Vestavia Voice May 2024

Hub in the Hills

Vision for transforming Central Elementary coming into focus

By LOYD McINTOSH

The former Vestavia Hills Elementary School Central building could begin a major transformation as soon as this summer, the purchasers of the school say.

Ammie Akin, an educator with more than 20 years of experience, and her husband, Will, a principal of Capital Growth Real Estate, this past fall agreed through a company called Wellspring Holdings to purchase the property from the Vestavia Hills Board of Education for $1.25 million.

Ammie Akin said she hopes to give the school, to be called Hub in the Hills, a second act after serving the children and families of Vestavia Hills for 30 years. While her ultimate vision for the property is still coming into focus, Akin said she wants Hub in the Hills to be a vibrant resource for learning, connecting and service for the entire community.

“It’s going to be a place where connections happen and people gather together, help each other and support each other because of the things that are in the building,” Akin said. “There are going to be wonderful things in the building, and I don’t know what they are yet, but they’re going to be wonderful.”

See HUB IN THE HILLS | page 27

The Next Round remains committed to home

There may not be many regular listeners of The Next Round across the pond, but it does serve as an example of the digital show’s constantly increasing presence.

The Next Round is based in Birmingham and is live from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday, led by the trio of Jim Dunaway, Lance Taylor and Ryan Brown. The three of them, along with producer Sean “Rockstar” Heninger, have been together for well over a decade, joining forces on the radio side in early 2011. They primarily talk sports, but they mix in a little bit of everything along the way out of their studio in the Blue Lake Center.

They branched out in 2021 and took a leap of faith to start their own venture, what is now Disrupt Media. It’s been a steady climb ever since. Things have evolved, grown and changed plenty in just a couple years’ time. But one thing has remained pretty constant, even as the show’s reach has increased, and that’s a commitment to the Birmingham area. Out of the 12 people currently on staff, 11 of them hail from the area.

“That’s why we’re such a good, tight-knit family,” Dunaway said. “We can reference little things like James Spann in his suspenders on a stormy day, and everyone knows what we’re talking about.”

From left: Vestavia Hills natives Reade Taylor, Scott Forester, Sean “Rockstar” Heninger and Taylor Korn at The Next Round. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.

Ammie and Will Akin stand in the former library and media center at the new Hub in the Hills at the former Vestavia Hills Elementary School Central building. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.

You can’t tie the knot without a way to get to the honeymoon! Jose and Vanessa needed a new ride to fit their new life together as a couple. That’s why they chose the 2024 VW Atlas Cross Sport. Ample passenger and cargo space means it’s ready to grow with them and their family-to-be. Congrats, you two! For every first family car, there’s Royal.

Jose and fiancé Vanessa with their new 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.

About Us

For this month's publisher's note, I have some good and some bad news.

First, the good news: This is the last publisher's note I plan to write for at least a while.

And there is no bad news, but we all know that looming bad news captures attention.

More good news is that Tim Stephens has taken over as interim editor-in-chief for our company.

I've asked Tim to improve the Vestavia Voice and our other newspaper products by making them more relevant, more consistent, more connected and by increasing digital touch points within the community.

In the coming months, you should see noticeable changes in all of these areas of this paper.

You’ll also see a new face and a new voice in this space. What you’ll likely continue to see is us asking for your input and feedback on making our media connect with you more impactfully.

And you should also see new and creative ways to make that happen through all of our distribution channels.

As always, I welcome your input. You can reach me by email at dan@ starnesmedia.com.

Compassionate Crossings (10)

Cummings Jewelry Design (1) Dermatology &

Riverpeak Partners of Raymond James (13)

Royal Automotive (3)

Shoe Station (1)

Shunnarah Flooring (18)

Sikes Children’s Shoes (14)

Southern Home Structural Repair Specialists (22)

Spiffy Design (6)

State Farm - Vivian Mora (12)

The Cook Store (18)

The Crossings at Riverchase (17)

The Welch Group (17)

TherapySouth Corporate (15)

Total Comfort Heating and Air (10)

University of Alabama / Culverhouse College of Business / Executive MBA (8)

Gunn Dermatology (11)

Image Hive (8)

Vulcan Termite & Pest Control (20)

Vulcan Wellness & Aesthetics (21)

Watts Realty (12) Window World of Central Alabama (13)

John Ambrose has a ‘passion’ for building great kitchens and baths

Ambrose Kitchen & Bath • 205-510-6961 • ambrosekitchenandbath.com

John Ambrose is a Birmingham designbuild expert with years of experience in top-quality remodels and new construction. He recently rebranded his business and, in this Q&A, discusses his exciting new venture — Ambrose Kitchen & Bath.

Why the focus on kitchens and baths? After undertaking full remodels and building from the ground up, I realized that kitchens and bathrooms are my passion. They’re the most difficult areas in the home, and the challenge is exciting. Getting lighting, plumbing, tile, countertops, cabinets, hardware, appliances and paint to all work in harmony is extremely rewarding.

What sets Ambrose Kitchen & Bath apart? We started as a design and remodeling company, so we can take your project from design to finish, including

space reimagination. We also stand out by carrying six distinct cabinet lines to meet the design and budget needs of anyone looking to elevate their home’s value. We can usually produce 3-D renderings of your vision after only one design appointment. What’s your favorite cabinet line? I love working with any cabinet that meets a customer’s needs, but my personal favorite is Mouser — a true luxury brand with lots of custom options. Mouser is still made in Kentucky bourbon country with the same quality and craftsmanship found nearly 70 years ago in Mr. Mouser’s tiny shop. It’s a brand that gets even architects excited — with luxury inset, trend right faceframe, chic custom veneers and modern frameless laminates. If you dream it, we can do it with Mouser.

For more information, call 205-510-6961 or visit ambrosekitchenandbath.com.

City officials highlight mid-fiscal year progress

By LOYD McINTOSH

The Vestavia Hills City Council and city manager Jeff Downes recently highlighted progress on a variety of fronts midway through the 2024 fiscal year.

“We as the city staff, when we get together, we’re constantly reinforcing how we’re moving forward with the goals that you all set as strategic planning principles and strategic planning priorities,” Downes told the city council on April 8. “We look at the budget document that you passed, and I’m all about measuring output or outcomes.”

The city has been able to hire a second code enforcement official and complete the Police Department’s plan to provide a car for each of the department’s 109 officers.

Downes also highlighted the popularity of the Vestavia Hills Civic Center, which has outpaced projections for reservations and already eclipsed the facility’s 2023 performance.

“At the midpoint, we have reserved spaces at our Civic Center totaling 448 spaces. The entirety of last year, we had reservations for 333,” Downes said. “That facility is in super high demand.”

Downes also highlighted usage at the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest, which has increased 16% over the previous 12 months, and activity in the Building Safety Department, which is on pace for an all-time high number of inspections. Additionally, Downes said revenue from permit receipts is far outpacing projections for fiscal 2024.

“Our budget for that was around $1.6 million, and we’re at the midpoint with $3 million in permit receipts,” he said.

Following the city manager’s report,

Councilman George Pierce also mentioned other projects underway, including the roundabout under construction at the intersection of Sicard Hollow Road and Blue Lake Drive, intersection improvements at U.S. 31 and Columbiana Road, expansion of the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex, and the commercial project at the lower end of U.S. 31, where the newest location of Big Bad Breakfast and Waldo’s Chicken & Beer will be located.

“It’s exciting to see all of these projects in progress,” Pierce said.

In other actions, the city council rezoned

property at 4533 Pine Tree Circle, in the Topfield subdivision just off Blue Lake Drive, from a low-density residential district to a professional office district.

Mayor Ashley Curry said the Planning and Zoning Commission had already given unanimous approval to allow the property’s new owner, Kathryn Gentle, to convert the former single-family home into an office for her law firm, Crawford Gentle Law PC, under several conditions.

“The zoning is limited to professional use only. It’s not complete until the certificate of

occupancy is approved by the fire marshal, building inspector and zoning official. And any new building is limited to two stories and constructed in a residential style,” Curry said.

The city council also approved a resolution allowing Downes to reinvest the city’s emergency funds, totaling $20.4 million, into PNC Bank at a 12-month yield of a net 5.18%.

Lastly, the council approved a resolution to return $119,000 in sales tax to Molecular Designs, after mistakenly collecting sales tax for medical equipment sold wholesale instead of retail.

The Vestavia Hills Civic Center.

Photo by Jon Anderson.

We have many things to think about during May. May, in the South, is generally the beginning of spring, as evidenced by the flowers that are blooming everywhere and the inevitable pollen that keeps my car a pale shade of yellow until everything has bloomed.

Before we talk about May, let’s discuss some significant events that took place since my last “Mayor’s Minute.”

Mayor’s Minute

By Ashley Curry

I attended the Vestavia Hills City Schools math team banquet. Team members and their parents from Pizitz Middle School, Liberty Park Middle School and the high school were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments. Our middle schools consistently place first or second in area competitions, and our high school team has won every tournament so far this year, including three in Georgia, one in South Carolina and one in Oklahoma. Also, VHHS finished in first place at the 2024 Alabama Statewide High School Math Contest, finishing over 100 points higher than the second-place team.

Congratulations to these students and to the math team teachers at each of these schools.

I was particularly thrilled to attend the Dogwood Prayer Breakfast this year. The chamber of commerce selected Anna Gualano as this year’s speaker. I have known Anna all her life, and if you didn’t know, she’s my daughter. The scripture featured in the presentation was from Joshua 1:9, which instructs us to be “strong and courageous.” She has certainly lived a life being strong enough and courageous enough not to let a disability define who she is. Thank you, Anna, for sharing your message.

The annual Wing Ding, sponsored by Leadership Vestavia Hills, was scheduled for April

27. Colonel Sanders (of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame) would have been proud of the “finger-lickin’ good” wings competition (if all went as planned after this writing).

During May, there are several special occasions to remember. The first is Mother’s Day on May 12.

I will always remember an advertisement featuring Coach Bear Bryant saying, “Be sure to call your mother today. I wish I could call mine.” Be sure to remember your mother this month.

The other occasion that is celebrated on the last Monday of May is Memorial Day. Unlike Veterans Day, in which we honor all who have served in our armed forces, Memorial Day is to honor and mourn the U.S. military personnel who died while in service to our nation. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials to honor the fallen military personnel by placing flowers or American flags on the gravesites.

My friend Mark Davis, who is a military veteran, shared a quote that we should all remember. He said, “a soldier dies two deaths, one in the line of duty, and the other when his sacrifice is forgotten.”

May we never forget the ultimate sacrifice that the men and women of the military have made to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy. On May 27, please take a moment of silence during your day and honor those who perished protecting our country.

Business

Business Happenings

NOW OPEN

Blue Lake Orthodontics is now open at 3100 Blue Lake Drive, Suite 200. The office strives to offer a calming, patient-centered atmosphere and services ranging from braces to surgical orthodontics. Open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 205-883-6230, bluelakeorthodontics.com

RELOCATIONS AND RENOVATIONS

St. Vincent's Urgent Care has moved to a new location at 3140 Cahaba Heights Road, sharing a building with St. Vincent's Primary Care Cahaba Heights. The urgent care hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 205-408-2366, healthcare.ascension.org/locations/ alabama

PERSONNEL MOVES

Regions Bank, with several locations in Vestavia Hills, has named John Jordan as the head of retail for its Consumer Banking Group. Jordan will lead an organization of more than 7,500 Regions Bank associates. He comes to Regions from Bank of America, where he spent more than 20 years in retail banking and wealth management. As head of retail for Regions

Bank, Jordan reports directly to Kate Danella, head of consumer banking. His appointment was effective April 1. 205-766-8510, regions.com

NEWS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Regions Bank, with several locations in Vestavia Hills, was named a silver winner in the Learning Marketer of the Year competition at the 2024 Degreed Visionary Awards, given out by the Degreed enterprise learning experience platform. The award recognizes companies for aligning professional development with business strategies.

205-766-8510, regions.com

ANNIVERSARIES

Kids have been training at KidStrong at 1360 Montgomery Highway #120b for one year. The business is based on a scientific training program that aims to help kids develop physically and mentally as they get older. Coaches teach classes for ages 14 months to 11 years old. 205-861-0800, kidstrong.com/start/vestavia-hills

The Standard has been open in the Vestavia Hills City Center for one year. The restaurant is a traditional hot dog and hamburger joint, with additional sandwiches and french fries. Customers can stop by daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. 205-490-1143, thestandardbhm.com

Do you have news to share with the community about a business in Vestavia Hills or the greater Birmingham area? Let us know at starnesmedia.com/ business-happenings

Blue Lake Drive area transitions to green

By LOYD McINTOSH

Formerly a residential community in the shadow of the Colonnade shopping development, the Blue Lake Drive area is transforming into a dynamic business district on the edge of the southwest corner of Vestavia Hills.

The area is experiencing rapid growth in new construction as well as seeing many of the dilapidated older homes — many abandoned or used as short-term rentals — either demolished or renovated to house financial, medical and law offices.

Vestavia Hills City Manager Jeff Downes said the transition is the result of meticulous planning, oversight and strategic ordinances to ensure the area transforms into the village-style community that the city is pursuing in other areas.

For instance, in December 2023, the Vestavia Hills City Council banned short-term rentals within the city, defined as any rental of a period of 90 days or less. Additionally, the Vestavia Hills Planning & Zoning Commission has put into place strict design guidelines aimed at ensuring any new and renovated structure is aesthetically pleasing and in keeping with the master plan for the area.

“It’s changing the complexity of the entire area,” Downes said. “One by one, those lots are being repurposed, and they’re seeking rezoning from the city. They’re going before the city’s Design Review Board, and every one of them is facing the same level of evaluation. Is it the right scale, and does it have the village look that is consistent throughout the emerging area?”

Downes added that every project is focused on low-impact businesses that don’t require large parking lots and, in many cases, have gravel parking. Additionally, Downes said such features as pitched roofs and unique building materials have added to the area’s attractiveness for new business investment.

“Even though it’s incremental, it looks to be a planned area, and it is planned from the standpoint that every one of those, as they evolved from a residential property to a commercial

property, has a certain look and feel,” Downes said.

The city acquired the area off of Blue Lake Drive and Patchwork Farms as part of the Cahaba Heights annexation in 2002. Over the last 22 years, the Blue Lake Drive area has evolved into its own community, thanks largely to its location at the intersection of Interstate 459 and U.S. 280, according to Downes.

“I always call this intersection Main and Main of Birmingham, because you have The Summit on the north end, you have the Colonnade on the south end, and our little trade area, this Blue Lake area, is very close to Main and Main. And so, with that comes great opportunity,” Downes said.

The redevelopment was spurred by a public-private partnership with Slice Pizza to establish the business’s second Birmingham-area location on Timberlake Drive. Downes said the city was also intentional in its planning of Lifetime Fitness, Publix, the Patchwork Farms

shopping center and the Aspire Physical Recovery Center at Cahaba River to ensure consistent design throughout the area.

The success of these businesses has bled over into the Blue Lake area with businesses springing up in new construction, such as Agile Physical Therapy and Slate Barganier Building Co., as well as in the older, mostly abandoned homes in the community. A drive through the community shows bulldozers preparing lots for construction, rezoning notice signs in front of abandoned homes and for-sale signs in vacant lots.

Downes believes it’s only a matter of time before the area, including Pine Tree Circle and Timberlake Drive, completely turns from residential rental properties to commercial use.

Trisha Cagle Rushing, a commercial broker with Red Rock Realty Group with property listed along Blue Lake Drive, said the area’s transformation reminds her of other recent communities that have transitioned over the years, such as Cahaba Heights and West Homewood. She

also said that the community’s access to U.S. 280 and I-459 make it an ideal location for an upscale service business to consider.

“Blue Lake’s strategic location, with easy access to major highways, makes it prime for retail and business development, spurred by luxury multi-family projects in good school systems and large retailers like Publix leading the way and driving more daily traffic to the area,” Rushing said. “I look forward to continuing to watch the area evolve.”

While there is plenty of new construction completed or in progress, many older homes are also being rezoned and renovated for business purposes. For instance, the Planning & Zoning Commission approved a request to rezone a house at 4529 Pine Tree Circle from residential to commercial on April 11. If the City Council approves the plan, the house will soon be the new home of Maria Claire Designs Drapery Studio, currently located in the Shops at the Colonnade.

On April 8, the City Council approved a similar recommendation, rezoning a house at 4533 Pine Tree Circle from residential district to professional office district. Owned by Kathryn Gentle, the house is already in use by her law firm, Crawford Gentle Law, PC.

A Mountain Brook native, Gentle purchased the house after it was vacant for more than five years. She had many renovations made to the house, including removing the worn-out carpeting in favor of the hardwood floors underneath.

“I painted the outside, removed a lot of junk, painted the inside and put the ramp on the outside,” she said.

Gentle said the location is ideal for her and her clients and she is excited to see new activity in the Blue Lake community.

“I live in Mountain Brook, and I work [in] downtown [Birmingham], and I work in Shelby County as well, so it’s kind of an in-the-middle spot for me, where I don’t have to fight all the traffic. It’s just a good location,” she said. “And it’s nice and quiet as well, maybe not so much anymore. It’s blowing up.”

Kathryn Gentle’s law firm, Crawford Gentle Law, PC, at 4533 Pine Ridge Circle in the Blue Lake Drive area has been rezoned from a residential district to a professional office district. Photo by Loyd McIntosh.

The Hair Bar finds new home in Dolly Ridge

By CARMEN SHEA BROWN

Growing up in the small town of Luverne, Glen Mackey didn’t dream of owning his own beauty salon. Instead, he had set his ambitions on becoming a nurse.

“From ninth to 12th grade, I took medical terminology courses, and I had a 3.8 GPA,” he said. “I never had to take a single book home.”

College life at Troy University, however, proved to be an entirely new challenge.

“I was trying to go to school, and I was working a restaurant job, a retail job and at a hospital," he said. “I only made it about halfway through when I knew it wasn't going to pan out, but now I know it didn’t so something better could.”

It was at that point, Mackey said, that a conversation with friends led him to a new career path.

“My roommate was a business student who had graduated from Aveda, and we both had mutual friends who were in the hair industry,” he said. “They were talking about how successful you could be with it. I thought this was something I could do.”

Mackey moved to Birmingham in 2012 and began taking classes at Xcell Academy, a Paul Mitchell partner school, and then went on to Regency Beauty Institute in Hoover. After graduating, Mackey worked at GeGe’s in Greystone, Mac Cosmetics and LifeSpa before deciding it was time to go out on his own.

In 2016, he opened The Hair Bar in the Target shopping center on U.S. 280. Since then, business at The Hair Bar had far exceeded its space.

“We grew about 600% in five years,” Mackey said. “We now have about 7,000 regular clients. It’s been amazing.”

Now, Mackey has brought what he calls his “team of rockstars” along with him to The Hair Bar’s new location at Parkside at Dolly Ridge in Cahaba Heights. At 2,500 square feet, the

new salon is three times larger and now has eight hair stylists, three full-body waxers, three massage therapists, one lash expert and one permanent makeup expert.

“Our team is not just coworkers or employees, but a chosen family who have worked really hard so together we could expand into a bigger and more beautiful space,” he said.

Mackey, who is certified in five hair extension techniques, also specializes in blonding, color services and multiple smoothing and conditioning treatments. A new service he is excited about is the head spa, a Japanese-inspired beauty treatment that is like a facial treatment for the head and scalp.

END OF LIFE CARE FOR YOUR PETS

“We do a deep conditioning treatment at the end that gets rid of build-up after you get your extensions out,” he said. “It really helps if you have dry or damaged hair.”

In addition to staying on top of new hair care and beauty regimens, Mackey said he believes the secret to The Hair Bar’s success is in building relationships.

“If you take care of your people, they will take care of you,” he said. “It’s a small family. It doesn’t end when the lights go out.”

When choosing a new location, Mackey said he wanted a place that had more of a community feel and where clients would not have to deal with the stress of traffic on U.S. 280.

“I thought of my clients and where they come from,” he said. “We have some that come from Auburn, Jasper, Hoover and even Nashville.”

But Mackey said he had a deeper reason for choosing Cahaba Heights. “It’s a tight-knit community where people take care of their own, and this is what being a small business is all about,” he said.

The Hair Bar is located at 4317 Dolly Ridge Road. The salon is open Tuesday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information or to book an appointment, call 205-848-8828 or visit thehairbarbham.com.

Photo courtesy of Brendon Pinola.

Vestavia mayor, daughter advocate for new disability symbol

By LOYD McINTOSH

Called the Dynamic Accessibility Symbol, the new design is an update of the classic handicap symbol released in 1969. The new mark is designed to show a person with a disability actively engaged in their own movement, rather than the static position portrayed in the current symbol.

The updated symbol is gaining support among people with disabilities and their families.

Gualano, an attorney and principal at Littler Mendelson, P.C., was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, more commonly known as brittle bone disease. She and Curry became aware of the Dynamic Accessibility Symbol while traveling to Vanderbilt University Hospital for treatment, where they saw the symbol on car tags and handicapped parking spaces..

“My daughter and I were up in Nashville recently. She goes up there for some medical issues, and we’re driving into the city, and she sees the Tennessee tag and said, ‘I wonder why Alabama can’t do that,’” Curry said.

“I said, ‘Gosh, I so prefer that symbol to the one that you see everywhere else,’” Gualano said.

Gualano has not allowed her disability to slow her down, living a demanding and physically active lifestyle. For instance, 15 years ago, Gualano, accompanied by Curry, traveled to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. To her, the Dynamic Accessibility Symbol reflects the lifestyles she and many other people with disabilities lead.

While in the car to and from Nashville that day, Gualano made her feelings clear regarding her preference.

“Dad was sort of surprised at my really strong reaction. That static symbol sort of speaks to me of dependence, and that is not consistent with my experience,” she said.

“I feel like symbols matter a lot, and for some people that symbol on a handicapped parking space might be all the interaction they have with disability,” Gualano said. “Since it’s not consistent with my experience, I just much prefer the more dynamic symbol that speaks of

The Dynamic Accessibility Symbol, which has been proposed for Alabama’s handicap license plates and parking tags, is meant to convey action and independence for people with disabilities. Photo courtesy of The Accessible Icon Project.

Commissioner David Gerregano to learn more about the process the state used to adopt the emblem. Gerregano sent Curry a copy of the Tennessee bill that made it to the state legislature in 2019.

Curry then contacted Alabama state Rep. David Faulkner, who represents Alabama House District 46, and Faulkner introduced the bill, House Bill 285, in the 2024 legislative session in late February. Curry also received support from state Sen. Jabo Waggoner and Dr. Graham Sisson, executive director of the Alabama Governor’s Office on Disability.

The bill would only apply to license plates and car tags, not handicap parking signs or building signs at this time.

As of April, the bill had been reviewed by the Transportation, Infrastructure and Utilities Committee and had been placed on the House’s calendar. Curry said the bill has bipartisan support but was being held up by the gambling bill currently under debate in Montgomery. However, he said he has been assured the bill is “low-hanging fruit” and has a high probability of passing once it comes up for a vote.

independence and shows a person involved in their own movement.”

The Dynamic Accessibility Symbol is currently in use in four states — Tennessee, New York, Michigan and Connecticut. Curry said he decided to get involved and pursue having Alabama adopt the updated symbol.

“The original emblem, to a person with a disability, is a static look, like they are just sitting there waiting for somebody to come push them,” Curry said. “This shows a person with a disability actively involved.”

Curry placed a call to Tennessee Revenue

“It’s noncontroversial. The point is all they are changing is the emblem. They’re not changing all the disabled signs in everyone’s parking lot on the sides of their buildings,” Curry said. “This isn’t something that is going to cost the state a lot of money. The way I look at it is, I think we are doing the right thing for our citizens with disabilities.”

Gualano said she can’t imagine there are too many people opposed to the new symbol. “It doesn’t seem like a big change to make,” she said. “I see it as a small thing that has a big impact.”

Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry and his daughter, Anna Gualano, are behind an effort to update the traditional handicap symbol with a new emblem for the state of Alabama.

The art of place

Artist Claire Cormany captures beauty in the world around her

By BARRY WISE SMITH

When Claire Cormany arrived in Birmingham in 1990 to attend Samford University, she had no way of knowing that it would become her forever home.

Growing up in Winter Park, Florida, Cormany decided after graduating from her private high school that she wanted the small, liberal arts college experience — something that was in short supply in her home state. She also knew she wanted a college with a strong arts program. After meeting a Samford recruiter at her high school and a visit to the university’s suburban campus, “I was sold,” Cormany said. At Samford, Cormany majored in graphic design and minored in painting.

“I’ve never not painted,” she said. “For my whole career, I’ve been a graphic designer by trade, but I’ve continued to paint all along.”

After taking her first post-college job as a designer for the company that became United Healthcare (“I got them through the name change,” Cormany recalled. “That was a bear!”), she assumed that she would eventually return home to Florida.

“But I fell in love with the people here,” she said.

She also fell in love with the neighborhood around the 800-square-foot cottage that she

rented just off Euclid Avenue, in Mountain Brook.

“At night, after work, I would go for walks in the neighborhood,” she said.

“I became captivated by the way Mountain Brook’s villages looked at night. It was magical.”

Inspired by the twinkling lights and glowing storefronts, Cormany began painting her popular village nightscapes. “I was so inspired by walking around the villages. They’re just lovely,” she says. “People don’t normally paint nighttime scenes, but I just loved the way the light and the sky looked at night.”

Cormany has painted Crestline Village, Mountain Brook Village and English Village, where she worked for eight years as the designer for Portico magazine From the vantage point of her second-floor office at the corner of Cahaba Road and 20th Avenue South, Cormany saw people coming and going from the area’s restaurants and shops, further inspiring her artistic vision.

“The village paintings are very local and very personal,” Cormany said.

Three of Cormany’s paintings hang at Church Street Coffee & Books. While the popular paintings are often sold out on her website, Cormany takes commissions for the paintings from people wanting to give them as special gifts.

“I came for college, but I stayed because it’s lovely and artistically inspiring,” she says. “It’s home.”

Cormany will be showing her acrylic and oil paintings on Spray Pond Walk at Sloss Furnaces during the 41st annual Magic City Art Connection on April 26-28. For more information, visit her website, clairecormany.com, or find her on Instagram @cormanybyclaire.

Graphic designer and painter Claire Cormany, poses with some of her Mountain Brook nightscape paintings. Photo courtesy of Claire Cormany.

City to pump $3.5 million into school athletic facilities

By JON ANDERSON

The Vestavia Hills City Council has agreed to pay $3.5 million to the city’s school board over the next three years to help pay for improvements to athletic facilities.

The first $1.1 million will be paid this summer to cover the replacement of artificial turf at Vestavia Hills High School’s Buddy Anderson Field and roadway, drainage and parking improvements at the athletic field at Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge.

Additional payments of $1.2 million each are scheduled to follow in July 2025 and July 2026. They will help cover replacement of gym floors at Pizitz Middle School and the Dolly Ridge, East, West and Liberty Park elementary schools; replacement of basketball goals at the East and West elementary schools; track improvements at Vestavia Hills Elementary Central; new turf at the football/soccer/lacrosse field at Pizitz; and bathroom and concession improvements at the high school baseball field.

The school board recently approved a $784,000 contract with Specialty Turf Supply for the new artificial turf installation at the high school and a $186,449 contract with Bama Utility Contractors for the work at Dolly Ridge.

The turf installation is scheduled to begin June 1 and be completed by mid-July, and the work at Dolly Ridge is scheduled to be done by July 31.

Vestavia Hills Athletics Director Myra Miles said the turf work at the high school is “absolutely a need and not a want.” The existing turf is probably more than a decade old. She’s been in this role for three years, and “from year one, we’ve had to constantly fix rips,” she said. “It’s

really worn. It’s over time to get it fixed.”

Anytime you have rips in turf, there’s the chance of athletes and others on the field, such as marching band members, hanging a toe on the rips, she said. “We have to constantly stay on top of getting the rips sewn up. It’s a safety issue.”

While the turf is getting replaced, school officials also are going to fix some water and electrical issues on the field, Miles said. There has been no access to water on the sideline for a few years, and the electrical outlets on the sideline also have not worked well, she said. “This is definitely an upgrade.”

Specialty Turf Supply also will maintain the artificial turf for the school system, Miles said. The job at Dolly Ridge will include paving the

stone driveway that leads down a hill to the recreation field, adding handicapped parking spaces and repairing a stormwater drainage pipe to help with erosion control.

It has been hard for some people, especially elderly people and people with disabilities, to walk down the existing stone driveway, Principal Ty Arendall said. The paved surface and paved handicapped parking spaces at the bottom of the drive will provide better accessibility, he said.

The other improvements to athletic facilities also are important, Miles said. “The gym floor at Pizitz is very old, and the gym floor at Liberty Park could really use some love,” she said. Also, the bathroom and concession areas at the high

The Vestavia Hills High School girls soccer team practices on the artificial turf at Buddy Anderson Field in Vestavia Hills on April 12. The artificial turf is slated to be replaced this summer.

school baseball field are old and starting to have some big issues, Miles said.

“Hopefully over the next three years, we’ll be in really good shape,” she said. “We are really excited. … I’m so thrilled that we’re partnering with the city.”

Superintendent Todd Freeman said the focus of the partnership is to make sure the school system has the safest and best conditions possible for its athletic facilities.

The resolution passed by the Vestavia Hills City Council to fund these projects notes that the city and school system share one another’s athletic facilities, and the financial sustainability of the school system is directly correlated with the long-term success of the city.

Photo by Jon Anderson.

Students learn valuable skills volunteering at food bank

By LOYD McINTOSH

On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, a Vestavia Hills High School bus pulls into the parking lot of the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama in West Homewood.

The bus is full of students from the school’s Life Skills class, ready for a day of helping people in need.

For the next few hours, the students sort food, pack boxes and prepare for the food bank to deliver food to needy families throughout the greater Birmingham area. In 2023, the Community Food Bank reported that it delivered 21 million meals.

Food bank development director Ginger Pegues said this task couldn’t be completed without volunteers like the VHHS Life Skills students.

“We’re so grateful to the Vestavia kids. They are fabulous,” Pegues said. “When the students make meal boxes, they’re not just spending that hour sorting or putting those boxes together; they’re making sure that our neighbors have food on their table.”

The Life Skills program at Vestavia Hills High School is for students with developmental or intellectual disabilities, such as autism or Down syndrome.

Ashley Watkins, an exceptional education teacher with the program, said the class prepares these students for life after graduation, teaching them valuable social and vocational skills, and the Community Food Bank is an integral part of the curriculum.

“At this age, we have more of what is called a ‘transition focus,’ preparing our students ninth through 12th grade and beyond, preparing them and focusing on transitioning to the next stage, adulthood,” Watkins said. “We’re getting them ready for all of those functional living skills and vocational skills, which is what the food bank lends itself to really well.”

Watkins added that the students not only

develop practical skills, such as teamwork and the ability to complete tasks that can benefit them in the workplace, they also develop a passion for helping people.

“Emotionally, I think they get a sense of purpose because we really try to hone in on, ‘Hey, you are really helping the community. What you’re doing is helping others,’” Watkins said.

Sam Humphries and Sarah Shirley, also Life Skills teachers at Vestavia Hills High School,

SPRING INTO ACTION

Spring is here which means warmer weather and getting outside to enjoy running, biking, gardening and all the outdoor things! Are you ready?

said the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama has been more than welcoming, helping each student find ways to contribute and be successful regardless of their skill set or social needs.

separate room and work independently,” Humphries said. “We love them. They’re the best.”

If not, herapySouth has movement experts who will work with you to develop an individualized exercise program to help you feel stronger, move better and avoid injury www

“They provide our community with valuable resources that are very needed,” Shirley said.

“The food bank is so accommodating to us. They understand that our kids have so many different needs, and they’ll accommodate that, and we can have certain kids that just might break down boxes or kids that might have to go in a

“Our students at Vestavia Hills High School are able to help our community while gaining essential life skills that will help them in the future. We are so grateful that the Food Bank gives students the opportunity to contribute and make a lasting impact in their community.”

Students in a Life Skills class volunteer at the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama.

Photo courtesy of Vestavia Hills City Schools.

Events

Vestavia Hills events guide

May 4: The Fervent Tour — An Evening with Priscilla Shirer, with Worship by Anthony Evans. 6-8:30 p.m. Shades Mountain Baptist Church, 2017 Columbiana Road. Come enjoy a night of worship and powerful teaching. Register online at shades. org/events/fervent-2024.

May 11: Birmingham Great Strides Walk. 9 a.m. checkin, 10 a.m. walk begins. Wald Park. Walk to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For more information, visit cff.org/chapters/alabama-chapter/events.

May 14: Vestavia Hills Chamber Monthly Luncheon. 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Vestavia Country Club. Network with other chamber members and hear speakers on a variety of topics. Reservations are $25. vestaviahills.org.

May 20: Libby’s Friends 4th Annual Golf Tournament. 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Highland Park Golf Course, 3300 Highland Ave., Birmingham. The tournament benefits Libby’s Friends, which helps to ease the financial burden of living with a disability.For more information, visit business.vestaviahills.org/events, or contact Lane Hagan at 205-529-8377.

Library in the Forest

CHILDREN

May 1 and 8: Story Friends. 10:30 a.m. Children’s Program Room. Stories, music, movement and fun for preschoolers.

May 1 and 8: Twelve Below. 3:30 p.m. Children’s Program Room. Grades 3-6. Random craft day.

May 4: Ms. Courtney’s Library Stop! 10:30 a.m. Community Room. All ages welcome. Stories, songs, dancing and playing.

May 7 and 28: Toddler-a-Go-Go. 10:30 a.m. Community Room. Ages 18-36 months.

May 7: After-School Adventures. 3:30 p.m. Children’s Program Room. Grades K-3.

May 11 and 25: Kreate with Kelly! 10 a.m. Children’s Program Room. All ages welcome.

May 18: The Adventure Begins Summer Reading Kickoff. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wald Park. All ages.ancesEnjoy bubble play, an adventure maze, donuts, hot dogs, balloon animals and more.

May 29: Silly Goose Storytime. 10:30 a.m. Children’s Program Room. Preschool.

TEENS (GRADES 6-12)

May 1: Writing Group — Star Wars Roulette. 4 p.m. Historical Room. Grades 6-12. Create a randomized short story in the Star Wars universe. Snacks served.

May 8: Art Group — Fantasy Animals. 4 p.m. Makerspace. Learn tips and strategies for rendering mythical beasts and design your own fantastic creature. Snacks served.

May 15: Game Party. 4 p.m. Makerspace. Play interactive Jackbox party games with other teens. Phone or mobile device recommended. Snacks served.

May 16, 20 and 21: Extended Library Hours. The library will be open until 9 p.m. for high school final exam studying.

May 16, 20 and 21: Exam Study Breaks. 3, 5, and 7 p.m. Historical Room. The Teen Department is offering 30-minute study breaks with snacks and games.

May 18: Dungeons and Dragons One-Shot — The Wolves of Welton. 10 a.m. Historical Room. To register, contact Daniel at 205-978-3683.

May 29: Pintsize Paintings. 4 p.m. Makerspace. Snacks served.

May 31: Super Smash Bros. Tournament. 4 p.m. Community Room. Winner will receive an Amazon gift card. Snacks served.

ADULTS

May 1: Crafter’s, Inc. Flowers Cross-Stitch. 11 a.m. Community Room. Registration required.

May 8: Read & Feed Book Group. 6 p.m. Grand Hall. This month, we’re discussing “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett.

May 10: Craft Lab — Garden Rock Painting. 7 p.m. Community Room. All materials are provided, along with snacks and prizes. Free but registration required. Contact Terri at 205-978-4678 or terri.leslie@vestavialibrary.org.

MAKERSPACE

May 6: Intro to 3D Printing. 4:30 p.m. Makerspace.

May 20: Tote-ally Awesome. 4:30 p.m. Makerspace. Ages 10 and up. Learn to make canvas tote bags using the vinyl cutter and heat press. Registration required.

TECH

May 7: Basic Microsoft Excel. 4-5:30 p.m. Technology Classroom. Register online at vestavialibrary.org/tech or call 205-978-4679.

May 16: Basic Microsoft Word. 4-5:30 p.m. Technology Classroom. Register online at vestavialibrary.org/tech or call 205-9784679.

May 21: Organizing Computer Files. 4-5:30 p.m.Technology Classroom. Register online at vestavialibrary.org/tech or call 205-978-4679.

May 30: Say Hi to AI — Intro to Artificial Intelligence. 4-5:30 p.m. Technology Classroom. Register online.

By LOYD McINTOSH

Lou Scripa, a Vestavia Hills resident for close to 30 years, recently was inducted into the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame.

He joins people like Vince Lombardi, Joe DiMaggio and Mario Andretti in that hall of fame, but many people in Vestavia Hills may not be familiar with Scripa because most of his famous accomplishments took place when he lived in California.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Scripa achieved notoriety for setting an array of world records related to fitness and endurance, earning him the nickname “Crunch Monster.”

His records include performing 104,568 jumping jacks in 24 hours non-stop in 1986, 110,015 abdominal crunches in 17 hours in 1988, 160,974 sit-ups over 82 hours (with a 5-minute break every hour) in 1990, and his final record of 70,715 sit-ups in 24 hours in 1992, at the age of 58. These accomplishments helped raise millions of dollars for various charities.

Scripa, who once was a martial arts instructor for the military and now is 89 and battling Parkinson’s disease, said the stamina needed to complete these events came natural to him. “I’ve always had a lot of endurance,” he said. “Even now, I only need four hours of sleep a night.”

Scripa was the youngest of 12 children to Italian immigrant parents and joined the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in Schenectady, New York. During his 23-year Air Force career, Scripa served in Korea and Vietnam, earning the Silver Star for gallantry, a Bronze Star for valor, an Airman’s Medal for heroism and a Purple Heart. Following his retirement from the military,

Scripa settled in Sacramento, where he joined Jack Lalanne’s Health Spa and an Italian-American service organization called Unico. Unico asked Scripa to join a committee to raise funds for patients with Cooley’s anemia, a rare and life-threatening blood disorder. Not sure what to do, Scripa took the advice of the nutritionist at the health spa, who had taken notice of his stamina.

“He said, ‘I’ve been watching you now for a long time, and I’ve never seen anyone do situps and crunches like you can. You can seem to go on and on and on,’” Scripa said.

The nutritionist encouraged him to try to break a world record, and Scripa did, completing a little more than 6,000 sit-ups. However, Scripa was just getting started. Not long after setting his first record, Dan Sullivan, a friend and colleague at the Aerojet Liquid Rocket Co., asked him to help raise enough money for a trip to Europe for his terminally ill son, Bruce.

Sullivan challenged Scripa to do 16,000 situps. Bruce died the week before the event, but Scripa completed the 16,000 situps and gave the money to the children’s hospital in San Francisco.

Over the next 12 years, from 1980 until 1992, Scripa broke multiple records, getting his name in multiple issues of the “Guinness Book of World Records.” In the mid-90s, Scripa moved to Vestavia Hills with new wife, Rose, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Despite his unique accomplishments, Scripa kept his notoriety to himself until Rose and a friend, Linda Lucas, the former provost of the UAB School of Engineering, and her husband, Dick, decided Scripa’s story should be told. They began having regular “lunches” but were secretly compiling research and making plans to nominate Scripa for the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame.

“For two years, they did this behind my back,” Scripa said. “I knew nothing about it.” Not only were they successful, Scripa was voted into the hall of fame unanimously. Scripa was unable to travel to Chicago for the inauguration ceremony, so his son, Tony, accepted the award in his father’s honor during the induction ceremony in December. The hall of fame also sent a representative to Birmingham, who presented the award to Scripa during a dinner at Fleming’s Steakhouse.

Forty-four years since first accepting the challenge to set a world record, Scripa is now enshrined as one of the great Italian-American athletes in history. Scripa himself is still humble despite the accolades, but his wife is more than happy to share his accomplishments with the world.

“Lou’s story deserves to be told,” she said. “He’s an amazing man.”

The National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to preserving and promoting the history and heritage of Italian-Americans in sports. Learn more at niashf.org.

Davidson finishing off stellar preps career

By KYLE PARMLEY

Tait Davidson has saved her best for last, at least in terms of her success with the Vestavia Hills High School softball program.

Davidson has long been recognized as one of the most talented pitchers in the area and across the state, but the path has been far from straight. She’s battled injuries and other adversities over the years, but she has hit peak performance in 2024.

Within the first few weeks of the high school season, Davidson had already recorded three games of 16 or more strikeouts. Most nights, opposing hitters seem to hardly have a chance with her in the circle.

“When you put somebody like that in the circle, it gives you a boost of confidence, a little bit more fight and edge,” said Vestavia Hills head coach John Simmons.

Simmons has had a front row seat for Davidson’s progression, having coached her in school ball for the last three seasons and many years before that in travel softball.

“I don’t know if there’s many harder workers out there,” he said. “Tait puts in the time and she works.”

Davidson leads a pitching staff that also includes junior Elizabeth Yother, a recent commit to Covenant College, and freshman Hollon Gay.

She is now a senior leader for the Vestavia Hills High School softball team, one of five playing their final season in a Rebels uniform. She and Lucy Spisto, Laura Faith Beard, Reese Johnson and Alexis Fizer bring plenty of experience to the table.

“We’re so different, but we’ve become really good friends,” Davidson said of the seniors. “It’s been fun, because we’re all different, and I think that’s why we’re all friends.”

Davidson is now reaching career milestones that put her in distinguished air in program history. She has eclipsed the 700-strikeout mark for her career and has more than 50 wins in the circle for the Rebels. She has been named to the All-South Metro Team multiple times and was the Pitcher of the Year in 2023. She was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association list last spring as well. Davidson didn’t know if some of those round numbers would be possible. Her eighth grade season was shortened. She’s battled injuries and also had to overcome doubt —from herself and others — at times.

But a glimpse into her mind these days tells a different story. When she gets a hitter to two strikes, in her mind, it’s over.

“If I get them down that far, they’re beat,” she said.

Davidson has signed to play for coach AJ Daugherty at UAB, a school she had not considered despite its proximity to Vestavia.

“I went [to a camp] and fell in love with the coaching staff, the school, the girls that were there. The atmosphere was so great and

uplifting,” she said.

While at UAB, she has plans to major in sports medicine and kinesiology, with hopes of becoming an athletic trainer.

But before she goes that route, she aims to lead the Rebels back to the postseason, especially after last season’s disappointing elimination in the area tournament.

“Believe in ourselves, that’s what it all comes down to,” Davidson said. “We know we have the talent and the skill.”

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Brooks High names softball field after Vestavia AD

By KYLE PARMLEY

Myra Miles may currently be the athletic director at Vestavia Hills High School, but she has never forgotten where she cut her teeth in her successful career in high school athletics.

On March 21, Brooks High School renamed its softball field Myra Miles Field, in honor of the coach who spent a decade at the school. Miles was at Brooks — a small community in northwest Alabama — from 1989 to 1999, coaching multiple sports and winning the 1994 state softball championship. Brooks honored that state championship team the same evening, with this spring marking the 30-year anniversary of that title.

Brooks still plays on the field that Miles and others within the softball program, school and community built in the early 1990s.

“It’s tremendously humbling and one of the greatest achievements I can say I’ve had, and that’s because so many people played a part in me being able to have the field named Myra Miles Field. It’s been cool. When I drove up to the field [that day], it blew me away,” Miles said.

Brooks is one of many places Miles has left her imprint. She had stops in coaching and athletic administration over the years at Haleyville, Saint James, Coffee and Hoover as well.

Many of her friends and colleagues from previous career stops made the trip to Brooks to celebrate the evening with her.

“It’s just mind-boggling, and I’m thankful,” she said. “It really brings things into perspective for you. I don’t know how other people feel when they have things named after them, but it was one of the most rewarding things because of how many people played a part in it.”

There’s no shortage of people ready and willing to offer praise for how Miles has positively affected their lives.

“Coach Miles means so much to the Brooks

community,” current Hoover High softball coach Trey Matlock said.

Matlock would know, considering he went to school at Brooks and was hired by Miles at Hoover when she was the athletics director there.

“She’s a legend,” Matlock said. “The number of former players that took part in the ceremony just reflects on how much of an impact she has had on them as a coach. I am so grateful for

the impact she has had on me to get me where I am today.”

Mountain Brook Athletics Director Andy Urban was also on hand at the ceremony. He, like Matlock, was hired by Miles at Hoover, where Urban followed her as AD.

“Myra has been instrumental in my career,” Urban said. “Always there to listen and encourage. Being at the field-naming ceremony even more solidified her belief in others. Former

players, administrators, coaches and parents all shared in her accomplishments. I was thankful to be there.”

Miles was able to speak to the Brooks softball team while she was there. Her message is one that is evidenced by her career.

“Who would’ve ever thought my career would’ve gone the way it did? It was because people believed in me and I believed in myself,” she said.

The softball field at Brooks High School was named in honor of Myra Miles, a former coach at Brooks and now the athletics director at Vestavia Hills High School. Photo courtesy of Jessica Herndon.

Soccer club names Walsh new director of coaching

By LOYD McINTOSH

The Vestavia Hills Soccer Club in April announced Nolan Walsh as the club’s new director of coaching.

Walsh takes over for Carlo Schiavoni, who has served as coaching director since 2015.

A Chicago native, Walsh joined the coaching staff at VHSC after moving to Birmingham with his wife, Carissa, to be near her family two years ago. Prior to joining VHSC, Walsh was the administrator and a coach with Chicago FC United Soccer Club, a premier soccer club fielding youth programs and a semi-professional team in Chicago.

Walsh had hopes of eventually becoming a coaching director and spent the last two years learning the ropes under Schiavoni, as well as Executive Director Rocky Harmon and Director of Soccer Luke Whittle.

Walsh said he is honored to be named coaching director and is looking forward to leading the club into the future.

“To become the director of coaching for a club is something I had been hoping could be in the works,” Walsh said. “I worked under Carlo, which was an amazing opportunity, and he taught me a lot. I’ve really enjoyed working under Rocky and have learned so much from him and Luke. They’ve just been so welcoming since I first got here.”

Harmon said Walsh has been a key member of the coaching staff since his arrival in 2022, and he is thrilled to fill the coaching director position with a member of the club’s coaching staff.

“We’re just overjoyed to be able to promote from within and have him take over as our director of coaching,” Harmon said. “He’s very organized, knowledgeable of the sport and has a great rapport with the kids and the parents.”

It’s hard to be able to do all those things, Harmon said. “He checks all the boxes for us, and we’re excited to get someone who’s dedicated to the Vestavia Hills soccer program.”

Walsh played collegiate soccer at Trinity International University, a private Christian university in Deerfield, Illinois, and played close to 15 years at the club level before injuries forced him to hang up his cleats. He began his coaching career at Chicago FC United, eventually working his way up to administrator, more of a desk job than a coaching position.

Once Walsh and his wife decided to move to Birmingham, a fellow coach suggested that he contact VHSC about coaching opportunities. He sent an email to Harmon, who responded almost immediately, inviting Walsh to come coach during a session over spring break.

Now in his role as coaching director, Walsh said he would like all of the club’s coaches to increase their coaching education in order to help the players grow as athletes and people.

“One of the things that we as coaches have been talking about is getting higher licenses so that we can start articulating a lot more higher concepts to our players and growing them in that way,” Walsh said. “We really want to make sure that these players are growing both on and off the field.”

Learn more about Walsh and the Vestavia Hills Soccer Club at vestaviasoccer.com.

Nolan Walsh, far right, is the new director of coaching for the Vestavia Hills Soccer Club. Photo courtesy of Nolan Walsh.

Sports Editor’s Note

By Kyle Parmley

What is it about March Madness?

If you recall seeing me during the first four days of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in the middle of March, you’re not remembering things correctly.

That’s because not many people ever see me during those days. It’s nearly impossible to pry me away from the television during the first two rounds of the spectacle that created the phrase “March Madness.”

To me, there’s simply nothing like it. What is it about the tournament that draws the eyes of the nation every year?

Is it the personal investment that comes with creating a bracket? Those are basically a level playing field, with the person who doesn’t know anything about college basketball having as good a chance as the person who cares way too much about it.

Is it the underdog stories that come from the tournament every year? In no rational world should teams like Oakland (a school not in California) beat teams like Kentucky, yet it happens every single year without fail.

Here in Alabama, it was a special year, with Alabama, Auburn, UAB and Samford all qualifying for the tournament. That certainly created some additional buzz.

I think it’s a little bit of everything. One of

the great things about being a sports fan is cheering for a particular side. When you create a bracket, it automatically gives you a stake in each game.

It adds a level of intensity when the team that you cheer for is in the tournament, whether that’s any of the in-state teams or someone else (I’m a lifelong Gonzaga fan, for whatever reason).

The Cinderella stories are what make it the most special to me, though. Many of us relate to the underdogs. The teams that have no business winning do the unthinkable, giving hope to all of us that anything is possible.

Up until a few years ago, a No. 16 seed (the lowest seed in the tournament) had never defeated a No. 1 seed in the first round of the tournament. UMBC finally broke that seal with a win over Virginia in 2018. That paved the way for Fairleigh Dickinson’s monumental upset of Purdue in the opening round in 2023.

There’s nothing like it. As a fan, the tournament provides the most awe-inspiring victories, gut-wrenching losses and emotional moments.

I can’t get enough.

Kyle Parmley is the sports editor at Starnes Media.

Parmley

By Kari Kampakis

self-care tips for moms

Here is the deal, moms: The older you get, the more responsibilities you shoulder, and the more self-care you need.

Life requires more of you today than it did five years ago, and if all you ever do is give, you’ll get depleted. Your wheels will fall off. You’ll feel tired, numb and vulnerable.

For this reason, you must learn to mother yourself. Make sure that you don’t fall through the cracks or get in the habit of self-neglect.

How? By tending to and protecting your health. Doing things that build strength and stamina. Cultivating a life you enjoy. Making sure you feel equipped to handle the challenges that life brings.

Self-care isn't selfish; it's necessary. Nobody benefits when you run on fumes, so here are some ways to “mother” yourself as you raise a family.

1. Follow this rule: If you'd do it for your children, do it for yourself. This includes keeping doctor appointments, getting a suspicious mole checked out, giving yourself room to fail and try again, correcting negative self-talk, working toward a positive self-image, going to bed early after a long day and setting boundaries with toxic people.

2. Take deep breaths when you feel overwhelmed or anxious. Follow the 4-7-8 rule:

Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, hold it for 7 seconds and then exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds. This is very effective in calming your body down.

3. Talk to a friend at least once a week. Make plans to go walking, have coffee or spend time together. Nobody “gets” your life quite like a good friend, and we all need age and stage friends who listen, encourage, help us process life and — most importantly — make us laugh.

4. Maintain a healthy diet. Get enough protein, healthy fats and healthy carbs (like veggies and fruits) in your diet, and avoid too many sugary foods. The older we get, the more impacted we are by poor nutrition.

5. Drink water and stretch. These basic habits often fall through the cracks.

6. Exercise. The health benefits are obvious, but did you know that anxiety releases adrenaline, and as adrenaline builds up in your body, you need exercise to release it? Exercise also clears your head and triggers endorphins, the feel-good chemicals produced by the body. One of the best ways to manage stress is through physical movement.

7. Stop beating yourself up. As Lysa TerKeurst said, “Bad moments don’t make bad mamas.” God’s grace is bigger than any mistake,

and through Him you can parent with strength, not defeat.

8. Prioritize your sleep. Even if it means accomplishing less in a day or saying “no” more often, feeling well-rested helps keep you in fighting condition.

9. Don't struggle alone. Share your problems with people you trust, so the enemy can’t isolate you and make you feel alone, ashamed and tempted to withdraw. Don’t fall for his tricks; instead of turning inward, turn outward. Bring your struggles to light, and admit them to people who can speak truth and pray for you. No matter how strong you feel, you need people to help you through your darkest hours.

10. Have a passion apart from your family. Find activities that make you lose track of time and lift your spirits. Whether it’s art, design, reading, time in nature, yoga, tennis, writing, Bible studies, cooking, scuba diving or another activity, it’s important to have your own “thing,” a healthy escape that fills your tank and reminds you of who you used to be.

11. Treat bad days as good data. When you have bad days, bad feelings or bad experiences, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this? What might God be trying to teach me?” What bad days often teach us is humility, compassion and

deeper dependence on God.

12. Practice gratitude. Every morning when you wake up, thank God for a new day and basic gifts like eyes that see, legs that walk, lungs that breathe and a heart that beats.

13. Let yourself cry. It’s been said, “If you’re crying, you’re healing,” and it’s true. Sometimes 5 minutes alone in the bathroom and a quick cry can help you regroup and face the world again.

14. Have a support system. Everyone’s team looks different, and your team may include your spouse, therapist, preacher, best friend from high school, sister, mother, co-worker or running group. On a good day, your support system is a bonus. On a bad day, it’s a lifeline.

15. Let God love you — and remember how deeply He loves you even on your worst days. He sees how hard you’re trying, and if you could see the way He delights in you, with the proud smile of a perfect Father, you’d never doubt your worth again.

Kari Kubiszyn Kampakis is a Mountain Brook mom of four girls, author, speaker, and blogger. Her bestselling books are available everywhere books are sold. Join Kari on Facebook and Instagram, visit her blog at karikampakis.com, or find her on the Girl Mom Podcast.

The things I could write about pound cake. I could go on and on and bore you to death, but I won’t.

After my father died, I remember visiting a Methodist church with my boyhood friend, and he was introducing me to people. He was raised Methodist, I was not. My people were Baptist.

The Methodists were cheerful. My people didn’t believe in cheer. Our pastor preached hard against alcoholism, promiscuity and narcotics because these things could lead to cigarette smoking.

My friend pointed to one lady in the congregation. She was slight, with gray hair and a blue skirt suit.

There are some people you don’t forget. She was one of those people. She had a heavenly glow. People smiled when they passed by her like she was unique.

“Who’s that woman?” I asked.

“That is the Pound Cake Lady,” my pal said in reverence.

After the Methodist service, my friend led me to a downstairs fellowship hall. The Methodists put out a bigger spread than any I’d ever seen. There was even a special table dedicated to cornbread and biscuits.

It was too much. Overwhelming. I even saw people standing outside the fellowship hall, smoking cigarettes after their meal. It was as though they were unwinding after sin.

The woman in the blue skirt suit placed

Sean of the South

By Sean Dietrich

Pound Cake Lady

something on the end of the table. It was a golden, fat, hulking, sacred pound cake.

“Hurry and get some,” said my friend, “before it’s all gone.”

He was right. The cake didn’t last four seconds among those chain-smoking Methodists. But when it disappeared, the old woman replaced it with another.

People blessed her name forevermore. Hallelujah. And so did I.

So every church has a pound cake lady. They are young, middle-aged or elderly, and they are holy. These ladies are messengers, sent to humanity as proof that God is not gluten-free. He loves white flour, sugar and butter, no matter what diet books say.

If you have doubts whether your congregation has a pound cake lady, just ask your church secretary. She knows their phone number by heart.

Years later, I met a young woman at a similar potluck. She was brunette, Baptist, with brown eyes. She and I became friendly and spent time together.

One summer, she invited me to go with her family on their annual vacation.

Her family rented a house in Indian Pass, Florida, on the Gulf. When I arrived, I found

the place filled with people. They were crammed in that little house, eating raw oysters, laughing and carrying on. There were so many that some had to sleep on coffee tables and in bathtubs. I felt out of place.

The girl’s mother showed me to my bedroom, which was down the hall from the brunette’s room.

Her mother said, “This is where you sleep. I’m right across the hall. And remember, I can hear whenever your door opens.”

And I knew that if I tried to exit my room past curfew — even to visit the little boys’ room — I would wake up in a graveyard dead.

I fell asleep that night wondering why I was there, on vacation with a happy family. I didn’t belong to these people. I’d never belonged anywhere. Ever since boyhood, I had a hard time fitting in.

My family was nothing like this family. We were broken and about as unstable as a rickety stool.

The next morning, I awoke to a pleasant smell that flooded the house. It was a familiar aroma. I followed it downstairs.

There, I found everyone awake. A big man dressed in seersucker, a woman wearing pearls, a lady with a big sunhat and several

others. They were all singing “In the Garden.”

They asked me to join the singing, so we all sang together as I wondered if these people were fugitives from the Searcy nuthouse.

Then some lady said, “We’re so glad to have you here, Sean.”

Everyone agreed with her. And I don’t know why, but I nearly cried.

And that smell. It was so strong. It smelled like being hugged. Like vanilla. Like prayer meetings on warm Saturday evenings. Like looking at a midnight sky over the Gulf of Mexico.

From the kitchen came the brunette. Young. Smiling. She carried a plate. On the dish was the source of the smell. A slice of warm, yellow, dense pound cake.

Everyone stopped singing. They behaved reverently when she passed by. Boys removed their hats and held them over their hearts.

And the family watched me take my first bite. A bite that would change my life forever. I told you, I could go on and on about pound cake and bore you to death. But I won’t.

I just wanted to tell you how I came to marry the Pound Cake Lady.

Sean Dietrich is a columnist and novelist known for his commentary on life in the American South. He has authored nine books and is the creator of the “Sean of the South” blog and podcast.

Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume is curated by the Walt Disney Archives.

Dietrich

Heninger, Scott Forester and Taylor Korn are all graduates of Vestavia Hills High School. Jon Lunceford is a Homewood guy through and through. Reade Taylor went to John Carroll Catholic High School. Tyler Johns attended Chelsea. Tim Melton is from Gardendale, while Kelsey Dollar calls Springville home.

The only staff member who is not from the area feels right at home in their midst.

“I’m the Georgia girl and all of the sudden, I’m being adopted into this Birmingham family of people,” said Emily Grace McWhorter, an in-field reporter for The Next Round.

Forester worked in television for nearly 20 years, much of that time at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham. He was recruited to join the company at the outset and serves as the director of content and video.

During the first year, Forester did much of the heavy lifting of the show’s video and social media content. Half of that has since been taken off his plate with the hiring of Korn as the team’s social media director.

Korn is a recent graduate of Auburn University. She learned quickly her job was far from a conventional “eight hours behind a desk” type of job.

“This is my first job, so I don’t have anything to compare it to,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect, because I was given so much freedom, because there was no one doing my job before me. They let me do what I think is best.”

Korn, a star soccer player during her high school days, still finds a way to fuel her competitive passion. When she is able to create and distribute content from The Next Round that gets shared by larger platforms, that’s a win in her book — as long as the show gets credited for it.

“That’s when I get very excited,” she said.

Dollar is able to compete in her own way as well as the director of sales. She has worked with the show’s hosts dating back to their radio days. Securing sponsorship for a last-minute trip to cover the University of Alabama’s recent Final Four run is right in her wheelhouse.

“I think we all have a little bit of that competitiveness in us,” she said.

Reade Taylor is the president, but he downplays the title. He has experience working with

on-air talent and on the sales side, so he’s able to blend the two together, and he said the people that he has helped bring on board in the last couple years could not have worked out any better to this point.

“We’re trying to do something where we can all have fun but still build something special,” he said. “We’ve fortunately hit home runs on everything on the employees we’ve got.”

Tyler Johns is sort of a utility man these days. He started with The Next Round as a summer intern and never left, eventually securing a spot on staff.

“That was the plan, to try and work as hard as I could to see if there was a spot for me somewhere,” he said.

When needed, Johns can fill it for Heninger, Forester, Lunceford and probably others on any given day.

Melton and Lunceford’s time as coworkers has come full circle. They both worked in radio for many years and got the opportunity to do

a late-night show called the “Midnight Meltdown” together in 2012. Ironically enough, Dunaway was one of their listeners back then and called into the show a few times.

Now, the duo is back together and has started the “Meltdown” on The Next Round’s platforms.

“Tim and I like all things movies, entertainment and pop culture,” Lunceford said. “We wanted to approach it instead of sports with entertainment secondary, it was entertainment with sports secondary. It’s growing every day.”

“These guys have been very supportive and see the vision,” Melton added. “That right there alone is enough to motivate you.”

A chance meeting in Auburn led to McWhorter landing with The Next Round team. She covered the Texas-Alabama game in her first week on the job and has greatly enjoyed her time to this point, although she knew nothing of the crew from Birmingham before she was hired.

“I could never dream this up. The Lord has guided my steps in that,” she said.

The number of times that The Next Round’s team, outside of the three hosts, get recognized by strangers is evidence of the platform’s growing audience. The show has incorporated cameras and microphones on the other side of the glass, allowing listeners to hear from Heninger, Forester, Lunceford and Johns on a daily basis. Korn and McWhorter pop into the studio from time to time to fill in as well.

“Having been in TV for close to 20 years, I was kind of a nameless, faceless kind of person,” Forester said. “But now people every once in a while can see me [on the show]. And every now and then, someone will recognize me in public.”

Those face-to-face encounters are not uncommon for the audience that lives in the Birmingham area.

“Everyone has a home, and our home is Birmingham,” Dunaway said.

From left to right: Jim Dunaway, Ryan Brown and Lance Taylor interview Auburn University football coach Hugh Freeze during The Next Round. Photo courtesy of The Next Round

Left: Sean “Rockstar” Heninger, executive producer for The Next Round, works on the show April 12. Right: Taylor Korn, director of social media for The Next Round, monitors the show

and regularly posts clips across several of the show’s platforms. Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.

HUB IN THE HILLS

CONTINUED from page 1

Akin said her vision for the Hub is a community space where children and adults can explore the arts, learn new skills, receive tutoring and form relationships over shared interests, all under one roof.

She uses the Jack Black movie “School of Rock” to explain her vision. In that movie, a failing rock musician poses as a substitute music teacher at a private elementary school, exposing them to hard rock and turning them into a rock band.

At Hub in the Hills, instead of dropping off their kids while they run errands, the parents can find ways to connect as well, Akin said.

“So, imagine if I drop my son off at School of Rock, and instead of getting in my car and running into Walmart Neighborhood Market, I come inside, and I go into the cafeteria but it’s no longer a cafeteria; it’s a sleek cafe,” Akin said. “The kitchen is exposed with floor-toceiling glass, and you can see middle school students in the kitchen learning some type of culinary skill from one of Birmingham’s top chefs.

“For me, it’s a place to gather and connect,” Akin said. “It’s less about what’s there, and it’s more about the people that are there.”

With the property under contract as of Vestavia Voice’s press time, Akin said she and her husband will need to raise much more than the $1.25 million purchase price to get the project off the ground. The Akins have sought guidance from Birmingham-area experts and are making connections with people and organizations that have expressed interest in being a part of Hub in the Hills.

She admits the project isn’t the most logical from a strictly financial standpoint. However, she said her husband, normally the practical one, became excited about breathing new life into his former elementary school.

“My husband buys buildings to make money, so for him to take the lead and say, ‘Let’s buy this, and let’s do this,’ was kind of like, ‘What’s going on with this man?’” Akin said. “When you walk through this building, there isn’t one thing about this project that makes any sense.”

As word has circulated throughout Vestavia about Hub in the Hills, Akin said she regularly receives texts and messages asking the same questions about what and who is going to go in the building and when it’s going to open.

Akin said the result should not only be a place for community connectivity but also to pay homage to a school building that was an important part of the Vestavia Hills community for more than three decades.

Additionally, Akin added that she recently had a film crew gather footage of the empty school building, which has only strengthened her resolve to preserve the legacy of Central Elementary while giving the “iconic” school a second act.

To assist with development and planning of the project, Akin turned to Third Lens Ministries, a faith-based design and construction organization that has assisted with building churches, orphanages and other charitable assets throughout Central America, South America and Africa. Director of Operations Bill McMahon said they are still in the early phases of the project and expect the first drawings to be complete

this spring and construction to begin this summer.

Additionally, McMahon said he has a personal connection to the school and the Vestavia Hills school system in general. Both of his children attended Central Elementary and McMahon grew up in Vestavia Hills, going to the city’s schools from first grade through his graduation from Vestavia Hills High School.

McMahon explained that the goal of the overall design will be to convert the building into the dynamic, multi-dimensional space envisioned by Akin while retaining as much of the history, character and charm of the original school building as possible.

“This is definitely a renovation, not a demolition. We’re not going to demolish the school,” McMahon said. “When you ride up, I think it will be a healthy balance of ‘Hey, this used to be Central’ and ‘Hey, this is amazing what it looks like now.’

“It’ll just kind of bring it into the current state and make it much more inviting for this intended use,” he said. “To me, it’s the personal connection that makes it special.”

McMahon said his company will assist the

Akins in developing a fundraising package to help them put their vision for Hub in the Hills into action and share it with the community. They will also provide some preliminary conceptual designs, estimated costs and a fundraising target.

“It’s going to be a total rework of the front entrance, making it a lot more inviting and to set it up for the ministries that they want to house in the building,” McMahon said. “So, all we’re doing right now is the first phase.”

As the idea for Hub in the Hills coalesces and word of the project spreads through the community, Akin said a buzz has started to build. As she talks with nonprofit organizations and civic-minded individuals, Akin said she begins to visualize the result in detail, and others are starting to follow her instincts.

“As we start talking about these things, I’m talking with organizations, I’m talking with my son’s basketball coach, then that’s where the dream begins to develop,” she said. “That’s when for me this dark and gloomy school, all of a sudden there’s life there. I can see it.”

Learn more about Hub in the Hills at hubinthehills.org.

Will Akin, right, and his wife, Ammie, talk about potential exterior changes to the former Vestavia Hills Elementary School Central as the Akins develop a vision for the new Hub in the Hills.

Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.