FACES FACES SPRING 2020
THE
POWER OF
OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
WOMEN HOW FEMALE ENERGY AND TALENT IS POWERING THE ROCKET CITY
OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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Tammy Pratt • DeMarco McClain • Angela Ford • Tim Singleton • Angelina Pettway • Will Alexander • Cynthia Webster • Barry Bryan
The STRENGTH of COMMUNITY At the heart of every community are the dreams, aspirations and goals of its people. Bank Independent is committed to helping our customers achieve their goals and make a positive difference in our communities. SERVICE Bank Independent has served the communities of North Alabama since 1947 and grown in strength to manage over $1.6 billion in assets. Now the seventh largest bank in Alabama, we have expanded into Madison County and continue to grow by helping our communities grow. CONVENIENCE With 28 physical locations to serve North Alabama plus our Digital Sales Office to serve customers anywhere in the country, our vision is to be the bank of choice in the communities we serve. Our team members are dedicated to offering the convenience our customers expect. COMMUNITY Bank Independent is committed to helping our communities grow by investing locally and sharing our success. We are proud to bring our financial strength to Madison County to help our customers make dreams come true, continue to aspire and meet their goals.
Banking with strength. Bank Independent.
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BIBANK.COM | MEMBER FDIC | 877.865.5050
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FACES FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
SPRING 2020
OFOFHUNTSVILLE/MADISON HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
6. SPRING AHEAD
Things to do around town this season.
14. THE MIX OF OLD AND NEW
Putting old and new together in interior design might seem tricky, but it’s an extraordinarily easy way to add interest to any room.
18. HOMES OUTLOOK
Despite challenges, the Huntsville Association of Realtors eyes successful 2020. By Mike Kelley
24. THE BOTTLE
30. THE CATALYST
Helping entrepreneurs succeed.
40. WOMEN IN TECH Success stories By Ann Marie Martin
48. THE POWER OF GIVING Leadership that changes lives. by Kimberly Ballard
56. THE LAST WORD
Writing happy endings at the humane society. by Ann Marie Martin
This downtown restaurant is a classic.
ABOUT THE COVER: 4 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
The energy of women powers the Rocket City..
PUBLISHER
Michael Kelley
EDITOR
Joe O’Donnell
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PHOTOGRAPHERS Jennifer Tarkington David Phillips Jess Wood
WRITERS
Ann Marie Martin Kimberly Ballard Brian Foreman Joe O’Donnell Michael Kelley
Faces of Huntsville/Madison is published quarterly by Professional Media Group, LLC, P.O.Box 22648 Huntsville, AL 35814 Phone: 256-701-2453 Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.
ADVERTISER INDEX 18 Watercress Green...............................................44 Alabama A&M University...........................................35 Amy L. Bailey...........................................................39 Aramark Higher Ediucation.........................................38 Avnik Defense Solutions.............................................33 Bank Independent................................Inside Front Cover Bank Independent Profile............................................51 Carriage House ......................................................53 Crestwood MedicalCenter.....................................46-47 Dental Professionals on Whitesburg.............................49 Drake State Community and Technical College..............43 Iberia Bank.............................................back cover, 37 JBS Solutions............................................................31 Keel Point................................................................41 Madison Hospital.....................................................55 Pure Brow Pure Body by Christian................................45 RealtySouth.........................................................20-21 Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse................................................1 Townhouse Galleries...................................................4 Winkles/ Crye-Leike.............................................22-23
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FROM THE PUBLISHER...
With the arrival of spring we’re excited to present to you our Spring 2020 issue of FACES of Huntsville-Madison. As always, our goal is to bring to you “The Best of Huntsville and Madison County.” Our spring 2020 theme is The Power of Women, where we shine the light on successful women corporate and entrepreneurial women who are making things happen in Madison County. Our lead writer AnnMarie Martin casts the spotlight on The Catalyst and the work this organization is doing to help women become successful entrepreneurs. A companion story takes a more indepth look at two of those companies: JBS Solutions and AVNIK Defense Solutions. We can be proud of our technology based economy and the high incomes that it produces, but not all are so fortunate. Like any other city, our area has many that somehow have fallen through the cracks. But we have many non-profit organizations that make life better for our area’s disadvantaged, many of them headed by women. We decided to do a story about some of them and chose these four: Kids to Love, The ARC of Madison County, Manna House, and 305 8th Street. Each of these organizations owes its success largely to the efforts of a dynamic woman executive director.
townhouse.indd 1
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More and more, Huntsville is about fine dining, and this issue would not be complete without our Joe O’Donnell’s article about one of Huntsville’s fine restaurants. Our focus this issue is The Bottle, which manages to combine southern cuisine with a French influence. Planning spring activities? Check out Spring Ahead. Your only problem may be lack of time to take in all these events. Also AnnMarie Martin brings us a story about the great work of the Humane Society on page 56. Finally, we’ve had many favorable comments on the Health and Wellness focus in our last issue. One of those stories was written by Cynthia Adams, who at the time she wrote this piece was battling breast cancer. Since that issue came out Cynthia lost that battle; she died on January 2. I knew Cynthia very well – she was my daughter. Having known her all her life, I know she was dedicated to natural medicine and natural healing. I’ve dedicated this issue to her, and I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read my tribute to her on page 5. There is a lot to savor, so sit back with a cup of your favorite copy and enjoy. —MICHAEL KELLEY, PUBLISHER
3/4/20 4:27 PM
A DEDICATION CYNTHIA DYANNE KELLEY-ADAMS Most of us are destined to live what most might call a “normal” life. We are born, go to school, and live our childhoods in carefree fashion. We grow up, get married, and work for 40 or 50years, maybe longer. Before we know it, we’ve joined the ranks of the elderly. For most of us, death comes at a ripe old age. We expect to live to 75 or 80, perhaps older - if we’re lucky. But for some, death comes early: a cruel visitor who bids us to the other side far too early. Those people have a much shorter time to make their impact, their contribution to society. Such was the case for my daughter, Cynthia Dyanne Kelley-Adams. She died just after New Years, having fought breast cancer for more than two years. Along the way, she inspired others with the tenacity and ferocity of her struggle. Hundreds followed her on social media, or watched her positive, upbeat videos. Many of the cards and letters her mother and I received afterward told of how she inspired others to keep up their own health struggles, to never give up their own fights against cancer, diabetes, heart disease, or other health problems. In that regard alone, she made a difference. Cynthia lived a life of action, packing a lot into her 41 years. From age three or four she showed an independent, almost stubborn streak. When she made up her mind to do something it was hard to talk her out of it. But what her mother and I called stubbornness we also knew to be tenacity. Somewhat prophetically, perhaps, her grandfather told us “Be careful not to break her will. Someday she’ll need that.” In her senior year of high school, while we were living in Charlottesville, Virginia, she took a part-time job with a doctor of chiropractic who, as many chiropractors do, practiced the tenets of natural medicine. Fascinated, she began a lifelong study into natural medicine and the natural healing arts. Over the years she studied into nutrition and how what we eat affects our health. Always a fanatic for fitness, she worked out, ran, and became a certified personal trainer. When you saw her it was almost unusual to see her at rest; she virtually vibrated with activity.
As a young women, she found herself living at Fort Benning while her first husband, an Army captain, was deployed to Iraq. Looking around at the hundreds of other women whose husbands were similarly deployed, she learned about the Army’s Family Readiness Group and decided to get involved. Soon she found herself the leader of the FRG for her husband’s division, holding meetings and counseling young wives on budgeting, child care, and organizing meals for sick or new mothers. Always a source of encouragement, her work soon got the attention of the base commander, who at a special ceremony presented her a certificate for her service. She found she could make a difference, could serve her country in a small way. Her energy extended into a passion for shooting and martial arts. Cynthia became an expert marksman and learned to handle different types of firearms, and soon became a certified Range Safety Officer. These activities led to her meeting Brad Adams, the Huntsville Police investigator she married in September 2012. In October 2014 she gave birth to their son Caleb. Two years later she noticed a lump in her right breast but had it examined and was told it was nothing to worry about. Several months later that growing lump was diagnosed as Stage 3 breast cancer, a particularly aggressive form known as HER - 2+. Thus began a fight that would require all the tenacity and energy she could muster. Never giving in to depression or resigning herself to defeat, she consulted with others afflicted with breast cancer, eventually connecting to hundreds of women across the U.S. They shared their experiences, they laughed, they cried, but most importantly, they encouraged each other. Cynthia’s end came on January 2. More than 175 attended her funeral at Berryhill Funeral Home, many of them members of the Huntsville Police Department who knew her husband Brad and admired her struggle against cancer. So I dedicate this issue of FACES to her. Cynthia lived life to the full, she did what she could to improve the lives of others. And to all the women who daily struggle with breast cancer, she had this simple message, the message of a sticker on the back window of her SUV: Stay Calm, Fight On. —by Michael Kelley
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GET OUT AND EXPLORE THE WORLDS OF ART, FOOD, MUSIC AND MORE THIS SPRING.
SPRING AHEAD
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BATTLE OF THE BUFFALO Battle of the Buffalo is an annual chicken wing festival held at Big Spring Park in Huntsville. This April, for the twelfth year in a row, local restaurants and amateur cooks will compete with their tastiest wings in an effort to be crowned best of the Tennessee Valley. Last year, with the help of generous restaurants and sponsors, Battle of the Buffalo brought together more than 2,500 community members, served over 5,000 lbs of wings, and donated over $33,000. This year, in its sixth year as a Downtown Huntsville Inc. Featured Event, Battle of the Buffalo will boast wing entries
from more than 20 local restaurants, a celebrity judging panel that includes Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle, an entire afternoon of live music, and a kid-friendly fun zone. The men of Alpha Tau Omega, along with the Russel Hill Cancer Foundation, invite you to join in continuing a tradition of love, health, and charity. Date: April 11, 2020 Location: 200 Church Street Phone: (407) 417-2547 Time: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
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ASTRONOMY FOR ALL: 30 YEARS OF THE HUBBLE Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope with a retrospective look at the cosmic accomplishments of the first major optical 10 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
telescope in space. From its lookout point in low Earth orbit, high above city lights and bad weather, Hubble has been able to capture vivid imagery of areas in space never seen before and contribute to innumerable astronomical studies.
Date: April 19, 2020 Location: US Space and Rocket Center Phone: (256) 837-3400 Time: 3 to 4 p.m.
BILL MAHER Bill Maher is a comedian and talk show host. He is a documented liberal, and his comedic material is politically driven. He is best known for his left-winged material and his leading role in the popular comedy talk
show Politically Incorrect and Real Time with Bill Maher. He is one of the most prominent figures in political comedy. Date: April 26, 2020 Location:Â Von Braun Civic Center Time:Â 7 p.m. FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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CELTIC WOMAN CELEBRATION APRIL 21 AT VON BRAUN CIVIC CENTER
CELTIC WOMAN’S TOUR CELEBRATES FIFTEEN YEARS OF MUSIC AND MAGIC. THE BAND, FAVORITES ON PBS STATIONS, TRANSPORTS AUDIENCES TO IRELAND WITH THE SIREN CALL OF ORINOCO FLOW, THE PLAYFUL ENERGY OF TEIR ABHAILE RIU, THE POWER OF THE UPLIFTING ANTHEM “YOU RAISE ME UP,” THE SOARING HARMONIES OF “DANNY BOY,” AND A BAGPIPER-LED “AMAZING GRACE.” THIS MAGICAL EVENING UNDERSCORES WHY CELTIC WOMAN HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS BEING “RIVERDANCE FOR THE VOICE.”
DOUBLE HELIX DASH The Double Helix Dash is a 5K and 1-mile fun run hosted by the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. Proceeds benefit childhood genetic disorders research at HudsonAlpha. The race begins and ends on Genome Way in front of HudsonAlpha and winds through McMillian Park’s distinctive double helix path.
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Date: April 7 Location: 800 Hudson Way, Phone: (256) 327-0425 Time: 5:30 to 7 p.m.
DWIGHT YOAKAM Dwight Yoakam has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, and he is a 21-time nominated, multiple GRAMMY Award winner. He has 12 gold albums and 9 platinum or multi-platinum albums, with five of those albums topping Billboard’s Country Albums chart and another 14 landing in the Top 10.
Date: April 17 Location: VBCC Time: 8 p.m.
THE AVETT BROTHERS Exuberant, pop-charting folk-rock band with traditional influences is led by siblings Scott and Seth Avett. The Avett Brothers combine bluegrass, country, punk, pop melodies, folk, rock and roll, indie rock, honky tonk, and ragtime to produce a novel sound.
Date: April 23 Location: VBCC Time: 8 p.m.
ZZ TOP 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR It’s a celebration with the legendary rock band, ZZ Top. The tour marks 50 years that the same group has been playing music together, the blues-rock that made them a rock favorite. since 1969. The band released their debut album, ZZ Top’s First Album, in 1971 and since then, they’ve gone on to release 15 studio albums and 44 singles.
Date: June 24 Location: VBCC Time: 8 p.m.
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HARD EARNED: THE MILITARY PHOTOGRAPHS OF STACY PEARSALL AND THE VETERAN’S PORTRAIT PROJECT HUNTSVILLE MUSEUM OF ART Stacy Pearsall got her start as an Air Force photographer at the age of 17. During three combat tours, she earned the Bronze Star Medal and Air Force Commendation with Valor. She is one of only two women to win the National Press Photographer’s Association Military Photographer of the Year competition, and the only woman to have won it twice. Though combat disabled and retired 14 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
from military service, Pearsall has not let her disabilities hold her back. With her service animal Charlie by her side, she continues to work worldwide as an independent photographer and is an author, educator, military consultant, public speaker and founder of the Veteran’s Portrait Project. This exhibition presents 45 works highlighting Pearsall’s combat photography as well as selections from her award-winning
series, The Veteran’s Portrait Project. Organized by Syracuse University art Galleries, Syracuse, NY.
June 7, 2020 - September 27, 2020 Recurring weekly on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
AMERICAN MASTER ILLUSTRATORS: N.C. WYETH, MAXFIELD PARRISH, NORMAN ROCKWELL This exclusive exhibition features approximately 35 original works by three of America’s most celebrated and beloved artists — master illustrators Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell, and N.C. Wyeth. The stories these artists tell are well-known parts of American history. Parrish used
the works of old masters to create his stories, saying that he used paintings to create his own “world of make-believe.” Rockwell created the smalltown America that we all love with his very personal paintings. Wyeth, the father of artist Andrew Wyeth, carved out a rich legacy of historical
work, especially his paintings of the West and of Native Americans that illustrated stories in Scribner’s magazines and books. Organized by the National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, RI. Date: March 22 - June 21 Huntsville Museum of Art
Maxfield Parrish: Great Southwest: The Desert Without Water, 1902. Norman Rockwell: Man Inspecting Socks 1924. N.C. Wyeth: Barefoot Brooks Clark, Building Wall.
ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS INAUGURAL SEASON The brand new Minor League Baseball team will play at Toyota Field at Town Madison on Opening Day April 15, 2020. A full promotional schedule includes fireworks shows
and giveaways on every homestand. Can’t wait to show your Rocket City Trash Panda pride? Visit the Trash Panda Emporium at Bridge Street Town Centre for fan gear.
April 15 September 7
20TH ANNUAL WHISTLESTOP WEEKEND FESTIVAL
ROCKET CITY TACO FEST
Celebrate National Taco Day with live music, cold drinks, and TACOS! At John Hunt Park May 2
Come have a toe-tappin, barbeque-eatin’ good time and best of all it’s all for a good cause. All proceeds benefit EarlyWorks Children’s Museum and educational programs for area children. In addition to the KCBS pro competition, there is a Shade Tree Cookers contest, Kid’s Q contest and People’s Choice Awards in the Shade Tree area. The Rocket
City and Alabama Chili Championships will take place at Whistlestop again. Plus, the Alabama Corn Hole Championship returns. Date: May 1-2 Location: Huntsville Depot Time: Fri 4 - 11 p.m., Sat 10 a.m. - 1 1 p.m. FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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HOME DESIGN
THE MIX OF OLD AND NEW
PUTTING OLD AND NEW TOGETHER IN INTERIOR DESIGN MIGHT SEEM TRICKY, BUT IT’S AN EXTRAORDINARILY EASY WAY TO ADD INTEREST TO ANY ROOM.
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THE NUMBER ONE THING TO REMEMBER WHEN MIXING MODERN WITH VINTAGE DECOR IS EVERYTHING DOESN’T HAVE TO MATCH.
Just as in our own lives, the combination of modern and vintage, past and contemporary, can make for a powerful mix of memory, emotion and style in our homes. Whether your decorating style is contemporary, farmhouse, or mid-century modern, there are many ways to mix in antiques or vintage furnishings that will make your home design take on a singular style. You can’t forget the fundamentals of good design when you develop your own mix. Keep in mind the layout of the rooms, the proportions and the flow as you mix and match styles and bring an appreciation of vintage items into your home. Many antique or vintage items are made from substantial materials and have a heavy feel to them. By pairing them with the contemporary look of sleek metal, a minimal color palette, and strong lines, the vintage and modern can live comfortably side by side. That side by side comfort can be helped along by paying attention to the color palette of the room. When you mix
old furniture with new, you can bring unity to the mix by paying attention to your color palette. Regardless of the era of a piece of furniture, finding the connection between old and new by bringing together complementary or similar colors. Neutrals can offset multiple patterns or accents that might have been popular a hundred years ago. With a little thought and care that gap of years can be narrowed into a classic look all your own. One simple approach is to group similar items in a tableau that speaks to the vintage nature of say a few antiquarian books or knick-knacks from another era. Place them on a contemporary end table, for example, and you’ve brought old and new together in a most interesting way. With the right frame of mind, an old gilt mirror or metal sconces or black and white photos in antique frames can become points of interest that brings your understanding of the sweep of design history front and center where it belongs. Art is often the answer. Vintage maps, photos or a piece of art that clearly comes from another time and place can really bring a pop of style to any room, no mat-
ter how contemporary the rest of the furnishings are. Furniture styles from different decades can pair well together! Design trends are adding popularity to Mid-Century Modern styles, for example, allowing you to mix modern and antique furniture easier than ever before. Plush vintage chairs paired with a modern couch; modern chairs at a vintage table create true cohesion in a room. Lighting is another great way to add a modern/vintage mix to an interior. A vintage lamp on a modern table or Edison bulbs in a minimalist space or antique chairs or stools in a kitchen that features granite, cement or marble counter-tops make for a great mix. You can even add vintage shelving to subway tiles or hang modern shelves on vintage wallpaper. If you don’t know how to blend antique and modern styles, one of the easiest ways is by adding a vintage rug. Use a Persian carpet to anchor an antique chest in an otherwise modern room. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and appreciation of the past, present and future. FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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REAL ESTATE
HOMES OUTLOOK
DESPITE CHALLENGES, THE HUNTSVILLE ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS EYES SUCCESSFUL 2020. BY MIKE KELLEY It’s somewhat of an understatement that 2019 was a very good year for the Huntsville Association of Realtors. A record-setting 8,150 homes changed hands through the efforts of the HAAR, with nearly 2,000 in the last quarter alone, according to 4th quarter figures supplied by the realtors association. A strong economy and steady influx of residents stoked the fires of Madison County’s already-strong residential real estate market. 20 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
HAAR President Sha Jarboe termed it “simply a banner year” and said many factors contributed to the strong market. “We witnessed major growth in our industry last year, as more and more people chose to make Madison County their home.” Continued growth in Huntsville’s strong aerospace and technology-dominated economy has attracted thousands to the area each year. Retirees are attracted by Madison County’s low cost of living, low crime,
and abundant amenities. The national media have taken notice: last year U.S. News named Huntsville “the best affordable place to live” and also last year surpassed Montgomery to become Alabama’s second largest city. Across Madison County, demand for housing that has outstripped supply, a sure formula for higher prices. HAAR figures show the median price of homes listed and sold rose nearly 11 percent to more than
Continued growth in Huntsville’s strong aerospace and technology-dominated economy has attracted thousands to the area each year. Retirees are attracted by Madison County’s low cost of living, low crime, and abundant amenities. The national media have taken notice: last year U.S.News named Huntsville “the best affordable place to live” and also last year it surpassed Montgomery to become Alabama’s second largest city.
“Buyers need to be aware that many homes are getting multiple offers,” Jarboe said. “This has happened before, but not on this scale.” She advised buyers to be ready to make offers as soon as they found a property they liked.
$239,000. Perhaps a more useful figure, the average home price rose to $258,000, making Madison County one of Alabama’s strongest residential markets. That “housing inflation” caused prices to fall slightly in for the first time in the under-$150,000 price category, while boosting prices in the popular $200,000 to $250,000 range by over 21%. Almost as hot was the over - $300,000 price range, which saw a 19% year-over-year price rise. As 2019 progressed buyers sought out increasingly more expensive homes. By the 4th quarter, 20.5% of all homes sold were in the $200 – 250,000 price range, with the $300 – 350,000 price range accounting for 10.6% of all sales. A reflection of Huntsville’s growing prosperity, sales of homes in the over-$350,000 price range accounted for a whopping 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Sales of homes in the under-$150,000 price range continued to drop. As would be expected, houses sold more quickly. As recently as the 4th quarter of 2018 the average house stayed on the market 48 days. That dropped to 38 days by mid-2019 and dropped farther to 35 days by late 2019. Accounts of houses getting multiple offers, of bidding wars on some properties, became more common. And yet, with a nod to Frank Sinatra, Jarboe and others in the industry may look back at 2019 and think “It was a very good year.” 2020 appears to be a year of challenges for Huntsville realtors. A key benchmark, the inventory of homes for sale, has steadily declined over the past two years. “We reached a historic landmark in December when we had less than 1000 available homes for sale,” said Jarboe. By comparison, in December 2018 there were more than 1900 homes on the market in
Madison County. As of the end of February, 2020 has showed little hope for improvement. It’s a situation that can be tricky to sustain, Jarboe said, adding that she is hopeful spring will bring the normal seasonal uptick in listings. “But with inventory down one might predict we will see fewer homes being sold this year,” she admitted. The homebuilders may not be able to offer much relief. New home construction costs are rising rapidly, driven by limited land availability that drives up land costs, especially in highly desirable areas such as Madison. When rising costs of permitting and a shortage of skilled construction labor are added to the equation, the result is a situation where builders have more difficulty bringing new homes to market, even with rising prices. It all adds up to a trickier situation for home buyers. “Buyers need to be aware that many homes are getting multiple offers,” Jarboe said. “This has happened before, but not on this scale.” She advised buyers to be ready to make offers as soon as they found a property they liked. “We are definitely in a seller’s market in many areas. Buyers are affected by a lack of inventory, and it will make their search trickier.” Barring a recession, Jarboe expects 2020 to be a strong year for Huntsville’s residential real estate industry. Interest rates have continued to remain low, allowing those with moderate incomes to stretch their housing dollars. Price increases have remained gradual, allowing Huntsville/ Madison County to avoid the major price swings other markets have had to endure. “All things considered,” Jarboe said, “it’s not a bad situation.”
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Real Estate Stars
THE REALTYSOUTH TENNESSEE VALLEY TEAM: SETTING NEW STANDARDS
Your home is more than just a place to live. It’s your sanctuary, your escape from the pressures of day-to-day life. It’s where your children grow up, where memories are made, and perhaps where you plan to spend your retirement years. Residential real estate has changed. New laws and regulations, and our changing national culture, make selling or buying far more complex and time-consuming than ever before. You need a team behind you that understands those realities. Since 1955, generations of Alabama families have turned to RealtySouth to guide them through this process. Our agents work tirelessly to help our clients achieve the American dream of home ownership.
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Our downtown Huntsville Tennessee Valley office has doubled in size in just six months, now with more than a dozen of the Tennessee Valley’s most experienced agents. It’s a team backed by 22 branch offices across Alabama and a growing agent population now numbering nearly 1,000. In turn, we’re part of HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, bringing the strength of a national network of more than 44,000 real estate professionals. Put our team to work to solve your real estate challenges.
REALTYSOUTH HUNTSVILLE/ TENNESSEE VALLEY
109 Jefferson St. Huntsville, AL 35801 256-309-7438 | realtysouthtennesseevalley.com
CAPTION:.
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Real Estate Stars
Realtors who are real people, who work for you to sell your home or find that perfect new one . . . that’s the real estate team of Isaac and Patty Winkles. It’s what their clients say about them. Notice these actual statements from a market research study on their firm: “Isaac gave me excellent advice on the homes I saw and helped me see the pluses and minuses of each one. He gave me the information I needed to make up my mind.” “They really did so much for us. We were stressed about the process because we had bought a house before we sold ours. They reassured us and did everything they could to sell the house quickly.” “We needed someone we could trust and even though we hadn’t known them for long, we knew we could trust them.” “We appreciated the time they spent with us. They created a detailed list of what we were looking for, and
were able to utilize their time and my time to the max.” These actual statements show how unique the Winkles team really is. Isaac and Patty truly care about their clients, and spare no effort to put themselves completely at their clients’ service. Representing buyers and sellers for more than 25 years, Isaac and Patty have closed hundreds of transactions, putting them consistently in the top 5% of all Realtors in Madison County. That same commitment to service carries over to Alabama Property Management, which currently manages more than 50 properties. From finding tenants to handling repairs to collecting rents, let them find the best tenants available and keep your property leased. Whether buying, selling or managing your property, Isaac and Patty Winkles/Crye-Leike invite you to visit them at (256) 683-4210 or hsv.al.realtor@gmail.com
Patty Winkles
(Realtor, Home Finding Specialist, Real Estate Negotiation Expert)
Issac Winkles
(Broker/Realtor, Real Estate Marketing Expert)
Crye-Leike 809 Shoney Drive, Suite 100, Huntsville, AL 35801
(256) 683-4210 hsv.al.realtor@gmail.com 24 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
Featured Listings Elegant Privacy: 3102 Barcody Road, Huntsville If elegant living with wooded privacy is what you’re looking for, this Isaac and Patty Winles/ Crye- Leike listing on Barcody Road in Southeast Huntsville fills the bill. With more than 5 acres and 5500+ sq. ft of beautiful, updated living space, this estate property is perfectly situated within 5/10 minutes from Downtown Huntsville, Hospitals, Shopping and Restaurants. This home features 5 Bedrooms, 5 Baths, 4 Car Garage capacity (2 car attached & 2 car detached garage w/ upstairs bonus/exercise/office. Greet your guests in the Grand entrance Foyer, show them to your Music/Formal room, Warm Gathering Room with Fire Place, Stately Dining room, and Inviting Kitchen open to breakfast area with Fireplace. First floor ensuite, Bonus/Game room. Even a Fire place in the master bedroom. Step outside to beautiful outdoor spaces with privacy. Move up to a home with character, conveniences & perfect location.
Alabama Property Management: 5049 Chancel Drive, Huntsville Lea
sed
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FOOD & DRINK
THE BOTTLE
THIS DOWNTOWN RESTAURANT IS A CLASSIC . The Bottle, an upscale eatery that features Southern Cuisine with a French influence, specializes in steaks, chops and a variety of the freshest fish available. The changing seasonal menu includes raw oysters, jumbo lump Maryland style crab cakes, veal chops, lamb racks and Hereford Choice Beef. The Bottle – a name referencing Huntsville’s near mythic, long-shuttered Green Bottle Grill – brings a sense of Southern hospitality and great food to downtown Huntsville. “Downtown has changed dramatically. Huntsville has grown a lot and is going to grow even faster. In general I think diners are more educated than ever. It is good to have restaurants coming into town because it raises the bar. We see a lot more foot traffic than we did. We have two hotels going up and a lot of potential. We are near a great residential area as well. Everyone is more educated and has expectations that you will do a good job with better service, better ingredients,” Chef McDonald says. The experience is enhanced by special events such as Spring Into Gulf Seafood, a six course dinner paired with wine scheduled for the end of March and a special dinner focused on Julia Child’s French cooking that took place over three nights in February. The bar prepares such signature cocktails as Honeycrisp Old Fashioned with Rittenhouse rye, benchmark bourbon, orange and walnut bitters, and Honeycrisp pecan syrup. The smoky root beer is Islay scotch, aged Venezuelan rum, Warsteiner Dunkel lager,and chocolate and cardamom bitters Appetizers include jumbo lump crab cake with Honey Crisp Beurre Blanc and apple slaw and blackened tuna tataki with forbidden rice, kale slaw, Togarashi sauce, and cucumber kimchi Salads range from a classic Caesar to California wilted slaw with Napa cabbage, bacon, blue cheese and almonds. Entrees include pan-seared Georges Bank sea scallops, with couscous and haricots verts. A grilled Angus beef filet mignon with roasted garlic herb butter, demi glace mashed potatoes, and free range Duroc pork chop with stone ground cheese grits, roasted squash and onion and Conecuh white gravy.
At left: The Bottel anchors a corner downtown. Dining Room. Favorite Appetizers. At right: the ribeye dinner.
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Georges Bank Scallops.
Chef Owners Andy Howery, at the age of 14, took his first job as a busboy and immediately knew that he belonged in the restaurant industry. After service in the Navy and culinary work in Las Vegas. He attended the California Culinary Academy and moved to Huntsville, where he worked for the Green Bottle Grill. Later he worked in Atlanta at Brasseri LeCoze, at Pauli’s in Madison and with Washington Square Group as a chef for The Chophouse, Humphrey’s Bar and Grill and Sazio’s. He has been a chef for more than 30 years. Chef Chris McDonald was born in Upstate New York and he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1985 and shortly thereafter began working at Tavern on The Green in New York City. He opened Le Bernardin – one of a handful of four-star restaurants in New York City – in the fall of 1986, becoming sous chef just four years later. Moving to Atlanta, McDonald opened the Atlanta Fish Market in 1992. He started working in Huntsville in 2002, opening Humphrey’s, Pauli’s Chop House, Sazio and Starfish with the Washington Square Group, then joining Restaurant Partners in 2006 and opened Grill 29 and Market Street Café.
Washington Square Catering, a mobile kitchen on wheels, brings The Bottle to wherever you are. The Bottle provides full-service event planning and catering throughout Huntsville and North Alabama. Their off–site catering can give you a Chef preparing a dinner in the privacy of your own home or catering an event that is at a destination location for up to 600 attendees. On-site The Bottle has four dedicated private dining spaces to accommodate parties of six to fifty. The chef’s table seats 12 upstairs. The balcony overlooks the New Orleans style patio of Humphrey’s Bar and Grill. The boardroom seats 12; the great room, both upstairs, seats 35. 28 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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POWER OF WOMEN ISSUE ...
For years Huntsville/Madison has been known as a great place for women to either start a business or advance in the corporate world. This issue’s Power of Women section shines the light on several of the region’s most successful women. We profile fifteen successful area women, all standouts in their various fields. Huntsville and Madison County benefit from a host of successful non-profit organizations set up to help those less fortunate. Our story on non-profit CEO’s shows the same strong management works in the non-profit world as well. This section would not be complete without a look at The Catalyst Center for Business and Entrepreneurship and one of their projects, The Women’s Business Center of North Alabama. Operating out of BIZTECH on Sparkman Drive, The Catalyst and WBC teach women how to be successful. And while many of those small women-owned businesses are in the government sector, The Catalyst can cite a number of non-government successes as well. It’s a good bet you know some of these women and their organizations. You’ll be hearing more about them.
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YOU’RE A WOMAN WITH A SKILL OR A HOBBY, AND YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT IT. YOU’RE GOOD AT IT, TOO. EVERYBODY SAYS SO. YOU’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT FOR A WHILE. FINALLY YOU DECIDE TO TAKE THE PLUNGE. YOU’RE READY TO START YOUR OWN SMALL BUSINESS.
Congratulations! The Huntsville -Madison-Madison County metro area is an excellent place for it. But before you take that big step, take a few smaller ones to the Women’s Business Center, a project of The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship. They can help you chart your course. “What we try to do is help them go 32 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
into it with their eyes wide open and realize what’s required to run a successful business,” says Catalyst CEO Joanne Randolph. “A lot of people don’t realize how hard it is. I tell people it’s real easy to start a business, just go down to the courthouse and get a business license. The hard part is making money and staying in business.”
Joanne’s traveled this road with too many people to count. She has been counseling and coaching entrepreneurs at the Women’s Business Center of North Alabama since she helped found it in 2003. Over the years, WBCNA’s projects and clientele expanded so much – and they welcomed men, too – that they re-branded the organization in 2017 as
The Power of Women
SHERRIE NASH PRESIDENT AND CEO OF JBS SOLUTIONS As President and CEO of JBS Solutions, Sherrie Nash began her path to success decades ago when she earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University. After more than a decade in engineering management for a Fortune 500 company, she took off 20 years to raise a family. Even during this time, however, she devoted her energy and expertise to Sweet Ministries in Atlanta, helping to improve processes and procedures, while leading several women’s groups and volunteering time to numerous non-profits. Today she directs JBS Solutions, a Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) supporting mission operations, engineering services, technical logistics, and supply chain management for NASA and the Department of Defense. Sherrie Nash also serves as the Director of Huntsville’s HUBZone Accelerator project, set up by the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide job skills development and job opportunities for individuals living in Huntsville’s lower economic areas. The HUBZone Accelerator Project’s mission is to help and empower underserved communities through strengthening and advocating HUBZone companies, which are required to hire at least 35% of their employees from HUBZone regions. The program also provides government contracting opportunities to small businesses located in HUBZones. Mrs. Nash is passionate about mentoring and creating jobs for HUBZone residents and has seen the value that the HUBZone program has brought to her community.
JBS SOLUTIONS 2707 Artie St. SW Bldg. 100 Suite #19, Huntsville, AL 35805 256-551-0036 | www.jbs-solutionsinc.com
“WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS HELP THEM GO INTO IT WITH THEIR EYES WIDE OPEN AND REALIZE WHAT’S REQUIRED TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS,” SAYS CATALYST CEO JOANNE RANDOLPH.
The Catalyst to better reflect the services and mission. Along with the Women’s Business Center, Catalyst projects include TechRich, managed by WBCNA co-founder Leigh Christian. TechRich is an Advanced Defense Technology Regional Innovation Cluster working to meet the needs of the defense and space technology industries. Military veterans are a large part of our community and economy, and The Catalyst has a project just for them. The Veteran’s Accelerator, according to catalystcenter.org, provides “a one-stop resource for veterans to start or grow a business, share resources, and market their capabilities to large prime contractors and government agencies.” The HUBZone Accelerator Project aims to empower under-served communities through strengthening and advocating HUBZone companies. The U.S. 34 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON 34 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
Small Business Administration’s website, sba.gov, explains that the Historically Underutilized Business Zones program “helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities.” In December 2019, The Catalyst announced an SBA grant to help small businesses owned by economically and socially disadvantaged individuals: 7(j) Management & Technical Assistance Program. You could say The Catalyst has a lot of vehicles in its garage. No matter the model, effective planning and a clear destination lead to smoother roads. “So many businesses fail because the planning doesn’t go into it up front,” Joanne says. “We preach that you need to begin with the end in mind. Where do you want to go with this business? What’s your exit strategy? For some, it’s leaving a business for their children. For
some, it’s just to have a lifestyle business, a mom-and-pop shop. Some want to build a big business that will employ a lot of local citizens and be a good place for people to work. “If you begin with the end in mind, it changes a lot of decisions you might make in the beginning. If you want to franchise your business, you ought to spend some money on marketing and naming up front. That’s very different than just having one local shop.” The Catalyst journey starts with Engage in Entrepreneurship. This two-hour general coaching workshop is presented in a group setting that’s encouraging and supportive. Coaches listen to each participant’s business goals and help plot a course to reach the destination. “The feedback we get is so good,” Joanne says. “People leave the Engage workshop enthused and motivated and excited.”
The Power of Women
MICHELE PLATT CEO, AVNIK DEFENSE SOLUTIONS, INC. When Michele Kochoff Platt arrived in Huntsville in 1997, she saw an opportunity to serve the warfighter. Armed with an electrical engineering degree from the University of Central Florida and a masters in business from Florida Instite of Technology, and over a decade of engineering and management experience gained at Lockheed in Orlando, Florida, she founded AVNIK. AVNIK (a combination of Aviation and Nikita, the name of her son) provides crucial programmatic, technical, and logistics expertise and services to the Army’s Aviation and Missile Command and innovative research to the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). Under her direction, AVNIK, incorporated in 2006, provides military and commercial program strategic planning, systems design development, systems analysis, and manages innovative solutions to complicated systems. On a daily basis, the energetic CEO manages a diverse workforce and interacts with top military leaders everywhere from Huntsville to the Pentagon in Washington. Never forgetting the community that helped secure her success, Michele honed her leadership skills even further in the Huntsville Leadership Class of 2016. She is an active member of Women in Defense, Energy Huntsville, the Huntsville Association of Small Businesses in Advanced Technology (HASBAT), the Huntsville Aerospace Marketing Association (HAMA), and The Vertical Lift Society. She lives every day by the motto, “This or something better.”
AVNIK DEFENSE SOLUTIONS, INC. ENABLING THE WARFIGHTER 7262 Governors West, Suite 102 Huntsville, AL 35806 256-513-5292 | avnikdefense.com
Participants in Engage are often surprised by the high level of interaction with fellow participants. Yes, they’re attending the workshop to create a good business plan. But they’re also there to connect with other entrepreneurs and start building the strong support system they will need to grow a successful business. Entrepreneurship can be a lonely road. The Catalyst wants their clients to understand they are not alone. “One of the things that we find over and over again is entrepreneurs try to solve all of their problems themselves without getting any help,” Joanne says. “We can help you get a question answered much quicker than you could probably do on your own.” Getting through the business plan can be a big roadblock. Some clients want Catalyst coaches to write it for them. Absolutely not, says Joanne. “The three primary services we provide are coaching, training and connecting. We like to tell people, ‘We advise 36 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
you on what roads to take, but we don’t drive the car.’” Don’t fear the business plan, she says. “It doesn’t have to be a hundred-page document. It just needs to be your road map. It’s not the document at the end of the day that’s so valuable. It’s the process of writing it, thinking about your business and all aspects of your business, and answering questions you haven’t even thought about. It’s the process of forcing you to think about your business from beginning to end before you get started.” Sometimes that process leads clients to a business with a strong plan for success. Sometimes it shows clients that they should take a different path. “When they see what is involved as far as taxes and accounting and all the other things, at the end they say, ‘I don’t want to start a business.’ And that’s a success. We’ve helped them not lose their life savings or their homes or their marriages over a failed small business, which, by the way, we see all the time.”
Starting a business does require a lot of thought and planning. But unlike some endeavors in Huntsville, Joanne points out, “It’s not rocket science.” “Lots of people have started small businesses,” she says. “There are a lot of people in Huntsville who are willing to give back and help others get started. I used to think that everywhere was like Huntsville until I moved away and realized it’s not. There’s no reason for any entrepreneur out there who wants to start a business not to get some advice from seasoned executives and other entrepreneurs who’ve been there and done that.” Engage provides an assessment of the entrepreneur’s needs. Next comes customized coaching. The Catalyst offers help with marketing, understanding finances, business loans, franchising, human resources, taxes, government contracting and more. As entrepreneurs move down the road, their needs change. “When you start a business, you have questions and issues and challenges,”
The Power of Women
RASHIDA WILSON ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY A forward-thinking and passionate thought-leader, Rashida Wilson enjoys empowering others to think beyond the box and become the best versions of themselves. An educator, speaker, professional development consultant and mentor, Rashida has empowered others to soar for more than two decades, employing techniques ranging from professional/corporate coaching to training and program development. In her primary role as a Director and Management Instructor, Rashida serves on Alabama A & M University’s College of Business and Public Affairs leadership team and was the driving force behind the 2017 founding of its Experiential Learning Opportunities (ELO) Program. ELO focuses on bringing meaningful internship opportunities to COBPA students. Success of the program contributed to the COBPA’s recently being awarded Association for Advancement of Colleges and Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation. A graduate of Harvard’s Management and Leadership Development program, Rashida has been asked to present at several prominent conferences, including the National Urban League in 2017 and 2018, the Society of Human Resource Management/Alabama State Conference, the National College Board Conference, and the United Negro College Fund, all in 2019. She recently founded the Nehermiah Leadership Institute NLI) to promote greater management and leadership skills for minority women. Rashida has brought insights from her 25 years of progressive management and leadership experience together in her book, The Millennial Movement: Surviving the Corporate Transition.
ALABAMA A & M UNIVERSITY 4900 Meridian St., Normal, AL 35762 256-256-583-8751 | Rashida.wilson@aamu.edu
Joanne says. “When you get to that next stage of business, you have different questions, issues and challenges. As you go through each one of those business stages, there are new and interesting challenges. We want our clients to realize that we don’t just help you get started. We want to be there for you throughout the entire journey.” The Catalyst enjoys celebrating successful journeys at the Entrepreneur Awards, presented each year since 2016 as part of Innovate Huntsville Week. Here are the 2020 winners, awarded on Feb. 28: • Youth Entrepreneur of the Year – Caleb Wortham, owner of Caleb’s Cookie Cutters, which he creates with a 3-D printer • Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year – Chanda Davis, founder and owner of both Chanda Davis Real Estate and Superior School of Real Estate by Chanda • Creative Entrepreneur of the Year – Lady Vowell Smith, owner and founder of The Snail on the Wall bookstore • Nonprofit Entrepreneur of the Year – Anne Caldwell, CEO of Greater Huntsville Humane Society • Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Amber Yerkey James, Esq., Founder and CEO of New Beginnings Family Law, P.C. • Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year – Kris McGuire, Founder and CEO of Victory Solutions • Entrepreneur of the Year – Sandra Brazelton, President and CEO of Advanced Innovative Management Solutions • People’s Choice Entrepreneur of the Year – Jerry “JD” White, Owner and President of JD Productions, Inc. For the final award, Leigh recognizes Joanne’s many years of coaching, counseling and championing thousands of entrepreneurs. Although 2020 is Joanne’s last awards event as CEO – she’s retiring soon – her name will be part of each program going forward. Not only is she the 2020 Entrepreneur Champion of the Year, the award is now called the Joanne Randolph Entrepreneur Champion of the Year. “I have loved working with entrepreneurs over the last 25 or so years,” Joanne says, accepting the award. “I’ve celebrated with you when good things happened, and I was saddened when they didn’t. I’ve seen a lot of successes and a lot of failures. We learn so much more from our failures. This is why many successful entrepreneurs have a failure or two under their belt.” She recalls talking to a serial entrepreneur about his formula for success. “He said it is 80 percent business acumen and 20 percent skill. That is exactly what we do at The Catalyst – unite the business know-how with the skill to improve the likelihood of success.”
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The Power of Women
GINGER HARPER EMPOWERING WOMEN Ginger Harper, Senior Vice President, Private Banking and Retail Banking Manager at IBERIABANK, has over 20 years of experience in retail and private banking in Huntsville. Since joining IBERIABANK in 2011, Ginger has been an integral part of the Huntsville leadership team responsible for building and growing the IBERIABANK brand locally. Ginger’s passion is to help clients achieve their financial goals and works with each client to customize a plan to meet those goals. She is also tremendously committed to fundraising and advocating to better the Huntsville community. She is a Founding Member of the International Women’s Forum - Alabama, Founding member of the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville Women’s Philanthropy Society, and Former Co-Chair of Women Honoring Women. Ginger believes in empowering women, in the community and in business, by elevating them to positions of leadership to reach their full potential. She encourages others to push past barriers of social and economic status to achieve the impossible. She strongly believes “To whom much is given, much is required.”
400 Meridian St. N Ste 108| Huntsville, AL 35801 256-519-4311| www.iberiabank.com
The Power of Women
FELICIA WILSON ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY MANAGER, ARAMARK HIGHER EDUCATION Institutional success often comes down to the efforts of a few key individuals, and at Alabama A & M University (AAMU), Felicia Wilson is one of those. For more than 50 years, as General Manager for Aramark Dining Services at AAMU, she not only oversees the culinary needs of thousands of students, faculty and staff daily, but does so in a way that projects the university’s and Aramark’s commitment to providing the ultimate service to their students and the campus community. Fifty years of success says a lot. From managing the dining needs of a growing student population to planning for major events, Wilson has seen and done it all. And as Alabama A & M grows in national stature, she has overseen culinary needs for the campus visits of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and scores of American scholars, Nobel Laureates and entertainers. Recently, as one of the chairpersons of AAMU’s Celebrating 50 years of Making a Difference Banquet, a dream of Dr. Andrew Hugine, Jr., President, Wilson used her creativity and ideas from her staff and put together a show-stopping event. In keeping with changing tastes in the hospitality industry, most recently, Wilson led the effort to establish the new cafeteria vegan line, which led to widespread favorable media coverage.
ARAMARK HIGHER EDUCATION AT ALABAMA A & M UNIVERSITY Ernest L. Knight Center 4900 Meridian St. Normal, AL 35762 256-372-5715 | Wilson-felicia@aramark.com 40 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
The Power of Women
WRITER AND SOUTHERN INFLUENCER AMY L. BAILEY Writer and Southern Influencer Amy Bailey has over 20 years media experience from Southern Living to Robb Report to Birmingham magazine. In 2008 she added entrepreneur to her resume when she began the online magazine, MyScoop. us for the modern Southern woman. A purveyor of Southern culture, Bailey writes about travel, recipes, family, entertaining, and style. You can also find her teaching classes on floral design, recipe demonstrations, and gardening. In recent months, Bailey started the Women of Alabama Instagram featuring women from all backgrounds working together to help Alabama shine. She is a strong supporter of the arts in Alabama and has served on the Alabama Ballet Board of Directors, Virginia Samford Theater Board of Directors, Alys Stephens Center Junior Board, and University of Montevallo Junior Board. She currently serves on the Huntsville Ballet Guild and Gothic Guild. An advocate for women and children who often do not feel like they have a voice, Bailey volunteers year round with the Boys & Girls Club. She feels that a healthy community begins not by asking, “How can I be successful”, but rather, “How can we help each other be successful?” Bailey firmly believes a beautiful life is “to laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
AMY L. BAILEY 315-B Franklin Street | Huntsville, AL 35801 205-222-8494|amy@myscoop.us FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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WOMEN IN TECH
ENGINEER. WIFE. MOM. MANAGER. ENTREPRENEUR. BY ANNMARIE MARTIN
Sherrie Nash and Michele Platt are all these and more. Their successes show women can shine in fields mostly populated by men. They understand that projects perform better when woman and men work together for common goals. How do you move a three-story, coneshaped component of a heavy lift rocket across the road? Short answer: very carefully. For the full process, ask Nash, the CEO/president of JBS Solutions, Inc. Her engineers handle those technical logistics, support42 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
ing NASA in hardware development, including the space launch system. “There’s a piece of it near the top, the launch vehicle stage adapter. Any time it has to be moved, my engineer writes the transportation plans and trains the NASA staff.” The component may have to travel from Teledyne to Marshall Space Flight Center. Or it might need to be lifted a little bit for welding. Whatever has to be done, the process has to be managed just right.
“He has to get state troopers. He’s even had to move it from Teledyne to Owens Cross Roads across Governors, across the mountain. It takes a lot of coordination and designing lifting equipment to be able to lift it.” Technical processes – “understanding how things work and why” – have always fascinated Nash. She chose to study industrial engineering, she says, because “that had more to do with people because it’s about process improvement. It’s looking at an employee’s work sta-
The Power of Women
KIMBERLY KEY AND SANDRA STEPHENS CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, KEEL POINT With a combined five decades of combined experience, Sandra Stephens, Chief Operating Officer, and Kimberly Key, Chief Compliance Officer at Keel Point, LLC., bring virtually unparalled service to the financial services industry. Passionate about their work and Keel Point’s mission, Sandra and Kimberly are driven by a common goal: to help people address their financial needs at a personal and compassionate level. Both bring strong financial service pedigrees to Keel Pont - Sandra as Chief Financial Officer for American Bank in Huntsville, Alabama, and before that CEO of SouthFirst Bancshares, a publicly-traded community bank. Kimberly began her career in compliance serving subsidiary firms of Sterne Agee & Leach. Most recently, Kim worked for Morgan Stanley as a Complex Risk Officer, supervising the two largest Alabama branches. Sandra and Kimberly are dedicated to boosting women in the financial services industry and feel fortunate to work for a firm that shares their vision on diversity and inclusion. A community of experienced professionals, Keel Point believes that wealth is a blessing to families and communities. From financial and strategic advice for families just starting out to those with multi-generational wealth, Keel Point helps each family to reach their financial goals.
KEEL POINT 100 Church St SW # 500| Huntsville, AL 35801 256-704-5111 | www.keelpoint.com Securities offered through Keel Point Capital, LLC , Member FINRA and SIPC. Investment Advisory services offered by Keel Point, LLC an affiliate of Keel Point Capital LLC. FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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were three employees. Today there are 44, mostly based at customer sites. “My job is to identify their needs and help meet those needs. Not seeing them on a regular basis makes that challenging. I try to create a corporate culture that says ‘We are a JBS family. It takes all of us doing our best. We’re here for each other.’”
“Controlled chaos.” Platt, the CEO/president of AVNIK Defense Solutions, Inc., laughs as she describes a typical day at the office. The operative word is “controlled.” Michele Platt and Emily Garza at SBIR summit “What’s your objective? Gathin February 2020 er the right team to get that task tion and finding better ways to design it done. I’m a firm believer in team work so they’re more comfortable and more and team building and that you’re much efficient. … While still very technical, it stronger as a group than working alone.” focuses more on people.” She leads a team that understands After graduating from Auburn Unithe big picture of whatever program versity, she worked seven years as an engithey’re managing. At each stage of the neer. She spent the next 20 years at home process, they have the end in mind. raising her family. When the youngest “We provide engineering services to got to high school, she decided to go the Department of Defense, primarily back to work. Army Aviation and Naval Air Systems Friends had started JBS, and they Command. We’ve got technical work hired Nash as their first full-time engithat software engineers perform and inneer. dustrial engineers conducting analysis “Three months later, they asked me and also retired maintenance officers to be the CEO of the company. Within that are providing aircraft subject matter a couple of years, I became majority ownexpertise to future vertical lift and Black er.” Hawk and unmanned aviation systems.” Nash soon realized that JBS offered Before starting her own business in an opportunity beyond the ability to pay 2006, before becoming an engineer and for her children’s college tuition. project manager for a defense contractor, “I began to see that, through my before working in high-end restaurant business, I could make a difference in management, Platt was a little girl growpeople’s lives. For my customers, I could ing up in Michigan across the street from provide solutions to problems that were a bunch of boys. keeping them awake at night. To my em“They taught me how to work with ployees, I could provide a great place to men. You’re on a team. You pull your work. And to the community, one of weight.” my passions is workforce development, She appreciates the different perspechelping people develop job skills to help tives everyone brings to the playing field. them to become more hirable and actual“I think women bring a certain elely providing some jobs for them, to bring ment to a group dynamic, and I think them on board here at JBS and help train men do, too. If you work with people them.” who are of like minds, it doesn’t matter When Nash started at JBS, there 44 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
if they’re men or women.” Teams work, Platt says, if the “ultimate objective is to help somebody else. You have the skills and you have the experience. Somebody helped you. Pass it on.” Anyone who starts a business pulls their own weight and, to a certain extent, the rest of the team’s, too. Platt had the support of husband Don, AVNIK’s vice president, but it was still a big step. “I knew I could meet the needs of my customer going it alone rather than under the auspices of another company, but it was the encouragement from my customer/mentors that really gave me the confidence.” Support from existing customers was vital, but Platt knew AVNIK had to stand out to thrive. A government program, Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), offered an excellent opportunity, albeit a highly competitive one. The program, according to sbir.gov, “encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization.” SBIR became a big win for AVNIK. “It’s easy to bring new technology to a current customer, but it allowed us to get a new customer, the Navy. We were able to bring some of our current Army Aviation skills to NavAir, developing some technology products for them.”
Sherrie Nash and Liz Morgan at JBS Solutions
The Power of Women
THE POWER OF EDUCATION DRAKE STATE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE Our strength doesn’t come from gender. It comes from our determination to be excellent, and from our unwavering belief that every student’s potential is boundless. It drives us to be relentless, to be loud advocates and to be passionate about learning. Because with the right skills and knowledge, our students have the power to change their lives. Back Row L to R: Dr. Carolyn Henderson, Dean of Instruction at Drake State Community & Technical College Arin Zapf, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at Huntsville Hospital and Drake State Foundation Board Member Middle Row L to R: Regina Burden, Dean of Student Services at Drake State Community & Technical College Dr. Diann Hammon, Assistant Professor of Accounting at Athens State University and Drake State Business Administration/CIS Advisory Board Member Front: Dr. Patricia Sims, Drake State President
DRAKE STATE drakestate.edu
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The Power of Women
18 WATERCRESS GREEN MICHELLE HEAD, ROBYN GALLAGHER, AND HANNAH MCNIECE 18 Watercress Green takes apartment living beyond just an address and creates a community. The management team of Michelle Head, Robyn Gallagher, Hannah McNiece ensure that 18 Watercress Green is a place where you can truly enjoy living with state of art pools and fitness center, a dog park, a grocery store in walking distance along with a variety of restaurants and boutiques, and even an art studio for children. The team at 18 Watercress hosts monthly events for residents from Dive-In movies to Barbecues to Game Day Saturdays. 18 Watercress is also active in the community supporting Boys & Girls Club, Toys For Tots, and Manna House. A Top Rated Property with Apartment Ratings since 2015 and a Resident Satisfaction Winner 20172018, 18 Watercress creates a place to call home, a place to build a life.
WATERCRESS DEVELOPMENT 1 Old Fairway Road (Just off Jeff Road at Highway 72 W/University Drive NW) | Huntsville, AL 35806 256-489-1222|manager@18watercress.com
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The Power of Women
CHRISTIAN ELIZER PURE BROW PURE BODY When New Jersey native and military veteran Christian Elizer came to Huntsville in 2006, she came with an idea – and a different mindset – on beauty and skin care. With more than 20 years experience in healthcare and the beauty industry, Christian opened Pure Brow Pure Body to celebrate women with permanent cosmetics, aesthetics and body procedures. For her discriminating clientele, Christian offers a complete range of brow and skin care services ranging from microblading and chemical peels to whole body cryotherapy. She offers tints and lip waxes as well as makeup application and makeup lessons. To better serve the western Huntsville and Madison areas, Christian has just opened Pure Skin Dermatology on Highway 72 West, just past Providence. “We want to change the narrative on how patients can access physicians and quality medical care.” Her vision of serving the community through her work and caring colors everything she does. Take charge of your appearance and confidence. Life is too short to compromise.
PURE BROW PURE BODY BY CHRISTIAN 4245 Balmoral Drive Ste. 101 Huntsville, AL 35801 256-429-9111 |purebrowhsv.com
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The Power of Women
WOMEN IN HEALTH CARE LEADERSHIP According to the U. S. Department of Labor, women make 80% of the health care decisions in this country. Making decisions not only about their own health, women are also caring for children, spouses, aging parents and sometimes, grandparents and other relatives. Crestwood Medical Center is fortunate to have women leaders who also care about the community as a whole. From Senior Management to Board of Trustees, Medical Staff leadership, and Women’s Advisory Council, Crestwood is surrounded and supported by strong, influential, dedicated women who care about all aspects of the health of our community. These leaders volunteer their time and talents to Crestwood to assure quality care and service excellence and help make our community a better place to live.
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Pictured from left to right: Dr. Pam Hudson, Chief Executive Officer; Susan Bryce, Chief Nursing Officer; Sherry Jones, Chief Financial Officer; Leta DeMaioribus, Board of Trustees and Women’s Philanthropy Society/Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville; Fay Raines, Board of Trustees and UAH College of Nursing; Dr. Darla Cowart, Board of Trustees and Madison County Medical Society Board; Penny Billings, Board of Trustees, Women’s Advisory Council, Division President at BancorpSouth, and Chamber of Commerce Board; Dr. Smita Shah, Board of Trustees and American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin; Paula Steigerwald, Women’s Advisory Council, former CEO of Botanical Gardens, and Huntsville Rotary Club; Linda Spalla, Women’s Advisory Council and Christian Women’s Job Corps; Dr. Karen Allen, Vice Chief of Medical Staff and Total Sports & Family Care; Lori Light, Director of Marketing and Leadership Greater Huntsville Board Chair; Lynn Carden, Co-Chair Women’s Advisory Council and Botanical Gardens; Lana Ritch, Co-Chair Women’s Advisory Council and The ARC of Madison County Board; Dr. Brooke Uptagrafft, Board Chair Accountable Care Organization and Downtown Rescue Mission.
CRESTWOOD MEDICAL CENTER 1 Hospital Drive, Huntsville, AL 35801 256-429-4000 | www.crestwoodmedcenter.com FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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THE POWER OF GIVING LEADERSHIP THAT CHANGES LIVES BY KIMBERLY BALLARD
It’s easy to think of women making a difference in the corporate or entrepreneurial world. Not often do we think of how woman make an impact in the non-profit world, but Huntsville and Madison County abound with examples of women who are changing people’s lives for the better. Many 501 c-3 organizations in the Tennessee Valley owe their success to women who give their time and heart to provide much needed services in the areas of education, the arts, corporate giving, community services, and charity work. FACES takes pride in shining the light on four outstanding women who 50 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
have brought remarkable leadership to the nonprofit organizations they run, and who have made significant contributions to the community and the people they serve during their time with their organizations.
Kids to Love Lee Marshall, founder and CEO of Kids to Love is one of those people. During her time as news anchor for WAFF Channel 48, she produced a video segment about recruiting adoptive families. Marshall was herself adopted out of foster care at age two and grew
up with a loving family. As she met with many of the kids in the segment, she became aware of how fortunate she had been. Many of the children she featured fell short of having even their most basic needs met. Marshall founded Kids to Love in 2004 and has served as its CEO ever since. She launched programs like More Than a Backpack to provide school supplies for foster children; Bibles For Kids; See Meth Stop Meth; and Christmas For the Kids. Seeing a new calling, Marshall left television news to dedicate her life to foster children. She admits it was not easy building
The Power of Women
LISA D. BRUCE, DMD AND SONYA L. WINTZELL, DMD LEADING VISIONARIES IN DENTAL CARE The difference is our approach. Dentistry is our profession but people are our focus. This approach is felt from the moment you walk in our door until your treatment is completed. With a solid focus of our patient’s goals in mind, highlighted services range from general and cosmetic dentistry to implants and facial esthetics, including Botox, filler and threading. We partner with our patients in helping them create a beautiful, healthy smile while in a relaxing atmosphere. Along the way, we’ve had the opportunity of developing relationships lasting over 20 years. We welcome you to enjoy the Dental Professionals on Whitesburg experience.
DENTAL PROFESSIONALS ON WHITESBURG 8315 Whitesburg Drive | Huntsville, AL 35802 | 256-883-6770 www.dentalprofessionalsonwhitesburg.com FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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come from the Christmas For the Kids or More Than a Backpack program, but she believes the KTECH program and Davidson Farms group home for girls tangibly changes kid’s lives the most in the long run.
The Arc of Madison County When Susan Klingel took over as Executive Director of The Arc of Madison County 25 years ago, she found it in shambles. Not only was the organization struggling financially, but The Arc was on the verge of losing state certification. The organization had gone through four directors in a five-year period; the Board of Directors was borrowing money to meet payroll and staff morale was in the tank. Right after she took over as Executive Director, one of the members of the Board of Directors handed her a Request for Proposal (RFP) to apply for a $5,000 Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Energy grant. It was a small environmental grant and Klingel said she had no idea what to do with
Above: Lee Marshall, founder/CEO of Kids to Love. Right: Susan Klingel, Executive Director, The Arc of Madison County.
relationships with the Department of Human Resources (DHR) and establishing a strong and honest community presence so donors trusted them with gifts. But through sheer tenacity, she said, she built a group of volunteers excited to help her carry out their programs. She and her father filled backpacks with school supplies from her garage until Louis Breland, a local property developer whose wife Patti was also adopted out of foster care, donated a 13,000-squarefoot building to warehouse, assemble and distribute the backpacks and school supplies. The building also houses the administrative offices and operations for 10 additional programs designed to meet the 52 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
needs of thousands of foster children every year; and KTECH, Marshall’s workforce training initiative for children aging out of foster care, to prepare them for the workplace. “I don’t take no for an answer,” she said. “I am persistent in the sense that if something is going to make a difference for a child, I am not going to give up. They depend on me. This is my purpose and my passion because had I not been adopted my life could have been lived in the uncertainty of foster care as well.” Kids to Love now operates four campuses across North Alabama and Southern Tennessee. They accept no state funding and are debt-free. The most heartwarming letters she receives
The Power of Women
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Today, The Arc has five large facilities and provides recycling and shredding services for over 450 individuals with disabilities every month. Programs have been expanded and they now employ more than 200 people. “I am personally extremely goal oriented and I think that is a quality that helps lead our organization,” she said. “But I am only as good as those around me make me look. I have been very blessed with positive, determined, innovative people who really care about people with disabilities. The catalyst is their collective mindset for setting and achieving goals.”
Manna House
Above:Lee Ann Madole volunteering at Manna House. Below: Toyota volunteers working at the Manna House hydroponic garden
it. After much thought, she came upon the idea of expanding a floundering inhouse recycling program and if they got the grant, she would use the $5,000 to pay individuals who had never been employed because of their disabilities, to pick up paper, plastics, and cardboard materials at local businesses for recycling. 54 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
That vocational training opportunity for people with disabilities kickstarted what has become a role model throughout Alabama. The Arc has received every top agency award in the state. Klingel’s efforts have brought national certification through the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)
Fran Fluhler founded Manna House 16 years ago to help Huntsville families who had experienced layoffs or decreased employment hours, or for families going through chemotherapy or dialysis and couldn’t work. Her mission is simple: provide food, resources, and hope to as many people as possible. She also operated Manna House as a simple organization for five years before she realized the benefits of becoming a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. That designation enabled her to connect with local pastors from multiple churches, companies, and organizations who were willing to come together and serve more families in need. At no time was that more significant than when the Huntsville community learned three children had died due to starvation. Deeply distressed by the news, a local financial planner named Steve Mann told Fran about a program in Houston called Weekend Backpack Bags for Elementary School Students. She went to the school those children attended and asked permission to offer to fill backpacks with kid-friendly, readyto-eat food the children could take home every Friday and have food to eat over the weekend. It was the first program of its kind in Huntsville, as well as in the entire state. Today, thousands of students now get nourishment on weekends instead of a stark outlook of hunger. “My Faith in the Lord to provide peo-
The Power of Women
NICOLE SHELTON AND KATE COLE OWNERS, CARRIAGE HOUSE For more than 50 years Carriage House has specialized in helping the modern woman discover her own style and build her wardrobe accordingly. With the shared goal of helping women of all ages look and feel their best, Nicole & Kate took the reigns in 2017. As new owners, they expanded and elevated their product lines, offering designer brands you won’t find anywhere else. They believe shopping should be fun and exciting, never stressful. With this in mind, they share a laser focus on customer service, putting a modern twist on classic style. Armed with a seasoned sales team, packing more than four decades of combined experience, and an in-house seamstress, they specialize in personal styling and client relations. From designer denim to professional wear and evening gowns, they offer everything a woman needs to walk through life with confidence and style, making Carriage House North Alabama’s premier shopping experience.
CARRIAGE HOUSE 115 Johnston Street SE, Suite 101| Decatur, AL 35601 256-355-4349 |shopcarriagehouse.com Follow Us! @carriagehousefashion @carriagehousedecatur FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
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ple and financial resources; my faith in other people to bring gifts and to help other people going through really tough times; my faith in our community that comes together to help in times of crisis and create an even better place to live – that is why I have been successful,” Fluhler said. “I feel so blessed to live in a community that truly cares!”
305 8th Street Andrea Williams began as a volunteer at 305 8th Street in 2007 and became its director shortly thereafter; but she and her family have been involved with the organization since she was a child. In 1979, her Great Aunt Irene bought the building at 305 8th Street and turned it into a group home. Both of her grandparents were directors and as a little girl, the resident were her friends. After Williams graduated from college and returned to Huntsville in 2007, the condition of the home and the wellness of the residents had deteriorated such that there were 21 disabled adults living unsupervised in abject squalor. No one took them to doctor’s appointments and the building had a leaky roof, holes in the walls, and sewage leaking into closets. Williams wanted to restore her grandparents’ name and to love back the people they considered family, so she creatively borrowed an idea from the Department of Mental Health called MOMs (Medication, Observation and Meals) to create a host of events around food, karaoke, and dancing. Residents now live independently in their own apartments, but receive services like case management, meals, and activities at the center. “I relied on faith, took the hugs and love and rolled with the punches,” she said. “When you are loved as a child and those people leave this world, their lessons still live in you.” The agency, she said, has survived 40 years because of the need. “As long as Huntsville continues to grow, it is my responsibility to answer the needs that grow with it.” 305 8th Street resident Jon Williams with Executive Directory Andrea Williams.
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The Power of Women
MARY LYNNE WRIGHT FROM NURSE TO PRESIDENT Madison Hospital President Mary Lynne Wright is a rare example of a hospital executive who started out as a bedside nurse. In 1981, she was the first surgical staff nurse chosen for Huntsville Hospital’s then-new cardiac surgery team. After proving herself in that role, Mary Lynne was promoted to numerous leadership positions at Huntsville Hospital: director of outpatient services; director of quality management; corporate compliance officer; surgical service line administrator; and finally vice president of surgical services. In 2011, Huntsville Hospital tapped her to run the new Madison Hospital – including overseeing construction and hiring a staff of about 350. Today, Mary Lynne is helping plan a major expansion of the hospital to 120 patient beds. She is also a past president of the Madison Chamber of Commerce, leads an Alabama Hospital Association advisory group of North Alabama hospital executives, and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
MADISON HOSPITAL 8375 Highway 72 W. Madison, AL 35758 256-265-2012 | www.madisonalhospital.org
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WRITING HAPPY ENDINGS BY ANNMARIE MARTIN
The goal: 800 lives saved in 2019. The result: 1,123 pets placed in loving homes. The Greater Huntsville Humane Society’s staff and volunteers wrote happy endings to the stories of those vulnerable animals. New CEO Anne Caldwell is proud of their achievement – the first time they’ve topped 1,000 – but she’ll never be satisfied with that number or any other. She’s read the whole book on neglected, abused and abandoned animals, and she knows too many of them have no good end in sight. Each animal that enters the Humane Society shelter on Johnson Road brings a story. They’re sad, hopeful and heartbreaking. Anne’s eager to share them with anyone who’ll listen. There’s Jeb, a gentle, calm, loving dog with a strong spirit. A volunteer found him roaming the woods, malnourished, with signs of abuse, including a broken jaw. “Once you get involved in this world,” Anne says, “you become a magnet for animals. Our volunteers are always finding them.” Jeb’s story is still being written. He’s safe with a foster family now. The Humane Society raised money for surgery to fix his jaw. After that, he’ll be ready for his own happy ending. When you save an animal, you may be saving yourself, too. That’s how Anne characterizes her personal shelter adoption story. Anne had been an animal lover all her life but not necessarily an advocate. At age 23, she was working at the Madison Public Library when she realized she needed help. “I had lost a couple of family members who were very close to me. I had lost a very close friend. I had gone through a rough break-up. What makes you smile no matter what? Puppies.” At Huntsville Animal Services, she faced a depressing sight. “It is a clean, wonderful no-kill facility. But there’s still something so sad about walking in the doors and seeing kennel after kennel, row after row, stuffed full of animals that don’t have anywhere to go.” Anne found her smile in the puppy corral. “I fell in love with an ornery jerk of a little dog. His name is Randy. He was skin and bones. He had fleas. He was sick and mean and sad. But he put his little paws up and wanted me to pick him up.” That surprised an employee. “He stopped short and said, ‘Whoa! How did you do that? He won’t let anybody touch him.’” Randy brought back Anne’s smile and much more. “He showed me how crowded the shelters are. Once I knew it, I couldn’t erase this nagging in my brain: ‘How are you going to fix this problem?’” Anne volunteered with Huntsville Animal Services and A New Leash on Life. She fostered animals. She left the library when A New Leash offered a paying job. Then, her dream came true. 58 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON 58 FACES OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON
“I saw the job listing for the CEO of the Humane Society while I was on my honeymoon. I applied from Mexico on a whim.” At her age, she didn’t expect to be considered, but the board of directors had no problem with a 29-year-old. After 50 years, the Humane Society wanted fresh blood and new ideas. They hired her last June. Under Anne’s leadership, the Humane Society has expanded its reach to take in animals from kill shelters in seven Alabama counties beyond Madison. The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship named her 2020 Nonprofit Entrepreneur of the Year on Feb. 28. This story has plenty of plot twists ahead. Anne wants to strengthen the state’s animal cruelty and spay/neuter laws and continue to raise awareness of animals’ plight. Read more at ghhs.org.
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“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”
- Estée Lauder
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4700 Whitesburg Dr Suite 150 400 Meridian Street, Suite 108 / 53 Hughes Road www.iberiabank.com
