October/November 2016 BHM BIZ

OCT/NOV 2016

WORK + LIVE

THE SIGNATURE DESIGN OF COHEN CARNAGGIO REYNOLDS

IRON MEN

ROBINSON IRON RESTORES IRONWORK THE WORLD OVER

WHO WILL LEAD? 20 FOR THE NEXT 20

TRAIL OF EXCELLENCE

25 YEARS OF THE ROBERT O/N TRENT JONES GOLF TRAIL 11

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TECH CANDY Jennifer Skjellum

GADGETS FOR THE FASHIONABLE

Photography: Bartosz Potocki

Christopher Designs Crisscut

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MONTGOMERY/PRATTVILLE » MOBILE » POINT CLEAR

content

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016

DEPARTMENTS

14. VIEWPOINT

By Anita Turner

18. ON BRAND

By Dan Monroe

20. TECH

By Chelsea Berler

24. 10 THINGS McWane, Inc.

26. COFFEE WITH...

42.

66.

Jeff Rodgers & Tom Cosby Photography by Beau Gustafson

28. FREQUENT FLYER

Brian Hilson, Birmingham Business Alliance Photography by Beau Gustafson

30. ROCKET PITCH

IllumiCare Photography by Billy Brown

32. BY THE NUMBERS Downtown Development

34. PRODUCT PLACEMENT Tech Candy

36. COOL SPACES

Cohen Carnaggio Reynolds Photography by Edward Badham

86. RESTAURANT

Joey Dickerson of Melt & Fancy’s Photo by Beau Gustafson

88. AND THEN THIS HAPPENED UAB Polar Biologist Dr. James McClintock

56.

featured 42 .

NOURISH

This Lakeview-based business is hungry to grow its healthy meal delivery service.

56. ON THE TRAIL OF EXCELLENCE

For 25 years, the Robert Trent Jones Trail has been intriguing golfers and enhancing the state’s image worldwide.

covered BHM BIZ is published monthly by Fergus Media LLC 1314 Cobb Lane South • Birmingham, AL 35205 (205) 202-4182 Printed by American Printing Co., Birmingham, AL

4 BHM BIZ

OCT/NOV

60. CAST IRON CULTURE

Robinson Iron restores historic metal structures worldwide and just up the road to their original glory.

66. 20 FOR THE NEXT 20

Jennifer Skjellum

Who will lead Birmingham for the next two decades? Meet the faces moving business forward locally.

Photo by Beau Gustafson

find us on

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people EDITORIAL

STOP THE RECESSION FREE THE FOLLICLES.COM

Joe O’Donnell Editor/Publisher joe@bhmbiz.com Robin Colter Creative Director robin@bhmbiz.com Madoline Markham Managing Editor madoline@bhmbiz.com Katie Turpen Digital Editor katie@bhmbiz.com Erik Fountain Production Assistant

ADVERTISING/MARKETING Cathy Fingerman Associate Publisher cathy@bhmbiz.com Joni Ayers Marketing Specialist joni@bhmbiz.com Holly Saar Marketing Specialist holly@bhmbiz.com Jessica Clement Marketing Director jessica@bhmbiz.com Elizabeth O’Donnell Accounting elizabeth@bhmbiz.com

Contributing Writers

Jen Barnett, Chelsea Berler, Jesse Chambers, Rosalind Fournier, Francis Hare, Brett Levine, Dan Monroe, Carolanne Roberts, Sarah Robinson, Alex Watson

Contributing Photographers

Edward Badham, Marc Bondarenko, Billy Brown, Beau Gustafson, Chuck St. John

Your $1.95 = a meal that can lead to a changed life

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OCT/NOV

Volume 1, Issue 5. Oct/Nov 2016. BHM BIZ is published six times a year by Fergus Media, LLC. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We’d love your feedback. Send a letter to 1314 Cobb Lane South, Birmingham, AL, 35205, or an email to joe@bhmbiz.com.

SUBSCRIPTIONS To subscribe online, visit bhmbiz.com. To subscribe via telephone or for subscription inquiries, call (205) 202-4182 or email joe@bhmbiz.com.

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Samford University’s Brock School of Business Where will your entrepreneurial journey take you?

Drew Hall New Venture Challenge Finalist B.S.B.A., entrepreneurship/marketing ’13 Social Media Director Warby Parker, New York City

Samford’s Brock School of Business entrepreneurship program prepares students capable of addressing the profound challenges facing today’s society through opportunities such as • Entrepreneurship coursework beginning freshman year

Lauren Bates New Venture Challenge Finalist Bulldog Investment Fund President B.S.B.A., economics/finance, ’13 Research Associate, Highland Associates

• Regions New Venture Challenge $20,000 annual business plan competition

Candace Sandusky New Venture Challenge Finalist, B.S.B.A. entrepreneurship/management ’10 Senior Account Representative Siemens Inc, Atlanta

• Multiple entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship internships • Brock School of Business student business incubator residency

Eli Martorana

Basham Johnson M.B.A. ’12, Alabama Launchpad Competition Finalist Founder and President, ALTEG Systems

Brent Fielder B.S.B.A. management/ social entrepreneurship ’08 Associate Director, WinShape Foundation, 2008–13 Owner/Operator Chick-Fil-A Greystone

Learn more at samford.edu/business

B.S.B.A. management ’07, M.B.A. ’10 Co-owner, Iron Tribe Nashville, 2010–15 Missionary Village Church Belfast, Northern Ireland

Crystal Ball As business people we all know that one of the most difficult undertakings in any business is the tricky task of forecasting. Where are we going to be next year or five years from now?

What will our revenue be? What should we plan for on the expense side?

In this issue of BHM BIZ, we took the disJoe O’Donnell cipline of trying to forecast the future and applied it to Birmingham’s business community.

Our special feature this month is called 20 for the Next 20. Through a nomination process as well as some editorial vetting, we have come up with a list of 20 individuals in different businesses and industries who are poised to lead the metro business community in the decades to come.

As with any list, there are people who might have been included who were not. This is a snapshot in time, and our attempt to capture in mid-flight men and women who are shaping the economic future of our region.

Elsewhere this month, we took a trip down to Alexander City to bring the story of Robinson Iron to life. This company restores and creates cast iron structures like fountains and gates all over the world and close to home. They were the company behind the restoration of Vulcan on top of Red Mountain.

A product a bit more portable, but no less beautiful, is the focus of Tech Candy, the company run by April Mraz and Cherie Stine. They are riding the crest of the tech wearable boom. “Wearable tech is so up and coming,” Mraz says. “We set out to make something that looks like a piece of jewelry and not like a piece of tech made to look like a piece of jewelry.”

The beauty of the golf courses of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail also graces our pages this issue. The trail is a quarter century old, a brilliant idea blossoming into a well-maintained, and consistently upgraded maturity by Sunbelt Golf and the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

At the other end of the longevity spectrum, Jen Barnett brings us the story of Nourish, a start-up meal delivery service founded by Mary Drennen and Tiffany Vickers Davis and capitalizing on the market demand for healthy, convenient meals delivered to the home.

One of the goals of BHM BIZ is to bring our readers a wide variety of people-based business stories that capture the vibrancy of our market. I hope you enjoy this issue of BIZ.

Joe O’Donnell Editor/Publisher

money quotes

“

“There is no substitute for keeping your finger on the pulse of your target audience. Know how old they are. Know when they are migrating to different products, addressing different needs, going through the inevitable life changes we all experience. And then act accordingly.”

Page 18

“We are a family. We are selective about who works with us. Everyone is involved in our lives.”

Page 40

“People are increasingly reliant on the convenience of home delivery for most products. The food tech space is no different and growing rapidly. Birmingham is home! This city and the South in general has a great food story to tell. We hope we will be a big part of that narrative for the future.”

Page 44

“We are here to grow the opportunities for all residents of the state whether they play golf or not.

My greatest pride in the trail is that we continue to do that on a daily basis.”

Page 58

“We are in a pretty tight niche in what we do. There’s no way that you could go overseas or to Mexico or China and get the kind of work we do because it’s so custom and detail-oriented because it’s a niche operation. There are probably only two to three other viable competitors.”

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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

AlabamaNewsCenter.com

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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

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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

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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

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OCT/NOV

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.”

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ALABAMA MAKERS

Maker Four Oak Designs swings are made for sleeping.

By Tommy Black

“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

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13

viewpoint

Future Space

San Francisco companies’ belief in collaborative space echoes in Birmingham.

By Anita Turner

Airbnb San Francisco Living Room

In an effort to understand what the future of office space in Birmingham might look like, I recently took a whirlwind trip to San Francisco, the epicenter of the technology culture. My trip included visits to Yelp, GitHub, Ripple, Wired, Pandora, Airbnb, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. While each space had a very different look, some distinct themes emerged.

The first thing I noticed was an absolute lack of private offices. Other than Wired, which had only six, I didn’t see a single office or even a private cubicle. Everyone sits at bench seating, some configured in honeycombs and some in straight lines. The message is clear: Collaboration is king and hierarchies are dead.

Locally, BBVA Compass, Daxko, and SCA are embracing this approach.

BBVA Compass has installed extensive bench seating in all of its Birmingham buildings. Private offices are being eliminated as spaces get refurbished, a move that is very reflective of the European influence of BBVA’s Spanish parent company.

When SCA relocated to the Brookwood office building last year, 14 BHM BIZ

While San Francisco tech companies all embrace the open plan, they acknowledge the need for quiet work areas or confidential meeting spaces. GitHub began as a company with employees writing code in bars, coffee shops, and home offices.

Daxko Team Area In an effort to be true to Photo by Liesa Cole that culture, they designed Birmingham Surgical Care Associates their space to provide a variety of environments to accommodate different personal work styles. Their space features several bars, a library, a “speakeasy” accessed through a hidden door in the library, coder caves and some simpler conference rooms.

Airbnb translated their most popular listings around the globe into meeting rooms and communal spaces. There it worked with Williams Blackstock are tents, Japanese tea rooms, Parisian Architects to eliminate all exterior kitchens, San Francisco living rooms, offices, instead moving private offices and even an Airstream trailer. to the interior of the space so that all The entrance to Wired’s space of the new low-rise cubicles could features a large open area with huge enjoy natural light. Further, most of reconfigurable sectionals as well as the interior offices are glass-walled and conference rooms with glass walls that unassigned so that they may be used as can collapse when the magazine hosts quiet spaces when tasks necessitate it.

Daxko’s Homewood offices are large events. Their library is a sacred completely open as well. Even the “quiet zone” where all know that noise C-Suite sits at bench-style seating. is not welcome. The beanbag room, on This is reflective of the culture of the other hand, features a video game communication and approachability of console and is rarely quiet.

Pinterest has large open spaces with which Daxko is a proponent. comfy sectionals as well as conference For all of these companies, saving rooms with curtains. They even have space (and reducing rent overhead) was a Quiet Room with bunk beds for not the primary goal (although most napping! occupy to a density of six employees per Many of the San Francisco 1,000 square feet). Rather, they wanted companies with completely open plans to encourage teamwork, and have the have installed “phone booths” for their flexibility to grow and reorganize as employees to have quiet and/or private teams and projects change. conversations. Locally, the Lloyd Gray

OCT/NOV

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©2016 EHA - 001928

HARBERT. HARBERT. WHERE BUSINESS WHERE BUSINESSHAPPENS. HAPPENS.

www.harbert.auburn.edu • (334) 844-4835 • 405 W Magnolia Ave. • Auburn, AL 36849

©2016 EHA - 001928

©2016 EHA - 001928

w w w. h a r b e r t . a u b u r n . e d u • ( 3 3 4 ) 8 4 4 - 4 8 3 5 • 4 0 5 W M a g n o l i a Av e . • A u b u r n , A L 3 6 8 4 9 w w w. h a r b e r t . a u b u r n . e d u • ( 3 3 4 ) 8 4 4 - 4 8 3 5 • 4 0 5 W M a g n o l i a Av e . • A u b u r n , A L 3 6 8 4 9

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& compatibility with

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Whitehead & Monroe law firm recently relocated to 880 Montclair Road. In doing so, they embraced an open bullpen area for their entire support staff but built phone booths for these employees’ use.

We all know that fresh air and light make us happier and healthier, and this knowledge is evident in the tech offices I toured. GitHub’s LEED Gold Certified workspace boasts a roof deck with WiFi that was filled with GitHubbers the day I visited. LinkedIn and Ripple’s spaces also feature roof decks where employees are encouraged to work or meet at any time.

Airbnb’s space features a living green wall in its fivestory lobby with panels of plants grown vertically on the wall. Birmingham’s Business Interiors also has a living wall feature.

Roof decks are starting to catch on in Birmingham as well. Telegraph Creative and Lewis Communications’ employees all have the option of working on their roofs.

By the end of my visit, the basics of the different spaces started to blend together. However, each space did an excellent job of leaving me with a unique feel for the company’s culture.

For example, Pinterest’s space was crafty and whimsical, again reflective of its business. Many of the walls throughout the space were plywood with the intention that they be decorated over time through makea-thons where employees “hack” the space to a look of their choosing.

Locally, Strong Automotive, which provides advertising and digital media services to the automotive industry, has built very high-energy (through use of their signature bright green color everywhere) and creative space for its staff to thrive in. Similarly, Daxko has built quirky conference and team rooms with themes like Left Brain and Right Brain, “A House Divided” where the turf-floored room is split down the middle between Auburn and Alabama colors, and the Stork Room for nursing mothers.

While many of the innovations in office space seen on my trip will not be embraced in Birmingham for some time, the San Francisco spaces provide ideas for smaller scale innovation anywhere. For instance, creativity and teamwork can be advanced through a focus on culture, an increase in collaboration space, and an abandonment of high-walled cubes. Although the culture may be different in San Francisco and office space more expensive, businesses everywhere are trying to encourage Commercial real collaboration, reduce their real estate estate executive footprints, become attractive to Anita Turner is senior director/ millennial workers, and inspire their Alabama for Colliers existing employees.  International.

on brand

Yo-Yo Brands

What we can learn from brand resurgence.

By Dan Monroe Dan Monroe is

Pop quiz: What do the following brands have in common—Adidas, Birkenstock, Old Spice, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Levi’s, Marvel Comics, and Lincoln? Answer: They’re all relatively old (some of them very old), and they’ve all experienced a recent resurgence in popularity. Bonus question: Which two of these are not like the others? We’ll get to that later. But first, let’s talk about brand resurgence.

Brands come and go, some more than others. Take Birkenstocks for instance.

Believe it or not, the Birkenstock brand traces its heritage to 1774, when Johann Adam Birkenstock was registered as a “vassal and shoemaker” in the church archives of a Hessian village. The iconic shoes with their contoured cork soles (our frame of reference for this brand), however, first arrived in 1964 as an orthopedic sandal. Since that time, the Birkenstock brand has waxed and waned in popularity on an almost predictable 10-year cycle. A yo-yo brand, its most recent revival can be traced to the debut of Celine’s 2013 Spring Ready-to-Wear collection.

Levi’s is another prime example. In the ’60s and ’70s, Levi’s were the only jeans. Those of us who harken to those times wore the Levi’s bell bottoms until the hems came out and they dragged behind our feet, tattered testaments to our love for our faded, careworn 18 BHM BIZ

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threads. But, in the early 2000s, the 163-year-old brand fell out of favor, with sales plummeting from a high of $7.1 to $4.2 billion. So, what brought it back? First, they solidified their classic 501 jean, their “core,” introducing a thinlegged tapered version—the “501 CT” (custom and tapered). Additionally, they expanded the brand to include other garments that bespoke a lifestyle that was hip, down-to-earth, and just on the edge of working-class—a brand profile that greatly appealed to a wholly new Millennial audience.

Maybe the best example of all is Old Spice. Now, here’s an aftershave that was used by the grandfathers of those of us who walked on the bottoms of our Levi’s. But look at what this brand has done in terms of appealing to a much hipper, younger audience. Leveraging grassroots marketing that focused on the deodorant sector, and employing the significant advertising talents of Wieden & Kennedy, Old Spice flipped from a tired aftershave brand that still collects dust on its ivory bottles in medicine chests of old men around the country, to a brand that competes strongly for the young, single-man market.

You can see this story repeated over and over. Lincoln has targeted a younger, quieter, affluent market with its brand.

Marvel took its brand to the big screen, capturing an entire generation of people who have no interest whatsoever in reading comic books. Adidas mixed sportswear with fashion to attract a young audience for whom the Adidas brand was barely a blip on the radar.

and creative And there’s Pabst principal director of copywriting Blue Ribbon, now at Cayenne Creative. the go-to beer for a large sector of millennial beer drinkers.

And all of these brands are currently in ascendance.

Which brings me to the question I left hanging at the beginning of the article. Which two brands are the outliers? Answer: PBR and Birkenstock. Both brands have enjoyed their popularity because of organic change that was not instigated by the themselves. PBR is a protest brand—a brand that a slice of Millennials drink in protest against the hipster fervor around craft beers. It attracted a new audience because of its low price point and the unpretentious, working-class patina of the brand. Birkenstock, on the other hand, may be one of the only autonomous yo-yo brands out there.

People just keep coming back to it, but the evident reasons for its periodic rise and fall are myriad and murky.

But what can we learn from other brands? They paid dear attention to their audiences. They saw their target market aging out. The saw their numbers dwindling. Then they did the work to make their brands relevant to a new audience. In fact, in the case of Old Spice, Proctor & Gamble decided deliberately to skip a generation and focus on an audience that was virtually unaware of the brand’s history.

So what can your business learn from this? There is no substitute for keeping your finger on the pulse of your target audience. Know how old they are. Know when they are migrating to different products, addressing different needs, going through the inevitable life changes we all experience. And then act accordingly. Change isn’t just healthy when it comes to outlasting your audience; it’s absolutely vital. 

tech

8 Fireproof Tips for Avoiding Business Burnout Long-term strategies that work.

By Chelsea Berler

Stress. Non-stop decisions. Deadline after deadline. Demanding clients.

Never-ending responsibilities. Burning the midnight oil staring at the haunting glow of a computer screen night after night. Do these sound familiar?

If you’re an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or someone working with these people, the unfortunate answer is probably an emphatic “Yes!” The consequences of burning the candle at both ends could be repeated, uncontrollable bouts of burnout.

I have firsthand experience with the crazy life of a start-up. While it often is very rewarding and satisfying taking care of clients, I learned that it’s vital to take care of myself as well.

Burnout is a combination of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that builds up over time and is harder to bounce back from than simple tiredness.

You can’t cure burnout with a cup of coffee, but you can cure it over time if you’re willing to slow down just a little and do some thinking in advance about how you work and what your body and brain need.

Over the years, I’ve explored the best strategies for coping with, treating, and preventing burnout. Here are eight 20 BHM BIZ

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of my favorites to help you create your own escape plan: 1. Stay social.

Many of us also work from h o m e , especially as the virtual o f f i c e becomes more popular. While the benefits of this setup are obvious, one of the major pitfalls is the loss of interpersonal relationships. Though the innocuous water cooler chat office workers engage in may not seem like such a big loss, it’s exactly those random discussions that lead to the feeling of community not found from working at home.

One thing you can do to avoid this isolation is to regularly take your work to a public place like a coffeehouse where you can rub elbows with other folks. Even if it’s just a nod and smile, it can make you feel connected to a world that exists outside your own domain.

2. Stay healthy.

Your body is a complex machine, and it functions more smoothly if you keep it well maintained. Don’t get up, gulp down a cup of coffee down, and expect to be doing very well once you get a few hours into the day. Give your body the fuel it needs to perform, and you’ll find you are much more able to respond to anything the workday can throw at you.

Don’t allow yourself to work for marathon sessions without giving yourself small breaks. Get up, walk

around, go outside, and let the sun shine on your face. Make sure to break up larger projects into chunks and then give yourself a break between them. Be sure to also get enough sleep in a techfree environment.

3. Stay organized.

When the work is coming in fast and furious, it can be easy to just focus in on the things directly in front of your face that need handling immediately. But the discombobulated mess you’ll become after working this way for any length of time is a surefire recipe for burnout.

Instead, give yourself time before you dive in to get ready.

Sure, this prep time should include an overview of what you need to accomplish for the day, but it should also include a morning routine that is all about you. Once you establish a routine, it’ll be easy to make sure you get a little me time before work begins.

I’m able to be successful at this by time blocking my calendar every week.

I block a chunk of time first thing in the morning to catch up, organize, and get my thoughts together, and I do the same thing in the later afternoon in preparation for the next day.

4. Stay positive.

Whenever you feel mired in negative emotions, create a little distance. Step away from your desk, focus on your breath, and feel the negative thoughts dissipate. Even if they don’t, you’ll feel a lot better.

I know this sounds a little fluffy, but any good leader knows you just have to not get tied up in the emotional part of what’s in front of you because you may say or do something that you’ll regret.

When I find my blood pressure rising, I say some choice words in my head and then I get over it by taking a break.

This has saved me time and time again.

Before you think it’s a little fluffy to take a minute for a breathing exercise (or take all night), I promise you’ll thank me later!

5. Start saying “no.”

Every “yes” you say adds another thing on your plate and takes more energy away from you and your creativity. Cut back on the immediate commitments, and put some things on the back burner. Answer emails only at set times. Work specific hours (not 24/7/365). Switch your phone off occasionally. The world won’t end, I promise!

My mentor told me once that by saying, “yes” to something, you’re saying “no” to something else. Saying “no” more often will make room for the right kind of “yeses” you want in your life.

6. Be you own biggest fan.

Write yourself a note with positive affirmations and be sure you’re constantly patting yourself on the

back for your accomplishments. Yes, this is another fluffy thing, you might be thinking, but Seth Godin, author, entrepreneur, marketer, and public speaker, recommends using self-fan mail as a way to keep motivated instead of burning out on a project that seems far from completion. I happen to think he’s right too. The reality is you have to recognize all the great you’ve done in order to continue doing great things in your life and your business.

7. Set realistic expectations.

When you go too long without seeing any measurable results, you’ll only see frustration, disappointment, and fatigue. Instead, break big projects, goals, hopes, tasks, and the like into smaller chunks. Then, you’ll see those chunks periodically completed, and your hard work will feel worth all the effort. You’ll be doing more high fives in your office, I promise.

8. Take real time off.

This is the most powerful way to

avoid burnout, and the one most of us miss. Because you’re so passionate about your work and committed to your goals, you get sucked into a culture that Chelsea Berler is forces you to work an entrepreneur, author, and too many hours a day coach, motivational speaker based in Birmingham, and too many days a where she owns and week, so make sure operates Solamar, you take vacations a boutique marketing agency. and get away.

This is my number one struggle, but I try. And I think that’s all that matters. I personally don’t think I could step away from my business for a couple weeks, but maybe that’s just fear talking.

All in all, to avoid burnout and stay happy and productive, the best suggestion is to love what you do, put your work into perspective, and be flexible. Every now and then, relax, kick back, and live your life! Can I get an “amen”? 

MAKE THE WINNING PLAY You can earn an online graduate degree from any institution, but when you choose The University of Alabama, you’re choosing a degree program that sets you up for success. You’re choosing to earn a degree from one of the top universities in the country. You’re choosing to belong to a worldwide community of people who do more than graduate – they lead.

Visit BamaByDistance.ua.edu/uabusiness to learn more about earning your graduate business degree online.

ONLINE LEARNING www.BHMBIZ.com

21

City Paper’s BHM BIZ

TOP 10 CORPORATE HOLIDAY GIFTS

Each year, it seems to happen sooner and sooner. We blink, and all of a sudden, the holidays are just around the corner.

Didn’t we just toast to a Happy New Year? In 2015, you promised yourself you would put more thought into this year’s gift giving and certainly not put it off for last minute. And yet, here the holidays come again and now we’ve likely got you wondering what you will give as holiday gifts to your boss, your clients, coworkers and possibly even your friends and family.

Not to worry, City Paper has chosen 10 of our favorite products, (some new, some tried and true) that fit every personality you may run across on this year’s holiday gift list. And if you don’t see something here for the boss who already has everything or the client who deserves the very best, we can find the gifts that make sense for them too.

1.

2.

BULLWARE MIXOLOGY SET: For the Aspiring Mixologist Shake up happy hour with this five-piece mixology set that includes glass mixing beaker, strainer, jigger, and mixing spoon all packaged in a convenient storage tin.

24 pieces / $24.00

6.

SMART TAG DUO: For the Person Who Loses Everything Never let the ones around you lose their minds because they lost their keys ever again. With the click of a button, this smart tag will help them find their lost phone, tablet or keys.

Download the app and you’re good to go.

100 pieces / $15.00

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7.

UNDER ARMOUR CLUBHOUSE POLO: For the Trendy Business Casual Professional (and/or Aspiring Golfer).

Everyone knows the South stays hot roughly nine months out of the year. Keep cool and look great while wearing only the best. This polo features a 4-way stretch fabrication, moisture wicking and anti-odor technology, as well as 0+ UPF - protecting you from the sun’s harmful rays.

36 pieces / $50.00

DANCING DEER’S CLASSIC HOLIDAY BROWNIE & COOKIE GIFT SET: For the Office that Loves Sweets and Doesn’t Mind Sharing You will be a crowd pleaser with this decadent tower of treats that truly has something for everyone. Includes: 4 delicious “America’s Best” Chocolate Chunk brownies, 4 luscious Caramel Sea Salt squares, 8 award-winning Molasses Clove cookies, and 8 heavenly Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies.

10 pieces / $42.00

OCT/NOV

(205) 328-2626 • 1-800-621-9989 •

8.

PREMIUM STRIPE GAME DAY CHAIR: For the Tailgater Who Loves to Support a Good Cause Who knew tailgating could also give back to those who need it? With each purchase of this folding game day chair, a portion of your order will be donated directly to the Wounded Warrior Project to support our veterans. Game on.

24 pieces / $23.00

citypapercompany.com

3.

4.

BASECAMP TITANIUM POWER TECH BACKPACK:For the Ultimate Techy Traveler Perfect for the executive traveler who needs constant accessibility to the office and his or her team. This technology-infused compu-backpack includes a power bank and an extra-long cord – perfect for charging your phone or tablet on the go. Fits most 15’’ laptops and has a dedicated computer pocket.

12 pieces / $88.00

750 ML DEEP ETCHED CHAMPAGNE: For the Customers Who Made 2016 a Great Year Grab the champagne flutes and cheers to 2016 with some bubbly. Includes a custom deep etch and color fill decoration to make your message truly pop.

12 pieces / $36.00

5.

9.

26 OZ. H2GO FORCE: For the One Always Hanging Out by the Water Cooler Make everyone at the water cooler jealous with this sleek and trendy stainless steel thermal water bottle.

Keeps hot liquids 12 hours, cold liquids 24 hours 144 pieces / $12.00

AURABOX: For the Music Loving Office DJ Every office has one. We pray for you that your office DJ plays tunes to your liking. The AuraBox isn’t just a Bluetooth speaker. It’s an all-in-one desktop information system that also includes a thermometer, a smart alarm clock, digital creative pallet and an LED Lamp – all run by an app on your phone. Turn the office meeting into an office party.

10 pieces / $54.00

10.

EDDIE BAUER® FULL-ZIP HEATHER STRETCH FLEECE JACKET: For the Employees Who Are Always Cold How many times a day do you hear, “It’s cold in here?” Problem solved in the most fashionable way with this Eddie Bauer Fleece Jacket. This jacket is sophisticated, yet comfortable. Includes: black side panels, a full zip and two front zippered pockets.

36 pieces / $45.00

www.BHMBIZ.com

23

10 things

ABOUT MCWANE, INC.

FAMILY TIES

McWane, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest privately owned companies. It’s been owned and operated by five generations of the McWane family for 95 years.

ECO-FRIENDLY

McWane is the nation’s leading manufacturer of ductile iron pipe used in water infrastructure around the country and the world. Its ductile iron pipes are made of 95 percent recycled material and are 100 percent recyclable.

INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE

It has grown from one foundry in 1921 to more than 35 locations in 11 countries.

COOKING WITH GAS

The company also produces valves and hydrants that help put out fires, propane tanks that hold gas that heats homes or cooks a steak on the grill, and fittings and couplings. Additionally, it makes fire extinguishers and environmentally friendly foam that help fight fires at homes, businesses, and airports, and it recently expanded into the technology sector and the Internet of Things.

SCIENTIFICALLY SPEAKING

In the late 1990s then-Chairman James R. McWane was a leading contributor for what became the McWane Science Center. Today McWane, Inc. continues to be one of its biggest supporters.

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CASTING CALL

One of founder James Ransom McWane’s earliest commissions was the casting of Moretti’s statue of Vulcan for exhibition at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Nearly 100 years later, McWane led the way in financing the restoration of Vulcan to return the Birmingham icon to its original glory atop Red Mountain.

Darryl Vest / Shutterstock.com

SAFE KEEPING

As of 2016, McWane has had six sites qualify for OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program, which recognizes exemplary health and safety programs.

Less than 1 percent of all work sites in the U.S. qualify, and no other company in the waterworks foundry industry has a plant in the program.

FIRE TO FRYING PAN

The company’s AB&I facility in Oakland, California, partners with local law enforcement to melt and transform confiscated guns into cast iron skillets that are distributed to local residents.

GREENSPACE

1

McWane built Greenwood Park located off Tallapoosa Street near the Birmingham airport.

FOR THE KIDS

In 2009, the McWane Foundation donated $5 million to Alabama’s Children’s Hospital to build a new LEED-certified hospital.

www.BHMBIZ.com

25

Coffee

With...

Jeff Rodgers and Tom Cosby [ALABAMA AGC]

[BIRMINGHAM LANDMARKS]

We met up at a sidewalk table at Red Cat in Pepper Place for this issue’s conversation.

After a 35-year career with the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and its successor organization, the Birmingham Business Alliance, Tom Cosby took on a new challenge in 2013 to restore the vaudeville-era Lyric Theatre to its former place as the premier live performance theater in the city.

More than $7 million was raised in a mere nine months under the auspices of Birmingham Landmarks, Inc. (owner of both The Alabama and The Lyric) to restore the theatre to its 1920s-era grandeur. The Lyric offers a wider stage and closer audience—best suited for performing arts such as concerts, the symphony, ballet, opera, and theatre. A restored Lyric Theatre, once the finest performing arts theatre in the city, has become that once again with top-name artists coming to town to perform in the old Vaudeville house.

For Cosby, the effort to restore The Lyric was in many ways a culmination of a life’s work of pulling out all the stops for Birmingham. From bringing back Rickwood Field, the nation’s oldest ballpark, to Vulcan’s restoration to extending the official Appalachian Trail to near Birmingham, Cosby has been the fundraising guru behind all of these efforts, operating with the sure belief that this city deserves the best.

Jeff Rodgers is president of AGC Alabama Construction Industry Services, Inc., which manages CompTRUST AGC, the self-insured

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workers compensation program for the members of the Alabama Associated General Contractors.

Founded in 1982, CompTRUST AGC has assets in excess of $80 million and carries a rating with A.M. Best.

Designed by contractors for contractors, CompTRUST AGC provides its fund members with financial strength as well as the resources needed to manage their risk while positively impacting their bottom line.

What is your biggest opportunity?

Rodgers: I think the biggest opportunity for CompTRUST is to develop other lines of products and services that manage our members’ risk and ultimately impact our members’ bottom line by making our contractors more profitable and competitive.

Cosby: For 25 years, I’ve been involved with the dream of bringing the world famous Appalachian Trail to Alabama.

Perhaps our time has finally come.

There is now an active Alabama Trails Commission that has prioritized Alabama’s famed Pinhoti Trail as the No. 1 trail in Alabama along with the goal of connecting to the Appalachian Trail with Flagg Mountain, just outside Sylacauga.

There is growing support now for Flagg Mountain to be designated as the Appalachians’ southernmost mountain and therefore rightful gateway to the

Appalachian Trail. My job will be to raise money to build National Park worthy trail signs, bridges, and shelters all along the Pinhoti.

What’s your biggest challenge?

Rodgers: The biggest challenge we face is the evolving workforce. The construction industry is challenged with an aging workforce. AGC and many of its members are investing a lot of time and money in attracting new employees to the industry. Our focus should be on training this new workforce to work in a professional, safe, and efficient manner.

Cosby: As a professional fundraiser, I can tell you that there is no end to great pro-Birmingham projects that desperately need volunteer fundraisers to step up and help out.

Personally, my biggest challenge is not to commit to too many projects. In my one non-volunteer “real” fundraising job with Birmingham Landmarks, they are presently counting on me raising the necessary $503,000 needed to replace the Alabama Theatre’s 1953 air conditioning system.

Meanwhile, I’m highly involved with Rickwood Field and the Veterans Day Parade and nibbling at the edges of many other wonderful fundraising projects like the exciting (and critically important) return of UAB football and the Sidewalk Moving Picture festival project to build an arthouse cinema in downtown Birmingham.  Photo by Beau Gustafson

Jeff Rodgers and Tom Cosby at The Red Cat at Pepper Place. www.BHMBIZ.com

27

frequent flyer

Brian Hilson

President and CEO // Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) Brian Hilson is president and CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA), which is responsible for programs designed to grow and diversify the Birmingham regional economy and enhance the quality of life for all citizens, including economic development, public policy, workforce development, and image enhancement.

These days being at the helm of the BBA definitely feels like there is a tailwind behind you. As Hilson travels on the national scene, he can feel the momentum building behind the region. “We know that a relatively high percentage of companies located in the metro area are either stable or have plans for expansion,” Hilson says. “Attached to that, we have had, in the last five years, 382 economic development projects underway, and counting. Collectively those have represented over 15,000 jobs and about $3.1 billion in capital investment.

Those are record number for the Birmingham region.

“The numbers are trending better and better. We have statistical evidence in many ways of Birmingham’s improved performance relative to our past and relative to our competition.

If you look at the whole of that, you can express it in terms of improved image, self perception, and momentum.”

A lot of people are noticing the momentum. “When we started tracking our accolades, we had only four in the year 2011,” Hilson says. “Since then, we have had more than 130 over the last five years including 35 this year alone, a record number by far. All of those are welcome and useful from an image building standpoint.

“A lot of people are slow to admit and accept that the community has definitely turned a corner, is competing more aggressively, and is being perceived more favorably. So they might not fully accept the pattern that we are into right now until they read it in the Wall Street Journal or New York Times.

Then it comes back home and reinforces it.”

Hilson spends a lot of time on extrernal marketing to location consultants, asking them often about what they know and think about Birmingham. Its a practice he started on his second day with the BBA in 2011. “I have seen a distinct improvement in awareness and positive perception, and not just in a general ways, but in specifics,” he says. “They are aware of increased research activity at UAB, for example, and what that consists of, and that Birmingham is stepping on to a better playing field. It all goes back to momentum.”

Hilson began his career in economic development in Alabama in 1980. Prior to his joining the BBA in 2011, he was president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County. He joined the chamber in 1992 as senior vice president of economic development and was named its president in 1997. Previously, he was a vice president of 28 BHM BIZ

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the Birmingham Metropolitan Development Board and has held economic development positions with the Birmingham and Mobile Chambers of Commerce. Over the years he has worked with a wide variety of national and international companies’ economic development projects, such as Toyota, LG Electronics, Sterilite Corp., UPS, Delta Air Lines, Verizon, and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.

A native of Huntsville, Hilson is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute. He is a graduate of Leadership Alabama, Leadership Birmingham, and Leadership Huntsville/Madison County, and is active in state and national economic development organizations. He is past president of the Economic Development Association of Alabama, the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, and the Japan-America Society of Alabama. He is a recipient of the Rainer Bauer Award from the Alabama Germany Partnership and the Samuel Ullman Award from the Japan-America Society of Alabama.

He currently serves on boards of directors or advisory boards of several additional state and local organizations, including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Business Council of Alabama. Having spent his entire career in the economic development profession, Hilson is a strong believer that employment opportunities are the best way to make communities better.

Written by Joe O’Donnell Photo by Beau Gustafson

We’ve got great things in store for you.

At its heart, travel is about one thing: getting from here to there. But at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, our heart is in ensuring that your experience here is the best it can possibly be.

That’s why our newly modernized terminal is home to passenger favorites like the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Store and Museum and the Ebony Newsstand. Because while you may be focused on your destination, we’re making sure you enjoy the journey.

FLYBIRMINGHAM.COM www.BHMBIZ.com

29

rocket pitch

G.T. LaBorde

G.T. LaBorde is a “serial entrepreneur” who is currently the CEO of IllumiCare.

He has founded or been the CEO of five early stage technology companies. He was a co-founder of Birmingham-based MedMined, which grew from a one-room office to a more than $100 million acquisition by Cardinal Health in 2006. LaBorde has been an investor and mentor in several other successful healthcare companies: MEDSEEK (acquired by Silver Lake), Accelarad (acquired by Nuance), BrightWhistle (acquired by Influence Health), and Hygia Health Service (where LaBorde is on the board). He also served as CEO of Birmingham-based Malcovery Security, a cyber security company, and led its 2015 acquisition by PhishMe, Inc. He is originally from New Orleans, and obtained a law degree from LSU.

CEO of IllumiCare

Photo by Billy Brown

Business Model: With patients’ higher deductibles and strained healthcare finances, doctors are being told to provide “value-based care.”

However, no one tells them what things cost. IllumiCare empowers physicians with real-time, patient-specific costs in financial and human terms, so that they can make better treatment decisions. Our customers are health systems that make this information available to the physicians who practice there.

Opportunity in the Market: Some patients have complications when they are on too many medicines. Radiology tests increase lifetime cancer risk.

Too many lab tests in the hospital can lead to anemia. As a

patient you want just the healthcare you really need and no more. Displaying these patient-specific risks, along with the financial costs, allows physicians to make more appropriate treatment decisions—reducing patient risk and unnecessary expenditures.

Where the Business is Going: The technology we’ve invented to display costs in context with a patient’s electronic medical record also serves as a platform to display other patient-specific information that can assist physicians, such as predicted risks and gene/drug interactions. We want to give health systems the flexibility to decide what useful information to show in what circumstances, without being limited to the electronic medical record.

WHAT IS A ROCKET PITCH?

Simply put, it’s you getting across the purpose of your business and doing it in just three minutes. Also known as “the elevator speech,” your rocket pitch should focus on three main points—the opportunity, market, and business model of your company—that convey the key reasons why a potential client should want to know more about what you do.

Do you have an innovative rocket pitch?

Send it to joe@bhmbiz.com to be considered for future issues of BHM BIZ. 30 BHM BIZ

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planning

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Let our team of professionals help you craft an estate, financial and investment strategy to meet your goals and to help you grow, protect and transfer wealth to the next generation.

W EALTH A DVISORS A DIVISION OF IBERIABANK

2340 Woodcrest Place / Birmingham, AL / (205) 803-5879 / www.iberiabank.com *Account size minimums may apply.

Investment products offered by IBERIA Wealth Advisors, a Division of IBERIABANK. Investment Products: Not FDIC Insured • Not a Bank Deposit • Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency • Not Bank Guaranteed • May Lose Value.

by the numbers

Downtown Development

529 27 MILLION $

LARGE PROJECTS CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT

APPROXIMATE TOTAL PROJECT COST/INVESTMENT FOR THESE

LARGE PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT

2O

LARGE PROJECTS COMPLETED IN 2015 AND 2016

5,796 EXISTING HOUSING UNITS Source: Ben Wieseman, REV Birmingham Director of Catalytic Development

1BILLION

$

APPROXIMATE INVESTMENT IN DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM PROJECTS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR COMPLETED IN THE LAST TWO YEARS

56% INCREASE IN THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM’S YOUNG PROFESSIONAL POPULATION (AGE 25 TO 34 YEARS OLD WITH AT LEAST A BACHELOR’S DEGREE) BETWEEN 2010 AND 2015 (CITY NOT METRO, INDICATIVE OF DOWNTOWN AND SURROUNDING AREAS’ YP GROWTH)

Source: Birmingham Business Alliance

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CASH MACHINES OPPORTUNITY Initiative

Insights

These aren’t simply warehouse doors. These are portals to commercial profit. At Colliers we regard real estate for its economic potential, not simply its location, size or condition. With seasoned experts, critical analysis and industry-leading research, Colliers helps clients make better business decisions regarding lease, purchase, investment and finance. At Colliers, we don’t see real estate merely as places, but instead an opportunity to realize greater business potential. colliers.com/alabama

product placement

Fashion Meets Function

Tech Candy designs iPhone cases and accessories for a niche user.

By Madoline Markham April Mraz and Cherie Stine don’t think fashion and tech have to be mutually exclusive. It was their desire to combine style and function for iPhone cases that led them to start Tech Candy in 2009, and their products’ aesthetic continues to be a distinguishing factor in the market. The user they design for is decidedly female.

“We keep our finger on the pulse on tech and gift and fashion worlds,” Mraz says. “All three are essential to the product development process.”

Their design inspirations come straight from New York Fashion Week and Pantone colors of the year. From what they

see on the runway and textile design, they distill trend information into the basis for a handful of patterns. They then test the patterns in the marketplace to see how they resonate with the consumer before moving into production.

Since releasing their first case designs, they have focused on iPhone and dropped iPad products, and as the iPhone case market became more saturated, they diversified their offerings, adding lines of accessories with approaches unique to Tech Candy.

When it came to designing the Dry Spell, one of their best-selling products, they took a product that was already in

Dry Spell Water Defender Bags protect phones and tablets from water, snow, sand, and sticky fingers. Plus, the bag floats. Locks secure the device inside the protective cover, and a clear window allows you to still text or take photos.

Tech Candy Cases are designed to be “grippy, not slippy,” offering strength and protection along with style. The cases also provide clear access to all ports, buttons, and functions. This Love Bird Case Set features a silicone inner wrap paired with an outer shell in a coordinating color.

For more information about McSweeney Designs, go to mcsweeneydesigns.com.

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the marketplace, a waterproof case, and added a pocket of air around it so that the case would float too. The case has applications for skiing and water sports in addition to the usual lake and beach use. “We have been amazed by the sales for this product,” Mraz says.

Speaking of accessories, Tech Candy’s ear bud necklaces marry jewelry and tech with a set of semi-precious gemstones in a design that Mraz says she hasn’t seen anything like.

“Wearable tech is so up and coming,” she says. “We set out to make something that looks like a piece of jewelry and not like a piece of tech made to look like a piece of jewelry.”

All the designs are created in Tech Candy’s home office in Mt Laurel, where Mraz, Oliver, and a few other staff members are based. They originally fulfilled all of their orders out of

their small warehouse in Birmingham, but as they grew, they outsourced production to Indianapolis. More than 50 sales representatives around the country are “out pounding the pavement” to get their products in the hands of women who want well-designed accessories for their phones.

“We are unique in the tech accessory world because we come from a gift background,” Mraz says. “We are high trend, not just high tech.” Accordingly, the company primarily sells its products to gift stores for retail sales. You can find them locally at Snoozy’s, as well as at national stores like Nordstrom Rack and Books-A-Million, another Birmingham-based store.

To learn more or shop, visit techcandycases.com

Dynamic Duo MFi Certified USB Cables enable you to both sync and charge your phone at the same time. With a length of 6 feet, they can reach hardto-access outlets behind your bed or under a side table, and they’re available in your choice of colors.

Earbud Necklaces are just that: a strand of gemstone beads that double as earbuds. An in-line mic allows you to take calls from your phone without removing your headphones, and to play audio without touching your phone.

www.BHMBIZ.com

35

cool spaces

WORK

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LIVE An architecture firm’s industrial space gives view to local landmarks.

Written by Madoline MarkhamPhotography by Edward Badham Tammy Cohen and Richard Carnaggio wanted a space where they could both work and live, and that’s what they created in the railroad yard on 1st Avenue South just west of Red Mountain Expressway.

After outgrowing the office space they had used for their architecture firm’s first 10 years, they came across the property. It had stored railroad ties and other industrial items for years, but at the time, it was overgrown and filled with rabbits and owls. The firm, Cohen Carnaggio Reynolds, would design not just its office for the land but also the other two adjacent parcels: a row of townhomes and an office building. www.BHMBIZ.com

37

For their own building, Cohen and Carnaggio wanted to stick with the aesthetic of the warehouse district. Concrete walls create a simple 60-by-80-foot box, with a courtyard space behind it and a separate building with personal garage and storage for the office. Inside, the concrete walls were left exposed, as were steel beams in their burnt red color. The industrial tone complements the space’s view of Sloss Furnaces and trains running by on railroad tracks—their favorite part of the space itself.

The insulated concrete walls are also energy efficient, and elsewhere on the property a cistern collects rainwater that later waters the plants in the courtyard. Even with 16 people on staff and three people living upstairs, they only create one bag of trash a week thanks to recycling efforts.

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The west side of the building faces the parking lot, so small windows were placed at higher levels so that their view shows city buildings, not cars. On the east and north side, floor-toceiling windows provide a panorama of Sloss Furnaces past the courtyard on one side, and of a long rectangular pool outside the other. It’s these views that the architects get from their open workspace. Partners have private offices, but the sliding glass doors to them always stay open, helping maintain the feel the partners intend for it.

The office also displays works by local artists. A conference room table was designed by Lauren Lee Samford with a wooden base made by Luttrell Woodworks. Behind the table are rotating perforated display panels for hanging rendering illustrations that were made by metal sculptor Rick

www.BHMBIZ.com

39

McCrary of McCrary Studios. The other conference room features a shroud of naked residential forms created by artist and University of Montevallo professor Scott Meyer, a friend of Carnaggio’s.

Along the hallway just past a reception desk also made of concrete, framed photos show off the firm’s completed projects, including Over Easy, the Five Points Chick-fil-A, Soho in Homewood, and the City Federal Building. They are currently working on 20 Midtown and the new Publix downtown as well as Box Row in Avondale.

Signature design elements are also sprinkled throughout the office. Two white panels in the sample library not only cover the storage behind them but also act as white boards, and wallpaper in a workroom area with a server, 3-D printer, and other equipment made of “slats” of old movie posters.

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To round out their work-and-play vision, Cohen and Carnaggio live on the second floor of the office space with their teenage son. Their labradoodle and terrier mix come downstairs to hang out, and their employees can bring their own dogs. Overall, it helps create the relaxed atmosphere they want, with areas for people to meet randomly and a landscaped outdoor space for them to sit or eat their lunch.

The firm holds an annual field day before July 4, and at any time staff can go to the pool area with an outdoor kitchen.

Each staff member is assigned to plan a birthday party for one other, and they personalize it to them—not just a generic cake that every other employee has.

“We are a family,” Carnaggio says. “We are selective about who works with us. Everyone is involved in our lives.” 

SPECIAL PROMOTION

EXPLORE THE WORLD USAMERIBANK’S PRESTIGE PROGRAM For Alabamians who would like to travel more, meet new people and enjoy rare experiences, USAmeriBank has a program to take you off the beaten path and all over the world.

The bank’s Prestige program offers once-in-a-lifetime trips home and abroad. Upcoming 2017 travel includes a Kenya Wing Safari, a Baltic Sea cruise to Scandinavian capitals like Copenhagen and St. Petersburg, Russia, a Yellowstone excursion, and trips to southern Italy and to the Badlands and the Black Hills in South Dakota.

Prestige membership is complimentary for USAmeriBank customers who have deposits totaling $10,000 or higher, with at least one person on the account being 50 or older.

Prestige has more than 6,000 members across Alabama, and USAmeriBank recently expanded the program to its Florida customers.

The Prestige program began at Aliant Bank in Alexander City in 1988, as John Russell Thomas, Aliant’s CEO at the time, sought ways to build and strengthen the bank’s relationships with its customers. USAmeriBank has continued to grow the program, and it has remained a cornerstone of the bank’s commitment to providing customers with a high level of personalized service.

Just as our bankers craft personalized financial solutions for our customers, the Prestige program offers handcrafted travel experiences for members, There are many reasons to travel with Prestige, among them:

USAMERIBANK TAKES CARE OF THE DETAILS. Traveling with Prestige is easy – pack once, and we take care of the rest. We work with a travel company that specializes in Bank travel to coordinate all your travel and flight details and create unique itineraries, with the cost of each trip including airfare, accommodations, most meals and admission to sightseeing and excursions. In southern Italy and Sicily, for example, you’ll tour stunning sights like Capri and historic Pompeii, enjoy lunch and wine at a local farmhouse, and learn how mozzarella is made, complete with tasting.

YOU CAN CHECK ITEMS OFF YOUR BUCKET LIST. Traveling with Prestige allows you to enjoy opportunities that would be difficult or time-consuming to plan yourself. In Kenya, for example, you’ll enjoy stays at the Ark lodge, a Fairmont tent village and a safari lodge as you travel from the northern reaches of the Aberdare National Park to the famous Maasai Mara in Southern Kenya. You’ll enjoy five-star experiences throughout your trips, wherever the destination.

YOU’LL EXPAND YOUR NETWORK OF FRIENDS. When you travel with Prestige, you know you’ll be traveling with like-minded people who also have a passion to enjoy the best life has to offer. A member of the bank joins you on each trip. This ensures that you have a wonderful experience at every turn and also provides an opportunity to get to know your bankers better.

USAmeriBank has several locations throughout the Birmingham area.

Visit www.USAmeriBank.com to find a relationship manager near you.

Nannette Sheaffer is Vice President, Senior Marketing Specialist, and Manager of the Prestige Program for USAmeriBank 205.408.2006

Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender ©2015 USAmeriBank

For more information, visit www.usameribank.com/prestige. Member FDIC

start-up city

NOURISH

Hungry to Grow Its Meal Delivery Service Written by Jen Barnett One of the hottest tech business models right now is food delivery. Birmingham’s own Shipt delivers groceries from area supermarkets. Online services such as Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, and Plated offer “meal kits” that include all the ingredients you need to prepare a selection of menus, along with recipe cards and cooking instructions.

But there’s one thing these services won’t do for you, and that’s cook you dinner.

Home cooking is at an all-time low, especially among young adults. Fewer than half of them report being “good” or “somewhat good” at cooking. Nonetheless, they want to eat healthier, and 80 percent agree that home-cooked meals are better for you than dining out.

Also cooking less are time-starved families. Parents of young children often feel as though they have to choose 42 BHM BIZ

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between foods that are healthy and those that are kid-friendly, while parents of tweens and teens are happy to see the insides of their homes, much less their kitchens.

These are the opportunities that founders Mary Drennen and Tiffany Vickers Davis are seizing with Nourish, which delivers fully cooked handmade meals made from fresh ingredients that require no more preparation than opening a package and reheating.

Drennen and Davis met in the test kitchen at Cooking Light magazine, where they learned to create healthful meals that tasted delicious, but also realized they weren’t cut out for a nine-to-five corporate environment.

In 2012, they began delivering prepared meals to members at area Iron Tribe gyms. These meals were strictly Paleo—the whole foods diet that forbids grains, sugar, white potatoes, and

Nourish founders Tiffany Vickers Davis and Mary Drennen Photo by Beau Gustafson www.BHMBIZ.com

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Nourish

Type of business: Prepared meal delivery Location: Lakeview neighborhood Founders: Mary Drennen and Tiffany Vickers Davis In business since: 2012 Number of employees: 7 Site: nourishmeals.com Email: info@nourish-foods.com

dairy— and offered as a complement to gym membership. It was a perfect fit for the new diet because few people knew how to prepare Paleo meals, while others relied on boring repeats of lean meat, steamed veggies, and sweet potatoes.

Having a variety of meals that taste great is an important component of keeping dieters on track longer.

Soon, more people began to request the service, including people who weren’t on the Paleo program but still wanted to eat “clean.” Four years later, Nourish ships a variety of meal plans across the U.S., with ambitious plans for 1,000 percent growth over the next five years.

Menu items range from traditional to esoteric, including Scrambled Eggs over Wilted Spinach and Tomatoes with Bacon; Herb Roasted Chicken over Squash Noodles; and Stuffed Sweet Potato with Braised Beef, Grilled Onions, and Horseradish Sauce.

To learn more about Nourish, we talked with Drennen and Davis about their business model.

How Nourish Works: • Customers can choose between an individual plan and a family plan, which includes the choice of two fresh dinners or two frozen dinners per week.

• Individual meals are all fresh, and include your choice of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all with calories per serving ranging from 350 to 550.

• Customers can choose a Paleo 44 BHM BIZ

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plan or a general clean eating plan, and Nourish can accommodate most common food allergies and glutenfree diets.

• Birmingham-area meals are couriered on Sundays; other meals are shipping on Mondays.

• Customers can put their subscription on hold or cancel anytime.

1. What’s your elevator pitch?

A critical problem in the U.S. today is finding healthy meals that are both convenient and affordable. Nourish solves that problem for both individuals and families. The process is simple. You order healthy meals online; we deliver; you reheat at home or work. It’s convenient, healthy, and affordable.

2. What’s your value proposition?

Since we started in 2012, we have consistently heard from clients that our program brings added value to their home and work life. Whether you need more time to spend with family, to eat healthier at work or home, or to provide healthy meals for your family, Nourish meals brings that to your life.

3. Tell me about your founders and their experience. How many employees do you have?

Both of us went to culinary school before returning to work in the test kitchen at Cooking Light magazine.

There we honed our skills for developing healthy recipes that people love.

Currently, Nourish employs seven people in production, logistics, and marketing functions.

4. How has Nourish grown since its start?

Beginning in 2012 with Iron Tribe, our team figured out, logistically, how to get meals from our kitchen in downtown Birmingham across the Southeast. But more and more people wanted meals that didn’t belong to the gym.

The demand was there, and Nourish was launched in 2014. Today we ship meals

each week around the country. In fact, 80 percent of our business ships outside of Birmingham.

5. Why is now the right time for Nourish? Why did you launch it here?

People are increasingly reliant on the convenience of home delivery for most products. The food tech space is no different and growing rapidly. Birmingham is home! This city and the South in general has a great food story to tell. We hope Nourish will be a big part of that narrative for the future.

6. What are your competitive advantages?

Our story sets us apart. We were both chefs first. The quality and creativity of our product speaks to that, and our clients connect with our products because of our story. We are both working mothers who lead busy lives just like our clients. Our direct competitors feel story-less and faceless.

7. Where do you want the company to be in five years?

We hope to grow 10 times bigger than we are now by 2021.

8. Who would you most like to connect with right now?

This fall we are raising our first round of capital from outside investors.

We are looking for sharp investors who can help our business grow, not just write a check.  Jen Barnett is an entrepreneur and marketing consultant at Redhawk Consulting, redhawkresults.com.

The

Justin Griffin, Business Development/Account Manager, Business Electronics Tyler Hillman, President of AllSouth Appliance

BUSINESS ELECTRONICS

Partnership

At Business Electronics you are more than a customer. You are a partner in technology, productivity and success. Tyler Hillman and Justin Griffin talk about implementing the BE Partnership.

Q. What interested you most about a partnership with BE and AllSouth?

Justin: AllSouth Appliance Group represents exactly the type of company that we want to be partners with. They aim to build lifelong customers by catering to them every step of the way from shopping to installation to maintenance.

Tyler: BE has a great reputation for optimizing the money you are currently spending, and spending it better. In our case, they took our standard office equipment costs and found a way for AllSouth to purchase technology that will bring more value to our customers. I liked the idea of BE being able to serve all our locations, that brings simplicity to managing our office equipment.

Q. What sets BE and AllSouth apart from other companies in the same fields?

Justin: Tyler and his team have created an amazing environment for customers to customize the most important room in their house. They now have a brand new show room that makes it even easier for customers to pick out appliances in person and make informed decisions on them.

You can see so many different brands in one room rather than having to look through catalogs.

Tyler: BE not only has the ability to offer us different types of equipment and technology, but they are also adding different

paths for us to utilize the technology. With our new Sharp Aquos Board in our showroom, our customers can interact with the board and customize their own space with our appliances.

Allowing our customers to visualize our products in their own space creates a huge benefit for us and the customer. Plus it adds a “cool” effect and shows first hand we are investing in their showroom experience.

Q.What has been the best part about working with each other?

Justin: You can always tell when a company actually cares about the community, and the great part about AllSouth is that they actively give back their time and resources. Tyler is a participating member in area home builders associations, chambers of commerce and many industry related groups.

AllSouth works with a number of local charitable organizations.

It’s easy to work with someone who gives back and constantly stays involved.

Tyler: Justin and his team broke down our office equipment expenditures at each location and made it very easy to understand and implement our new technology. He took the time to understand our business and came up with the best equipment for our locations. Now all our various departments, from sales to service have the most effective, state of the art equipment. Saving time and adding more ways for us to bring value to our customers.

TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS INTERACTIVE/DIGITAL SIGNAGE PRINTING SYSTEMS MANAGED SERVICES WORKFLOW SOLUTIONS TELEPHONE SYSTEMS 219 Oxmoor Circle Birmingham, Alabama 35209 205-942-6007

www.businesselectronics.com

PROPOSED CFPB RULE WILL INCREASE CLASS ACTION LITIGATION AGAINST FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS

By Stephen D. Wadsworth

If you’ve ever signed up for a credit card or bank account, the terms and conditions of your account likely included a predispute arbitration clause that prevents you from bringing any potential claim against the provider of the service in court or as part of a class action. A new proposed rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) could make these clauses disappear.

The new rule came out of the Dodd-Frank Act which authorized the CFPB to study the effects of arbitration and issue regulations restricting or prohibiting the use of arbitration provisions consistent with the best interest of the public and consumers. This controversial new rule will have an immediate impact on Birmingham’s financial and legal communities. While the financial services industry is against this rule, it would provide huge benefits to consumers—and their attorneys.

Class actions are necessary where banks or credit cards have wrongfully charged a fee to hundreds or thousands of its customers. While no single customer’s loss is worth pursuing, collectively, the loss could total millions of dollars. As the Supreme Court put it in the 1997 Anchem Products decision class actions solve this problem by “aggregating the relatively paltry potential recoveries into something worth someone’s (usually an attorney’s) labor.” Without class actions, financial services providers are allowed to profit from their wrongdoing.

w w w. c a m p b e l l g u i n . c o m

No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

FEELING OVERWHELMED BY THE NEW FLSA LAWS? WE CAN HELP. B o tto m l i ne , th e new re gulations re gard ing ove r time pay and exe m p t e m p l oye e s are complex . Call us for he lp if you find yourse lf b u ri e d i n th e se new r ule s be fore you e nd up bur ie d by th e m.

HR Compliance | Employee Benefits | Administrative HR | Operational HR | Strategic HR

888.868.1557 | sourcepointe.com 46 BHM BIZ

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SPECIAL PROMOTION

community’s the

foundation

Through the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, local philanthropists find a partner to make smart, sustainable investments in our community.

SPECIAL PROMOTION

Tom and Cathy Adams’ family tradition of giving includes extensive volunteer work. Cathy recently helped lead the successful effort to fund the restoration of the Lyric Theatre.

SPECIAL PROMOTION

ONE FAMILY, LASTING IMPACT If ever a family personified the saying “the gift that keeps on giving,” it’s Cathy and Tom Adams and their children Jenny and Jeff.

Tom, chairman of insurance provider Autotec, and Cathy, a writer and self-described “professional volunteer,” raised Jenny and Jeff to care for others. “We strived to live out the parable in Luke, ‘much will be required of the person to whom much is given,’” Cathy says. It was in this spirit that Jenny, then a student in her 20s, decided her Christmas present to the family would be a donation to Heifer International. She laughs, recalling the card she placed under the tree. “It said ‘I bought you part of a llama.’”

Jenny wasn’t satisfied with a one-off gift. She proposed a new tradition: each year one of the Adams clan would make a charitable contribution on behalf of the rest. Her father Tom saw in Jenny’s suggestion an opportunity to bring his loved ones even closer together. In 2010, instead of writing a check to a specific cause for Christmas, he set up a donor-advised fund with the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, so the Adams could pursue philanthropy year round—together. “The foundation offered Tom a way to create a lasting family legacy and realize income and estate planning benefits at the same time,” says Vice President for Development Erin Stephenson.

The Adams Family Advised Fund has largely focused on disaster relief and programs to help disadvantaged children, but the flexibility of the donor-advised arrangement allows family members to bring their individual passions to the table. Jenny, a globe-trotting travel writer, is drawn to organizations working in the developing world. Jeff, who lives with his wife and daughters in Colorado, is an outdoorsman and supporter of the Children’s Hospital of Denver. Cathy champions projects that reflect her deep connection to the Birmingham community, like the renovation of the Lyric Theater.

This diversity of interests makes for lively conversation when deciding where the fund should direct its resources. “We pitch a case for sure,” Jenny says. “I wouldn’t send an e-mail without links, a synopsis I’ve written and photos.” Cathy credits Community Foundation staff with providing research to help ensure grants go to sustainable, get-the-job-done nonprofits.

What started with a llama has grown into a gift that will benefit the community beyond Tom and Cathy for generations to come. “My kids are only eight, so if we asked them what they could do to make the world a better place, their perspective would be something different,” Jeff says. To Cathy, the fund is the perfect way to bring her granddaughters into the family tradition of giving. “With the Community Foundation,” she says, “we know there will always be careful stewardship.”

WHAT THE PROS KNOW As an estate-planning attorney for more than 40 years, Daniel “Danny” Markstein has advised a who’s who of clients interested in philanthropy, including the Adams. “The Community Foundation,” Markstein says, “has a long history of operating well with donor-advised funds and supporting charitable activities in our community, and it uses the funds given to it efficiently. All those things make it very attractive—without the cost or administrative difficulties of operating a private foundation.”

SPECIAL PROMOTION

A GOOD COMPANY WORKING FOR GOOD When PreSchool Partners needed a new facility to accommodate their growing program they looked to Hoar Construction. As part of their commitment to the community, Hoar donated its construction fee to PreSchool Partners at the project’s finish.

Left: Hoar Construction’s Kelley Duncan, Project Marketing Coordinator and Gerald King, Project Manager at PreSchool Partners playground.

Like many corporations, Birmingham-based Hoar Construction has a set of “core values” that guides its business. What makes Hoar special is that its values emphasize not just a strong work ethic and continuous improvement, but also caring for others, compassion for families and stewardship of community resources.

Benevolence has been part of the company’s fabric from the moment it was founded, in 1940, by Friend Reed (FR) Hoar. Over time, Hoar has become an industry standard-bearer with a national presence. In 2001, leaders at the company recognized that charitable giving should evolve along with the business. They turned to the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham for help. “We’re focused on construction,” says Hoar Executive Vice President for Business Operations Doug Eckert.

“So, we need great partners like the Community Foundation in order to be excellent at philanthropy, too.”

Hoar spent several years building the principal for its donor-advised fund with the Foundation, and continues to grow the fund by contributing a portion of annual company profit. When tornadoes devastated parts of Alabama in 2011, the fund stepped in to pay for construction coordinators who made sure families got back into well-built homes and that funds were used to help as many families as possible —an example of the stewardship enshrined in Hoar’s core values.

Since then, the company has taken a two-pronged approach to grant making, first by encouraging employees to advocate for causes they care about. Hoar also supports efforts in the Community Foundation’s areas of focus through the Giving Together program, which allows donors to pool resources, participate in site visits to potential grantees and learn about new initiatives.

The two strategies have been mutually reinforcing.

Hoar employees become deeply engaged with charities introduced to the company by the Foundation, donating their own time on top of the company’s grants. At the same time, Foundation staff is always on the lookout for organizations that match Hoar’s values and interests.

“They’ve come to learn about our mission, and they’re really good at seeing an opportunity out there and connecting the dots,” Eckert says.

“Making those connections is what we do,” says the Community Foundation’s Erin Stephenson. “Hoar’s job is to build better communities. Ours is to help them do it.”

SPECIAL PROMOTION

NEXT GENERATION PHILANTHROPY Sanjay Singh’s most vivid memory of his childhood in India is helping his mother and grandmother pack clothes and other gifts to bring from their home in the city to family and friends in the countryside. When he moved to America as a young man he took with him the belief that “philanthropy is not something that’s detached from your daily life.”

Singh was a professor at UAB School of Business for more than twenty years and has been a partner and vice president at CTS, a locally based software consulting firm, for eighteen.

He’s proud that Birmingham ranks as one of the most charitable cities in the country, and he works hard to keep it that way, serving on the boards of many organizations, including, since 2014, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

If Singh has an overarching mission, it is to mentor the city’s next generation of entrepreneurs—both in business and in giving back. Here is his advice to fledgling philanthropists: 1. Don’t try to do it alone. “When you’re a young entrepreneur, you’re going 100 miles an hour,” Singh says. He sees the Community Foundation as an “efficient platform” for new donors who are too busy making payroll to figure out what, where and how to give. “The Foundation is the venture capital firm for all social change [in Birmingham],” he says. “They know the fundamental problems and the people who are making a difference.”

2. Don’t wait until business is booming. Starting a fund with the Foundation doesn’t take much money, and for newcomers to Birmingham’s business scene, joining this community of donors can serve as a way to meet local leaders and get to know what they’re passionate about. ““Once you get involved with these leaders,” Singh says, “you’ll find they all want to coach young profesionals.”

3. Take the long view. Singh passes on these lessons in the hope that Birmingham will always remain a charitable hub. The Community Foundation, with its strategic approach to grant-making, serves the same goal, helping donors make a lasting difference. “It’s like planting a tree,” Singh says. “You live off the fruits for years to come.”

Sanjay Singh served as a mentor to Mazi Rasulnia as he started Pack Health, and later encouraged Mazi and his wife to be philanthropic entrepreneurs by opening a donor advised fund at the Community Foundation.

SPECIAL PROMOTION

The entire Agee family hosts the All Access Sports Medicine camp that is held at Legion Field for Birmingham City School students.

SPECIAL PROMOTION

TOGETHER, WE DO MORE Spend a few minutes with the Agee family and you’ll get excited about something. Maybe it’s the Birmingham Violence Reduction Initiative (BVRI) Jarralynne is working on, or the sports medicine camp for Birmingham city kids that Bob leads. One thing is for sure, their enthusiasm will make you want to get up and do something good in the community.

Jarralynne and Bob Agee moved with their two sons from San Francisco to Birmingham in 2008. He is a highly regarded sports physicians in the area and she holds three degrees and a wealth of experience working with the criminal justice system.

“We knew when we moved to Birmingham that we wanted to have a community impact,” says Jarralynne. “We had a lot of philanthropic as well as professional goals.”

They share a lot of the same passions in their giving, especially in education and opportunities for youth. And the whole family works as a team, hosting an All Access Sports Medicine camp for Birmingham students, co-hosting the 2016 UNCF Mayor’s Ball, and getting involved in numerous local service organizations such as Jack and Jill.

In 2015, Jarralynne was named the Program Director for BVRI. The initiative, which was funded by the Community Foundation’s Catalyst Donors and Alabama Power Foundation, focuses on reducing homicides, reducing incarcerations and building police legitimacy.

Shortly after Jarralynne started, Erin Stephenson, Vice President of Development invited her to one of the Community Foundation’s Lunch and Learn meeting.

“Listening to the staff speak during that luncheon, it was like a light bulb went off,” says Jarralynne. “Bob and I had done a lot of ‘drive-thru’ giving – someone would call about a need and drive by the house and pick up a check. I had no idea what impact we made.

Opening a fund at the Community Foundation has helped us be a lot smarter with our giving.”

Jarralynne and Bob like that they can get objective advice on their giving, “Erin has helped us make the most of our assets and the program staff helps us feel confident about the nonprofits we support.”

“As a donor at the Community Foundation, I feel like I am a part of bigger things,” says Jarralynne. “I can’t take on these issues alone. But our fund, combined with all these other funds, means we can put our energy into changing things for good.”

SPECIAL PROMOTION

A FOUNDATION FOR THE COMMUNITY Since 1959, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has connected philanthropists and nonprofits and engaged civic leaders to build a stronger, more vibrant future for our community.

Through the years, we have helped thousands of families and businesses achieve their charitable goals and built a permanent source of community capital for our region.

CONTACT US TO REFER A CHARITABLE CLIENT OR OPEN YOUR FUND:

ARE YOU READY TO SIMPLIFY YOUR GIVING AND AMPLIFY YOUR IMPACT? We invite you to join our community of donors through one of these easy and effective ways to give: 1. OPEN A FUND FOR AS LITTLE AS $15,000 • Discover a simple alternative to a private foundation • Receive personalized philanthropic consulting • Enjoy special experiences with community leaders and partners

ERIN STEPHENSON Vice President Development 205.327.3805 estephenson@cfbham.org

2. MAKE A GIFT IN ANY AMOUNT TO THE COMMUNITY FUND • Access unique opportunities for charitable investments • Leverage your impact by combining your gift with others • Ensure a vibrant Birmingham region for you, your children and grandchildren 3. CREATE YOUR LEGACY • Provide permanent resources for causes you care about • Expand your giving capacity with a planned gift • Invest in the community that invested in your success

BROOKE COLEMAN Director of Gift Planning 205.327.3828 bcoleman@cfbham.org

For more information visit cfbham.org.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS KATHRYN MIREE – CHAIR Kathryn W. Miree & Associates NEAL R. BERTE, ED.D. PRESIDENT EMERITUS, Birmingham-Southern College GREGORY P. BUTRUS Balch & Bingham STEWART M. DANSBY Civic Leader JOHN A. FLOYD, JR. Southern Progress Corporation, retired DAVID GRAY Daxko

JAY GRINNEY HealthSouth Corporation KATHRYN D. HARBERT Civic Leader RONNE M. HESS Ronne and Donald Hess Charitable Foundation ROBERT HOLMES, JR. Alabama Power Company, retired GENERAL CHARLES KRULAK PRESIDENT EMERITUS, Birmingham-Southern College

MIKE LUCE Harbert Management Corporation

LLOYD R. WILSON, CLU Lloyd R. Wilson & Associates

G. RUFFNER PAGE McWane, Inc.

DEE WOODHAM Spring Creek Investments, LLC

SANJAY SINGH Computer Technology Solutions YOLANDA N. SULLIVAN YWCA Central Alabama LARRY D. THORNTON Thornton Enterprises, Inc. RAY WATTS, MD University of Alabama at Birmingham

On the cover: The Birmingham Lights art installations at 14th, 18th, 19th and 20th Street underpasses were made possible by the generous donors of the Catalyst Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

CHRISTOPHER NANNI, PRESIDENT AND CEO 205.327.3801 cnanni@cfbham.org

On the Trail of

Excellence

For a quarter century, the Robert Trent Jones Trail has been intriguing golfers and enhancing the state’s image worldwide.

Written by Alex WatsonPhotography by Michael Clemmer Like a strategic golfer about to tee off, John Cannon likes to take the wide-angle view of the courses and hospitality amenities that make up the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

The value of the trail, says Cannon, president and CEO of Sunbelt Golf Corporation that develops and manages the trail for the Retirement Systems of Alabama, lies not just in the direct economic impact it brings to the state, but also in an intangible that is just as important.

“We know we have had billions of 56 BHM BIZ

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dollars of direct economic impact, but just as importantly we have enhanced the image of our state in countless ways,” he says. “The trail means is more than happy golfers.

“When you say the name Alabama to people who know the trail, the word has a whole different meaning than it had 25 years ago. Now, they know there is a progressive economic engine here. I recently met people from San Francisco at our Auburn course. It was their third or fourth visit to the trail.

They love coming here and interacting with our people. It is just so gratifying

to hear that.”

A quarter century is a milestone under any definition. For Cannon the anniversary makes even clearer the trail’s commitment to constantly improving its product. “Renovation and improvement is very important,” he says. “A guest who visited us 10 years ago must know the experience will only get better over time. What we accomplished we can continue to build upon by insuring our quality is always improving.

“We are a world-class destination from the top of the state to the bottom.”

Cannon, who has been with the trail

Cambrian Ridge

for 18 of its 25 years, intends to keep it that way.

More than a quarter century ago, golf course architect Robert Trent Jones saw the group of public courses he designed in Alabama as his version of Michelangelo’s masterful artwork in the Sistine Chapel. Between 1992 and 2005, 26 courses became the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, a total of 468 holes at 11 locations across the state. The trail’s long list of accolades includes recognition as the best value in the country as a golf destination, according to a recent Golf Digest survey, and golfers in the same

survey put the trail among the top eight in the nation for quality of golf. Golf World readers named the sites in Opelika and Prattville as the top two public golf sites in the country. Mobile ranked number 32.

Funded by the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail was built to help expand tourism, recruit industry, and attract retirees, strengthening the state’s economy while adding to the quality of life for all Alabamians. The concept for the Trail came from Dr. David G. Bronner, who, as chief executive officer, shaped the

RSA into one of the nation’s best-performing pension funds. RSA has investments in Raycom Media, PCH Hotels, 55 Water Street in New York City, Community Newspapers Incorporated, and other interests.

Part of Dr. Bronner’s investment philosophy hits home in its rationale for funding the trail: “The stronger the Retirement Systems can make Alabama, the stronger the Retirement Systems of Alabama will be.” The trail has been a strong contributor to Alabama’s economy. In the past 10 years, Alabama’s tourism dollars have increased from less than www.BHMBIZ.com

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Capitol Hill

Windblown

Silver Lakes

The Falls

$2.5 billion to roughly $9.3 billion.

The trail stretches from the rolling hills of northern and central Alabama to the wetlands and woods near the Gulf Coast. Courses are located in or near Anniston, Auburn, Birmingham,

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Dothan, Greenville, Huntsville, Mobile, Point Clear, Prattville (near Montgomery), Hoover, and Muscle Shoals/Florence. At all these locations, the trail’s vision remains the same.

“Our mission is bigger than golf,”

•Cambrian Ridge, Greenville: three 9-hole courses.

•Capitol Hill, Prattville/Montgomery: three 18-hole courses. The site includes the Montgomery Marriott Prattville Hotel and Conference Center at Capitol Hill, a 90-room hotel with one- and two-room suites as well as two eight-bedroom luxury villas. Capitol Hill is the home of the Yokohama LPGA Classic.

•Grand National, Auburn/Opelika: three 18-hole courses. Home of the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship July 13-19, 2015. Named the best public golf in the country by Golf World readers. Hotel accommodations include The Auburn Marriott Opelika Hotel and Conference Center at Grand National, which has 129 rooms and 15 suites, which all face the course. The Marriott at Grand National was named a top Marriott golf hotel in 2007.

•Hampton Cove, Huntsville: three 18-hole courses.

•Highland Oaks, Dothan: four 9-hole courses.

•Magnolia Grove, Mobile: three 18-hole courses. Magnolia Grove has hosted several LPGA tournaments in the past.

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Cannon says. “We are here to grow the opportunities for all residents of the state whether they play golf or not. My greatest pride in the trail is that we continue to do that on a daily basis.”

•Lakewood Golf Club, Point Clear: Built in 1847, the historic Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa hosts its Lakewood Golf Club. The Grand Hotel sits on 550 acres along Mobile Bay and has 405 rooms, 23 meeting rooms, a European-style spa, multiple beaches, and feature pools.

This resort consistently ranks as one of Marriott’s best hotels in North America for guest satisfaction.

•Ross Bridge, Birmingham: At 8,191 yards from the back tees, Ross Bridge is the third longest golf course in the world. The Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa is consistently ranked as one of the top Renaissance hotels in the world for guest satisfaction and style.

•Oxmoor Valley, Birmingham: three 18-hole courses. These courses are located adjacent to Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa. •Silver Lakes, Anniston/Gadsden: four 9-hole courses.

•Shoals, Florence: Two 18-hole courses. The nearby Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa has 200 rooms overlooking the Tennessee River and was ranked one of Marriott’s top hotels for guest satisfaction and golf in 2006 and 2007.

For details about the trail, the courses, resort hotels and directions, visit rtjgolf.com.

Oxmoor Valley

Crossings

Lakewood

Ross Bridge

Fighting Joe

Hampton Cove

Grand National

Highland Oaks

Cast Iron Culture

Robinson Iron restores historic metal structures worldwide— and just up the road—to their original glory.

Written by Madoline MarkhamPhotography by Beau Gustafson J. Scott Howard knew Birmingham’s Vulcan was in “big trouble” the day he first climbed to its base in 1990. When the statue was first placed on its pedestal in 1938, it was anchored with concrete, which over time expands and cracks in 60 BHM BIZ

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summer heat, and his 120,000-pound body—the tallest freestanding cast-iron sculpture in the world—was deteriorating too.

By 1999, the city had realized the statue’s physical decline was bad

enough, and the god of the forge was dismantled for Howard’s company, Robinson Iron, to begin the restoration process. Over the next several years, they would, among many other steps, replace the spear tip in Vulcan’s right hand to

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L-R---Project Manager John Howell, President Ricky Robinson, Marketing Manager Luke Robinson, Vice President J. Scott Howell (Not pictured: Project Manager Austin Robinson).

replicate the 1904 original. Robinson Iron also built a stainless steel structure on the inside to enable it to withhold up to 200 mile an hour winds. “The statue is much stronger and in much better condition,” Howell says. “It will be there for a long, long time.”

For most of its projects, Robinson Iron’s mission is the same—to restore historic cast-iron statues, fountains, gates, and other structures to their original glory. Around Birmingham, you can see their restoration work in the Beard Center on 2nd Avenue downtown, and their original creations in two fountains and several gazebos at Birmingham 62 BHM BIZ

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Botanical Gardens.

“We’re putting (them) back on in good shape,” Ricky Robinson, the company’s president, says of their restoration work. “Sometimes we just clean and paint, but it usually does not mean that.

Usually we pick portions and re-cast them, make them again totally. We put it back structurally sound and pleasing to the eye.”

The Alexander City-based company has also done work on capital domes in Denver, Austin, Trenton, Washington, and Topeka, and they are preparing to start work on one in Nashville.

They have restored the iron work of

a hotel in Singapore that the Japanese dismantled during World War II, and they are currently working on a large fountain for Toronto that features 27 life-sized dog sculptures.

“We are in a pretty tight niche in what we do,” Howell says. “There’s no way that you could go overseas or to Mexico or China and get the kind of work we do because it’s so custom and detail-oriented because it’s a niche operation. There are probably only two to three other viable competitors.”

The company also recently created three-story-tall decorative gates that were in the original drawings for Philadelphia City Hall. Robinson Iron had looked at the project 10 years earlier, but it was only when the city found out that the Pope was paying a visit that they decided to move forward with the project.

The gates were made of aluminum and stainless steel, metals Robinson uses more now than when they first started in the ’70s. Iron “goes back forever and ever,” but aluminum wasn’t used in the U.S. until World War II. “If you want to be strict about preservation, you use iron,” Robinson says. “Painted, you can’t look at them and tell the difference.”

Iron is heavy and strong but will rust. Aluminum won’t rust but is almost a third lighter, and stainless steel won’t rust and is the same weight as iron but is more expensive. They also work with bronze sometimes. “If it melts, we can make it for you,” Robinson says.

Today, about 80 percent of Robinson Iron’s work is restoration and custom cast work, and the other 20

Shop foreman David Brazzell oversees many Robinson Iron projects.

Robinson Iron craftsmen take special care to be sure each piece is made to order.

Joe Hutchinson works diligently in the Robinson Iron pattern shop.

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percent is creating items such as fountains, furniture, and urns. But it didn’t start that way.

The company began in 1974 as a spin-off from Robinson Foundry with a focus on manufacturing and selling smaller cast-iron products using patterns Robinson’s father had collected.

While the U.S. has traditionally been a “tear down and rebuild” society, in 1966 the National Historic Preservation Act brought about increased work in the preservation of historic buildings and places—many that had cast-iron in need of restoration.

After the Civil War, a lot of foundries began producing more decorative products. Many of them were located on the East Coast and made cast-iron pieces for streetscapes across the country. However, the popularity of cast iron faded in the 1920s and ’30s as the art deco movement took hold, putting many foundries out of business.

With that, many foundries started sending their patterns—objects, traditionally made of wood, and used to create a mold for iron projects—to the South for replication. Robinson’s father, Joe Sr., was one of those Southerners 64 BHM BIZ

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who started collecting patterns, forming the basis for what became Robinson Iron’s collection. The company later obtained the Janet Collection from Montgomery and Hinderer collection from New Orleans, along with patterns from J.W. Fisk.

“We have we think the largest collection of ornamental irons anywhere,” Robinson says. “We have had a pattern shop for 41 years in operation.” Their expanse of options gives architects an advantage because they have so many patterns to choose from. Often, Robinson Iron will have a design’s original pattern, which saves the client the expense of creating a new one for the restoration process.

Today they market their company to architects, municipal developers, and people with high end homes. But regardless of the client, they find that the strongest form of marketing is word of mouth.

“If you do good work for folks, you’ll get more work,” Howell says.

Over the years, the business has grown from “just a couple of guys in the shop” to more than 40 employees conducting up to 12 large scale projects at once. Howell and Robinson

emphasize that their focus remains on quality in both traditional patterns and modern adaptations. Today they use digital technology, not just in design phases but also in manufacturing, utilizing laser scanners to scan 3-D objects, make 3-D models, and cut with a 3-D router.

As a true family business, Robinson’s son Luke is their sales and marketing manager and son Austin is a project manager, while vice president Howell’s son John is also a project manager.

“We like for them to travel to make friends with more people of their generation who are also coming up in the businesses,” Howell says. “Not to say we don’t do the thing, but that’s where they are learning the business.”

At the end of the day, both Robinson and Howell say they really enjoy what they do. “All (our projects) have different challenges, so we are constantly having to really work together to find the right solution for each and every project,” Howell says. “That’s the fun part for me—to figure out the best way to produce something to give to the client.” To learn more, visit robinsoniron.com.

Children’s Fountain, Chicago

Memphis Fountain

Ritz Carlton Fountain

Philadelphia City Hall

Salt Lake City Fountain

Trump Fountain

Vulcan

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Photos on this page courtesy of Robinson Iron

Who will lead Birmingham business into the next 20 years?

The business leaders on the pages that follow stand out from the crowd. All of them are making an impact in their professional niche and paving the way to a greater future for our city for the next two decades and beyond.

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DR. SARAH PARCAK Archaeologist UAB 2016

Sarah Parcak studies Egypt—from space. And on the ground too. An expert in satellite archaeology, Sarah and her husband, Greg Mumford, both Egyptologists and UAB professors, have worked on archaeological projects in the Delta, Sinai, and pyramid fields regions of Egypt.

What Parcak discovers is not just published in peer reviewed scientific papers but also shared with a wider audience.

Her research has been featured in major international BBC-Discovery Channel documentary Egypt: What Lies Beneath, BBC show Rome’s Lost Empire, and a BBC-PBS NOVA special Vikings Unearthed, and she has worked with NASA and the U.S. State Department. You might also see her in interviews with media outlets such as Science, Nature, National Geographic, CNN, and BBC, and she has been named a National

Geographic Fellow.

Parcak made national headlines earlier this year when she was awarded the 2016 TED Prize, and with it she wants to try to discover the millions of unknown archaeological sites across the globe. To do so, she is building a citizen science platform called GlobalXplorer that will launch in early 2017 and enable anyone with an internet connection to discover sites using satellite technology.

A native of Bangor, Maine, Parcak holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale and a M.Phil and PhD from Cambridge University. She serves as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a 2014 TED Senior Fellow. At UAB, she is founding director of the Laboratory for Global Observation where she is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology.

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LAIRD P. FORET CEO Isotope Eleven, Inc. 2016

With his passion for exploring new innovative business ideas, Laird P. Foret is at the helm of a technology solutions firm Isotope Eleven. Under his leadership, the company provides custom software development and relevant technologies with the resources to meet the challenges of emerging technology and business’ reliance on those them. They seek to deliver software incrementally, rather than making clients wait for long periods and major deployments, and test-driven development that integrates testing thoroughly into the software development lifecycle.

A serial entrepreneur, Foret belongs to several startup accelerator organizations, regularly attends TechBirmingham and Birmingham Startup Drinks, and is a board member of the Birmingham Business Alliance. Prior to leading Isotope Eleven, the Louisiana native started MovieTime, a video rental store that partnered with local restaurant to offer dinner and a movie, from 1995-1997; The Hippodrum bar/restaurant in 1996; and Mexican restaurant Manchas that featured scratch-made tamales in 1998.

Foret has been on on the Dream Team of Church of the Highlands since 2008. He is also passionate about his animals, including his chickens, dogs, fish, and pony, and his 4-yearold daughter, Ellyson. Through both his personal life and business, he is “finding a way to leave this world a better place than I came into it.�

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L’TRYCE SLADE 2016

Owner Slade Land Use, Environmental, and Transportation Planning

On any given day, you might catch L’Tryce Slade on a construction site with her sleeves rolled up. A general contractor, she’s the face behind an eco-friendly construction firm that seeks to provide sustainable solutions to its clients. Her firm has a multi-disciplined team of general contracting professionals, environmental professionals, urban planners, and geotechnical consultants. Through the company, she has served as limited home builder with certifications in material testing, roadway inspections, and environmental services for the past decade.

Recently, the company has started to expand its service offerings with a new construction material testing laboratory located in Innovation Depot. Its work will allow the company to offer more benefits to its client base including soil, concrete, grout, mortar, and asphalt testing, and ultimately allow them to become a one-stop shop urban planning, environmental services, and construction. The firm works on commercial, recreational, hospital, laboratory, school, airport, hotel, entertainment, and residential projects.

Outside her construction work, Slade supports Central Alabama Sickle Cell, UNCF Gala, the Firehouse Shelter, Kidney Foundation, and Susan G. Komen of North Central Alabama, and she is a member of the Junior League of Birmingham and the Birmingham Chapter of the Links.

An Ahoskie, North Carolina native, Slade received undergraduate degrees in political science and communication studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a master’s degree in Regional Planning, and Juris Doctorate Degree, also from UNC.

CHRISTOPHER NANNI President and CEO Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham 2016

Christopher Nanni has a deep-seated passion for giving and serving. Over his 30-year career, he has run organizations and programs dealing with issues such as addiction, homelessness, poverty, and education, and he spent two and a half years in the Dominican Republic doing mission work along the Haitian border.

Now as the head of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, he gets to connect philanthropy with addressing community problems, many of them in similar realms to what he has seen over the years. As the largest foundation in the state with assets of more than $250 million, the Community Foundation connects philanthropists, nonprofits, and engaged leaders in the Greater Birmingham area. Since starting his position in 2014, Nanni has worked under the belief that the foundation is strategically poised to help build a more prosperous community, working to make grants to be proactive in resolving community problems.

Nanni has a master’s in social work from the University of Chicago and a master’s in cross-cultural theology from Catholic Theological Union. He earned his bachelor’s degree in theology and computer applications from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a walk-on for the men’s basketball team. Originally from Buffalo, New York, he met his wife, Allison, while at Notre Dame. They have three children, Marcello, Louie, and Maria, and reside in Homewood.

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2016

Although she didn’t start working in the industry until later in her life, film has always been on Chloe Cook’s mind. She graduated from Auburn University with a degree in communications in 2000 and then spent nine years working in marketing, public relations, and event planning. A nudge from a friend led her to apply for the executive director position for Sidewalk Film Festival in 2009. Even though she did not have much experience, she landed the job and has since shined in her role.

Sidewalk celebrated its 18th anniversary this year, and Cook has played a key role in its continued success. It is her job to ensure that everything the organization does aligns with its mission of encouraging filmmaking in Alabama, and building audiences for independent film.

Sidewalk is the city’s largest festival attracting around 10,000 attendees each year. In three days, guests can choose from more than 250 films screened in 10 venues, 10 free panels and workshops, more than 15 bands and musical performances, eight parties, and attend a food truck rally and street market. For the second year in a row, Moviemaker magazine named the Sidewalk Film Festival among the “The Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World.”

Between logistics and funding, volunteers and bookkeeping, it’s a big load, but Cook says it’s worth it. These days, she’s dreaming of opening up an art house theatre under the Sidewalk name, which would give Sidewalk a year-round brick and mortar presence in the city.

CHLOE COOK Executive Director Sidewalk Film Festival

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ELIZABETH PHARO Chairman Momentum Telecom

2016

As chair of the board of directors at Momentum Telecom, Elizabeth Pharo’s leadership is characterized by technological foresight. The local cloud-based telecommunications company provides broadband and communications services.

Pharo has largely contributed to the growth of Momentum’s retail business sales through employee empowerment and customer emphasis. She played a pivotal role in moving Momentum’s headquarters to the Birmingham Business District, solidifying the company’s commitment to the Birmingham region and transforming Momentum into a successful industry leader.

A native of Birmingham, Pharo earned a Bachelor of Science in computer sciences from Birmingham-Southern College and is a 2018 MBA candidate at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is married with four children and in her free time enjoys running and investing in the local community.

She currently serves on the boards of Cahaba Brewing Company, First Commercial Bank, and Swell, a company that provides single instance software for social fundraising. Pharo is also a trustee for The Altamont School and Birmingham-Southern College, and a member of the Alabama Membership Chair for Young President’s Organization, Birmingham Kiwanis Club, and Advisory Board of the Southern Research Institute.

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JONATHAN PORTER Vice President of the Birmingham Division Alabama Power 2016

Jonathan Porter believes in the power of a company to connect with its community. As vice president of the Birmingham Division for Alabama Power Company, he is responsible for the company’s operations, sales, customer service, economic and community development, and external affairs activities for more than 430,000 customers across six counties in North Central Alabama.

Porter graduated cum laude from Tuskegee University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. While at Tuskegee, he was a four-year letterman in football and was an All-Conference scholar-athlete. He received a Master in Business Administration degree from the UAB. Porter worked as an underwriting analyst at Protective Life Corporation and as a manager at INROADS Inc. before joining Alabama Power in 1991 as a customer accounting intern through

the INROADS program, where he interned four summers with Alabama Power until graduation. He rejoined Alabama Power in 2000 and has held various positions of increasing responsibility including his most recent role as vice president of Human Resources & Ethics.

Porter currently serves as a member of the board of directors for the Jefferson County Education Foundation, Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority, INROADS Inc., REV Birmingham Inc., Birmingham Business Alliance, Alabama Power Foundation, and the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club. He also serves on the board of trustees of Tuskegee University and is a member of the Newcomen Society of Alabama.

A native of Bessemer, Porter and his wife, Kima, are the proud parents of daughters Laila and Kailyn.

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MIKE GIBSON Principal, President & Architect Appleseed Workshop 2016

Mike Gibson’s eye for design has led him on an impressive journey. He founded Appleseed Workshop in late 2005, during his third year in Auburn’s architecture program. He built the company with a mission to create beautiful furniture and spaces of lasting value. Among one of the youngest architects to win an American Institute of Architects (AIA) Award, he does not consider himself a talented architect, but rather a problem solver who chooses to do so through the built environment.

Gibson is commonly known as the “big idea man” at Appleseed Workshop, where his focus is on the big-picture planning. He has led Appleseed to win eight AIA Awards, and since the spring of 2010, he and the Appleseed team have taken 17 underutilized downtown Birmingham locations and turned them into successful residences, restaurants, and retail spaces. New downtown projects like the Pizitz Food Hall are in the design phase currently, and local spots such as El Barrio, Paramount, and Bamboo on 2nd are all Appleseed projects.

Gibson is active with a variety of local organizations and initiatives including REV Birmingham and Design Week Birmingham. He does pro bono work for missionaries overseas as well as pro bono design work for The Firehouse Shelter. His company supports an organization called Neverthirst that provides clean and living water solutions in North Africa and southern Asia and also recently funded the majority of an adoption for a local couple.

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JENNIFER SKJELLUM President TechBirmingham

Birmingham is growing into a stronger tech hub, and Jennifer Skjellum is spearheading efforts to make that happen. As president of the nonprofit organization TechBirmingham, she is helping create, recruit, and grow technology jobs here. Her efforts don’t just work within the businesses realm either; they start with youth. Her new organization TechAlabama helps provide STEM education to K-12 youth, in addition to workforce development and growing the STEM jobs and tech businesses in the state. She also helps engage kids with technology as a member of the board of the McWane Science Center.

Skjellum’s entrepreneurial experience dates back to 1996, when she and her husband founded MPI Software Technology, Inc. for the high performance computing market. In 2004, MPI was acquired by Verari Systems, Inc., a privately held company

2016

that is headquartered in San Diego.

Today you can see her entrepreneurial spirit at work at Runtime Computing Solutions, LLC, a high performance and embedded computing space software company located in the Innovation Depot, where she serves as president and co-founder.

Outside of Innovation Depot, Skjellum is on the Advisory Board for the Stump Entrepreneurship Program at Birmingham-Southern College and was recently appointed the McCain Executive in Residence for Entrepreneurship at Birmingham-Southern. Building on her experience, also mentors others in the community. She holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Humboldt State University and a master’s degree in communication from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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PAGET PIZITZ Owner Melt Birmingham, Fancy’s on Fifth, Hot Diggity Dogs, and The Marble Ring

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2016

After living in New York City for a decade, Paget Pizitz moved back to Birmingham to be closer to her family, the famous Birmingham business Pizitz clan. Little did she know that she would soon meet restaurateur Harriet Reis and embark on a food truck and restaurant adventure. Reis and Pizitz started with a food truck, lovingly named Matilda, that served creatively conceived and deliciously grilled cheese sandwiches, the business aptly named Melt.

Less than a year later they were scouting locations for a brick and mortar restaurant. It didn’t take them long to call Avondale home. As Reis says, the tree-lined streets really sealed the deal for them.

Years later, they look back and are so thankful for their decision, Pizitz says. About two years later, Pizitz convinced their head chef to entertain the idea of a burger bar and oyster dive.

When they walked into the space across the street from Melt and just down from Avondale Park, the need for convincing was over.

They immediately began construction on what is now Fancy’s on 5th. Soon after, Pizitz began another venture on the second floor of the building with Hot Diggity Dog and The Marble ring, a traditional speakeasy.

Everything in The Marble Ring is a representation of the roaring ’20s and styled after the extraordinary Jazz Age lives of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Their decadent lifestyle has been transported through time and placed in every detail of The Marble Ring. The “secret” entrance to the modern-day speakeasy is a phone booth located in the back corner of Hot Diggity Dog. The restaurants have been at the forefront of the extraordinary renaissance of the Avondale neighborhood of eastern Birmingham, a feat of which Pizitz and Reis are justifiably proud.

JUSTIN CRAFT President Nowlin & Associates 2016

Justin Craft rose to the forefront of the effort to revive the football team at UAB after the university’s initial decision to close the program. A former player at the school (he earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from UAB in 1997), he worked to help build a group of major business players to take on the cause of creating a fundraising effort to reinstate UAB football, making it bigger and better this time around. The team will take the field again in 2017. As part of the UAB Athletics Board, the business leaders raised more than $14 million for the effort to build a football operations center and practice facility for the team, and fundraising continues at a brisk pace.

Alongside UAB football, Craft with his wife, Kim, has been involved in charitable efforts for UAB, the City of Birmingham, FCA Birmingham, Monday Morning Quarterback Club, Crippled Children’s Foundation, and Children’s Hospital. The couple gets right down to the personal level with fundraising, putting together an initiative to gather 100 donations within two weeks to purchase truck outfitted with handicap controls for former UAB football player Tim Alexander.

In the business realm, Craft has increased revenue five-fold since taking on the CEO role at Nowlin & Associates. The 40-year-old financial services firm has doubled its staff in the past five years to now include 27 team members. Craft joined Nowlin in 1998.

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ROBERT SIMON President & CEO Corporate Realty Associates 2016

Robert Simon is committed to the development of Birmingham and recognizes the potential impact of its growth to the surrounding communities. Through his leadership, service, and innovation, he envisions and identifies opportunities for corporate headquarters, institutional clients, and public-private partnerships.

Under his leadership, Corporate Realty is currently working to complete work with HealthSouth Headquarters by 2018. Notable past deals include the Venue at the Ballpark apartments ($39 million transaction), CiTYViLLE Block 121 mixed-use space ($36.5 million), Homewood Medical Building, Cardiovascular Associates ($21 million), Intermark Building ($6 million), Infinity Headquarters, Homewood Middle School, Jemison Flats, and the Saks Building.

Simon is originally from Chicago and has lived in Birmingham for more than 30 years. His involvement and support of the city has led to appointments including board member for Operation New Birmingham and City Action Partnership. He is personally involved with supporting the United Cerebral Palsy, Red Cross of Alabama, the Women’s Fund, Operation New Birmingham, and the Community Foundation’s Three Parks Initiative.

2016

SELWYN M. VICKERS, M.D. Senior Vice President for Medicine and Dean UAB School of Medicine

Dr. Selwyn Vickers is changing lives through his medical work. He is a world-renowned surgeon, pancreatic cancer researcher, and pioneer in health disparities research. The Alabama native became senior vice president for medicine and dean of the School of Medicine at UAB in October 2013. As dean, he leads the medical school’s main campus in Birmingham and the regional campuses in Montgomery, Huntsville, and Tuscaloosa.

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tors of pancreatic cancer, and the role of death receptors in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. He earned baccalaureate and medical degrees from the Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Vickers is co-principal investigator for the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Pancreatic Cancer and is also part of a collaborative effort to design interventions targeting the four most significant causes of death and disease across the lifespan of African-American men and boys.

2016

TANVEER PATEL Co-Founder and CEO ConcertCare

Recently named by Upstart Business Journal one of the nation’s Top 100 Influential Thinkers, Tanveer Patel brings to ConcertCare two decades of successful business ventures partnering healthcare with information technology.

ConcertCare, founded in 2012, was built on the belief that the link between quality patient care and provider profitability, one of the healthcare system’s most critical links, is broken. The company works to understand the pain healthcare providers are experiencing today, as well as the multitude of pressures driving physicians and their practices further and further away from the core mission of healthcare.

Serial entrepreneur Patel, who came to the United States at the age of 19, founded and managed CircleSource, a healthcare software development company, until its acquisition in 2010 by a fellow healthcare business. She’s also mentored numerous successful entrepreneurs—and has served as an investor and advisor for healthcare companies such as Comply MD and Secant Healthcare.

Patel also co-founded and serves as president of the Red Crescent Clinic of Alabama. She is a past twotime president of the Birmingham Venture Club’s Board of Directors, and the president-elect of the Birmingham International Center. She also serves as a board member of Tech Birmingham, past board member of HIMMS, and board member for four for-profit corporations, two of which she serves as chairman of the board.

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BRADLEY SKLAR

2016

Shareholder and Board Member Sirote & Permutt, P.C.

Bradley Sklar focuses on economic development, tax and business planning, real estate investments, succession planning, and entity formation for a wide range of business clients at Sirote & Permutt, where he is a long-time board member as well as past co-chair of the corporate and tax group. Sklar was instrumental in promoting the passage of the Limited Liability Company Act, which was adopted in 1993 and a transformative business development in the state.

A Birmingham native, Sklar is committed to the revitalization of Birmingham, which shows in his work with the Birmingham Business Alliance, where he has chaired the Finance and Taxation Committee, and REV Birmingham, where he helps the organization attract new business and development, and most recently served on the Incentives Task Force. He is a graduate of the BBA Leadership Development, Leadership Birmingham, and Leadership Alabama programs. A six-year member of the Mountain Brook School Board, he currently serves as president. Sklar has also been active on the American Cancer Society Board and has served in multiple roles in the Birmingham Jewish community.

Business projects in which he has played major roles include the complex acquisition of land that allowed the Barons to return to downtown Birmingham in their new stadium at Parkside. Close behind that development, Sklar played a major role in bringing HealthSouth’s new headquarters to the city on land at Liberty Park along I-459.

Sklar has played a role in dozens of major developments in the past dozen years that add up to a virtual transformation of the city, from the City Federal Building redevelopment in 2007 to the Alabama School of Fine Arts in 2010 to the Lyric Theatre, The Pizitz building, and the renovation of the Empire Building into a new downtown hotel in more recent years.

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ERIC P. JACK, PHD Dean UAB Collat School of Business

2016

Dr. Eric P. Jack is the Wells Fargo Endowed Chair in Business Administration, professor of management, and dean of UAB’s Collat School of Business. Jack was appointed dean of UAB’s Collat School of Business in April 2013 after previously serving as the interim dean. These days he is heavily involved in planning for the new building that will house the UAB Collat School of Business and Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Jack received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Later He earned an MBA with an emphasis on research and development management from Wright State University and a doctorate in operations management from the University of Cincinnati.

A passionate teacher, Jack was awarded the 2006 UAB Pres-

ident’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. His research interests include operations strategy, flexibility, health care management, service operations, quality management, and supply chain management. Before beginning his academic career, Jack served for 21 years as a U.S. Air Force officer.

He was a member of Leadership Birmingham Class of 2014, and serves on the boards of Rotary Club of Birmingham, The Innovation Depot, Malcovery Security LLC, the Birmingham Committee on Foreign Relations, and United Way of Central Alabama.

A naturalized U.S. citizen, Jack was born on the island of Trinidad and Tobago. He is married to his former engineering classmate, Ave Parker Jack from Augusta, Georgia, who is also an instructor at UAB.

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HERSCHELL HAMILTON Principal BLOC Global Group 2016

Herschell Hamilton is a principal of BLOC Global Group, a leading southeast U.S. based commercial real estate consulting services firm with offices in Birmingham and Washington, D.C. The company manages and develops complex real estate and building projects, provides commercial real estate transaction and advisory services, and structures successful public/private partnership projects.

Prior to co-founding BLOC, Hamilton was vice president of new market ventures for the private equity firm MRG. Before joining MRG, he cofounded and served as chief operating officer of a web-based media/technology company.

Hamilton has seven years of investment banking experience, structuring public finance transactions. He served in two high-level public administration posts with former Alabama Governor Jim Folsom and worked as chief administrative assistant to Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. Hamilton is a licensed real estate broker in Alabama, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin, and earned his CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation in 2010. Hamilton also holds a series 7 securities license.

His board memberships include the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Birmingham Branch Board, Ballard House Project, Inc., and the Birmingham Business Alliance and Leadership Birmingham. He is the former chairman of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Board of Directors and Red Cross Blood Services Division as well as a former director of Birmingham Water Works and Sewer Board.

Hamilton earned his undergraduate degree in zoology from Howard University, and a Masters in Public and Private Management from Birmingham-Southern College. He is a candidate for a Master’s of Science in Technology Commercialization at the University of Texas at Austin (Spring 2018).

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JARROD MORGAN Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer Proctor U

2016

Jarrod Morgan is a co-founder of ProctorU and was the company’s first proctor. Today he is chief strategy officer for the company, the world’s largest online proctoring company. ProctorU has proctored more than 2.5 million exams in 73 countries on all of the world’s continents since 2008.

Today the company has partnerships with almost 1,000 institutions of higher education and professional certification, employing 500 people in five offices in Hoover, Livermore and Folsom, California, Gilbert, Arizona, and Manila in the Philippines. Morgan created the initial prototype of the service to fill a need for Andrew Jackson University, where he served as director of technology. He works out of ProctorU’s Birmingham office where he coordinates the marketing and partnership aspects of the company.

Here in the metro area, ProctorU employs 160 people. Coordinating the marketing and partnership aspects of the company’s operation, Morgan is known for a positive attitude and an honest leadership style.

When not at ProctorU, Jarrod spends time with his two daughters, Maddie and Lizzie. He is a dedicated foodie, devoted Catholic, and gourmet beer connoisseur. He studied computer science at the University of Florida and is a die-hard Gators fan.

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JIM AKERHIELM CEO TekLinks 2016

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Jim Akerhielm has a knack for leading IT companies. Since he started TekLinks in 2012, it has grown its employee base by more than one-third to about 200 people. The company ranked No. 19 on the MSPmentor 501 Top Managed Services Providers in the World and No. 70 on the Talkin’ Cloud 100 Top Cloud Services Providers in the World.

Under his leadership, the company’s revenue has grown 46 percent to almost $100 million, with its total assets reaching $100 million from an original $22 million. He also secured debt financing of more than $30 million and established a strong capital base with equity investors.

Before starting TekLinks, Akerhielm led Triton Cellular Partners, the 15th largest cellular provider in the U.S., to grow from zero to $170 million annual revenue in less than two years. He served as its president and CEO from 1998 to 2000. Prior to that position, he managed $300 million in annual revenue and more than 500,000 customers for Verizon Wireless as its vice presidentSoutheast region.

Outside of the cellular sphere, Akerhielm not only volunteers with the United Way of Central Alabama and Hands On Birmingham but has also partnered with them for TekLinks to sponsor Oxmoor Valley Elementary School.

Tapping into their corporate niche, they are providing support with teacher technology projects and helping prepare students to take the ACT on computers, among other projects.

DAVID GERMANY Senior Vice President and Commercial Relationship Manager Regions Bank 2016

David K. Germany’s specialty is relationships.

Through his work at Regions Bank, he manages commercial client banking relationships throughout North Central Alabama. Among other projects, he has been a part of the Samford University’s new building for the Brock School of Business and securing the financing for the new campus of the Indian Springs School.

As senior vice president and commercial relationship manager in Regions Bank’s Government and Institutional Banking Group, he has negotiated and structured commercial banking deals with values of more than $2 billion since 2007.

Germany graduated from the Regions Bank Management Associate and Commercial Credit Training Programs in 2003, and completed the bank’s Management-Level Leaders program in 2015.

He became a Certified Treasury Professional in 2008.

In 2015, Regions awarded Germany the Better Life Award for leading an effort to build playing courts for tennis, volleyball, and basketball on the campus of the A. G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club, where he is president of an Advisory Board. He currently is also a member of Impact Alabama, Leadership UAB, the Birmingham Business Alliance Board of Directors, the Rotaract Club of Birmingham, the UAB Minority Health Junior Board of Directors, and the American Heart Association.

Germany received his Bachelor of Science degree in investment finance from the University of Alabama and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

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restaurant biz

Joey Dickerson Joey Dickerson is a Birmingham native who has been cooking for 25 plus years. Harriet Reis and Paget Pizitz knew he would be perfect when they decided to start a food truck almost five years ago. They brought the idea to him and he brought his love, creativity, and passion for food. Not long after Matilda, the name of the Melt food truck, began roaming the streets, this trio began looking at locations for brick and mortar.

They opened Melt restaurant in Avondale a year later.

Dickerson’s take on food at Melt is a modern twist on a classic American comfort food. He took grilled cheese to an all new level. His vision here was to create a menu that appeals to all walks of life while keeping things new and exciting.

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While growing Melt, the trio decided to open Fancy’s on 5th, a casual oyster dive and burger bar. At Fancy’s the chef ’s vision was truly uncaged and set free. He has created an approachable way to eat oysters from all regions of the country. On the menu, he has a variety of burgers, each with its own personality. He changes his menus seasonally to keep folks on their toes but always maintains the fan favorites.

It is Dickerson’s experience in both casual and fine dining that make him such a brilliant chef. People are naturally drawn to his food and the environment created in these restaurants. In addition to Dickerson’s many talents, he has a big heart, makes his daughter, Allison, a priority, and loves his family.

Photo by Beau Gustafson

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and then this happened...

Written by Carolanne Roberts

UAB polar biologist Dr. James McClintock has traveled to the snowy world of Antarctica, returning with findings—and stories.

OUR HEALTH?

BORN &

NINE LIFE-CHANGING WORDS

McClintock and colleagues are discovering toxic chemicals that may prove effective in fighting AIDS and other human diseases. Two compounds already identified are active against melanoma skin cancer and MRSA bacterial infections.

from his USF professor with a three-month research grant. “I immersed myself in this amazing place with penguins and seals—like a kid in a candy store,” McClintock says. “It set me up for my career.”

7,000 miles from Birmingham: Antarctica’s Palmer Station as base for dives, lab work, collaborative research, phone calls home from a glacier. 9,000 miles from Birmingham: McClintock Point, named in 1997 for his accomplishments.

RAISED

Santa Barbara, California, the son of an academician.

DEGREE TRAIL

University of California at Santa Cruz (B.S. and postdoctoral), University of South Florida (MS and Ph.D)

HIS BIRMINGHAM: “THE RESTAURANTS AND THE GREEN PARKS—I ESPECIALLY LOVE HIKING AT OAK MOUNTAIN

LEADING US

More than 100 Birmingham travelers have accompanied McClintock to Antarctica on cruises with Abercrombie and Kent Travel. “They come back as ambassadors for Antarctica,” he says. Next trip: January 2017 (abercrombiekent.com)

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“WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH ME IN ANTARCTICA?”

SECOND HOME

BOOK IT:Lost Antarctica: Adventures in WHAT a Disappearing Land (2014) and A Naturalist Goes Fishing: Casting in Fragile Waters from the Gulf of Mexico to New Zealand’s South Island (2015) rendered in storyteller fashion.

WORRIES HIM “With global warming I’ve seen the receding glaciers, species of animals disappearing or relocating—and a whole litany of factors that can affect our health.”

, s d n a h e k e sha w e r o f e B . s d n a h d l we ho

At RealtySouth, real estate doesn’t simply equate to hard negotiation and paperwork.

For us, it’s more than a transaction. It’s the relationship that matters most. For more than 60 years, we’ve been cheering for our children in the same high school football stadium as you have. We’ve watched your son score his first touchdown and your princess leap into cheer formation to keep the crowd going. We know your family, and not just by their street address. Your community is our community.

We are proud to be your neighbor.

It’s Who We Are.

www.realtysouth.com/visitus