Business Alabama - April 2023 by Business Alabama

APRIL 2023

LEADING THE WAY HELENA DUNCAN IS THE NEW PRESIDENT, CEO OF THE BUSINESS COUNCIL OF ALABAMA

Page 36 COLLEGE 12 NEW PRESIDENTS TAKE THE HELM

PICKING THE RIGHT ACCOUNTANT

32 FOR YOUR BUSINESS

SPOTLIGHT ON ETOWAH,

39 ST. CLAIR, BLOUNT COUNTIES $4.95

BusinessAlabama.com

APRIL 2023

Volume 38 / Number 4

CONTENTS

Matthias Goetz came to Alabama for a job at Fehrer, but he found a new home in Gadsden. Photo by Joe De Sciose.

Features 12

EDUCATION NEW AT THE TOP Three new presidents take the helm at universities in Alabama.

TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP Entrepreneurs in residence, on-campus business accelerators and more boost startup businesses at Alabama colleges.

BACK INTO THE WAR ZONE UAB surgeon John Holcomb volunteers to help in war-torn Ukraine.

NEW ATHENS STATE LAB HELPS TEACHERS PRESENT STEM TO LITTLE ONES Northrop Grumman is a benefactor to new education lab.

4 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

EVENTS THE INAUGURAL BUSINESS ALABAMA AWARDS Winners honored in seven categories, plus five Lifetime Achievement honorees. ACCOUNTING PICKING THE CORRECT ACCOUNTANT FOR YOUR BUSINESS Some tips to help you find the best fit for your needs.

BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS LEADING THE WAY BCA’s new CEO is advocating for businesses in Alabama.

RETROSPECT FORGING INDUSTRY James W. Sloss and his furnaces.

30: The Business Alabama Awards celebrated the best in Alabama business. 15: University of Alabama student entrepreneurs. 12: Dr. Charles Karr is the University of Alabama in Huntsville's 10th president.

On the Cover: Helena Duncan leads the Business Council of Alabama, advocating for businesses across the state. Photo by Art Meripol.

TOP RANK 22 ALABAMA’S INCUBATORS 35 LARGEST ACCOUNTING FIRMS IN ALABAMA SPECIAL SECTION 61 BUSINESS COUNCIL OF ALABAMA GEOGRAPHIC SPOTLIGHT 39 ETOWAH, ST. CLAIR AND BLOUNT COUNTIES

Departments 7

68 69 71

BENCHMARKS: MONTHLY BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFING COMPANY KUDOS: A MONTH OF ACHIEVEMENTS CAREER NOTES: WHO’S MOVING UP BA INDEX: HUNDREDS OF LEADS EACH MONTH HISTORICAL ALABAMA: A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE ALABIZ QUIZ: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 5

APRIL 2023 BusinessAlabama.com Volume 38 / Number 4

PUBLISHER Walker Sorrell / wsorrell@pmtpublishing.com ASSISTANT PUBLISHER Stephen Potts / snpotts@pmtpublishing.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR Alec Harvey / alec@pmtpublishing.com EDITOR Erica Joiner West / ewest@pmtpublishing.com COPY EDITOR Nedra Bloom / nedra@pmtpublishing.com ART DIRECTOR Vic Wheeler / ads@pmtpublishing.com DIGITAL EDITOR Anne Emerson Sorrell / aesorrell@pmtpublishing.com ACCOUNTING Keith Crabtree / acct@pmtpublishing.com ADMINISTRATION/OFFICE MANAGER Lauren Sullivan / lsullivan@pmtpublishing.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Birmingham: 205-802-6363 Hal Cain / Ext. 111 / hcain@pmtpublishing.com Lee Mills / Ext. 102 / lmills@pmtpublishing.com Mobile: 251-473-6269 Joe Hyland / Ext. 214 / jhyland@pmtpublishing.com DIRECTOR OF INTEGRATED MEDIA & EVENTS Sheila Wardy / swardy@pmtpublishing.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE 3324 Independence Drive / Homewood, AL 35209 205-802-6363 MOBILE OFFICE 166 Government Street / Mobile, AL 36602 251-473-6269 CORPORATE T.J. Potts, President & CEO Thomas E. McMillan, Partner & Director Business Alabama is published monthly by PMT Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright 2023 by PMT Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission prohibited. Letters to the editor are welcome. Moving? Please note US Postal Service will not forward magazines mailed through its Bulk Mail unit. Four to six weeks before moving, please send old mailing label and new address to Business Alabama, P.O. Box 43, Congers, NY 109209922 or call 1-833-454-5060.

6 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Benchmarks Korean automaker plans $128M plant in Tuskegee

SAMKEE CORP., a South Korean automotive supplier, will invest $128 million to open its first U.S. factory in Tuskegee. The project will create 170 jobs in Macon County, Gov. Kay Ivey’s office said. Samkee will be a Tier 1 supplier to Hyundai Motor Co. “Alabama’s auto industry is filled with world-class manufacturing companies from around the world, and Samkee will fit right in with that group,” Ivey said. “We’re proud that the company selected Alabama for its first U.S. production center and look forward to seeing it grow and thrive in the coming years.” Samkee specializes in high-pressure diecast aluminum components, including parts for engines, transmissions and electric vehicles. The company has factories in South Korea and China, and production in Macon County is expected to begin in 2024. “Samkee is a worldwide leader in qual-

ity manufactured aluminum die-cast products,” said CEO Chi Hwan Kim. “Our Tuskegee plant will allow our company to serve Samkee the North specializes American in die-cast market along aluminum components. with Hyundai’s market growth for both combustion engines and transmissions, as well as electric vehicle and battery parts.” An analysis by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama calculates that the Samkee factory will generate $140.2 million in annual economic output in Macon County. Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said that AIDT, the state’s industrial training agency, is on board to help train workers. “The skilled workers in Alabama’s auto sector have proved they are ready for any challenge the industry can throw at them,

and they consistently turn out complex products of the highest quality,” Canfield said. “Samkee has come to the right place for its new U.S. industrial home.” Macon County Economic Development Authority Director Joe Turnham said the county will provide upgrades to the water and sewer system for the site at Tuskegee Commerce Park, as well as a new power substation. “Today’s announcement is another major step in Tuskegee’s progression as a city,” Tuskegee Mayor Tony Haygood said. “Samkee will be a great community partner for years to come and an example of how Tuskegee is open for business in the 21st Century marketplace.”

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GOOD DEALS Mazda Toyota is raising salaries and adding incentives to reach its hiring goal of 4,000. The Huntsville joint venture has 3,700 people on its payroll, and its 4,000 employee number is one that it agreed to with the city of Huntsville and state of Alabama.

MORE FLY IN HUNTSVILLE More than 1.2 million people traveled through Huntsville International Airport in 2022 — an increase of almost 28% over 2021 making 2022 the airport’s second-busiest since 2011.

CHILD LABOR SPLIT Hyundai Motor Co. plans to divest its majority stake from an auto supplier accused of using child labor. Hyundai will divest its ownership interest in SMART Alabama, based in Luverne.

FLY AWAY Breeze Airways has launched a nonstop flight service from Huntsville to Orlando and Avelo Airlines has instituted a flight to Orlando from Mobile.

BUSINESS SPACE Local officials cut the ribbon on the 172-acre Kelly Creek Commerce Park in Moody, hoping to attract manufacturers, distributors and company headquarters.

BEST WALK USA Today has named the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail in Baldwin County the top recreational trail in the U.S., according to its Readers’ Choice Awards. The 29-mile circuit of trails connects Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Gulf State Park.

ELECTRIFIED The Hyundai plant in Montgomery rolled out its first Genesis Electrified GV70 SUV in March. It’s the first Genesis model assembled outside of South Korea.

LOGISTICALLY SPEAKING Officials broke ground in early March for the Huntsville Logistics Center, a $200 million, 2.2 millionsquare-foot project in Limestone County. The industrial park is

being built on a 132-acre site. APM EXPANDS PORT RAIL APM Terminals, which operates the container cargo facilities at the Port of Mobile, is investing $60 million to improve its rail facilities with hopes of speeding cargo service and enhancing service in the Southeast. NEW IN GADSDEN Magneco/Metrel is investing $5 million in Gadsden to create a refractory plant. AXIENT IN HUNTSVILLE Axient, a defense and government contractor recently formed out of two mergers, will move into Redstone Gateway in Huntsville. Axient formed

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 7

BENCHMARKS

Nucor plans $125M tower plant in Decatur NUCOR CORP. will open Steelmaker Nucor a $125 million advanced plans to build manufacturing facility transmission towers in Decatur, creating 200 at new Decatur facility. full-time jobs, Gov. Kay Ivey announced in late February. A new business unit, Nucor Towers & Structures, will build transmission towers at the new facility. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nucor also has a significant presence in Alabama. It established Nucor Towers & Structures after its 2022 acquisition of Summit Utility Structures and Sovereign Steel Manufacturing. “We are very excited to be building this new tower production plant in Alabama, where Nucor has a long history and presence throughout the state,” said Leon Topalian, chair, president and CEO of Nucor Corp. “As America’s most diverse industrial manufacturer of steel products, we will be able to efficiently supply this new plant, helping to ensure that our nation’s critical energy and digital infrastructure is built with the cleanest, most sustainable steel in the world.” Nucor facilities in Alabama produce steel, tubular products, joists and decking and metal buildings, with locations in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Fort Payne, Eufaula and Decatur.

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in 2021 after the mergers of QuantiTech and Dynamic Concepts and the mergers of Millennium Engineering and Integration and Systems Engineering Group.

the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

NEW LEADERS Santiago Perez has been named CEO of the Hiller Companies, a Mobile firm that specializes in fire protection products and services. Mary H. Van Brunt has been inaugurated as the 39th president of Spring Hill College. She is the first female president in the 193-year history of the Jesuit college in Mobile. Christopher Shook has been named dean of the Collat School of Business at

HIGH RANKING LaunchTech LLC, based in Huntsville, is ranked third on the Inc. 5000 regional list of the fastest-growing companies in the Southeast. LaunchTech is an IT services company. A USA Today poll ranks Alexander City the second-best Southern small town. Only Maysville, Kentucky, topped Alex City in the 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards. AMPHITHEATER LAND ACQUIRED The BJCC in Birmingham approved spending $2.9 million to buy 13.3 acres from developer Corporate Realty to

8 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

The company’s capital investment in Decatur includes land improvements, construction of a new building and manufacturing equipment. The new plant will be located adjacent to the Nucor Steel Decatur sheet steel mill. Nucor said its decision was driven by increased demand for utility infrastructure that can help harden the grid, supply energy for electric vehicles and respond to natural disasters. “The new plant in Alabama will be highly automated, utilizing efficient straight-line production, and will also include advanced hot-dip galvanizing operations,” the state said in announcing the new plant. “These state-of-the-art features will increase Nucor Towers & Structures’ capabilities to provide engineered solutions for utility infrastructure and construction projects."

build a 9,000-seat amphitheater. The $50 million project is part of the redevelopment of the Carraway Hospital site north of downtown.

AUSTAL ADDS SAN DIEGO Mobile-based shipbuilder Austal USA has opened a repair facility adjacent to the Navy port in San Diego.

GROWING ORION London-based TVG Hospitality, the group behind Huntsville’s Orion Amphitheatre, has acquired Saturn, the music venue in Birmingham. Saturn is a 500-seat venue founded in 2015.

SANDERS IN ARIZONA The Sanders Trust, a Birmingham-based health care real estate investment and development company, announced the completion of Dignity Health East Valley Rehabilitation Hospital in Gilbert, Arizona. The Sanders Trust is owner and developer of the $33 million hospital that has 40 beds.

ABLE TO GO IT ALONE Mobile-based Austal USA has delivered the U.S.S. Apalachicola, an Expeditionary Fast Transport ship that is the largest autonomous-capable ship in the Navy fleet.

CONTRACTS Alabama Shipyard, based in Mobile, has been awarded a

BENCHMARKS

Mine strike ends after two years After nearly two years, a strike by WARRIOR MET coal miners came to an end in early March and miners began returning to work. The strike, which began April 1, 2021, is believed to be the longest in Alabama history. About 1,000 workers walked off the job in 2021, seeking better pay and benefits. When they returned to work early in 2023, they had no work agreement. In its fourth quarter 2022 remarks to investors, issued on Feb. 15, 2023, Warrior Met described production of 1.5 million short tons of metallurigcal coal, up from 1.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. “Fourth quarter production was the result of running both longwalls and five continuous miner units at Mine No. 7 and one longwall and three continuous miner units at Mine No. 4. For the full year of 2022, the company produced 6.3 million short tons, or an increase of 12.7% compared to 2021,” the investor statement says. It attributed some sales issues to delays at the Port of Mobile’s McDuffie coal terminal. Warrior Met, which was founded in 2016 from the remnants of Walter Energy,

also mentioned the ongoing strike in its notice to stockholders. “Business interruption expenses were $3.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 and represent non-recurring expenses that are directly attributable to the ongoing labor strike for The strike at Warrior Met began in April 2021. incremental safety and security, labor members and their families,” Roberts negotiations and other expenses.” said. “The company continues to pay the The day after Warrior Met’s fourth temporary replacement workers in its quarter results, the United Mine Workers mines significant wages and bonuses up told members they were free to go back to $2,000 more per month than it has ofto work. fered to pay our members at the bargain“We have been locked into this ing table. If it is going to pay that kind of struggle for 23 months now, and nothing money, we believe it should be going to has materially changed,” Cecil Roberts, Alabama miners and their families, not international president of the United those coming from out-of-state. Mine Workers, wrote to striking workers. “The status quo is not good for the “The two sides have essentially fought company or its shareholders either, as each other to a draw thus far, despite the the current workforce it has in the mines company’s unlawful bargaining posture cannot match the level of production that the entire time. our members can,” Roberts said.  “The status quo is not good for our

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$21.2 million contract by the U.S. Navy. The contract is for the regular overhaul and dry docking of the USNS Robert E. Peary. In Huntsville, Lockheed Martin and Joint Technical Solutions were awarded an $840 million contract to work on hypersonic weapons. A Huntsville joint venture between Modern Technology Solutions Inc. and Nou Systems, working together as nTSI LLC, has been awarded a $637 million contract for work on Missile Defense Systems. ITSC Secure Solutions, based in Huntsville, was awarded a U.S. Air Force contract for up to $415 million. PCI Productions, a media production company owned by the Poarch Band of Creek

Indians, has been awarded a $217 million NASA contract to manage communications for the agency. The contract is for technical, advisory and resource services. Systems Studies & Simulation of Huntsville won an $81 million contract from the U.S. Army for technical engineering support. Also in Huntsville, Integrated Solutions for Systems won a $9 million Army contract for researching open architecture positioning, navigation and timing systems. Huntsvillebased Intrepid LLC has been awarded a $13.4 million contract modification to provide system engineering technical assistance for the U.S. Army.

ATHENS ASPHALT The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has issued an air permit to Grayson Carter & Son Contracting, which plans to build an asphalt plant on seven acres just outside the Athens city limits. The land was previously inside city limits before being de-annexed, meaning it’s not subject to city zoning codes, and at least one city councilman says he wouldn’t have voted for de-annexation if he had known an asphalt plant was going there. AWARD WINNER Birmingham-based Brasfield & Gorrie won Project of the Year from the Associated Builders and Contractors

North Alabama chapter’s Excellence in Construction awards for its Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering. The project also won a Commitment to Safety award and an Excellence in Construction award. TOURISM OFFICIAL TO JAIL Embattled Visit Dothan CEO Aaron McCreight resigned in February after a federal judge in Iowa sentenced him to serve 18 months for bank fraud. The charges stemmed from his previous position at Go Cedar Rapids.

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 9

BENCHMARKS

New facilities in progress to train construction workers, STEM workers, doctors Three new training facilities are underway in Alabama, offering learning options from construction to STEM to medicine. The Academy of Craft Training will prepare high-school students for construction jobs, the Saban Center in Tuscaloosa will offer STEM options plus art, and the Frederick Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama will have upgraded teaching and learning spaces at it prepares a next generation of physicians.

White-Spunner is building the Academy of Craft Training facility in Mobile.

CRAFT TRAINING IN MOBILE WHITE-SPUNNER CONSTRUCTION has broken ground on the Academy of Craft Training’s workforce development and commercial construction training facility in Mobile. The 40,000-square-foot renovated warehouse will be a space for workforce development. And commercial construction training, specifically for 250 high-school juniors and seniors. The facility will offer National Center for Construction Education and Research curricula in building construction, electrical, welding and piping, interior and exterior finishes and HVAC, allowing students to earn high-school credits. “The Academy of Craft Training will 10 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Saban Center in Tuscaloosa will mix STEM options with arts.

make a significant impact on students in Mobile and Baldwin counties,” said White-Spunner Construction’s COO, Jeff Carrico. “College isn’t the only option anymore — multimillion-dollar industries, including construction and manufacturing, are in need of educated, skilled trade workers.”

STEM TRAINING IN TUSCALOOSA The STATE OF ALABAMA announced a partnership with the SABAN CENTER, in Tuscaloosa, to create an innovative STEM hub for local and regional school districts that will prepare students, educators and the workforce for the future. Gov. Kay Ivey announced the state’s partnership with the city of Tuscaloosa and Terry and Nick Saban for creating the Saban Center during her State of the State address in early March. The STEM hub, which was initially designed with local educators’ input, will provide immersive science, technology, engineering and mathematics education to local and regional school districts. In addition, it will provide professional development for educators and will have an outreach component to reach communities about job opportunities in STEM careers. Located on the site of the former Tuscaloosa News building, the Saban Center will also include children’s performing arts. The building will house the Tusca-

loosa Children’s Theatre and IGNITE, formerly the Tuscaloosa Children’s Hands-on Museum. The city of Tuscaloosa purchased the site three years ago. “This community and our state, working together, have risen to the occasion to ensure that every child in Alabama has their shot at an American dream,” said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox. “Success is never an accident, and it rarely happens in isolation. Today, the state joins the long list of partners in this effort, without whom this elite STEM center would not be possible.”

MORE FOR MEDICINE The UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA is planning to build a new facility to house the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine. John Marymont, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Whiddon College of Medicine, said the initial plan was to renovate and expand the existing building constructed in 1974, but a $60 million appropriation from Sen. Richard Shelby, a $50 million earmark from Gov. Kay Ivey and a $30 million gift from the University of South Alabama Foundation will allow for the construction of a new building. The new building will offer space for education and research. The architects on the project are New Orleans-based Eskew Dumez Ripple and global architecture firm Perkins&Will. 

University of South Alabama is launching a new building for its medical school.

EDUCATION

New at the top

Three new presidents take the helm at universities in Alabama Dr. Christopher Roberts, pictured with his wife, Tracy, is Auburn University's new president.

Christopher Roberts Auburn University

Dr. Christopher Roberts began his appointment as Auburn University’s 21st president in May 2022 after an academic career devoted to the institution. Since joining the faculty in the department of chemical engineering as an assistant professor in 1994, he has held several different roles at the university, including serving as department chair beginning in 2003, a position he held until becoming dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering in 2012 — a role he filled for 10 years. Roberts also held the position of George E. and Dorothy Stafford Uthlaut professor of chemical engineering. As president, Roberts oversees the university’s four divisions, including its main campus, Auburn University at Montgomery, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. As the university’s CEO he oversees an annual budget of $1.54 billion. “This is an amazing university,” says Roberts, who earned a bachelor’s degree 12 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

By KATHERINE MacGILVRAY

in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri and master’s and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. In particular, he points to the university’s landgrant mission. “There are a few things that I know to be fundamentally true at Auburn: we provide exceptional experiences for our Roberts has been at Auburn since 1994. students that prepare them for success throughout their economy and advancing our society. I’m lives; we work very hard to provide those really proud of the fact that we translate same opportunities to the citizenry of knowledge generation and thought leadour state and beyond; and we make sure ership on campus into the betterment of our research and outreach programs are the societies we serve.” impactful.” Roberts says Auburn is experiencing Roberts also highlights the Alabama unprecedented demand and the number Cooperative Extension System (ACES), the of students applying to the university has primary outreach program for the landnever been greater. Currently more than grant mission that Auburn runs in partner31,000 students are enrolled at the main ship with Alabama A&M University. campus. “We have extension programs in every “As a result of that, we have an excelcounty throughout the state of Alabama, lent student body. I’m really proud of and we undertake that work in the spirit the students we are able to serve and of of improving peoples’ lives, driving our

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the reputation we’ve developed. We have world-class faculty, world-class facilities and we’ve demonstrated tremendous impact through our work and the experience we provide our students.” Approximately 60% of the student body is from Alabama, and Roberts says that is by design. “As an institution, we are honored to serve this great state. And we’re dedicated to making sure our students get a world-class education and that

the research we undertake here at Auburn has a positive impact on peoples’ lives.” Among Roberts’ many accolades are the University of Notre Dame’s Graduate School Distinguished Alumnus Award (2015), the University of Missouri’s Chemical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni (2014), the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers President’s Award for Fostering Minority Engagement (2012)

and the SEC Academic Consortium Faculty Achievement Award (2012). He has published extensively with close to 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in leading publications in his field of study and has received 45 research grants and contracts from agencies and corporations, including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, the USDA-AFRI and Boeing.

Charles Karr

University of Alabama in Huntsville Dr. Charles L. “Chuck” Karr, who joined the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) as its 10th president on Dec. 1, 2021, has a longtime affiliation with the University of Alabama System (UAS), starting in 1980 when he transferred from the University of North Alabama to the University of Alabama (UA). Karr earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and graduate degrees in engineering mechanics at UA, and after seven years working as a research engineer with the U.S. Bureau of Mines, he joined the UA faculty full time. During his time at UA, he served as the head of the university’s aerospace engineering and mechanics department, associate dean for research and graduate studies and finally as dean of the College of Engineering, a position he held for 16 years. As dean, Karr is credited with more than tripling undergraduate enrollment in the college. Research awards increased by more than $45 million during his tenure, and Karr supported construction of approximately $250 million in new facilities to support research and learning opportunities. Karr had just retired from UA when he was approached about serving as interim president at UAH in 2021; he was unanimously named permanent president in September 2022. “It was a really outstanding opportunity,” he says. “I already knew the high caliber of people here (in Huntsville), but to be perfectly honest, I was unprepared for just how remarkable this community is up here in north Alabama.” UAH is ranked as an “R1 - Very high research activity” university in the Carnegie Classification of Institutes of Higher Education, a status Karr is committed to maintaining. One of his signature accomplishments since coming to UAH has been his work to strengthen relationships with Redstone Arsenal, Cummings Research Park and local leaders in business and education. “We want to be a premier research-intensive university and one that is also really supportive of the community in which we reside,” he says, adding that as Huntsville continues to grow, the university needs to continue to respond to its workforce needs. “UAH has STEM in its DNA, if you will, and it will continue to be a STEM-focused university. We want to continue to produce great engineers and computer scientists. But we also have to produce great nurses, schoolteachers and economists.” Karr points out that the UAH campus also has evolved over

Dr. Charles L. Karr became UAH's 10th president in December 2021.

the years and is shedding its reputation as a commuter campus. Another focus of his presidency is supporting the development of a vibrant campus Karr came out of retirement life that not to serve as president. only appeals to prospective students but also draws in members of the community. “Frankly, I’ve met too many people in Huntsville who have never been to the UAH campus, and that’s bad.” When they do visit, however, he says they’re taken aback by the progress that’s been made. “When I get out and walk around this campus and have a chance to go to the cafeteria and talk to students, I’m so pleased with the quality of young people that we’re able to recruit here at UAH. They’re going to be really solid citizens and they’re going to make great contributions to our economy and economic growth.” And, he adds, it’s important to recognize that 73% of UAH graduates stay in the state. “We’re not just recruiting a freshman class, we’re recruiting our neighbors.” April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 13

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Jo Bonner served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Jo Bonner

University of South Alabama Jo Bonner says he is “the most unlikely person you will ever talk to as a university president,” mostly because he didn’t come to his position as president of the University of South Alabama (USA) by the traditional route: rising through the ranks of academia. Bonner, who has an honorary doctorate from the USA, says, “I’m not a traditional academician, and I don’t make any apologies for that.” Instead, he has largely spent his career in public service, beginning when he was still a student at the University of Alabama (UA) and worked as an intern on Capitol Hill for Congressman Jack Edwards. After graduating, Bonner returned to Washington to serve as press secretary and chief of staff for Alabama Representative Herbert Leon “Sonny” Callahan. And in 2002, Bonner was himself elected to the 108th Congress and represented Alabama’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for six terms. Bonner recalls that in April 2013 he was having lunch with constituents from Monroe County who had come to D.C. to bury their grandfather in Arlington National Cemetery when he got a phone call from Dr. Robert Witt, who had recently been named chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama 14 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Bonner became president of the University of South Alabama in September.

System (UAS). Witt wanted Bonner to be vice chancellor for economic development for the UAS, a position he accepted and held until he joined Governor Kay Ivey’s administration in 2018 to serve as senior advisor and later chief of staff. “Working for Dr. Witt, I learned a lot about how a university works and how our first mission has got to be about serving the students, making sure they get a quality education at an affordable price,” says Bonner, who was inaugurated as South Alabama’s president on September 23, 2022. “That translates into a firstclass ticket to a brighter future, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do at the University of South Alabama.” He also learned the importance of taking the university’s brand on the road and in January visited 18 high schools in six counties. “We invite students to come take a look at South Alabama and see what we have to offer.” High school juniors and seniors, many of them visiting a college campus for the first time, are welcomed by the provost, the executive vice president, the vice president for student affairs and the president of the student government association. They are encouraged to attend classes in the colleges that most interest them, visit dorms and are given information about scholarships and financial aid. For first-generation prospective college students especially, these on-campus visits help demystify the university experience.

Bonner, the university’s fourth president, sees his role as one that not only builds on the strong foundation laid by his predecessors but that also takes advantage of the opportunities offered by being in a rapidly growing area of the country, and he sees the University of South Alabama becoming the flagship university of the Gulf Coast. “We provide things that not every university in the state provides.” For example, the University of South Alabama is home to one of the state’s two medical schools. It also has the only engineering school in a 250-mile radius. “We have students from all 67 counties, all 50 states and 63 countries, so we’re not just a regional university down in the southwestern corner of the state.” When he’s not on the road recruiting students, Bonner can often be seen driving around campus in a golf cart with the SGA president, taking students from their dorms to their classroom or the cafeteria or student rec center. “It’s a fun way for me to get to know our students,” says Bonner. “They have a lot of options out there, and we have to make sure that they get a quality education, but we also want to give them an unforgettable experience. I never thought this was something I’d have the opportunity to do, and I’ve enjoyed every single moment of this job.” Katherine MacGilvray is a Huntsville-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.

Teaching

ENTREPRENEURSHIP Entrepreneurs in residence, on-campus business accelerators and more boost startup businesses at Alabama colleges

ntrepreneurship programs are taking center stage in higher education as more Alabama business schools hire dynamic program managers and invest in expanded offerings to cultivate budding entrepreneurs. Three of the state’s top universities, University of Alabama (UA), University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Auburn University (AU), are among those institutions committing more heavily to students interested in entrepreneurship, as well as enterprising faculty and community members. Success stories are emerging from their increased efforts. The universities are empowering students, no matter what their major, to pursue their big ideas, whether it be learning to effectively run a solo artisan enterprise or kick off what could become a multi-million-dollar technology venture. They also are preparing students to become more creative, productive employees for companies that put a premium on innovation. By cultivating entrepreneurship, higher education is fostering economic develop-

By KATHY HAGOOD

ment and creating a healthier “business ecosystem” across the state, says Joshua Sahib, managing director of the Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship at Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business. “We use a pipeline model, which allows for multiple entry points, enabling us to get students from across campus excited about entrepreneurship and participate,” he says. Auburn students can take an introductory entrepreneurship course, minor in entrepreneurship and find mentors. They may participate in workshops, networking, competitions and research. They also can take advantage of ongoing business counseling and support by veteran entrepreneurs in residence at Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator. Sahib, who was hired about a year and a half ago for his new full-time position, formed and serves as an advisor to Auburn’s entrepreneurs club, which is open to any interested student. “It doesn’t matter if a student has a business background or if they’re still at the ideation stage, we’ve got ways to provide support,” he says.

LEFT: UAB students and Patrick Murphy (middle) attend the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization's conference. MIDDLE: University of Alabama student entrepreneurs. RIGHT: Hollie Michaels and Marianne Madsen of AbGlo were finalists in Auburn's Tiger Cage competition.

While it was once thought that it took a certain type of person to become an entrepreneur, educators now know it’s possible for anyone, says Patrick Murphy, Ph.D., director of the J. Frank Barefield Jr. Entrepreneurship Program and Goodrich chair and professor at UAB’s Collat School of Business. Modern research has shown entrepreneurship is a function of being energized by an idea and being in an environment that spurs on one’s ability to develop that idea, Murphy says. “There really is no set entrepreneurial personality,” he says. “There are only traits we associate with being entrepreneurial, such as boldness, which can be motivated by an idea you feel passionately about.” Murphy has revolutionized UAB’s entrepreneurship program since he came April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 15

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online in 2018, including developing an entrepreneurship major and transforming the university’s entrepreneurship minor. He’s raised millions of dollars for the program and brought tenured and adjunct faculty onboard. “We’ve redesigned the course work, practicing what we teach,” he says. “We need to be just as enterprising as entrepreneurs looking for novel new ways of doing things. Everything we do should have inspiration, impact and ingenuity.” Innovative programming includes the Coding Academy, a competitive entry program that provides students training in various technologies. “Student entrepreneurs need to be armed to use all the tools they may need, whether it be AI (artificial intelligence) or how to work with a website designer,” Murphy says. Through the Blazer Hatchery and Hackathon, teams vie to find creative solutions to community problems such as this year’s challenge “How to elevate our city,” or a past contest’s focus on solving two related problems, transportation

and underemployment in the area. Team members work with Alabama Power executive leaders as part of the process. The winning team receives $5,000 to use any way they choose, Murphy says. “It’s a great way to give students experience in using an entrepreneurial mind set to solve problems,” he says. One of his program’s student success stories is Alex Cox, founder of Watercraft Warehouse, a jet ski purchase and sale company located in Trinity. Another is Rae’mah Henderson, recently accepted for a Goldman Sachs remote internship. She currently serves as operations coordinator for The Plug and is committee chair for the Black Innovation Alliance. Last year UAB’s entrepreneurship program was recognized as the nation’s Model Emerging Program at the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Awards of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “My goal is for the entrepreneurship program to become its own department within

the school of business,” says Murphy, who also serves as scholar in residence at Innovation Depot in Birmingham, one of the country’s largest entrepreneurial co-working/incubation centers. Other universities also are supporting entrepreneurship through partnering with or sponsoring incubators and accelerators. While Innovation Depot has been a part of the Birmingham business community since 1987, UA’s The EDGE is relatively new as is Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator. Unlike Innovation Depot, which is run by a nonprofit, UA and Auburn’s facilities are managed by the universities. The genesis of UA’s state-of-the-art incubator and accelerator, open to student, faculty and community entrepreneurs, was a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant following the super tornado that hit Tuscaloosa in 2011. “The tornado caused massive destruction and loss of life. The community was devastated,” says Theresa Welbourne, PhD, who serves as executive director of UA’s

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16 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

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Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute (AEI) and The EDGE business incubator. Welbourne is an entrepreneurship professor in UA’s Culverhouse College of Business, which currently offers an entrepreneurship minor, as well as a management major with an entrepreneurship concentration. The school also now offers the Crimson Entrepreneurship Academy, a nine-week business program held in the summer, allowing students to create their own internship by developing an enterprise, she says. The competitive program, which provides a stipend, is sponsored by the Medical Properties Trust organization and its founder, CEO Edward Aldag Jr. “It’s been a game changer for the curriculum,” Welbourne says. She explains that The EDGE was born from a strategic alliance of UA, the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce and the City of Tuscaloosa. The facility assists the mission of AEI to serve as a magnet for entrepreneurship, providing workshops, mentors, networking and workspace. “Wonderful things are happening here through partnerships,” Welbourne says. “Our alumni, experts in different fields, have been generous with their time, whether through providing virtual or in-person sessions.” The AEI efforts are threefold, Welbourne says. Find entrepreneurs, help them start their business and help their business grow. One of the ways AEI finds entrepreneurs is through contests. The Edward K. Aldag Jr. Student Business Plan Competition, for example, provides $100,000 in prize money plus mentoring and coaching along the way. Faculty and staff can participate in a similar competition that awards $40,000, and there’s $30,000 in prize money for the community competition. “Money talks, helping generate new businesses,” Welbourne says. Another competition, River Pitch, awards ten $1,000 prizes to the best 3-minute business pitches. There’s also a reverse business plan competition where students are given a problem and create a plan to solve it. Welbourne came on board in 2016 to prepare for the 2019 opening of The EDGE. With 26,300 square feet of space, the facility comprises 20 offices

and co-working space. “The program was originally housed (from 2012 to 2019) in a facility provided by Regions Bank. It was called ‘the incubator for the incubator’,” Welbourne says. Among the new incubator’s success stories are Ambulanz, a provider of mobile medical services and transportation in 26 U.S. states and in the United Kingdom. The successful start-up went public in

2021, has ramped up to three shifts, and now is ready to move. “They are looking for the right location,” Welbourne says. Camgian, which was established in the new incubator, provides AI-enabled software platforms that drive decision automation and course of action recommendations. Having grown from two to six offices in The EDGE, it relocated to its current location in Tuscaloosa. “Business-

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 17

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es typically graduate from the incubator in two to five years, giving us space to house new start-ups,” Welbourne says. Auburn’s New Venture Accelerator (NVA) also is relatively new, having been kicked off by an alumni endowment, says Lou Bifano, NVA director. It’s early version, started in a makeshift space in 2016, has given rise to the accelerator’s new 7,000-square-foot presence, opened in October 2021. The NVA is located on the first floor of Auburn’s Research and Innovation Center. One of the special things about the NVA is its entrepreneur-in-residence program, which offers students, faculty and community members access to the expertise of successful entrepreneurs. Jennifer Nay, for example, retired early following a lucrative career and sale of her businesses. “Jennifer has a passion for our mission,” Bifano says. “She’s such an inspiration and a role model, particularly for our female students.” Among the NVA’s other entrepreneurs

18 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

in residence is Walt Swift, a marketing expert who promotes the NVA, including through its informative website, as well as assisting entrepreneurial students and startups. His five marketing student interns support new businesses with branding, social media and media campaigns. “Our interns are offering invaluable assistance and gaining job experience,” Swift says. Among the students who have taken advantage of NVA and other entrepreneurship resources is Auburn football player Malcolm Johnson Jr. Like many people destined for success, he’s written out his goals. “As I continue my Auburn University interdisciplinary studies focusing on leadership, marketing, and family business and entrepreneurship, I’ve reached out to as many people as I can to learn as much as I can,” Johnson is quoted on his NVA profile. Among its many efforts, the NVA runs the annual Tiger Cage business pitch competition, which is designed to

discover, coach and reward enterprising student teams. In its eighth year, this year’s competition culminated on March 31 when four semifinalist teams vied for $54,000 in start-up funds. Among recent success stories from the Tiger Cage competition are SwiftSku, an application that connects point of sales at convenience stores in real time, enabling owners to remotely manage and monitor their stores. The SwiftSku team also won the prestigious Rice Business Plan Competition against MIT, Harvard and UCLA, bringing in $400,000 for their business. Another Tiger Cage success story is Vulcan Line Tools, which provides hardware, software and services for the electric utilities industry. Founder Zac Young won first place in the SEC Pitch Competition. “We feel it validates what we are doing when our students win major competitions,” Bifano says. Kathy Hagood is a Homewood-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 19

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Back in the

WAR ZONE

UAB surgeon John Holcomb volunteers to help in war-torn Ukraine By KATHY HAGOOD

r. John Holcomb, a well-respected professor in UAB’s Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, might have thought his time for treating the wounded in war-torn countries was long past. After all, he retired in 2008 from active duty in the U.S. Army. Holcomb joined the military as a young man to help pay for medical school, and after completing general surgery training in 1991, he deployed with the Joint Special Operations for the next decade, primarily serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. During a deployment in Mogadishu, Somalia, he served on the surgical team that delivered 48-hour non-stop care to soldiers during the conflict that inspired the “Black Hawk Down” book and film. “Unfortunately, I’m well versed in trauma surgery because of my service,” Holcomb says. From 2002 to 2008 he served as the Commander of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and Trauma Consultant for the Army Surgeon. After retiring from the Army, Holcomb became a renowned trauma researcher, surgery professor, clinical practitioner and entrepreneur. He joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham in September 2019.

20 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Dr. John Holcomb, third from left, lends his expertise in surgery.

Then last March, Holcomb received a call from a colleague who was assisting Ukraine medical efforts. The physician wanted Holcomb to send him some slides for a presentation on the benefits of using whole blood transfusions to treat wartrauma victims. “He called back later and asked me to just please come instead,” Holcomb says. After Holcomb got the go-ahead from his wife and work, he traveled to Ukraine for a two-week stint with the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group, a nonprofit that takes medical care and training to crisis zones across the world. Holcomb treated patients and educated health care providers on combat wound care. By July he had served two more twoweek stints. “I’ll likely go back,” he says. Holcomb wants to help for many reasons. “Ukrainians are fighting for their life and country,” he says. “People from all over the world want to help. I’m not willing to pick up a weapon but I have a

skill to share.” He and his colleagues were gratified to assist the Ukraine in instituting the use of whole blood for traumatic injury with significant blood loss, greatly improving patient outcomes as it has in many U.S. trauma centers thanks to lessons learned by Holcomb and other military doctors. “Last March, using whole blood to treat patients, instead of blood components, was still illegal in the Ukraine,” he says. “By July, the country changed its national laws to allow its use. The Ukrainians were extremely receptive to the idea and quickly adopted its use.” Holcomb and his military colleagues found through their experience with war casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan that using whole blood, instead of just blood components, such as platelets and plasma, improves survival rates. Blood had only been available across our nation in the form of separate components since the 1970s, Holcomb says. “Fortunately now

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the use of whole blood has spread to about 50% of trauma centers across the country,” he says. “The practice continues to become more popular.” Holcomb was impressed by how fast Ukrainian medical professionals were able to change their transfusion process at the hospital. “Typically, it takes about two years to change over to whole blood, but in a time of war they did it in about two weeks,” he says. While most of the fighting is located in the eastern part of the Ukraine, casualties are generally sent to hospitals via train in the western part of the country, including the major cities where Holcomb was located, Lviv and Kiev. It’s too dangerous to transport through air evacuation. “We haven’t seen this kind of transport by trains since World War II,” Holcomb says. “It’s a very different experience for these patients as they take two to three days to get across this large country.” Delays in treatment create problems such as increased infection and more tissue damage, Holcomb says. In addition, supply chain issues periodically affect the availability of antibiotics. “Civilians now are being taught tactical combat casualty care methods, including the use of tourniquets (and other Stop the Bleed techniques) to help them stabilize those who become injured,” he says. The huge number of civilian casualties particularly alarms Holcomb. “The Ukraine’s military is well-versed after fighting in (Russian-occupied) Crimea since 2014. But this latest push by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has spilled over to Ukraine’s civilians being targeted with artillery, mines and tanks. The majority of casualties now are civilians.” About 600 of Ukraine’s thousands of hospitals have been targeted and hit. “We in the U.S. and other Western countries try not to hit civilian targets, but targeting civilians is a classic Russian tactic,” he says. “It’s hard to understand the logic of the tactic but it’s a classic Russian tactic.” It’s essential that everyone supports war efforts in the Ukraine, Holcomb says. “Now is not the time to be isolationist,” he says. “What happens there affects us here on multiple levels. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe. The war there is

Dr. John Holcomb, sixth from left, is with a surgery team.

contributing to food shortages and higher energy costs.” Holcomb believes that if Ukraine falls, it potentially could be the beginning of World War III. He points to Putin’s ambitions of enlarging the Russian Federation as well of the expansionist vision of China’s Xi Jinping. “In terms of global politics, the war in the Ukraine is a big deal,” Holcomb says. “We all need to do what we can to help the Ukrainians repel the Russians.” He sees many parallels in Ukraine to the beginning of WWII. “If you look at what is happening, it’s a lot like the mid 1930s, where you had Germany and Japan wanting to expand,” Holcomb says. “Now it’s Russia and China. If we help Ukraine, it could mean containing the problem before it becomes full blown like in 1939 to 1940. Many of my colleagues have the same concerns. It’s not a novel thought. That’s why you see NATO galvanizing around Ukraine.” The average person can help by letting their senator and representative know they support our assistance to Ukraine. “We need to continue to support their efforts,” he says. “But the support now needs to be nonlethal, noncombat. They need medical assistance for the mass casualties.” While the fighting is primarily in

the east, including through the use of trench warfare, air raids are also being conducted in Lviv and other areas in the west. “When we see images of the war on CNN or FOX, they show the bad places,” Holcomb says. “Outside those zones if you are in a city, people are eating at the restaurants and going out for a beer.” Where he has served, Holcomb has heard air raid sirens but, as of yet, has seen no fire. “There was in the areas I was before I was there and afterwards, but not during,” he says. Prior to joining UAB’s Department of Surgery as a professor in September 2019, Holcomb was a professor of surgery at UTHealth Houston. He is a founder and co-CEO of a health IT company, Decisio Health. His online UAB biography says Holcomb reviews papers for more than 35 journals, has published more than 690 peer-reviewed articles, consults with several companies and serves on multiple boards. Among his many accolades, Holcomb has received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Trauma Resuscitation Science from the American Heart Association, the United States Special Operations Command Medal, and the Service award from the American College of Surgery. Kathy Hagood is a Homewood-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama. April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 21

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INCUBATOR/ CONTACT

ADDRESS

PHONE / WEBSITE

B.C. Hornady Industrial Incubator Darlene Thompson, Executive Director

188 Sheffield Rd. Monroeville, AL 36460

251-743-1332 mmceda.com

Bessemer Business Incubation System Devron Veasley, Executive Director

1020 Ninth Ave. SW Bessemer, AL 35022

205-481-2000 bessemerincubator.net

Business Technology Development Center Inc. – Biztech Larry Lewis Jr., CEO

515 Sparkman Dr. NW Huntsville, AL 35816

256-704-6000 biztech.org

Covington County Business Development Center Rick Clifton, CEO

21754 Bill Benton Ln. Andalusia, AL 36421

334-222-7040 covingtoncountyedc.com

The E-Center John Joseph IV, Executive Director

1629 Fourth Ave. SE Decatur, AL 35601

The Edge Theresa Welbourne, Executive Director

# OF COMPANIES GRADUATED

# OF CURRENT COMPANIES IN INCUBATOR

Listed in alphabetical order. Sources: Business Alabama surveys and incubator websites.

Compiled by ERICA JOINER WEST

SPECIALTY AREAS

DATE FOUNDED

Alabama's Incubators

Heavy industry/distribution Service, light industrial/manufacturing and information technology

1996

Small companies developing emerging technologies

1997

Education (Andalusia campus of Alabama Aviation College); light manufacturing

2009

256-476-7006 the-ecenter.org

Light manufacturers, massage therapy, pest control, technology, insurance, mental health, sports

2010

2627 10th Ave. Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

205-348-3343 edge.culverhouse.ua.edu

Open to wide variety

2012

Enterprise Business Incubator Jesse Quillen, Executive Director

102 Commerce Dr. Enterprise, AL 36330

334-393-4769 wiregrassedc.com/doingbusiness/business-incubator

The Generator Student Incubator at the University of North Alabama Mitch Hamm, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

541 W. College St. Florence, AL 35632

256-765-4825 una.edu/business/the-generator

Innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, makerspace

2015

Hatch Rick Miller, Center Director

36 N. Section St. Fairhope, AL 36532

251-270-2670 hatchfairhope.com

Technology startups

2020

Innovation Depot Brooke Gillis, CEO

1500 First Ave. N. Birmingham, AL 35203

205-250-8000 innovationdepot.org

Technology and bio-focused, high growth businesses

1987

Innovation Portal Todd Greer, Executive Director

358 St. Louis St. Mobile, AL 36602

251-202-7165 Innovation-Portal.com

Startups and co-working space

2016

Invention to Innovation Center Rigved Joshi, Director

850 Ben Graves Dr. Huntsville, AL 35816

256-824-6058 uah.edu/i2c

New and existing science and engineering high-tech companies

2019

Lake Martin Innovation Center Jacob Meacham, Executive Director

175 Aliant Pkwy., Alexander City, AL 35010

256-414-6100 lakemartininnovationcenter.com

Professional services, small warehousing, health care

2017

Marengo County Business Development Center Jo Ellen Martin, Executive Director, Marengo County Economic Development Authority

2400 E. Coats Ave. Linden, AL 36748

334-295-4418 marengoeda.com

Culinary, public safety, food processing and agricultural businesses

2008

Mixson Business Center

545 W. Main St., Ste. 100 Dothan, AL 36301

334-836-0217 mixsonbusinesscenter.org

Entrepreneurs and small businesses

2004

New Venture Accelerator at Auburn University Lucian Bifano, Director

540 Devall Dr., Ste. 101 Auburn, AL 36832

334-844-7498 harbert.auburn.edu

Northeast Alabama Entrepreneurial Center Lucas Gockel, Managing Director

1400 Commerce Blvd. Ste. 1 Anniston, AL 36207

256-831-5215 neaes.org

Service and light manufacturing companies

1998

Ozark Technology Center for Developing Industry Holle Smith, President, Ozark-Dale County Economic Development Corp.

3269 U.S. Hwy. 231 S. Ozark, AL 36360

334-443-2000 odedc.com

Light manufacturing, distributing, technology, consulting service

2006

Pike County Economic Development Center Chase Cobb, Director

100 Industrial Blvd. Troy, AL 36081

334-670-2274 troy-pike-edc.org

Shoals Business Incubator Giles McDaniel, Executive Director

3115 Northington Ct. Florence, AL 35630

256-760-9014 shoalsbusinessincubator.com

22 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Small manufacturing firms

2020

Office, manufacturing, technology 59

260

Startups and emerging companies: Digital technology, research, manufacturing, logistics and food production

1992

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Travis Morgan-Chavers, instructor of early childhood education, facilitates a discussion with students about different forms of childhood play in the Northrop Grumman STEM lab.

New Athens State lab helps teachers present STEM to little ones Northrop Grumman is a benefactor to new education lab By DEBORAH STOREY — Photos by DAVID HIGGINBOTHAM

ew teachers will be ready to explain science, math and technology to even their youngest students after acquiring skills themselves in a specialized North Alabama learning environment. Athens State University’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Learning Lab opened in January. The classroom space equips

pre-service teachers with strategies to instruct on problem-solving, teamwork and basic STEM principles. STEM, of course, is a buzzword in today’s business and employment environment. Business leaders are eager to hire more STEM-literate workers. Northrop Grumman Corp. made a significant donation to the lab to purchase a smart board, robotics, coding tools and

STEM materials to prepare education students for the challenges ahead. Dr. Erica Hopkins, K-12 STEM and Workforce Development lead at Northrop Grumman, says the company’s employees will offer their own expertise to pre-service teachers, too. “It will be everybody from the rocket-science level to early career professionals that will come and engage with the April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 25

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teachers as they are getting that hands-on experience in the lab,” Hopkins says. As part of the early childhood education program, students learn how to develop a STEM-oriented curriculum for their future classes. “It’s really designed to give those teachers that confidence, that experience, before they actually go into the classroom,” Hopkins says, so “they’re already comfortable teaching some of those STEM subjects and they’ve already got experience doing hands-on STEM activities. “I think it will definitely help give teachers that confidence and really develop the passion.”

The Northrop Grumman STEM Learning Lab was created after a considerable investment by the company.

LIKE A CLASSROOM

The “lab” is a defined classroom space in the Athens State University College of Education, says Dr. Marla Williams, assistant professor of elementary education at Athens State. Teaching students train in person in the lab or attend live lessons from

26 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

off-campus via Zoom. “It’s designed like an elementary classroom but with STEM materials in it,” Williams explains. “We wanted our pre-service teachers to be able to come

in and sit in an environment that looks like an elementary classroom but have all of the experiences that go along with the requirements for STEM.” Williams calls it a virtual and real-

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world environment where students learn how to create cross-curricular lesson plans, among other things. “They learn that they can teach science content using reading strategies,” Williams says, using materials found in the lab. “We have 3-D printers where a lot of them can experiment for the first time ever how to create a 3-D printing lesson for students.” Many teaching students are overwhelmed by the idea of explaining 3-D printing because they haven’t had much experience with it, she says. Even the youngest children, though, can be taught 3-D basics. “If they’re teaching a kindergarten or first-grade classroom, you can do a 3-D printing activity with them,” Williams says. The STEM Learning Lab is set up for elementary and early-childhood education only. Secondary teachers have lab space elsewhere on campus. “All of our early-childhood pre-service

teachers and elementary teachers come through the STEM lab. They’re all taught the different ways to meet the needs of those students,” Williams says. Besides 3-D printers, the lab space has robots for coding lessons, plus a variety of teaching literature. Williams says the lab already is in use but still under development. They need more items like teaching charts and basic classroom materials. “We have big plans for it,” she says. “We’re all for trying anything new.” Because standardized educational testing tends to focus on literacy and math comprehension, the science — particularly in the lower grades — “sort of gets pushed off to the side,” Williams says. “We want to show our pre-service teachers how you can pull that science back in and embed it in those literacy lessons and make sure that science content is not being ignored.” One lesson that could benefit all students is that failure is OK when trying something new, Williams says, “because

The STEM Learning Lab is set up for elementary and early-childhood education professionals.

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 27

‘‘

It will be everybody from the rocket-science level to early career professionals that will come and engage with the teachers as they are getting that hands-on experience in the lab.” — DR. ERICA HOPKINS, K-12 STEM AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT LEAD AT NORTHROP GRUMMAN

you learn more from failure than you do from succeeding. “That’s kind of our goal, for it to be well-rounded, for our pre-service teachers to know that you can really teach good, inspiring lessons where students try and fail and try and try again,” she says. Some elementary school teachers teach general lessons, she says, but others at different schools may be expected to focus on specific subjects like science or math. “Our goal is to make sure they have all the tools necessary and they have that good teacher toolbox with strategies and things they can pull out at any time regardless of what environment they’re in,” Williams says. The biggest lesson is that “it is a demanding job, but the pros of teaching far outweigh the cons.” MORE TEACHERS, WORKERS

Hopkins, at Northrop Grumman, hopes the lab will be one way to address a shortage of educators. She says the goal is 28 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

to have a thousand teachers participate. “Our hope is that all thousand of those teachers will go into the classroom and stay in the classroom,” Hopkins says. “We definitely need more educators going into the classroom, especially as it relates to STEM. In Alabama it’s going to help feed that pipeline. The teachers are really the ones that spark that interest and inspire students to go the STEM path.” Most employees who work at Northrop Grumman have technical degrees, she says. “It’s really important — in fact it’s imperative — for us to help develop students that are interested in pursuing STEM,” Hopkins says. Many companies don’t have enough applicants to fill jobs they have now, much less meet expectations for the future. “There are thousands, literally, of jobs — and I’m not saying just in Northrop Grumman but across the board — here and in North Alabama where we have all the aerospace companies. A lot of us are searching high and low for talent. “A lot of times students don’t believe that they can be a rocket scientist or an engineer because they’ve never seen one that looks like them,” she says. Northrop also gives scholarships to students around the state to attend Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. Williams, who taught for 27 years, understands concerns that student teachers have about the emphasis on STEM. If they’re expected to teach science to young kids, how do they put together a curriculum? Where will the material come from? What will it cost? “We need to answer these basic questions and get them past that point of uncertainty so we can just focus on the science of it,” she says. Teachers can explain basic STEM principles with materials as simple as spaghetti, straws and water bottles. “They’re going to love it whether it’s a spaghetti stick or a 3-D printer,” Williams says. Deborah Storey and David Higginbotham are freelance contributors to Business Alabama. She is based in Huntsville and he in Decatur.

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 29

BUS I N E S S

A L A BA M A

A W A R D S

2 0 2 3

BA Awards 2023 Companies, individuals, projects honored at inaugural statewide business awards

Dr. David Bronner, center, with Lauren Bradford and Alec Harvey.

inners in seven categories, plus five Lifetime Achievement winners, were honored at a luncheon in Birmingham Friday, March 3, as part of the inaugural Business Alabama Awards. Category winners included Stephanie Bryan, tribal chair and CEO of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Atmore, as CEO of the year; Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Vance, as large company of the year; Master Boat Builders, Coden, as small company of the year; the Space Launch System, designed in Huntsville, as project of the year; The Insider: A Collective Eatery, Mobile, as startup of 30 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Stephanie Bryan, of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, was named CEO of the Year.

the year; Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, as Alabama ex-pat of the year; and Protecting Good, an activity of Protective Life, Birmingham, as philanthropic project of the year. Honored as lifetime achievement recipients were David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama; M.

Miller Gorrie, former CEO of Brasfield & Gorrie in Birmingham; Abe Mitchell, a Mobile philanthropist; former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby; and Shelley Stewart, of Birmingham, an author, advertising executive and radio personality. “These awards are meant to celebrate the success of businesses in Alabama, and our finalists … are certainly testament to that,” Alec Harvey, executive editor of Business Alabama magazine, said at the luncheon, which he co-hosted with Miss Alabama 2021 Lauren Bradford. Business Alabama took nominations for the Business Alabama Awards and named finalists in each category.

B A AWA R DS

In addition to the winners in each category, the finalists were: CEO of the Year: Josh Carpenter, CEO of Southern Research in Birmingham; Mark Crosswhite, former CEO of Alabama Power in Birmingham; Bill Roark, founder and CEO of Starfish Holdings in Huntsville; and Tim Vines, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. Large Company of the Year: Airbus, Mobile; Austal USA, Mobile; Boeing, Huntsville; and United Launch Alliance, Decatur. Small Company of the Year: Altaworx, Mobile; Capstone Building Corp., Birmingham; CommentSold, Huntsville; and Douglas Manufacturing, Pell City. Project of the Year: AUBix, Auburn; Drax Pellet Facility, Demopolis; HudsonAlpha Greenhouse and Educational Space, Huntsville; Huntsville International Airport’s approval for Dream Chaser landings, Huntsville; Innovate Alabama, Montgomery; Mazda CX-50, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, Huntsville; Orion Amphitheater, Huntsville; Port of Mobile additions, Mobile; and the Tony & Libba Rane Culinary Science Center, Auburn. Startup of the Year: Repowr, Birmingham; ShipShape Urban Farms, Mobile; TaxxWiz, Birmingham; and Zaden Technologies, Huntsville. Alabama Ex-Pat of the Year: Max Angerholzer, CEO of the George & Barbara Bush Foundation; Marillyn Hewson, former chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin; Tom Joyner, radio personality and founder of the Tom Joyner Foundation; and Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia. Philantropic Activity of the Year: Christmas for Kids, Albertville’s Progress Rail; Kicks for Kids, Muscle Shoals’ Listerhill Credit Union; Helping Hands, Sheffield’s Bank Independent; and HERO Foundation, Birmingham’s Harbert Management Corporation. TOP: More than 200 people gathered to honor winners of the Business Alabama Awards. MIDDLE: Lifetime achievement winner Shelley Stewart, left, with Bill Todd. BOTTOM: Lifetime achievement winner Sen. Richard Shelby. Photos by Joe De Sciose. April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 31

ACCOUNTING

Picking the correct accountant for your business

Some tips to determine the best accountant or firm for your business

he accountant. Company leaders and entrepreneurs know that a good accountant is crucial for maintaining a clear picture of a business’ financial health and staying on top of all of the tax laws. Accountants are valued partners. But picking the right accounting firm for your own company or startup can be confusing and even a little intimidating, especially if the very thought of crunching numbers makes you want to run away. “People often think accountants or Certified Public Accountants are nothing more than number crunchers, and that’s not true. They’re trusted business advisers

32 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

By GAIL ALLYN SHORT

and the most important part of the client experience is that relationship, that competence, that trust between the two,” says Jeannine Birmingham, CPA and president and CEO of the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants, which represents 6,000 CPAs across the state. But she and other experts say the first step to finding a great accountant is having a clear understanding of which accounting services your business actually needs and the type of professional best qualified to provide them. First, it is important to know that accounting professionals have varying levels of education and expertise and, thus, can differ on the kinds of services they can

offer clients. Bookkeepers, for example, generally have associate’s degrees. “A bookkeeper can provide basic dayto-day functions at a lower cost, but won’t possess the formal accounting education of a CPA,” the U.S. Small Business Administration says. Specifically, bookkeepers’ duties often include managing invoices and payroll, recording transactions and producing balance sheets and income statements. Accountants are professionals with bachelor’s degrees in accounting. But to be certified as a CPA in Alabama, candidates must complete 150 semester hours of study, including upper level courses, and pass all four sections of the rigorous

ACCO U N T I N G

Uniform CPA Examination. After passing the exam, to be licensed in Alabama, CPAs must work full time at least a year in a public accounting firm as a staff accountant or two years under full‐time supervision in a workplace that offers “sufficient quality and depth in the accounting field in industry, business, government or college teaching or a combination of the two,” according to the Alabama Board of Public Accountancy. CPAs, therefore, can provide clients with a host of services that are more tailored to a client’s specific business needs, the SBA says. “A business doesn’t necessarily have to have a CPA to do their work unless they need financial statements that are compiled, reviewed or audited,” Birmingham says. “So, if a business is growing, they’re merging, or whatever their story is, and they, for example, go to a financial institution to acquire a loan, the bank may require financial statements. If it’s at the level of an audit, compilation or review, most businesses will want a CPA to prepare those types of financial statements,” Birmingham says. Once a business owner has assessed the level of accounting services they need, it is a good idea to seek recommendations from associates they know in their industry, says CPA Gerard Kassouf, director of Kassouf & Co. PC, which is headquartered in Birmingham. “Your lawyer is also a good option,” he says. Kassouf, however, cautions people against relying too much on online reviews of accountants for information. “I think online reviews are an option, but in the professional service area, online reviews are sometimes given by individuals who haven’t had the most positive experiences, and that doesn’t necessarily translate to the technical competency or abilities of the accounting firm,” he says. People can also turn to the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants for advice. Birmingham says she always starts by asking callers questions about their businesses. “Generally, we go through what they’re looking for as far as the sophistication of their work, and, depending on the size

of the entity or even their geographic location, I might identify for them three to five firms or individual CPAs that they could talk to about doing their work,” Birmingham says. With recommendations in hand, it is time to take a deep dive into the firms’ or CPAs’ background and query them about the specific services they offer clients, Kassouf and Birmingham say. “Ask about their work history or professional background. Where did you go to school? Who have you worked for? These are important to me,” Kassouf says. As a part of the background research, he says those in specialized industries may find it beneficial to ask if the accounting firm has experience working with clients in that particular industry. For example, someone operating a health care firm might check to see if the accountant or CPA has worked with other health care facilities and if they hold memberships in medical or health care industry associations. “You look at someone’s technical expertise by asking if they have either a

certification or a life experience within an industry that would be helpful to your situation,” he says. A CPA with specialized knowledge will, for example, have a better understanding of how tax laws affect that industry, Kassouf says. But, the majority of small, main street Alabama businesses can benefit from a CPA who is a generalist rather than a specialist, Birmingham says. She says, however, that the hunt for a CPA firm should include querying them about the kinds of services they offer clients. Kassouf adds, “The discussion should include specific review of the desired services, including consulting with your internal accounting staff or controller or whether they’re engaging the accounting firm to outsource the bookkeeping and financial statement preparation, and serving as an outsourced CFO.” For example, a business may want an accounting firm to manage all of their accounting duties, including bookkeeping

“I think online reviews are an option, but in the professional service area, online reviews are sometimes given by individuals who haven’t had the most positive experiences, and that doesn’t necessarily translate to the technical competency or abilities of the accounting firm.” — Gerard Kassouf, director of Kassouf & Co. PC April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 33

ACCO U N T I N G

“

Knowing that the numbers being shared with the CPA are accurate and that the CPA is preparing accurate documentation for the client, those are all very important pieces of that business relationship.”

services, from paying bills and writing and dispersing checks to the preparation of income tax returns. The client, in the case of outsourced accounting, may approve each invoice, maintaining control over who and what gets paid, Kassouf says. “Determine what services are available, what the process would be, and what the charges would be for that type of an arrangement,” he says. “Also, any good relationship between a client and an accounting firm needs to

34 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

— Jeannine Birmingham, CPA and president and CEO of the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants include a discussion of fees. There needs to be an open and honest discussion of accounting fees that are going to be based upon the complexity of the work, the amount of work and the timing of the work,” Kassouf says. But in the end, says Birmingham, business owners should pick the firm they feel they will have the most rapport with. Having a rapport and a trust that the firm will perform services in a competent and professional manner makes commu-

nicating with an accountant much easier, she says. “Knowing that the numbers being shared with the CPA are accurate and that the CPA is preparing accurate documentation for the client, those are all very important pieces of that business relationship.” Gail Allyn Short is a Birmingham-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.

ACCO U N T I N G

Alabama's Largest Accounting Firms Ranked by Number of CPAs. RANK

FIRM NAME TOP EXECUTIVES

ADDRESS

Warren Averett Mary Elliott, CEO

Compiled by ERICA JOINER WEST

PHONE

WEB SITE

YEAR FOUNDED

CPAs in ALABAMA

PARTNERS IN ALABAMA

EMPLOYEES IN ALABAMA

2500 Acton Rd. Birmingham, AL 35243

205-979-4100

warrenaverett.com

1972

202

550

Carr, Riggs & Ingram LLC William Carr, Managing Partner

901 Boll Weevil Cir., Ste. 200 Enterprise, AL 36330

334-348-1316

cricpa.com

1997

131

309

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Terry Sparks, Managing Partner

569 Brookwood Village, Ste. 851 Birmingham, AL 35209

205-414-4000

pwc.com

1849

114

172

BMSS Advisors & CPAs Don Murphy, Managing Member & CEO

1121 Riverchase Office Rd. Birmingham, AL 35244

205-982-5500

bmss.com

1991

279

Jackson Thornton & Co. PC John S. Fendley, President & CEO

200 Commerce St. Montgomery, AL 36104

334-834-7660

jacksonthornton.com

1919

196

Ernst & Young Grant R. Haines, Office Managing Partner

1901 6th Ave. N., Ste. 1200, Birmingham, AL 35203

205-251-2000

ey.com

1989

176

Deloitte & Touche LLP Virginia Staton, Audit Managing Director

420 20th St. N., Ste. 2400 Birmingham, AL 35203

205-321-6028

deloitte.com

1940

235

Pearce, Bevill, Leesburg, Moore PC Carlos McDonald, Director

110 Office Park Dr., Ste. 100 Birmingham, AL 35223

205-323-5440

pearcebevill.com

1981

115

RSM US LLP Allen Dunn, Market Leader

216 Summit Blvd., Ste. 300 Birmingham, AL 35216

205-278-0001

rsmus.com

1926

136

Kassouf & Co. PC Jonathan Kassouf, Managing Director

2101 Highland Ave. S., Ste. 300 Birmingham, AL 35205

205-443-2500

kassouf.com

1931

JamisonMoneyFarmer PC Scott Goldsmith, President

2200 Jack Warner Pkwy., Ste. 300 Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

205-345-8440

jmf.com

1920

Mauldin & Jenkins LLC Bill Curtis, Chris Anderson, Partners-in-Charge

2000 Southbridge Pkwy., Ste. 501 Birmingham, AL 35209

205-445-2880

mjcpa.com

2004

Wilkins Miller LLC W. Allen Carroll Jr., Managing Partner

41 W. Interstate 65 Service Rd. N. Ste. 400, Mobile, AL 36608

251-410-6700

wilkinsmiller.com

2009

Tidwell Group LLC J. Barry Tidwell, National Managing Partner

3595 Grandview Pkwy., Ste. 500 Birmingham, AL 35243

205-822-1010

tidwellgroup.com

1997

108

Anglin Reichmann Armstrong PC Gary Anglin, Managing Partner

305 Quality Cir. Huntsville, AL 35806

256-533-1040

anglincpa.com

1990

Forvis Heather Wallace, Office Managing Partner

800 Shades Creek Pkwy., Ste. 500 Birmingham, AL 35209

205-212-5300

forvis.com

1950

Aldridge Borden & Co. PC Rhonda Sibley, Partner/Resident Manager

74 Commerce St. Montgomery, AL 36104

334-834-6640

aldridgeborden.com

1918

Machen McChesney LLP Marty Williams, Managing Partner

1820 E. University Dr. Auburn, AL 36830

334-887-7022

machenmcchesney. com

1954

Smith, Dukes & Buckalew LLP Timothy Smith, Managing Partner

3800 Airport Blvd., Ste. 101 Mobile, AL 36608

251-343-1200

smithdukes.com

1933

Banks, Finley, White & Co. CPAs James C. White Jr., Managing Partner

617 37th St. S. Birmingham, AL 35222

205-326-6660

bfwcpa.com

1973

Crow Shields Bailey PC Gina McKellar, Managing Shareholder

3742 Professional Pkwy. Mobile, AL 36609

251-343-1012

csbcpa.com

1986

Horton, Lee, Burnett, Peacock, Cleveland & Grainger PC Brian Burnett, Administrative Partner

3800 Colonnade Pkwy., Ste. 500 Birmingham, AL 35243

205-967-9744

hortonlee.com

1967

Way, Ray Shelton & Co. PC Steve Shelton, President

216 McFarland Circle N. Tuscaloosa, AL 35406

205-345-5860

wrscpa.com

1985

KPMG LLP Casey Bartok, Office Managing Partner

420 20th St. N., Ste. 1800 Birmingham, AL 35203

205-324-2495

us.kpmg.com

1897

Aprio LLP 1200 Corporate Dr., Ste. 200 Frank Gudger,Birmingham Office Leader Birmingham, AL 35242

205-991-5506

aprio.com

2017

For more accounting firms, visit BusinessAlabama.com.

Source: Business Alabama Surveys.

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 35

ADVOCACY

Helena Duncan at her office in Montgomery.

Leading the way

BCA’s new president, CEO is advocating for businesses in Alabama

elena Duncan had spent 35 years in the financial industry, and she was ready for a change. Her youngest son had gone off to college, and she and her husband were empty nesters. “I decided I better quickly find something different to do with my life now that I didn’t have children to manage at home,” she says. That’s when she had a conversation with Katie Britt, then president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama, whom she was working with on the transition team for Montgomery’s newly elected mayor, Steven Reed. “We began our conversations there,”

36 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

By ALEC HARVEY – Photos by ART MERIPOL

says Duncan, who went to work for the BCA three years ago. Britt soon left BCA to run for — and win — a U.S. Senate seat, and in December, Duncan was named president and CEO of the group that advocates for Alabama businesses. Born and raised in Opelika, Duncan went to Auburn University and graduated from Auburn University in Montgomery, working as a bank teller while she was in college. That began a three-decade career in banking and finance, which included stints with Colonial Bancgroup, American Legacy Mortgage and First Tuskegee Bank. Just prior to joining BCA, she was the regional president of Liberty Bank & Trust.

All of that, she says, contributes to an understanding of what businesses face when it comes to legislation. “Being on the executive team of a $22 billion company and then being a president, you understand how these laws impact what we do,” she says. That became crystal clear during the banking crisis of 2008. “Obviously, there were guardrails put up and a lot of regulatory requirements on banks, and it was hard for us to do banking as we knew it because of all of those regulatory requirements,” Duncan recalls. “We were clear on how decision-makers or policy makers could impact how our business ran. We also saw it with our clients, as well, as they were

A DVO C AC Y

trying to maneuver through different policies and how that would impact their day-to-day cash flow.” Now, in her role at BCA, she’s doing that for the entire Alabama business community. “We advocate for businesses to make sure our state remains a business-friendly, job-creating, strong-economy state,” she says. “It’s our job to work with lawmakers to make sure these things remain in place.” As the legislative session opens, Duncan and the BCA will be right there, advocating for legislation that is conducive to strong businesses. She’s spent her first few months as president and CEO getting to know legislative leadership and making sure they know her and the BCA. “I wanted them to understand our mission and understand our position on different things,” Duncan says. “I want them to know about my passion about trying to make this a better environment with every decision that we make, that we will be steadfast, we will be steady. We want to lead, not be the tail. We’re going to do what it takes to protect our businesses in this state.” Tops on that list for this session is securing renewal of the Alabama Jobs Act. Passed in 2015 and sunsetting (or expiring) in July, extension of the act would continue to create economic incentives to recruit businesses to the state. “This is something we have to get renewed this session,” Duncan says. “It has proven to be a very good decision. Tons of businesses have come to Alabama, and many have been able to maintain their businesses here.” Duncan says more than 34,000 jobs have been created as a direct result of the Alabama Jobs Act. “It’s critical right now for us to get this passed, and it’s critical for Alabama to continue to grow,” she says. “That’s what’s top-of-mind for us right now.” Improving workforce development also is an issue that BCA will be keeping its eyes on. “That seems to be a constant denominator across our state,” Duncan says. “Because of our economic growth, workforce development has obviously come to the top. Our members are concerned about it;

“Growth of BCA is obviously important, but most important for us is staying focused on protecting these jobs and creating a strong economy for other businesses to want to relocate here. We have a dynamic staff with one focus every day — Alabama’s business community.” therefore, we are very concerned about it.” BCA will also “pay close attention to any mandates” that come out of the legislative session, Duncan says. “We like for our businesses to make business decisions based on their business model, not because of things they are mandated to do,” she says. “We’ll continue to watch very closely bills that may come through that may be a mandate of changing the business plan and model of our businesses in the state.” BCA is an advocacy group for its membership, which ranges from one-

man shops to the largest companies in Alabama, according to Duncan. “Growth of BCA is obviously important, but most important for us is staying focused on protecting these jobs and creating a strong economy for other businesses to want to relocate here,” she says. “We have a dynamic staff with one focus every day — Alabama’s business community.” Alec Harvey is executive editor of Business Alabama and Art Meripol is a freelance contributor. Both are based in Birmingham. April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 37

SPOTLIGHT Blount County

Etowah County

St. Clair County

Community Canvas, a local artist showcase in Oneonta.

Marc Martell and the Black Jacket Symphony live at Logan Martin.

TOWAH, ST. CLAIR AND BLOUNT COUNTIES, in central Alabama, boast diverse manufacturing, educational opportunities, comprehensive healthcare facilities and robust quality of life. They are convenient to interstate, rail and air transportation and also near larger metro areas. In fact, two of the counties are included in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area. It’s a region of great natural resources, with lakes, rivers and forests. Many downtowns are picturesque, and many are growing. Local officials are working hard to capitalize on those resources. Each county has several community projects underway to offer more amenities to residents — from sports facilities to new subdivisions to renovations, public gathering areas, multi-purpose centers, new and redone parks, riverfront development and more. All three counties are strong in several sectors, including automotive suppliers/ metals, agriculture and food service, higher education, health care and tourism. New companies have come in, and many existing ones have expanded. To that end, workforce development focuses on the areas that need qualified workers, both for K-12 systems and adults. County and city school systems offer an array of workforce programs to help prepare students. Several cities are

Etowah, St. Clair & Blount Counties by LORI CHANDLER PRUITT

investing proceeds from newly approved property taxes in school improvements. Higher education in the county continues to grow to meet the demands of a changing workforce. In 2022, Gadsden State Community College announced that it will construct a 50,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center on the East Broad Campus in Gadsden. The facility will provide work and training space for students embarking on extremely high-tech careers that are in high demand. Programs that will be housed in the AMC are mechatronics, industrial automation, precision machining, mechanical design technology, additive manufacturing and electronics engineering. Construction starts this spring. Counties are working to make sure there is plenty of product for economic development. Etowah County is marketing its renamed and remarketed Northeast Alabama Mega Site, located in Rainbow City. It sits adjacent to I-59 and has a nearly 200-acre pad-ready site. The county is partnering with many entities, including Alabama Power, Norfolk Southern and the city of Rainbow City. “This is great for us, because it allows the city to play a role,” says Rainbow City Mayor Joe Taylor. “This site is the only megasite in the state that doesn’t have a tenant, yet, and there are so many possibilities.” Another huge announcement came in

Broad Street Bridge.

December 2022 and involves the former Goodyear Tire & Rubber property in Gadsden. An affiliate of Phoenix Investors purchased the 3 million-square-foot property with plans for a multi-tenant design, with hopes of attracting a variety of tenants, including manufacturing facilities. Up to 40 companies could be located there, with up to 1,200 jobs, says David Hooks, executive director of the Gadsden-Etowah Industrial Development Authority. “Phoenix has a history of handling industrial property,” Hooks says. “We expect this to be used for companies in light manufacturing, logistics, distribution and the like.” The city of Gadsden has opened a new sports park on the Coosa River. In St. Clair County, part of the Birmingham-Hoover Statistical Area, there are new industrial parks and commerce parks providing sites for a good while, officials say. For example, in February the Kelly Creek Commerce Park opened in Moody, designed to house company headquarters, manufacturers and distribution companies. It is a 172-acre park and has prepared sites. Also, a project long anticipated coming to Pell City started last year on a former hospital site. A private developer will build 100,000 square feet of retail that will include Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Old Navy and more. A couple of new restauApril 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 39

S P O T L I G H T: OV E R V I E W

rants have already located, and there will be more, officials say. Blount County also is part of the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is building a new multi-purpose building in the center of the county that will house the Alabama Cooperative Extension Center, the Blount County Economic Development Council and much more. The center also will have an agricultural science classroom to boost interest in that sector, in conjunction with Blount County schools’ already robust career technical programs. Oneonta is the county seat and is home to a growing satellite

campus of Wallace State Community College that already has resulted in growth in the county and more opportunities. The city has been using a $10 million bond issue to overhaul its parks system, Oneonta Mayor Richard Phillips says. The city opened a new aquatics facility, is about to open a new football/ soccer facility and there are tentative plans to form a partnership to build an amphitheater.

M E D I A N H O U S E H O L D I N CO M E

P O P U L AT I O N Total Alabama Population: 5,074,296

Shelby County: $82,592 Madison County: $71,153 St. Clair County: $65,070 Baldwin County: $64,346 Jefferson County: $58,330 Blount County: $52,830 Montgomery County: $52,511 Mobile County: $51,169 Calhoun County: $50,977 Etowah County: $46,984 State of Alabama Talladega County: $45,400 $54,943 DeKalb County: $44,037 Source: U.S. Census Bureau

40 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Lori Chandler Pruitt is a freelance writer for Business Alabama. She is based in Birmingham.

Jefferson County: 667,820 Mobile County: 413,073 Madison County: 395,211 Baldwin County: 239,294 Montgomery County: 227,434 Shelby County: 226,902 Calhoun County: 115,972 Etowah County: 103,162 St. Clair County: 92,748 Talladega County: 81,524 DeKalb County: 71,813 Source: U.S. Census Bureau Blount County: 59,041

In Focus

Making a new home

Matthias Goetz came to Gadsden to work for Fehrer, and he plans to stay By ALEC HARVEY – Photos by JOE DE SCIOSE

t is not uncommon for international companies to set up shop in Alabama and send executives and other workers to the state for a couple of years — then call them back. In the case of Matthias Goetz at Fehrer, though, he’s not planning to leave, at least this time around. Fehrer, a Tier I auto supplier to Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and other companies, came to Gadsden in 2011. Goetz came soon after, sent by the German company to help get the facility on its feet. Goetz, a native of north Bavaria in Germany, returned to Germany briefly, but in 2012 he came back as operations manager. “That’s when I met my wife,” he says. “She’s from Gadsden originally and worked at Fehrer at one point. That’s how we met.” They moved to South Carolina for seven years, with Goetz working for Fehrer and another company, but in 2020, he joined Fehrer again, and he asked to come back to Gadsden. He’s now general manager of the facility, and he and his wife, Tanessa, are raising their daughter and Tanessa’s two sons. Goetz also has a grown son in Germany. Fehrer, part of the Aunde Group, produces premium foam parts for car seats, supplying April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 41

S P O T L I G H T: I N F O C U S

the foam for 100% of Mercedes-Benz’s output at its plant in Vance and 100% of the output at the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant. In addition, the company supplies parts for Tesla in Fremont, California, and BMW, through its sister plant in Duncan, South Carolina. Fehrer employs 440 people in Etowah County, third behind only Koch Foods and Tyson Foods, and one of Goetz’s missions is to get his company more involved in the community and more well-known. “We’ve been here 12 years now, and sometimes you drive down to the gas station down the road and you have a Fehrer shirt on, and they don’t know who Fehrer is,” Goetz says. “To me, that’s unacceptable.” Fehrer doubled in size in 2021, and Goetz has opened up a dialogue with Gadsden Mayor Craig Ford that didn’t exist before. “We met at his office, and then he came to our facility with his staff to see what we do and what our needs are,”

42 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Goetz says. “It was an open discussion about what the challenges are for manufacturing in Etowah County and in Gadsden specifically.” Chief among those concerns for Fehrer is workforce development. “We need to attract younger generations to work in manufacturing,” Goetz says. “That’s where we discussed partnerships with local schools, to be more proactive on that. We spoke generally about workforce development and us being more present in the community.” Fehrer and its employees are involved in a number of charitable endeavors in Etowah County, including making donations for mothers in need and supplies for children, Goetz says. Business is good at Fehrer, Goetz says, with orders “maxed out” until 2030. That includes beginning to provide parts for electric vehicles for Mercedes and for Volkswagen. The company plans to add a production line — and 70-90 jobs — next year.

For Fehrer, Gadsden is ideally located between Tuscaloosa and Chattanooga, where the company’s two major customers are based. And being in Etowah County probably helps with the workforce, according to Goetz. “Being outside of Tuscaloosa or Chattanooga gives you a better advantage in the workforce because the competition isn’t right there,” he says. Settling down with his new family in Gadsden has helped Goetz develop more ties to the Etowah County area. “We had expats here from Germany who’d stay here for two years and go back,” he says. “There was no sustainability. They’d come here and then go back. They all had no interest in being involved in the community because they had no ties in the community. That’s changed with me.” Alec Harvey is executive editor of Business Alabama and Joe De Sciose is a freelance contributor. Both are based in Birmingham.

Economic Engines

Blount County has Louis Allis, a motor manufacturer, and several metals-related companies on its list of largest manufacturers, which also includes Tennessee Valley Metals, Stephens Pipe & Steel, Hornsby Steel, Alabama Guardrail, Power Systems Sentinel Technologies, Diversified Manufacturing Inc. and Jones Valley Fabricators. AGRICULTURE/FOOD SERVICE

A welding student in Wallace State Community College's program. AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLIERS/METALS

All three counties have automotive suppliers that provide parts and other components, many for Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in neighboring Talladega County. The metals sectors also is strong here. In Etowah County, some of the larger companies in this sector include Fehrer Automotive, which recently expanded; Prince Metal Stamping; Choice Fabricators; Koller-Craft South; Inteva

B U S I N E S S FEBRUARY 2023: Kelly Creek Commerce Park, a 172-acre park that represents a $125 million investment, opens in Moody in St. Clair County. It is designed to attract company headquarters, manufacturers and distribution companies. It is a joint venture of Graham & Co. and Capstone Real Estate Investments. JANUARY 2023: Etowah County’s 200-acre pad-ready industrial megasite, Little Canoe Creek, has a new promoter, new name and logo. The new name is Northeast Alabama Regional Megasite, or NEAR — chosen to highlight proximity to rail and river transport.

Products; and CG&J Inc. In St. Clair County, WKW Erbsloeh, Eissmann Automotive and Unipres Alabama are among the largest manufacturing employers. In December 2022, Eissman announced a $3.4 million expansion, creating 79 jobs. Metals are well represented with Trinity Industries, Meyer Utility Structures, Garrison Steel Fabricators, Douglas Manufacturing and Ford Meter Box. Some of these have expanded.

B R I E F S

DECEMBER 2022: Blaurock Investments purchases the old Etowah County Board of Education building and is working to help move the Vocational Rehabilitation Service from the Gadsden State campus to the old Board of Education building. DECEMBER 2022: An affiliate of Phoenix Investors purchases the 3 million-square-foot former Goodyear facility with plans for a multitenant design. The space can handle up to 40 companies and up to 1,200 jobs. Goodyear closed its doors in April 2020. DECEMBER 2022: German-based Eissmann

44 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Automotive announces a $3.4 million expansion at its Pell City facility, creating 79 jobs. The company plans to purchase advanced manufacturing equipment for its new production line. DECEMBER 2022: K-VA-T Food Stores Inc. announces its move to Gadsden, a $14.4 million investment that brings 145 jobs. Opening is expected this summer. OCTOBER 2022: Ford Meter Box completes a $5 million expansion in Pell City to better serve its growing market for pipe tapping sleeves, repair clamps and pipe restraints.

According to each county’s most recent extension service reports, this sector has a huge impact in all three counties. In Etowah County, Koch Foods, Tyson Foods, Buffalo Rock and Dean Sausage are among the largest manufacturing employers in this growing sector. In March 2022, Koch Foods began operations at its new $60 million poultry feed mill in Attalla, creating 32 jobs. And in December 2022, K-VA-T Food Stores Inc. announced a move to Gadsden that will bring 145 jobs. St. Clair County is well represented in Source: Economic development officials

SEPTEMBER 2022: Springville Beverage Co. announces plans for a new water bottling plant using the natural spring in downtown Springville. The new operation will revitalize an existing building and include both an educational component and a shop for locally crafted goods. The company expects to open in 2023 and have 20 employees. SEPTEMBER 2022: The St. Clair County Economic Development Council breaks ground for Pell City Square, a multi-use lifestyle center on the former site of St. Vincent’s St. Clair. The retail lineup includes TJ Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, Old Navy,

PetSmart, Five Below, Ulta Beauty, Rack Room Shoes and Hobby Lobby. SEPTEMBER 2022: Douglas Manufacturing, in Pell City, announces a $2 million expansion over the next two years. The company plans to add about 15,000 square feet, new manufacturing techniques, new equipment and 20 employees. AUGUST 2022: Alabama Cancer Care announces it will build a cancer treatment center on First Street in Gadsden. The Gadsden City Council voted to sell city-owned property — the former location of the National Guard armory — for the project.

S P O T L I G H T: ECO N O M I C E N G I N E S

food production, with larger companies including Red Diamond Tea and Coffee, Royal Sausage and J&M Exotic Foods. In September 2022, Springville Beverage Co. announced plans for a new water bottling plant using the historical, natural spring in downtown Springville. And in June 2022, Processor’s Choice completed an expansion to better supply ingredients to food production companies in the Southeast. And in Blount County, Tyson Foods, a poultry processor, is the largest manufacturing employer. ONE-OF-A-KIND EMPLOYERS

These three counties also are home to companies that thrive outside the major economic sectors. In St. Clair County, Vulcan Industries employs more than 300 workers making custom store displays. In Etowah County, Cintas employs more than 100 people in its uniform rental service. And American Apparel employs nearly 100 people making military uniforms in Blount County, one of the Selma-based company's four locations in Alabama. HIGHER EDUCATION

All three counties are home to community colleges that are among the

largest employers in the county. These institutions also support the economy by offering career and technical training and workforce development programs, often tailored to the needs of local employers.

TAXES PROPERTY TAX Not including city or school millage

HEALTH CARE

Each county is well represented in the health care sector, with hospitals, nursing homes and a variety of clinics. In Etowah County, both Gadsden Regional Medical Center and Riverview Regional Medical Center are among the largest employers. In St. Clair County, Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Clair is one of the largest overall employers in the county, as is the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home. And in Blount County, Ascension St. Vincent’s Blount and other health carerelated facilities employ hundreds and inject millions of dollars into the local economy. TOURISM

Tourists are attracted to this region of rich natural resources, lakes and rivers. Cities and counties are adding facilities to capitalize on these resources for local residents and to attract tourists for outdoor adventures, sports and arts.

ETOWAH COUNTY: 14.5 mills

ST. CLAIR COUNTY: 11.0 mills BLOUNT COUNTY: 16.0 mills

SALES TAX ETOWAH COUNTY: 1% Cities within the county

Altoona: 5% Attalla: 5%

Gadsden: 5%

Hokes Bluff: 5%

Rainbow City: 5% Reece City: 3% Ridgeville: 2%

Sardis City: 4% Southside: 5%

Walnut Grove: 3% ST. CLAIR COUNTY: 2% Cities within the county

Ashville: 4%

Margaret: 4% Moody: 4%

Odenville: 4% AUGUST 2022: Construction begins on the Blount County Multi-Purpose Building in Cleveland to house the Alabama Cooperative Extension Center and the Blount County Economic Development Council with an arena for events. AUGUST 2022: Summertown Metals breaks ground in Hayden in Blount County, a Tennessee-based firm that specializes in metal buildings. JULY 2022: Gadsden State Community College announces it will build a 50,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing center on the East Broad Campus in Gadsden. It is expected to open in 2024.

APRIL 2022: All-American Ford opens its newest location in Odenville. This 20,000-square-foot facility will create 50 new jobs and is the first new car dealership in St. Clair County on the I-59 corridor. JUNE 2022: The Gadsden Airport Authority announces it will expand the runway at the Northeast Alabama Regional Airport from 6,800 feet to 11,000 feet. Plans also call for upgrades and additions to the airport’s fuel farm. JUNE 2022: National Cement completes its $300 million kiln facility in Ragland in St. Clair County, one of the largest single capital investments in the history of the county.

JUNE 2022: Processor’s Choice completes its expansion to better supply ingredients to food production companies in the Southeast. The 83,500-square-foot warehouse expansion will employ an additional 8-10 people in the city of Moody. JUNE 2022: Fresh Value Grocery opens its first location in the city of Moody. This is its second location in St. Clair County and was part of the city’s redevelopment plan for a shopping center near its city center.

Pell City: 5%

Ragland: 4%

Riverside: 4 %

Springville: 4% Steele: 2%

BLOUNT COUNTY: 3% Cities within the county

Allgood: 3%

Blountsville: 2% Cleveland: 2% Hayden: 2%

Highland Lake: 3% Locust Fork: 2% Oneonta: 3% Snead: 2%

Susan Moore: 2% STATE OF ALABAMA: 4% Source: Alabama Department of Revenue

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 45

Largest Industrial Employers ETOWAH COUNTY

Koch Foods | GADSDEN

Poultry processing • 1,040 employees

Tyson Foods | GADSDEN

Poultry processing • 512 employees

Fehrer Automotive | GADSDEN

Automotive supplier • 440 employees

Prince Metal Stamping | GADSDEN Metal stamping • 385 employees

Choice Fabricators | RAINBOW CITY Automotive parts • 252 employees

Koller-Craft South | GADSDEN

Automotive parts • 160 employees

ST. CLAIR COUNTY

WKW Erbsloeh | PELL CITY

Automotive supplier • 500 employees

Eissman Automotive | PELL CITY

Automotive interiors • 350 employees

Vulcan Industries | MOODY

Custom store displays • 310 employees

Trinity Industries | PELL CITY

Transportation products • 280 employees

Meyer Utility Structures | STEELE

Electrical steel utility poles • 240 employees

Unipres Alabama | STEELE

Automotive parts • 220 employees

BLOUNT COUNTY

Tyson Foods | BLOUNTSVILLE

Poultry processing • 700 employees

Jones Valley | ONEONTA Fabrication • 80 employees

American Apparel | ONEONTA Textiles • 80 employees

Louis Allis | WARRIOR

Motor manufacturing • 50 employees

Alabama Guardrail | ONEONTA Traffic control • 50 employees

Tennessee Valley Metals | ONEONTA Aluminum awnings • 40 employees

Sources: Local economic development officials

46 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Health Care

GADSDEN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

Gadsden Regional Medical Center is an acute-care hospital with complete inpatient and outpatient care. It has 346 licensed beds and has almost 2,000 employees, making it the largest employer in Etowah County. Specialties and services include behavioral health, cancer care, critical care medicine, diagnostic imaging, emergency services, heart care, maternity care, occupational health services, orthopedic, outpatient, rehabilitation, sleep medicine, stroke care, surgical services, women’s health and more. The hospital also operates several clinics throughout the area. In June 2022, Gadsden Surgery Center, a multi-specialty outpatient medical center, performed its first total knee replacement surgery in an outpatient setting. The new outpatient joint replacement program is the first program of its kind in Etowah County. The hospital’s childbirth team is using an artificial intelligence-based maternalfetal early warning system to enhance patient safety during labor and delivery. The hospital delivers more than 800 babies each year. The overall community benefit totaled more than $228 million in 2021. RIVERVIEW REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

Riverview Regional Medical Center in Gadsden, with 281 licensed beds, is an acute-care hospital that serves more than 350,000 residents in Etowah and surrounding counties. It is owned by Prime Healthcare. It is one of the largest employers in Etowah County. Riverview Regional offers a full range of services and programs, such as a heart and vascular center, wound care/hyperbaric center, sleep lab and imaging center. It also holds specific accreditation in several other areas of the hospital, such as its laboratory and imaging center. Other services include diagnostic and interventional cardiology, minimally invasive surgery, including laparoscopic and robotic, 24-hour emergency care, a specialized senior care unit, a medical stabilization unit. The hospital offers surgical services, UAB pathology and more.

Gadsden Regional Medical Center is the largest employer in Etowah County.

ENCOMPASS HEALTH REHABILITATION HOSPITAL OF GADSDEN

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Gadsden has 44 beds and is an inpatient rehabilitation hospital. It offers comprehensive inpatient services for Etowah County and surrounding counties. The hospital provides care to patients who are recovering from stroke and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, joint replacement, hip fractures, amputations and general rehabilitation diagnoses such as arthritis, orthopedic, cardiac and pulmonary conditions. MOUNTAIN VIEW HOSPITAL

Mountain View Hospital, in Gadsden, is a private, specialized psychiatric hospital that serves children through senior adults. The hospital has 68 beds and a separate 40-bed residential unit devoted entirely to adolescents. It also operates outpatient behavioral health clinics. ASCENSION ST. VINCENT’S ST. CLAIR

St. Vincent’s St. Clair has 40 licensed beds and is one of the largest employers in St. Clair County with employees at the hospital and at associated facilities such as TouchPoint and Medxcel. In 2022, the hospital added 3D mammography, eICU/telestroke,

pulmonology, primary care, a general surgeon and a urologist. Services include medical/surgical and ICU units, a 24/7 emergency room, and inpatient and outpatient surgical services, including a GI lab. Other services include respiratory care, neurological services, orthopedics and sports medicine, physical, occupational and speech therapy, diabetes education, urology services and pain management. It is part of Ascension, one of the leading non-profit and Catholic health systems in the U.S. ASCENSION ST. VINCENT’S BLOUNT

St. Vincent’s Blount, in Oneonta, is licensed for 40 beds and is one of the largest employers in Blount County. Hospital services include medical/surgical, ICU and a 24/7 emergency room, with services for inpatients and outpatients. The hospital also earned a five-star CMS HCAHP rating. In 2022, the hospital added 3D mammography, wound care, a new MRI, retail pharmacy, 340B discount drug program, Dispensary of Hope, new x-ray suite, new fluoro suite, new bone densitometer, added an FPM physician and FPM nurse practitioner, nephrology and hospice. It also is part of Ascension.

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 47

Movers & Shapers KEITH BROWN, J.D. is president

of Jefferson State Community College, where he has worked since 1999. Brown holds an associate degree from Jefferson State, a bachelor’s and a law degree from the University of Alabama. He also has taught at the college level in the areas of business law and human resources. He has served in the Alabama Air National Guard for more than 34 years and now holds the rank of colonel. He currently serves as the State Staff Judge Advocate, the senior attorney for the Alabama Air National Guard. He serves on numerous boards for local civic organizations. LESLIE CLINES is project and

workforce manager for the Blount County Economic Development Council, an organization responsible for retail and industrial recruitment, retention and expansion of existing industries and new project development, along with working to build a strong workforce. She has worked with the Marshall County Economic Development Council, the aviation and construction industries. She attended Calhoun Community College, is a TVA Rural Leadership graduate and a graduate of the Auburn GEDI program. BILL ELLISON is president of I-20

Development Inc. and is credited with dozens of developments throughout Pell City, now generating 40% of the city’s tax base. The latest venture he contributed to is a 147,500-square-foot shopping and lifestyle center called Pell City Square. Earlier, he developed the Publix shopping center and the commercial district that includes Walmart Supercenter, an expansive shopping center, hotels, restaurants and more. He was honored for his impact on Pell City when the U.S. 231 bridge over I-20 was named the

54 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

William C. Ellison Bridge. STEPHANIE EVANS is managing

partner and co-owner of Greensport RV Park and Marina. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, she holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville. She was the youngest person in her area to hold a District Level position with The Home Depot. She is a graduate of the George O’Leary National School of Outdoor Hospitality, a two-year management course, and a 2021 graduate of leadership St. Clair County. Greensport RV Park and Campground now has 112 sites with 78 more in progress.

ZACHARY GENTILE is a senior vice

president for the Ford Meter Box Co. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and a master’s from Troy University. He serves on the board of The Ford Meter Box Co.; the Pell City Educational Foundation; Daniel’s Place in Manchester, Indiana; and is the treasurer of the Pell City Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the board of the United Way of Central Alabama and is serving on a fourth consecutive campaign cabinet.

JASON GOODGAME is corporate

vice president of Goodgame Company Inc. An Auburn University graduate, he has helped recruit and develop several projects in St. Clair County and Pell City throughout his career, including St. Vincent’s St. Clair Hospital, WKW Automotive North America and Eissmann Automotive North America. Goodgame chairs the Governor’s Construction Industry Craft Training Board, which funds craft training across the state. He is an executive board member for Associated Builders and Contractors representing East Alabama and since 2005 he has been president of the Pell City Schools Education Foundation.

CRAIG FORD was elected mayor of

Gadsden in 2022. He was born and raised in Gadsden and is a graduate of Auburn University. Ford has owned two small businesses in Gadsden for more than 20 years, which together employ 20 people — The Messenger community newspaper and Ford Insurance Agency, one of the oldest independent insurance agencies in North Alabama. Earlier, Ford served 18 years in the Alabama House of Representatives. He is an officer in the U.S. Army. BRADLEY HARVEY is a Blount

County commissioner. He graduated from Oneonta High School in 2006 and served in the U.S. Army, completing two tours in Afghanistan. After his military service, he earned a degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and later a law degree from Faulkner University. He has worked in various aspects of the construction industry, two years as a farm hand, a freight conductor with CSX Railroad and a law clerk. He practices law with a focus on property and real estate. CANDICE HILL has been working

with the St. Clair County Economic Development Council since 2007 and, as a part of their strategic plan, helped to transition Leadership Pell City into a countywide organization. For the last 15 years, she has helped coordinate the Leadership St. Clair County program, which has more than 400 graduates. In a partnership between St. Clair County Economic Development Council, St. Clair County and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, she has helped create a Small Business St. Clair initiative to link small local business with the information they need to thrive.

S P O T L I G H T: M OV E R S & S H A PE R S

DAVID HOOKS is executive director

of the GadsdenEtowah Industrial Development Authority and serves on several state advisory boards. Earlier, Hooks served as the director of innovation at The Edge of Chaos, a “thought and innovation” collaborative, established by the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Hooks holds a master’s from UAB and an undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama. He is author of “The Wisdom of Solomon Ancient Teachings for Modern Business.” LYMAN LOVEJOY began Lovejoy

Realty in 1971. He also served as chairman of the Economic Development Council in St. Clair County and received the Annual Chairman’s award for exemplary dedication. He has served as president with the St. Clair Association of Realtors, a member of Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Clair Hospital board and has served on the Alabama Real Estate Commission. Congressman Mike Rogers just awarded Lovejoy Congressional Recognition for being in business for 50 years. JOHN MOORE is director of economic

development and governmental affairs for the city of Gadsden. As a lifelong resident of Etowah County, he is a graduate of Jacksonville State University. He was the mayor pro tem for the Hokes Bluff City Council for 12 years and spent more than 20 years as director of sales for Spectrum Reach. He is an active member of the board of United Way and Downtown Gadsden Inc. Moore also is the past president of Etowah C.A.R.E.S., a community action group in Gadsden.

RICHARD PHILLIPS is mayor of

Oneonta. A lifelong resident of the city, he is a 2000 graduate of Oneonta High

School. He has a degree from Auburn University in graphic design and is a practicing attorney. After working as a designer in New York City and Atlanta, Phillips returned to Oneonta in 2014 and set up his law practice. He was elected to the Oneonta City Council in 2016 where he served as the police commissioner for four years. He was elected mayor in 2020. TONY REDDICK is superintendent

of Gadsden City Schools. Reddick is a past or present member of numerous boards of directors including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Gadsden/Etowah Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA, the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts, the Gadsden Civil Service Board, the Gadsden Design Review Board, the Industrial Development Authority, East Alabama United Way, the Gadsden State Community College Cardinal Foundation, Quality of Life Health Services and the Alabama Teachers Credit Union. SCOTT REEVES is mayor of Hokes

Bluff. He is retired from APCO with 33 years of service. He is on the board of the Alabama League of Municipalities 4th Congressional district, the Alabama Municipal Funding Board with ALM, chairman of the Etowah County Mayors Association, chairman of the Gadsden/Etowah Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Etowah County 911 Board, the Drug Task Force Committee, Greater Etowah 310 Board and the Gadsden/Etowah Transportation Coordinating Committee. He has coached youth football and baseball and serves on the Hokes Bluff Athletic Club board.

JOE TAYLOR is mayor of Rainbow City and a lifetime resident of Etowah County. He is an Army and Army National

Guard veteran with leadership roles in the 20th Special Forces (Airborne). Taylor established Landcrafters Inc. in 1985 and is a licensed general contractor. He is the former owner of Gadsden Fire Extinguisher and CO2 Service and owns a real estate investment company. He is a retired commander from the Gadsden Fire Department. He is an Advanced Certified Municipal Official. He has served on the boards of East Alabama Regional Planning Committee, the United Way of Etowah County, and the Challenger STEM Project. RICKY TILLIS is the director of the

Valley Street campus of Gadsden State Community College and fulltime minister at Harvest Fellowship Community Church in Gadsden. He has a background in carpentry and is a graduate of Birmingham-Easonian Baptist Bible College. He has worked in warehousing and trucking and substance abuse treatment at The Bridge. He is an Athens State University graduate and is working toward a master’s there. NICOLE TOLBERT joined the city of

Oneonta in early 2022. She works on projects including the Community Canvas juried art show and City Market, which promotes local shopping. Tolbert also serves as a grant writer and, in her first year, helped the city receive a $95,000 Lowe’s Hometown Grant to renovate the historic Little Brick Church and a $25,000 grant from the Alabama Historic Commission to remodel the Historic L&N Depot. Tolbert is a 2012 Auburn University graduate and serves on the Blount-Oneonta Chamber of Commerce board.

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 55

Higher Education Gadsden State serves students from Calhoun, Cleburne, Etowah, Cherokee and St. Clair counties on five campuses. The Science Building is the college’s newest facility. It stands on the East Broad Campus in Gadsden.

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA GADSDEN CENTER

The UA Gadsden Center is a division of the University of Alabama’s College of Education. The UA Gadsden Center is the home of the Alabama Expanded Learning Alliance, a statewide out-ofschool-time resource network throughout Alabama. JEFFERSON STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE — ST. CLAIR-PELL CITY CAMPUS

Jefferson State. GADSDEN STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Since 1925, Gadsden State has been instrumental in the education and training of Alabama’s workforce. It is a public, open door, comprehensive community college comprised of five campuses in Etowah, Calhoun and Cherokee counties. Gadsden State has an enrollment of more than 4,000 students who can choose among more than 70 academic, career technical, health science, adult education and skills training options. The college is always exploring new program options. Most recently, Gadsden State opened a dental science program with the first class of dental assistants beginning their training in January at the Valley Street Campus in Gadsden. Students are trained in clinical and administrative tasks that can be used in dental offices and dental supplier firms, and they can earn a certificate or an associate in applied science. Dual enrollment for high school students has been growing, increasing by 57% since 2020. Gadsden State is the only community 56 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

college in the state to offer civil engineering and court reporting. It is also the only college in Alabama that offers a comprehensive diagnostic medical sonography program that covers abdomen, small parts, obstetrics-gynecology and vascular in one associate degree program. In 2022, Gadsden State announced that it will construct a 50,000-squarefoot Advanced Manufacturing Center on the East Broad Campus in Gadsden. The facility will provide work and training space for students aiming for high-tech careers, with programs in mechatronics, industrial automation, precision machining, mechanical design technology, additive manufacturing and electronics engineering. Gadsden State continues to provide services to help students achieve academic success. In 2022, Gadsden State was notified by the U.S. Department of Education that a grant renewal worth more than $1.6 million over a five-year period was approved for the Veterans Upward Bound program. VUB is designed to help veterans meet their academic and career goals with the help of advising, financial aid and more. Gadsden State has increased its array of athletic programs to include men’s and women’s cross country, baseball and softball. The cross-country teams began in September with the women’s team qualifying for competition at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Cross Country Meet. The college will field baseball and softball teams in the fall bringing the total of sports teams at Gadsden State to seven.

For almost 60 years, Jefferson State Community College has offered excellence in education and value. Today, Jefferson State has four campuses and serves more than 13,000 students in St. Clair, Jefferson, Shelby and Chilton counties. Jefferson State is the largest community college in central Alabama. Jefferson State generates a major economic boost for central Alabama, adding more than $486 million annually in income to its service area. Approximately 65% of Jefferson State students transfer to a four-year university. Jefferson State offers more than 116 transfer programs, 39 career and technical education programs, 30 non-credit fast-track programs, and more than 60 dual enrollment classes. Jefferson State has numerous agreements with four-year universities to help students transfer with ease. About one-fourth of Jefferson State students are enrolled in health programs. With more than 250 nursing graduates each year, Jefferson State is the leading producer of nursing graduates with associate degrees in Alabama. The college also delivers non-credit workforce training in career programs that can be completed in as little as six weeks. These “fast-track” programs prepare students for immediate employment for in-demand jobs such as welding, IT, commercial driver’s license, line worker, heavy equipment operation, web development, certified nursing assistant, medical assistant, pharmacy technician and more. Jefferson State is also a leader in dual enrollment programs with many area high schools. Each year, more than 2,700 high school students earn college credit while still in high school with Jefferson State.

S P O T L I G H T: H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

WALLACE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE ONEONTA CAMPUS

Wallace State’s Oneonta flagship facility, which opened just prior to the pandemic, marked Wallace State’s fourth expansion in Blount County in three years due to increasing demand. The college first established a campus in Oneonta in 2016 in a building that has since been converted to its technical training center. The new facility, constructed in downtown Oneonta next to the library, houses academic programs, including classrooms, computer labs, state-of-the-art science labs and administrative offices. Now, Wallace State is expanding again with the addition of a nursing LPN program beginning this fall. Students in Oneonta will be part of a Wallace State program that has been designated a Center of Excellence by National League for Nursing, the first such designated program in Alabama. Wallace State and the University of Alabama at Birmingham are partners in a special nursing joint degree program for highly motivat-

ed nursing students, as well as a mobility program open to UAB employees. Wallace State-Oneonta offers seamless academic transfer to any university in Alabama, as well as associate in science and arts degrees, associate in applied science degrees, and certificates. Programs and classes available in Oneonta now include NC3 certified welding, machining, and mechatronics programs, engineering technology, general studies, liberal arts, Apple Swift coding, EMS, business, graphic arts, computer science, psychology and biology. Many programs now offer apprenticeships. For example, the Oneonta machining program enjoys a special apprenticeship partnership with Kamtek in Birmingham, and the mechatronics program is a member of the FAME apprenticeship partnership. Special scholarships for Wallace State Oneonta students are available for women in welding and other career tech programs through a grant to the college

from the Greater Birmingham Women’s Fund. Workforce training includes commercial truck driving, customized training for business and industry, Manufacturing Skills Standard Council Certified Production Technician training, and more courses designed to meet employer demand. Wallace State has a growing adult education program serving Oneonta and Blount County, with free ESL and GED classes offered on the Oneonta campus and at sites across Wallace State’s service area. The college has expanded dual enrollment opportunities for area high schools with academic, as well as health science and applied technical classes. A new dual enrollment program in advanced agriculture will begin later this year. With graduation and completion rates among the highest in the nation, Wallace State has been recognized nationally and regionally for its efforts in helping students succeed. It has been named an Achieving the Dream Leader College.

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 57

Community Development

Model photo of the kinetic wind sculpture art installation scheduled to be placed in Gadsden this spring. ETOWAH COUNTY

Etowah County, with support from the community and surrounding areas, now has a very successful free medical clinic. It also provided the Etowah County Board of Education with a downtown location and moved the Etowah County Extension Office to the courthouse, officials say. The county also has maintained its A-plus rating with the Standard & Poor’s. The county also was able to buy equipment for the sheriff’s office and approved its 2023 transportation plan that includes several road projects. Ready for more development, the county has rebranded its Little Canoe Creek megasite as the Northeast Alabama Regional Megasite, or NEAR — a name chosen to highlight its proximity to river and rail transport. The Gadsden-Etowah Industrial Development Authority is working with Alabama Power and Norfolk Southern Railroad to provide infrastructure at the site, which will be served by Rainbow City water and sewer. Plus, a new interchange is being planned, providing access to the site from Interstate 59. The city of Gadsden, the county seat, 58 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

has been busy on several new projects, says Brett Johnson, chief of staff to new Mayor Craig Ford. The city has hired Goodwyn Mills Cawood for assistance on its first comprehensive plan in more than 50 years. “We’ll be meeting with several groups, and we will be addressing our zoning ordinance, marketing, recreation, transportation and more,” Johnson says. The city also has partnered with Orchestra Partners of Birmingham to focus on its riverfront corridor plan, Johnson says. And the city council endorsed a charrette plan for the city-owned Noccalula Falls Park from Design Alabama, which will include $15 million in improvements and designs to encourage walkability, create gateway entrances

and more. The city also has a new sports park on the riverfront alongside the Gadsden State campus. While phase 4 of the park project is in the works, the site is already offering facilities for baseball, softball, soccer and pickleball. “We are looking to add a lot more, and we have been able to manage to pay for it with cash. It should be about a $20 million project once completed,” Johnson says. Major road projects are underway. The state has plans to proceed on the eastern corridor that connects I-759 to Highway 278 East, a $50 million project. And, the city is hoping to relocate Highway 411, which currently travels along the Coosa River. Tentative plans are to create greenspaces and other recreational development such as a city harbor, Johnson says. “We are really trying to redefine the narrative about Gadsden — we are moving toward progressing as a city that looks for opportunities and creative ways to bring families here,” Johnson says. “It’s important for us to get out and tell our story — there is energy here and we are ready to grow.” The Downtown Gadsden organization

has several projects underway, says Kay Moore, director. Downtown has more than 40 loft apartments, and another 14 are projected. “Lofts create foot traffic, visitors and more activity,” she says. The organization received a grant for a kinetic wind sculpture at Memorial Bridge, she says. The unique structure will be 18 feet high and will be placed in front of the existing new mural, she says. The historic Pitman Theatre is receiving more improvements that will allow it to host larger bands, including a new rollup door for equipment, she says. Rainbow City Mayor Joe Taylor says the city has received a $1.2 million CAP grant to build additional bike and pedestrian paths. And the city has purchased 130 acres to develop a downtown area. Also, the city plans to build a quality-of-life center in the next two years, offering recreational opportunities for all ages — from an indoor walking track to an Olympic-size pool to pickleball courts. Also, Rainbow City is home to the Etowah County Mega Sports Complex, built on 139 acres off Steele Station Road and Lumley Road. Etowah County Schools are involved in several infrastructure projects — a new elementary school, remodeling another, remodeling all six high school gyms and adding resource officers. All local schools emphasize career and technical training. For example, Gadsden City Schools and Gadsden State Community College have partnered on GRACE Academy, which offers classes in commercial construction, electrical technology and plumbing to students and adults. The academy, a long-time dream of Superintendent Tony Reddick, was made possible through a grant from the construction industry. Also, this spring, the Gadsden City Titans softball team will host teams from across the state at their new spring sports facilities, which feature turf baseball and softball fields, plus six tennis hard courts. ST. CLAIR COUNTY

St. Clair County has two county seats in Pell City and Ashville. The major county project in progress is a $25 million St. Clair County Detention Center in downtown Pell City. It’s slated to be finished this year. In Pell City, ground was broken for a

S P O T L I G H T: CO M M U N I T Y D E V E LO PM E N T

shopping center on the site of a former hospital, says Brian Muenger, city administrator. The city acquired the county’s interest in the property and sold it to a private developer who will build 100,000 square feet of retail. Several fast-food locations have opened on the same road, he says. “As we grow, we can support more business,” he says. “We are very excited about this.” The city, St. Clair County and the Alabama Department of Transportation are working on a Veterans Parkway extension to connect U.S. 231 with Hospital Drive, where the Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Clair hospital is located. “We are hoping for possibly more medical offices there since there is a lot of land opening up,” Muenger says. In downtown Pell City, sidewalks are proceeding, and citywide, there is a $2.5 million paving project underway, the largest in the city’s history, he says. In the past five to seven years, the city has spent $6 million paving roads. As Pell City grows, so does the need for housing, Muenger says, adding that in the last three years, more than 500 new homes have been built with more expected. “It’s been a real sprint here in the last few years, and we’re super excited about where the city is and where it’s going,” Muenger says. Voters approved a property tax for schools in three St. Clair County cities, so Pell City issued a $25 million bond on behalf of the Pell City School System that will pay for many improvements including a middle school expansion, a new band hall and more. A new middle school will open soon, and storm shelters have been added at two elementary schools. Schools in the St. Clair County system in Moody and Springville also are getting upgrades, including a modern manufacturing program, says Don Smith, director of the St. Clair Economic Development Council. The city of Moody is the largest municipality in the county, says Mayor Joe Lee. Housing is being built — seven subdivisions with 137 lots — and several road projects are in progress, he says, and the city is using a $200,000 grant to complete a 20-year comprehensive plan covering public safety, fire, utilities and recreational facilities. The city has begun construction on a $7 million police department facility to allow more space, Lee says, and has signed an agreement with a developer for an en-

tertainment center with bowling and trampolines. Several fast-food facilities are also under construction. The city of Springville just finished two multi-purpose sports fields for practice, says Lynn Porter, city clerk. There is a lot of residential growth and the city has worked with the St. Clair County Board of Education to place a school resource officer in each of its schools. And the city of Odenville has completed $1 million in paving projects with more to come, says Mayor Rodney “Buck” Christian. The city is focused on commercial growth and is looking to replace City of Oneonta Aquatics Facility, which opened in 2022. its police department building and expand city open a new football and soccer facility and hall. Residential growth continues. the next phase will involve upgrades of the baseball and softball fields. BLOUNT COUNTY “We are also in the process of developing Blount County is buzzing over the construca comprehensive plan, which will be about tion of a new multi-purpose building in a 12-month process,” he says. “We also are Cleveland, says Chris Green, Blount County aggressively working on our internet access Commission chairman. The building will and are working with a provider.” house the county’s Alabama Cooperative The city is working on a partnership with Extension Service, Blount County EconomHometown Bank of Alabama to build a ic Development Council and much more. downtown amphitheater, Phillips says. The “It will be centrally located in the county, city also received a Lowe’s Hometown grant and there will be an advanced agriculture to revitalize the historic Little Brick Church, classroom for high school students with a and a grant from the Alabama Historical teacher already assigned. It’s an extension Commission to renovate and restore the program of our Blount County schools city’s depot. career technical center,” says Green. While Oneonta is home to the Blount Counthe building is under construction, officials ty branch of Wallace State Community hope to have the agriculture classroom by College. The campus includes an academic fall of 2023. building and a technical training center. The county also works with the health Green says he hopes that adult education care community, partnering to fund a large can be offered at the multi-purpose center MRI machine and more for its local hospifor job training. tal. “We want to continue to provide care Oneonta City Schools are “the corfor people closer to home,” he says. nerstone of our community,” Phillips Oneonta Mayor Richard Phillips says says, and the system has finished several the city’s $10 million park and recreation upgrades on its athletic facilities, a new overhaul is proceeding well. A new aquatics band room and more. facility opened in 2022, the city is about to April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 59

Culture & Recreation FORE!

Twin Bridges Golf Club in Gadsden offers 18 holes in a course designed by Gene Bates. The Silver Lakes Golf Course in Gadsden is part of the famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Other golf options include the nine-hole Pell City Country Club and the 18-hole Heritage Golf in Oneonta. Limestone Springs features 18 holes in the Appalachian foothills. If you prefer tosses to tees, check out the nine-hole Argo Disc Golf Course. LOCAL WINE & PRODUCE

Logan Martin Lakefest. ONLY IN ETOWAH, ST. CLAIR & BLOUNT

The Alabama Trail of Tears Memorial allows visitors to walk and learn about the hardships members of the Cherokee tribes faced as they were forcibly removed from their homelands in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee to live in what is now Oklahoma. For a remarkable scenic treat, visit the Covered Bridges of Blount County. Or visit the Mustang Museum of America in Odenville, dedicated to all things regarding the classic Ford Mustang. GO BELOW

Rickwood Caverns State Park offers a mile of underground caverns, with blind cave fish, an underground pool and a colorful cavern. Above ground, the park has a pool, picnic area and hiking trails. HISTORIC HIGHLIGHTS

Museums abound in local history. Fortson Museum in Odenville displays local artifacts and is home to the St. Clair County Hall of Heroes. Ashville and Springville both have Museum and Archives facilities, showcasing local memorabilia and history. The Blount County Memorial Museum is the county’s largest source of genealogy information and also houses historic exhibits. Also in Blountsville is the Historical Park, with log cabins filled with period furnishings. Homestead Hollow, in Springville, offers a 27-acre recreated pioneer setting. 60 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

Two wineries thrive in the tri-county area — Wills Creek Vineyards & Winery in Duck Springs and Maraella Winery in Hokes Bluff. Chandler Mountain in St. Clair County is one of the nation’s largest tomato producers. SEE THE SIGHTS

The 90-foot Noccalula Falls is the centerpiece of Noccalula Falls and Park and Campground in Gadsden. The park also features a sightseeing train, pioneer village, botanical gardens and events. King’s Bend Scenic Overlook Park, on Highway 231, centers on the U.S. 231 bridge over the Locust Fork River. HIT THE WATER

Logan Martin Lake twists and turns offering 275 miles of shoreline along its 48-mile length. It’s popular for bass fishing, as well as boating, skiing, and swimming. Neely Henry Lake, also a favorite for fisherfolks, has 339 miles of shoreline. The Locust Fork River, the major tributary of the Black Warrior, is nationally known for its whitewater with class III and IV rapids. LAUNCH IT

And for the paddlers, there’s Yak Tha Creek, an Ashville kayak outfitter offering self-guided trips, and Big Canoe Creek Outfitters in Springville, a kayak outfitter, camping destination and concert venue. GET SOME EXERCISE

GadRock Microgym in Gadsden offers more than 4,500 square feet of indoor climbing, for all skill levels. Moragne Park, also in Gadsden, has a universally

accessible playground, dual zip lines, walking track, three sand volleyball courts and green space. The Ridge Outdoor Adventure Park in Springville has 500 acres for off-road riding, hiking, disc golf, ATV and side-by-side rentals, zip line and rappelling tours and more. SADDLE UP

St. Clair County Rodeo Arena, in Odenville, hosts rodeos, livestock exhibitions, craft shows, concerts, horse shows and more. SING, SING

White’s Mountain Bluegrass Park in Springville strives to preserve American heritage through music. It is home to the annual Chimney Corner Celebration in October. ZOOM, ZOOM

Alabama International Dragway in Steele has multiple ¼-mile asphalt drag strips and bleachers. FARM FUN

Shel-Clair Farm and Ranch, on 1,000 acres, has streams, mountain views and wildlife. Plus, you can bring your horse. BALL FOR ALL

Moody Miracle League, the first in Alabama, is an adaptive sports park offering an organized baseball league for special needs individuals of all ages.

Company Kudos

by ERICA JOINER WEST

MAY Community Banks Build Community Women in Tech Hartzell Engine Tech has received the Federal Aviation Administration Parts Manufacturer Approval for its Sky-Tec HT starter used in Robinson Helicopter Co.’s two-place R22 and four-place R44 light utility helicopters. The starters are made at the company’s Montgomery plant. The company’s Sky-Tech HT Starter features an integrated self-resetting Kickback Protection System to protect the powerplant and starter from an engine kickback. Shown is a Robinson helicopter, which has been in production since 1979.

For a fourth consecutive year, the Alabama Coastal Foundation has received a platinum level seal of transparency from Candid, the highest rating presented.

Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration from the Space Foundation. Several Alabama companies and the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville contributed to the space telescope.

The city of Foley, for a seventh consecutive year, recently hosted the Competition Archery Media’s Hoyt/ Easton Pro/Am, the first stop on the Delta McKenzie Archery Shooters Association Pro/Am Tour.

Northwest-Shoals Community College has seen the largest percentage growth, 32%, of any Alabama community college, according to its preliminary numbers. Student enrollment for spring semester is 3,950 — an increase of 900 students above the 2022 spring semester.

Full Moon BBQ has been recognized for its barbecue and white sauces by two media outlets — Mashed.com and CNET.com. Founded in Alabama, Full Moon has 17 locations and also offers its sauces for purchase online and at Publix, Western Supermarket and Piggly Wiggly stores. Goodwyn Mills Cawood has received a Conservation Development Award from the Cahaba River Society for the design of stormwater features outside UAB’s McMahon Residence Hall. The project team also included Dynamic Civil Solutions, Bernard Mechanical and Hoar Construction. Mowery Consulting Group, a political consultant in Montgomery, has been named a finalist for seven J. Stanley Red Awards for Campaign Excellence 2023. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope team has received the 2023 John L. “Jack”

Regions Financial Corp., parent of Regions Bank and headquartered in Birmingham, for a third consecutive year has been named as one of America’s most JUST Companies by JUST Capital, along with its media partner, CNBC. Stamp Idea Group, of Montgomery, has taken home 11 awards from the 20th annual Service Industry Advertising Awards. They received seven gold, two silver and two bronze awards. Today’s Homeowner Media, based in Mobile, has surpassed the 500-station mark, now airing on 506 radio stations throughout the U.S. The University of Mobile School of Nursing has scored a perfect 100% pass rate for bachelor of science in nursing graduates taking the NCLEX national licensure examination during 2022, which is the highest pass rate in the state.

Power in Diversity Small Business Success Stories Geographic Spotlight: Madison County

JUNE Manufacturing: A diverse field Moving Alabama-made Goods Associated General Contractors Directory Geographic Spotlight: Mobile County Check BusinessAlabama.com for daily business headlines and additional content

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 65

RETROSPECT

A postcard of Sloss Furnaces from around 1909. Photos courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives & History.

Forging Industry James W. Sloss & His Furnaces

loss Furnaces National Historic Landmark possesses a unique kind of industrial aesthetic. The rust-colored array of structures, easily viewed from the nearby interstate, invites the imagination to drift back to the early days of Birmingham, when smokestacks outnumbered skyscrapers, when the magic that made the Magic City was still new, and when the promise of iron and steelmaking signaled the start of an epochal era in the state’s economy. One of the men at the center of this new era was James Withers Sloss. Born in 1820 in Mooresville, Limestone County, he spent much of his youth living in Florence. At the age of 18, he

66 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

By SCOTTY E. KIRKLAND

James Withers Sloss.

began working in general mercantile in Athens. Sloss then followed a familiar route into the business of railroads, first

as part of the Nashville & Decatur line. Relocating to Birmingham, Sloss became a key member of a small group of early industrialists and investors who sought to capitalize on the resources of the Jones Valley, beneath which lay the essential elements of steel production — iron ore, limestone and coal. So great was the supply of minerals, and in such close proximity, that many felt a fully industrialized Birmingham could rival America’s iron and steelmaking titans. It was Sloss who secured Birmingham’s future when, in 1871, he struck a deal that brought the tracks of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad to Jones Valley. Sloss convinced L&N President Albert Fink to absorb the failed North & South

R E T RO S PE C T

Railroad and its Birmingham route. In 1878, Sloss joined with industrialists Henry DeBardeleben and James Aldrich to form the Pratt Coal and Coke Company — named for Debardeleben’s father-in-law, the industrious Daniel Pratt. Soon thereafter, Sloss decided to strike out on his own, secure in the support of his industrial partner DeBardeleben, who had more business than he could handle. Pratt mines would supply Sloss’ furnace with coal. The terms were five years at cost plus 10%. With a spate of financial backers that included several current and former L&N Railroad executives, the Sloss Furnace Co. formed in March 1881 with $300,000 in capital stock. Sloss’ eldest sons, Maclin and Frederick, were officers in the enterprise. From the Elyton Land Co. Sloss secured a 50-acre site on the northeast side of town between 28th and 32nd streets with access to both the L&N and Great Southern Railroad terminals. Construction began in June 1881. In assigning the contracts for the project, Sloss “spared neither expense nor pains.” European-born engineer Harry Hargreaves oversaw the construction project, bringing the patented Whitehall hot-air blast stoves to Birmingham. Next to the furnace was the casting shed, 128-feet long and sitting on a bed of sand. Here the molten iron would flow into ingot molds and cool into pig iron, the company’s chief product. Workers labored into the night to complete the furnace. One local paper noted that a passerby who was ignorant of the great construction project underway “might very easily imagine, from

the noise of hammers, that he had stumbled upon the forges of the fabled Cyclops.” Similar otherworldly scenes would soon become commonplace in Birmingham, where more than a dozen more furnaces were built by decade’s end. When Sloss’ furnace fired for the first time on April 12, 1882, a small crowd gathered to watch. The molten iron ran down a trench, guided by expert workmen’s hands into smaller, uniform segments called “pigs,” because they resembled a suckling piglet. There the iron cooled, forming ingots weighing 125 pounds each. They were loaded by hand onto smaller muledrawn carts and removed to nearby storage or awaiting railcars. Furnace workers responsible for these tasks, nearly all of them African American, typically were paid less than $1.50 in daily wages (about $46 today). Within the month, Sloss fulfilled its first order, shipping a carload of pig iron to Louisville, Kentucky. By the summer, the furnaces were producing at peak efficiency — 96 tons daily in mid-August, 102 tons a month later. Construction of a second furnace, one that would increase the daily capacity to 250 tons, was already underway, along with the company’s towering smokestack, marking a distinct feature of the Magic City’s skyline. Sloss produced 24,000 tons of pig iron in its first year. Though the furnaces were capable of producing quality materials, problems abounded for the company. As it turned out, there was a flaw in the original construction. Both furnaces proved ill-suited for the particulars of southern raw materials, which were different in marked ways from those in other parts of the U.S. and Great Britain. The remedy to this foundational problem was time-consuming and expensive. Furnace No. 2 was down for several months in the winter and spring of 1883-84. Competitors and newspapers in rival cities made notice of the delays. By the summer of 1884, Furnace No. 1 had been shut down for some two months and the output from the larger No. 2 was a paltry 5 beds of pig iron a night. In 1886, nearing 70 years of age, weary from setbacks and watching the rapidly changing business world around him, the entrepreneurial James W. Sloss decided the iron and steel business was surely the domain of younger men. Secure in his reputation and fortune, in November 1886, he announced a sale of his furnaces to Virginia-based investors for some $2 million. The acquisition brought the retirement of Sloss and his two eldest sons. Sloss was among the richest men in Alabama when he died on May 4, 1890. Now a historical landmark, precious little remains of all that was built during the era of founder James W. Sloss in the early 1880s. A few years ago, urban archaeologists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham uncovered the remnants of one of the support pillars to the original casting shed. Although barely protruding from the ground, this otherwise unremarkable bit of building material marks the place where, in April 1882, ingots of pig iron first cooled, heralding the arrival of a new Birmingham business. Historian Scotty E. Kirkland is a freelance contributor to Business Alabama. He lives in Wetumpka. April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 67

Career Notes

by ERICA JOINER WEST

DARREN BEACHEM

TERRY HARBIN

TIM SINGLETON

STACY SUGGS

JANICE PRIDE

SAMANTHA HAYES

ALICIA HUEY

TERRY SANDERSON

KRISTINA HENDRIX

ANGEL “REY” ALMODÓVAR

STUART BELL

MILTON DAVIS JR.

TIM MCCARTNEY

THOMAS TALBOT

MICHAEL WICKS

JUSTIN BAILEY

ED MIZZELL

ROBIN STONE

KINNON PHILLIPS

JACOB LAMB

SAMUEL ADDY

MOSES FEAGIN

AGRICULTURE

Darren Beachem, of Union Springs, has been named Alabama state coordinator of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives.

BANKING

BankPlus has added Terry Harbin as regional president of Southwest Alabama. Marilyn Catrett has joined Renasant Bank as vice president and branch manager of its Fairhope location. Bank Independent has promoted Tim Singleton and Stacy Suggs to executive vice president; Janice Pride to senior vice president – team member care; and Samantha Hayes to accounting officer.

CONSTRUCTION

Alicia Huey, founder and president of AGH Homes Inc. in Birmingham, has been named the 2023 chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.

CREDIT UNION

America’s First Federal Credit Union has promoted Terry Sanderson to vice president-experience officer.

EDUCATION

Wallace Community College-Dothan Child Development instructor Collins Trott has been named 2022 Educator of the Year by Alabama Project Learning Tree. University of Alabama in Huntsville has selected Kristina Hendrix as vice president of strategic communications.

68 | BusinessAlabama.com April 2023

ENGINEERING

The Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame has inducted Angel “Rey” Almodóvar, of Huntsville; Stuart Bell, of Tuscaloosa; Milton Davis Jr., of Birmingham; Tim McCartney of Gadsden; Thomas Talbot, formerly of Birmingham; and Michael Wicks, of Huntsville.

ORGANIZATIONS

Justin Bailey will lead the Alabama Cable and Broadband Association, overseeing day-to-day operations and communication policies. The Alabama Humanities Alliance has named Ed Mizzell its new chair. Mizzell is a longtime executive at Luckie & Co. The Alliance of Alabama Healthcare Consumers has named Robin Stone executive director.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Kinnon Phillips has been hired as public relations and strategy director of JJPR Agency.

RESEARCH

The Alabama Business Intelligence Center has hired Jacob Lamb as its director of research. Samuel Addy, senior research economist for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Board of Atlanta.

UTILITIES

Moses Feagin has been elected executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Alabama Power. He succeeds Phil Raymond, who retired in 2022.

Index AbGlo..............................................................15 Academy of Craft Training.................................10 Addy, Samuel...............................................................68 AGH Homes Inc.................................................68 Airbus..............................................................30 Alabama A&M University..................................12 Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station..........12 Alabama Air National Guard..............................54 Alabama Board of Public Accountancy...............32 Alabama Business Intelligence Center..............68 Alabama Cable and Broadband Association.......68 Alabama Cancer Care........................................44 Alabama Coastal Foundation............................65 Alabama Cooperative Extension System.......................12, 39, 44, 58 Alabama Department of Commerce.....................7 Alabama Department of Environmental Management.................................................9 Alabama Department of Transportation.............58 Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame...................68 Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute.................15 Alabama Expanded Learning Alliance...............56 Alabama Guardrail..................................... 44, 46 Alabama Historical Commission.................. 54, 58 Alabama House of Representatives...................54 Alabama Humanities Alliance...........................68 Alabama International Dragway.......................60 Alabama League of Municipalities....................54 Alabama Municipal Funding Board...................54 Alabama Port Authority......................................7 Alabama Power Co..................... 15, 30, 39, 58, 68 Alabama Project Learning Tree..........................68 Alabama Real Estate Commission......................54 Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering..................................................9 Alabama Shipyard..............................................9 Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants.... 32 Alabama Teachers Credit Union.........................54 Alabama Trail of Tears Memorial.......................60 Alabama, State of.............................................10 Aldag, Edward Jr. .........................................................15 Aldrich, James..............................................................66 Alexander City, City of........................................8 All-American Ford.............................................44 Alliance of Alabama Healthcare Consumers.......68 Almodóvar, Angel "Rey"...............................................68 Altaworx..........................................................30 Ambulanz........................................................15 America's First Federal Credit Union..................68 American Apparel....................................... 44, 46 American College of Surgery.............................20 American Heart Association..............................20 American Legacy Mortgage...............................36 Angerholzer, Max.........................................................30 APM Terminals...................................................7 Apple...............................................................30 Argo Disc Golf Course.......................................60 Ascension St. Vincent's Blount.................... 44, 47 Ascension St. Vincent's St. Clair........44, 47, 54, 58 Ashland, City of ...............................................58 Ashville Museum of Archives............................60 Associated Builders and Contractors..............9, 54 Athens State University.............................. 25, 54 Athens State University Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Learning Lab.............25 AUBix ..............................................................30 Auburn Research and Innovation Center...........15 Auburn University...........................12, 15, 36, 54 Auburn University at Montgomery.............. 12, 36 Aunde Group....................................................41 Austal USA...................................................8, 30 Avelo Airlines.....................................................7 Axient Corp........................................................7 Bailey, Justin................................................................68 Bank Independent..................................... 30, 68 BankPlus.........................................................68

A guide to businesses (bold) and individuals (light) mentioned in this month’s issue of Business Alabama. Bates, Gene..................................................................60 Beachem, Darren..........................................................68 Bell, Stuart....................................................................68 Bernard Mechanical..........................................65 Bifano, Lou....................................................................15 Big Brothers/Big Sisters....................................54 Big Canoe Creek Outfitters................................60 Birmingham-Easonian Baptist Bible College......54 Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.......8 Birmingham, City of.........................................66 Birmingham, Jeannine................................................32 Black Innovation Alliance.................................15 Blaurock Investments.......................................44 Blazer Hatchery and Hackathon.........................15 Blount County..................................................39 Blount County Commission..............................58 Blount County Economic Development Council..................39, 44, 54, 58 Blount County Memorial Museum....................60 Blount County Schools......................................39 Blount-Oneonta Chamber of Commerce............54 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.............30 BMW................................................................41 Boeing....................................................... 12, 30 Bonner, Jo....................................................................12 Bradford, Lauren...........................................................30 Brasfield & Gorrie ........................................9, 30 Breeze Airways...................................................7 Bridge, The.......................................................54 Britt, Sen. Katie.............................................................36 Bronner, David..............................................................30 Brown, Keith.................................................................54 Bryan, Stephanie..........................................................30 Buffalo Rock.....................................................44 Business Alabama............................................30 Business Council of Alabama............................36 Cahaba River Society........................................65 Calhoun Community College............................54 Callahan, Herbert Leon "Sonny"...................................12 Camgian..........................................................15 Canfield, Greg.................................................................7 Capstone Building Corp....................................30 Capstone Real Estate Investments.....................44 Carnegie Classification of Institutes of Higher Education.....................................12 Carpenter, Josh ............................................................30 Carraway Hospital..............................................8 Carrico, Jeff...................................................................10 Catrett, Marilyn.............................................................68 Center for Business and Economic Research...7, 68 CG&J Inc..........................................................44 Choice Fabricators...................................... 44, 46 Christian, Rodney "Buck".............................................58 Christmas for Kids............................................30 Cintas Corp. .....................................................44 Clines, Leslie.................................................................54 CNBC...............................................................65 CNET.com.........................................................65 CNN.................................................................20 Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Homes......44 Collat School of Business....................................8 Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization.............15 Colonial Bancgroup..........................................36 CommentSold..................................................30 Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham....................................54 Cook, Tim......................................................................30 Corporate Realty................................................8 Cox, Alex.......................................................................15 Crosswhite, Mark..........................................................30 CSX Railroad....................................................54 Cummings Research Park.................................12 Daniel's Place...................................................54 Davis, Milton Jr.............................................................68 Dean Sausage..................................................44 DeBardeleben, Henry...................................................66

Decisio Health..................................................20 Delta McKenzie Archery Shooters Association....65 Dignity Health East Valley Rehabilitation Hospital..................................8 Diversified Manufacturing Inc...........................44 Douglas Manufacturing.............................. 30, 44 Downtown Gadsden Inc.............................. 54, 58 Drax Pellet Facility............................................30 Dream Chaser..................................................30 Duncan, Helena............................................................36 Dynamic Civil Solutions....................................65 Dynamic Concepts..............................................7 East Alabama Regional Planning Committee.....54 East Alabama United Way.................................54 Edge of Chaos, The............................................54 Edge, The.........................................................15 Edward K. Aldag Jr. Student Business Plan Competition..........................15 Edwards, Jack...............................................................12 Eissmann Automotive........................... 44, 46, 54 Ellison, Bill....................................................................54 Elmore, Becky...............................................................71 Elmore, Bill...................................................................71 Elmore, Christine..........................................................71 Elyton Land Co. ................................................66 Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Gadsden.....................................47 Eskew Dumez Ripple........................................10 Etowah C.A.R.E.S..............................................54 Etowah County.................................................39 Etowah County 911 Board.................................54 Etowah County Board of Education....................58 Etowah County Extension Office........................58 Etowah County Mayors Association...................54 Etowah County Mega Sports Complex...............58 Evans, Stephanie..........................................................54 Faulkner University..........................................54 Feagin, Moses...............................................................68 Federal Aviation Administration.......................65 Federal Reserve Board of Atlanta.......................68 Federation of Southern Cooperatives.................68 Fehrer.................................................. 41, 44, 46 Fink, Albert...................................................................66 First Tuskegee Bank..........................................36 Five Below.......................................................44 Foley, City of ....................................................65 Ford Insurance Agency......................................54 Ford Meter Box Co......................................44, 54 Ford, Craig........................................................41, 54, 58 Fortson Museum..............................................60 FOX..................................................................20 Fresh Value Grocery..........................................44 Full Moon BBQ.................................................65 GadRock Micorgym...........................................60 Gadsden Airport Authority................................44 Gadsden City Schools.................................. 54, 58 Gadsden Civil Service Board..............................54 Gadsden Design Review Board..........................54 Gadsden Fire Extinguisher and CO2 Service.......54 Gadsden Regional Medical Center............... 44, 47 Gadsden State Community College.............. 39, 44, 54, 56, 58 Gadsden Surgery Center...................................47 Gadsden-Etowah Industrial Development Authority................... 39, 54, 58 Gadsden, City of........................ 39, 41, 44, 54, 58 Gadsden/Etowah Chamber of Commerce...........54 Gadsden/Etowah Metropolitan Planning Organization.................................54 Gadsden/Etowah Transportation Coordinating Committee..............................54 Garrison Steel Fabricators.................................44 Gentile, Zachary............................................................54 George & Barbara Bush Foundation...................30 George O'Leary National School of Outdoor Hospitality.................................54 Global Surgical and Medical Support Group.......20 Go Cedar Rapids.................................................9

Goetz, Matthias.............................................................41 Goetz, Tanessa..............................................................41 Goldman Sachs.................................................15 Goodgame Company Inc...................................54 Goodgame, Jason.........................................................54 Goodwyn Mills Cawood.............................. 58, 65 Goodyear Tire & Rubber....................................39 Gorrie, M. Miller...........................................................30 Governor's Construction Industry Craft Training Board.....................................54 Graham & Co....................................................44 Grayson Carter & Son Contracting........................9 Great Southern Railroad ...................................66 Greater Birmingham Women's Fund.................56 Greater Etowah 310 Board................................54 Green, Chris..................................................................58 Greensport RV Park and Marina........................54 Harbert Management Corp. ..............................30 Harbin, Terry.................................................................68 Hargreaves, Harry.........................................................66 Hartzell Engine Tech.........................................65 Harvard...........................................................15 Harvey, Alec..................................................................30 Harvey, Bradley............................................................54 Hayes, Samantha..........................................................68 Haygood, Tony................................................................7 Helping Hands.................................................30 Henderson, Rae'mah....................................................15 Hendrix, Kristina...........................................................68 Heritage Golf...................................................60 HERO Foundation.............................................30 Hewson, Marillyn ........................................................30 Hill, Candice.................................................................54 Hiller Companies...............................................8 Historic L&N Depot, Oneonta.............................54 Historical Park, Blountsville..............................60 Hoar Construction............................................65 Hobby Lobby.............................................. 39, 44 Hokes Bluff, City of ..........................................54 Holcomb, John.............................................................20 Home Depot, The..............................................54 Homestead Hollow...........................................60 Hometown Bank of Alabama.............................58 Honda Manufacturing of Alabama....................44 Hooks, David..........................................................39, 54 Hopkins, Erica...............................................................25 HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology..........30 Huey, Alicia...................................................................68 Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail......................7 Huntsville International Airport....................7, 30 Huntsville Logistics Center.................................7 Hyundai Motor Co..............................................7 Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama.............7 I-20 Development Inc.......................................54 Innovate Alabama............................................30 Innovation Depot.............................................15 Integrated Solutions for Systems........................9 Integration and Systems Engineering Group.......7 Inteva Products................................................44 Intrepid LLC.......................................................9 ITSC Secure Solutions..........................................9 Ivey, Gov. Kay..................................................7, 8, 10, 12 J&M Exotic Foods..............................................44 Jacksonville State University............................54 James Webb Space Telescope............................65 Jefferson State Community College .................54 Jefferson State Community College - St. Clair-Pell City Campus................56 Jinping, President Xi....................................................20 JJPR Agency....................................................68 Johnson, Brett..............................................................58 Johnson, Malcolm Jr. ..................................................15 Joint Technical Solutions....................................9 Jones Valley Fabricators............................. 44, 46 Joyner, Tom..................................................................30 JUST Capital.....................................................65

April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 69

INDEX

K-VA-T Food Stores............................................44 Karr, Charles L. "Chuck"................................................12 Kassouf & Co. PC...............................................32 Kassouf, Gerard............................................................32 Kelly Creek Commerce Park.................... 7, 39, 44 Kicks for Kids...................................................30 Kim, Chi Hwan................................................................7 King's Bend Scenic Overlook Park.....................60 Koch Foods........................................... 41, 44, 46 Koller-Craft South....................................... 44, 46 Lamb, Jacob..................................................................68 Landcrafters Inc................................................54 LaunchTech LLC..................................................8 Leadership St. Clair County...............................54 Lee, Joe.........................................................................58 Liberty Bank & Trust.........................................36 Limestone Springs...........................................60 Listerhill Credit Union......................................30 Little Brick Church, Oneonta.......................54, 58 Little Canoe Creek Megasite........................ 44, 58 Lockheed Martin..........................................9, 30 Logan Martin Lakefest......................................60 Louis Allis.................................................. 44, 46 Louisville & Nashville Railroad.........................66 Lovejoy Realty..................................................54 Lovejoy, Lyman.............................................................54 Luckie & Co.......................................................68 Macon County Economic Development Authority.................................7 Maddox, Walt...............................................................10 Madsen, Marianne.......................................................15 Magneco/Metrel.................................................7 Maraella Winery...............................................60 Marshall County Economic Development Council...................................54 Marshall Space Flight Center.............................65 Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts..............54 Marymont, John...........................................................10 Mashed.com....................................................65 Master Boat Builders........................................30 Mazda Toyota Manufacturing........................7, 30 McCartney, Tim.............................................................68 McCreight, Aaron............................................................9 McDuffie Coal Terminal.......................................9 Medical Properties Trust...................................15 Mercedes-Benz U.S. International................ 30, 41 Messenger, The, Community Newspaper...........54 Meyer Utility Structures.............................. 44, 46 Michaels, Hollie............................................................15 Millennium Engineering....................................7 MIT..................................................................15 Mitchell, Abe................................................................30 Mizzell, Ed....................................................................68 Mobile, Port of...............................................7, 9 Modern Technology Solutions Inc........................9 Moody Miracle League......................................60 Moody, City of..................................................58 Moore, John.................................................................54 Moore, Kay...................................................................58 Moragne Park..................................................60 Mountain View Hospital, Gadsden....................47 Mowery Consulting Group................................65 Muenger, Brian............................................................58 Murphy, Patrick............................................................15 Mustang Museum of America...........................60 NASA...........................................................9, 65 Nashville & Decatur Railroad............................66 National Association of Home Builders..............68 National Cement..............................................44 National Center for Construction Education and Research...............................10 National Junior College Athletic Association......56 National League for Nursing.............................56 National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers................12 National Science Foundation.............................12 NATO...............................................................20 Nay, Jennifer................................................................15

New Venture Accelerator...................................15 Noccalula Falls and Park and Campground.. 58, 60 Norfolk Southern Railroad.......................... 39, 58 North & South Railroad.....................................66 Northeast Alabama Regional Airport.................44 Northeast Alabama Regional Megasite.. 39, 44, 58 Northrop Grumman Corp..................................25 Northwest-Shoals Community College..............65 Nou Systems......................................................9 NTSI LLC.............................................................9 Nucor Corp.........................................................8 Odenville, City of.............................................58 Old Navy.................................................... 39, 44 Oneonta City Schools........................................58 Oneonta High School........................................54 Oneonta, City of................................... 39, 54, 58 Orchestra Partners............................................58 Orion Amphitheatre.....................................8, 30 Ousler Sandwiches...........................................71 Ousler, Dana.................................................................71 PCI Productions..................................................9 Pell City Chamber of Commerce........................54 Pell City Country Club.......................................60 Pell City Educational Foundation.......................54 Pell City School System.....................................58 Pell City Square.......................................... 44, 54 Pell City, City of................................................58 Perez, Santiago...............................................................8 Perkins & Will..................................................10 PetSmart..........................................................44 Phillips, Kinnon............................................................68 Phillips, Richard................................................39, 54, 58 Phoenix Investors...................................... 39, 44 Piggly Wiggly LLC............................................65 Pitman Theatre, Gadsden..................................58 Poarch Band of Creek Indians........................9, 30 Port of Mobile.......................................... 7, 9, 30 Porter, Lynn...................................................................58 Power Systems Sentinel Technologies...............44 Pratt Coal and Coke Co......................................66 Pratt, Daniel..................................................................66 Pride, Janice.................................................................68 Prime Healthcare Services.................................47 Prince Metal Stamping............................... 44, 46 Processor's Choice............................................44 Progress Rail....................................................30 Protecting Good...............................................30 Protective Life..................................................30 Publix Super Markets Inc............................ 54, 65 Putin, President Vladimir.............................................20 Quality of Life Health Services...........................54 QuantiTech LLC...................................................7 Rack Room Shoes.............................................44 Rainbow City, City of............................ 39, 54, 58 Raymond, Phil..............................................................68 Red Diamond Tea and Coffee.............................44 Reddick, Tony..........................................................54, 58 Redstone Arsenal.............................................12 Reed, Steven.................................................................36 Reeves, Scott.................................................................54 Regions Bank............................................. 15, 65 Regions Financial Corp.....................................65 Renasant Bank.................................................68 Repowr............................................................30 Retirement Systems of Alabama.......................30 Rice Business Plan Competition........................15 Rickwood Caverns State Park............................60 Ridge Outdoor Adventure Park, The..................60 River Pitch.......................................................15 Riverview Regional Medical Center............. 44, 47 Roark, Bill.....................................................................30 Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.............................60 Roberts, Cecil..................................................................9 Roberts, Christopher ....................................................12 Roberts, Tracy................................................................12 Robinson Helicopter Co....................................65 Rogers, Mike.................................................................54

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Ross Dress for Less............................................44 Royal Sausage..................................................44 Saban Center....................................................10 Saban, Nick...................................................................10 Saban, Terry..................................................................10 Sahib, Joshua...............................................................15 Samkee Corp......................................................7 Sanders Trust.....................................................8 Sanderson, Terry...........................................................68 Saturn Music Venue............................................8 SEC Academic Consortium.................................12 SEC Pitch Competition......................................15 Shel-Clair Farm and Ranch................................60 Shelby, Sen. Richard...............................................10, 30 ShipShape Urban Farms....................................30 Shook, Christopher.........................................................8 Silver Lakes Golf Course....................................60 Singleton, Tim..............................................................68 Sloss Furnace Co. .............................................66 Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark........66 Sloss, Frederick.............................................................66 Sloss, James Withers....................................................66 Sloss, Maclin.................................................................66 Smart Alabama...................................................7 Smith, Don...................................................................58 Southern Research...........................................30 Sovereign Steel Manufacturing...........................8 Space Camp......................................................25 Space Foundation.............................................65 Space Launch System........................................30 Spectrum Reach...............................................54 Spring Hill College.............................................8 Springville Beverage Co....................................44 Springville Museum of Archives.......................60 Springville, City of...........................................58 St. Clair Association of Realtors.........................54 St. Clair County................................................39 St. Clair County Economic Development Council....................... 44, 54, 58 St. Clair County Hall of Heroes...........................60 St. Clair County Rodeo Arena.............................60 St. Clair County Schools....................................58 Stamp Idea Group.............................................65 Standard & Poor's.............................................58 Starfish Holdings .............................................30 Stephens Pipe & Steel.......................................44 Stewart, Shelley............................................................30 Stone, Robin.................................................................68 Suggs, Stacy..................................................................68 Summertown Metals........................................44 Summit Utility Structures...................................8 Swift, Walt.....................................................................15 SwiftSku..........................................................15 Systems Studies & Simulation.............................9 Talbot, Thomas..............................................................68 TaxxWiz...........................................................30 Taylor, Joe.........................................................39, 54, 58 Tennessee Valley Authority...............................54 Tennessee Valley Metals............................. 44, 46 Tesla................................................................41 The Club..........................................................30 The Insider: A Collective Eatery.........................30 The Plug..........................................................15 Tiger Cage........................................................15 Tillis, Ricky....................................................................54 TJ Maxx.....................................................39, 44 Today's Homeowner Media...............................65 Todd, Bill.......................................................................30 Tolbert, Nicole...............................................................54 Tom Joyner Foundation....................................30 Tony & Libba Rane Culinary Science Center........30 Topalian, Leon................................................................8 Trinity Industries........................................ 44, 46 Trott, Collins..................................................................68 Troy University.................................................54 Turnham, Joe..................................................................7 Tuscaloosa Children's Hands-on Museum..........10

Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre...........................10 Tuscaloosa News Building.................................10 Tuscaloosa, City of...................................... 10, 15 Tuskegee Commerce Park...................................7 Tuskegee, City of ...............................................7 TVG Hospitality..................................................8 Twin Bridges Golf Club .....................................60 Tyson Foods......................................... 41, 44, 46 U.S. Air Force......................................................9 U.S. Army................................................... 20, 54 U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and Trauma...................................20 U.S. Bureau of Mines........................................12 U.S. Department of Defense..............................12 U.S. Department of Education...........................56 U.S. Department of Energy................................12 U.S. Economic Development Administration......15 U.S. House of Representatives...........................12 U.S. Navy...........................................................8 U.S. Small Business Administration............. 15, 32 U.S. Space & Rocket Center................................25 UCLA................................................................15 Ulta Beauty......................................................44 Unipres Alabama........................................ 44, 46 United Launch Alliance ....................................30 United Mine Workers..........................................9 United States Special Operations Command......20 United Way of Central Alabama.........................54 University of Alabama ................ 7, 12, 15, 54, 68 University of Alabama at Birmingham................ 8, 15, 20, 54, 56, 65, 66 University of Alabama Gadsden Center..............56 University of Alabama in Huntsville............ 12, 68 University of Alabama System..........................12 University of Louisville.....................................54 University of Missouri......................................12 University of Mobile.........................................65 University of North Alabama.............................12 University of Notre Dame..................................12 University of South Alabama....................... 10, 12 USA Today..........................................................7 USDA-AFRI........................................................12 UTHealth Houston............................................20 Van Brunt, Mary H..........................................................8 Veterans Upward Bound...................................56 Vines, Tim.....................................................................30 Visit Dothan.......................................................9 Vocational Rehabilitation Service......................44 Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant.........41 Vulcan Industries....................................... 44, 46 Vulcan Line Tools..............................................15 Wales, Jimmy...............................................................30 Wallace Community College-Dothan.................68 Wallace State Community College Oneonta Campus................. 39, 56, 58 Walmart Supercenter........................................54 Walter Energy....................................................9 Warrior Met Coal................................................9 Watercraft Warehouse......................................15 Welbourne, Theresa......................................................15 West Alabama Chamber of Commerce...............15 Western Supermarkets Inc................................65 White-Spunner Construction.............................10 White's Mountain Bluegrass Park.....................60 Whitehall.........................................................66 Wicks, Michael..............................................................68 Wikipedia........................................................30 Williams, Marla............................................................25 Wills Creek Vineyards & Winery........................60 Witt, Robert..................................................................12 WKW Erbsloeh Automotive................... 44, 46, 54 Wood, Chris..................................................................71 Wood, LeAnn................................................................71 Yak Tha Creek...................................................60 YMCA...............................................................54 Young, Zac....................................................................15 Zaden Technologies..........................................30

Historic Alabama

Alabiz Quiz Challenge yourself with these puzzlers from past issues of Business Alabama magazine. If you feel pretty confident, send your answers via email to ewest@pmtpublishing.com or, beginning April 20, work the quiz online and check your answers at businessalabama.com.

April 2023:

Q: UAB physician and professor Dr. John Holcomb took his trauma expertise to a wartorn country, both teaching and learning in the experience. What country? A) Myanmar B) Sudan C) Syria D) Ukraine

March 2023: (one month ago)

Q: Alabama exports saw a record year in 2022 at $25.5 billion, up from a previous record of $21.7 billion, set in 2017. What country is the top destination for Alabama exports? A) Canada B) China C) Germany D) Mexico

April 2022: (one year ago)

Q: Mercedes-Benz, which put Alabama’s automotive industry in gear with a plant in Tuscaloosa County in 1995, opened a battery plant in 2022. In which county is the battery plant? A) Autauga B) Bibb C) Madison D) Tuscaloosa

April 2018: (five years ago)

Q: Officials from another aircraft manufacturer came to Mobile to introduce their fuel-efficient jet to Airbus officials. Airbus now builds the craft. What company from what country? A) Bombardier, Canada B) Cessna, U.S.A. C) Embraer, Brazil D) Gulfstream, U.S.A.

April 2013: (10 years ago)

Q: State Attorney General Luther Strange went after the gambling industry in Alabama. Which entities did he attempt to shutter?

Keep those sandwiches coming…

Ousler Sandwiches, a more-than-a-century-old business in Birmingham, recently announced it was moving from its Mountain Brook location to nearby Lane Parke sometime in the spring. Ousler was initially a wholesale sandwich shop, and this photo from the 1940s shows a longtime employee named Dudley by a delivery vehicle. Dana Ousler sold the business to another longtime employee, Christine Elmore, in 1953, and the company is still in her family. She was succeeded by her son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Becky Elmore, and after the move to the new location, their daughter and son-in-law, LeAnn and Chris Wood, will be the new owners. Do you have a photo you’d like us to consider for Historic Alabama? Send it to Erica West at ewest@pmtpublishing.com.

A) Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka B) VictoryLand casino near Montgomery C) Both D) Neither

April 1998: (25 years ago)

Q: Business Alabama included a feature on a 90-employee Birmingham construction firm named for its owner, Gary C. Wyatt Inc. What was the firm’s specialty? A) Airports B) Churches C) Hospitals D) Schools Answers from March: C, C, B, D, C, A April 2023 BusinessAlabama.com | 71