SPECIAL PROMOTION
SPECIAL PROMOTION
ALABAMA NEWSCENTER REPORTS... WHISTLEBLOWER
On weekends, Oak Grove manager rules sidelines By Carla Davis Photography by Billy Brown “The love of the game.” Steve Marlowe said it’s that passion for football that has kept him on the field long after he played his last game as a senior at Hewitt-Trussville High School. As a football official for 26 years, Marlowe is in the heart of the action every Saturday during the season. “I always knew I wasn’t going to be able to play forever,” said Marlowe, Oak Grove Office manager. “When I was in high school, Monday Night Football had ‘IBM Presents: You Make the Call,’ where they would show a clip of a football play and give the ruling on it. It always intrigued me. And from that point on, I knew when I finished playing, I wanted to be an official. I thought that’s something I could do even when I got older.” The real reward for Marlowe came in 2015 when he became a full-time official for the Southeastern Conference (SEC), putting him in the “big time” of college football. He is the center judge on his crew of eight. A new position created by the SEC in 2014, it opened the way for Marlowe in an arena where officials often don’t leave until retirement. Although he enforces all the penalties, Marlowe’s primary job is to spot the ball and set it in position for the next play. That means he needs a good eye and fast feet. “I do a lot of running,” said Marlowe, adding his intuition and experience give him a kind of sixth sense to follow the progress of each play. “I’ve got to be there ready to set the ball and then step back out of the way.” Marlowe describes his crew as the “third team” on the field. Like the football players on the home and visiting teams, the officials are assigned various positions, with each having responsibilities for enforcing the rules. Marlowe officiates at about 11 games across the Southeast each season. But as a University of Alabama alumnus, he must sit out games involving his alma mater. Most people think an official’s job is over at the end of the season. But that’s not the case, said Marlowe. To keep fit, Marlowe trains year-round. Along with running 1.5 miles three days a week, he works out, rides his bicycle and competes in an occasional 5K. He takes part in clinics each spring and summer where he learns about rule changes and is tested on his knowledge. He undergoes physical assessments to make sure he can keep up with the much younger players on the field. “I work out and run year-round,” said Marlowe. “I never stop. If I stop, I’m afraid I won’t start back like I should. It’s easier to maintain and stay in shape than try to get back to where you need to be when the season starts.” Marlowe said the officials are required to take weekly tests
on the rules during the off-season and watch training videos year-round to stay abreast of any changes. He often spends his Saturdays during the spring officiating scrimmages at one of the universities. During the season, the officials feel the pressure almost as much as the players, Marlowe said. Their performance is evaluated and graded during each game to promote continuous improvement. “Our motto is chase perfection, catch excellence,” Marlowe said. “You want to go out and do your absolute best. We’re never going to be perfect. But if you strive for perfection, you’re going to do a good job.” Marlowe got his start as an official at age 18, working as an umpire for girls softball games at Center Point Ballpark near Birmingham. During college, he began officiating at flag football games and for other intramural sports. He progressed into working as a high school referee while pursuing his graduate degrees. Although he continued working as a referee at high school games, it was not until 2007 that he was hired as a supplemental college official by the Ohio Valley Conference, a Division I football league. Two seasons later, he became a full-time official for the Southern Conference, which includes Samford, Furman and The Citadel. In 2010, Marlowe got his foot in the door at the SEC as a supplemental official. In September 2015, he started his first season working full-time for the SEC. Marlowe said in the early years of his career, he often worked a high school game on Friday night, and was on the road early Saturday morning headed to Sewanee or Birmingham-Southern to work a Division III game. Nowadays, he still takes time to officiate an occasional high school game. The hardest part of the SEC job, Marlowe noted, is adjusting to the “speed of the game.” Despite the fast-paced play, Marlowe said he has not been injured or run over, although there have been some close calls. “These guys are really, really fast,” he said. “When you make the jump from high school to college and from the Southern Conference to the SEC, it’s a really big transition. The game gets faster. But once you adjust to the speed of the game, you’re OK.” The most memorable moment of his career as an official, Marlowe said, was just before the start of the 2016 Fiesta Bowl on New
Year’s Day. A few minutes before kickoff, he walked onto the field and had a chance to exchange a few words with his wife, Amy, and teenaged son and daughter, Tommy and Grier, who were supporting him from the sidelines. “There are a lot of sacrifices we make – running three times a week, taking quizzes, watching videos, studying the rule books and traveling. But my family pays the price, too,” Marlowe said. “For me to be successful, I have to have a strong family behind me. And so for me to spend that moment with my family was a highlight.” Marlowe also credits his “work family” for their support. He said it’s thanks to their knowledge and experience that he can confidently leave the office in their hands while he travels to games on Friday afternoons. “I’m lucky because I’ve got the best people in this office,” said Marlowe, who has managed the Oak Grove Office for four of his nine years at Alabama Power. “When I walk out, I don’t have to worry because they can handle whatever comes our way. That
makes the transition to Saturday easier. If you’re not prepared mentally and if something is weighing on your mind, your focus is not going to be what it needs to be at kickoff.” Marlowe believes that support goes both ways. While his employees lend a hand when he needs to travel to a game, it’s not unusual to find Marlowe taking customer payments on busy days or when the office is short-handed. Along with officiating during the season, Marlowe has worked as the referee at the Dr Pepper Challenge at the SEC Championship for the past six years. During this annual halftime competition, two college students face off to throw the most footballs through a small hole in a giant Dr Pepper can. The winner receives a college scholarship. Although being center field at the biggest game in the SEC is exciting, Marlowe said, the pressure is intense. “You want to be sure you are fair to the contestants and that you make the right call,” Marlowe said. “Because Dr Pepper is investing a significant amount of money into the event, you also want to make sure the competition goes smoothly from a cosmetic standpoint. There’s no redo on TV. You can’t afford a hiccup.” Marlowe said the past 26 years on the football field have been a “dream come true.” “I really appreciate the opportunities I have gotten, and I wouldn’t trade those experiences,” Marlowe said. “But you can’t get there unless you’ve got the right people supporting you. I’m fortunate because I have family and colleagues who allow me to do the best job I can do on Saturdays.”
PIZITZ BUILDING READY TO SHAPE BIRMINGHAM’S FUTURE AS IT DID ITS PAST Renovation of historic property builds on momentum in the Magic City. By Michael Tomberlin Birmingham’s Pizitz building has a presence about it and that presence has been felt. From its construction in 1923, the massive, six-story home to Pizitz department store shaped retail and helped make that part of downtown Birmingham a shopping mecca for the region. When the last elements of the Pizitz store closed in 1988, its presence was also felt as a sizeable vacancy and its emptiness spoke to the decline of downtown Birmingham in the face of suburban
growth and shopping malls. In the multiple false starts of renovation and restoration that followed, the Pizitz generated excitement befitting its size, only to be followed by equal amounts of disappointment when planned condos/offices/apartments/retailers never materialized. Now Pizitz will have its presence felt in a positive way once again. Bayer Properties has nearly completed its $70 million restoContinued on next page
AlabamaNewsCenter.com
POWERED BY ALABAMA POWER
SPECIAL PROMOTION
ALABAMA NEWSCENTER REPORTS... ration of the Pizitz and the property’s new life as a mix of apartments, office space, restaurants, retail and theater space is set to begin. “We’re a little over 90 days from the first residential units opening. After close to 15 years of working on the project, we’re very excited,” said David Silverstein, principal of Bayer Properties. “We hope that it will be well-received by the community. We do believe it will be transformative for the downtown area.” Brasfield & Gorrie, the general contractor, said scaffolding that has surrounded the historic building for more than a year will begin coming down this month. The first of the 143 apartments will be ready for residents in November. Silverstein said the city of Birmingham and Mayor William Bell supported the project and pledged streetscape improvements to make the Pizitz renovation possible. He said the city supported the Pizitz revitalization as it had Bayer’s development of The Summit shopping center on U.S. 280, which is in the city limits of Birmingham. “Mayor Bell has always been supportive of our initiatives here,” said Silverstein. “We really do think that this is reflective of how it is to do business in the city of Birmingham.” A new 18,000-square-foot food hall and bar on the ground floor is expected to open in December or January. “You’re going to see such an ethnic mix of food unlike you’ve seen in one place in this city before,” said Bayer Properties CEO Jeffrey Bayer. Bayer consulted with food blog “What to Eat in Birmingham” in coming up with the concept for the food hall. He said to expect such diversity as dumplings, Ethiopian food, coffee, ice cream and maybe a bakery. A large bar will be at the food court center under an old clock uncovered during the restoration. Bayer said a well-known restaurateur from New York will open a restaurant and operate the bar in the Pizitz. REV Birmingham is working with sponsors and Bayer Properties to establish a restaurant incubator in the food hall. The incubator will help a startup restaurateur learn everything from inventory control to handling cash flow and managing a staff. It will also serve as a proof of concept for the restaurant’s menu, pricing and other elements. “If you look at the businesses that have been at the forefront of the resurgence of Birmingham, they have been food-based,” said Deontay Gordon, director of business growth at REV. “Those are the most impactful but they are also the hardest to get started.” After four to six months, the restaurant will be expected to move into its own space and allow a new restaurant to set up in the incubator. Regions Bank, Buffalo Rock, Bayer Properties, Wood Fruitticher, Appleseed Workshop, Maynard Cooper & Gale and private foundations are sponsoring the incubator and will continue to work with restaurateurs after they graduate to help them get established. In addition to restoring the exterior of the building to its original appearance – including replacing and cleaning the terra cotta – Bayer added an atrium through the center of the building to bring natural light to the apartments and the food hall. The mezzanine will have more than 14,000 square feet of office AlabamaNewsCenter.com
SPECIAL PROMOTION
ALABAMA MAKERS
Maker Four Oak Designs swings are made for sleeping. By Tommy Black
space for either a single user or flexible office space for multiple users. The lower level of the building will be home to the Sidewalk Film Festival. The organization will have its offices there along with its own bar and two theaters. “They really do enhance the cultural well-being of our community, so to add that type of user to the building and entertainment truly makes the building a mixed-use project,” Silverstein said. Adding further to the mix of uses will be shops on the ground floor. “Along with the food hall and restaurants, there will be one or two traditional retail users,” Bayer said. The apartments will have high ceilings, large windows and a variety of views of the city. Tom Walker, development manager with Bayer Properties, said the top floor of the building will feature a rooftop pool, meeting space, fitness center, locker rooms, Wi-Fi and other “millennial-friendly” offerings. The building has its own adjacent parking deck and a crosswalk into the building. Its location at 19th Street and Second Avenue North is a key selling point, Walker said. “When we open up, we will have very public space opening our arms to downtown Birmingham in the middle of what’s going on in the Parkside District and what’s going on in the Central Business District as well,” he said. Bayer agreed that, as with most real estate projects, location and timing make all of the difference. “In many ways it is the bull’s eye,” Bayer said of the Pizitz. Bayer believes the mix of apartments, office, food, retail and theater space is the combination that will give Pizitz the presence it deserves. Knowing that makes the years his company has spent on the project worth it. “We’re all very conscious of those who have come before us, and do not want to suggest that this is the pivotal project, but in the long history of great projects we believe this will be one of the next good projects for the city,” he said. “It’s gratifying. We’re thrilled for the city. We think it will make quite a difference and we’re thrilled to be involved in downtown Birmingham. “Timing is everything.”
“Nearly everybody in my family was a lawyer,” David Belser says. “I was the only stray.” So in 2012, Belser strayed from his hometown of Montgomery to live on the family farm in Macon County. There, instead of filing lawsuits, he started helping folks swing and sway. “I was taking care of the farm and going to college online, when I started woodworking,” he remembers. “I was largely self-taught; I’d look at something and try to replicate it. Eventually I made a few coffee tables, and gave one to my girlfriend, Mary Elizabeth.” One day while visiting a friend at Lake Martin, Belser took a moment to relax in a bed swing on the front porch. “I loved it, and I think that almost anybody who has ever sat in one has felt the same way,” he says. After studying the swing’s construction, David built one for himself. Then he decided to share the love. He moved to the Pike Road area of Montgomery, constructed a woodworking shop, and started Four Oak Designs, specializing in custom-made bed swings, tables and flooring. Now, his handcrafted swings, which range in size from crib to king, adorn front porches, backyards, courtyards and other shaded spots from New Jersey to California. The craftsman also offers custom-made tables and heart pine flooring, all fashioned from reclaimed wood Belser finds in pre1920s buildings and barns around south Alabama. While his handcrafted pieces have helped Belser gain a reputation as one of the state’s most talented woodworkers, swings are still his biggest sellers. “I either come up with a design myself, or I use ideas from swings I’ve seen,” he explains. “It takes two to three days to complete one – build it and then stain or paint it. I use Southern pine or cedar, and finish the swing with three or four coats of high-
grade outdoor varnish.” His most popular product is the Seaside Bed Swing, a full mattress-sized delight that easily seats three or four front porch swingers. Aided by a local upholsterer, he also creates custom made cushions and “sunbrella” covers for the swings. Belser sells most of his swings on his website. “I ship them all over the country. I’ve gotten orders from as far away as New Jersey,” he says. “So I guess even folks in New Jersey like sitting on a front porch.” Although much of his business is done online, Belser meets many of his customers at antique fairs and home and garden shows such as the America Mart in Atlanta. After the shows, he returns home to that coffee table he made several years ago, and the The Maker: David Belser woman he made it for. THE PRODUCT: “Mary Elizabeth and I got marHandcrafted bed swings, ried soon after I gave her that table,” tables and flooring, as well he says. “She’s always been my inspias custom-made swing ration, telling me I could be a success cushions and sunbrella at this. But she’s about to take the bar covers. exam, so guess I’ll have another lawyer TAKE HOME: in the family.”
FOUR OAK DESIGNS
A Seaside Bed Swing, $1,295 (free shipping)
Alabama Makers explores the artisans, crafts people, carpenters, cooks, bakers, blacksmiths, designers and others making original and extraordinary items in our state. If you know an Alabama Maker, let us know at alnewscenter@outlook.com.
FOUR OAK DESIGNS
27 Handy Warehouse Road Montgomery, Alabama 36117 www.fouroakdesigns.com 334-202-2870
POWERED BY ALABAMA POWER