LIVE Lee - Veterans Issue - November 2021

JeQuetta Canady JCANDO PAGE 38

PHOTO BY TIERRA PATILLO

Lee LIVE SPECIAL VETERANS ISSUE /NOVEMBER 2021

COMMITMENT, HONOR, SERVICE

Proud to Support All Who Have Served Our goal has always been to help meet yours. Today, we’re here for you in more ways than ever. With more locations, more services, and more expertise to help you wherever life takes you.

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701 2nd Avenue • Opelika, AL 2443 Enterprise Drive • Opelika, AL 1605 E University Drive • Auburn, AL 800.277.2175 —2— • SouthStateBank.com Member FDIC

FOR OUR VETERANS

We Give Thanks.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

PSALMS 108:3

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C L A S S I C A L

A N D

C H R I S T I A N

A C A D E M Y

tcsopelika.org

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COMMITMENT

BIOS

CONTRIBUTORS Emery Lay Megan Mann Natalie Salvatore Harrison Tarr

DESIGN

Michelle Key, Publisher Originally from Albertville, Alabama, Michelle Key and her family moved to the Opelika-Auburn area in 2011 after her husband’s retirement from the U.S. Navy.

She is a graduate of Troy University, and she joined the Observer in 2014 as an office administrator before assuming ownership of the newspaper in January 2018.

LAYOUT Hannah Lester Michelle Key

MARKETING Woody Ross Rena Smith

Hannah Lester, LIVE Lee Editor Hannah Lester is an Auburn University 2019 journalism graduate who is originally from Birmingham. She started with the Opelika Observer in July and began as the Associate Editor for the LIVE Lee Magazine. She assigns, writes and edits pieces for the magazine, as well as helps to design the pages. She was named editor of LIVE Lee in July 2021.

PHOTOGRAPHY Hannah Lester Robert Noles

CONTACT US Key Media, LLC

Wil Crews, Opelika Observer Sports Editor Wil Crews is an Auburn University 2020 journalism graduate originally from Prattville, Alabama. He works as the Opelika Observer’s sports editor and assists in developing the weekly paper and LIVE Lee Magazine.

223 S. 8th St., Opelika Phone: 334-749-8003 www.LiveLeeMagazine.com editor@opelikaobserver.com

LIVE Lee is a publication created by Key Media, LLC.

Robert Noles, Photographer Robert Noles is an award-winning photojournalist who has been with the Opelika Observer for more than 10 years. Originally from Tallassee, he is a graduate of Alabama Christian College and Auburn University.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter From The Editor ..........................................5 Serving: Abroad And At Home .............................44 Word From The Mayors ........................................8 A Fair‘Lee’ Good Time.........................................51 Hungry But Humble ............................................13 A Family Connection ...........................................55 Finding Comfort In The Harbor ..........................19

Serving More Than Cookies ..................................61

More Than A Name ..............................................26 More Than Rosie The Riveter ...............................66 New Online Tools Help Alabama Veterans .........30 Stew & Submarines .............................................73 A Home For Heroes ..............................................32 Honoring Our Heroes .........................................78 JCANDO ..............................................................38 Advertiser Index ..................................................82

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Letter from the Editor

n last year’s veterans issue of LIVE Lee, I wrote about my grandfather, Tom Lester, who served in the Korean War as a mechanic on B29 bombers. Unfortunately, we lost him in August. He was 90 and lived a long life, but we will miss him very much.

My brother, however, got to share something very special

My brother, Thomas Lester, reading his Bible in the Smoky Mountains.

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with him before he passed — my brother signed with the Navy and left for basic training on Oct. 26.

Thomas Lester, my brother, and my grandfather, not only shared a name but a commitment to service for their country.

I am extremely proud of my brother for this commitment he made for God and for his country. And one day, I will call him a veteran.

He will give up a lot for this commitment. He will leave home, he will leave Auburn, he will leave his friends, his family and his church to serve our country. And knowing Thomas, he will do so with pride. But, there will be challenges. I’d wager he will get homesick, he will give up a lot of the comforts he’s come to know and he will endure trials and tribulation.

I want to believe that one day he’ll be stopped in the grocery store and thanked for his service and that he’ll be appreciated.

This type of appreciation for our military personnel and our veterans starts with us. We need to remember and pray for our veterans every day. Because they gave up a lot. Some gave up their time. Some gave up their mental or physical health and live with the ramifications of this every day.

Others gave up memories with their families.

This may be the first Christmas I don’t spend with my brother.

And I think our veterans deserve a thank you.

Today, on Veterans Day, and every day.

VETERANS DAY 2021

LEGION.ORG The American Legion and LIVE Lee Magazine

salute our military veterans of all eras this November 11 - and every day.

Thank you for serving America with honor, courage and commitment.

Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jonathan

Do you know where to find us?

Beauregard Drugs - sponsored by SouthState Bank Butcher Paper BBQ - sponsored by Wadkins Metal Hardees Exit 60 - sponsored by Trinity Christian School Krispy Kreme - sponsored by Zach Alsobrook Sam’s Club - sponsored by Harvest Thrift Terry’s Grocery - sponsored by Smiths Station Rx Terry’s Marathon - sponsored by Price’s Small Engine Toomers Drug Store - sponsored by Gorees Walmart Neighborhood Store at University - sponsored by Oliver & Company Hair Studio Winn Dixie - Opelika

Get the next issue of LIVE Lee in your mailbox by subscribing to the Opelika Observer at opelikaobserver.com/ subscribe-today/.

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n Young

Honoring all who served

THANK YOU VETERANS NOVEMBER 11, 2021

OPELIKA PUBLIC LIBRARY 1100 GLENN STREET 9 A.M. – BREAKFAST (Free to all veterans and their families)

10 A.M. - PROGRAM (Public invited)

Reception to follow at the Museum of East Alabama 121 S. 9th Street, Opelika

AUBURN

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T

hanking a veteran for their service should never be reserved for one or two days out of the year.

The sacrifices each member of the U.S. military have made deserve year-round appreciation. Yet, I truly cherish days like [Veterans Day] when the world seems to stop, setting aside a special time to join in unison to celebrate our veterans and what they’ve done for each of us.

Today, I join with many from the city of Auburn to remember the bravery of the men and women who responded to the call. We

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remember the courage they showed in defense of our freedoms. We remember those lost in the line of duty, and we remember the struggles many have faced as they return home from war.

This Veterans Day, I encourage each of us to seek out the veterans in our lives — whether a family member or someone we encounter at the store — and thank them for the contribution they’ve made to our great nation. And to all of our veterans, I personally thank you for your dedication.

We salute you today and every day.

With gratitude, Auburn Mayor Ron Anders Jr.

COMMITMENT

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ear veterans,

I’ve never been deployed, nor have I worn the uniform. And I don’t know what it is like to fight for my freedom. I have no idea what you have experienced — your greatest fears, bravery and your survival.

They say ignorance is bliss. But I am aware that I know nothing of what you know. I am more than appreciative for the sacrifices you have made to defend our nation and protect our freedoms and dayto-day privileges that are so often taken for granted.

We encourage our community to honor our military members each and every day.

We invite you to the city of Opelika’s Veterans Day program on Nov. 11 at the Opelika Public Library located at 1100 Glenn St. The breakfast for veterans and their families will begin at 9 a.m., the ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and there will be a reception to follow at the Museum of East Alabama.

This year more than ever before, I say thank you to our past, present and future veterans for your service.

Sincerely, Mayor Gary Fuller

OPELIKA

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SMITHS STATION

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ear readers,

It is hard to believe that Veterans Day has come once again.

My family, along with millions of others, have members that have gone on to serve their country and put their lives in harm’s way to protect our country’s most sacred freedoms and privileges. That realization makes Veterans Day one of the most humbling days of the year each year that it comes.

As you flip through the pages of this special publication, please look at their faces and think of the sacrifices and struggles they went through, putting you, your family and friends, your neighbors and your country before themselves. Without these special men and women, America would not be the place it is today.

May God bless our veterans and may God bless the United States of America!

Mayor F. L. “Bubba” Copeland

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HONOR

www.va.alabama.gov

STATE BENEFITS:

• Claims Representation and Counseling • Alabama G.I. Dependent Scholarship Program • Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery • Veteran Driver License • Distinctive License Plates • State Veterans Home Program

State of Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs 100 North Union Street, Suite 850, Montgomery Alabama 36104

334-242-5077 Lee County Veterans Service Office Service Officer - Sean Gathers 205 South 10th Street Opelika, AL 36801

334-737-3626

Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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‘Hungry But Humble’ Sherri Reese Lives A Life of Service Story By Wil Crews Photos Contributed

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SERVICE

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F

rom a young age, Sherri Reese knew who she was.

“People who knew me 20 years ago, 30 years ago, I’m still the same person,” Reese said.

From her time growing up in Opelika, through the many journeys she had in the military, to the time she has spent back home since retiring, Reese said she has been humble — but hungry.

Furthermore, as an only child raised by a single mother, Reese said she learned the value of hard work at an early age.

“Growing up here in Opelika really shaped me,” Reese said. “I never really heard my mom complain, she just did what she had to do for me. Seeing that, I just thought that’s how it goes, that’s what you are supposed to do.”

Reese’s hard work manifested itself in a state championship during her time as a track & field star at Opelika High School.

Her track plaudits earned Reese a college athletics scholarship, but the speedster’s time at a higher learning institution didn’t go exactly as planned, she said.

“The scholarship paid for stuff, but I still wanted to eat,” Reese added. “It was like ‘oh ... this is still a struggle.’ And because my mom was a single parent, I didn’t want to keep going to her.”

Reese’s early struggles with university life led her to the decision to join the Army Reserves. When she arrived at the recruitment office, Reese said the recruiter did what any good recruiter does — convinced her to join the Army full time.

“The recruiter did exactly what he was supposed to do, he sold me the Army,” she explained. “He was like ‘you can run track in the Army.’ I said I’m only going to do this for two years, and then the next thing you know …”

Over the next 24 years of active service, Reese participated

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in multiple tours to the Middle East, earned numerous honorary medals, was featured as Sports Illustrated’s “fastest woman in uniform” and traveled to multiple corners of the world, from Portland, Oregon, to Egypt and many places in between.

From her first day in the Army to the last, Reese said she loved every minute.

“My adaptability skills have always been great,” she said.

“So, going into the Army wasn’t like a shock. I was already physically fit. To me, it was great.

It was easy. The Army was 24 years of greatness for me.

The friendships that were forged, some of those people are like my best friends in the world.”

Despite her swift adjustment to service, Reese admitted that she was somewhat timid on her first assignment — a trip South Korea. After coming home and returning to Seoul on account of the Army track team, however, Reese’s whole mindset changed.

“I just got out and started seeing everything, really just putting myself into the culture,” she said. “And I really enjoyed it.”

Throughout the rest of her journeys — abroad and domestic — Reese said she did her best to embrace the change of climate, culture and responsibility.

After Korea, Reese returned to the states working for three years in the airborne school at Fort Benning in Cusseta, Georgia, just a 50-minute drive up Interstate 85 from Opelika.

She then proceeded to Portland, Oregon, working at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). Next, she was a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson, in Columbia, South Carolina.

“Being a drill sergeant is the best job in the Army,” Reese said. “You get them fresh off the streets and you have nine

SERVICE

weeks to turn this person into a soldier, you teach them everything. I did that for two years and I loved every minute of it.”

Following Fort Jackson, Reese returned to Korea for just over a year. She then moved back stateside to Fort McPherson in Atlanta and served as an inspector general, a position that she called the “eyes and ears” of the generals themselves. It was then that Reese was first deployed. Roughly 7,244 miles from her home state of Alabama, Reese headed to Kuwait.

“I loved my time in Kuwait,” she said. “It was high alert, but to me, it wasn’t really different from any duty station I had been at.”

By far the hardest part of Reese’s three years in the Middle East was the absence of her son, who at the time of deployment was just six months old, she said.

“Keeping in touch with home was very important for me at that point,” Reese revealed.

Upon her return to the U.S., Reese rejoined her son and spent time in Atlanta working as a detail recruiter. It was then that she was promoted to the rank of master sergeant.

“Now I outranked the people I worked for,” she said. “So I was placed back in the big Army.”

From Atlanta, Reese and her son traveled to Fort Drum, New York, where she was deployed again — this time to Iraq — came home, was commissioned as an officer, deployed to Japan for three years (this time with her mother and son accompanying her) and then returned to Atlanta.

“From Atlanta, my son and I went to Hawaii,” Reese said.

The unfortunate passing of Reese’s father brought her and her son back home, but soon after Reese would buy a house and begin to settle in “paradise”.

It was at this time that Reese’s active-duty military service reached what she calls “the endpoint.”

Less than two weeks after her retirement in 2016, 18 months after the passing of her father, Reese was back in Hawaii when she received the news of her mother’s passing.

“My mom had been my backbone for all of these years; she was my biggest fan,” Reese said. “It was almost like, everything that happened — the retirement, her death, the timing — I don’t think I could have [gone] on in the Army without that.”

After grieving, the newly-retired Reese and her son returned to the Aloha State for another two years, earning her master’s degree in the process.

“But I [noticed] that I’m starting to get homesick,” Reese

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said. “I wanted to come back. I wanted to give back to my community.”

Reese and her son officially moved back to Opelika in 2018.

“I wanted to bring my son back so that he could get to know some of his family members because he has always been with me in the military,” Reese said.

Back in her hometown, Reese immediately began volunteering her time. Naturally, the first place she found a fit was with the OHS track team.

“I do a lot of behind the scenes, admin stuff, because that’s what I’m good at,” Reese explained of her role under Opelika track & field coach Jimmy Johnson, whom she jokingly calls the G.O.A.T. “Basically whatever he needs me to do, I am there.”

Now, 29 years after enlisting in the Army, Reese is taking what she learned from her time as a service member — and as a civilian — and continues to use it to give back to her community.

“This is my home,” Reese said. “I always think about the opportunities that I missed because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. So, I wanted to come back and help the people who are like me. And that has been my biggest passion since I’ve been back.”

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Reese also serves as a member of the Lee-Russell Transportation Board, and recently volunteered her time with the non-profit Girls STEPS Inc., speaking to girls about her time in the service and encouraging them to be bold in life.

“I love that they empower girls,” Reese said of Girls STEPS. “Being with those kids and being around those kids and being able to share my story with those kids, letting them know it’s okay to go out in the world and learn things, and better yourself ... Opelika is going to be here. Your family is going to be here.

You go out in the world and learn things and then come back and pay it forward. That’s what I want to do.”

In the future, Reese said she hopes to take her philanthropy to the next level. She said she one day hopes to run for city council or even something “bigger.”

In the meantime, she will continue to share her wealth of knowledge and encourage youth and those around her to live their dreams.

“Don’t set limits on yourself,” Reese said. “Don’t let somebody else set limits on you. You go out, you set goals and you achieve those goals. Once you achieve it, don’t be satisfied.

Stay humble but stay hungry, that’s the biggest thing I want these kids to remember.”

SERVICE

NOW OPEN!!

Thank you to all those who serve

DOWNTOWN OPELIKA 223 S. 8th Street, Unit B Call 912-322-1699 For Reservations

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Axe Marks the Spot —18—

Finding Comfort In The Harbor

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Story By Natalie Salvatore Photos Contributed COMMITMENT

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mbodying the motto, “You served us, now let us serve you,” one assisted-living facility in Opelika deeply cares for all of its residents, some of whom are veterans.

The Harbor at Opelika is more than just a memorycare center. Here, its specialty is helping those with different forms of dementia, like Alzheimer’s, live in a comforting, safe environment where they can age in peace.

This assisted-living facility symbolizes a sense of community. Residents can connect with each other, as well as with their caregivers. It also gives veterans a place to bond with other veterans. Christy Goodwin, the area director of sales and marketing, passionately works every day to give residents the loving guidance they deserve.

She described how the facility’s 1950s theme was intentionally planned to take residents back to a happier time in their past. The Harbor’s strategic placement of furniture, artwork and different colors helps establish this charming, peaceful setting.

“After years of research, The Harbor was designed to be a refuge from the storms associated with Alzheimer’s

and other forms of dementia,” Goodwin said.

The Harbor’s new executive director, Sharon Lee, is already putting to work her extensive experience in the healthcare field after joining the team in June. Her workday routine changes daily to best accommodate the residents. As every person suffers from dementia differently, the staff properly recognizes this by meeting residents right where they are in their individual journeys.

“Our residents are our north star and come first and foremost every day,” Lee said. “It is my and my team’s responsibility to make certain that all our residents are cared for with honor, respect, faith and integrity.”

Not only does The Harbor strive to provide tranquility for its residents, but this center also wants to ease their worrying families. The staff has received positive feedback as families have observed the amazing relationships that develop in this uplifting atmosphere.

“We do our best to make sure that families know their loved one is taken care of and loved on just as they would be at home,” Lee said. “While we take care of Mom or Dad, our goal for the family is peace of mind.”

Each resident has his or her own private apartment

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that is decorated based on individual style and furnishing preferences. Some amenities include assistance with activities of daily living, three home-cooked meals per day, escorts and transportation, courtyards and outdoor activities, medication management, as well as housekeeping services.

This center prides itself on how it caters to veterans along with other residents. Goodwin said The Harbor partners with an expert organization to help veterans or their families to qualify for an Aid & Attendance Allowance. This can help veterans in covering the costs of assisted living services and is paid to veterans and their families.

“When a veteran moves in with us, we place their service picture on our wall of honor and partner with local service organizations to continue honoring our veterans,” Goodwin said.

She added that the dedicated team of 20 to 25

Goodwin said this sits close to her heart.

“If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times — when you come to The Harbor, as a resident, family member, visitor, even a team member, you are family,” she said. “We are so blessed to have such an amazing family of hundreds because of all of our extended members.”

Their “Purposeful Day” program is a highlight of the facility. This initiative centers on the idea that each day brings a fresh start and a new purpose. Adhering to a daily routine, while also switching up activities based on residents’ wishes, seems to be well reciprocated.

“We want to make sure our residents are fulfilled and enjoy life. Just a part of what we do to accomplish that is to use reminiscent therapy, music, exercises and games,” Goodwin said.

Mealtime is another highlight of a resident’s day, and The Harbor works to foster a family-style dining

“Our residents are our north star and come first and foremost every day. It is my and my team’s responsibility to make certain that all our residents are cared for with honor, respect, faith and integrity.” employees, who work daily with the residents, receive training once a month from the Alzheimer’s Association.

The team also trains more in-house where they develop skills on how to care for residents who may experience symptoms commonly associated with memory loss. The licensed and certified staff is devoted to every person’s dignity. Caregivers respect each resident’s worth and are always willing to assist any distinct need.

Goodwin has many heartfelt stories to share about The Harbor. One family of a former resident, who passed away a few years ago, still regularly visits the current residents. Not only do they visit the friends they made while their mother lived there, but they also engage with the new residents to make them feel loved as well.

experience. Residents can eat their meals in the dining room and have coffee, snacks or dessert with friends anytime.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the facility’s ultimate goal is to keep its residents and staff safe and healthy.

“We have made every effort to help our loved ones stay informed and connected through window visits, FaceTime appointments and frequent phone calls,” Goodwin said. “The support and prayers from our families have kept our team steadfast in our mission to serve our seniors at The Harbor.”

For more information, call 334-749-7992 or visit www. legacysl.net/facilities/harbor-at-opelika/.

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COMMITMENT

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More Than A Name Story And Photos By Harrison Tarr

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ach day, citizens of Opelika, Alabama, walk into city hall to resolve issues and complete tasks of all varieties. In this day and age, it’s not difficult to imagine that these individuals waltz into the building without paying attention to their surroundings. Many are fumbling to make sure their phones won’t go off mid-conversation, others are simply on a mission to take care of the business they are there to fulfill.

For Opelika native Edna Ward, a trip to city hall includes an observation of the premise’s centerpiece: the Opelika, Alabama Veterans Monument. The historical marker captivates her interest each time she sees it, she said.

“I’ve walked by the monument many times at city hall and to see those names there from World War I and World War II, there’s more than that — that’s more than a man’s name,” Ward said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic

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emerged in March 2020, Ward found herself with a substantial amount of time on her hands and her curiosity for the names on the monument compelled her to compile a document to answer the questions she believes anyone should ask of their local veterans.

“Who were they? Where were they from? Where are they now? That’s what got me wondering,” Ward said.

The answers to these questions are found in Ward’s latest publication: “Lee County, Alabama’s Military Heroes. To Their Memory and Honor.”

In an effort to connect the citizens of her community with their heroes, Ward’s book provides documentation and identification of 197 veterans who hail — or hailed — from Lee County.

“I was looking for anything about them that would make them human,” Ward said. “Making people see this was a real person, they lived and they disrupted their lives to go into military service.”

Understanding and appreciating the devotion the men and women in her publication had to their country is of utmost importance to Ward.

“We’re free today because of the efforts of men like them,” Ward said. “I mean, we can’t forget this.

We shouldn’t forget it. We should remember every day how important this is.”

Although the author has a profound admiration for those who have served and is committed to honoring these individuals in her community, Ward did not come from a family of military lineage.

“My family doesn’t have a military background,” Ward said. “My dad had this heart thing going through our family. So dad didn’t serve and my brother didn’t either. They were called but [the military] didn’t take them.”

Nonetheless, she makes a point to celebrate the patriotism of those who did serve by conducting her own research and attending events in these individual’s honor.

“Every Memorial Day, they have a ceremony up at city hall,” Ward said. “I usually attend it if I can.”

Although the process of compiling

HONOR

research was imminently tedious, Ward said that she enjoyed the development of her publication and noted how fascinating she found military records to be.

“Military records are really amazing,” Ward said. “It’s amazing how organized they were even way back when.”

Although records dating back to World War I were immensely organized, hiccups still arose in the sifting through of records. Ward recalls one occasion in which she was unable to locate information on a Lee County veteran who had slipped between the cracks in the eyes of the military.

“I could not separate one of them,” Ward said. “They have two men and the information on the internet has them both at the same grave. I even called the national cemetery to see which one they did have. They had the one from Florida and I never did find the one from Opelika.”

The inability to locate one individual was not the only case of tragedy that Ward faced; the unfortunate reality that was the nature of draft selection showed its face when another Lee County hero’s story surfaced.

“One of the casualties from Lee County could not read or write,” Ward said. “When they asked something to do with ‘what are your skills,’ he [said he] could drive a truck. They needed truck drivers. Signed him up. It’s just so sad to me.

Why did an adult in Lee County, Alabama, get grown and not be able to read and write?”

It is because of the discovery of stories such as these individuals that Ward believes her work is of value to the Opelika community; however, her efforts have not yet stopped. She unintentionally left out the 198th member of the group: Belton Thomas.

“I’ve missed one,” Ward said. “Somebody, after they picked up one of those books, called and told me I missed Belton Thomas and I said ‘Well how did I do that? Let me see.’ So I took the information down and checked on him.

Well, he served in two wars but he died a natural death so he wouldn’t be in there. It turned out to be his son. His son was the first one buried in Garden Hills. It was not even open when he died.”

If and when her book is republished, Thomas’ story will sit alongside his fellow servicemen and women.

“If it’s ever printed again, I’m going to include him,” Ward said.

Copies of Ward’s book were claimed quickly from its distribution center at Jeffcoat Trant Funeral Home and Crematory. Thanks to her work, those who served from Lee County, Alabama, have become much more than just names honored in stone in front of the Opelika City Hall.

They are individuals that members of their home community can connect with. Individuals who — in the words of Ward — lived and disrupted their own lives to defend the freedom of the United States of America.

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461 Opelika Road, Ste. A, Auburn Serving Lee County for 25 years

334-502-8848

www.whittsautoservice.com

Thank you for your service!

Happy Veterans Day

1910 Pepperell Parkway, Opelika 334-749-1471

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New Online Tool Helps Alabama Veterans Story Contributed By AARP

ast month, the AARP launched a new tool to bring together valuable information and resources to help veterans, military families and their caregivers navigate their health care options. The Veterans and Military Families Health Benefits Navigator, provides Alabama’s veterans with critical information about what is required to qualify for health care benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or Department of Defense (DoD).

“Now more than ever, veterans and military families need help accessing the health care benefits they earned serving our country,” said Candi Williams AARP Alabama State director. “This free, one-stop resource will help make the process less confusing and overwhelming for veterans and military families as they navigate their options.”

Even before the pandemic, veterans and their families struggled with where to begin when deciding the best path for their health care needs: VA health care, Military Tricare, Medicare, private insurance or Medicaid. Recently, more than 340,000 veterans have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and VA medical centers have reported almost 15,000 deaths from the disease. In addition, of the 388,865 veterans living in Alabama, only 28% have utilized their earned benefits at VA health care, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The AARP Veterans and Military Families Health Benefits Navigator can help families: - Learn more about health benefits provided through the VA and DoD. - Understand how to apply for and enroll in VA health care and - Identify how to get help from representatives who have experience and knowledge of the VA’s process for awarding benefits.

Nearly 60% of all veterans are eligible for VA healthcare services, while less than half of those eligible veterans use VA health benefits, according to a RAND study. Yet quality of care delivered by VA is generally equal to or better than care delivered in the private sector. A misunderstanding or frustration with the application process causes many veterans to simply forgo VA health benefits. Oftentimes, confusion about qualification requirements keeps veterans from receiving their health benefits.

AARP’s Veterans and Military Families Health Benefits Navigator is available at www.AARP.org/ VetsHealthNavigator. For more information and other resources for veterans, visit www.aarp.org/veterans.

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Live lovely

AND LET US HELP YOU! The Gallery on Railroad, in downtown Opelika, offers lifestyle collections that help enhance your personal style!

IG: @thegalleryonrailroad 334.749.2462 www.thegalleryonrailroad.com

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Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all of our veterans.

Thank you

COMMITMENT

A Home For Heroes

Adkins at a book signing event for his book ‘A Tiger Among Us’

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COMMITMENT

ARCHITECTURE RENDERING WILLIAMS BLACKSTOCK ARCHITECTS

By Natalie Salvatore Photos By Robert Noles and Williams Blackstone Architects

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ommand Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins, who was born in Oklahoma but spent much of his childhood in Opelika, was an American hero. From serving in the Vietnam War to receiving numerous awards and decorations, Adkins inspired many. In honor of his death in April 2020 from COVID-19, a new state veteran home is opening in Enterprise.

Brandon Miller, the public information officer for the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, along with Kim Justice, the executive director of the National Association of State Veterans Homes, offered insight on Adkins and the future home. The Board of Veterans Affairs chose both the location and name for this project.

Born in February 1934, Adkins was enlisted in the U.S. Army at a mere 22 years of age. He not only served his country, but he served his fellow soldiers.

While deployed in Vietnam in 1966, he served as an Intelligence Sergeant with the Fifth Special Forces Group at Camp “A Shau.” After the camp was attacked one morning, Adkins quickly manned a mortar position in defense.

“Upon learning that several soldiers were wounded near the center of camp, he temporarily turned over the mortar to another soldier, ran through exploding mortar rounds and carried several comrades to safety,” Miller said. “By the end of the battle, Adkins was hit 18 times

by enemy fire.”

Because of his bravery during this battle, he received the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest distinction, from President Barack Obama on Sept. 15, 2014.

Upon retirement from a more than 20-year military career, the veteran earned one bachelor’s and two master’s degrees, as well as an honorary doctorate from Troy University. Later in life, he returned to his roots and resided in Opelika, Miller said. Adkins passed away at the age of 86.

Justice said they plan to break ground on the Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins State Veterans Home early next year, with construction beginning later on in 2022.

Construction is projected to finish in 2023. After the department conducted a Feasibility Study and declared the state’s need for a fifth veterans home, Enterprise was chosen among 12 other candidates.

“As the executive director of state veterans homes, I coordinated the Feasibility Study and applied for the State Home Construction Grant from the Veterans Affairs,” Justice said. “My job is to work closely with the architect firm on design and finishes for the home, and I will participate with oversight of the construction of the project.”

Miller said that some of the factors analyzed for evaluating the different site proposals included

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ARCHITECTURE RENDERING WILLIAMS BLACKSTOCK ARCHITECTS

Adkins attending the unveiling of the Medal of Honor postage stamps

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ARCHITECTURE RENDERING WILLIAMS BLACKSTOCK ARCHITECTS

state transportation accessibility, nearby healthcare services, as well as favorability of land for surrounding recreational activities for veterans and their families.

“Since the location of the facility was chosen, the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs has established and maintained a great relationship with the city of Enterprise, Coffee County and Fort Rucker. Studies indicate the county, and Enterprise in particular, will see a significant growth in the veteran population in coming years,” he said.

For this project, the department hired the Birmingham company Williams Blackstock Architects, who designed Col. Robert L. Howard’s State Veterans Home in Pell City.

Justice said the 182,000-square-foot facility will house 174 residents in a spacious home, featuring a farmhouse style and natural light. Upon entering the home, a hall of honor displays memorabilia for Adkins, as well as for every branch of service. The home will have an outdoor landscape with courtyards, porches and a fireplace.

Inside, the home’s Town Center provides a wide-open space for veterans to gather together with their families.

The corridor features amenities including a chapel, a library, a beauty and barbershop, a therapy gym, a sports bar, a conference room and the main dining room. Not only does the home provide spacious, comforting public spaces for its residents, but the veterans also have their own private bedrooms and bathrooms.

“There are two houses within each neighborhood that

have a kitchenette, as well as a dining and living room space,” Justice said. “The veterans may choose to eat in their house or go to the Town Center for meals.”

Not only is the project providing the expanding veterans’ population with a new place to call home, but it will also offer over 200 job opportunities. Miller said it will be close to Fort Rucker, where many U.S. Army veterans were formerly stationed. The home has the ability to tie people together no matter where they come from.

“Although the home is not reserved specifically for veterans in the Wiregrass [area], it provides an affordable, nearby assisted-living facility for those living in the southeastern region of the state,” he said.

As the home is not open to receive admission applications yet, veterans are encouraged to apply to any of the other four state veterans homes in Alabama and can transfer when the Adkins home is finished.

Justice said that all announcements related to the home’s completion and acceptance period of applications will be publicized.

She added that as construction finalizes, the home will contract with a healthcare management company. It will also hire personnel in stages to meet the demands.

The Bennie Adkins veteran home, spanning over 108 acres, will be located off Highway 51, north of Yancey Parker Industrial Park. It is expected to open for admission in 2024. For more information, call (334) 242-5077 or visit www.va.alabama.gov.

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Adkins attending Opelika’s 2019 Veterans Day ceremony

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JCANDO JeQuetta Canady Lives A Can Do Life Story By Hannah Lester Photos Contributed

O

ne Opelika veteran decided that following her time in the service, she would start her own business.

JeQuetta Canady

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said that a lot of the decisions she has made can be traced back to her childhood and her past.

A series of struggles, including being diagnosed with dyslexia, becoming a mother

and getting married right out of high school and low self-esteem all contributed to the difficulties of finding herself.

“It was through a process of my relationship with Christ and just support from my family that just kind of propelled me to go to that next level,” Canady said. “I ended up joining the military and that’s kind of where I got my boost in confidence.

—39—

“… I kind of took that journey and just kind of found myself and God, in that experience. God kind of not only showed me who He was in me but who I was in Him. And so that just propelled me to be more me, just be more authentic and just share more of my story.”

And this is her story.

Canady was 27 when she joined the military.

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“I kind of took that journey and just kind of found myself and God, in that experience, God kind of not only showed me who He was in me but who I was in Him. And so that just propelled me to be more me, just be more authentic and just share more of my story.”

“I was really, in all my stories that I share, I was always hesitant to share because my story was really different from other peoples’, like my reasoning was different,” she said. “… I joined because it was at a time in my life, I was still struggling, kind of dealing with trying to find myself and I felt like if I did not have something for myself that I was going to lose my family. I wasn’t going to be the mother, the wife, the person I wanted to be.”

Canady said when she entered the recruiting

office, she even had her children with her. She wasn’t sure what to expect.

Despite the struggle of taking the test with her children with her, Canady scored well on the ASVAB (armed services vocational aptitude battery) test.

A recruiter asked her if she would consider going into intelligence.

Canady was in the reserves for six years before deployment.

“At that time I had just recently moved to the

—40—

Opelika area and I really didn’t know what I was going to do as far as job-wise,” she said. “And I was just coming off of training and I had been on unemployment and trying to figure out what I was going to do and I was working on orders in the military to kind of keep that full-time pay going. “… I ended up going on this two-week training, and I barely got in there, but they were like ‘we’re going to make a spot for you.’”

While on this training, Canady learned she was being deployed to Afghanistan with a ship-out date in 30 days.

“Being deployed is one of the main reasons why I didn’t want to join, I’m like ‘I don’t want to go to war,’” she said. “But that ended up being one of the best things for me. It was at a time that I needed it.”

Five days before leaving Afghanistan, Canady tore her ACL, but was, she said, thankfully able to finish her deployment.

Following surgery and rehabilitation, Canady was in for another challenge — breast cancer.

“I [had thought] I’m going to get back, healed, get back to my PT standards and go back and finish out my 20 years and retire,” she said. “That was not the plan God had.”

The breast cancer required three surgeries, but this allowed Canady to focus on what God wanted for her life, she said.

“When I first joined, I was all about staying in the background,” she said. “‘Let me do my job and go home.’ But as I grew and got into more leadership positions — it was finding my voice in the room. I have to say, I didn’t think, at some points, that I was good enough to be in the room, much less have a seat at the table.

“So, when I actually got that opportunity, it was more of, ‘How do I lean in

—41—

now and speak my peace?’ But I balanced that also with the Spirit of God, ‘what are you leading me to say? When do I need to speak and when do I need to be quiet?’”

These are things Canady has brought with her through her cancer journey and leaving the military.

Following the military, Canady began her own business: JCANDO. JCANDO is created to help others use their talents well, Canady said, and help others set up their business.

“That’s kind of my passion, to make sure that people are not only just out there doing something just to say ‘I’m in business’, but to set it up right and make sure you’re doing something that you love or something that you can share with others that can benefit the community.”

Canady is also hoping to launch a nonprofit to provide scholarships for high school students with “learning differences,” she said.

“For high school students diagnosed with a learning ‘difference’, not disability,” she said. “In other words, to remove the stigma of different styles of learning as something bad, such as dyslexia, or who have an IEP in place. [So they can use these scholarships] in higher education, a trade or entrepreneurship to promote a ‘Can Do’ mentality. I would like to focus on my hometown of Roanoke, Alabama, first, but I foresee this nonprofit being spread across the nation.”

The veteran has also published a devotional journal, which is available on Amazon. “[The devotion] is the first step of my mission, which is to help individuals ‘know who God is in you, know who you are in God and learn how to share

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and nontraditional loans and lines of credit so they can build, grow and scale their business to the next level,” she said.

“My hope is to help entrepreneurs sustain the hope of living their dreams by creating and successfully maintaining a credible business.”

Her site, jcando. com, has a blog, shop, Patreon and the business credit site. For more on the business itself, outside of her personal site, visit: www.biz.jcando. com.

She is also active on Facebook: www. facebook.com/ JeQuettaCanDo.

your gifts and talents with the world through entrepreneurship.’”

"If JCANDO, So Can YOU! | Philippians 4:13" is available here: www.amazon.ca/ JCANDO-can-YOUSTRENGTHENSPhilippians/ dp/0578782863.

Thirdly, Canady has launched a business growth aspect of JCANDO, the Business Growth Finance Suite. “[This] is a business credit software that gives new and seasoned entrepreneurs, business owners and ministry leaders the ability to establish a credible business entity, build business credit and gain access to traditional

—42—

Because We Care

Everywhere you look, you see AuburnBank employees volunteering and serving to make our community better and to help it grow. That’s because AuburnBank cares.

Since 1907, AuburnBank has cared about and invested in this community, which is why we have such a strong presence in local charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity, United Way and the Food Bank of East Alabama, to name a few.

We’re a local bank with deep roots. We care deeply about our community, so just imagine how much we care about our customers.

AuburnBank. Your Partner. Your Neighbor. Your Friend.

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—43—

MEMBER FDIC

COMMITMENT

Kelley Griswold during his election campaign.

Serving ...

A

uburn, Opelika and Smiths Station all three have city council members who are also veterans. Here are some of their stories.

Kelley Griswold:

“Being in the army is kind of my family business so to speak,” said Ward 2 Auburn Council Member Kelley Griswold.

A retired veteran himself, Griswold’s grandfather served, his father served, his brother served, his brother-in-law currently serves, a sister works on base at Fort Benning and his nephew serves.

Griswold was born at Fort Bragg and said growing up he experienced things other children wouldn’t have — like dropping off of jump towers on base at five years old.

“There was never any doubt that that would be one of the things I pursued,” he said.

Griswold pursued ROTC in both high school and at Auburn University.

The same day that Griswold graduated from Auburn, he was also commissioned in 1977.

“I was an artilleryman, so we had troop tours with soldiers in Hawaii with the 25th division and Fort Stewart, Georgia

with the 24th division,” he said.

After seven years, Griswold was assigned a second specialty — research and development.

“Did that for a while at Redstone [Arsenal] and got sent down to Maxwell Airforce base to work with the school for a year, went to an airfare school,” he said. “And so my next assignment should have been rotating back and forth between secondary and troops. So I was supposed to go to Germany and then Congress got involved and mandated that the research and development people be solvated into something called the Army Acquisition Court.”

So, Griswold did not head out for Germany and did not have the opportunity for more troop time throughout his 26year career.

Instead, Griswold and his wife spent the majority of his career at Redstone.

“I went back to Redstone,” he said. “It was funny because we were stationed at Redstone five times and we kept thinking every time we’d left, we’d sell the house, sell the boat, whatever and then next thing we know, two or three years later we’ve got orders back to Redstone … it was good because I stayed in the same rocket and missile business and progressed in that.

“It was kind of cool returning to Huntsville every time because our civilian friends were still there.”

—44—

Todd Rauch through the years of military service and public office.

Abroad and at Home Story By Hannah Lester Photos Contributed One of Griswold’s last management roles was as project manager for the Army Tactical Mission System.

The missiles Griswold was working on here were debuted during Desert Storm, he said.

Following this, he became the deputy director of the research lab at Redstone.

Griswold left the military in 2003 but he and his wife didn’t leave Huntsville just yet. He worked for defense firms and engineering firms in the city.

He actually ended up back in the lab, too, at one point, working for the Department of Defense, civilian.

Eight years ago, Griswold and his wife decided to return to their roots, to the place they met and married — Auburn.

After moving here, Griswold took opportunities to begin to get more involved in his city.

“I wanted to know more about what was going on, so I went ahead and signed up for the public safety academy, which was very informative,” he said. “I highly recommend that to any new person that just kind of wants to get a feel for the city because you get immersed in the organization.

You find out how things are organized and I thought that was

—45—

really cool.”

Then Griswold joined the planning academy.

“I was attending city councils and things and this was about the time the building height thing came up,” he said.

“And I live in the historic district. It used to be, you pass my house and you see Samford Hall in the distance.”

Keep Auburn Lovely began trying to fight the new height regulations and Griswold began attending some of the meetings. “[I] realized not everyone in town wanted unlimited growth,” he said.

There was a public meeting organized at the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center to discuss the issue, Griswold said, and the auditorium was packed. There were guest speakers from out of town too.

“And the city manager, at the time basically got up and said, ‘it doesn’t matter why y’all are here, the decision’s already been made,’” he said. “And it had been made. But it became apparent that the council was not paying attention to what the citizens wanted. And that’s kind of when I first started thinking about it.

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Griswold

“And some folks asked me if I’d be interested and I had to hee and haw for a while but after a couple more actions by the council that, not only allowed the things but then reaffirmed an even higher height than what was agreed upon, that kind of made the decision for me. I was just wanting to make sure that folks who had something to say, that they would be listened to.”

Griswold decided to run, was elected and is currently serving in his first term.

“I took no contributions from anybody because I couldn’t in one hand say, ‘I want to listen to everybody’ and at the same time say, ‘well these folks gave me money,’’’ he said.

“So I did it on my own.”

Griswold’s military experience affects his city council experience.

“In the military, it’s not so much consensus and groupthink,” he said. “You have a hierarchy and you have somebody in charge and everybody brings their recommendations and you decide and you move out … That has been a rude awakening to me. People think that city council members have a lot of power and it’s not true.”

Griswold said that he hasn’t been able to accomplish everything he hoped for when he ran for office.

Some ideas were not feasible once he took on the role, such as introducing term limits. It turns out, this is against Alabama law, Griswold said.

But there are still things he wants to accomplish.

Griswold

Griswold’s slogan for his campaign the first time around was “Restore Trust” and he said he plans to continue with his plan to “Restore Trust” by running again in the next election.

Todd Rauch: Opelika Ward 5 Council Member Todd Rauch also had family influences that affected his decision to join the military.

“I went into the army in August 2001 as a military police officer,” Rauch said. “I went in because my uncle served in the army. He went into basic training on my third birthday in 1986 so I just remember my parents dropping him off at the bus station and him being gone and serving in the military.

He was military police so that made me want to follow in his footsteps.”

Rauch was only in basic training one month before 9/11 shook the nation.

“I didn’t see a picture of what happened until Dec. 14, 2001,” he said. “So that just kind of changed whatever plans I had; the military just kind of changed as a whole.

From peace-time military to a combat, wartime military and function. So my first station was in Giessen, Germany.”

Giessen, Germany was also Rauch’s uncle’s first station.

There Rauch traveled to different countries and served as personal security for dignitaries, as a police officer working

—46—

Rauch with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush narcotics and field training.

Rauch’s unit was called to Kuwait in early 2003 and entered Iraq the day the war started on March 19, 2003.

Rauch was only 17 when he joined the military and he said that a lot of his experiences didn’t mean much to him until later in life. “[After being in Iraq a month] we went to this compound that had a whole bunch of atropine injectors and gas masks scattered everywhere,” he said. “Atropine injectors had all been used, all the needles were out … there were some missiles there, some smaller rockets, not big missiles, and we were just really taken aback.”

It was only later, when Rauch was working in intelligence, that he discovered what they had stumbled upon.

“I found out that place that we were at was the epicenter of the Iraq war,” he said. “That is the place that led us to going into Iraq, that was the information that an informant had given the DoD and all this stuff and that they were making chemical weapons at this facility.”

This wasn’t the only time that Rauch saw things that he didn’t know the importance of at the time, but came to understand later.

“My team found the very first mass grave site in Iraq in April of 2003,” he said.

Another time, Rauch and his team had arrived at a site after a call about an RPG came in. However, when they arrived, they found a lot of people but nothing overly concerning.

Rauch, his team and the U.S. Military were searching for Uday Hussein and Qusay Hussein, Saddam Hussein’s sons.

And this site that they had arrived at turned out to be the courthouse, a meeting place for Uday, Qusay and others to make decisions, jail enemies and torture people.

When Rauch was older, and working for Auburn University as a recruiter, he visited a museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

—47—

“That museum that has a lot of artifacts from the wars and campaigns and military throughout history and a lot of the stuff that was in the newer campaigns, ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’, ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ and ‘Operation New Dawn’, they had in a big portion of this museum,” he said. “And I realized that a lot of the artifacts that are in there were all things that we’ve done, all things that I’ve seen and it’s weird. When you’re so young, you set history, you’re living the history, but for us going in on March 19, wasn’t a big deal. But that was the very first day the war started.”

Rauch left the military in 2006 after he was wounded.

“I was part of the first wave of wounded soldiers who were coming back,” he said. “… So they didn’t know how to treat us or what to do.”

He was shot, lost his rotator cuff and was stabbed with a knife.

Rauch had hoped, following his injury, that he could attend West Point, receive a commission and return to the MP [military police] Core.

But unfortunately, West Point didn’t accept him based on his injuries.

So Rauch returned home and attended community college.

It was here that his interest in politics grew, and where he met his future wife, Ali. “I’ve always been interested in politics because of the strategy and history of it,” Rauch said. “Like what it takes to get elected, the boxes that you have the check.”

Following community college, Rauch ended up attending Auburn University. He was elected to Opelika City Council in 2020.

“After I got my degree, we lived in Huntsville for several years, but we kept our house here, so when we moved back … I wanted to do something else and I wanted to help veterans. So I started going to city council, county commission meetings. And I realized that no one was there.

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I never saw our state representatives, I never saw our state senators. No one ever went to these meetings.”

Rauch said that both he, and his wife, wanted to become involved in the community.

“The problem is, how can you, someone who is not from here or not even born in the state, tell [citizens] that ‘I want to represent you and make good decisions,’” he said. “The thing is, people are going to trust military integrity, loyalty.

They understand those characteristics that military service members have until you give them a reason not to. So, that’s the biggest thing, I treat my constituents like I treat my soldiers.”

Rauch said one of the major reasons he wanted to run for Opelika City Council was because the Economic Development team was working to bring veterans to Opelika to live.

“So, if I was a veteran coming from Fort Benning and just military-minded, I would come here in my community and I would look around and say, ‘okay, you say you want vets to choose Opelika, but do you represent that in your government,’’’ he said.

Rauch said that his time serving and the values he learned in the Army, such as loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage all affect the way he serves on the council. And he, like Griswold, said he plans to run again in the next election.

“I’m always choosing the harder right rather than the easier wrong.”

—48—

Morris Jackson: Smiths Station Place 2 Council Member Morris Jackson did not choose military service. Military service chose him.

Jackson was drafted into the Army in January 1968.

Joining the military was never something Jackson saw for his future, he said. After high school, he attended technical school for a few months and then went to work for Georgia Power Company.

“But the draft was there in effect at that time and of course, I got drafted,” he said.

Jackson had never left home before, Alabama or Georgia.

“I had basically been a home-type person.”

After basic training, Jackson headed to Fort Pope, Louisiana, for advanced infantry training.

“The war at that time was going on in Vietnam, the conflict if you want to call it that,” he said.

So, Jackson was sent to Vietnam.

“There I served with the 101st Airborne Division for a year in Vietnam as an infantry soldier,” he said.

Jackson only served two years in the military. And although he said he loved his time in the service, there was something, in particular, calling him back home.

“I would have probably stayed in the military if I hadn’t, I got married,” he said. “I was engaged before I went in and after I came back a bit, then I married my childhood sweetheart.”

Jackson, unlike many others, returned from his time in the service to a world that was not welcoming or appreciative.

“I went back to the 60s, where segregation and integration were in the mix of things,” he said. “So, I went back to being a 21-year-old black male in the United States in the south. And that wasn’t easy for me to accept in a sense, because it meant going back to the mop, the broom, the grass cutting.”

But, America did change. At least, in baby steps.

It was some time before Jackson looked into politics.

“I never had an earthly idea, if you asked me twenty-five years ago, was I interested in politics, [I would have said] ‘yeah, I vote.’ I could tell you who was the governor and all this kind of stuff. But as far as me keeping up with it, I see it on TV and I change the channel.”

Jackson had been living in Smiths Station since he returned from service. And, up until 2001, Smiths Station was unincorporated.

“What brought me to [politics] was … I stuck my nose into stuff and I asked a lot of questions,” he said.

Jackson said he was on the first committee that was working to incorporate Smiths Station.

When Smiths Station was finally incorporated, and it came time to elect a mayor and city council members, Jackson said he had no idea he would be asked to run for office.

“We have made a lot of progress,” he said.

Jackson has been on the council since 2001 and said he isn’t sure when he’ll retire from politics.

“We look back over the years and see the accomplishments of the city,” he said.

—49—

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A Fair -Lee Good Time

E

Story By Emery Lay Photos By Robert Noles

very year since 1943, the Lee County Fair has hosted a week-long procession of local fun. 2020 was the first time in decades that the fair did not open as planned. However, with COVID cases in decline, fairground managers Jerry Dakins and Ronald Wheeler were excited to open for the 2021 Lee County Fair.

The fair ran from Sept. 28 through Oct. 2. In years prior, Wheeler said that the fair had always done a discounted ticket night for veterans. This year, however, Dakins and Wheeler wanted to do more.

Both men are retired military veterans — Dakins, retired Navy, and Wheeler, retired Army. Both have a heart for Gulf War veterans specifically.

The two men are also members of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion. From their own positive experiences, they wanted to provide other veterans with these resources, as well.

“I went through my own issues from service,” Dakins said.

“I had a lot of great experiences, and then I had some not-sogood experiences, and Ronald is the same way. But it helped us focus more on other veterans.”

—51—

HONOR

—52—

With their eyes turned outward to those around them, Dakins and Wheeler decided to do something different with the 2021 fair: they created a night just for veterans.

“There is such a high suicide rate of veterans,” Dakins said.

“We are doing our best to contact all veterans, and make sure that they're okay, and make sure that if they need any help, that they can get help. So, this is one vehicle that we're using to reach out to them to try to get them to come in.”

On Sept. 30, midway through the week of festivities, the Lee County Fair hosted its first fully-fledged veterans’ night. Present were seven services and organizations including both American Legion posts in Lee County, both VFW posts in Lee County, a veteran service officer from Russell County in Tuskegee hospital, the Student Veterans Association and Jamie Popwell, who runs Flags for Vets. Popwell’s organization takes donations and then uses that money to install flags in veterans’ yards at no cost to them.

“These organizations are not just for the veteran themselves, but it's also for their families,” Dakins said. “There's a couple of programs that school-age children can participate in, and they can win prizes, cash and scholarships.”

Dakins praised the work done by the American Legion, in particular. The group regularly works with a veterans home in Alexander City, where they take the money donated to their organization and distribute it to veterans. The veterans are then able to use the money to buy gifts for their families.

“All these organizations are always needing funds,” Dakins said. “They're all struggling. The bills keep coming in for their posts. So, anybody who wants to donate money to these organizations [should], and the money donated to the organizations will primarily go to veterans.”

Within the American Legion, Dakins said there remains a branch called Sons of the American Legion. This facet of the program seeks to serve family members of veterans and those who are descendants of veterans to provide them with a community.

In addition, VFW provides families of veterans with resources through their auxiliaries. Dakins said that every organization that participated had “the same goal to help veterans” as he and Wheeler had. Dakins noted that every participating group was “very agreeable and supportive.”

Furthermore, Wheeler said there are horror stories about the VA that the community might be privy to. He said that as a response to the underlying issues in the VA, there are veteran service officers that specifically address said issues. The goal of the officers is to help veterans cut through the “red tape” and find out “what they're actually entitled to, and how to get it.”

The Lee County Fair Veterans Night also sought to serve the younger veterans in the community, such as those who have recently served in Afghanistan. These veterans are the generation who are still raising families, have children in school and are attempting to keep up with the various demands of their time.

“But those are the veterans who we would like to see join these organizations and provide an input of some youth,” Wheeler said.

On the flip side, Wheeler encouraged retired veterans, or those

—53—

who are no longer in active duty, to join a veteran's organization.

He said each veteran can “try to give back a little bit” by sharing their wisdom and experience.

“I think our veteran population is very important to the community,” Wheeler said. “Anything we could do to try to help them [we do], as being not just part of the Exchange Club, but also as being veterans ourselves.”

The week was a week of hoopla. Each night at the fair boasted sausages, peanuts, hamburgers and more. Livestock judging, Lego competitions and cookie baking competitions were just a few of the activities present. There was also a beauty pageant every night.

“One correction … It's the ‘fairest of the fair,’” Dakins said. “I think [beauty pageant] is not politically correct anymore.”

The fair’s Veterans Night was a success, too. Within the fair, each veteran had an opportunity to enter to win a prize, upon showing proof of their veteran status. One prize was a TV, while the other was a wooden flag, handcrafted by Eric Satterfield.

To add to the fair’s joyful undertones, the Extension Service made an appearance, a program that provides canned goods for people to take home.

“I would say, if anybody's never attended the Lee County Fair, they're missing out,” Wheeler said. “It's kind of a bit of Americana.”

Dakins agreed, calling the night, “really beautiful” and “something to see.” He also said that the Veterans Night is something that, ideally, the Lee County Fair would love to do every year.

“The best way to give back a little [is] … participate in things like this,” Wheeler said.

HONOR

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A Family Connection

PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES

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HONOR

Story and Photos Contributed By Auburn University

A

s Olivia Jimeno walks to her student job in Auburn’s Veterans Resource Center, she said she often finds herself encountering the center’s display featuring a piece of steel retrieved after the World Trade Center towers’ collapse on Sept. 11, 2001.

It is a powerful reminder that her father made it out alive after the terrorist attacks 20 years ago.

Will Jimeno, then an officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, survived that terrible day, and his story inspired the 2006 movie, “World Trade Center.”

Will rode to the World Trade Center site with 20 other Port Authority police officers in a commandeered bus after he saw the airplane that hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The collapse of the South Tower trapped him under the concourse between the twin towers. Several hours passed

before a rescue team was able to find him and pull him from the wreckage.

In 2015, he presented the Veterans Resource Center, or VRC, with the steel memorial from ground zero.

“I wanted our student veterans to know that someone who responded, was injured and survived appreciates each and every one of them for their service,” Will, a U.S. Navy veteran said. “This display also allows all students to stop by and see, feel and learn about their American history.”

Before Olivia enrolled at Auburn, her sister Bianca was a student and enjoyed having the Jimeno family visit campus, especially for sporting events.

“I came to Auburn many times to visit Bianca and attend football games,” Olivia said. “It was during these trips that I became aware of the welcoming and homey atmosphere of campus. The benevolence of the faculty and students convinced

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me to apply.”

After Bianca graduated in 2019, the Jimeno family maintained a strong bond with the university, especially with the VRC. Paul “Puck“ Esposito, center director and a Navy veteran, had a close connection with Will and quickly became a familiar face to Olivia.

“I would come into the VRC often to visit Puck,” Olivia said. “He became a strong role model in my life and, eventually, my boss.”

As an employee of the center in 217 Foy Hall, Olivia works to support Auburn’s student veterans and understands the impact the ground zero display can have on service members.

“Having a piece of the World Trade Center in the VRC serves as a constant reminder of the sacrifices made by those who serve and have served our country,” Olivia said. “It is a symbol of the American spirit and represents that no matter

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what has happened in the past, when we come together, we always build back stronger.”

Not only does the display allow her to connect with student veterans, it also allows her to reflect with pride and appreciation for her father.

“Watching my father overcome the challenge of adapting to life after his service in the military and police force makes me proud of my dad,” she said. “He has been able to take these events and help others through shared experiences.”

Today, Will travels the country telling his story of surviving the deadliest attack on American soil. He didn’t always intend to publicly share his story, but when he was approached to help children conquer their fear of flying, it motivated him to share his powerful experience.

“It was something I never thought of doing,” Will said. “I began by encouraging students to live and never fall to fear.

HONOR

Soon, schools requested me to come and speak; then it blossomed into universities, police and fire academies, churches, private entities and professional football teams.”

He is now the author of two books: a biography, “Sunrise Through the Darkness,” and a children’s book, “Immigrant, American, Survivor.” Both books emphasize the importance of learning how to overcome life’s challenges.

He said he enjoys traveling to events around the country to speak, but visiting his daughter in Auburn at the Veterans Resource Center is always a special trip.

“It is truly a blessing to have Olivia at Auburn on the 20-year anniversary of 9/11, as it shows that the Jimeno commitment to service lives on, beyond my service as a police officer and Navy veteran,” Will said. “The Veterans Resource Center has some of the best Americans I have had the pleasure of calling friends, but more importantly, family.

“Auburn to the Jimeno family embodies what we want to see in our nation, which is a place of unity, pride and a promise of a great future for our nation.”

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HONOR

—60—

Serving More Than Cookies Story and Photos

By Megan Mann and Contributed

By Toni Cartlidge

T

oni Cartlidge was a military child. She was born and raised in New York. Her father was in the National Guard and the “military lifestyle” is all she has ever known.

Cartlidge began working at the military academy at West Point in 1986.

“I stayed in the same building all 30 years [until retirement in 2016] but just kept climbing the ladder,” Cartlidge said. “I did banquets for veterans, worked with the mess hall, became a budget analyst there. Pretty much anything they needed me to do, I did.”

The New York native made her move across the country to Opelika, Alabama, about five years ago.

“My husband was born and raised in Auburn,” she said. “We met at the military academy in New York where he worked too.

We never thought much of each other but one day we finally

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talked, and the rest is history.”

Her husband, Tommy, is also a veteran.

They were both ready to retire from the military academy and wanted a change, Cartlidge said. That’s when they made their move from New York.

After working for 30 years straight, Cartlidge was not comfortable with sitting around and doing nothing after her retirement.

“After I retired, I needed to still find things to do for myself and the community, I like to stay busy,” she said.

She decided to combine her passion for community service and giving back into a new business idea — baking cookies for veterans.

“One day I called up a nursing home that housed veterans in Alexander City and just asked if I could bring them cookies,” she said. “I ended up baking about 2,000 the first time and me,

HONOR

my husband and our son brought them there.”

Ever since that day, Cartlidge and her family have continued to prepare cookies for the veterans and deliver them to the nursing home.

“It’s a cookie to you and me but to them, it meant outside love,” she said. “That is what they call it. I just became very involved in it, it was something that really means a lot to me. To see a veteran get so excited about me, who is a nobody, come in and make them cookies, to see the smiles on their face for a cookie, you don’t think something so simple would do that.”

Cartlidge also decided to help out wherever she was needed in these veterans’ homes. She would bake cookies for different events, including a yard sale where she sold her cookies to help them pay for the veteran’s trips.

Through her weekly visits and other involvement in the community, she began fostering friendships with a lot of people, including Wayne Womack, a three-time Vietnam veteran that works for food distribution.

“Womack messaged in one of our Facebook groups that he had 15 dozen eggs,” she said. “Not knowing him, I explained my story with baking the cookies and learned that he was a veteran as well.

We have been thick as thieves ever since. Now, every three weeks I go out there and do the food distribution and help with meals for first responders and veterans.”

Cartlidge has made the most of her five years in Opelika. She has

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We do trophies, plaques, engraving, custom awards, medals, crystal, indoor signs and a lot more.

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become very involved in the Opelika community, working with local churches, schools and groups for children with disabilities.

She explains how her biggest passion though, is serving veterans.

“Being surrounded by the military all my life has made me appreciate the simpler things in life because you know, their routine, the sacrifices they make, it’s much more than I do,” Cartlidge said. “I am passionate about serving veterans because I’ve been around them so long. I just feel like they do so much for us and a lot of them don’t get recognized or appreciated for everything they do.”

Cartlidge said the hardest part about being a part of the military family is the loss.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she could no longer deliver her cookies in person to the nursing home. And, unfortunately, by the time in-person visits were acceptable again, many of her friends had passed on.

The same was often true for soldiers and cadets at the academy, she said.

“I got to know so many of them at the military academy that I am still in close contact with. I’ve also lost a lot of them which is so sad,” she said. “You train and you're with them for four years. You do everything with them, they know who you are, they’ve been through your whole life. Then they graduate and go into the war, or they die. That’s probably the hardest part for me, is knowing I could get close to them and then never see them again.”

Cartlidge immersed herself in people’s lives and finds that to be more rewarding than anything else.

“I admire everything our military does,” she said. “I don’t care what branch someone is. I hold so much respect for all our veterans. I always wish there was more I could do to help them and show my appreciation.”

As a next step in the Opelika community, Cartlidge wants to look into building shelters and homes for the veterans that are homeless, sick or need help financially.

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Send inquiries or orders to ct71@ct71.com.

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Tabitha Pooler

Jenn Derdoski

More Than Rosie the Riveter Story By Hannah Lester Photos Contributed

T

abitha Pooler said joining the Army was a nobrainer. She was returning to her roots after having been a part of JROTC in high school.

In 2006, Pooler was about to graduate from Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma with her first degree.

She was feeling uncertain about her future and realized that not only would the Army provide a clear path forward, but it would pay off her student loans.

“It felt familiar to me to join the Army,” she said.

Before joining the army, Pooler said she’d thought about culinary school, but with her already existing student debt, taking on more loans was not a viable option.

So, Pooler thought she’d enlist as a cook.

“I did my training, I really liked it,” she said. “I didn’t get put on the fast track to get to be an actual culinary artist or a chef but I was a regular cook. My first duty station was Korea

and it was a really great experience.”

After a year in Korea, however, Pooler was asked to consider a different option — human resources.

At this time, having not been deployed, Pooler decided to submit her packet for officer candidacy school.

Pooler graduated from Officer Candidacy School in 2009 and was selected as a military intelligence officer.

“After that, I was an intel officer and it really felt like my calling in the army because I love to be an analyst, I love to use that part of my brain, critical thinking and all that,” she said.

She deployed to Afghanistan in an aviation unit.

“We had a small contingent of pathfinders, which are infantry men that are trained to land helicopters … so these individuals got attached to us and my boss wanted to be able to use them,” Pooler said. “So he said, ‘let’s make up

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missions for these guys to go out on the ground and exploit things.’ So they’d see things from the sky in their helicopter and then they’d say, ‘let's bring our ground guys and land them here and let them exploit.’ And we had some really great experiences, because of that effort, we removed over 30,000 pounds of improvised explosive device (IED) precursors and things like that from the battlefield.

We kind of kept going back to the same area and knowing that it was dangerous to go back to the same area multiple times.

As an intel analyst you alert your boss, ‘I think this is a bad idea, it’s a trap probably.’ And as an intel analyst, you never want to be right. But I was. So we ended up losing 10 guys in that single mission.”

Following Afghanistan, Pooler lived in Hawaii in the irregular warfare analyst center and also in an EOD unit.

“It kind of helped me to feel like I was making a difference in a way,” she said. “Kind of validating my friends’ sacrifice in a way by working on projects that specifically were designed to mitigate the threat of IEDs.” In 2017, Pooler left the Army, though her husband is still serving in the ranger regiment at Fort Benning.

Pooler is now at Auburn studying dietetics and is in her

senior year.

“I feel a little bit more challenged because I know that a lot of these students, on paper, they’re adults, legally they’re adults, but most of them haven’t had any real-life experience at all,” she said. “So it’s very interesting for me to be surrounded with 21-, 22-yearolds that have basically very limited life experiences.”

Pooler has often served as a ‘real-life’ adult for a lot of Auburn students, answering questions about life and marriage and things of the sort.

“It’s helped me to really prioritize where I spend my time, the things that I choose to stress out over or the things I really encourage other people not to stress out over,” she said. “When you’ve seen some things … and you’ve been involved in those sort of things, it just kind of helps you to reevaluate priorities in a way … It just kind of taught Tabitha Pooler me to figure out, what’s the legacy that I want to leave on this planet. How do I actually want to [make an] impact in life and how can I use my experiences to be able do that.”

Doing this for students is a shadow of what Pooler did for others while still in the service.

“I loved being an officer, I loved being a leader and getting to be a mentor,” she said. “So getting to pour into the next

[Service] just kind taught me to figure out, what’s the legacy that I want to leave on this planet. How do I actually want to [make an] impact in life and how can I use my experiences to be able do that?”

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SERVICE

generation of military personnel, getting to just help people understand that not all superiors in the military are a bunch of jerks that are just wanting to bark orders and not really care about them as people. I really wanted to change the face of military leadership in the way, make sure that all of my subordinates knew that I was an advocate of theirs and that I would fight for them.

“So the mentorship aspect of being in the military was always my favorite.”

Jenn Derdoski: Jenn Derdoski has, at different points in her life, filled the shoes of a child of a military parent, a veteran herself and the spouse of a military member. Soon, her son will join the Army and Derdoski will be the parent of a military child.

As a child, she traveled across the states, and across Europe, while her father was a service member in the Army, in medical records.

In 1996, Derdoski decided to join the Army in the same field as her father, medical records, and was sent to Alaska.

“I joined the military because I wanted to go back to Europe,” she said. “… I also, one of my goals in life, was to see all 50 states, so when I got orders to Alaska, I was like, ‘well, that’s one way to see Alaska.’”

While in Alaska, Derdoski met her husband, and the two decided to start a family.

“I went from being an army brat, to a service member, to a spouse of a service member and now my son is a cadet at Troy and he is going to be in the Army,” she said.

Derdoski said there are a lot of politics for women in the military. It wasn’t easy being in the same field as her father was and Derdoski ultimately decided that finding a career outside of the military was the better option for her.

From that point on, Derdoski was the spouse of a military member. Her daughter was born in Fort Cambell, Kentucky, and her son was born in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

“I had a unique experience because I grew up as an officer’s daughter so I knew the ends and outs of the politics … so to speak,” she said. “But as an enlisted spouse, there’s different politics, I guess you could say. So it was a unique position to be in and you just kind of have to feel your way through it.”

She worked different jobs following her stint in the military, including work at a mental health clinic and running a daycare out of her home.

In Fort Jackson, Derdoski worked for the FRG (family readiness group).

Derdoski also volunteered time to help other

Tabitha Pooler

Jenn Derdoski

Tabitha Pooler

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I was with our kids as a stay-at-home mom. This was at our Fort Jackson assignment in South Carolina. Three months later there was a knock at our door.

“A recruiter came to my door and said 'your country could use your help, we would like you to return to active duty.’

I said, ‘thank you, as much as I would love to, my husband is on the trail as a drill sergeant, which is a 24-hour job at times, and I have a 3-year-old and a 3-month-old.’

As a soldier back then when you signed your paperwork ultimately, I had an eight-year contract. Four in active service and four inactive but call back. It was still within my four, just barely. He understood and went about his business.”

Now, Derdoski runs her own business. When Derdoski and her husband were in Colorado they had a sports photography business. When they moved here, however, the business blossomed into what it is today: Studio52 Images and Gifts.

Derdoski does professional photography and digital decorating through the business, which can be seen on the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ studio52imagesandgifts/.

Her products can also be found locally, however, through Marker + Merchant at the Auburn Mall.

These female veterans are just two of many who serve and represent their country.

Jenn Derdoski military spouses.

“I helped the ladies on post develop a plan for the young wives that come and be a part of post to the young drill sergeant spouses,” she said. “Because a lot of them are young and have never been in the military before.”

She said that her experiences really allowed her to help others and that she has always enjoyed being part of a community and lending her experiences.

Having other military spouses to connect with made things easier, too, Derdoski said.

“The difficult part was having young kids and being able to balance things,” she said. “Because military members are not paid a lot. So, a lot of us spouses would help each other out. So, if one mom was working part-time, the other moms would daycare. And you would help each other out and you would babysit each others kids so that was also helpful.

“It was just being there for each other as spouses. You were all going through the same thing. Especially as drill sergeant spouses. You were all going through the same thing. Your husbands are gone all day long, they were never home until the end of the season.”

Speaking of balancing things, Derdoski said she remembered being asked to reconsider service following 9/11.

“When 9/11 happened I was pregnant with my [second child],” she said. “He was born in April 2002. My daughter was 3. So my husband was on the trail as a drill sergeant and

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Jenn Derdoski

SERVICE

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Stew & Submarines Lieutenant Commander Robert J. Griffith U.S. NAVY — RETIRED

Story By Emery Lay Photos Contributed By Michele Griffith

B

efore he was in submarines, serving in the Navy, Jamie Griffith was an Alabama native.

Born in Thomson, Georgia, Griffith moved to Jasper, Alabama, before beginning the fourth grade and spent most of his life there.

When college rolled around, Griffith found himself at Lipscomb University with a scholarship to play golf. After his first year, he decided to transfer to the University of Alabama. In the span of a year and a half, over the course of two colleges, Griffith changed his major three times: first business, then to nursing and finally to engineering.

Griffith said he, at the time, had little direction for what he wanted to do in life. Yet, while his feelings about college fluctuated, his feelings about his hometown girlfriend did not.

“I had been in college for a year and a half and wanted to get married,” Griffith said. “So, I needed a job. I joined the Navy so that I could support a family because I was engaged to my girlfriend, my current wife; She’s still my wife today. We’ve been married for 28 years.”

In 1992, Griffith joined the Navy. Preceding him was a family history of service — a grandfather in WWII and a grandfather in the Korean War. “I just felt like that was probably the best route for me to take to start a career and have a stable job where I could

support a wife and family,” Griffith said. “It was kind of a drastic decision for me. I didn’t even ask my mom and dad.

I just came home and I said, ‘Dad, I’m joining the Navy.’”

After joining the Navy in the fall — following only one semester at the University of Alabama — Griffith said he “never looked back.” He went on to spend 20 years in submarine service, commissioned as an officer in 1998 and retired in 2012 as a Lt. Commander.

“I joined the Navy and did really well as an enlisted guy in nuclear power school,” Griffith said. “I was an instructor and I got selected for an officer commissioning program and went back to Auburn for an engineering degree …

“It’s a funny story. I left college because I didn’t know what to do … I joined the Navy and the Navy sent me back.”

Today, Griffith works remotely as an engineer for a defense contractor — Progeny Systems Corporation — in Manassas, Virginia. He said he happily lives with his wife, Michele, and enjoys working from home. The couple has two children: a married, graduated daughter, Jaima Engle (25), who is a schoolteacher, and a son, Cody Griffith (21), who is a senior in college.

“The most difficult part is clearly — to me — leaving home and family,” Griffith said of his Navy service. “…

And, you know, if it wasn’t for a strong commitment, and a strong wife at home, there’s no way I’ve been able to serve the way that I did. She was always supportive and always understood that.

“When you’re in the service, regardless of the branch, the service comes first. And it’s really hard in a marriage because, you know, you want to put your wife and your children first, but when duty calls … you can’t really give them an excuse … So, while I may get the credit for doing the service, my wife and my children deserve just as much credit as I do.”

Griffith said that, when serving in the Navy, each member recognizes that their crew is counting on them; Failing to show up puts more strain on the team and shifts the workload unevenly. He said the team is “only as strong

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as everyone that’s a part of that team.”

When reflecting on his time serving, Griffith said that service taught him perspective. He no longer feels that chasing money or a career has a hold on his life. To him, the most valuable parts of his life are his wife and his family — and beyond that, his relationships. Griffith said he is aware of how lucky Americans are on a day-to-day basis.

The second thing his service taught him, Griffith said, was critical thinking. In the Navy, he said he learned how to deal with stress and problems, how to attack problems and how to stay focused when there is chaos around.

“I was taught and trained to stay calm as an officer,” he said. “You can’t lose focus or lose control, or the men and women that are following and serve underneath you, that will happen to them.”

“Brunswick stew is like chili. You know, everybody makes it a little bit different. So, I looked at a dozen different Brunswick stew recipes and I took the ingredients from all those … and I formed my own recipe.”

“You’re not getting shot at today; You’re not living in a country where everybody wants to kill you,” he said. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, it could always be worse.

There are those who deal with real dangers every day of their life and put their life on the line every day while they’re deployed so that you can complain about your life over here.”

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The events of 9/11 were a crucial time on Griffith’s boat in which the men onboard had to demonstrate calmness. He said he starkly remembers the day that they received the news — out to sea on a submarine with nothing more than an announcement that the U.S. was under attack. No video was provided to the crew to watch until they pulled into port nearly six weeks later.

SERVICE

Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base

“My commanding officer had a brother in the Pentagon,” Griffith said. “He wasn’t injured because he wasn’t there when the plane hit. But … he didn’t know the status of his brother. [Yet] he continued to lead that ship to execute our mission.”

Today, Griffith still keeps in touch with some of his friends from the Navy, primarily through Facebook. However, one individual that Griffith served with now works for the same company that he does. Griffith said now they “get to talk on nearly a daily basis.”

“I do have several friends that were in the military that I went to college with in Auburn for three years,” Griffith said. “We formed a very tightknit group … We had different career paths in the Navy, but we still are very close. We get together every year and play golf, and just hang out.”

No matter when they met him, everyone who knows Griffith today knows of his famous Brunswick stew — once a one-hit-wonder, now a full-fledged business. Griffith first made his Brunswick stew when he was stationed at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in St. Mary’s, Georgia.

“We had this church and it [had] a potluck where you know, everybody brings something,” Griffith said. “I really love Brunswick stew and so I googled Brunswick stew recipes.

“Brunswick stew is like chili. You know, everybody makes it a little bit different. So, I looked at a dozen different Brunswick stew recipes and I took the ingredients from all those … and I formed my own recipe. I made that Brunswick stew there and it was a hit, everybody loved it. And so, I wrote it down.”

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Cake for Griffith’s Retirement Ceremony

Griffith and crew return home from deployment

Years passed by and Griffith continued to bring his Brunswick stew to wherever he was stationed — at tailgates, family gatherings, church functions and more. Wherever it went, it was a success.

“Fast forward till about a year ago … a friend of mine named Keith Little started a salsa business — he lives in Auburn … It’s called Uncle Keith’s Red Sauce,” Griffith said.

“He was talking to me … and said, ‘Hey, you need to do the same thing for your Brunswick stew.’”

Unprompted, Little then offered to lend his vendors and customers to Griffith to get his business started.

“So, I thought about it and decided hey, why not just do it for fun,” Griffith said. “I’m not doing it for the money; Just seeing where this thing goes. I started the company in February; I got the first batch in June and have never looked back.”

Today, “Jamie’s Brunswick stew” is sold in 50 stores across Georgia and Alabama in 32-ounce jars. The stew is simply a

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Brunswick base without the meat.

To accommodate vegans, vegetarians and the wide variety of meats that can be added, Griffith decided to sell the base on its own. However, to try it the Griffith way, simply add ground beef and shredded chicken.

Griffith said he is currently “working both angles”: restaurants and retailers. Mount Laurel Grocery in Birmingham and the AU Club — a private golf club off Donahue Drive — both sell the stew in store as a menu item. In Opelika, the stew can be found at Parkway Farmer’s Market and Piggly Wiggly.

To find retailers near you, visit www.jamiesbrunswickstew. com.

“I just started this business about three months ago … and it’s been really blessed,” Griffith said. “I’m fortunate that I’ve gotten support by a lot of people … I can’t thank them enough … my family and friends who encouraged me to step out on a limb and to see where this thing would go.”

SERVICE

Honoring Our

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Heroes Photos By Robert Noles —79—

COMMITMENT

A

uburn University takes several opportunities each year to honor current, and former, service members. This year's military appreciation game will be held on Nov. 13.

However, the University also honored service members this year on Sept.

11. Additionally, on Sept.

6, seats were set aside during the game as a show of respect and honor for the 13 service members killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 26 of this year. An additional POW*MIA chair is set aside in honor at each game.

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HONOR

ADVERTISERS INDEX 5-Star Bail Bonds, 31 Alabama VA Services Infographic, 12 Alsobrook Law Group, 84 American Legion, 6 Arbor Springs, 29 AARP, 30 AuburnBank, 43 Axe Marks the Spot, 18 Beauregard Drugs, 65 Budget Blinds, 24 City of Opelika, 7 Clear Water Solutions, 29 Crown Trophy, 63 Day’s Hair Salon, 24 Franky June’s Weeny Wagon, 65 Glynn Smith Chevrolet-Buick-GMC, 65 Goree’s Furniture Express, 72 Grady’s Tire and Auto, 23 Harvest Thrift, 82 Hilyer & Associates, CPAs, 50 Irish Bred Pub, 50 Jay and Susie Gouge Performing Arts, 64 Jay Jones – Lee County Sheriff, 60 Jeffcoat Trant Funeral Home, 71 Kage Fit, 70 LIVE Lee, 6 Meals Chiropractic, 70 Noles Photography, 4 Old INC., 77 Oline Price, Lee Co. Revenue Commissioner, 25 Opelika SportsPlex, 83 Opelika Theatre Company, 31 Orthopedic Clinic, 70 Price Small Engine, 54 SouthState Bank, 2 The Gallery, 31 Trinity Christian School, 3 Wadkin’s Metal, 50 Whitt’s Auto, 29

NEW LOCATION

1750 Opelika Road, Auburn

COME VISIT OUR NEW STORE.

We're Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday through Saturday

www.harvestevangelism.org

N O S I G N - U P F E E S , C A N C E L AT I O N F E E S , CL ASS FEES OR HIDDEN C HARGES. J U S T O N E L O W M O N T H LY / Y E A R LY PAY M E N T .

There’s something for everybody, at a price for anybody.

Cal James Sr. Weight Room • Charter Foundation Adult Activity Center • EAMC Cardiovascular Area Group Fitness Room • Gymnasium with Large Stage • Indoor Aquatics Center • Indoor Cycling Studio Indoor Walking Track • Outdoor Amphitheater • Outdoor Children’s Playground • Outdoor Walking Trail Personal Training • Pickleball Facility with 12 Covered, Individually Fenced Courts • Splash Park Steam Rooms • Three Meeting Rooms with AV Equipment • Tot Watch • Tumble Tree Disc Golf Course Two Racquetball Courts • W James Samford Soccer Complex • Youth Game Room 10 01 S P O R T S P L E X P K W Y

O P E L I K A , A L 3 6 8 01

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334.705.5560

W W W. O PBeyond ELIKASPO R T SCounty PLEX.COM Explore Lee

CALL ZACH ALSOBROOK

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