9.20.18

OTMJ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL u OTMJ.COM

SOCIAL

SPORTS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

A Really Good Thing Martha Stewart Will Headline This Year’s Antiques at The Gardens

T

By Donna Cornelius

Photo courtesy Birmingham Botanical Gardens

hrough her TV shows, website and magazine, Martha Stewart has taught even the least domestic among us how to bake the perfect pie, properly fold a fitted sheet, and fancy up our doors with seasonal wreaths.

INSIDE Next month, those who DESIGNING WOMEN attend Antiques at The Friends Join Forces Gardens can learn from to Create Hundley Stewart in person. She’ll Hilton Interiors P. 22 headline the 13th edition of the annual antiques show REAL MAGNOLIAS and educational event, set Erin Weston Will for Oct. 4-7 at the Lead Bouquet Birmingham Botanical Workshop at Gardens.

Antiques at The Stewart and Kevin Gardens P. 24 Sharkey, left, are the featured speakers at the show’s Red Diamond Lecture Series. The co-authors of “Martha’s Flowers: A Practical Guide to Growing, Gathering, and Enjoying” will interview each See ANTIQUES AT THE GARDENS, page 26

INSIDE

SOUTHERN WITH A FRENCH TWIST Les Dames’ Soiree celebrates food, philanthropy PAGE 12

SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER Ceremonies remember victims of 9/11 terror attacks PAGE 10

TAKE A SEAT Where’s the Chair campaign for breast cancer awarenes PAGE 13

2 • Thursday, September 20, 2018

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

OPINION/CONTENTS

Inside

Murphy’s Law

Debugging

I

otmj.com

ger and stronger and have reasoning skills at was standing in the driveway last week our disposal and yet we still find ourselves at when 22 wasps flew out of my stove the mercy of something no bigger than a comexhaust vent. My daughter and I hurried my puter chip. Wouldn’t it be great if our houses grandchildren inside and successfully fended and yards could be protected like our computthe wasps off with synchronized cans of bug ers? In effect, our houses are being hacked. spray, but let me tell you, it was a harrowing (You don’t think the Russians...? Nah…) experience.

Along with anti-virus protection, we need It could have been worse, though. If the anti-venom protection, something that would wasps had instead decided to fly straight into establish a gated community of sorts around my kitchen during breakfast, I would have filed our homes. There could be a running list of it under Amityville Horrors and permanently approved animal guests and a strict policy vacated the premises. against admittance to anything else. Obvious I know I’ve defended wasps in the past. threats – ants, wasps, mosquitoes – would simThey’re spindly-legged little creatures who are ply be denied access. Butterflies and Luna just trying to live their lives and raise families Moths would be allowed in, and helpful honey like the rest of us, but I cannot have them Sue Murphy bees only if they agreed to simply do their poldoing it inside my stove vent or even in my lination and move on. driveway if they insist on hovering over my Each family would be in charge of the grandchildren as they ride their Big Wheels.

It’s weird to think rest of their list. For me, it would be songI might have let the incident go, but it about, isn’t it? We birds, yes. Gastro-challenged pigeons? No. wasn’t just the wasps that week. Ants continChipmunks and squirrels? Sure, as long as ued their march up my sidewalk. Mosquitoes human beings are they don’t wreck the birdfeeders. Snakes? had taken to sneaking inside and nipping at bigger and stronger Never, never, never. us in our sleep. There was only one thing I don’t know what kind of technology it left to do: I picked up the phone and called and have reasoning would require, but I’m picturing some kind an exterminator. skills at our disposal of invisible shield that could be raised and I would have preferred to solve the problowered around your property. Shields down lems in a more natural way, but it would and yet we still find for summer sunshine, shields up for seasonal take an army of frogs and bats as well as a ourselves at the pollen, and when storms rolled in, the wind mating pair of anteaters to do the job and, and hail would just bounce right off.

God love them, they would bring problems mercy of something A biodome. I guess that’s what I’m talkof their own. I tried some sonic outlet plugs no bigger than a ing about, but one that’s only open to certain that are supposed to ward off a wide variety types of bio. The concept is years away, if of loathsome creatures, but they didn’t work. computer chip. ever, I’m sure. Still, a girl can dream. The Somewhere, a cockroach or mouse may be poor exterminator came and sprayed diliholding his ears and running, but the wasps and mosquitoes just laughed, so, sorry guys, I had to call in the gently, but the next day I saw two wasps flying into the ventilation window in my attic and I had to call him back. Insecta non big guns. grata. They just don’t get it. It really bugs me.

It’s weird to think about, isn’t it? We human beings are big-

There’s so much happening in the Over the Mountain area, we can’t fit it all in the paper! Visit www.otmj.com for more stories and photos.

Over the Mountain Views

BATTLING BACK Ben Abercrombie keeping the faith as he recovers from spinal injury.

PAGE 32

TOP TEACHER VHHS award-winning biology teacher aims to make students think.

PAGE 29

ABOUT TOWN 4 8 PEOPLE 10 NEWS 12 LIFE 16 SOCIAL

WEDDINGS HOME BUSINESS SCHOOLS SPORTS

21 22 28 29 32

OVER THE MOUNTAIN

JOU RNAL

Publisher & Editor: Maury Wald Copy Editor: Virginia Martin Features Writer: Donna Cornelius Staff Writers: Ingrid Schnader, Emily Williams Editorial Assistant: Stacie Galbraith Sports: Blake Ells, Rubin E. Grant Contributors: Susan Murphy, Jordan Wald, June Mathews, William C. Singleton III, Emil Wald, Marvin Gentry, Lee Walls Jr., Bryan Bunch Sam Prickett Advertising Sales: Julie Trammell Edwards, Laura Lane, Tommy Wald, Suzanne Wald

Vol. 28, No. 4

Over The Mountain Journal is a suburban bi-weekly newspaper delivered to Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County areas. Subscriptions for The Journal are available for $24 yearly. Mail to: Over the Mountain Journal, P.O. Box 660502, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216. Phone: (205) 823-9646. E-mail the editorial department at editorial@otmj.com. E-mail our advertising department at mwald@otmj.com. Find us on the Web at otmj.com.

Copyright 2018 Over The Mountain Journal, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Journal is not responsible for return of photos, copy and other unsolicited materials submitted. To have materials returned, please specify when submitting and provide a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All materials submitted are subject to editorial review and may be edited or declined without notification.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy pumpkin spice?

“Pumpkin spice muffins with white chocolate chips.”

“Pumpkin spice waffles and cinnamon rolls.”

Ashley Mitchell Homewood

Clairee Pavich Homewood

“I love pumpkin spice lattes.”

Faye Fulmer Birmingham

Next Issue: October 4 Women’s Health Focus

“I really love it in my coffee at this time of year.”

Sarah Beth Burden Homewood

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

OPINION/CONTENTS

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 3

EVERY CANCER PATIENT IS UNIQUE. AND AT OUR NEW CENTER, THEIR CARE WILL BE, TOO.

The Grandview Cancer Center is about to open its doors, bringing this community an important new resource for cancer care.

A full range of care, from diagnosis through treatment and follow-up, will be available right here. Services will be provided by a team of cancer care specialists using advanced technology and cancer treatment options. Jennifer De Los Santos, M.D., is the Cancer Center Director. She is a renowned radiation oncologist whose research in breast cancer treatment has gained international attention. She joins more than 20 board-certified physicians and a dedicated staff who will provide our patients with personalized care. To learn more, visit GrandviewCancerCare.com.

Jennifer De Los Santos, M.D. Cancer Center Director Independent Member of the Medical Staff at Grandview Medical Center.

3670 Grandview Parkway • Birmingham 205-971-1800

Look Forward.

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Colorful Celebration This Year’s Fiesta Is Full of Fun and Flavors

By Donna Cornelius Southern food includes everything from fried chicken and cornbread to low country cooking and Cajun cuisine. Hispanic food has the same variety, and a Birmingham festival showcases that in very tasty ways.

The 16th annual Fiesta, Alabama’s largest celebration of Hispanic culture and heritage, will be in full swing from noon to 8 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Linn Park. More than 15,000 people usually attend the festival to experience not just the food, but also the art, music and dance of 20-plus countries.

This year’s theme is “Celebrando a Todo el Color,” which means “Celebrating in Full Color.” Vanessa Vargas, Fiesta president, said it’s an apt description of the event.

“Fiesta is like a mosaic,” she said.

“We try to balance music and entertainment to appeal to all the countries represented.”

The food, too, comes from different countries and ranges from the traditional to the unexpected.

“Latino food is not all the same,” Vargas said.

For example, Fabio Pessoa and his team from Beraca Missions will offer Brazilian barbecue – marinated steak flavored with six spices and served on sticks, like kebabs. Beraca also will have Brazilian truffle-like sweets called brigadeiros.

“We marinate the steak the night before and grill at the event over charcoal,” Pessoa said. “Everything is fresh.”

His organization supports mission work in the Amazon jungle. Pessoa is a native of northern Brazil and grew up near the jungle. He spent eight years in Georgia before moving to Birmingham four years ago.

“This is the second year for us to participate in Fiesta,” he said.

Tacos are among the most familiar Hispanic dishes, and Gregorio Roque’s El Taco Truck will be on hand with plenty of combinations.

“We’re famous for our grilled chicken tacos,” Roque, who’s originally from Mexico City, said through a translator. “We won first place with it at the Birmingham Taco Fest.”

But adventurous eaters will find other options at Fiesta, including tacos made with beef tongue, beef cheek and lamb. Nopales – the edible pads of the prickly pear cactus – can be combined with chorizo, steak or egg.

El Taco Truck has corn tortillas, served with cilantro and onions, and flour tortillas, served with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and cheese.

Making Their Way to Birmingham

Roque came to Birmingham in 1996. He owned a restaurant in Pelham but closed it when the city

bought the property it was on. The taco truck, which he’s operated for several years, is based in Pelham and serves food at corporate and special events.

“This is done with a lot of love,” he said. “I just love the work.”

Vargas, who’s 28, was born in Colombia and came with her parents to the United States when she was 5 years old. She said she was 12 when she began attending Fiesta with her parents, who own the Latino News and are longtime supporters of the festival.

“When my parents would bring me, I’d play soccer,” she said. “As I grew, the purpose and vision changed for me. I became part of the board.”

Vargas said Fiesta is “a gateway for us to learn about other countries.”

“I am all about diversity,” she said. “I love the fact that we can all unite through sports, food and music.

People return year after year to catch up with each other. It’s like a reunion.”

Roque said he likes to see Americans who attend the festival visit different food vendors. While El Taco Truck doesn’t serve street corn, he said Fiesta first-timers are always curious about the corn-on-a-stick that’s dipped in butter and mayonnaise and then coated in cheese and chili powder.

Vargas said Fiesta is a great opportunity to try unfamiliar food.

“People from the Anglo community often buy dishes, share them, see what they like, and then go back to buy more,” she said.

Other food vendors in addition to El Taco Truck and Beraca Missions include Taqueria Las Garzas, El Mercado, Taqueria Mexico, Caribbean Style Pina Colada, Cuban Latin Grill, Paleteria Michoacan, Mi Pueblo Supermarket, Las Poblanas Mexican Restaurant, Happy Ice Cream, Peruvian Flavors, Snowballs Raspados and Taco Morro Loco.

In addition to authentic Latino food vendors, Fiesta has two music stages, a cultural village, a community village, children’s activities, a health and wellness village and more.

Those who attend also can explore the McDonald’s Fiesta Tour, a travel-

ing 50-plus-foot exhibit with trivia games, a photo booth, artist memorabilia, listening stations, a social media wall and product sampling.

The First Fiesta

Fiesta started in 2001, when several members of the Hispanic Business Council of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce put in motion a plan to develop a yearly Hispanic festival in downtown Birmingham.

Fiesta, Inc., was created in 2002 as a not-for-profit organization whose board of directors produces the yearly event with the help of volunteers.

The mission of Fiesta is “to organize and manage a yearly festival that celebrates and educates the public on the diverse cultures within the Hispanic community in Alabama.”

The festival celebrated its 15th anniversary last year and now attracts not only Birmingham area residents, but people from across the Southeast.

Over the past 15 years, Fiesta has awarded more than $70,000 in scholarships to deserving Hispanic students. Those who attend the event can donate to the scholarship fund when they buy tickets.

“Fiesta has become a beloved tradition – an opportunity for us to share our rich heritage with each other and with our fellow Alabamians,” Vargas said. “All of us in the Hispanic community embrace a deep, abiding pride for our countries and our cultures. And as we passionately share our stories and celebrate both our similarities and our differences, we continue to weave ourselves more intricately into the Birmingham community and the communities where we live.”

Tickets to Fiesta are $10 and on sale now. You can buy them online at fiestabham.com or at the gate on Sept. 29. Children ages 12 and younger get in free with a ticketed adult. For more information about the festival, visit the website or follow Fiesta on social media, @ FiestaBham. The event’s official hashtag is #FiestaBham. Linn Park is at 710 20th St. N in Birmingham.

Photo courtesy Fiesta Birmingham

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

ABOUT TOWN

SEPT 20 - OCT 4

Head Over Teal

Thurs., Sept. 20

Home Sweet Home

Photo courtesy Exceptional Foundation

What: Family Promise of Birmingham presents its annual fundraiser in support of its mission to provide safe, home-like lodging where homeless families can stay together while working to regain their independence. Guest will enjoy silent and live auctions, a raffle, food and wine.

When: 6-9 p.m.

Where: St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Website: familypromisebham.org

The Art of Hope: Speaking the Unspoken

What: The Alabama Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Junior Board hosts its annual fall educational awareness event featuring a free evening of art (available for purchase), light hors d’oeuvres, Paradise Chow food truck, a cash bar and live entertainment.

When: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Where: TrimTab Brewing Co. Website: “Art of Hope: Speaking the Unspoken” Facebook page

Reese Witherspoon Whiskey in a Teacup Tour

What: Join Reese Witherspoon for a night of lively conversation with her debut book, “Whiskey in a Teacup,” as she shares personal stories about what growing up in the South taught her about life, love and work. Each ticket includes a copy of the book. VIP tickets are available and include a limitededition Draper James tote bag filled with some of Reese’s favorite products.

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: Alabama Theatre Website: “Reese Witherspoon Whiskey in a Teacup Tour” Facebook page

Fri., Sept 21

Dinnertainment

What: This unique dinner party features a cocktail hour, seated dinner and live entertainment by exceptional people as Exceptional Foundation participants, individuals of all ages with special needs, present songs, skits, videos and other performances.

When: 6:30 p.m.

Where: For more information, call Dee Grisham, 870-0776 Website: exceptionalfoundation.org

Sept. 21-23

Orchid Festival and Sale

What: The Alabama Orchid Society presents its 34th annual festival and sale featuring hundreds of blooming orchids on display as well as orchid plants for purchase from vendors. Visitors decide which displays win first, second and third place awards by casting votes for their favorites.

When: Fri. and Sat. at 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sun. from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Where: Birmingham Botanical Gardens Website: “Alabama Orchid Society” Facebook page

Sept. 21-22 and 28-29

“At Home”

What: The season opener at the Alabama Ballet will feature highlights from the Ballet’s repertory including work from world-renowned choreographers and up-and-coming contemporary artist.

When: Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Where: Alabama Ballet Center for Dance Website: alabamaballet.org

Sat., Sept. 22

ALABAMA'S LARGEST GASLIGHT SHOWROOM

What: The Laura Crandall Brown Foundation’s ninth annual race day and fall festival event kicks off with a 5k and 10k run/walk followed by a free festival. Activities include live music, a photo booth, inflatables, art activities, face painting and more. Proceeds benefit the foundation and its mission of offering hope through research for early detection of ovarian cancer and gynecologic cancer awareness.

When: Late packet pick up and registration at 7 a.m., 8 a.m. start, race awards at 9:30 a.m. and festival from 9 a.m.-noon Where:The Preserve in Hoover Website: thinkoflauara.org

St. Jude Walk/Run

What: Supporters from across the nation come together for the St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month to raise money for the kids of St. Jude, where families never receive a bill for anything.

When: 7 a.m. registration, 8 a.m. walk/run start Where: Railroad Park Website: stjude.org

La Celebración!

What: Join the zoo to celebrate the culture of Birmingham’s growing Hispanic and Latino community at an event presented by Abogados Centro Legal. Included will be animals of Central and South America featured through bilingual keeper chats, animal encounters, music and more.

When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Where: Birmingham Zoo Website: birminghamzoo.com

Birmingham Boys Choir

What: Birmingham Boys Choir collaborates with Briarwood Ballet for an evening of music and dance.

When: 7-8:30 p.m.

Where: Briarwood Presbyterian Church Website: birminghamboyschoir. com

Tues., Sept. 25

Golf Fore Life

What: The Golf for Life Invitational is a critical part of Sav-A-Life Vestavia’s ministry to raise awareness and funds to support women and men as they make life-changing decisions about their pregnancy.

When: 11 a.m.

Where: Greystone Golf and Country Club Founders Course Website: savalife.org

Thurs., Sept. 27

2828 Linden Avenue Homewood 870-4060 www.alabamagaslightandgrill.com

Friends of the Library Present: Mayor Curry

What: Join Friends as they welcome Vestavia Hills’ mayor Ashley Curry, who will speak about current events in the city and his 25 year career with the FBI.

When: 10-11:30 a.m.

Where: Library in the Forest Website: vestaviahills.org

Sept. 27-29

St. George Middle Eastern Food Festival

What: St. George Melkite Greek Catholic Church presents its 37th annual food festival featuring booths and events. In addition to Middle Eastern food there will be Middle Eastern groceries from Nabeel’s Imported Food, icons, religious articles and books, hand carved olive wood from the Holy Land, stained glass art by Mary Aiken, live Arabic Band - Amin Sultan - and Arabic dancing performed by the church’s youth.

When: Dine in/take out is from 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m., drive through hours are from 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Check the website for times on all other events Where: St. George Melkite Greek Catholic Church Website: saintgeorgeonline.org

Fri., Sept. 28

Western’s Wine and Food Festival

What: The biggest wine tasting event in Alabama includes over 500 wines, 40 food partners, raffle prizes, zoo animals, carousel rides and the opportunity to purchase wines at one-night-only prices. All proceeds will be divided equally among The Birmingham Zoo, Emmet O’Neal Library, Junior League of Birmingham, East Lake Initiative and UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.

When: 6-9 p.m.

Where: Birmingham Zoo Website: birminghamzoo.com

Sat., Sept. 29

Bottoms Up

What: The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation YP Council presents a fundraiser to benefit the research and education programs funded by the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Tickets include two drink tickets, access to the silent auction, food donated by Little Donkey, tailgate games and more.

When: 2-5 p.m.

Where: Cahaba Brewing Co. Website: crohnscolitisfoundation. org

Sun., Sept. 30

Cahaba River Fry Down

What: Cahaba River Society hosts a catfish cook-off and festival featuring a carnival-like atmosphere, live music, food, a climbing wall, hula-hoopers, face painters, educational games, wildlife demonstrations, a beer garden and more. Proceeds allow Cahaba River Society to continue its work to restore and protect the Cahaba.

When: noon-4 p.m.

Where: Railroad Park Website: frydown.com

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

live entertainment by Birmingham’s own Glen and Libba before Jones and Osborne take the stage.

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Alys Stephens Center, Lobby Website: alysstephens.org

Tues., Oct. 2 Photo courtesy Randall Atcheson

Fall Fashion Show

Sun., Sept. 23

Randall Atcheson Piano Concert

What: Former Mountain Brook resident Randall Atcheson, above, an award-winning pianist and organist, will perform a concert spanning a wide range of classic, gospel, popular and patriotic song selections. Atcheson attended Samford University before entering The Juilliard School and has since played around the world for many notable audiences, including former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. At the free concert, donations will be collected for the Wayne Atcheson Christian Ministry Endowed Scholarship at Samford University.

When: 4 p.m.

Where: First Baptist Church of Birmingham Website: randallatcheson.com

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 7

ABOUT TOWN

What: PNC and Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation will present a fall fashion show to benefit the foundation and its mission to provide ongoing and dependable funding for critical academic “extras” such as professional development, technology and classroom enhancements.

When: 11:30 a.m.

Where: 400 Beaumont Drive Website: vestaviafoundation.org

Community Night Out

What: Vestavia Hills’ police and fire departments present an opportunity for first responders to network with local businesses and the public in a stance against crime and the promotion of public safety. The

free, pet-friendly event features free food, jump houses, a climbing wall, a firefighter obstacle course, policefire equipment, vehicles on display and a mugshot photo booth.

When: 5:30-8 p.m.

Where: Vestavia Hills City Hall Website: vestaviahills.org

Wed., Oct. 3

Village Garden Walk Kick Off Party

What: Participating merchants will be doing garden-inspired themes for their window fronts in honor of Antiques in the Gardens at the Botanical Gardens and will be hosting refreshments, trunk shows, etc.

When: 4-6 p.m.

Where: Mountain Brook Village Website: mtnbrookchamber.org

Oct. 4-6

OPA! Birmingham Greek Festival

What: The 46th annual festival features free admission, indoor and outdoor dining (food plates

are individually priced), a band playing Greek music, authentic Greek dance performances, guided tours of the cathedral and its Byzantine architecture and more.

Proceeds benefit many charities and ministries.

When: Drive-thru service all three days from 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (no

need to call ahead), Guided tours from 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Where: Holy Trinity - Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral Website: birminghamgreekfestival. net ❖

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Little Leader Day

What: Little Leader Day will treat third through sixth grade students to a fun afternoon hearing from city officials about how to run a city government. Registration closes on Sept. 21. Participating students will be given snacks, a t-shirt, a copy of “Buttons Explores the Brook” and a certificate of completion.

When: 1-3 p.m.

Where: Mountain Brook City Hall Website: mtnbrookchamber.org

Symphony 30 Picnic

What: Musicians from the ASO will play a selection of music that the whole family is guaranteed to love. Included will be a kid zone and food provided by Jim N Nick’s.

All proceeds go to supporting the ASO’s outreach missions in our communities.

When: 4 p.m.

Where: Birmingham Botanical Gardens Website: alabamasymphony.org

New Orleans Cajun Party What: Join the Alys Stephens Center for a Cajun-style party inspired by New Orleans artist Rickie Lee Jones and Anders Osborne. The event will feature drinks, heavy hors d’oeuvres and

Please initial and fax back within 24 hou

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Thank you for your prompt attentio

8 • Thursday, September 20, 2018

PEOPLE

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Left, Vestavia Hills City Councilor Kimberly Cook with Girl Scouts from troops across Vestavia Hills at the 2018 G.I.R.L. Leadership Summit. Below, Liz Huntley, child advocate, author and lawyer for Lightfoot, Franklin and White LLC, gets a selfie with girls at the event.

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Girl Scouts Summit Features Professional Women Discussing Empowerment More than 325 girls who attended the 2018 G.I.R.L. Leadership Summit Aug. 25 at Mountaintop Community Church got the opportunity to learn about advocacy, financial literacy, emergency preparedness and career mentorship.

Hosted by Girl Scouts of NorthCentral Alabama, keynote speakers included Wendy Davis, a forensic examiner with the Computer Analysis Response Team of the FBI; and Brittany Wagner, a life coach, an athletic academic counselor and star of the Netflix show Last Chance U. “When I think of Girl Scouts, the first thing that comes to mind is leadership,” Davis said in her talk about her role at the FBI. Davis was a Girl Scout Brownie.

In her speech, Wagner shared her line, “Do you have a pencil?” which uses the pencil as a symbol to teach girls about moving on from mistakes, having empathy for those who have less, and not being confined to a box on a form.

“I didn’t let the fact that I was a girl and everybody else was a boy make me say, ‘I can’t do that,’” Wagner said. “I want you to go through your life without checking the boxes. Think about what you want to be, what are you passionate about, what do you like, what are you good at, what are your strengths. And don’t check a box that tells you that you can’t do it.”

Momentum, a women’s leadership program in Alabama, hosted a mentorship panel at the event with women from various fields including a pharmacist, a lawyer, a judge, an architect, an engineer, a doctor and an author. During the panel, girls asked questions and broke out into small groups for “speed mentoring,” giving them the opportunity to find out more about each woman’s job and ways they can pursue their own career dreams.

Throughout the day, girls also learned to code with Apple, broke wooden boards with Action Martial Arts, learned yoga and hula-hooping and participated in hands-on

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Your complimentary consulta visit will involve a set of basic orthodontic records (photos x-rays). We will then do an exam to determine if and wh orthodontic treatment would be beneficial. If you are read treatment, we will provide you with a description of the tr ment, an estimate of the length of treatment, and a varie Honor Ceremony to award the rank payment options.

Our goal is to efficiently give you all of of Eagle Scout to Jimmy Ramsey. information you need to make the best decision for you or During his 11 years in scouting, child!

Ramsey earned the Arrow of Light award, earned 30 merit badges and served as senior patrol leader for two terms, as well as assistant senior patrol leader for three terms. He is a member of the Order of the Arrow Brotherhood. Ramsey attended National Youth Leadership Training, served as a counselor at Camp Sequoyah and hiked more than 90 miles in the Philmont High Adventure Camp.

Ramsey’s leadership project Brittany Wagner, a life coach, athbenefited Moss Rock Preserve and letic academic counselor and star the city of Hoover by replacing the of the Netflix show Last Chance U, existing staircase at the Chapel Road speaks to girls at the 2018 G.I.R.L. entrance, which was suffering from Leadership Summit. erosion and needed to be replaced exhibits with the Society of Women to meet Engineers; the Alabama Chapter of building the Ninety-Nines, which is a female codes. pilot organization; the American Red He Cross; and head a discussion of how designed to be an advocate from Liz Huntley and modeled and Tara Preyer from Voices for the new Alabama’s Children. staircase “At the summit, I learned that girls using can do whatever they put their minds SolidWorks; to no matter what anyone says,” said acquired all Charlotte Hottle, a sixth-grader at necessary Jimmy Ramsey Pizitz Middle School. At the event, approvals, Hottle and her fellow members of building permits and inspections G.I.R.L. Squad led the crowd in from the city; raised the necessary funds; and planned and managed learning a dance. work days.

Ramsey is the son of Craig and Hoover’s Ramsey Earns Amie Ramsey of Hoover and is a Eagle Scout Rank senior attending the Engineering Academy of Hoover High School.

On August 19, Boy Scout After his graduation, he plans to Troop 93, chartered by Oakmont study architecture.

Presbyterian Church, held a Court of

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 9

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10 • Thursday, September 20, 2018

NEWS

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Seventeen Years Later

Photo courtesy City of Hoover

Speaker Exhorts Americans to Reclaim the Patriotism of 9/11 During OTM Joint Memorial Service

Journal photos by Ingrid Schnader

Brig. Gen. Paul A. Pocopanni Jr.

Hoover Honors Victims and Current First Responders in Remembrance Ceremony

By Ingrid Schnader Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook and Homewood came together for a joint 9/11 memorial service at Vestavia Hills City Hall.

The service marked 17 years since nearly 3,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

“This morning we gather to pay tribute and recognize the sacrifice and service of many great Americans on a day that we must never forget – September 11, 2001,” said keynote speaker Col. Trever J. Nehls.

Nehls began his military career in 1988, and has served two deployments in Afghanistan and one deployment to Iraq. He started his speech by asking the audience to remember where they were on the morning of the attacks.

“Do you recall the days and weeks following 9/11?” he asked the crowd of police officers, firemen and community members. “I vividly remember the patriotism.”

In the 17 years since the attacks, Nehls said, he feels that patriotism has waned.

Col. Trever J. Nehls speaks during the memorial service. Nehls started his military career in 1988 and has since served two deployments to Afghanistan and one deployment to Iraq.

“We must ask ourselves, how are we doing as a nation?” he said. “Do we as Americans all share and possess the qualities of a patriot? Are we united or divided? Have we allowed our differences to overshadow our commonalities?”

His concern for this country, he said, is that people are diluting or redefining the core values upon which the U.S. was born – values such as self-government, equality, individualism, diversity and unity.

“I encourage you to promote the ideals our country was formed

upon,” he said. “To speak with optimism and lead an effort that strives to unite all Americans in purpose. A chance to bring back the unity, patriotism and sense of family we witnessed in the days and weeks following 9/11.”

Toward the end of the service, the Vestavia Hills Fire Department performed a bell ceremony to pay honor and respect to those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks.

The memorial service concluded with the playing of Taps and three rifle volleys.

With the sky above a crystal blue just as it was 17 years ago, Brig. Gen. Paul A. Pocopanni Jr. took the podium at Hoover’s annual Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony on Sept. 11 in honor of the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

“Today, we honor and praise the men and women who gave their lives,” he said. “This tragic event changed our lives forever.”

Pocopanni remarked at the clear skies before recounting the effects of the 2001 attacks.

Nearly 3,000 people died when 19 hijackers took control of four commercial airliners and crashed them in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The remains of only 1,642 of the victims have been identified.

Pocopanni spoke about the number of first responders who gave up their own lives to save others during the rescue efforts, reminding the crowd that first responders all face danger on the job and deserve the utmost respect of the public.

As Pocopanni’s speech came to a close, a bell was rung in remembrance of the victims, and choir students from the Hoover City School system performed the song “Tell My Father.”

Both Mayor Frank Brocato and Hoover Fire Chief Clay Bentley gave closing words, thanking the crowd for gathering as Americans in remembrance, regardless of the pain it might have brought.

“We, too, rise out of the ashes and pull together in difficult times,” Brocato said.

—Emily Williams

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Rep. Faulkner Funnels Grant Money to Hollywood Pedestrian Bridge State Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, has committed to direct a grant for $15,000 to the Hollywood Boulevard pedestrian bridge project, which would connect Homewood and Mountain Brook above U.S. 280.

Officials are hoping to begin design work on the bridge later this year and have it built by the middle of next year.

The project is estimated to cost almost $1.2 million. The cities of Homewood and Mountain Brook have committed $200,000 each to the bridge, and other civic groups are chipping in, as well.

“This project is a textbook example of regional cooperation as the city, county, and state have combined efforts to increase pedestrian safety and improve the quality of life,” Faulkner said in a recent press release. “Hundreds of pedestrians, runners, and cyclists travel this busy and dangerous route each week, and the completed pedestrian bridge will help ensure their protection, security, and well-being in the future.”

Faulkner’s grant is coming from his legislative community service grant fund. He’s been involved with the bridge project since 2016 and has worked with the Homewood and Mountain Brook city councils to

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 11

NEWS

secure state approval and funding sources, according to the release.

“The maze of jurisdictions involved in this project initially proved troublesome, but Rep. Faulkner stepped in and formed a true coalition of governments,” said Homewood City Councilor Peter Wright. “With Rep. Faulkner’s leadership, the cities of Homewood, Mountain Brook, and Birmingham, Jefferson County, and the Alabama Department of Transportation have all worked cooperatively toward this single-minded goal.”

Program Aims to Help Parents Keep Their Daughters Safe Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills school systems will come together Sept. 25 for a program to educate parents about the issues their teenage daughters are facing today.

The event, called “Calling All Parents: Keeping our Daughters Safe,” will be held at the Junior League of Birmingham, 2212 20th Ave. S., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Topics will focus on suicide and self-destructive behaviors, sexual assault and social media. Parents can learn how each of these topics could affect their daughters, and

they will be provided with practical tips for having conversations with their daughters.

“I think ultimately what this is going to be about is conversations – encouraging parents to have conversations with their daughters, and not being reactive, not waiting for something to happen, but go ahead and try to get ahead of these things,” said Dale Wisely, one of the speakers at the event.

Parents are welcome to bring their daughters, but Wisely advises

that they use discretion, as the topics discussed may be heavy.

The event is free, but registration is required. To register, visit safedaughters.org.

The Song Goes On as Izcaray’s Contract Is Extended at ASO The Alabama Symphony Orchestra has extended Carlos Izcaray’s contract as conductor

through the 2022-2023 season.

Izcaray has been with the symphony for three seasons.

Symphony Executive Director Cheryle Caplinger called Izcaray an “invaluable part of the ASO team.”

“Audiences throughout the state appreciate his energetic and passionate approach to music,” she said in a press release from the symphony.

The ASO’s 2018-2019 season will feature Izcaray conducting Beethoven’s nine symphonies.

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By Donna Cornelius

S

outhern Soirée may be the perfect event for food-focused Birmingham.

Set for Oct. 7, the twilight dinner will bring to the table a tempting menu, support for budding chefs, and, through a silent auction, chances to participate in culinary learning experiences and adventures.

The outdoor event is hosted by the city’s chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a worldwide organization for women leaders in food, beverage and hospitality. Appropriately enough, the venue is a Birmingham urban garden: Jones Valley Teaching Farm.

Susan Swagler, incoming president of Les Dames’ Birmingham chapter, said Southern Soirée will be “casual and fun.”

“The food is on farm tables, and you can wander through the gardens,” said Swagler, a food writer for Alabama NewsCenter and Portico Mountain Brook and the owner of savor.blog.

LDEI is named for Auguste Escoffier, one of the most important figures in food history. Kathy G. Mezrano, Southern Soiree chairman, said the event’s dishes will pay tribute to the French-born chef.

“These are all Escoffier-based recipes with our spin,” she said.

Mezrano is the owner and CEO of Kathy G & Co, a catering and event design firm. She’s also the author of a cookbook for entertaining, “Food, Fun & Fabulous: A Southern Caterer Shares Recipes and Entertaining Tips.” She and other Dames will be the chefs at Southern Soiree.

When guests arrive, they can sip a signature cocktail made with Cathead Vodka, manzanilla sherry, fig syrup and lemon juice with a fresh basil garnish. Steva Casey, a bartender at The Atomic Lounge, created the drink especially for the event.

Mezrano said French wines also will be served.

An appetizer plate will include anchovy butter on artisan rye bread – Kay Reed of Iz Wedding & Events is preparing the butter – and cornichons, pickled okra and other vegetables with a whole-grain moutarde from Deborah Stone of Stone Hollow Farmstead. Mary Grace Viado of Village Tavern is making a cold soup with leeks and potatoes.

Mezrano’s contribution is beef bourguignon with mushrooms, and there’s rice pilaf from Carey Thomasson, chef and coowner of Dinner. Also on the menu are cucumber and pimiento salad from Ashley McMakin of Ashley Mac’s and Reed’s Provençale-style beans.

Dessert is another of Reed’s creations: banana pudding with homemade vanilla wafers.

Baker Corey Hinkel is donating bread – French baguettes and rye bread – for the dinner. Nick Hartmann of Ice by Design will create an ice sculpture with the LDEI logo, and Stone Hollow Farmstead will dress up the tables with colorful dahlias.

Auction Opportunities

The Birmingham LDEI group has for several years hosted fundraising dinners, including events at Stone Hollow Farmstead and, more recently, one with a

LIFE

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Southern with a French Twist Les Dames’ Soiree Celebrates Food, Philanthropy

Journal photo by Jordan Wald

12 • Thursday, September 20, 2018

Les Dames d’Escoffier International Birmingham chapter founding members include, from left, Kathy G. Mezrano, Martha Johnston and Susan Swagler.

theme featuring both a Southern and a French favorite: fried chicken and Champagne. Mezrano said the name of this year’s dinner was chosen for a purpose.

“This is the first time for it to be called Southern Soirée, and it gives us more flexibility – a French twist with a Southern touch,” Mezrano said.

Another innovation this year is a silent auction, with Dames pitching in to offer one-of-a-kind experiences.

One winning bidder and a friend can join Jan Walsh and Dolester Miles, James Beard Award-winning pastry chef at Highlands Bar and Grill, in the kitchen as they prepare a special dish that will be featured on Walsh’s BirminghamRestaurants. com.

Another auction item is a private tour of Pepper Place Market with its executive director, Leigh Sloss-Cora, and then drinks and brunch at OvenBird with Idie Hastings.

Katherine Cobbs, Rachel West and Anne Cain will lead a behind-the-scenes tour of the Time Inc./Meredith Food Studios.

Swagler will take the winning bidder and one friend to three international markets on Green Springs Highway and then treat them to lunch at the new Mr. Chen’s location in Hometown Supermarket.

Rosemary Dallam and Pat Terry will host winning bidders at Samford

University’s Wellness Kitchen to watch, learn and taste with the two registered dietitians.

Other experiences include bagel-making with Jennifer Yarbrough of Crestline Bagel; biscuit-making with Becky Satterfield, owner of Satterfield’s Restaurant and her brand-new Latin-fusion restaurant, El ZunZún; a professional knife skills class from Ashley Tarver of Copper Pot Kitchen and Domestica; and professional knife sharpening for the winning bidder and up to nine friends from Susan Green, owner of Birmingham Knife Sharpening.

Creating a Chapter

Mezrano and Swagler were among the Birmingham LDEI chapter’s founding members, as was Martha Johnston, who was vice president of food marketing and director of business development for Southern Living/ Southern Progress Corp. She also was on the start-up team for Cooking Light magazine and helped start the Southern Foodways Alliance.

“We had one of the largest initial memberships when we started the chapter,” Johnston said.

Swagler said Birmingham chefs Becky Satterfield, Angela Schmidt and Pardis Stitt started the group in 2013 with 55 women.

Membership is by invitation.

“We support each other, and we’re a philanthropic organization,” Swagler said.

The money raised by Southern Soirée and past fundraisers supports people from a range of ages and food-based fields. Last year, LDEI’s Birmingham chapter presented $10,000 in scholarships for culinary and college students and in grants to teachers, entrepreneurs and Jones Valley Teaching Farm.

Mezrano said volunteers from Birmingham-area culinary programs will help out at the dinner.

“Part of what we do is mentor young ones,” Swagler said. “To have them work alongside these experienced Dames is an experience they can’t get elsewhere.”

The Birmingham LDEI members get together for an annual meeting, host programs and trips to places such as cheesemaking farms and dairies, and even have a food-themed book club.

“Sometimes what we do is serious – and sometimes it’s just fun,” Swagler said.

Southern Soirée is 4:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at Jones Valley Teaching Farm, 701 2th St. N, Birmingham. Tickets are $125. To buy tickets, visit accelevents.com/events/southernsoiree. To learn more about the Birmingham LDEI chapter, visit ldeibirmingham.org or follow the group on social media.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 13

Photo courtesy American Cancer Society

LIFE

The newest campaign launched by the American Cancer Society of Birmingham’s junior board, Where’s the Chair Wednesdays, will have the chair moved around the city each Wednesday in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

TAKE A SEAT

ACS Junior Board to Launch Where’s the Chair Campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness

By Emily Williams A pink chair will be travelling around the city this October, and if you take a picture of it, you’re in the game.

The newest campaign launched by the American Cancer of Society of Birmingham’s junior board, Where’s the Chair Wednesdays, will have the chair moved around the city each Wednesday in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Each location will be an opportunity for community members to take photos with the chair, post it on social media and do their part to help spread breast cancer awareness.

According to junior board members Lauren Walsh and Christine McClurkin, sharing information about not just breast cancer, but all cancers, is what drives their continued participation in ACS. One of the ways they became involved in the organization was through their own experiences with the disease, awakening their awareness of its scope.

“Cancer affects so many people,” Walsh said. “And I love how ACS helps to not only fund research for a cure, but also helps provide comfort to those going through this awful disease.”

Walsh, a reporter at ABC 33/40, lost her maternal grandparent to lung cancer before she was born and has stood alongside her mother in

her battle against breast cancer.

“Her strength and positivity helped her through treatments,” she said. “She was lucky to catch it so early and is now recovering really well.”

With her mother finishing off radiation treatments over the past year, Walsh found comfort in support from her co-worker Brenda

Each Wednesday morning in October, from 7 to 9 a.m., clues hinting at the location of the chair will be announced on Birmingham Mountain Radio (107.3).

Ladun, a survivor of breast cancer, who helped her navigate the ways she could best help her mom.

Now, McClurkin’s fears turn to her paternal grandmother, who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and will be undergoing chemo treatments. Her father also is battling follicular lymphoma.

“Experiencing the fears associated with cancer firsthand makes me more passionate about wanting to raise money to find a cure,” she

said.

In McClurkin’s family, she has watched two women battle and beat breast cancer - her mother-in-law, Mary Sue McClurkin, and her grandmother, Emily Duke.

Through these experiences and the awareness they sparked within her, McClurkin was driven to help spread the word.

“It’s crucial to spread awareness in our communities,” McClurkin said. “The younger population needs to know the importance of proper screening and the importance of supporting those that are fighting cancer.”

McClurkin added, “The more people that volunteer and donate, the more support we can offer our community.”

Each Wednesday morning in October, from 7 to 9 a.m., clues hinting at the location of the chair will be announced on Birmingham Mountain Radio (107.3). The first person to find the chair, snag a picture with it and post the photo on Instagram with the tag #WheresTheChairWednesdays will be a winner. In addition, the chair location will offer facts about breast cancer and screening guidelines.

“Organizations like ACS fund research that will be vital to finding a cure,” Walsh said. “I also love the fact that millions of these research dollars are going to research happening in our backyard, at UAB. “I cannot wait for the day when all types of cancer are curable, and no family has to suffer because of it.”

For more information, visit fightcancerbhm.com and follow on Instagram @americancancersocietybhm.

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National Public Radio’s Michel Martin will moderate the second Alabama Humanities Foundation Colloquium, set for Oct. 1.

This year’s event has been expanded to include discussions by this year’s nine Alabama Humanities Fellows on their roots, views and the role humanities has played in their lives.

The colloquium will include two blocks of sessions, in the morning and afternoon, with lunch in between, according to a statement from the foundation.

This year’s fellows are: • Nall Hollis, a Troy native known as Nall, a southern artist with an international following.

• Gina Locklear, founder of Zkano, an online retailer of organic cotton socks manufactured in Fort Payne.

• Bobby McAlpine, a Montgomery-based architect and self-described romantic, poet and entrepreneur.

• Dr. Martha Bouyer, executive director of Birmingham’s Historic Bethel Baptist Church Foundation, developed and has served as project director for 12 “Stony the Road We Trod…” institutes, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

• Mary Margaret Pettway, a third-generation quilter and member of the Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective.

• Margot Shaw, founder and editor of Flower magazine, a Birmingham-based floral lifestyle magazine.

• Joyce Vance, former U.S. attorney in Alabama, professor at the University of Alabama School of Law and regular contributor of political analysis on MSNBC. • Peggy Wallace Kennedy, daughter of former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who has become well-known as a speaker and advocate for peace and reconciliation.

• Dr. Andrew Westmoreland, president of Samford University.

AHF Executive Director Armand DeKeyser said in the statement, “It is fitting that (this year’s colloquium) is being billed as continuing the conversation because the 2017 conversation was so provocative and so memorable, it left us all with a sense of wanting more.”

The event will be at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The morning session begins at 10:30 and

Randall Atcheson

Piano ConCert Performing Classical, Gospel, Popular and Patriotic Selections

Sunday, Sept. 23, 4p.m.

First Baptist Church, Birmingham 2209 Lakeshore Drive *The Children’s Oncology group is a clinical - translational trials organization with more than 9,000 experts worldwide dedicated to finding better cures and improving the outcomes for all children with cancer.

No tickets required.

Donations for the Wayne Atcheson Christian Ministry Endowed Scholarship art Samford University will be accepted.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

A Leading Class

Fellows to Lead Discussions at Alabama Humanities Foundation Colloquium

Photos special to the Journal

14 • Thursday, September 20, 2018

Clockwise from above, Gina Locklear, Andrew Westmoreland, Nall Hollis and Bobby McAlpine.

features Kennedy, Pettway, Vance and Westmoreland.

Bouyer, Nall, Locklear, McAlpine and Shaw anchor the afternoon session, which begins at 1:30.

Tickets are $85 each, with valet parking and lunch included.

Sponsorship levels with program recognition and guest tickets are available. A portion of the proceeds go to Alabama History Day, sponsored by the foundation and Auburn University at Montgomery.

For more information or to order your tickets, go to alabamahumanities.org/colloquium-tickets-2018/.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Music Appreciation

Former Edgewood Teacher on Her Lifelong Love of Music

Journal photo by Ingrid Schnader

The Edgewood Elementary principal nominated McKibben, and she made it all the way to the quarterfinals.

“Even though I taught music, there was so much more that I tried to teach my kids, about things like being a good citizen,” she said.

“Many times I told them stories about myself and the way I was raised, and I feel like that rubbed off on kids. They love to hear stories about their teachers, about things that you did.”

The Dill Pickers Are Born

Theresa McKibben is a founding member of the Dill Pickers.

By Ingrid Schnader Theresa McKibben is gearing up for her performance with the Dill Pickers at the Central Alabama Theater. But before McKibben was one of the seven musicians who make up the Dill Pickers band, she was a little girl begging her mom to let her take piano lessons.

“My mother had a terrible experience with piano,” she said. “Her mother made her take (lessons), and she really didn’t want to. So when I started begging her to take piano lessons, she was like, ‘No, we can find other things for you to do.’”

She finally started taking piano lessons when she was in fourth grade in Magnolia, Mississippi. In addition to her passion for piano, she also grew up knowing she wanted to be a teacher, just like her mom was.

“When I’d come home, I would line my dolls up on the bed and teach to them,” McKibben remembered. “I always knew I would be a teacher.”

When she got older, McKibben decided to go to college for a degree in English. She thought she wanted to teach English and do music on the side. But when she tried out for the college choir the summer before her freshman year, her voice professor started writing her letters encouraging her to be a music major.

“He really kind of steered me in that direction,” she said. “And I’m so thankful, because I decided to major in music education.”

McKibben would later be a quarterfinalist for the first-ever Grammy award in music education.

Her career in music education started in a school in Jackson, Mississippi – the same school where she did her student teaching.

There was another school in Jackson where she also taught. In both of those schools, McKibben had to teach music without having a classroom.

“The schools were so crowded,”

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 15

LIFE

she said. “I had a cart that I pushed, and I went room to room and taught music.”

McKibben took a break from teaching after the birth of her first child. Six years later, she heard about an opening in Homewood at Edgewood Elementary.

“Jobs at really great schools don’t come open that often, especially in music,” she said. “So I went and tried for that job, and I got it.”

She later found out that there were more than 50 applicants for the position.

Life at a Well-Supplied School

“I went from teaching in Mississippi, where I didn’t have a classroom, to being in Homewood, where there’s such wonderful supporters of the arts and everything,” she said. “My classroom had everything you can imagine.”

During her time there, McKibben started an annual talent show to raise money for her classroom.

“We didn’t charge admission, but we’d have a bucket at the door and say, ‘This year we’re collecting money for Mrs. McKibben’s drum fund,’” she said. “And parents would just give money. And that’s how I got 30 drums in my classroom.”

McKibben teaches students on the guitar, too, but she said piano will always be her favorite instrument.

The best part about teaching music, McKibben said, is seeing the students come alive in the classroom.

“Some kids are not great students in school,” she said. “Math may not be their strong subject, or reading. But music is a class that everybody can excel in. And it makes them feel good about themselves.”

A year before McKibben retired, the Recording Academy created a Grammy award in music education.

It’s been three years since McKibben retired from elementary school teaching, but she continues to stay busy with her music. She recently took up violin lessons,

which she said is a challenge she loves. She also teaches a Wednesday night music class at her church, and she recently tried out for the Alabama Symphony Chorus and got accepted. And, of course, she plays with the Dill Pickers.

The band started when they were all actors in a 1999 play at Trinity United Methodist Church.

McKibben said the play was such a success that everyone in the play are now the Dill Pickers.

Norton Dill, the group’s banjo player, started writing plays for the group to perform.

“He went up on Sand Mountain and visited the people up there,” she said. “And the interesting thing is they have music festivals at their houses. Like somebody will host a festival, all these people come in, bring instruments, and bring food and they stay and play all day. So he wrote this crazy play and all seven of us are in it, but each of us play four different characters. …

And we all play various instruments. We change instruments. And it’s a hoot.”

The play is called Sand Mountain Saturday Night, and the group performed it up until June of this year.

With different people in the group moving to different states, it’s getting harder for the seven to perform together. That’s why McKibben is especially excited about the group’s upcoming performance.

“Music is just one of those things that is a lifelong thing you can have,” McKibben said. “I’m so thankful for my parents giving me the background that they did and encouraging me in my music.”

Tickets for the Dill Pickers event are $30. To buy tickets, go to eventbrite.com and search for Dill Pickers. The event is Sept. 29, 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Central Alabama Theater.

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TWO THE ZOO Annual Birmingham ZooGala Inspires with African Theme

Journal photos by Jordan Wald

Rhonda and Sean Johnson.

Leigh Davis and Catherine Long.

This year’s ZooGala celebrated the Trails of Africa, highlighting conservation projects with the theme Indaba in Africa on Sept. 14 in the Hugh Kaul Children’s Zoo. The evening began with a VIP pre-party, inviting guests to a private experience in the Trails of Africa before joining the rest of the party for animal encounters, music

by The Main Attraction, culinary offerings from Kathy G and Company and more.

Honorary chairs for the event were Janice and Roddy McKinney, long-time supporters of the zoo.

In addition, an online auction offered up jewelry, art, gift packages and vacations, including a South African safari in Zululand, South Africa. ❖

From left, Leslie Brooks, Emily Lassiter, Britt Redden and Ginny Johnston.

Danny, Roddy and Lee McKinney.

Chris Pfefferkorn, Sumner Rives, Leigh Davis and Amanda Davis.

Amanda and Shane Mitchell with Audrey Raybren.

Gwen and Gracie Weaver.

Litzy and Dulce Vargas.

Magic reigned at the Birmingham Zoo on Aug. 18 as royally costumed children gathered for Fairytale and Frogs Day. The Enchanted Princesses provided a variety of princes and princesses to meet-and-greet and crown attendees.

Included in the festivities were animal demonstrations, arts and craft projects and a Coca-Cola sampling booth. ❖

Hallett, Harlow and Holten Johnson.

Journal photos by Jordan Wald

Zoo Embraces Fantasy for Fairytale and Frogs Day

Alora and Lucia Nava.

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Go for the Gold

Guests dressed in gold filled B&A Warehouse on the evening of Aug. 25 for Open Hands Overflowing Heart’s annual Gold Gala, hosted by its junior board.

Throughout the event, guests

were treated to drinks, dinner and live music by Black Jacket Band, and a variety of prizes were raffled off throughout the evening.

With the goal of ending childhood cancer, funds raised through

the annual event support the organization’s efforts in the community.

More than $20,000 was raised at this year’s event, which will help fund more than 400 hours of research. ❖

Journal photos by Jordan Wald

OHOH Gala Raises More Than $20,000 to Find Cure for Pediatric Cancer

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 17

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Steve and Angela Priola.

From left, Rob Green, Emily Ballew, Megan Anglin and David Arnold.

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Crowning Glory

Journal photos by Jordan Wald

Childcare Resources Brings Fairytale Favorites Together for Ball

From left, Olivia Lou and Olivia Whitenight.

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Royalty reigned at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel on Aug. 25 for the annual Fairytale Ball, hosted by Childcare Resources.

Guests old and young were entertained by the festivities emceed by ABC 33/40 co-anchor Christopher Sign, with a silent auction, dancing, an interactive candy bar, gourmet hors d’oeuvres and more.

As children met with some of their favorite fairytale characters, magicians and stilt walkers roamed through the crowds offering performances.

Funds raised support the organization’s efforts to make quality care and education of children more accessible throughout the community by providing information, education and assistance to families, providers of child care and the community. ❖

Pride and responsibility drive us to be the best in Renee Over The Mountain Journal, 205-823-9646 ph., everything we do.

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Jamey, Ella Kate, Michelle and Olivia Ramsey.

Candice Rice with Everly and Jennifer Yielding.

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Front, from left: Roberta Atkinson, Betsy Cooper, Shirley Brown and Zane Rhoades. Back: Carolyn Orchid, Molly Bee Blotscher, Char Bonsack, Bob Wadhams, Skip Wadhams, Diane Ray, Janet Lauer, Sandra Wilson and Martha Black.

Toasting New Leadership SVC Introduces New Officers, Looks Forward to New Year

Alex and Sally Hood recently opened their home to the Symphony Volunteer Council for installation and introduction of the 2018-2019 board, treating all to hors d’oeuvres, wine and champagne.

The installation was performed by Rosa Minehan. Installed on the board were Roberta Atkinson, Betsy Cooper, Shirley Brown, Zane Rhoades, Carolyn Orchid, Molly Bee Blotscher, Char Bonsack, Bob Wadhams, Skip Wadhams, Diane Ray, Janet Lauer, Sandra Wilson and Martha Black.

Attending the SVC board installation were Perry Umphrey, Jim Altherr, Char and Rick Bonsack, Chandler and Janice Smith, Diane Ray, Roberta and Jim Atkinson, Diane and Neil Davis, Skip and Bob Wadhams, Martha Black, Gene and Olivia Weingarten, Susan Davis, Beverly and Phil Stine, Betsy Cooper, Sandra and Bob Wilson, Carolyn and Bob Orchid, Robert Raiford and Zane Rhoades, Debby Noll, Pete and Paula Verdu, Molly and Tom Bloetscher, Anne Carey, Roger and Linda James, Shirley Holcombe, Danny Cranfred, Janet Lauer, Lynne and Michael Meeks, Pam Wood, Frances and Jon Clemmensen, Jo Broadwater, Nadene Siniard, Bobbie Holland, John and Susan Atwood, Bettie Davenport, Shirley and Bob Brown, Halcyann Badham, Sylvia Westover and Liz and Tom Warren. ❖

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Art and Wine United

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& Divorce Coststaxinbill signed into Under the new law Jefferson

by Trump,County, alimony AL paid DIVORCE by one spouse One of the mostwill common to the other not be Author tax deductible, : questions about divorce is Kathryn Crawford Gentle and the spouse receiving the alimony exactly how much it costs. And, ofiscourse, it makes sense that no longer to pay taxes on Under therequired new tax in today’s consumer-savvy mar-bill signed into law alimony. ketplace, people want to knowpaid by one spouse

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Date:

Contested vs. Uncontested paying income taxes on the alimony One of the biggest factors In the current system, it works the toreceived. consider when calculating the cost of divorce in Jefferson opposite way, with the payer deductCounty, AL, is the type of diing the fullAnamount vorce in question. uncon- and Some Divorce lawyers saythe therecipient current testedpaying divorce income is always going taxes on the alimony tends preserve more money tosetup cost less than a to contested received. divorce.

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Assets Others argue that the government will must benew examined and dividedaffect anyone Theend rules won’t withwith more by the courtup system, spe-of a divorcing pair’s who or value signs a separation cial rulesdivorces applying their combined income. exceeds a certain threshold. agreement before 2019.

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Journal photos by Jordan Wald

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Throughout the evening, guests were treated to wine tastings, hors-d’oeuvres, live music and both live and silent auctions.

Up for auction were a variety of paintings created by participants in United Ability’s LINCPoint Adult Day and Hand in Hand Early Learning programs.

The event was organized by co-chairs Melissa Hand and Natasha Padan, along with junior board members Chris Biggins, Kayla Clay, Jonathan Drannan, Scott Forster, Ann Blair Gribbin, Rebecca Hargraves, Kyndle Huey, Alex Hufham, Brian Johnson, Ransom Kelly, Luke Kennedy, Will Leesburg, Meg McClenney, Randi McCoy, Alyssa McQuilling, Grant Rafield, Isabelle Rohr, Leigh Russell, Brittany Gordon Shaw, Jacqueline Shunnarah, Benjamin Teske, Blake Thomas, Van Trefethen and Sarah Beth Wilcox. ❖

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Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 21

Journal photos by Jordan Wald

SOCIAL/WEDDINGS

View and shop from our exclusive collection of Herend show pieces rarely seen in the US From left, Doug Brown, Sandy Wright and Todd Heifner.

Sweet Victory

Taste of Birmingham Highlights Local Restaurants Choral music and cuisine collided Aug. 21 at Haven as the Birmingham Boys Choir hosted its annual Taste of Birmingham fundraiser.

The evening was coordinated by co-chairs Elizabeth Peters and Jennifer Dent.

Guests were treated to samples from a selection of the city’s eateries and voted alongside judges to name winners of the best recipes.

Following performances by the choir, Yo’ Mama’s Restaurant was named the winner for the evening, with K&J’s Elegant Pastries earning Best Sweet Dish and Grille 29 winning best Savory Dish.

Also participating in the tasting was Bistro V, Cahaba Brewing, Chicken Salad Chick, Cocina Superior, Corbin Farms Winery, Eli’s Jerusalem Grill, FLIP Burger Boutique, Ghost Train Brewing Company, Jo Jo’s on Broadway, Little Savannah Restaurant and Bar, The Cajun Cleaver, Taj India, Saw’s BBQ, O’Henry’s Coffee, Ozan Winery, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Moss Rock Tacos & Tequila, Michael’s Restaurant, The Southern Kitchen and Bar and Vecchia Pizzeria. ❖

Lee Yeilding, Ashley Bryan and William Yeilding.

Ken Berg, Birmingham Boys Choir music director, with Susan Berg, associate music director.

Margaret Stinnett, Birmingham Boys Choir executive director, with Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin.

Garrett-Cooper

Mary Baker Garrett and James Benjamin Cooper were married August 11 at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham. The 5:30 p.m. ceremony was officiated by the Rev. Richmond Webster.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bryan Garrett of Birmingham. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. Donald Carl Turnbull and the late Dr. Turnbull, and Dr. and Mrs. Marshall Garrett, all of Birmingham.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. James Cooper of Houston. He is the grandson of Mrs. Max Reese Hickerson and the late Rev. Hickerson of Houston and the late Mrs. Phyllis Lee Cooper of Chicago.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a gown of ivory lace and stone tulle over moscato with a porcelain illusion and tulle bodice.

She wore her sister Grace’s veil of ivory illusion edged in lace scallop and carried a prayer book that had also been carried by her grandmother, mother, sisters, aunts and four other brides in the family dating back to 1948. A ribbon made from the mother of the groom’s wedding dress and lace from the mother of the bride’s wedding dress was tied to the bridal bouquet.

The bride’s sisters Grace Garrett Davis of Monterey, California, and Taylor Garrett Welsh of Staunton, Virginia, were matrons of honor.

Bridesmaids were Dorothy Marie Beck and Maggie Leigh Michelson of Birmingham; Julia Valentina and Clara Agresta of Alpharetta, Georgia; Catherine Clare Hays of Brattleboro, Vermont; and Sydney Wilkinson Yance of Opelika.

The groom’s father was his best man. Groomsmen were Richard Michael Enger and Bryan Marshall Garrett, brother of the bride, of Birmingham; Kevin Bradley Helms of Brentwood, Tennessee; Jordan Reese Hickerson of Houston; Jordan Matthew Leon of New York City; and Daniel Pusztai of Woodbridge, Connecticut.

Reading the scripture was Lily Brantley Posey and Mark Lecroy Hammontree. Program attendants were Taylor Pope Baskin, Kathleen Pruett Cannon, Haley Kathryn Delk, Lacey Carlton Kent, Shelby Marie Scott, Abigail Lea Shearer, Hannah Lizabeth Shearer and Claire Smith Hills. The music was provided by Kenneth Hamrick.

The couple live in Birmingham.

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Photo courtesy Hundley Hilton Interiors

ANTIQUES AT THE GARDENS

Designing Women Friends Join Forces to Create Hundley Hilton Interiors

By Donna Cornelius Janie Jones and Elizabeth Miles launched Hundley Hilton Interiors two years ago with a youthful, vibrant outlook.

They’ve rapidly earned a reputation for their fun, fresh perspective that happily blends modern and traditional styles – so much so that they have been asked to showcase their work at this year’s Antiques at The Gardens.

Hundley Hilton will be among the Birmingham Botanical Gardens event’s Tastemakers – designers who will curate inspiring and exciting spaces on display throughout the show.

Jones and Miles not only are creative, but also are young mothers and firm friends. They have another common denominator: Both

have designing moms.

“My mom has always had a love for design,” said Jones, who grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. “She was always going to antique stores and doing something new in our house, like replacing wallpaper, much to my dad’s chagrin.”

After graduating from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, Jones moved to Washington, D.C. “I was working for a senator and did business development for a law firm, but I had the desire to do something more creative,” she said.

Miles was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and then moved with her family to Charlotte, North Carolina, when she was 9 years old.

“I also lived for a short time in Virginia, so I’m East Coast born and raised,” she said. “I helped my mother. She did furniture, design and was an antique furniture dealer. She was an artist.

“I thought I might be an artist as a child.

My parents thought I needed a liberal arts degree, so I did that instead of going to design school.”

Miles went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and majored in graphic design. After college, she worked in that field for a short time and then for a large furnishings company. She lived in Australia and Colorado and moved to Washington, D.C., in 2004.

“That was a year before Janie moved there,” Miles said. “I worked in executive

Janie Jones and Elizabeth Miles founded Hundley Hilton Interiors, a Birmingham-based Interior design firm, in 2016.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

recruiting and did graphic design on the side. But I always wanted to get into something creative.”

Both women are married to men from Birmingham; Janie’s husband is Jemison Jones and Elizabeth’s is Tom Miles. They both ended up in Mountain Brook, where they continued their friendship.

“I was decorating my house in Birmingham, and my friends started asking me to help them find pieces,” Jones said. “I reached out to Elizabeth – she’s an artist, and I was drawn to her humor, laughter and energy.”

Miles designed the logo for Hundley Hilton Interiors, which is named for two other important women in the designers’ lives.

Jones’ middle name is Hundley, and it’s also her great-grandmother’s maiden name. Hilton is Elizabeth’s great-grandmother’s maiden name.

“We didn’t want to name the company after ourselves, and we wanted a name that could grow with us,” Miles said. “Also, it honors our female role models. We’re inspired by women who worked and decorated.”

Jones agreed.

“Our mothers and mothers-inlaw are such great, strong women,” she said.

The Learning Curve

The business’ first year was a busy one.

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 23

HOME “We collaborated and did a lot of work,” Jones said. “We set up accounts with fabric houses and other places.”

Both women said they’ve found many great resources in Birmingham and think it’s important to support local businesses.

“Birmingham is an incredibly creative community,” Miles said.

“It’s a unique city, and we take inspiration from that.”

They also have their own viewpoint when it comes to design.

“Birmingham is a city steeped in tradition and history, and a lot of designers capture that well,” Miles said. “We have an outside perspective. We tend to use more color and a mix of traditional and modern.”

Hundley Hilton specializes in residential design but recently took on a distinctly different project: a sailboat. They’ve been working with a marine interiors company in Newport, Rhodes Island, and said the job has been pleasantly challenging.

“That’s been a learning curve,” Miles said. “You have to think about moisture, the light, UV rays and flooring.”

The Hundley Hilton designers both have been involved with Antiques at The Gardens as volunteers. They said they love the opportunity to be a part of the show from the professional side and are looking forward to creating their Tastemaker space.

“Usually, we’re working closely

with our clients to bring in their personal style,” Jones said. “This was an opportunity for us to bring in our own personal style. Elizabeth brings more of a textural, modern look. I’m drawn to fanciful, floral and traditional. So you’ll see modern and traditional and also a nod to The Gardens.”

Miles said she loves antiques but also mid-century and modern styles.

Their Tastemaker display “was an opportunity for both of us to showcase our styles and bring them together,” she said. “At the show, you’re around such talent, such creativity. But that helps inspire us. It’s such an honor to get to do this.”

For more information about Hundley Hilton Interiors, follow the company on Instagram @hundleyhilton. And look for the company’s new website, hundleyhiltoninteriors.com, now under construction and coming soon.

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Erin Weston Will Lead Bouquet Workshop at Antiques at The Gardens

By Donna Cornelius There’s no such thing as a typical day for Erin Weston.

As the owner of Weston Farms in Garner, North Carolina, she might spend the morning tending to a broken water line and then dress up for a gala that night.

“I’m comfortable in boots or heels,” Weston said.

At her farm near Raleigh, she grows magnolia trees and uses their leaves to make her signature wreaths, garlands and fresh arrangements. She’ll be sharing her artistry and know-how at this year’s Antiques at The Gardens with her Gold Finch Longleaf Bouquet Workshop at 2 p.m. Oct. 6.

“It’s one of our most popular bouquets,” Weston said.

She said workshop participants don’t have to have any special skills to leave happy – and with a beautiful bouquet in hand.

“You don’t have to be creative,” she said. “This will be so easy, and you should be able to use your bouquet as long as you like.”

Until 16 years ago, Weston was on a different path. After majoring in art history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she worked in publishing in Philadelphia and then New York. In 2002, she was about to take a job as a writer for a TV series when the show was abruptly canceled. She

Photo courtesy Erin Weston

24 • Thursday, September 20, 2018

decided to switch gears – and careers – and returned to North Carolina to turn some family property into a farm. Although horticulture wasn’t exactly her field, she had a knowledgeable source to help her.

“My dad was the horticulturist for the city of Raleigh,” Weston

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said.

A holiday job she had as a teenager may have been a harbinger of things to come.

“When I was in the seventh grade, I had a job selling fully decorated Christmas trees at a Christmas shop,” she said. “This was the first generation of the decorated faux trees, and they were expensive even then – about $1,500. I was 13 years old, and I had the highest volume of sales.”

Weston said that when she came home to start her new venture, her mother wasn’t too enthusiastic.

“When I said ‘I’m going to be a farmer,’ she wouldn’t speak to me for a month,’” Weston said, laughing.

Weston’s decision to specialize in magnolias started for a practical reason.

“When I first started, I realized it was going to be May before I had plants to sell, and it was November,” she said. “My father told me to gather limbs off my grandmother’s magnolia tree and sell them to garden centers. This was a tree my grandmother had planted when the house was built.”

Weston said she quickly got bored with that project.

“My dad had a great collection of plants, and I started incorporating ingredients into arrangements,” she said. “I started creating things on my terms. I love to allow nature to speak for itself.”

No Wreaths! Well, Maybe Just a Few

She resisted wreath-making for

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

a while.

“I’d spent time as a young person around wreaths with bows and plastic things on them,” she said. “But people wanted wreaths, and I had bills to pay.”

Her wreaths, in fact, were her first sign that her company was going to succeed.

“I brought five wreaths to the local farmers market and had no idea how to price them,” Weston said. “I’d just gotten my car insurance bill, so I divided it by five. I sold out in 35 minutes.

“After that, I bought two wreath machines and hired two young men who played baseball to help me. The three of us made wreaths of all different sizes and styles.”

She still keeps her wreaths simple, elegant – and bow-less.

“We tell people we don’t grow bows,” she said.

When Weston started her farm, there were no magnolia trees on the family property. Her father, Noel Weston, found the best trees from all over the world and led the horticultural initiatives at Weston Farms.

“Magnolias chose me,” she said. “We were planting what works. My father kept putting more magnolias in the ground, and now we have more than 10,000 trees.”

Her visit to Birmingham for the Antiques at The Gardens show won’t be her first trip to the Magic City. Mary Catherine Folmar, owner of Cotton & Quill, brought her here two years ago for a trunk show at the Mountain Brook textile design company and a luncheon at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 25

HOME “I had no idea there are mountains in Alabama,” Weston said.

“I loved Birmingham. I’d live there.”

Although local sales gave her business its initial boost, today most of her orders are shipped.

Her products stay fresh for several weeks and then age gracefully, allowing them to be used for years to come.

She does special events and custom orders, too.

“We’ve done 30-foot installations at the North Carolina Museum of Art and wall backdrops at the High Point Market,” Weston said.

Her work has been featured in Southern Living and Garden &

Gun magazines and on HGTV and PBS. And she finally convinced her mother that she made one heck of a farmer.

“One day, the woman in my office was sick, and my mother covered the phones,” Weston said.

That day, her mom fielded one call from the office of David Rockefeller, at the time the patriarch of the famous banking family. Another call was from actor

Daniel Craig’s staff.

“So my mom got to talk with James Bond and Rockefeller,” Weston said. “At the end of the day, she said, ‘Erin, I’m proud of you.’ I told her I was just glad she’d instilled such high standards in me.”

For more information, visit westonfarms.com or follow the company on social media.

To: From: Date:

Attic Antiques

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Mary Charles Robbins Over The Mountain Journal, 205-823-9646 ph., 205-824-1246, fax May 2010

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Please make sure all informatio including address and phone

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CHELSEA A N T IQU E S

Please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number!

Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

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26 • Thursday, September 20, 2018

From page 1

Here’s what to expect at this year’s event: THROUGHOUT THE SHOW:

Tastemakers are design experts who create inspiring displays that will be open each day of the show.

This year’s lineup includes Amy Berry Design, Blackjack Horticulture, Hundley Hilton Interiors, Sean Anderson Design and Tippett Sease Baker Architecture.

Dealers at the show will be Ann Williams Antiques and Design,

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Antique Cupboard, Beth Poindexter Luxe, Beverly McNeil Gallery, Black Sheep Antiques, Blackwell Botanicals, D.R. Grissom Collection Estate and Fine Jewelry, Dana Kelly Oriental Rugs, Inc., Edwin C. Skinner, Gum Tree Farm Designs, Hedgerow Antiques, Kimball and Bean, Madison James, McDonough Fine Art, McKenzie Dove, Nashville Rug Gallery, Smith van Osdelle Antiques, Thomas M. Fortner Antiques, Very Vintage Villa, Vieuxtemps Porcelain, Weston Farms and Whitehall Antiques.

THURSDAY, OCT. 4

Kicking off the show is Tastebuds, sponsored by Flower magazine. The featured speaker will be Bettie Bearden Pardee, an author, lecturer and garden connoisseur from Newport, Rhode Island. Her talk will be followed by a panel discussion that includes Mimi Brown, Mary Hayward Spotswood Eudailey, Catherine B. Jones and Margaret Zainey Roux.

Kirk Reed Forrester is the moderator. It’s from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Oct. 4. The cost is $30 and includes a boxed lunch and show readmission.

Antiques at The Gardens will have a festive opening night with Gala in The Gardens, a black-tie preview of the show, from 7 to 11 p.m. Tickets are $175 per person and include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, music by Rhythm

VESTAVIA - HOMEWOOD

sion is $250, and general admission is $150. Both tickets include a copy of the book, a boxed lunch and three-day show admission.

The Red Diamond Champagne Reception is from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCT. 6

Photo courtesy BBG

ANTIQUES AT THE GARDENS other at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 5.

Hosted by Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Antiques at The Gardens brings in dealers and style experts from close to home and across the country.

The four-day show gives those who attend a chance to buy, get inspired – and support the Gardens, too.

This year, the show honors Cameron and Derrill Crowe, members of Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens and longtime BBG supporters.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

HOME

Meg Braff will lead a Shop the Show event from 9 to 10 a.m.

The cost is $30 and includes show admission.

Nation and weekend show readmission.

FRIDAY, OCT. 5

The show is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The first Red Diamond Lecture Series event featuring Martha Stewart interviewing co-author Kevin Sharkey is from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The co-authors’ roles will be reversed when Sharkey interviews Stewart from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Premium seating for each ses-

The show is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Taste in Spades returns with a panel moderated by show ambassador Richard Keith Langham. Meg Braff, Suzanne Kasler, Nick Olsen and Keith Summerour will be participating on the panel from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The cost is $40 and includes lunch and show admission.

Braff will lead a Shop the Show event from 9 to 10 a.m. The cost is $30 and includes show admission.

Erin Weston of Weston Farms will lead a Gold Finch Longleaf Bouquet Workshop at 2 p.m. The workshop is $40 and includes show admission.

SUNDAY, OCT. 7

Antiques at The Gardens ends with a flourish with Southern Sunday, when the public show is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Noted author and columnist Julia Reed will host a brunch and book signing from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The cost is $40 and includes show admission.

Robert LeLeux will lead a Tastemaker panel discussion featuring Amy Berry Design, Hundley

MOUNTAIN BROOK - TRUSSVILLE

To: Tricia From: Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 Date: September This is your AD PROOF from the OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL for the September 20, 2018 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number!

Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, KADCO Homes • www.kadcohomes.com • 205-985-7171 your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

The Cove at Overton Mountain Brook & Vestavia Hills Calton Hill Mountain Brook & Birmingham

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Kicking off the show is Tastebuds.

The featured speaker will be Bettie Bearden Pardee, left, an author, lecturer and garden connoisseur from Newport, Rhode Island.

ATTRACTION AND OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

Education programs are held year-round, and more than 10,000 school children on average annually participate in free science curriculum-based field trips. More than 350,000 people visit The Gardens each year, and admission is free.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens in 2016 was named one of the top three free attractions in America

by USA Today.

Photo courtesy BBG

Hilton Interiors, Sean Anderson Design and Tippett Sease Baker Architecture from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The session is free with show admission.

Proceeds from Antiques at The Gardens support the work of the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, including education and outreach programs for all ages.

Since 2006, the event has raised more than $4.6 million for free, curriculum-based educational programming for Birmingham and Bessemer schoolchildren.

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 27

HOME

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To: Paige From: Over The Mountain Journal, 205-823-9646 ph., 205-824-1246, fax Date: Sept. 2018 This is your AD PROOF from the OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL for the Sept. 20, 2018 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number!

Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

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28 • Thursday, September 20, 2018

SCHOOLS

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

OTM Schools Name National Merit Semifinalists

William Davis, Kendall Owens, Spencer Robinson, Sarah Simmons and William Smith.

Baynes Autrey, Holly Brown, Denson Camp, Benjamin Fu, Katelyn McInerney and Anna Rooney.

ALABAMA SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS:

OAK MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL:

THE ALTAMONT SCHOOL:

SPAIN PARK HIGH SCHOOL:

Arrington Harper, William Price and Aiden Yoder.

Asher Desai, Amrita Lakhanpal, Vivek Sasse and Spencer Skidmore.

BRIARWOOD CHRISTIAN SCHOOL:

John Kynerd.

JOHN CARROLL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL:

Lucy Spero.

HOMEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL:

Riley Abney, James Brabston, Ian Crawford, William Keith,

David Barrett, Michael Colby and Anatha Korrapati.

Lauren Choi, Benjamin Hartwiger, Rory Luthin, Manish Nagaraj, William Schoel, Zachary Shaw, Bryce Thornton and Anastasia Zellner.

VESTAVIA HILLS HIGH SCHOOL:

Colin Bamford, Rachel Bates, James Hogland, Bryce Hutchinson, Alison Levine, Nicholas Muscolino, Lauren Nelson, Sydney Nelson, Ritika Samant, Julia Stewart and Xiaochi Zhang.

Homewood: Front: Eliza Thornton, Samantha Le and Riley Abney. Back: Jackson Wallace, Collins Keith, Ian Crawford, Campbell Brabston and Allain Rapadas.

Hoover: Front: Anna Muthalaly, Abhinav Venkatesan and Shehzan Maredia. Back: Ronald Yuan, Hubert Couch, Emily Hagood and George Chen.

Vestavia Hills: Front, from left: Ritika Samant, Rachel Bates, Alison Levine, Julia Stewart, Lauren Nelson and Sydney Nelson. Back: Bryce Hutchinson, Cross Hogland, Colin Bamford, Walter Zhang and Nicholas Muscolino.

Photo courtesy Hoover School System

MOUNTAIN BROOK HIGH SCHOOL:

The Altamont School: Vivek Sasse, Asher Desai, Amrita Lakhanpal and Spencer Skidmore.

Photo courtesy Vestavia Hills High School

INDIAN SPRINGS SCHOOL:

Spain Park: Zachary Shaw, Rory Luthin, William Schoel, Anastasia Zellner, Lauren Choi, Manish Nagaraj, Benjamin Hartwiger and Bryce Thornton.

At press time photos from Alabama School of Fine Arts, Briarwood Christian, John Carroll Catholic, Indian Springs, Mountain Brook and Oak Mountain were not available.

Spain Park Senior Wins Finalist Slot in Change the Game App Competition

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Spain Park High School senior Lauren Choi recently earned one of five spots in the Change the Game finals, a game design competition for women sponsored by Google Play.

According to school officials, Choi’s game, “Palette,” was inspired by her experiences in her art class, mixing paint colors.

In the game, players are given a color and must mix other paint colors together to match the target shade.

Over the summer, Google HQ staff visited SPHS to interview Choi about her game, during which time she demonstrated her painting skills, discussed her artwork and explained her game.

Though she did not win the grand prize, as a finalist Choi went on an all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles to attend the E3 event and showcase her design, which will soon be available on Good Play.

While in LA, she attended a ceremony for women in gaming, toured Google Los Angeles and earned a scholarship to attend Girls Make Games Summer Camp.

Catfish and Cattle Farms in Eutaw.

According to MBE guidance counselor Anna Carlisle, Beeker spoke to the fourth- through sixth-grade students about his passion for farming, which led him away from his originally intended career in more traditional business.

Beeker encouraged the students to find their passion and pursue it, regardless of whether it is traditional work.

Beeker said it was because of his small business that he saw a need to have a bigger voice, and that led him to run for the PSC. Beeker was joined by his grandson, current MBHS senior Patton Browning, who shared his experience learning about farming with his grandfather.

Photo courtesy Moountain Brook Elementary

George Chen, Hubert Couch, Emily Hagood, Shehzan Maredia, Anna Muthalaly, Abhinav Venkatesan and Ronald Yuan.

Photo courtesy The Altamont School

HOOVER HIGH SCHOOL:

Photo courtesy Homewood High School

Samantha Le, Allain Rapadas, Eliza Thornton and William Wallace.

Photo courtesy Hoover School System

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation released its annual list of semifinalists on Aug. 12, recognizing students throughout the Over the Mountain area.

These students are among the 16,000 semifinalists chosen from schools throughout the country who represent less than one percent of the 1.6 million students who took the Preliminary SAT / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 2018.

Finalists will be announced in early 2019 and those students will eligible for about 7,500 scholarships worth more than $32 million, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

MBE Hosts September Speaker Series Featuring Chip Beeker

Kicking off the school’s Career Speaker Spotlight Series, Alabama Public Service Commissioner Chip Beeker visited Mountain Brook Elementary this month to discuss his work on the PSC and as owner of Beeker

Diana Browning, center, with Teresa and Chip Beeker.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 29

SCHOOLS

Journal photo by Ingrid Schnader

the questions. Instead, they had to sit and think.

“I was asking some really deep questions,” she said. “It wasn’t just naming a fact, but they had to make connections in concepts.”

Busbee said she appreciated something a student wrote about this strategy on a feedback card.

“She wrote, ‘That was really hard for me, but I think I did so much better than I expected to.

And I really appreciate the chal-

lenge,’” Busbee said.

“It’s great to hear, ‘You’re so great! You’re so funny! You’re my favorite!’ That’s great. But to hear that I’ve impacted someone’s learning, that’s what makes my little heart happy,” she said.

Busbee also gets good feedback from her students after they’ve gone to college. She said she gets lots of emails from previous students saying how easy their college biology class was after

taking Busbee’s class.

When students and faculty found out about Busbee’s winning the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award, they made her a banner offering their congratulations. It hangs on the wall outside of Busbee’s classroom.

“To hear that what I’m doing is touching lives,” Busbee said, “to get that affirmation that this is something that’s important – it’s really, really nice.”

When students and faculty found out about Busbee’s winning the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award, they made her a banner offering their congratulations. It hangs on the wall outside of Busbee’s classroom.

Top Teacher

Award-Winning Biology Teacher Aims to Make Students Think

By Ingrid Schnader When Vestavia Hills High School biology teacher Mary Busbee got off a plane this past summer, she couldn’t believe the notification that popped up on her phone.

She had been in Missouri grading AP biology exams. Before the

‘To hear that what I’m doing is touching lives, to get that affirmation that this is something that’s important – it’s really, really nice.’

MARY BUSBEE

trip, she had been nominated for the 2018 Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for Alabama. She didn’t think she would win though; she had been nominated before and hadn’t gotten it.

But this year was different.

“I got off the plane in June and turned my phone off airplane mode, and I had an email,” she

said. “And the email said, ‘Thank you for putting in an application, and I am pleased to tell you…’

And I had found out that I won. … And all I did was reply back and say ‘Shut up! It can’t be true.’”

The award is presented by the National Association of Biology Teachers. Each year since 1961, NABT gives the award to one biology teacher in each of the states and in Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Canada and overseas U.S. territories.

When it comes to effective teaching strategies, Busbee said it’s not always about what the students enjoy.

“It’s about what’s going to get out of them what I need,” she said. “And they generally tend to enjoy it.”

Students in her classroom do lots of modeling – with models and with their own bodies. They also have lots of conversations, which Busbee said students don’t always enjoy.

“I ask them questions about things that they don’t know,” she said. “So they really have to think and dig.”

Last year, she tried a strategy that she called “Think Time.” She would ask the students complex questions, but she wouldn’t let students raise their hand to answer

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After eighteen years in education with the Mountain Brook School System, former Cherokee Bend Principal Betsy Bell has retired to launch an encore career in real estate with ARC Realty. “Having spent time listening and counseling families about what community and school system to call home, I realize I’ve already been in the real estate business,” says Betsy. Her own experiences moving throughout the U.S. taught her how to make people feel welcomed. “It can be overwhelming when you don’t know anyone or where to grocery shop. As a Realtor, I can be a counselor and first friend.”

Betsy’s love of real estate—especially houses—started at an early age. One parallel between her career in education and real estate is looking beyond the obvious to see potential. “In education, seeing potential in every child is critical,” says Betsy. “I’ve always enjoyed doing that with houses, too. Now I get to match a family’s needs with a new home environment that impacts their lives every day, just like a great school.”

In choosing a real estate partner to best serve her clients, Betsy looked for cutting-edge technology, strategic marketing and social media. Innovative leadership and a collaborative culture helped her decide to make ARC Realty her professional home. “I love that ARC stands for ‘a relationship company,’” says Betsy. “In education and now in real estate, nothing is more important than the relationships we nurture every day.”

For more information on Betsy Bell’s career move to ARC Realty and to view all of the company’s listings online, visit arcrealtyco.com or call Betsy at (205) 229-1669.

30 • Thursday, September 20, 2018

Patriot Path

By Rubin E. Grant

From page 32

year, but we’re still going to be a team that’s based on the run,” said Vice. “We’ll throw it when we need to, and whatever the defense gives us, we’re going to take.”

Vice was more of a blocking tight end in previous years, but his role has expanded in 2018.

“Our quarterback is really good,” Vice said. “He can throw really well. He’s not much of a dual threat, but he’ll sit back there and take hits. We’re just trying to find holes in the defense, and he’s really good at finding holes in the defense.”

The connection between Sawyer and Vice came from a lot of hard Vestavia running back Cooper Bishop has been a workhorse for the Rebels.

Eventful Start for Donaldson’s First Season as Homewood’s Cross Country Coach crossing the finish line, at 15:50.25. Both times were the fastest of the week for Alabama prep runners.

As a team, the Homewood boys finished third.

Donaldson, a science teacher, returned to the classroom last week.

“Getting back to coaching and teaching gave me a sense of normalcy,” he said.

Last weekend, he had planned to take some of his runners to a meet near Raleigh, North Carolina, but it was cancelled because of Hurricane Florence.

The Patriots’ next meet will be the Scottsboro Invitational on Saturday. On Oct. 13, they will travel to Tallahassee, Florida, to compete in the Florida State Invitational.

Familiar Ground

This may be Donaldson’s first season as head coach, but it’s far from his first experience with Homewood.

Donaldson, 28, was a runner for the Patriots before graduating in 2008. For the past six years, he served as the Patriots’ primary assistant coach as Homewood won seven state cross-country titles.

He was elevated to head coach when former head coach Lars Porter accepted a coaching and teaching position in the

work in the offseason. The pair spent a lot of time together growing more comfortable with their relationship on the field. With a win over Spain Park now behind them, the entire roster has a new level of confidence; the Jaguars had prevented the Rebels from making the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

“It gives us confidence, but ultimately, we have eight more games left,” said Vice. “We’re definitely going to try to win these last eight.

We still have business to take care of and we’re going to try to give everyone a fight.”

Vice credits the offensive line and Bishop for the team’s explosiveness. He also credits Sawyer’s other targets, guys like Sean Smyth and Chandler Merrill.

Now Vestavia Hills turns its

Mountain Brook school system.

“It’s a different scenario after being with the team the last six years and working alongside coach Porter,” Donaldson said.

“It’s been a great transition. I have a lot more say in the workouts and I have tremendous

This may be Donaldson’s first season as head coach, but it’s far from his first experience with Homewood. support from my assistant coaches.”

The assistants include Esslinger, Bryan Burgess and Kelly McNair, who mainly works with the female runners.

Donaldson inherited several talented and experienced runners, including Stone, a twotime Gatorade Alabama Runner of the Year who has won seven individual state titles during his career. He will be seeking his third consecutive state title.

“When you talk about Will, what is there not to say,” Donaldson said. “He’s a wellrounded student, a well-rounded person and a great runner.”

In the season-opening Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic, Stone finished second overall with a time of 15:32.85. The team finished in a tie for seventh.

Stone will have someone to push him throughout the season with the addition of Crawford Hope, a sophomore transfer from Scottsboro. Hope swept the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at the Class 5A state outdoor track and field meet in May. Several of the Patriots’ other runners are back, including Jackson Merrell, Jack Gray, Logan Justice and Carson Bedics. “We’re excited to see what everybody can do,” Donaldson said.

The Patriots’ boys have won six consecutive state championships. If they win the Class 6A title this fall, they will tie the state record for most consecutive boys cross-country titles. The Randolph School in Huntsville won seven consecutive championships from 2005-11.

Girls Trying to Climb

The Homewood girls team is trying to win its second title in three years.

The team features juniors Lainey Phelps and Celie Jackson, who helped the Patriots finish second in the state in 2017. Jackson, a two-time state champion in track, finished second at last year’s state cross-country meet.

Phelps, a seven-time state champion in cross-country and track, won the 2016 state cross country title but did not run last fall.

At Memphis, Phelps finished fourth with a time of 18:50.76, helping the girls finish sixth.

“She’s looking strong and healthy,” Donaldson said.

Week 4

attention to Mountain Brook, a game they’ll play on the road. This senior class defeated the Spartans in 2016 and dropped an overtime heartbreaker a season ago.

“Mountain Brook has a new quarterback and really good running backs,” Vice said. “They have nine starters coming back on defense.

We’re prepping for everything.”

Vice said the Rebels will take the season one game at a time and not dwell on victories from earlier in the season. Overcoming the playoff drought was the top priority for his class. They’re certainly on the right track, but their schedule is back-heavy. If they can take down the Spartans, they’ll still have region favorites Hoover and Thompson to look forward to in October.

Journal photo by Marvin Gentry

Josh Donaldson has had more than his share of ups and downs the past few weeks.

On Sept. 2, the Sunday after he returned from the Patriots’ season-opening meet in Memphis, his father, Dr. Steve Donaldson, died following a five-year battle with cancer.

The elder Donaldson, 66, was a professor and computer science program director at Samford University, where he also co-directed the computational biology program, taught in the University Fellows Honors program and co-founded the Samford Center for Science and Religion.

Before going to Memphis, coach Donaldson didn’t let his cross-country team know that his dad was dying. Only Patriots’ track and field coach Tom Esslinger knew.

“I let the team know after we got back from Memphis that he died,” Donaldson said.

The funeral was Sept. 6 at Dawson Baptist Church in Homewood. Donaldson and his family received an outpouring of support from his cross-country team.

“I was overwhelmed to have the athletes, their parents and the coaches support and love on us, even at the (funeral) service, the way they did,” Donaldson said.

Because of his father’s death, Donaldson didn’t travel with the team to the 18th Chickasaw Trails Invitational meet held at Oakville Indian Mounds Park.

Homewood senior Will Stone won the large-school division boys title at the Chickasaw meet with a winning time of 15:37.19 in the 5,000-meter race. Mountain Brook senior Hunter Harwell was second

VESTAVIA,

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

SPORTS

Mountain Brook’s Hamp Greene tries to get past Spain Park’s Dre Robinson Jr. in the Spartans’ 24 - 14 win Friday.

MORE PHOTOS AT OTMJSPORTS.COM

Scoreboard

Schedule - Sept. 21

CLASS 7A

CLASS 7A

Journal photo by Bryan Bunch

Hewitt-Trussville 56, Hoover 28 Mountain Brook 24, Spain Park 14 Thompson 35, Oak Mountain 21 Vestavia Hills 28, Tusc. County 19 CLASS 6A

Homewood 48, Helena 6 CLASS 5A

Briarwood Christian 46, Woodlawn 0 Parker 54, John Carroll Catholic 0

Hoover @ Oak Mountain Vestavia @ Mountain Brook Hewitt-Trussville @ Spain Park CLASS 6A

Homewood off CLASS 5A

Wenonah @ Briarwood Woodlawn @ John Carroll (HC)

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Thursday, September 20, 2018 • 31

SPORTS

‘Definitely Different from Being On the Field’ Wilson Settling in as Alabama Radio Broadcaster

John Parker Wilson has been around football for more than 20 years, but the last thing he expected this fall was to be part of the Alabama radio broadcast team.

“It definitely wasn’t on my radar,” Wilson said.

But when color commentator Phil Savage left the radio team in July, the Alabama athletic department tabbed Wilson, who was the Crimson Tide’s quarterback from 2005 to 2008, to join Eli Gold in the booth.

Savage had been Gold’s sidekick since 2009, when he filled the role previously held by Hall of Famer Ken Stabler. Savage left to take the general manager job for the Phoenix franchise of the new AAF professional league.

Wilson had to audition and interview for the job before he was hired as Savage’s replacement.

“I had no (broadcast) experience, but 20-plus years in football prepared me for it,” Wilson said.

After a stellar career at Hoover High School, Wilson was a threeyear starter for the Tide, spanning the Mike Shula and Nick Saban coaching eras. He threw for 7,924

ABERCROMBIE From page 32

breathe on his own and is dependent on a ventilator.

“It’s been challenging,” said Marty Abercrombie, his dad. “We have learned a lot about spinal cord injuries that we never knew anything about. It’s been an adjustment for Ben and our family.”

Progressing

Despite the recent hospital visit, Ben, 19, is progressing.

“Ben has made a tremendous recovery,” Marty Abercrombie said.

“Spinal cord injuries are devastating. Medical communities are still learning how to treat them and learning how treatments can help get functionality back. There’s a lot of research. There’s no magic formula that helps heal these kind of injuries. “(The infection) is a bump in the road. It’s frustrating, but he’s learning that’s part of the process, given his situation.”

When he got out of the hospital after treatment for the infection, Ben returned home to go through his daily routine, which includes working out and doing range-ofmotion exercises.

“He does three different physical workouts,” Marty Abercrombie said. “One he does with my niece, Chelsea Henderson, who is a personal trainer and comes by twice a week. He does that for about an

Journal file photo by Jordan Wald

By Rubin E. Grant

‘Being Saban’s first quarterback at Alabama and knowing his thought process on game day and during the week has helped me.’ yards in his four seasons with the Tide. He also spent five years in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wilson didn’t rely solely on his knowledge of the game for his new position. He sought out advice. “I talked to as many people as I could to get ready for the season,” he said. hour. He does some in his wheelchair and some on the exercise mat we have in our house.”

In July, Ben started going to Cubed3, tucked in the building behind Ragtime Café at 2080 Valleydale Road Suite 8 in Hoover, to work out with personal trainer Frankie Romano. Romano has experience working with spinal cord injuries and has Ben on a routine. Ben does some exercises in his wheelchair and on a performance table.

In August, Ben tried out a standing wheel chair.

“It was an incredible experience for Ben and our family,” Marty Abercrombie said. “For the first time since last September Ben was standing up and moving around.”

Prognosis

Marty Abercrombie said Ben’s prognosis is unknown.

“Unfortunately, when you suffer a spinal cord injury, it is difficult to regain functionality in the impacted area,” Marty said. “We have hope that all the physical therapy and new technology will help Ben regain a lot of functionality, but it’s uncertain. We have faith that some way or somehow things will work out.

“Ben has maintained an incredible positive attitude. He’s never doubted that he would walk again or breathe on his own again. He has tremendous faith and drive to make it happen.

“He inspires us every day. We

One of the people Wilson talked to was former Tide quarterback Greg McElroy.

“Greg helped me a lot,” Wilson said. “He’s at ESPN, doing TV. But I never knew before that TV and radio (broadcasting) is completely different.”

Wilson now has three games under his broadcast belt.

“It’s definitely different from being on the field,” he said. “I had no idea what to expect. I’m getting more comfortable. It’s been a lot of fun, especially with the team winning.

“Being Saban’s first quarterback at Alabama and knowing his thought process on game day and during the week has helped me. Plus, I stayed pretty involved with the program after I graduated. Two years ago in camp, I was the scout team quarterback. I think my experience of being on the field and in the huddle is something I can pass on to the listeners.”

Wilson enjoys working with Gold, who is in his 30th season as the voice of the Crimson Tide.

“Eli is great,” Wilson said.

“Having somebody like that makes my job easier. He’s such a professional, a legend and a great learning resource.” got to see the (Boston) Red Sox when they were in Atlanta. Both organizations were so nice to us.

One of the gentlemen who was helping us with Ben said Ben was such an inspiration to him and it made his year.”

‘God has used a lot of his servants – he has sent so many people our way – to help.

The folks at Harvard have been wonderful in their support of Ben and our family and so have the folks in Hoover.’

MARTY ABERCROMBIE

The Abercrombies have received an outpouring of support from the community and elsewhere since Ben’s devastating injury.

“God has used a lot of his servants – he has sent so many people our way – to help,” Marty said.

“The folks at Harvard have been wonderful in their support of Ben and our family and so have the folks in Hoover.

“We’ve gotten to see the compassionate part of people. It’s so

Rehab Reality...

By Judy Butler

Words of Wisdom Gold is happy to team with Wilson.

“John Parker and I have been friends for years,” Gold said. “He’s a wonderful young man.

“You don’t have to worry about him knowing X’s and O’s because he’s been a quarterback in college and in the NFL. He can take the listener inside the helmet because he’s been there and done that.”

Wilson continues to learn about the nuances of radio broadcasting.

“He has a habit of always adjusting his microphone and I have to tell him he has to turn off the cough switch because of the sound it makes,” Gold said. “He also likes to take his headset off during commercials and I have to remind him that’s when we talk among ourselves for 1½ to two minutes, which is vital for us. It’s tough for him to hear me with all the crowd noise.

“It’s the little broadcast stuff we are working on to make him more comfortable. But he’s doing well.”

Wilson, 33, lives in Mountain Brook with his wife, Tyler, and their young son, Parks. He also works as a financial adviser for Morgan Stanley. wonderful. That’s the biggest positive of this whole journey. It’s inspired us and made our faith stronger. We know God has great plans for Ben. We want to help Ben fulfill God’s plan for him.”

Returning to Harvard

A year from now, the Abercrombies hope Ben will be able to return to Harvard and resume his college studies. He plans to major in economics.

“He really wants to get back up to Boston,” Marty Abercrombie said.

“We hope to go to the Harvard-Yale game in November, so he can visit with his teammates and coaches. We also want to do some research at Harvard so things will be in place when he goes back to study.”

Ben’s persevering spirit enables him and family to continue to fight.

“Last year when he got injured it certainly changed his world and turned our world upside down,” Marty Abercrombie said. “We have had to fight through it. We are doing our best to not let the challenges ahead prevent Ben from achieving his goals.

“My wife, Sherri, and I will support him any way possible to put the plans in place so he can continue his education.

“When something like this happens, you have to put your life on hold. We feel it’s important for Ben to see the future and that it’s not always going to be like this. You have to stay in your faith and look toward the future.”

High on Life and Not Drugs or Alcohol

On a recent trip to Bayshore Retreat a client beaming from ear to ear greeted me. Even before I could put my purse down the client called out to say “Hey Miss Judy, come see the fish I just caught”.

Typically the fishing is done from a boat out in the Gulf on the weekend when the clients go for one of their favorite outings, so naturally I was surprised by this announcement, since it was Tuesday. As I approached the young man and his bucket, he proceeded to pull out a Red fish that was at least 18” long. My first questions were “When did you catch it and where?” “Just now and right out there off the dock”.

This is always a fun time to be at Bayshore Retreat because the weather is a little more friendly, there’s laughter in the air from the football rivals and now it seems we have fish coming to us instead of us having to go find them.

The turn around clients have with just a few days there is remarkable and as the weeks add to their health, both physically and mentally, it’s truly amazing.

Finally the exit plan is developed with specifics on maintaining this newfound self-esteem, positive attitude and healthy living habits.

Our advantage, with only six (6) clients at a time, is that we get to know them personally as people, not addicts. The addiction doesn’t define the person; it is only something that happened to them as they tried to deal with life’s issues. Our goal is to help them gain and keep healthy control.

SPORTS

Thursday, September 20, 2018 ❖ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Rebels Off to Fast Start

Spartans come from behind to knock off Spain Park.

SCORES PAGE 30

Vestavia tight end Michael Vice scores a touchdown in the Rebels 17-10 win over Homewood on Aug. 31.

Journal photo by Bryan Bunch

‘Different from being on the field.’ Wilson settling in as Alabama Radio Broadcaster.

PAGE 31

Vestavia Visits Mountain Brook Friday in a Battle of the Undefeated

By Blake Ells This isn’t quite the Vestavia Hills football team you’ve grown to know.

After defeating Spain Park for the first time in three years, a 28-21 victory on Sept. 7, the Rebels

end Michael Vice.

While running back Cooper Bishop had 27 carries for 208 yards and two touchdowns to help the Rebels secure the win, Vice had six catches for 139 yards and two scores of his own.

“We definitely have a little more balance this

See VESTAVIA, page 30

Photo courtesy Marty Abercrombie

Battling Back

CROSS COUNTRY

Ben Abercrombie Keeping the Faith as he Recovers From Spinal Injury

By Rubin E. Grant Photo by Todd Thompson, Rivercat Photography

Homewood senior Will Stone won the largeschool division boys title at the Chickasaw meet with a winning time of 15:37.19 in the 5,000-meter race.

Mountain Brook senior Hunter Harwell was second crossing the finish line, at 15:50.25.

Both times were the fastest of the week for Alabama prep runners. Josh Donaldson has had an eventful first few weeks in his first season as Homewood’s head cross country coach.

See story page 30.

are poised to make some noise in 7A Region 3.

Vestavia beat Tuscaloosa County 28-19 in Region 3 play at home last Friday.

Their first two victories have come not just on the ground, but also on the arm of junior quarterback Eli Sawyer and his favorite target, senior tight

As Hoover was preparing for its big football game against Thompson two weeks ago, former Buc Ben Abercrombie was back in the hospital.

Abercrombie was planning to go to the game, as he had the Bucs’ opener against Pinson Valley, but he couldn’t because of an infection related to his spinal injury.

It’s been a year since Abercrombie sustained a paralyzing neck injury while playing as a freshman cornerback for Harvard in his first college football game, a Sept. 16,

Former Hoover Buc Ben Abercrombie sustained a paralyzing neck injury while playing as a freshman cornerback for Harvard in his first college football game on Sept. 16, 2017.

2017, game against Rhode Island.

He is confined to a $75,000 wheelchair, which he maneuvers by using a sip and puff control that also controls his iPhone. At 12 months since the injury, he still can’t

See ABERCROMBIE, page 31