighty Wurlitzer performance before the film. $8. Call 252-2262. Aug. 7: Fenders and Fireflies. 6-10 p.m. Old Car Heaven. Benefits Easter Seals of Birmingham. Catering by Cocina Superior. Live music, silent

auction and more. Buy tickets at instagift. com/eastersealsofbirmingham. Call 3142187. Aug. 8: Summer Film Series: The Godfather. 7 p.m. Alabama Theatre, 1817 Third Ave. North. The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son. 175 min. R. There will be a sing-along and Mighty Wurlitzer performance before each film. $8. Call 252-2262. Aug. 10: Summer Film Series: The Wizard of Oz. 2 p.m. Alabama Theatre, 1817 Third Ave. North. Dorothy Gale is swept away to a magical land in a tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard who can help her return home. 102 min. PG. There will be a singalong and Mighty Wurlitzer performance before each film. $8. Call 252-2262. Aug. 14: Meet Authors Frank Page and Lavon Gray. 10 a.m.12 p.m. WMU National Headquarters. 100 Missionary Ridge. Discussion of challenges facing today’s churches. Visit newhopedigital.com. Aug. 14: Birmingham Food Allergy Symposium. Registration at 5:30 p.m. Program 6:30-9 p.m. Vestavia Hills Library. Food Allergy Research and Education will host an evening of education and support on food allergies. Call Bonnie Robbins at 404-990-3555 to RSVP.

Aug. 14: Mother Plug Music Presents “An Evening with Anders Osborne.” 7 p.m. Avondale Brewing Company. Join Mother Plug Music at Avondale Brewing Co. to enjoy an evening of live music by the Anders Osborne. Advanced general admission $20, day-of-event general admission $25. Visit motherplugmusic.com Aug. 15-24: Birmingham Restaurant Week. Time and location varies. Birmingham’s premier dining out event organized by REV Birmingham. Visit bhamrestaurantweek. com or call 595-0562. Aug. 22: Sips for CF Wine Tasting Competition. 1901 Sixth Ave. N Downtown Birmingham. Fifteenth floor. Hosted by and benefitting Laps for Cystic Fibrosis. Tickets $20 in advance, $25 day of event. Visit LapsForCF.org. Aug. 22-24: 16th Annual Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. Theatre District of Downtown Birmingham. Visit sidewalkfest.com or call 324-0888. Aug. 24: L’Chaim. 2:30-4 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 2100 Highland Ave. The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center will honor local businessman and developer Jeffrey Bayer. $50. Visit bhamholocausteducation.org.