May 1 2014

The Suburban Newspaper for Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County

OVER THE MOUNTAIN

inside

JOU RNAL otmj.com

th

ursd ay, May 1, 2014

V ol . 23 #9

mother’s day 2014

A Brush with History: Painting commemorates Civil Rights movement

people page 10

Gary Clark’s photo now circling the globe on postage stamp

people page 12

Finding Their Family

Festive fundraiser connects developmentally delayed with their community The Hoods of Inverness will spend Mother’s Day celebrating how they became a family. From left: Jerry, Daniel, Christian, Vica, Olivia and Amanda Hood.

life page 23

Photo special to the Journal

Hoods Celebrate Mother’s Day—and ‘Gotcha Day,’ Too

By Keysha Drexel

inside

Journal editor

T

he Hood family of Inverness got a head start on celebrating Mother’s Day last week with their annual Gotcha Day celebration.

On April 22, Mountain Brook High School Principal Amanda Hood and her husband, Jerry, celebrated the sixth anniversary of the day they became parents by adopting four children from Ukraine.

“April and May are big months for celebrating for us,” Amanda said. “We not only get to celebrate Mother’s Day in May, but every year, we also remember the day we adopted Olivia, Christian, Daniel and Vica and the special way God brought our family together.”

Amanda and Jerry got married nine years ago and immediately tried to start a family.

“We knew that we wanted kids right away, but we ran into some complications and worked with a fertility doctor in See finding family, page 18

Sue Murphy on traveling with children Page 2

Golf for a Good Cause: Memorial tournament supports mission trips

social page 28

Mother strives w to help children with arthritis Page 4

Mother’s Day Gift Guide Page 20 Mom, daughter love working together Page 44

Designers take advantage of ShowHouse’s wide open spaces

home page 38

Happy trails to zoo p. 6 • Hoover board approves bus fees p. 14 • Ball of roses will have organic theme p. 24 • otm teachers make sweet 16 p. 46

2 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

Opinion/Contents

Down on the Farm Class is back in session for Over the Mountain residents who want to learn about life on the farm.

Stone Hollow Farmstead in Harpersville is resuming its Farm School classes this spring to introduce children to the joys and challenges of farm life.

M

The Farm School classes are held on the first three Saturdays of each month through September at the 80-acre farm that is about a 25-minute drive from Birmingham.

Stone Hollow Farmstead is owned by Deborah Stone, who ran Deborah Stone Day Spa for 10 years before selling it and moving to the farm in 1999. See the full story on page 42.

Correction: In our April 17 issue, an article about Decorators’ ShowHouse designers misidentified Ramona Griffin of G&G Interior Design as Roberta Griffin. The Over the Mountain Journal regrets the error and is happy to set the record straight.

On otmj.com Browse through more social, news, sports and people photos online and get updates on the latest Over the Mountain events.

Coming May 15

We’ll take a look at the hottest summer fashions from local retailers in our next issue.

in this issue About Town 4 People 10 Life 18 Social 26

Weddings 33 Business 44 schools 46 Sports 52

OVER THE MOUNTAIN

JOU RNAL

May 1, 2014

Publisher: Maury Wald Editor: Keysha Drexel Features Writer: Donna Cornelius Office Manager: Christy Wald Editorial Assistant: Stacie Galbraith Sports: Lee Davis Contributors: Susan Murphy, June Mathews, William C. Singleton III, Emil Wald, Marvin Gentry, Lee Walls Jr., Bryan Bunch Advertising Sales: Suzanne Wald, Julie Trammell Edwards, Tommy Wald Intern: Taylor Burgess Vol. 23, No. 9

murphy’s law

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 ads@otmj.com. Find us on the Web at otmj.com.

Copyright 2014 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.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Mom Trek

I remember traveling with my y grandchildren are coming! All of the jumping/ daughters from Birmingham to Chicago hopping/pizza-eating/popwhen my younger daughter (nowcorn-popping establishments have mommy) was still a baby. We ran out of been notified, and I’m striving to diapers somewhere over Nashville and get all of my homebound ducks in she screamed the entire way, while my a row. older daughter sat next to me and ate I’m so happy they’re coming, but I her kid’s meal Jell-O with her hands. feel guilty, too. Logistics-wise, it’s so Deplaning passengers, visibly shaken, much easier when Harold and I travel grabbed my waiting in-laws and said, to see them. Traveling with children is “Good luck.” like launching an Everest expedition This time, I’ll be the one waiting in with car seats. For my daughter, it was baggage claim. I will position myself a toss-up: fly or drive? Two hours on as close as I can (don’t get in front of a plane with a baby and a preschooler me. I can’t promise I’ll be polite about or 10 in the car? Is it less taxing on it) and hold out my arms. There will be Sue Murphy everyone to suffer the slings and juice boxes and diapers and snacks and arrows of airport security, be wedged in giant glasses of iced tea waiting in the Traveling with car and chocolate cake available as soon between…who knows who…on an oversold flight, or strap the kids in for long, children is like as they get home. long hours of driving and stopping and I have baby beds and a vaporizer launching an driving and stopping and trying to find and a high chair. I have sippy cups and clean restrooms along the way?

Everest expedi- plastic plates and one of those brushes Of course bathroom facilities on for cleaning out bottles, bubbles and the plane present their own problems. tion with car balls and age-appropriate videos. I’ve Apparently, there is a changing table in seats stockpiled diapers and wipes and applethose two-by-two mini-baths that somesauce and graham crackers and those times pulls down and sometimes doesn’t, chocolate nutritional drinks that come which is not a fun thing to discover at in handy when a 4-year-old is swayed from eating in his 30,000 feet. usual healthy manner. (That happens a lot at Grandma’s Other fun things to discover? That you’ve underhouse.) packed. I don’t know if you know this, but the airline Basically, I have the arrival covered. I just have to get will sell you a seat and a soda and headphones and my grandchildren through the flight, so I’ve come to ask Internet access, but you cannot buy a diaper on the plane. that if any of you happen to be on their plane, be kind.

Or batteries for a video game. Or strained peaches. So, Patient. I’ve suggested that my daughter send around a when a mom packs a carry-on, she has to account for baggy of earplugs right up front. Maybe a tin of chocoany and all contingencies. late chip cookies.

You won’t be the most popular people on the flight, And let me know how it goes (gently). I’m using this either. I think that’s why the airlines let families with flight as a test run, because my other daughter will be small children board first--so the rest of the passengers coming from California with her little one soon. can avoid them accordingly, that and the fact that the C boarding group will be more motivated to check in That’s five hours in the air. She may have to buy promptly next time. everyone a round of drinks.❖

over the Mountain Views

What do you want most for Mother’s Day?

“I just want time with my family. I want time with my 11-year-old son and my husband where we don’t have a lot going on and can just enjoy being together.”

Susan Goble Vestavia Hills

“What I want most is a healthy baby. I’m due the Friday before Mother’s Day. It’s a girl and we’re naming her Elise. I also have a son, Leland. He will be 3 in June.”

Tonia Trotter Homewood

“I want to go to the beach-to Seaside--and the kids can come along. They’re 26, 25 and 23 now.”

Kim Redmond Hoover

“I just want to spend the day surrounded by my boys--my husband and my son, Norris.

He’s 2.”

Molly Hasenfuss Homewood

About Town

Gr Th ad e ua Pe tio rfe n ct Gi ft!

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 3

“The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion

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4 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

About Town

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Blair Newman, right, and her children George, left, and May, center, are the honorees for the 10th annual Mudbugs and Music fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation. Photo special to the Journal

Mother Strives to Help Children with Arthritis

By Keysha Drexel

N

Journal editor

ot long after she moved to Mountain Brook in 2003, Blair Newman read an article that sent her knocking on the door of the Arthritis Foundation and eventually led to the founding of a fundraising event that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Newman, who now lives in Guntersville, was one of the founding members of the Mudbugs and Music fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation.

The event started in 2004 and was spawned by the 34-year-old’s desire to raise awareness for all the children suffering with arthritis--like the girl in the article.

“I read this article about a little girl who attended an Arthritis Foundation summer camp, and in the article, the girl’s mother mentioned walking into her daughter’s room to find her ‘sawing’ at her legs with a comb, wishing to cut them off because they hurt so badly,” Newman said. “I immediately identified with the little girl because I felt like that so many times throughout my life.”

Newman said after she read the article, she immediately went to find the offices of the Alabama chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.

“I knocked on the door and told them I would volunteer to do anything that I could to help what they were trying to do,” she said.

The article made Newman remember what it was like growing up with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects the lining of the joints and causes painful swelling that can eventually result in bone erosion and joint deformity.

“I was diagnosed when I was 2 and saw an adult rheumatologist in Birmingham because at that time, there were no pediatric rheumatologists in this area. We drove from Jasper, where I grew up, to see the doctor,” she said.

But getting the doctors to diagnose the toddler-aged Newman was a challenge, she said.

“My mother was a physical therapist and she knew immediately what was going on, but when she brought me to the hospital, they argued with her and tested me for everything else under the sun,” she said. “But my mother didn’t accept that it wasn’t arthritis, and she fought for me until they figured out she was right. I was fortunate because even now, children can go years without being properly diagnosed.”

And with rheumatoid arthritis, a delay in a proper diagnosis can be devastating, Newman said.

“I don’t think people understand that this is not just an old person’s disease, and when arthritis attacks a young body, it can do a lot of damage quickly, especially when you start talking about bone erosion,” she said.

Newman slept in braces that covered her legs from hip to ankle just to keep them straight, but the arthritis damaged her elbow so much that today it is permanently bent.

“I am 34 years old, and I already need an elbow replacement and two knee replacements,” she said.

Even though her mother explained arthritis to her, Newman said it was hard to understand why she hurt so much as a child.

“I took so many children’s aspirins growing up just so I could stand to walk around,” she said. “Being in pain turned me into kind of an introverted child.”

Every morning before school, Newman’s mother would wake her at 5 a.m. to soak in a hot bath.

“I was so stiff and in so much pain, we’d do the hot baths and then walk around the neighborhood just so I could get to the point where I could make it through the school day,” she said.

Newman said her own struggles with arthritis inspired her to throw herself into her volunteer work at the Arthritis Foundation. In January

2004, she became an employee of the Foundation.

As part of her duties, Newman had to come up with fundraising ideas to raise money and awareness.

“Ten years ago, my husband, John, and I were sitting around with our friend Michael Gee, owner of The Pants Store, talking about the lack of treatment for children with arthritis,” Newman said. “The three of us decided to form a junior board to help raise money for kids with arthritis, but we had no idea how major (that idea) would turn out to be.”

The trio came up with the idea of hosting a crawfish boil to raise money.

Their friend Jason Martin came up with the Mudbugs and Music event name and logo.

“We asked friends and acquaintances to join the board,” Newman said.

“Everyone worked so hard that year, and we created an event from scratch.

The first year, we raised about $2,500.”

In 2011, when Newman and her family relocated to Guntersville for her husband’s job, Mudbugs and Music raised more than $150,000.

“That money is used to fund research and local programs for people with arthritis and not just rheumatoid arthritis--there are over 100 forms of arthritis,” Newman said.

Mudbugs and Music also raises money for the Arthritis Foundation’s Juvenile Arthritis Initiative, Newman said.

“The Alabama Juvenile Arthritis Initiative raised approximately $2 million to establish a pediatric rheumatology clinic at UAB,” Newman said. “Prior to the establishment of this clinic, there were no pediatric rheumatologists in Alabama. The clinic now serves children from all over the Southeast, and with the addition of four doctors, it has become the largest pediatric rheumatology clinic in the region.”

By working to help the Foundation’s Juvenile Arthritis Initiative, Newman knew she was helping many children receive the treatments they needed. But she said she never really imagined the program would also one day help her own children.

The Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic was established in September 2007.

Newman’s son, George, was born that October.

While she was pregnant with George, Newman said, she worried that he might also have arthritis but said doctors assured her it was unlikely.

But when her son started walking, she began to notice telltale signs of the disease.

Newman noticed that George was dragging his leg one day and picked up her video camera to document it.

“I knew I had to be an advocate for my child and show the doctors exactly what was going on with him,” Newman said. “I didn’t want my worries to be dismissed.”

When George was 18 months old, he was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and became a patient at the pediatric arthritis clinic that opened the month before he was born.

“I cannot describe the feelings I felt when my son was being seen by a pediatric rheumatologist--something that would not have happened a year before and something that my husband

and I made happen,” Newman said.

Newman said she felt so lucky that her son was able to be seen at the clinic so quickly.

“I could have never imagined that we would personally benefit from (the clinic),” she said. “That type of fundraising is very time consuming, emotionally taxing, and it can be frustrating at times. It was surreal, in my opinion, (and) it was a sign from God that all of our hard work was worth it.”

That feeling was only heightened for the family after George’s little sister, May, was born five years ago.

“I thought there was no way that

Mudbugs and Music

When: May 10, 1-6 p.m. Where: Good People Brewing Company in Birmingham What: The 10th annual event will benefit the Arthritis Foundation and will feature live music, a silent auction and children’s activities. For more information: Visit www.mudbugsandmusic.com or www.arthritis.org.

May would have it, too, but May’s is actually worse than George’s,” Newman said.

Newman brings both of her children to the pediatric arthritis clinic often for treatments and said she’s seeing the other side of what her mother must have gone through with her.

“Now my children scream and cry about their weekly injections and they ask me, ‘Why, why did God do

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 5

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

this?’ and I just tell them that everyone has their issues and that we are really blessed because we have medicines to take and good doctors,” Newman said.

Newman said thanks to the money raised through Mudbugs and Music, her children and others are getting access to medications and treatments that can save them from some of the pain she experienced as a child.

“It’s not just a disease that hurts your body, arthritis hurts you emotionally, too,” Newman said. “I can still remember people--even adults--making fun of me and how I walked when I was a child, and that is something that I hope my children and other children with arthritis never have to feel.”

Newman said she hopes Mudbugs and Music will continue to be successful at not only raising money for the Arthritis Foundation but also at raising awareness about arthritis.

“My ultimate hope is that we can find a cure and that all of this will be a distant memwory,” she said.

Newman and her children are the honorees for this year’s Music and Mudbugs fundraiser, which will be held May 10 from 1-6 p.m. at Good People Brewing Company in Birmingham.

The event will feature live music including headliners The Banditos, a silent auction and children’s activities.

Tickets are $25, and children 12 and younger get in free. Those 21 and older will receive a complimentary beer from Good People Brewing Company with their ticket purchase.

Mudbugs and Music tickets are available at the door and online at www.mudbugsandmusic.com. ❖

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6 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

Save the Date Homewood

Maine Lobster Sale May 1-5 Assistance League of Birmingham For the sixth year, Assistance League

About Town of Birmingham is selling freshly steamed Maine lobsters. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the organization’s three philanthropic programs: PrimeTime Treasures, Operation School Bell and Operation Literacy. Lobsters are $25 each. The deadline for ordering is May 5. Drive-through pickup will be from

3-6 p.m. May 9 at Assistance League of Birmingham, 1755 Oxmoor Road in Homewood. To place an order, call 9601040.

Birmingham

Fiesta Ball May 1, 6-10 p.m.

B&A Warehouse The Young Supporters Board of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center will present the Fiesta Ball from 6-10 p.m. May 1 at B&A Warehouse. The event will feature live music, Mexican food, beer, wine and a silent auction.

Proceeds will help fund grants for young UAB cancer researchers. This year’s event will be held in memory of Mary Ann Harvard, a Young Supporters founding board member. Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. Valet parking will be available. Self-parking is available on Second Avenue South.

To purchase tickets online, visit www. uab.edu/2014fiestaball. For more

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

information, call 934-0034.

Hoover

Spring Plant Sale May 1-3 Aldridge Gardens Aldridge Gardens will hold its 12th annual Spring Plant Sale May 1-3. The event will feature hydrangeas in several varieties and sizes, native plants, bulbs and companion plants. Members get a 10 percent discount off purchases. The members-only preview day is May 1.

The sale will be open to the public from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 2 and from 8 a.m.noon May 3. For more information, visit aldridgegardens.com or call 682-8019.

Homewood

“The Wizard of Oz” May 2-4 Samford University Wright Center Samford University’s Michael J. and Mary Anne Freeman Theatre and Dance Series will present “The Wizard

of Oz” May 2-3 at 7:30 p.m. and May 4 at 2:30 p.m. in Samford’s Wright Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students. Tickets can be purchased online at tickets.samford.edu or by calling 726-2853.

Homewood

Betsy Prince Charity Bazaar May 2-3 Betsy Prince Betsy Prince in Homewood will host the ninth Betsy Prince Charity Bazaar May 2-3. Clients of the store have donated new and gently-used designer clothing, shoes and accessories that will be sold for $5-$85. Guests can have complimentary hors d’oeuvres and beverages while shopping. All proceeds from the sale, including the $25 admission Friday for VIP night and $10 admission Saturday, will be donated to the BCRFA for breast cancer research. For more information, visit www.betsyprinceboutique.com.

Happy trails to zoo furnishings for the home & garden

3401 5th AVE SOUTH, BIRMINGHAM 205.251.0203 ELEGANTEARTHATTHEARBOR.COM M-F 9-5 . SAT 9-2

To: From: Date:

Mountain Brook

Attending last year’s Tails in the Trails were, front, from left: Austin Davis, Emily Jordan, Laura Montgomery, Erin Donohoo, Leslie Crawford, Blakely Taylor and Joey DuMontier.

Back: Ambre Amari, Julie Herring, Stacy Morales, Bobbi Jones, Joseph Welden and Jason Anderson.. Photo special to the Journal

Tails in the Trails May 2, 6:30-10:30 p.m.

Birmingham Zoo The Birmingham Zoo’s Junior Board will host the fourth annual Tails in the Trails fundraiser from 6:30-10:30 p.m. May 2. Presented by O’Neal Industries, the event will feature live entertainment, appetizers, animal encounters and a cash bar. Tickets are $15 through May 1 and $20 at the door.

This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiN JOurNAl forThis theevent is for ages 21 and older only. For more information, visit www.birminghamzoo.com.

Peyton Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 FAX: 205-824-1246 Feb. 2014

March 6, 2014 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.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

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Celebrate Hoover Day May 3, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

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Spirit Scamper 5K and Fun Run May 3, 8 a.m.

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We Love Homewood Day May 3, 8 a.m.

Homewood Central Park The annual We Love Homewood Day will kick off at 8 a.m. May 3 at Homewood Central Park. The event will include rides, games and inflatables, vendors, a DJ from JAMM entertainment, music by the Homewood High School Patriot Band, a silent auction starting at 10 a.m., a barbecue fundraiser by the West Homewood Lions Club, a look at medieval culture with the Society of Creative Anachronism, the Rotary Club of Homewood bake sale and the annual We Love Homewood Day Parade starting at 5 p.m. After the parade,

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Hoover Band 5K May 3, 8 a.m.

Hoover High School The Hoover Band Boosters will host the inaugural Hoover Band 5K beginning at 8 a.m. May 3. The event will begin behind Hoover High School and finish on the 50-yard line of the Hoover High football field. The Hoover High School band will entertain runners before and after the race.

Light refreshments will be offered after the race. First, second and third place certificates will be awarded in each age group for male and female runners.

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All proceeds will go to the Hoover Band Uniform Fund to help pay for the purchase of new marching band uniforms. For more information, visit hooverband.com.

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Mom’s the Word May 2-3, 6:30 p.m.

Homewood Public Library Storyteller Dolores Hydock and musical master Bobby Horton join forces May 2 and 3 at the Homewood Public Library to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the official proclamation of Mother’s Day with an evening of stories and songs about Dolores Hydock moms. There will be a light hors d’oeuvres buffet at 6:30 p.m. followed by the show at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 and must be purchased in advance.

To make a reservation, Bobby Horton visit the Adult Services Desk at the library or call 3326625. For more information, visit www. homewoodpubliclibrary.org.

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Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 7

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

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8 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

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Planning committee members and artists are making plans for the second annual Palettes of Spring art show to benefit Spring Valley School. From left: Joanie Scott, Tery Young, Rebecca Corretti, Vicki Denaburg, David Nichols, Melanie Morris, Linda Ellen Price, Gina Hurry, Elizabeth Cornay, Eddie Powell and Julia Glass.Photo special to the Journal

Birmingham

Palettes of Spring May 9-10 Harbert Gallery of Art Spring Valley School will host its second annual Palettes of Spring art show featuring some of the Southeast’s best artists May 10 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Bill L. Harbert Gallery of Art in Birmingham. Participating artists include Thomas Andrew, Amy Crews, Vicki Denaburg, Gina Hurry, Melanie Morris, David Nichols, Eddie Powell, Sally Powell, Tres Taylor and Gyl Turner. Admission is $5. A premiere party will be held May 9 from 7-9 p.m. The cost is $45 per person or $75 per couple. Proceeds benefit Spring Valley School, the only school in central Alabama serving students with learning differences, such as dyslexia and ADHD. To make reservations for the premiere party, call Tery Young at 422-8660. For more information, visit www.springvalleyschool.org. the We Love Homewood Day Street Dance in Edgewood will feature Chevy 6. For more information, visit www. homewoodparks.com.

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Dinner-Dance Luau Party May 3, 6-10 p.m.

Saint Peter the Apostle Catholic Church Knights of Columbus Council 7584 and the Ladies Auxiliary of Saint Peter the Apostle Catholic Church will present the 2014 Dinner-Dance Luau Party from 6-10 p.m. May 3 in the Parish Hall. The event will feature dinner, music, dancing, entertainment, a raffle and the Ugliest Hawaiian Shirt Contest. Free babysitting is available. The event will benefit local charities. Tickets are $25. Raffle tickets are $20. For more information, visit wwwstpeterapostle.com.

Birmingham

Children’s Dance Foundation Performance May 3, 7:30 p.m.

Alabama Theatre The upper school students of the Children’s Dance Foundation will present “Elements” at 7:30 p.m.

May 3 at the Alabama Theatre. The performance will feature dances inspired by the beauty, power and wonder in the world around us and the world within us, according to event organizers. All ages are welcome at the free event.

For more information, visit www. childrensdancefoundation.org.

Birmingham

Arty Party May 4, 3-6 p.m.

B&A Warehouse Birmingham AIDS Outreach will present the 23rd annual Arty Party art auction from 3-6 p.m. May 4 at B&A Warehouse, 1531 First Ave. South, Birmingham. All proceeds will benefit the BAO. Tickets are $50 and will be available at the door. Tables for 10 are $1,000 and are available on a firstcome, first-served basis. The event will include a reception with heavy hors

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d’oeuvres, complimentary wine and a cash bar. Complimentary valet parking will be available. For more information, visit www.baoevents.org.

Birmingham

Yom Ha’atzmaut Celebration May 4, 1-3:30 p.m.

Levite Jewish Community Center The Levite Jewish Community Center on Montclair Road in Birmingham will host the Yom Ha’atzmaut event from 1-3:30 p.m. May 4 to celebrate Israel’s 66th birthday. The free event will include activities, cake, Israeli food, music and more. For more information, visit www. bhamjcc.org or call 879-0411.

North Shelby

Music in the Park May 4, 5-7 p.m.

Mt Laurel Park Act of Congress will be the featured musical guest at Music in the Park in Mt Laurel May 4. The free event from 4-7 p.m. is hosted by Double Oak Community Church and will also feature free bounce houses. Food will be available from several different food trucks. In case of rain, the event will be held at the church. For more information, visit doubleoakcc.org/music or call 995-9752.

Homewood

Dawson’s Children’s Choirs Performance May 4, 6 p.m.

Homewood Park Amphitheater Dawson’s Children’s Choirs will perform a special presentation of “The Story Tellin’ Man” at the Homewood Park Amphitheater at 6 p.m. May 4.

All are invited to bring a blanket and enjoy the performance. The Cantina on Wheels food truck will at the event.

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Book Signing May 8, 5-7 p.m.

Little Professor Bookstore Little Professor Bookstore at 2717 18th St. South in Homewood will host a book signing event for David Roberts IV, author of “Becoming Twigo,” from 5-7 p.m. May 8. The event will include

music, food and drinks. Roberts is a retired UAB philosophy professor. His novel follows a young ballerina as she deals with bullying and other issues.

Homewood

Our Lady of Guadalupe Garden Dedication May 8, 6 p.m.

Birmingham Catholic Social Services A dedication for the Our Lady of Guadalupe Garden will be held May 8 at 6 p.m. at Birmingham Catholic Social Services, 92 Oxmoor Road in Homewood. The Our Lady of Guadalupe garden ministry will provide produce to those who need food support at the Birmingham Catholic Social Services. The event also includes food and music.

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 9

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

per person and can be purchased in advance or at the door. Those attending can place bids on silent auction items through noon. The troop needs auction items and garage sale donations. For more information, contact Betty Allen at 540-5343 or bertjudy@hotmail.com.

Birmingham/Mountain Brook

Newsaroo and Motherwalk 2014 May 9-10 Avondale Brewing/Crestline Village Newsaroo, a free outdoor musical festival to kick off Motherwalk 2014, will be held from 7-10:30 p.m. May 9 at Avondale Brewing Company in Birmingham. Participants can pick up their race packets or register for the

Motherwalk while listening to music and meeting radio and television personalities. Motherwalk 2014 will be held May 10 in Crestline Village in Mountain Brook. The 5K will start at 9 a.m., and the fun run will begin at 10 a.m. This event is for runners and walkers of all ages and abilities. The event will benefit the Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation. For more information, visit motherwalk.com.

Homewood

Greater Birmingham Humane Society Adoption Day May 10, 10 a.m.

Homewood Public Library The Homewood Public Library and

the Greater Birmingham Humane Society will host Adoption Day May 10.

The GBHS Mobile Unit will be in the library’s back parking lot from 10 a.m.2 p.m. with pets that are available for adoption. For more information, visit www.homewoodpubliclibary.org.

Birmingham

Garden Art Party May 10, 7-10 p.m.

Iron City Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama will host its annual Garden Art Party from 7-10 p.m. May 10 at Iron City, 513 22nd St. South in Birmingham. Each year artwork created by Alzheimer’s patients from assisted living facilities and adult

day care centers is featured at the party.

The theme of this year’s event is “Down on the Farm.” Bob Straka will serve as auctioneer. Tickets are $95 each or $180 for two. For more information, call ACA at 871-7970 or visit www.alzca.org to purchase online. ❖

For more About Town go to otmj.com Send your About Town info to kdrexel@otmj.com

Birmingham

Hearts and Homes Concert May 8, 7 p.m.

Metropolitan Church of God Metro Changers will host the Hearts and Homes Concert May 8 at 7 p.m. at Metropolitan Church of God, 2800 Metropolitan Way, Birmingham. The concert will feature Grammy Award winner Wes Hampton of the Gaither Vocal Band, Charles Billingsley and Birmingham’s Belinda GeorgePeoples. Proceeds will help eliminate substandard housing in the Birmingham metro area. Tickets are $25 for general admission or $45 for artist circle seats, which include a meet-and-greet photo opportunity with the performers at 6 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit www.metrochangers.org or call 440-4737. Tickets will also be available at the door.

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Homewood

Legacy League Scholarship Gala May 8, 6:30 p.m.

Wright Fine Arts Center Legacy League, a Samford University auxiliary, will present a magical evening for guests at its Scholarship Gala Celebration May 8 at the Wright Fine Arts Center. Christian illusionist Curt Anderson will perform at the event, which begins at 6:30 p.m. The event will raise money for scholarships for Birmingham area students. Reservations are required and can be made at www.samford. edu/legacyleague through May 2. A $75 reservation includes a heavy hors d’oeuvres buffet catered by Chef Chris Vizzina and the show by Anderson.

Guests can add valet parking, reserved table seating, preferred seating for the show and an event photo with the $125 deluxe reservation. For more information, call 726-2247.

Homewood

Troop 97 Pancake Breakfast and Garage Sale May 10, 7 a.m.-noon Trinity United Methodist Church Members of Boy Scout Troop 97 will host a pancake breakfast, garage sale and silent auction May 10 from 7 a.m.noon at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1400 Oxmoor Road in Homewood. The event will be held in the fellowship hall and church gym. The garage sale will offer clothing, household items, crafts, toys, books, electronics, furniture, appliances, sporting and camping equipment and more. The pancake breakfast will include pancakes, sausages, coffee and juice. Tickets for the all-you-can-eat breakfast are $5

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10 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

people

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

A Brush with History

CeCe Caldwell Painting Classes!

Skipper’s Painting Commemorates Civil Rights Movement

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

I

t was not until he was commissioned by the city of Birmingham last year to paint the official Civil Rights commemorative art for the movement’s 50th anniversary that Homewood native Steve Skipper said he truly realized how much the events of 1963 affected his life.

1923 Hoover Court The 55-year-old artist and former Hoover Al 35226 Homewood High School football 205-822-7273 standout said he used those realizations to create “Through Many Dangers,” an intense portrayal of not only the scenes of the movement in Birmingham half a century ago but also of its legacy.

“This project made me ashamed of the fact that I had not really taken the time to study and get into the depth of what happened or to really appreciate fully the opportunities that God gave me because of the Civil Rights Movement,” Skipper said.

Skipper was just a small boy when the Civil Rights Movement ignited in Birmingham. nna “I had a semi-awareness of what er The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 was going on, but I really didn’t ril. 2014 understand a lot because my mother This is your AD prOOF from the Over The MOunTAin JOurnAl for the and father, like most mothers and fathers, tried to kind of shield us from April 17, 2014 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246. what was going on,” he said.

But Skipper knew who Martin please make sure all information is correct, Luther King Jr. was and said he remembers clearly when the news including address and phone number! of King’s assassination reached Birmingham. please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

“I remember my parents and other 3301 Road, Ste. the 1 • Hoover if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of Lorna the Friday before press date, family members gathering at our your ad will run as is. We print thewww.shaysjewelers.com paper Monday.

978-5880 house and just crying uncontrollably,” Thank you for your prompt attention. he said. “It was like that all over our neighborhood. People were outside, T - S hu O at rs PE crying in the streets, just beside themur da N da y, selves with grief.” y, Ma M y ay 8 Skipper said he learned through 10 his research for the 50th anniversary project that scenes of grief were all too common in Birmingham during the Civil Rights Movement.

“We all knew about the dogs and the water hoses and all that--and you To: Shay see those images in my painting--but From: Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 what you also see in the painting is FAX: 205-824-1246 something that not a lot of people talk Date: April 2013 about and something that many people today are not really aware of, and This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiN JOurNAl for the that’s the fact that the Civil Rights May 2 2013 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Movement was not just a black movement,” Skipper said. “The painting has images of black and white people Please make sure all information is correct, holding hands and singing, because including address and phone number! that’s what happened. Without the participation and ultimate sacrifice of all races, there would be no movePlease initial and fax back within 24 hours. ment.” 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.

And without the movement, Skipper said, he doesn’t think he Thank you for your prompt attention. would be where he is today.

“I was going through the doors at the University of Alabama as a busionthly Arket vent ness man, and that would have never happened if it hadn’t been for the Thursday, May 8 - Saturday, May 10 people who fought against George 10am - 6pm 1712 28th Avenue South Wallace,” he said. “Even when I went Homewood, AL 35209 to Edgewood Elementary in the fourth www.tablesandcontents.com grade, it was because of the move-

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Skipper works on the preliminary sketches of “Through Many Dangers” in his Roebuck studio. Photo special to the Journal

ment.”

During his research for the painting, Skipper said, he realized the full weight of the change that was taking place in his community when he was in elementary school.

“I started putting the dates together and remembered the huge upheaval when Rosedale Elementary was closed and we were bused to Edgewood Elementary and later, Homewood Middle,” he said. “As a kid, I just thought that all of a sudden, Rosedale is closing and we were going to what we called ‘the white school’ and I really didn’t understand the reason behind it at the time.”

But as an adult, as Skipper thought about what going to Edgewood Elementary School in the fourth grade had meant to his life, he said he understood that he owed that opportunity to the foot soldiers--black and white--of the Civil Rights Movement and to everyone who tried to make integration work.

“It wasn’t that Rosedale was bad and we had to go to white schools.

It was for better opportunities, and when I realized that, it really shocked the daylights out of me,” he said.

Skipper said it also made him realize how devoted his teachers had been to making sure all students were given access to better opportunities.

“It was really eye-opening for me to think about why the teachers-black and white--worked so hard to make integration work from that point forward,” he said. “I hadn’t realized what our teachers were under during that time.”

But the transition to a different school was also difficult for Skipper and his classmates, he said.

“It was a culture shock,” Skipper said. “We were in shock because we were so sheltered, we hadn’t really seen white people besides on TV.” As he rode the bus into the Edgewood neighborhood each day, Skipper said he was also struck by how it contrasted to his own neighborhood.

“I remember going into the Homewood neighborhoods and the shock of how much everything

changed as we were going up the hill,” Skipper said.

Skipper said the culture shock was evident in all the kids at Edgewood Elementary at that time.

“The white kids didn’t know what to think about us either. This whole thing was totally new to them, too,” he said.

Skipper said he vividly remembers how tensions mounted as the students learned about each other.

“I was acting out and the teacher asked me step out in the hallway, and there was another guy out there, a white guy, and then another white guy came up and I was getting ready to fight them,” he said. “But one of the kids, Phillip, he was Greek and he told me that some kids said things about him, too, and as I realized he was in the same boat I was in, I started to learn that people were people.”

It was around that time that Skipper’s artistic skills were first nurtured, he said.

“I had an uncle who wanted to be an artist and he was very good at it, but because of the way society was back then, he was discouraged because being an artist at that time was considered a ‘white dream,’” Skipper said. “He ended up being an alcoholic.”

Skipper said he started drawing because his older brother, Don, did it.

“I idolized my older brother, and when he started sketching and drawing, I picked up a pencil and did the same thing,” Skipper said. “Plus, I saw that doodling and drawing got my brother attention from the girls.”

But after Skipper’s fourth-grade teacher approached his mother about him taking art classes, Skipper realized his budding passion for art was something that didn’t sit well with his mom.

“My fourth-grade teacher told my mother that I had a gift and even offered to pay for me to take lessons out of her own pocket, but my mother told me it would never happen, and I guess she thought the same thing would happen to me that happened to my uncle,” he said.

While his teachers still nurtured

his artistic talents, Skipper soon put his dreams of being an artist aside and tried to numb his disappointment with drugs.

“You take that first hit of marijuana and it numbs you to reality, and it makes you feel like who you are not,” he said.

Skipper soon got involved with a gang as he struggled to find his identity and where he fit into society.

“I was as ripe as an apple for someone to come up and ask me to be a part of a gang,” he said. “It offers the mirage of family, of belonging.”

By the time he was 16, Skipper was dealing drugs for the gang and walking around his neighborhood with a loaded gun, he said.

One day when he and other gang members were getting high at the neighborhood pool, one of the lifeguards called Skipper’s name--and changed his life.

“I knew Big Mike from the neighborhood, and he was a lifeguard at the pool. One day, he had the audacity to call out my name when we were sitting at a table in the pool area getting high,” Skipper said. “We all had guns and he had crossed the line by even talking to us, but here he was calling out my name and just my name when there are about 12 of us sitting there.”

Big Mike had recently been saved and asked Skipper to go to church with him.

“I don’t know if he had any idea of how close he was to really getting hurt coming over there and talking to me about going to church, but I just remember signaling to the other guys in the gang to hold up and let him talk,” Skipper said. “I think somewhere deep down inside, I knew I wanted to hear what Big Mike had to say. My exterior was wearing gang colors, but inside, I was crying out for God to save me.”

Skipper said he thought he could get Big Mike to stop talking if he agreed to go to church with him.

“I knew he went to church out of town, and I figured that I would just tell him later that I couldn’t go because I couldn’t find a way to get there,” Skipper said.

But Big Mike had other plans, and on Dec. 23, 1976, he brought the church to Skipper.

“He arranged for the preacher and the whole church to come to my neighborhood to hold a service,” Skipper said. “I told him I would be there but had already made plans to slip out during the sermon and try speed for the first time. But God had other plans for me that night.”

After hearing a sermon that he felt like was given just for him, Skipper said he was saved that night and went home to wait for the drug withdrawal symptoms to hit him.

“I have been waiting for 38 years to go through those withdrawals that I was so afraid of that night,” he said. “God not only saved my soul that night, He saved my life. Later, I learned that the speed I was supposed to try for the first time that night had not been cut right and a bunch of people died from it.”

The next morning, Skipper said, he was telling “anybody that would stand still” that he had been saved.

“At one point, my parents thought I had lost my mind,” he said. “The

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 11

People

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

change in me was immediate and radical.”

Skipper’s sudden and complete transformation also stunned the gang members.

“I went in talking to them about Jesus Christ, and I think they were scared because they could tell that I

‘Without the participation and ultimate sacrifice of all races, there would be no movement.’ Steve Skipper was for real, that what had happened to me was real,” he said. “Usually, there’s only one way out of a gang-death--but I was allowed to walk out and no one has ever said a word to me or hassled me about it in any way.”

While Skipper’s realization that God had blessed him with a second chance to make something of his life was sudden, the artist said it took much longer for him to realize the chances afforded to him by the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement.

While researching “Through Many Dangers,” Skipper said he became overwhelmed on how to best present all he was learning.

“So I went up to Sixteenth Baptist

Church one Sunday afternoon, and although I had been to the nearby Civil Rights Institute several times, this was the first time I had walked over to the church,” Skipper said. “It was a dreary looking day, and as I walked up the steps to the church, I prayed to God on how to approach this project because there were so many images from history flashing through my mind from my research.”

As he turned around to look from the church’s steps out into Kelly Ingram Park, Skipper realized a way to incorporate all the images in his head into the painting.

“I looked up in the sky, and a scripture from Hebrews came to my mind that talks about a great cloud of witnesses, and that got me thinking about the charge we have to carry the hope the previous generation gave us through the Civil Rights Movement,” he said.

Skipper worked for about 900 hours drawing and 1,700 hours completing “Through Many Dangers,” which was unveiled last year at a symposium given by Bill Cosby in Birmingham.

Skipper said completing the painting made him realize he would have never had the chance to make the first brushstroke without his faith and the Civil Rights Movement’s legacy of hope.

“It makes you realize that not only do we have a responsibility to carry the charge for the people who went before us in the Civil Rights Movement but we also have a responsibility to do it, because what happened here in 1963 and in the years that followed wasn’t just a Civil Rights Movement--it was a movement initiated by God.” For more information on Skipper and his artwork, visit www.anointedhomesart.com. ❖

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People

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Off Like a Shot

Clark’s Photo Now Circling the Globe on Postage Stamp

By Keysha Drexel

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verything about the process that led the United States Postal Service to issue a stamp featuring a photo taken by an Over the Mountain resident came about in a roundabout way, Gary Clark said.

Take, for example, how the Crestline photographer learned the image he captured in Baltimore back in 2004 was making its way around the world on letters and packages.

“I knew that at one time, the postal service wanted to use the photo on a stamp, but a lot happened between 2008 and earlier this year when I got a call from my mother,” the 52-yearold said. “My mother called me from the post office and told me my stamp was out, and I made a beeline to the post office downtown to buy as many as I could.”

Clark took the photo during an annual patriotic celebration at Fort McHenry while on assignment with Southern Living. Clark’s photo features a flag that is a replica of the one that inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” against a backdrop of fireworks. The photo was published in the magazine in 2005.

“I was working with a writer on a story about the Defender’s Day celebration at Fort McHenry. The whole thing was about the Star-Spangled Banner, and I thought if I could get inside the fort and shoot the fireworks and the flag, it would be a great shot,” Clark said.

But at first, officials resisted letting Clark and the writer inside the fort to try to capture the huge garrison flag against the backdrop of the sky as it was lit up with fireworks.

“The writer, I think she knew everyone in (Washington) D.C., and she made three phone calls and we got permission to get inside the fort during the fireworks celebration,” he said.

Clark found a good spot inside the fort to try to capture the image he imagined, but the weather wasn’t cooperating with him.

“The fireworks started going off and there wasn’t any wind, so the flag is just kind of hanging there,” he said.

“Then the wind picked up, and I was able to get four or five decent shots.”

About three years after he took the photo, Clark said, he got a phone call from someone who was interested in using it.

“I told them it wasn’t really my call and referred them to the person that handled the usage issues,” he said. “The next day she told me it had been a researcher with the postal service that had called about my photo and that they wanted to use it on a stamp.”

Clark said at first, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I was like, ‘Get out of town,’ because it is kind of one of the last things you expect,” he said.

Gary Clark of Mountain Brook.

Photo special to the Journal by Chuck St. John

The United States Postal Service issued the Forever stamp featuring Clark’s photo on Jan. 28.

Clark’s colleague at Southern Living exchanged emails and information back and forth with the postal service researcher, and Clark was told the process might take a while.

“Apparently, there are a lot of committees these kind of things have to go through and so they told me I might not hear back anything on it for a while,” Clark said.

In 2010, Clark said, he got an email from the postal service researcher letting him know the photo was still up for consideration. Then in 2011, the postal service asked him to send his biographical information to them.

Two more years passed, and Clark’s professional life changed dramatically.

“I was let go from Southern Living in February 2013 and so was pretty much everyone who had anything to do with the stamp,” Clark said.

Clark had started working at Southern Living in April 1984, less than a year after he graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta.

Clark first picked up a camera while he was a teenager in his native South Carolina.

“I realized what I was going to be on the first day of the ninth grade,” Clark said.

Clark said he took a couple of photography classes but that for the most part, he taught himself the art of photography.

“I just picked up a camera and starting shooting in 1977, and I’ve been doing it pretty much every day since,” he said. “I’m lucky because

I realized early on that this was my life’s calling.”

Clark said he had at least two cameras on him at all times during his high school years.

“I clinked when I walked and people knew that as I walked down the hallways at school, I was going to take their picture,” he said.

While he was still in high school, Clark did freelance photography work for his local newspapers but knew he wanted to make a living taking photos of other places outside of South Carolina.

To that end, Clark said, he enrolled at the Art Institute of Atlanta and graduated in 1983.

Clark said he had his first interviews with Southern Living in January and started working out of the magazine’s Birmingham offices in April 1984.

“My 30th anniversary at Southern Living would have been on April 30 of this year,” Clark said.

While Clark was based in Birmingham, his career as a photographer kept him on the road.

“Once, I went out on back-toback assignments for three months, and I just bought a steamer trunk and packed it for what I would need for three months like it was no big deal to be away from home that long— because it wasn’t,” he said.

His assignments took him from the depths of the oceans in a submarine to above the clouds in a hot air balloon.

“I saw every town in the South and flew upside down in planes. I’ve taken many a chair lift up and walked down some really nice Double Black Diamond ski slopes,” Clark said. “It really was one of the best jobs.”

But Clark’s career at Southern Living ended in 2013, and he was too focused on figuring out the next chapter of his life to think about what might have happened with the postal service’s idea to put the photo he took in Baltimore on a stamp.

It wasn’t until Christmas of 2013 when Clark was talking with another photographer that it occurred to him that he hadn’t heard anything about the status of the stamp in a while.

The photographer mentioned to Clark that the postal service was interested in a couple of his pieces as candidates for a stamp.

“I told him that one of my photos had apparently passed all the committees years ago but that I had no idea when it was coming out,” he said.

Clark mentioned the stamp to a former colleague, and she got in touch with the postal service to learn when the stamp was scheduled to be issued.

“She found out that the project was still on and that the stamp was supposed to be released sometime in 2014 as a Forever stamp,” Clark said.

“It turns out, the postal service had been trying to get in touch with us to let us know, but no one who was involved with the photo or the stamp still had those work email addresses.”

It wasn’t until the end of January See clark, next page

White Earns Eagle Scout Rank with Troop 28

A Mountain Brook High School graduate was recently initiated into the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership society.

A senior at HampdenSydney College in Virginia, William Walker Cole was selected for the organization William Walker Cole which recognized students in the top 35 percent of their class who demonstrate constructive leadership and outstanding character.

A member of the Chi Beta Phi science honor society, Cole is a resident advisor at Hampden-Sydney and plays club lacrosse. He is also a member of the professional scientific fraternity Alpha Chi Sigma, Young Life and the Baptist Collegiate Ministries.

He is secretary/treasurer of the Acousticals and volunteers with the Fuqua School track team.

The biology major is the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Long Cole Jr. of Birmingham.

An Over the Mountain resident and member of Boy Scout Troop 28 was recently awarded the highest Scout honor.

C. Allan White received the Eagle Scout rank Feb. 23.

White is the son of Martha White and Scott White. He is C. Allan White the grandson of Mrs. Richard Clarke Jr., Gerald Miller, Mrs. Claude White and the late Mr. White.

For his Eagle Scout project, White constructed outdoor furniture for Children’s Fresh Air Farm in Bluff Park.

The Fresh Air Farm needed several new benches and picnic tables. White constructed seven picnic tables and 14 benches for use with the tables.

clark,

“Me and ‘Skinny Elvis’ both have a stamp—what are the chances?”

Clark said. “Seriously, it’s a great honor that they picked my work for the stamp and my artwork is out there.”

Clark said he’s been working on aerial photography using unmanned flying vehicles and is always looking to capture the next great shot.

For more information on Clark’s photography, visit www.thegaryclark. com or his Facebook page of the same name. ❖

when Clark’s mom called to tell him she’d just bought a book of stamps featuring his photograph that he knew the good news.

Clark got in touch with the postal service, and officials there told him a dedication ceremony was planned in March in Washington, D.C., to unveil the Star-Spangled Banner Forever stamp at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, home of the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that inspired the national anthem.

The stamp with Clark’s photo was featured at the museum to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the national anthem.

“They told me that they knew it was short notice but that they would like for me to attend the ceremony and asked me if I would like to bring my wife,” Clark said.

Clark immediately arranged for him and his wife, Jill, to make the drive to the nation’s capital for the special ceremony.

The night they had planned to arrive in Washington, D.C., the city got blanketed with a heavy snowfall.

The couple rerouted and headed back south to stay with Clark’s parents, who now live in North Carolina.

The ceremony was delayed due to the snow, but the Clarks made the most of their trip and took time to visit the city’s major monuments.

“The ceremony ended up taking place that Friday, and it was a very nice ceremony and I was really glad to be there,” Clark said. “It’s one of those things you know you’ll always remember.”

Clark said he thinks it’s pretty neat that his artwork will be seen by an untold number of people as the StarSpangled Forever stamps crisscross the globe on letters and packages.

Investigator Awards at the ninth annual UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium on March 20.

The symposium keeps scientists at the University of Alabama and other research institutions across the Southeast at the forefront of health disparities research, officials said.

First place in oral presentations went to Esther Suswam of Hoover, assistant professor in the UAB School of Medicine’s Neurology Chair Office.

Angela Jukkala of Mountain Brook, assistant professor in the UAB School of Nursing’s Community Health, Outcomes and Systems, won second place in oral presentations.

Bradford Jackson of Vestavia Hills, a postdoc fellow in the School of Medicine’s Division of Preventive Medicine, won third place in poster presentations. ❖

never compromise selection . quality . value

Send people news and photos to kdrexel@otmj.com.

OTM Residents Receive Research Awards at UAB Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham received the 2014 Charles Barkley Health Disparities

ww w.1 8thstreetori entals. com

Cole Inducted into Leadership Society

from previous page

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 13

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News

14 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

u Hoover

School Board Approves Bus Fee Schedule

By William C. Singleton III Journal contributor

The Hoover school board recently unanimously approved a fee schedule for students needing bus transportation to city schools in the 2014-2015 school year pending U.S. District Court approval.

The school system plans to charge non-poverty students the most. Families with students who receive reduced-price lunches or free lunches would pay less. Families with multiple students who attend Hoover schools will be given a discount.

The monthly cost schedule for student riders is: Non-poverty riders: $40.75; two riders, $28.53; three or more, $21.40 Reduced-lunch riders: $20.38; two riders, $14.27; three or more, $10.70 Free-lunch riders: $14.88; two riders, $10.42; three or more riders, $7.82 Over the past few years, Hoover school officials have been grappling with dwindling funds and an increasing enrollment which prompted the school board in July to cut bus service for the 2014-2015 school year. After a community uproar, the school board in December rescinded its decision but continued pursuing a fee-based transportation system.

The board’s April 17 vote is the latest action by the school system to address its transportation problems.

Hoover School Superintendent Andy Craig said the school system has been in constant dialogue with the U.S. Justice Department about its transportation situation.

“We have arrived at what we think is a mutually agreeable fee structure,” he said.

Board Attorney Donald Sweeney said the school system had to convince the justice department that it indeed was facing a “fiscal downslide.” The justice department has approved the plan in concept but wants Hoover school officials to provide data on the effectiveness of its approach to solving its transportation issues.

“What’s really important to them and to us is to have a methodology and process to monitor what’s happening--all aspects of it: the efficiency of the transportation, the ridership, how we are addressing the transportation challenges of all of our students,” Sweeney said. “They want to know how (we’re) going to monitor all that so they will know we’re doing a good job, and we will know.”

The U.S. District Court must approve the plan because it’s connected to a longstanding desegregation consent decree, Sweeney said.

The unanimously approved fee schedule for students needing bus transportation to Hoover schools in the 2014-2015 school year still needs U.S. District Court approval.

Journal photo by William C. Singleton III

He added he expects the courts to decide the matter this summer before the start of the new school year.

“To get the approval of the court, we have to have enough flesh on the bone so the court can look at it and say you’ve got a good process, you’re going to monitor it and you have to communicate it,” he said.

“We hope the court will say we like what you all are doing.”

The proposed fees are expected to generate about $2 million for transportation, Craig said.

Students participating in extracurricular activities will have to pay for bus service also, but that fee has not been factored into the current plan.

That can be worked out later, the superintendent said.

Hoover school board member Donna Frazier said the justice department isn’t the only entity monitoring the school system’s transportation

solution.

“There are other school districts I feel certain will follow suit if everything works the way we’re hoping that it does,” she said, citing Mobile and Huntsville. “They’re very much interested in how this is going to play out because they too are looking for ways to cut and they too are interested in doing the same exact thing Hoover is considering. So for me, as a school board member, I am thrilled we’re on the forefront leading the challenge on this.”

However, several residents spoke against the proposal.

Arnold Singer asked if the school system would consider a monthly scholarship award for families who can’t afford to pay for bus service.

He said a fee-based transportation plan would present an “undue hardship” on such families.

Hoover resident Dan Fulton said

u homewood

City Council Rezones Two Lots Near Exceptional Foundation

By William C. Singleton III Journal contributor

The Homewood City Council recently approved the rezoning of two lots on Oxmoor Road so the Exceptional Foundation can build a youth center.

The council by a 9-1 vote agreed to rezone two lots at 1610 and 1612 Oxmoor Road near the Exceptional Foundation from Neighborhood Preservation District to Institution District. The city’s Planning Commission voted 7-1 earlier this year to pass the issue on to the council without a recommendation.

While approving the rezoning, the council deferred discussion on concerns about possible increased traffic generated by the expansion, saying the vote was to rezone the lots and not to address specifics about the Exceptional Foundation’s expansion plans.

The foundation must reappear before the city’s Planning Commission for approval of its site plans, which would include specific plans for additional parking. Councilman Peter Wright said the council can determine later how to address increased traffic related to the foundation’s proposal.

To accommodate the expansion, the Exceptional Foundation has proposed building another road off Oxmoor Road into its campus.

However, Wright said the council holds the ultimate decision whether to limit the direction and flow of traffic into and out of the foundation’s campus.

“We the city--not this project, not the developer, not the Exceptional Foundation--control access to that property,” Wright said. “And to the extent we want to make it a right turn-only entrance to that property, we the city council fully control that.”

Residents have said the additional road off Oxmoor Road would funnel more traffic onto neighborhood streets.

Councilwoman Jenifer Champ Wallis and Wright said based on feedback they’ve received from residents, increased traffic seems to be the chief concern.

Residents are also concerned that the zoning change will invite further institutional zoning in their neighborhood and concerned about their property values. They are also concerned about inadequate natural buffers, like trees, between their homes and the proposed new youth center.

Homewood resident John Stuart Wiggins said while he respects and values the contribution the Exceptional Foundation makes to the community at large, he doesn’t want to see two homes destroyed, more asphalt and an institution intrude into the neighborhood.

“I don’t want a full frontal view of more brick exposure across an asphalt pavement,”

The council by a 9-1 vote agreed to rezone two lots at 1610 and 1612 Oxmoor Road near the Exceptional Foundation from Neighborhood Preservation District to Institution District.

Journal photo by William C. Singleton III

Wiggins said during a March 31 public hearing before the council. “I like the ability to glimpse through the park and across my neighbor’s yard.”

Nearly 100 residents attended the March 31 council meeting to express both support and opposition to the rezoning; few attended the April 14 meeting at which the council voted to rezone the lots, and no residents spoke for or against the rezoning.

Residents submitted to the city clerk a petition with more than 90 names of people opposing the rezoning. But Councilman Fred Hawkins noted that the petition didn’t include addresses.

Because the rezoning issue was a first-reading item on the March 31 agenda, it required a unanimous vote from the council to decide it then. But Councilman Michael Hallman abstained from voting, saying he was a neighbor

he agreed.

“You understand there are some horrific hardships being placed on the residents of Hoover,” he told school officials.

Fulton also acknowledged the school system’s funding problem and encouraged the city council and the Hoover City Schools Foundation, a private fundraising organization for city schools, to help solve the system’s funding crisis.

“The city must do more,” Fulton said. “I would really like the foundation to do more.”

State schools Superintendent Tommy Bice last week issued a written statement saying the plan to charge students a fee to ride school buses needs “to be vetted fully through all legal avenues.”

In his statement, Bice wrote that he is concerned over reports he has received that the Hoover community has become divided over the financial challenge.

“I would urge all interested parties to come together with Mr. Craig and the Board in the development of sound and long-term solutions to the challenge, realizing that sacrifices will be required to ensure the financial stability of the system,” Bice wrote. “It is at these times of challenge that great communities rally, not divide, and I have full confidence that will be the case in Hoover.” ❖

and felt it would be a conflict of interest for him to vote, although City Attorney Mike Kendrick said it wouldn’t be.

Hallman said he was going to abstain again, but Councilman Walter Jones urged all council members to vote. Councilman Patrick McClusky did not attend the April 14 meeting. Hallman was the lone no vote.

“Because I’ve got numerous emails and requests to oppose it, I did it in response to the citizens’ request,” he said.

The council’s favorable vote means the foundation can move forward with plans to purchase the two lots and start a capital campaign to raise money for the youth center, said Tricia Kirk, Exceptional Foundation director. She estimates the foundation will have to raise more than $2 million.

The Exceptional Foundation has served mentally challenged youth and adults from its present facility in Homewood since 1999 and renovated those facilities in 2007. The foundation serves about 130 clients daily, Kirk said.

The expansion project is more to accommodate its existing clients than to add new ones, she added.

“It (the proposed new facility) gives us the opportunity not to increase the number of people that we serve,” Kirk said. “It is so we can enhance the programs and maintain the quality that the rest of the nation knows that we’re doing in Homewood.”

The foundation provides programs daily but in the summer serves more clients through its four camps.

“When schools are out, we’re the only place people who are mentally challenged can come,” See, Rezoning, next page

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 15

NEWS

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

u vestavia hills

City Will Host Health and Wellness Fair on May 3

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

Vestavia Hills residents looking for advice on how to make healthy lifestyle changes will have a chance to ask the experts during a community-wide event this weekend.

The second annual Vestavia Hills Health and Wellness Fair, coordinated by the city of Vestavia Hills, will be from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. May 3 at the Vestavia Hills Civic Center gymnasium on the corner of Merryvale Road and U.S. 31 South.

“The main goal is to help educate people who want to achieve or maintain a healthy lifestyle,” said Lt. Scott

Ferrell with the Vestavia Hills Fire Department. “It’s just another effort to make Vestavia Hills even better.”

The fire department is coordinating a new event for this year’s health and wellness fair, Ferrell said.

The department is hosting a family run/walk that starts and ends at the Vestavia Hills Civic Center before the health and wellness fair.

“The run is an effort to increase the participation in the health and wellness fair this year,” Ferrell said.

“The run starts at 8 a.m. and so we’re hoping after people finish, they will come straight from there to check out the health fair,” he said.

Ferrell said the fair will feature

about 40 vendors.

“Trinity (Medical Center) is our main sponsor, and they will have folks there checking cholesterol, blood sugar and Body Mass Index, and there will be a wide variety of vendors including a gym or two and those offering senior services,” he said.

The other sponsors of the event

are Brookdale Living and Sonology Hearing Aid Clinic, Ferrell said.

The Vestavia Hills Police Department will also host a prescription drug take-back day during the health and wellness fair, Ferrell said.

The police department will collect expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal.

The police department has held several prescription drug take-back days in the last few years in an effort to help residents rid their homes of prescription drugs that could be

abused.

Authorities say flushing drugs down the toilet or throwing them in the trashcan can pose potential health hazards.

Ferrell said the city hopes the health and wellness fair continues to grow each year.

“As long as it’s helping people, we want to keep it going,” he said.

For more information on the second annual Vestavia Hills Health and Wellness Fair, contact Ferrell at sferrell@vhal.org. ❖

u North Shelby

Oak Mountain Gets Grants for New Workshops Gov. Robert Bentley recently awarded a $14,400 grant to enhance outdoor activities at seven state parks, including Oak Mountain State Park in North Shelby.

The grant will help continue an environmental and trail safety education program and provide equipment for participants to use at the parks.

“Alabama is blessed with abundant natural beauty and opportunities for recreation,” Bentley said.

“This education program will enrich Alabamians’ enjoyment of our wonderful state parks.”

The grant will help fund the Environmental Education 101 program, which will teach day workshops on the recreational activities at the parks and on environmental and trail safety.

The grant will also help buy items for kits that park visitors can use to explore the natural environment.

The kits will include GPS units for geocaching, cameras for nature study, literature and field guides.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the federal grant. ❖

Rezoning,

said. Those spaces will be for the foundation’s vans and staff rather than clients.

“Our members cannot drive. We don’t bring additional cars,” she said.

The new access lane will provide another way into the foundation’s property as well as alleviate traffic into the recreation center. Bridge Lane serves as the only access road into the Exceptional Foundation and the recreation center from Oxmoor Road. ❖

from previos page

she said.

The foundation operates a joint lease with the city’s recreation center to share parking spaces. However, the center’s parking area hasn’t been available because the recreation center is being rebuilt into a larger facility. The new recreation center is scheduled to open in May. The foundation’s proposal is to add about 15 parking spaces, Kirk

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16 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

news

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

u mountain brook

Council Approves New Farmers’ Market

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Residents in Mountain Brook will soon have a new venue where they can choose locally-grown fruits and vegetables.

The Mountain Brook City Council recently approved a request by Urban Cookhouse to open the Crestline Farmer’s Market on Vine Street.

The new market will open June 4 and will run for 10 weeks through Aug. 6. The Crestline Farmer’s Market will be open from 4-8 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Laura Powell, farmers’ market supervisor for Urban Cookhouse, brought the request for the new farmers’ market before the city council.

“In response to our motto, ‘Buy Local. Eat Urban,’ UC desires to provide a connection between these farmers and the local community,” the restaurant owners wrote in their application to the city.

The Mountain Brook City Council voted 4-0 to approve the request.

Urban Cookhouse also manages two other farmers’ markets in the Over the Mountain area. One is at SoHo in downtown Homewood and the other is at The Summit.

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The owners of the restaurant said all of the vendors at the farmers’ markets are local and provide food that is farmed within about 85 miles.

Powell said the goal of the farmers’ markets is to get the community behind its support of local farmers and vendors.

“We’re eager to start the farmers’ markets again this summer,” Powell said. “These weekly events reiterate our motto, ‘Buy Local. Eat Urban,’ and reflect our restaurant’s base foundation.”

The markets will have a variety of vendors and growers, Powell said.

The Crestline market will focus on local produce with a selection committee in place for all non-produce vendors. Additionally, there will be a cooking demonstration each week to highlight Birmingham chefs.

There will be live music, face painting and corn hole games to engage shoppers, depending on the week, Powell said.

The Homewood market will take place every Saturday from May 10-August, excluding May 24 on Memorial Day weekend, from

u Hoover

Craig Kelley Appointed to School Board

By William C. Singleton III Journal contributor

The Hoover City Council named current city parks board member Craig Kelley as its newest school o: Robert board member recently. rom: Over The Mountain Journal, 205-823-9646 ph., Kelley, 59, has served on the 205-824-1246, fax Hoover Parks and Recreation board ate: April 2014 for eight years. He will replace current School Board President Paulette This is your AD pROOF from the OveR The MOunTAin JOuRnAl for the

Pearson, who is leaving the post in July. Kelley will begin his five-year term in June.

Kelley said he wanted to reserve comment about his plans and goals as a school board member until he officially starts his tenure. However, he said he’s glad the council saw fit to appoint him to the school board.

“It’s a huge responsibility. I’ll take it very, very seriously. It will only

May 1, 2014 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

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8 a.m.-noon. The market will be in the Soho parking lot in downtown Homewood right behind City Hall.

The Homewood market sponsor this year is Murray Building Company.

The Summit Market will be on Thursday evenings at The Summit Retail Center from May 15- Aug. 4, excluding July 3, from 2-6 p.m.

The start time of the market at The Summit has been pushed up an hour this year, Powell said.

“A lot of planning has gone into these markets over the past few months,” Powell said. “It is an absolute joy to serve these farmers and vendors, and I hope the Birmingham community will join us in this support.”

Among the vendors expected to be a part of the Crestline Farmer’s Market are Harvest Farm out of Fairview, Owl’s Hollow Hydroponic Farm out of Gadsden and Kenneth “The Peach Man” Easterling, who sells 12 varieties of Chilton County peaches during peach season.

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come second place to my family and my faith,” he said.

Kelley is vice president of Dunkin-Lewis Inc., a sales and marketing agency for industrial firms. He has been a resident of Hoover for 34 years. He has two children who graduated from the Hoover school system and another who is a senior at Craig Kelley Hoover High.

Kelley was one of eight candidates who applied for the school board position.

Council President Jack Wright said he chose Kelley for the job because he was the most qualified and has proven his civic-mindedness through his service on the park board. ❖ u Mountain brook

Bethune Drive Closed

Repairs caused by heavy rains in April mean a road near Mountain Brook High School could be closed for more than a month, City Manager Sam Gaston said.

Mountain Brook city officials announced last week that a portion of Bethune Drive between Oakdale Drive and Kingshill Road has been closed for repairs.

Officials said last month’s torrential rains damaged the drainage pipe and the bridge foundation on Bethune Drive near the high school. The emergency repairs are being done by Rast Construction.❖

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 17

news

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

u Homewood

Rooftop Cops Raise Money for Special Olympics

By William C. Singleton III Journal contributor

Members of the Homewood Police Department spent a recent Saturday atop Chick-fil-A in Homewood and roaming the premises--but they weren’t looking for crime suspects.

Instead, during the April 5 event, they were looking for donations from patrons for the Special Olympics.

The Homewood Police Department annually holds a fundraiser for the Alabama Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, partnering with a local business to use its facilities to ask for contributions from their customers. The Chick-fil-A store at 211 Lakeshore Parkway agreed to partner with the Homewood police this year.

As customers rode through the drive-thru line or exited their vehicles to enter the restaurant, they were greeted by Homewood police and students of the Exceptional Foundation and some from Homewood Middle School carrying buckets and asking for donations.

They were encouraged by Homewood Lt. Ken Atkinson, who stood atop Chick-fil-A with flashing blue lights and a microphone, broadcasting the need for donations.

“We’re just trying to draw attention to our cause,” said Homewood Chief Jim Robertson. “We just want them to know what we’re about here, and the flashing blue lights and the

Jakobi Arnold, 7, whose grandmother works for the Homewood Police Department, seeks a donation from a Chick-fil-A customer during Homewood’s Cop on Top event. Homewood Police Lt. Ken Atkinson, below atop the Chick-fil-A restaurant. Journal photos by William C. Singleton III

PA system and McGruff the Crime Dog are all a part of that.”

The Cops on Top fundraiser was scheduled for April 4 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., but rain put a damper on the

cause, resulting in the police department concluding the event earlier than they wanted. But April 5 provided sunny weather, so a police officer stayed on the roof from 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

Sandy Ballard, spokesperson for Chick-fil-A at the Brookwood Village store, said other Chick-fil-A stores in the Birmingham area also sponsored similar fundraisers with their local police agencies.

“We’re just proud to be community sponsors and get out in the community and help raise awareness for the police and what they’re trying to do,” she said. “We’re just glad Chick-fil-A, the Homewood Police Department and the Special Olympics can come together for this worthy cause.” ❖

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life

18 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Finding Their Family Birmingham and ended up going through some pretty extensive fertility treatments,” Amanda said.

After several failed attempts at trying to conceive, the couple reached a crossroads, Amanda said.

“There was no explanation as to why the fertility treatments weren’t working, and I very vividly remember having a conversation with Jerry that maybe we were trying to force something that God didn’t really want to happen,” she said.

Around that same time, the couple ran into some friends at a basketball game who had recently adopted a child from Ukraine.

“It was a pivotal moment for me because I realized that God might have another plan for me being a mother,” Amanda said. “We contacted an adoption agency during the same time I was undergoing fertility treatments.”

For about two years, Amanda and Jerry completed the paperwork and training needed to adopt a child from Ukraine.

In early 2008, the adoption agency contacted them and told the Hoods they had an appointment at an orphanage on March 8 to talk about adopting two children.

“We knew we wanted to adopt two children, and we wanted them to be siblings,” Amanda said.

The couple set out for Ukraine, a country they knew virtually nothing about, and said there was no way they could have prepared for that journey, or its result.

“The day we were supposed to fly out of Birmingham was the only day we had a freeze in the area that spring, so a lot of flights were delayed, and by the time we made it to Atlanta, we had missed our connecting flight,” Amanda said. “The airline said they could reroute us through New York, so we tried that, but weather grounded our plane on the runway in Philadelphia for seven and a half hours. By this point, we’re in panic mode because now we’re in danger of missing our appointment at the orphanage.”

While they sat on the plane on the Philadelphia runway, they learned the woman behind them was from Ukraine. Maria couldn’t speak English, Amanda said, and was trying to get home after a visit to her daughter’s house in Georgia.

“We knew just enough Russian to communicate with her a bit, and we felt this instant kin-

ship with Maria because she was from where we were trying to go to get our children,” Amanda said. “Our hearts were drawn to this place we’d never been before, because we knew that’s where our family was, and at that moment, Maria was a connection to that place.”

The Hoods and Maria finally made it to New York but found that the weather delays meant no hotels were available near the airport.

“So we got in a van with Maria and a bunch of people we didn’t even know, and they drove us to a hotel about an hour from the airport,” Hood said. “The next morning, we went back to the airport, and at this point, we were really, really desperate to find a way to Kiev.”

Because of the weather delays, an airline employee told the couple there wasn’t any way they could find a flight that would get them to Kiev on time.

“We were standing there at the gate pleading our case, and this man we’ve never met before who had overheard the whole thing comes up to us and asked us to follow him,” Amanda said.

“It was a complete leap of faith because we had no idea who this man was--I still don’t know his name--but we followed him to another counter and the next thing we know, we’re on a flight to Ukraine.”

Amanda said she’s often thought that the mysterious man at the JFK airport was an angel.

“What he did right there in that moment for us changed our lives forever,” she said.

The Hoods made it to Kiev on time, but Jerry’s luggage wasn’t so lucky.

“We got there late at night and our appointment was at 8 a.m. the next morning, and the shops there did not sell clothes for big men like Jerry,” Amanda said. “He went to our interview at the orphanage in a 1970s-style Ukrainian suit with safety pins holding up the hems, wearing his tennis shoes.”

During their interview at the orphanage, the Hoods were told there were two boys they could adopt and that the boys had medical issues. The couple traveled to the western part of the country to meet with the boys’ caregivers and learn more about their medical problems.

“Jerry and I went through a lot of soulsearching thinking that we might have to go home. We talked about and prayed about it and decided that taking on the challenges of the serious and significant medical issues the boys had was something we couldn’t do. The issues were so extensive, we weren’t even sure we would be

Photo special to the Journal

From page one

‘I remember Jerry leaning back in his chair, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was—how could we choose just two of those beautiful children?’

Amanda Hood able to take them on the plane,” Amanda said.

The couple asked for another appointment and was told the orphanage could see them in about a month.

“So we stayed there for a month and as a couple, it was one of the most beautiful times in our marriage,” Amanda said. “We didn’t have to go to work, and we had no one but each other to talk to all that time. We went sightseeing and really just enjoyed being together.”

At their next appointment with the orphanage, Amanda and Jerry were shown photos of four children--two girls and two boys. The photos were of 8-year-old Olivia, 7-year-old Christian, 4-year-old Daniel and 3-year-old Vica.

“I remember Jerry leaning back in his chair, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was--how could we choose just two of those beautiful children?” she said.

The adoption officials left the couple alone for a few minutes to discuss the photos they had been shown of the children, whom the

Hoods had learned were siblings.

“They left the room for about 15 minutes, and we had the fastest conversation that you could ever have about raising four children,” Amanda said.

While they were worried about how to financially take care of four children when they had planned to adopt only two, Amanda said her husband said something that quickly dispelled all of her fears.

“He looked at me and said, ‘How can we say no when God is trying to bless us with twice as much as we prayed for?’ and that was a very pivotal moment,” Amanda said. “At that moment, I was ready to go get in the car and drive to where the kids were in southeastern Ukraine.”

The couple stayed in Ukraine for another month while the adoption of the four children was finalized.

“We spent time getting to know them and playing with them,” Amanda said. “There was definitely a language barrier, so we did a lot of

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

charades to communicate, but we all had an instant connection, and there was the moment of peace where I finally realized the purpose of my life.�

On April 22, 2008, the Hoods went to a Ukrainian courtroom to learn if the adoption had been approved. “Olivia, who was 8 at the time, read a letter saying that her wish was to come to America with us, but only if her brothers and sister could come with her,� Amanda said. “A lot of siblings are broken up and don’t get to stay together, and I think she was really afraid of that.�

While Olivia and Christian were aware of just how much their lives were changing, Amanda said she’s not quite sure the younger children fully understood. But that didn’t dampen their enthusiasm, she said. “On the plane ride back home, Daniel was standing up on the seat saying ‘America! America! America!’� she said.

The plane ride was an adventure for the children, who had never even been in a car before their trip to the airport with Amanda and Jerry. “There are a lot of things they hadn’t experienced that children here take for granted, and it was wonderful to watch them experience new things,�

Amanda said.

When they got back home to Alabama, the couple immediately brought in tutors to help the older children prepare for school. “We were communicating in this language that was a mix of Russian, English and charades, and it was kind of like we invented our own secret family language,� Amanda said.

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 19

Amanda said this year on Mother’s Day, like every year since the adoption, she will thank God for bringing her family together and for opening her heart to His plan for her. “It was a true journey of faith because I had to step back and trust that God had a plan for us, and now that I look back on the whole experience, it is very clear that God’s plan for us unfolded just the way it was supposed to,� she said. “It was a jourNow through May 15th ney that changed us as individuals and changed Jerry and I as a couple.�

Amanda said Mother’s Day at her house will be a true family celebration this year, just like it is every year. “We were meant to have these kids 802-5800 • Tues. - Sat. 10-5 and they were meant to have us, and SoHo Square Homewood we want to really celebrate our family (Some exclusions) AKA OMJ Locker Lookz Ad_Layout 1 4/25/14 2:26 PM Page 1 and our story,â€? she said. â?–

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20 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

Gift guide

Fab Finds for Mother’s Day

Yes, we know moms say they love those homemade cards and gifts—but it never hurts to add something special. Over the Mountain shops offer lots of ideas for gifts to brighten mom’s special day, from small but stylish tokens of affection to presents

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

with real wow factors. Our gift guide makes choosing just the right thing easy—even for clueless dads. Surprising mom with a beautifully-wrapped present along with breakfast in bed can’t hurt, and it may even make that slightly-burned toast taste delicious.

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options for summertime fashion. Necklace $195, earrings $39.99. Jewels By Rose, 979-5611.

5. Great gardening or beach hats for mom.

Excellent UV protection with UPF 50-plus.

Rolls up for easy storage or packing.

Available in black or tan, $18. Leaf & Petal, Mountain Brook Village, 8713832; Summit, 967-3232 and Botanical Gardens, 877-3030.

6. Your mother deserves the best and you can’t go wrong with Virginia designer Dina Mackney’s vibrant drop earrings in pearl and ruby, $235. John William Jeweller, 870-4367.

7. Fill your home with intoxicating fragrance while you indulge yourself with our bath and body delights. Give the gift of luxury. Gift items starting at $19.

Mantooth Interiors, 879-5474.

8. Spruce up mom’s car this Mother’s Day with $100 towards a new convertible top

replacement. Alabama Auto Tops, 2510684.

9. Mom will love the perfect wedge sandal from Lucky. Available in black, tan and black and white polka dot. These will look so cute to go along with a great outfit from The Pink Tulip, $79. The Pink Tulip, Homewood, 870-7258; Cahaba Village, 637-5390 and Patton Creek 560-0355.

10. Your mother will think of you well past Mother’s Day with this rose gold and diamond fashion ring, price upon request.

Levy’s Fine Jewelry, 251-3381.

11. If tennis is mom’s game, she will love ladies’ apparel from Nike! Great for on the court or wearing around town, starting at $50. Player’s Choice Tennis, 985-4989.

12. Mom will be enjoying the beauty of her outdoor space for years to come with a handcrafted Adirondack chair from PrimeTime Treasures, starting at $100.

PrimeTime Treasures, 870-5555.

1. Go blue and white for Mother’s Day! Check out the selection of bowls, trays, plates, jars and lamps. All 40 percent off, priced from $22. They never go out of style! The Briarcliff Shop, 870-8110.

2. Your favorite gourmet salts and peppers are just a pinch away with these beautiful and functional marble salt and pepper keepers. They are sure to make mom happy, $25. The Cook Store, 879-5277.

3. If your mom likes to stroll through her garden, a birdhouse or birdcage from Hanna Antiques will make a lovely addition. These are great for indoors or out and we have many different styles and sizes to choose from, $32 - $150. Hanna Antiques, 323-6036.

4. These beautiful Ayalabar necklace and earrings are handmade in Israel with tiny paper mosaics, Swarovski crystals and textile remnants from around the world.

The colorful pieces give Mom lots of

13. Any mom on the go will love the Lauren clutch bag by Hobo with a pocket for her cellphone, credit cards and ID, $110. Rosenberger’s - Birmingham Trunk, 870-0971.

14. Treat mom to a fresh, thoughtful gift with a $75 spa gift certificate and receive one Aqualant luxurious after-shower hydrating spray. Aqualant is made here in Birmingham. She’ll love you for it. Rousso Facial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Medical Spa, 930-9595.

15. A gift as sweet and beautiful as she is, this 7-inch decorated cake is sure to put a smile on mom’s face. Cakes starting at $29.95. The “covered flowers” pictured are $6 extra. Savage’s Bakery, 871-4901.

16. Your were her favorite Mother’s Day gift but this could be her second favorite-an oversized ladies’ high fashion Citizen-“Drive” watch, starting at $250. Shay’s Jewelers, 978-5880.

17. The mom who likes to entertain will love these large Fortunata platters.

They’re great for serving a crowd or used as a table centerpiece, $110 each. Tables & Contents.

18. All moms will feel pampered with the gift of a cleaner and healthier home. Call today for your mom’s gift certificate! THE MAIDS, 871-9338 or maids.com.

19. A beautiful, useful and thoughtful gift of a new sewing machine or embroidery machine is sure to please the mom who loves to sew. Sewing machines are $300$5,000 and embroidery machines are on sale for $1,500 with Monogram Wizard and $1,250 without. The Smocking Bird, 879-7662.

20. These enamel bangles in assorted colors, patterns and sizes will compliment all of mom’s springtime outfits, starting at $135. Bromberg’s, Mountain Brook, 871-3276 or The Summit, 969-1776.

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gift guide

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

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1. Whether for a patio, deck, front porch or kitchen, moms love big, beautiful and colorful hanging baskets. Available in a wide variety of colors and flowers.

Starting at $9.99. Andy’s, Vestavia Hills, 824-0233 and Hoover, 402-2639.

2. This “Home Is Where Your Mom Is” kitchen towel is sure to bring a smile to your mom’s face every time she sees it, $20. Marguerite’s Conceits, 879-2730.

3. What mom wouldn’t love these Aspiga handmade sandals? Handmade and hand-beaded in Kenya, fighting poverty through trade, $92. Available in a variety of colors and styles. A’Mano, 871-9093.

4. Help mom express her creative side with this CeCe Caldwell gift basket with the paint colors and finishes of her choice, $95. Private and group painting and finishing classes are also available.

Call for details. Fine & Funky Junk, 822-7273.

5. Any mom will appreciate the beauty and meaning behind Keozo bracelets

by Louise Abroms, made from genuine stones, $50. Snoozy’s Kids, 871-2662.

6. Let mom take over the grill for a fun home-cooked meal this summer.

This small JNR gas grill is just right for moms, $649. Alabama Gas Light & Grill, 870-4060.

7. Help mom create her own mini garden oasis this Mother’s Day with this hexagonal terrarium. The uniquely shaped terrarium is $64, unplanted.

Collier’s Nursery, 822-3133.

8. Your mom deserves to be pampered and she will love a gift of Bain de-luxe rosemary mint bodywash. $14.99 Interiors at Pepper Place, 323-2817.

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22 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

life

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

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1. This mini oil jar is sure to find a lot of uses in mom’s kitchen this spring.

The jars come in a variety of sizes and are perfect as planting containers for herbs or as unique storage containers for kitchen utensils, $36-$352. Elegant Earth at The Arbor, 251-0203.

2. Mom will look fashionable and stay cool in this embroidered sleeveless dress, available in White Cap and Blue Blazer, $178. Vineyard Vines, 9709758.

3. Mom will love the whimsy of these deco moss planters shaped like a shoe or a purse, $19.98. Classic Gardens & Landscape, Inc., 854-8001 4. Look at what’s new at WBU! We have a variety of nature-inspired gifts for that very important mother on your list. Check out our beautiful garden art poles, exclusive to WBU, in sizes from 20 inches to six feet, $49.99-$199.99.

Wild Birds Unlimited, 823-6500.

5. Mom will love the beautiful look and

aroma of Aquiesse Aesthetic Scent candles. These 11-ounce, soy-based candles come with a pedestal and burn for 100 hours, $36. Steed’s Jewelers, 802-9173.

6. Treat your mom to a day in the spa.

One size fits all, a gift certificate to Vitalogy Wellness Center is the perfect gift. Vitalogy Wellness Center, 4138599.

7. Mom will enjoy relaxing to the sound of the Affirmation Chime by Jen Dala. It was created by artists using reclaimed metal, beads and bells from Indonesia, $12-$24. a.k.a. Girl Stuff, 802-7735.

8. For the mom who loves to travel, these Cinda B handbags, totes, travel bags and accessories are perfect for Mother’s Day or graduation, starting at $15. Available in a variety of fabrics and patterns. The Blue Willow, 968-0909.

9. The gardening mom will love these garden gloves with thorn protection, starting at $19.99. Protect the hands

that cared for you. Hanna’s Garden Shop, 991-2939.

10. These fabulous totes and cosmetic bags will give mom a rich look and a convenient way to carry everything. The bags are by Royal Standard. Totes are $26.99 and cosmetic bags are $7.99.

Mongrams Plus, 822-3353.

11. ”Awake My Soul” paintings by Chris Barentz will be a cherished gift for Mother’s Day to be enjoyed all year long, starting at $8. Junky 2 Funky, 224-5514.

12. Mom will look and feel her best with this energizing eye cream that helps replenish elasticity and support collagen.

The Obaji Elastiderm Mother’s Day kit includes Elastiderm eye cream, eye serum and a jewelry case she will enjoy for years to come. $124.50, includes tax. Brookwood Dermatology, 8244441.

program pairs Samford students with developmentally delayed individuals for special events on and off campus, Williamson said.

The Bulldog Buddies attended a homecoming tailgate party on campus in the fall and will get together for a picnic this week.

“They’ll be going to a Barons baseball game, and there will be other events on campus,” Williamson said.

“The point is that people like my brother get to be on campus and have a feeling of that college experience.”

Bobby Schilli, left, and Hannah Illges share a laugh with Spike, the Samford University mascot, at the 2014 Dance for Downs. Photo special to the Journal

Fun on the Dance Floor

Festive Fundraiser Connects Developmentally Delayed with Their Community

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

More than 400 people kicked up their heels for a good cause at an April 4 event aimed at raising money for older teens and adults with developmental delays.

A crowd of dance-goers from the Exceptional Foundation in Homewood, the United Cerebral Palsy Center and the Horizon Center in Birmingham and members of Parents Advocate for Down Syndrome gathered at Samford University earlier this month for the third annual Dance for Downs.

The dance was started in 2012 by Vestavia Hills native and Samford University student Lindy Williamson.

Williamson said she started the fundraiser because she wanted to expand opportunities for older teens and adults with developmental delays, like her brother Jordan Williamson, 27.

“My brother has Down syndrome and there were tons of opportunities for him while he was in school, but when he turned 21, there just weren’t a lot of options for him,” Williamson said. “I knew other families must be dealing with the same thing.”

The first Dance for Downs was held May 8, 2012 after Williamson found out about the need to raise money for the programs at the UAB Adult Down Syndrome Clinic, one of the few clinics of its kind in the nation that serves those with Down syndrome starting at the age of 16.

When it came to thinking of a creative way to raise money for the clinic, the former Vestavia Hills High School Rebelette dancer said she didn’t have to look far for an idea.

“I’ve been dancing my whole life, and being around my brother and his friends, I knew that those with developmental delays love to dance just as

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 23

life

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

much as anyone else,” she said.

Williamson said she knew from the beginning that she wanted Dance for Downs to be more than just a fundraiser.

“I wanted to raise money for the clinic, but I also wanted to create an opportunity for the Birmingham community to comfortably interact with young men and women with developmental delays,” she said. “I decided that Dance for Downs could be a way to raise not only funds but to raise awareness.”

Williamson said she thinks there are a lot of students at Samford University and others in the Over the Mountain community who would like to help the cause but just aren’t sure how to lend a hand.

“This is about breaking down those barriers between the young people in our community and giving the college students a way to give back,” she said.

The first year of Dance for Downs, tickets were $1 at the door, and the event raised about $1,500 for the UAB Adult Down Syndrome Clinic. Last year, tickets were $5, and Williamson sold T-shirts and raised more than $5,500 to support programs for those with developmental delays.

This year, Williamson said, Samford University officials asked her how they could help with the event. The 2014 Dance for Downs was sponsored by the Samford University Office of Student Leadership and Engagement.

“They gave me an opportunity to put together a committee and really plan a great event this year,” she said.

Since the inaugural dance, Williamson said she’s been approached by several Samford students and others in the community who wanted to learn how to get involved during the rest of the year.

So this fall, Williamson launched Bulldog Buddies at Samford. The

Williamson said she hopes the Bulldog Buddies program leads to even more awareness and involvement between college students and those with developmental delays.

“I would love for this to be something that helps people develop lifelong friendships,” she said “Dance for Downs is for just one night, but this is something that could do good in the long term.”

The Bulldog Buddies program is not the only idea Williamson has for doing good in the long term.

The family studies major will graduate in May and hopes to someday open a program for adults with developmental delays in the Birmingham area.

“There’s a real need for more programs in our area because a lot of the places have long waiting lists and the need is just growing,” she said.

For more information on the Bulldog Buddies program, visit http:// samford.orgsync.com/SL_forms. For more information about Dance for Downs, visit dancefordowns.org. ❖

Samford Summer CampS Pat Sullivan Football CamPS High School Prospect Camp: June 7 7-on-7 Team Passing Camp: July 9 7-on-7 Team Passing Camp: July 10 High School Prospect Camp: July 11 High School Prospect Camp: July 12 Youth Camp: July 14–16

www.patsullivancamps.com

Women’S baSketball CamPS Fundamental Camp Session 1: June 2–5 College Prep Camp Session 1: June 6 College Prep Camp Session 2: June 7 Team Camp: June 9–12 Father/Daughter Camp: June 13–14 Fundamental Camp Session 2: Aug. 2–7

www.bulldoghoopcamps.com

nike tenniS CamP Session 1: June 9–13 Session 2: July 7–11

www.samfordsports.com 1-800-NIKE-CAMP

nike Junior golF CamP July 20–24

www.samfordsports.com 1-800-NIKE-CAMP

bulldog SoCCer CamP Day Camp Session 1: June 16–19 Day Camp Session 2: June 23–26 Residential Elite and Team Camp: July 23–26 Fundamental Camp Session 2: Aug, 2–7

www.bulldogsoccercamp.com Andy Stoots stoots@samford.edu • 205-726-4039

bennie Seltzer dex volleyball CamP boyS’ baSketball CamPS Middle School Camp 1: July 7 Fundamental Camp 1: June 16–19 Middle School Team Camp: June 20–21 Fundamental Camp 2: June 23–26 High School Team Camp: June 27–28

www.samfordsports.com Charles Newton cnewton1@samford.edu 205-726-4292

mandy burFord SoFtball CamPS

Session 1: June 9–11 Session 2: June 16–19 Session 3: June 23–25 www.collegesoftballcamps.com/samford

SWimming leSSonS Session 1: June 2–12, Mon.–Thurs.

Session 2: June 16–26, Mon.–Thurs.

Dollie Brice • dgbrice@samford.edu

Middle School Camp 2: July 8 Middle School Camp 3: July 9 Middle School Team Camp 1: July 7–9 High School Team Camp 1: July 10 High School Team Camp 2: July 11 High School Varsity/JV Play Day Camp: July 12 All Positions Evening Camp: July 13 All Positions Camp: July 14 Setter and Attacker Positions Camp: July 15

www.dexvolleyballcamps.com Matt Scott • mscott6@samford.edu 205-726-2969

CaSey dunn baSeball CamPS High School Team Camp: June 10–12 Youth Session 1: June 16–19 Youth Session 2: June 23–26 Youth Session 3: July 14–17 High School Spotlight Camp: July 21–July 23 Youth Session 4: July 28–31

www.samfordbaseballcamps.com

24 • Thursday, May 16, 2013

people

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

May Presentation: Ball of Roses Will Have Organic Garden Theme Sixty-eight young women will be presented at the annual Ball of Roses May 31 at the Country Club of Birmingham’s East Room.

The presentation will begin at 9 p.m.

The Ball of Roses is sponsored by the Ballet

Guild of Birmingham’s President Grace Long Kipp and Executive Vice President Rebecca Morris Wise.

This year, the Ball of Roses celebrates its 54th anniversary and continues to serve as a vital fund-

raiser for the Alabama Ballet. Ball Chairman Mary Bradley Hosch Anderson and Co-Chairman Sarah Norville Peinhardt have collaborated with Carole Sullivan of Lagniappe Designs on a colorful palette and organic garden theme for the ball décor. ❖

Catherine Elizabeth Allen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Elliott Allen

Ann Popwell Anthony, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Brantley Anthony

Olivia Hancock Bailey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ryburn Hancock Bailey Jr.

Elizabeth Leacy Bromberg, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gene Marshall Bromberg

Virginia Morgan Brown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Davis Mikiel Brown

Cornelia Macfarlane Buchanan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Douglas Buchanan

Catherine McKenzie Burton, daughter of Mrs. James Robert Burton III and the late Mr. Burton

Lauren Claire Carmichael, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Troy Carmichael

Elizabeth Mason Cobb, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Long Cobb

Elizabeth Douglass Corey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglass Corey

Alison Chapman Creighton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alan Langley Creighton

Lindsey Marie Crocker, daughter of Ms. Camille Fuller Crocker and Mr. Jimmy Dale Crocker

Rebecca Lee Crowther, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Seawright Crowther III

Morgan Prescott Crumbaugh, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Chalmers Crumbaugh III

Daphne Macon Culp, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Newton Culp III

Hinton Claire Daily, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Robert Daily Jr.

Mary Patricia Damrich, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Reynolds Jr. and Dr. David Brown Damrich

Caroline Addison Drew, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Livingston Drew

Elizabeth Lyons Durkee, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rucker Agee Durkee

Elizabeth Vaughn Edwards, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Lee Edwards

Sarah Frances Roberts French, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Paul French

Sarah Elizabeth Frese, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bernard Frese

Margaret Anne Fuller, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alan Carl Fuller

Mary Baker Garrett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bryan Garrett

Alison Bradford Gorrie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Magnus James Gorrie

Laura Ladd Graves, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Steven Graves

Elizabeth Pride Hargrove, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John William Hargrove

Merrill Grace Hartline, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Alan Hartline

Margaret Anne Hendry, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Charles Hendry

Eugenia Ann Dabney Hofammann, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Karl Emil Hofammann III

Mary Claire Hunter, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Harris Hunter

Katherine Quinn Keller, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hunter L. Keller III

Eugenia Alston Knipp, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Allen Knipp

Evelyn Jennings Lewis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Hatfield Lewis

Virginia Lane Little, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Penfield Little

Elizabeth Ryan Lucas, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Patrick Lucas

Virginia Evans Luckie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas George Luckie

Kathryn Cook McCollum, daughter of Mrs. Tina McCollum and Mr. David Cook McCollum

Caroline Carter Given, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Perry Given Jr.

Katherine Cross Jordan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Randall Willard Jordan

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Mary Claire Miller, daughter of Ms. Nancy Morgan Miller and Mr. Hawton Price Miller

Mary Schilleci Morris, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Howard Morris

Katharine Forrester Patton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald White Patton

Elizabeth Larsen Pratt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Walker Pratt

Madeline Ann Reich, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Raymond Reich

Mathilde Stafford Mulkin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathon Pearce Mulkin

Hanna Phillips Nall, daughter of Mrs. Sara Phillips Nall and Mr. James Wallace Nall III

Jane Elizabeth Leatherbury Nechtman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Miles Williams and Dr. and Mrs. Carl Nechtman Jr.

Margaret Anne Brugh Price, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Price III

Mary Adeline Leslie Ragland, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ragland and Mr. and Mrs. John Hall

Sarah Elizabeth Ratliff, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Acker Ratliff

Anna Sharp, daughter of Ms. Lisa Smith Sharp and Mr. Glenn D. Sharp

Mary Catherine Sheffield, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Mathew Vinson Sheffield

Charlotte Allison Sinor, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Jackson Sinor Jr.

Leila Elizabeth Leftwich Smith, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Roger Smith

Margaret Elizabeth Winfield Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Thomas Smith

Wanda Claire Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lee Smith Jr.

Lucy Josephine Sprain, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Henry Sprain Jr.

Julia Bynum Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gene Wilson Stewart Jr.

Julia Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Brian Roth and Mr. Merrill Harpe Stewart Jr.

Patricia Lawrence Stutts, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Gillis Stutts

Marie Louise Tucker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Alan Tucker

Katherine Shields Tynes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ingram Dickinson Tynes

Eugenia Maddox Watkins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Warner Sutphen Watkins III

Emily Alice Yearout, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Gusty Yearout

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 25

The Original

Hipanema Bracelets now available at furniture • pottery • glass

Mon. - Fri. 9:30aM - 5pM • Sat. 10aM - 4pM Mountain Brook 2707 Culver Road • 871.9093

26 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 27

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Cooked with Love

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Tracy’s Restaurant “I was fortunate because with my mom being Greek, she loved to cook all types of great food and we had three home-cooked meals a day,” said owner Jimmy Tracy, left, with his mother Irene. “If I had to pick a favorite recipe it would be my mom’s Greek baked chicken.”

“When mom visits my restaurant one of her top favorites is my squash casserole. It’s a great recipe, check it out at facebook.com/tracysfinefood.”

Mountain Brook Restaurateurs Share Their Moms’ Favorite Recipes

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Olexa’s

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Bongiorno

“My favorite thing my mother made growing up was of course, her fabulous buttercreme cakes,” said Olexa’s owner Diane Olexa with her mother Marilyn Olexa, above. “She made wedding cakes and goodies for friends so there was always a treat when we came home from school. Today we have customers drive from states away to enjoy our warm buttercreme cake!

“All of the recipes at the cafe are my mother’s. She is a fabulous foodie.

My favorite salad is the walnut and goat cheese with pesto, olive tapenade and caramelized walnuts!”

“Growing up, the aneletti pasta alforno was my favorite. My mom’s favorite recipe from our restaurant is the fettuccine alla campanula,” said Francesca Magnolia, seated above left with her mom Abigail and other members of her family standing from left, Oswaldo, Monia, Maria and Agustin.

68 Church St, crestline village • 879-5947 bongiornoitalianrestaurant.com

2838 Culver Rd, Mountain Brook village • 871-2060 olexas.com

75 church street, crestline village • 803-3005

Chez lulu

Sponsored by Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce

“My favorite dish growing up was one passed down to my mom from my Czech grandmother: chicken fricassee,” said owner Carole Griffin, above. It was the epitome of comfort food--tender chicken in a creamy sauce speckled with paprika, served over buttered egg noodles.”

“My mother’s favorite dish at Chez Lulu is our Red Pepper Farci... or stuffed red pepper, a French dish with a Spanish twist. In it, sweet peppers are stuffed with a simple mix of chick peas, rice, tomatoes and Emmentaler cheese, and served over a warm Romesco salsa. I know she loves it because she orders it every time she eats at the restaurant,” Griffin said.

1909 Cahaba Rd, English Village • 870-5584 chezlulu.us

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avo “My mother made the best fried chicken, better even than my two grandmothers’ versions, though admittedly my mom’s version was her mom’s. However, she said frying chicken after so many years was just too hard and, like most restaurants and many home cooks, gave it up years ago. But hers was top of the line,” said owner Tom Sheffer, above.

“We use her buttermilk biscuit recipe as the inspiration for our biscuits at Dram, but I’ll have to check with both her and the chef to see if they’d be willing to share it.”

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Ollie Irene

“My favorite recipe growing up was chocolate pie. Our family chocolate pie recipe was passed down from my father’s mother, Ollie Irene, to my mother, Sherry,” said Ollie Irene owner, Chris Newsom with his mother Sherry, above. “My mom made it for special occasions, but also for anyone who needed a little pick-me-up throughout the year. It’s TLC in a pie crust. It’s the same chocolate pie we have on the menu at Ollie Irene, the only recipe on the menu that comes from my family.

“My mother doesn’t have one favorite stand-by on our menu, rather she likes to taste anything new, and any specials we do. Our chocolate pie recipe is available on our website at ollieirene.com,” Newsom said.

2713 Culver Rd, Mountain Brook village • 769-6034

2721 Cahaba Rd, Mountain Brook Village • 871-8212 avorestaurant.com

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Vino

“My favorite recipe, growing up was a cold soup my Mom made from her homemade yogurt, mint and rose peddles on top. This soup which we feature during summer months at Vino is very refreshing,” said Vino owner, Al Rabiee, above.

“Our grouper fennel with grape leaves is a recipe from my mom which we sell quite a bit at the restaurant. We pan roast grouper with fennel, orzo pasta, artichoke hearts, mix in fresh grape and baby spinach leaves all in a very light white wine lemon sauce with grated Parmesan on top,” Rabiee said.

1930 Cahaba Rd, english village • 870-8404 vinobirmingham.com

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urban cookhouse

“My mom is Italian, so my favorite is definitely her baked ziti.

The made from scratch sauce is the key,” said Andrea Snyder with her husband David, owners and their daughter Dylan, left.

“The brown sugar brownies at urban cookhouse are David’s mom’s recipe. They are so good and addictive,” Snyder said.

212 Country Club Park, crestline village • 803-3535 urbancookhouse.com

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Davenport’s Pizza Palace

“My mom made so many good things that it is hard to pick but my favorite would probably be her buttermilk cookies,” said Heather Norris, above right with a photo of her mom.

“My favorite recipe of my mom’s was her authentic Mexican rice-made on taco night, of course. This recipe was passed down from my grandmother, whose picture Heather is holding, so it was not only delicious but the flavor brings back family memories,” said Amanda Thames, above left with a photo of her mom.

2837 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook village • 879.8603 davenportspizza.com

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Church Street Coffee & Books

“Growing up, my favorite recipe of my mom’s was her homemade Oreo ice cream. My mom’s favorite recipe that we serve here is the treehugger bar,” said owner Cal Morris, left.

81 Church St, crestline village 870-1117 facebook.com/ churchstreetcoffee‎

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Taco Mama

“All of the people in my family are excellent cooks and they don’t like to give out their recipes! My favorite of my Mom’s was her potato salad,” said owner Will Haver, left.

63 Church St, crestline village 414-9314 tacomamaonline.com

Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe

“My Mom made the best cornbread dressing! And she had an awesome recipe for giblet gravy, too. Plus her mac and cheese was great and she would serve all of that on all of our special occassions and holidays,” said Taziki’s founder Keith Richards, left.

“She had a lot of favorites at Taziki’s but our Salmon Feast was probably the one she liked the best. We’re putting the recipe up on our new website this week.”

2737 Hwy 280, Mountain Brook • 870-0455 tazikiscafe.com

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Dyron’s Lowcountry

“My favorite recipe of my mom’s was her chocolate gravy and buttered biscuits. We always had it on Sundays. I serve it in the restaurant for Sunday brunch,” said Dyron’s Lowcountry owner Dyron Powell, above.

121 Oak St, crestline village • 834-8257 dyronslowcountry.com

28 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Golf for a Good Cause Memorial Tournament Supports Mission Trips

A

Above: From left: John Lipsey, Hall Barricklow, Gayle Meyers, Roy Ennis, Steve Prevatte, Grant Barryman, Jeff Moore and Jeff Gentry. right: Julia Meyers and Taylor Hughes. below: Marcie Peters, Blair Beauttas and Tori Lemke.

Photos special to the Journal

and Marea Ennis, Ryan Coleman, Ryan Lutz, Ryan golf tournament to help support medical mission Quinn, Ryan Roddam, Scott Simpler, Stacey Elliott, trips to Haiti was held in April at Highland Golf Stephen Prevatte, Steven Denson, Taylor Hughes, Terry Course.

Humber, Trey Fitzpatrick, Turner May, Wade Warren, The second annual Paul Meyers Memorial Golf Walker May and Will Northcutt.

Tournament not only offered night golf but extended the Non-golfers attending included Jennifer Adkins, celebration to non-golfers with a band party and silent aucMadeline Adams and Pete Bine, Joseph and Liz Bolen, tion.

Jo and Lynell Bolen, Carrie Bonds and Josh Lard, The event kicked off with a putting contest won by Bonds and Chris Rodriguez, Austin and Melissa Bonds, Taylor Hughes, who received a Coach leather portfolio and Belk gift card.

After golfers played the first nine holes, they joined other party guests for barbecue catered by Saw’s and beverages donated by Good People, Piggly Wiggly, Buffalo Rock and Milo’s.

While the players returned to play the second nine holes of glow-in-the-dark golf, the rest of the crowd enjoyed music from the Low Down Dirties and a silent auction with designer items from Tory Burch, Rebecca Minkoff and Louis Vuitton; art from local painter Madeline Adams; a Bob Dylan portrait from famed painter Lamar Sorrento; and weekend trips, including a VIP trip to a St. Louis Cardinals game.

After golf concluded, guests voted on a danceoff competition to determine the Best-dressed Team. Steve Prevatte, Hall Barricklow, Jeff Gentry and Joy Ennis won the title while dancing to music provided by DJ Ron Awesome and Lee Rives, Lindsey Joe and Leslie Culpepper. received matching bowties from Vineyard Vines for their accomplishment.

Jim and Debbie Bonds, Ben Brannon, Ben and Leslie After golf scores were finalized, the winning team of Culpepper, Joey and Laura Ann Daly, Ben Daly, Kate Don Morrison, Rick Ebben, Steve Denson and Andrew Daniels, Michael, Margie and Van Allen Davidson, Virciglio was awarded gift baskets by Margie Davidson Butch and Jackie Davidson, Prudy Davis, Julia Davis, and Julia Meyers. Prize baskets included gourmet foods Frank Davis, David Dutton and Julia Vines, Sandy and beverages and gift certificates to local restaurants Floud, Martha Foster, Jeff and Rachel Gentry, Hayden Brick and Tin, El Barrio and The Ridge.

Hanan, Chris and Kathryn Head, Brian and Samantha The top team also received the Paul Meyers Memorial Kelly, Allison Kersten, Barrow Kettig, George and Mint Julep Cup. Lynda Long, Katey McDuffie, Laura Mendez, Gayle As the celebration came to an end, lanterns were Meyers, Julia Meyers, Jeff and Zanna Meyers, Betty released from the golf course in memory of the tournaLou Meyers, Sam and Lyndsey Mooney, David Mooney, ment’s honoree, Paul Meyers.

Mary Moore and Brett LaBrecque, Mark and Lee Golfers participating in the tournament included Alan McDaniel, Allen Steger, Andy Brindley, Blake Gilchrist, Rives, Rob and Lindsey Sway, Lora Terry, Paula Vann, Rett and Rebecca Walden, Kristina Wilburn, Todd and Brandon and Tori Lemke, Brett Macdonald, Brett Jennifer Wood, Gene and Carol Wood, Leach Satcher, Ostronic, Brett Wallace, Casey Neal, Clint Murphy, Rob and Laura Senn, Shaun and Melissa Yan, Maty, David and Ginger Lightburn, David Golbraith, Don Rachel and Elizabeth Grace Vickery and Beverly Morrison, Erick Anderton, Forrest Burch, Hall Zekoff.

Barricklow, James and Anna Underwood, Jamey All proceeds from the golf tournament will benefit the Freeman, Jarrod Jackson, Jarrod Walls, Jason Paul Meyers Foundation and be used to support medical McDuffie, Jeff Moore, Jerry Shelly, Jesse Kelly, Jim mission trips to Haiti. While donations continue to come Powell, Joe Brindley, Joe Paul Moore, Joel Harris, in, this year’s tournament has already raised $14,000 for John Lipsey, Josh Elam, Marcie Peters, Matt Shuleva, the foundation.

Matthew Michael, Michael and Alison Garibaldi, For more information on the Paul Meyers Foundation, Michael Fry, Michael Humber, Michael Kline, visit www.Golf4Paul.com. ❖ Michael Thomason, Michael Wade, Rick Ebben, Roy

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 29

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Fashion and Faith

My kids think I work hard to get them the best gifts and they are so grateful.

Briarwood Hosts ‘Fun Fashionista’

Fashion and faith came together at a recent event at Briarwood Presbyterian Church.

The Fashion Meets Faith event was held at the church April 11.

The event featured Christian speaker and fabulously fun fashionista Shari Braendel.

Braendel took the 400 women and girls attending the event through a list of fashion tips, explaining why it is important for them to dress the body God gave them.

Braendel warned that some women should stay away from black and begged others to throw away their “mom” jeans. She also shared practical take-home techniques on how to Shari Braendel look your best by utilizing fashion advice and image secrets.

I actually just go to Snoozy's Garage Sale every year and let Snoozy's do all the work.

I get the best gifts at the best prices.

With Snoozy's help there is no hard work to it.

Silly kids.

Above: From left: Jenna Rose White, Brittany White, Kate Adcock and Meagan Snow. below: Holly Hollon and Kathleen Cook. Photos special to the Journal

Those attending said they were inspired to new levels of confidence thanks to Braendel’s presentation.

The evening ended with Braendel sharing her inspiring message and testimony.

Those attending included Holly Hollon, Kathleen Cook, Jenna Rose White, Brittany White, Kate Adcock, Meagan Snow, Elizabeth Ellerbee and Julie Elmer.

For more about Braendel, visit www.fashionmeetsfaith.com. ❖

GaraGe Sale Fri ., M ay 2n d & Sat., M ay 3rd

more photos at

OTMJ.COM

When it's time for birthday or graduation gifts, or any type of gift, hit the Snooze button. Wrapped, ready, done- and you can get back to the things you enjoy.

Happy Kids, Happy Mommy.

To: George Jones, 933-2229 From: Over the Mountain Journal 823-9646 ph, 824-1246 fax Date: april

This is your ad proof for the May 1st issue of OTMJ. Please contact your sales representative as soo your ad or make changes. You may fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

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Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

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Left: From left: Valerie Ramsbacher, Anne Russell, Emily Amberson and Jennifer Sanders. below: Patty Jones, Carol Maxwell, Barbara Jones and Cyndi Huerkamp.

Photos special to the Journal

Ladies’ Night

‘Broadway Babes’ Turn out for Party

A recent Literacy Council event gave those attending a fabulous ladies’ night out for a good cause.

The third annual Girlfriend Gala was held April 3 at Old Car Heaven.

The event featured over-the-top table decoraWesley tions, costumes and plenty of people kicking up their heels. m: Over the Mountain Journal Corporations and individuals worked together 823-9646 ph, 824-1246 fax to decorate tables that brought to life this year’s e: April 2014 theme, Broadway Babes, said Literacy Council President Executive Director Beth Wilder. is your ad proof for May 1, 2014 OTMJ Please contact your sales representative as soon as possible toand approve your ad or “The table decorations are what really make make changes. You may fax approval or changes to 824-1246. this event unique. We had a huge opera mask for Please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number! our ‘Phantom of the Opera’ table. The ‘Wicked’ table had witches’ hats hanging from the ceiling.

Plus the costumes were fabulous,” Wilder said.

Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

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King,’ ‘Grease,’ ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Hairspray.’

Thank you for your prompt attention. We love how the community has embraced this event and made it so much fun.”

Park South Plaza • 1425 Montgomery Hwy., Suite 111 The evening kicked off with performances by the Red Mon.-Fri. 9:30 - 5:30 • Sat. 10-3 Mountain Theater. Mistress of ceremonies Sarah Verser (205) 822-9173 from Fox 6 along with a DJ kept the excitement going.

The girlfriends were treated to a taste of New York from George Sarris’ Yellow Bicycle catering company.

Raffle prizes included a Regions green bike, paintings, jewelry and a set of signed first edition books.

In the Levy’s Fine Jewelry Diamond Drop, one lucky guest was revealed as the winner of the diamond among 74 other potential winners. George Sarris gave away a To: 822-9163 lobster dinner for 10 to be specially prepared at his Fish

From: Date:

Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 FAX: 205-824-1246 April 2014

Market restaurant.

“We had a blast,” said Literacy Council board member Alison Scott. “But most of all, my friends and I loved that this was more than a party. It was an opportunity to support the wonderful work the Literacy Council does in our community teaching adults to read and speak English.”

The 2014 Girlfriend Gala committee members were Emily Amberson, Mia Cowan, Leslie Doyle, Julie Ellis, Ann Forney, Patti Callahan-Henry, Virginia Patterson, Lee Ann Petty, Madeline Reiss, Kenyatta Stovall and Susan Swagler.

Plans are already underway for Girlfriend Gala 2015.

To be part of the Girlfriend Gala committee or get on the list to attend next year, call the Literacy Council at 3261925. ❖

Gaieties Gathering This is your ad proof from the over the mountain Journal for the

Club Greets Spring with Annual Coffee may 1, 2014 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Members of the Gaieties Club welplease make sure all information is correct, comed spring with an event at the including address and phone number! home of one of its members.

The Gaieties Club Spring Coffee

was held at the home of Barbara 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, Sandner recently. your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday. The dining room table was filled

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with a variety of roses surrounded by a cornucopia of tea sandwiches, fruit, cheese, cookies, brownies and vegetable dips.

Club President Jackie MacClary presided at the business meeting.

Other officers are Becky Bates, vice president; Joyce Lott, recording secretary; Carolyn Featheringill, corresponding secretary; Sandra Oden, treasurer; Bette Owen, assis-

From left: Barbara Sandner, Joyce Lott and Edith Medley.

Photo special to the Journal

tant treasurer; and Brownie Evans, parliamentarian. Doris White is publicity chairman, and Cheryl Williams is yearbook chairman.

Nominating committee members Edith Medley and Ann Baker presented the slate of officers for the 2014-2015 club year. They are Becky Bates, president; Judy Feagin, vice president; Shelley Clark, corresponding secretary; Evie Varre, recording secretary; Bette Owen, treasurer; and Barbara Baird, assistant treasurer.

Membership chairman Virginia Tucker announced that Nan Carter, Marie Cole and Dottie Kent would be invited to membership.

Others attending the spring meeting were Mary Elizabeth Conaway, June Eagan, Tootie Fash, Janie Henderson, June Henderson, Lynne Hennessey, Gerry Gillespie, Linda Sue Johnson, Jane Leslie, Dana McCarn, Helen Pittman and Betty Tully. ❖

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Going Green

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Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 31

Shamrock Shindig Benefits Arc

From left: Sam Hill, Lindsay Handey, Jonathan Handey and Gretchen Lynn.

Trisha and Rick Humphrey.

Above Left: Brooks Greene and Megan Wetherbee. Above right: Andrew Curtis, Coby Lake, Andy Svarney and Jonathan Handey. Photos special to the Journal

More than 300 people showed their Irish spirit--and their support for a good cause--at a fundraising event at Avondale Brewery this spring.

The Arc of Jefferson County Junior Board hosted the second annual Shamrock Shindig March 14 at the Birmingham brewery.

The event raised more than $11,000 for the Arc of Jefferson County, which supports people with intellectual disabilities through day, employment, residential and early intervention programs.

The event featured food from Rusty’s BBQ and drinks from Avondale Brewery. DJ Mark Goldstein provided dance music.

Those attending got to show off their green and St. Patrick’s Day-themed outfits at the photo booth. There was also a grand prize drawing.

Those attending the event included Renee Bond, Derek Bond, Chris Duke, Wanda Lee, Marcella Kent, Natalie Ludwig, Kelvin Johnson and Shunetta Johnson.

Also spotted were Sam Hill, Lindsay Handey, Jonathan Handey, Gretchen Lynn, Andrew Curtis, Andy Svarney and Amanda Marcrum.

Other guests included Scarlet Thompson, Jennifer Lawes, Trick Humphrey, Rick Humphrey, Brooks Greene and Megan Wetherbee. ❖

Sale, Sale, Sale

After 54 yeArs, Last CaLL! we will close our

EvErything doors in MAy.

40% 60% OFF SaleS -Starting at Doors Closing 30% off WEdnEsday May 21 for more information please Call mike wedgworth: 205.365.4344

THANK THANK YOU YOU FOR FOR MAKING MAKING THE THE PAST 12 YEARS SO SPECIAL! PAST 12 YEARS SO SPECIAL!

1829 1829 29th 29th Ave. Ave. So. So. •• Homewood Homewood •• 870-8110 870-8110 www.shophomewood.com www.shophomewood.com

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Annual Dorm Bedding Sale May 12th May 24th

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Tea and Tablescapes

Canterbury UMW Event Includes Food, Fashion Show

20% Off

in stock & special order bedding

2406 Canterbury road • Mtn. brook Village • 879.2730

To: Marguerite From: Over the Mountain Journal 823-9646 ph, 824-1246 fax Date: April 2014

Those attending a recent fundraiser in Mountain Brook had a chance to see beautifully decorated tables and sample Southern-style snack food.

The Canterbury United Methodist Church’s United Methodist Women held its Tea and Tablescapes fundraiser April 6.

Event officials said the fundraising goal was met to help UMW continue to support local and international charities for women, youth and children.

Those attending the Tea and Tablescapes event could bid on silent auction items and browse the offerings in the cash and carry room. All items were donated by local artists, merchants and church members.

During the tea, guests got a closeup look at the tablescapes created by UMW members.

Becky Rollins, Martha Davis and Madelon Rushing.

The event also included an upbeat fashion show presented by Shoefly of Homewood.

The food for the tea was prepared

by Canterbury’s on-staff caterer, Debbie Lofton. The Southern-style snack foods included banana bread, pimento cheese sandwiches, chocolate sugar cookies, almond bar cookies,

Photo special to the Journal

chicken salad tarts and sweet tea.

Organizers said they are looking forward to next year’s event.

Those attending this year’s event include Andrea Gage, who modeled fashions from Shoefly, Bronwyne Chapman, Allison Litton, Kelly Robicheaux, Natalie Towery, Becky Rollins and Madelon Rushing. ❖

This is your ad proof for May 1, 2014 OTMJ Please contact your sales representative as soon as possible to approve your ad or make changes. You may fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

First Light Fundraiser

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

Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

Gala Raises Money for Birmingham Shelter

If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the friday before the press date, your ad will run as is.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

Organizers of the annual First Light Gala made so many changes to the event this year that they had to change the name.

The 2014 First Light Gala Remix was held April 5 at Old Car Heaven.

With the theme “Homeward Bound: Support the Journey,” the 16th annual event helped raise money to support First Light, the community’s only shelter accessible to women and their children 24 hours a day.

Organizers said they selected this year’s theme because proceeds from the gala will support First Light programs that empower homeless women to overcome barriers to independence and self-sufficiency and help them provide stable homes for themselves and their children.

Darri Scott and Melissa Brisendine were co-chairmen of the event, which was planned and coordinated by volunteers.

An ice sculpture by Chef David Bromley Ice Sculptures and the First Light Sunrise signature drink help set the festive mood.

Jamie Sandford, vice president of First Light’s board of directors, was master of ceremonies.

Friends of First Light enjoyed food by Iz Catering and beverages donated by Robert Mondavi Winery, Cathead Vodka and Good People Brewing Company.

Downright provided music.

A program featuring a performance by Martha’s Troubles and Wynter Byrd’s photography helped remind guests about First Light’s important work to proJamie Sandford, master of vide hospitality and ceremonies.

Above: From left: Mark and Cindy Coyle and Blair Sandford. below: Debbie McCorquodale and Nancy Skinner. Photos special to the Journal

hope.

Those attending include Debbie McCorquodale, Nancy Skinner, James Phillips, Carolyn King, Laurie Brantley, Marilyn Gross, Mark Coyle, Cindy Coyle, Blair Sandford and Marva May. ❖

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 33

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Aldridge Gardens Art Event

Mother's Day is May 11th

Reception Honors Alabama’s Nall

Above: From left: Tynette Lynch, Nall and Roy Hockman. below: Debbie Sellers, Patricia and Richard Ryel. Photos special to the Journal

A single-named Alabama artist whose work has earned worldwide attention recently had a reception in Hoover.

Aldridge Gardens hosted a Meet the Artist Reception for Nall March 27 at the Lorna Road gardens.

Born in Troy, Nall studied at the University of Alabama and the Ecole Nationale Superiore de Beaux in Paris and was mentored

by Salvador Dali. Known internationally, he has a reputation for his sprawling body of work in many mediums.

Nall has studios in Fairhope, Monaco and Vence, France. He has pieces in permanent collections at the Pompidou Center in Paris and at other major museums.

His clients include Prince Albert of Monaco, actress Catherine Deneuve and Ringo Starr. He curated works in Renaissance Marriot Hotels throughout Alabama.

About 200 people attended the reception in Hoover. Aldridge Gardens officials said several pieces of artwork were sold.

Asian Rim catered the food for the reception.

The Nall exhibit will be at Aldridge Gardens in the Eddie and Kay Aldridge Art and Historical Collections Museum through June 2. For more information, visit aldridgegardens.com.

Those attending the reception included Aldridge Gardens chief executive officer Tynette Lynch and Roy Hockman, owner of Asian Rim. Others attending included Danielle George, Jennifer Gregory, Deb Elliott, Debbie Sellers, Patricia Ryel, Richard Ryel and Ken Jackson. ❖

For over 90 years, Levy’s has been Birmingham's Specialist in Antique and Estate Jewelry as well as Fine Diamonds, Art and Antiques.

2116 2nd Avenue North • (205) 251-3381

www.levysfinejewelry.com

To: From: Date:

Jennifer Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 FAX: 205-824-1246 April 2014

This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiN JOu May 1, 2014 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 8

Please make sure all information is correct, including ad

NOW OPEN!

Please initial and fax back within 24 hou

if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run

Thank you for your prompt attention

Open Everyday Until 7:00 pm No appointment necessary

Now open on Highway 31 in Hoover right beside Golden Rule Bar-B-Q.

MC

MedCenter HooveR

Urgent Care • Walk-In Clinic

1575 Montgomery Highway • Hoover, AL 35216

205-822-1150

34 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

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Framed Antique One of a kind pearls....

Prints & Maps for your one of a kind

Sale

MOM!

25%-50% Off Now through May 15th

Arceneaux Gallery 802-5800 • Tues. - Sat. 10-5 SoHo Square Homewood (Some exclusions)

Charles A. “Scotty� McCallum Jr., a former dentist, educator, president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a two-term mayor of Vestavia Hills, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the event.

McCallum is joined by his sons at the event, from left: Phillip, Chris, Scott, Chip and Alex McCallum.

Good Citizens Chosen

Share your party pics!

Leadership Vestavia Hills Honors Individuals, Group

Rooms & Rooms of Antiques Curiosities & Fun!!

Leadership Vestavia Hills hosted its 25th annual Citizens of the Year banquet March 6.

The event at Vestavia Hills Country Club recognized individuals and groups who make signifiHANNA cant contributions to Vestavia Hills 2424 ANTiquEs MAll 7th Ave. So. MON-SAT through volunteerism, generosity, 323-6036 10:00-5:00 fundraising and lifetime service.

2424 MON-SAT Charles A. “Scotty�

7th Ave. So. 10:00-5:00 323-6036 McCallum Jr., a former dentist, educator, president of the University of Alabama at looking back Birmingham and a two-term mayor growing forward of Vestavia Hills, received the CELEBRATING 50 YEARS Lifetime Achievement Award at the event.

1963 2013 McCallum wasn’t the only years Vestavia Hills resident with UAB ties honored at the banquet.

To: 323-6014 The Distinguished Citizen went to Ronald D. Alvarez, From: Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 FAX:Award 205-824-1246 a professor, director and vice chairDate: April man and the Ellen Gregg Shook Culverhouse Chair atfor UAB. This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiN JOurNAl the Alvarez, who worked under May 1, 2014 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

McCallum when he was president

kdrexel@ otmj.com

50

FLICKS AMONGST THE F L WE R S

May 16, 2014 Please make sure all information is correct, 7:30 p.m. including address and phone number!

Dr. Ronnie Alvarez and his wife Denise Alvarez.

at UAB, is nationally recognized as a leader in ovarian cancer and cervical cancer research.

The Citizens of the Year Award was presented to Cooking with Cancer, a nonprofit organization founded by Luis Pineda. Pineda, a

physician, researches and develops recipes for cancer patients and their families and has compiled a cookbook of the recipes that he gives to any cancer patient who requests a copy. Thus far, Pineda has given away about 25,000 cookbooks to cancer patients around the world.

Leadership Vestavia Hills board members and Citizen of the Year committee members at the banquet included Kelly Botcher, Rebecca Olsen, Mary Ann Appling, Robin Morgan, Laurie Borland, Ann Hamiter, Lisa Christopher and Penny Lewelyn.

Denise Alvarez, the wife of Ronnie Alvarez, was also at the event along with McCallum family members Phillip, Chris, Scott, Chip and Alex McCallum. Diane Pineda, the wife of Luis Pineda, attended the banquet with the couple’s daughter, Alaine Pineda.

The Vestavia Hills Belles greeted those attending the annual banquet. â?–

gates open at 6 p.m.

Please initial and fax back within 24 hours. te if we Dahave enot heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, •

y Th your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday. njo E n ht i ens you for your Nig ardThank G Formal Garden

prompt attention.

in front of Conservatory

FREE ADMISSION Don’t forget your blanket.

Make it a date night or bring a group of friends! *Sorry, no pets, outside food or alcoholic beverages allowed.

PRESENTED BY

bbgardens.org

Diane Pineda, Alaina Pineda and Dr. Luis Pineda.

Leadership Vestavia Hills board members and Citizen of the Year committee members include, front, from left: Ann Hamiter, Lisa Christopher and Penny Lewelyn. Back: Kelley Botcher, Rebecca Olsen, Mary Ann Appling, Robin Morgan and Laurie Borland.

Taylor-Gray

The Rev. and Mrs. Braden Eugene Taylor of Birmingham announce the engagement of their daughter, Christina Hope Taylor, to Aaron Douglas Gray, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gary Douglas Gray of Birmingham.

The bride-elect is the granddaugh-

Wallace-Patton

Mr. and Mrs. William Marshall Wallace of Midland, Texas, announce the engagement of their daughter, Amelia Noble Wallace, to James Richard Patton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Early Patton of Vestavia Hills.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mrs. Joe Thomas Wallace and

Haywood-Mahaffey

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Anthony Odom Sr. and Mr. and Mrs. David Stewart Haywood of Homewood announce the engagement of their daughter, Lindsey Katherine Haywood, to Benjamin Edward Mahaffey, son of Ms. Leigh Mahaffey and Mr. and Mrs. Gary Steven Mahaffey of Dallas.

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 35

Weddings & Engagements

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

ter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Schofield Taylor of Dawsonville, Ga., and Dr. and Mrs. Hayes Richard Bryan of Anacortes, Wash.

Miss Taylor is a 2008 graduate of Briarwood Christian High School and a 2012 cum laude graduate of the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She is employed as a nurse at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.

The prospective groom is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Glenn Gray of Cahaba Heights and Mrs. E. C. Overton of Ensley and the late Mr. Overton.

Mr. Gray is the 2006 salutatorian of Chilton County High School and a 2010 summa cum laude, university honors scholar graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in management information systems.

He is a freelance web developer in Birmingham.

The wedding will be May 24. the late Mr. Wallace of Llano, Texas, and the late Mr. and Mrs. William Stephen Gesell of Midland.

Miss Wallace is a 2007 honor graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications studies and was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She is self-employed and manages musical artists in Los Angeles.

The prospective groom is the grandson of Mrs. Gregory Richard Cashio and the late Mr. Cashio of Birmingham and the late Mr. and Mrs. James William Patton Jr. of Bessemer.

Mr. Patton is a 2006 graduate of the University of Alabama, where he received a bachelor’s degree in communication and information sciences and was a member of Theta Chi fraternity. He is employed as a staff writer for Comedy Central in Los Angeles.

The wedding will be May 31 in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gene Woodfin of Slapout and Ms. Faye Barrett of Millbrook as well as the late Mr. and Mrs. James Park Haywood and Mrs. Martha Haywood of Birmingham.

Miss Haywood is a cum laude graduate of Auburn University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. She is a kindergarten teacher at Shades Cahaba Elementary School.

The prospective groom is the grandson of the late Mr. James Handey and Mrs. Ester Handey of Montgomery and Mr. and Mrs. Tom McCarthy and the late Mr. Buddy Mahaffey of Birmingham.

Mr. Mahaffey is a graduate of the Auburn University College of Business. He was a member of Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity, where he served as president. He is employed with APEX Systems.

The wedding will be June 14 at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church.

Sullivan-Thomas

Stephanie Leanne Sullivan and

Michael Lyn Thomas were married May 18, 2013 at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church. The Rev. Jack Redfern Jr. performed the ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gary Stephen Sullivan of Hartselle. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Lee Thomas of Vestavia Hills.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride was attended by Kristy Pevahouse as maid of honor.

Bridesmaids were Anna Lee Thomas, sister of the groom; Lytha Stover, Tonya Arnold and Heather Olive, sisters of the bride; and Karlie Berard.

Adlee Crawford, niece of the bride, was the flower girl.

The best man was Evan Kanellopoulos. Groomsmen were

Shane Slaughter, William Griffin, Daniel Mathangani, Tyler Deagon, Jeff Terry and Andrew Bowick.

Caden Olive, nephew of the bride, was the ring bearer.

Mrs. Thomas is a 2008 graduate of Hartselle High School and a 2012 graduate of the University of Alabama. She teaches sixth-grade math and science at the Tuscaloosa Magnet School.

Mr. Thomas is a 2007 graduate of Vestavia Hills High School and attended the University of Alabama, where he played trumpet in the Million Dollar Band. He is employed in the emergency room at Trinity Medical Center.

Happy first anniversary, Michael and Stephanie.

Recently engaged, married or celebrating an anniversary?

Let us help spread the word of your good news!

Hervig-Relfe

Mr. and Mrs. David Griffis of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Mr. and Mrs. David Hervig of Sarasota, Fla., announce the engagement of their daughter, Janelle Marie Hervig, to Julien Mitchell Relfe, son of Mrs. Sarah Relfe and the late Mr. Perry Relfe of Birmingham.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Wolfsberger Sr. of Huntsville and the late Mr. and Mrs. Don Hervig of Sarasota.

Miss Hervig is a graduate of Myrtle Beach High School and the University of South Carolina, where she received a bachelor’s degree in political science. She lives in Washington, D.C., where she is a member of the Junior League of Washington and serves on the South Carolina Satellite Committee for Taste of the South. Miss Hervig serves as legislative assistant to a congressman from Indiana.

The prospective groom is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell Cash of Huntsville and the late Mr. and Mrs. Julien Relfe Sr. of Birmingham.

Mr. Relfe is a graduate of Mountain Brook High School and a cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama, where he received a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration and was a member and officer of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He is third-year law student at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham and writing editor of the Cumberland Law Review. Mr. Relfe has accepted a position with Burr & Forman LLP, where he will start in the fall.

The wedding will be May 24.

Send your announcement to editorial@otmj.com.

36 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Going with the

Flow

Designers Take Advantage of ShowHouse’s Wide Open Spaces Stories by Donna Cornelius Photos by Lee Walls Jr.

T

he 2014 Decorators’ ShowHouse inspired designers with its Mediterranean style, which includes spacious rooms and an open floor plan.

But the openness of the 12,000-squarefoot Villa D’Ambra in Hoover’s Greystone neighborhood also meant some designers had to use a bit of teamwork.

The rooms chosen by Robin McCorquodale of Castle Creations and Donald Jay Howton of Howton and Associates aren’t separated by walls.

While Howton’s dining room is a defined space, it opens onto McCorquodale’s living room.

Both designers used a common starting point: the blue tones in a dining room rug that belongs to homeowners Michael and Michelle D’Ambra.

In the living room, McCorquodale incorporated blue hues with fabrics and some accent pieces— then mixed in another color.

“We pulled the blue from the dining room rug and livened it up with apple green,” McCorquodale said.

Howton used blue on the dining room walls, choosing Benjamin Moore’s Whipple Blue paint, he said.

There’s still time to see the ideas of these two designers and others participating in this year’s ShowHouse. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra fundraiser is open until May 11.

ShowHouse hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and 2-6 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets are $20 and available at the door.

Groups of 20 or more can get tickets for $15 each.

For more information, visit ShowHouse-Al.com or call 980-7242.

There’s no parking allowed at the ShowHouse.

Shuttle parking is at the Church at Brook Hills, 3145 Brook Highland Parkway. The last shuttle leaves one hour before the house closes each day. ❖

Designer Donald Jay Howton said he was drawn to the bathing beauty, stylish in sunglasses and a red swim cap, in a painting called “Emerge.” On the adjoining wall in the ShowHouse dining room, downtown Birmingham scenes are captured in photos from the early 1900s. Journal photos by Lee Walls Jr.

Refreshingly Different

Donald Jay Howton

Jay Howton and Associates While homeowners might be willing to think creatively when they’re decorating some rooms, the dining room is often a space where conventional style rules.

Designer Donald Jay Howton wanted to create a more refreshing environment in the ShowHouse dining room.

“This is an elegant room, but I wanted it to have wit, style and grace,” he said.

Dispelling any overly-stilted atmosphere is a large painting of a 1950s-style bathing beauty in a bright blue pool. Elise Remender’s painting, “Emerge,” makes a splash against the room’s blue walls.

“I fell in love with that lady,” Howton said. “I loved her red polka-dot swim cap.”

The designer, who owns Howton and Associates, also chose to display three photographs of downtown Birmingham scenes from the early 1900s. The prints are applied to aluminum, Howton said.

“I thought these complemented the blue wall and also that they would appeal to young people who are living in downtown Birmingham loft spaces,” he said.

On the glass-topped dining room table, which belongs to the homeowners, Howton created an inviting setting with Anna Weatherley china on L’Objet chargers, Waterford stemware and Rogers flatware. The placemats are hand-embroidered Madeira linen, he said.

The designer named his room “A Collection from a Dream.”

“I envisioned this as being the home of a French diplomat, who would have a collection of things from his travels,” he said.

Unusual items that fit into that theme include a blue hand-blown glass bowl by artist David Thai, who emigrated from Vietnam to Canada, and a grouping of more rustic pieces in one corner of the room. Two whisky jugs and a gathering basket are all from the late 1800s, Howton said.

The designer said he had two reasons for placing a harp in the room.

“First, it’s a nod to the Alabama Symphony,” he said. “Also, going back to the collections of my imaginary couple, the harp seems to be something you might see in their home.”

This is Howton’s seventh year to participate in the Decorators’ ShowHouse, he said.

—Donna Corneilus ­

‘I envisioned this as being the home of a French diplomat, who would have a collection of things from his travels.’

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

home

SPRING INTO STYLE

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 37

DECORATED SHOW HOME AND 20 EXCITING NEW PLANS NOW READY FOR YOU!

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38 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

LEFT: From the ShowHouse’s upper floors, the living room’s blue and apple green color combination stands out.

BELOW: Finding blue and green china was a challenge, said designer Robin McCorquodale. But the Forget Me Not pattern he found fit perfectly into the palette he chose for the ShowHouse living room. Blue and white dishes and other pieces make an impact with what designer Robin McCorquodale calls “The Incurable Collector,” gilded display pieces that can be hung vertically or horizontally.

Journal photos by Lee Walls Jr.

Open Invitation Robin McCorquodale Castle Creations

When ShowHouse visitors enter the foyer, they immediately see the high-ceilinged, expansive living room. While living rooms are traditionally on the formal side, designer Robin McCorquodale wanted this space to be both elegant and approachable.

“I wanted to invite someone to be comfortable in this room,” he said. “This is not only a villa--it’s a home.”

Those who attend the ShowHouse year after year know the Castle Creations designer always makes an impact with color. This year, he blended blue and apple green. The star of that colorful combination is the sofa fabric.

“My favorite thing in the room is the floral linen on the sofa,” he said.

Two chairs show different ways to use blue.

A wing chair’s fabric is blue embroidery on white, while another chair wears a tufted leopard print for a more lighthearted look.

Two chaise lounges, covered in apple green chenille in a tone-on-tone herringbone pattern, are mirror images of each other.

“One is a lefty and the other is a righty,” McCorquodale said.

The sofa and end tables are gilded but with contemporary lines, he said. And he’s especially proud of the tea set he’s displayed on the coffee table.

“Try to find blue and green china—it’s hard,” he said, smiling. “This is called Forget Me Not.” ShowHouse visitors will find another memorable piece in the room: a reproduction walnut secretary-bureau.

“It was made in England from reclaimed walnut,” McCorquodale said. “The details are what I love. It has detailed pigeonholes and banded drawers, and the faux books in the design are actually hiding places.”

Over the fireplace are three gilded pieces that the designer calls “The Incurable Collector.” He hung them vertically to show off a striking display of blue and white pieces.

More gilded furniture belonging to the homeowners is in the foyer, which McCorquodale also decorated.

“These gilded pieces are appropriate for a villa,” he said. “They welcome you in a grand fashion.”

—Donna Corneilus

‘I wanted to invite someone to be comfortable in this room. This is not only a villa--it’s a home.’

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 39

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Junky 2 Funky

Antiques, Uniques, Home Decor & More Adding 2000 additional square feet

5415 Beacon Drive Suite 151 Irondale, Alabama 35210 Located by Southeastern Salvage.

Customized Kitchen Kelly Kirkland

Cahaba Design Group

Kirkland glazed the kitchen cabinets and designed new tiles for the backsplash.

Journal photos by Lee Walls Jr.

To: From:

Dinah 871-4985 Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 To update the ShowHouse kitchen, designer Kelly Kirkland transformed two major elements of FAX: 205-824-1246 the room: the backsplash and the cabinets.

Date: April “I designed the backsplash tile with a custom mold so beveled pieces can interlock with nonbeveled,” she said. “The flat tiles have a flat finish, and the raised tiles have a glazed finish.”

The dove grey tiles are from Triton Stone, she said, and were installed by Magic City Tile.

Kirkland freshened up the cabinets by glazing them and adding new hardware to the doors and drawers. The new pulls, with an antique pewter finish, were provided by Southern Pipe, she said.

While the cabinets and backsplash underwent major changes, Kirkland filled the kitchen with eye-catchers on a smaller scale. She made a wreath from silver trays, attaching bowls to large platters. Instead of a light fixture over the island, she used rope to suspend a plank that holds candles.

“We have three different barstools for an industrial look,” Kirkland said. “All the heights are adjustable.”

One barstool with footrests has a leather seat. Another stool’s seat is metal, and the third is covered in fabric.

The kitchen windows do more than let in light from the garden.

“For the windows over the sink, we attached small bud vases to the panes. You can put flowers in the vases and add some color,” Kirkland said.

This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiN JOurNAl for the May 1, 2014 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

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

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if we have not heard •from youOwens, by 5 pmCKD, of the Friday before the press date, 205-871-9880 Kathy President your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

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40 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Let us help you have the best backyard bird feeding experience possible.

We'll show you how to turn your yard into a bird feeding habitat that not only brings song, color and life to your home, but also benefits wild birds and the environment.

Umphrey said the large abstract painting over the sofa was the starting point for his design. He found the floor lamp’s base at a secondhand store and gave it new life with a custom shade. Journal photos by Lee Walls Jr.

A Contemporary Read Perry Umphrey

Umphrey Interiors To: From: Date:

Joe Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 FAX: 205-824-1246 June 14, 2012

Stylish bookworms will feel right at home in Perry Umphrey’s library, where fuchsia and raspberry pop against grey, white and silver.

This is your AD PROOF from the OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNALThe fordesigner the said he drew those June 14, 2012 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246. colors from an oversized abstract painting that was his inspiration for the room.

Please make sure all information is correct, “It’s by an Atlanta artist, and including address and phone number!I bought it at an estate sale,” Umphrey said. “What you see in it depends on the person, but it has Please initial and fax back within 24 hours. lots of movement.”

If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, The room already had built-in your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday. bookcases. Behind the shelves, Thank you for your prompt attention. Umphrey installed raspberry-painted boards.

“Anything you put in front of them will stand out, and they can easily be removed if you want to change the color,” Umphrey said.

A club-style sofa combines charcoal and silver, and two modified wing chairs are sleekly upholstered in faux white leather.

Umphrey bought a floor lamp base at a secondhand store, he said, and then topped it with a custom lampshade in fuchsia and silver.

ShowHouse visitors should take their time in order not to take in the details in the room, Umphrey said.

There’s a teacup that came from an Istanbul bazaar and a Frabel glass peach. On the draperies, tassels have tiny silver caps.

Umphrey said his favorite thing in the room is one that might easily be missed. Visitors should look

Book lovers can relax in the library and read in modified wing chairs covered in faux white leather.

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 41

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

closely to see a miniscule glass figure of a man that’s perched on a table edge.

The designer said he also was pleased with the way one of his imaginative ideas turned out. He dipped artificial flowers in white plaster to give them a sculpture-like quality.

Umphrey said he wanted the library to “look like a Tiffany box.”

“This is a perfect spot,” he said.

“You could sit here by yourself or with guys or girlfriends.”

Umphrey also was the mentor for a team of Virginia College School of Design students who worked on the ShowHouse’s home office.

“They envisioned it as being the office of an up-and-coming shoe designer,” he said. “We used shoes for

4

Excellent Communication

4

Effective Negotiation

4

Exceptional Service

‘This is the perfect spot. You could sit here by yourself or with guys or girlfriends.’

kitchen, From page 39

Perry Umphrey designed the ShowHouse library and also led Virginia College School of Design students in creating a home office.

artwork.”

The room is lively, with bright colors, zebra rugs and a sleek drafting desk.

Here, too, details aren’t forgotten.

Umphrey’s students added burlap flowers to a lampshade and cleverly used belts to tie back the draperies.

The Villa D’Ambra was an excellent choice for the ShowHouse, Umphrey said.

“I am in love with this house because it’s a contemporary interpretation of an Italian villa,” he said.

—Donna Corneilus

Designer Jean Clayton of Christine’s used a butterfly motif in the adjoining breakfast room, so Kirkland decided to mount butterflythemed art on the kitchen windows that look out on the backyard.

On the countertops are a carved footed tray that holds goblets, an open-ended gathering basket and a wooden spice pot from Nepal. An antique scale is on the island.

This is Kirkland’s first time to design a ShowHouse room. The Cahaba Design Group owner is a faux finisher as well as a designer, she said. —Donna Corneilus

4 Excellent Buying or selling a home is a big decision, but it doesn’t have to be Communication overwhelming.

Having a real 4 Effective estate professional who focuses Negotiation on your needs and understands 4 Exceptional the market can go a long Service way. Robin Owings is your go-to Realtor in the Over the “My approach to real estate is simple.

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Contact her today for your free, needs-based assessment.

Kelly Kirkland , above right, of Cahaba Design Group is a first-time ShowHouse participant.

She took on the kitchen, To: Robin glazing the cabinets and 4 Excellent Excellent 4 Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 designing new tile for the From: 4 4 Date: Feb backsplash. Instead of Communication Communication using a traditional light 4 Effective This is your aD pROOF from the OveR The MOunTain JOuRnal for the 4 Effective fixture over the island, March 6, 2014 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Negotiation Kirkland hung a plank Negotiation 4 4 that holds candles. Among 4 Exceptional please make sure all information is 4 correct, Exceptional items displayed on the Service countertops are an antique Service including address and phone number! scale, a wooden spice “My approach approach to to real real estate estate “My pot from Nepal and overplease initial and fax back within 24 hours.

4 4 is simple. simple.

Work hard hard and and is Work if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, sized canisters. Kirkland treat people people the the way way you you your ad will run as is.

We print the paper Monday. treat designed the kitchen’s new want to to be be treated.” treated.” ~~ Robin Robin want backsplash, combining bevThank you for your prompt attention. eled and non-beveled tiles.

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home & gardens

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Gardens’ Conservatory Reopens to Visitors

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

Clockwise from above left: Students at Farm School at Stone Hollow Farmstead in Harpersville will have a chance for up-close encounters with ducklings, chickens and goats. Alexandra and Deborah Stone.

Photo special to the Journal

Agricultural Academy Farm School Returns to Stone Hollow This Spring

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

Class is back in session for Over the Mountain residents who want to learn about life on the farm.

Stone Hollow Farmstead in Harpersville is resuming its Farm School classes this spring to introduce children to the joys and challenges of farm life.

“Guests will get to tour our Grade A dairy and creamery, explore the herb and vegetable gardens, visit with the many heritage breed animals and all the while, (they will be) learning about sustainable farming and animal welfare practices,” said Kate Gower, spokesperson for Stone Hollow Farmstead.

The Farm School classes are held on the first three Saturdays of each month through September at the 80-acre farm that is about a 25-minute drive from Birmingham.

Farm School classes are divided by age, with the class for ages 3-5 held from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at a cost of $30 per person. Participants ages 6-9 take Farm School classes from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. for $55 per person, which includes lunch. The times and rates for those ages 10-13 are the same as for ages 6-9.

Participants start with Farm School 101 on the first Saturday of the month and end with Farm School 103 on the third Saturday.

“Attending all three classes will provide a thorough understanding of sustainable farm practices,” Gower said. “Over the course of three Saturdays, we will cover dairy processing and why we think goat’s milk

is the best milk (and makes) the best cheese.”

Those visiting the farm for the classes will have the chance to feed the baby goats and taste freshly pasteurized goat’s milk and freshly made cheese, Gower said.

Farm School students can meet the ducks and chickens at Stone Hollow Farmstead and can help gather eggs.

They can pet the horses, plant a few seeds or learn how honey is made, Gower said. Participants will also tend the vegetable and herb gardens and learn about insects that are beneficial to gardens.

“When you’re finished (with the Farm School classes), you will know the meaning of a few farm phrases like ‘farm to table,’” Gower said.

Stone Hollow Farmstead is owned

by Deborah Stone, who ran Deborah Stone Day Spa for 10 years before selling it and moving to the farm in 1999.

Stone started raising goats in 2009, and her artisan cheeses soon found a following among foodies and others interested in locally-produced food. Last year, the farm produced 22,000 pounds of cheese which can be found on the tables of restaurants like Veranda, Hot & Hot Fish Club, Bottega Cafe and Highlands Bar and Grill.

Over the Mountain residents can get a taste of Stone Hollow Farmstead products at The Pantry, a restaurant Stone and her family opened in Crestline Village in December 2012.

For more information on Stone Hollow Farmstead’s Farm School classes, visit stonehollowfarmstead. com or call 803-3585. ❖

Visitors got their first look at the renovation of a 50-year-old landmark in Birmingham recently when the doors were opened for the first time since April 2011.

The Conservatory at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens reopened on Feb. 23 after being closed for a $1.3 million renovation.

The Conservatory, designed by the Lord & Burnham firm, first opened at The Gardens in 1963. Officials with The Gardens said it has become a rare piece of architecture because many similar structures across the country have been razed.

Officials said the Conservatory is “one of Birmingham’s most iconic sights” and has been the site of countless proposals, weddings and other special events for generations of Over the Mountain families.

The Conservatory’s makeover included stripping the old glass and cleaning the structure, upgrading base electrical distribution and automating ventilation sashes, repairing interior partition walls and replacing doors, removing asbestos and lead, re-glazing with safety glass, restoring the original entrance appearance and installing an internal Mylar shade blanket and insulation system.

Officials said the Conservatory will once again become a classroom for Discovery Field Trips, The Gardens’ award-winning, curriculumbased educational programs that have provided a free science education to more than 100,000 Birmingham children over the past 15 years.

Fred Spicer, executive director and chief executive officer of The Gardens, gave visitors a tour of the revamped Conservatory on Feb. 23.

Spicer said the changes visitors saw were just the beginning of what’s in store for the landmark building.

The first phase, he said, was more about improving the infrastructure of the building and preserving it. The second phase will include constructing two new buildings on either side of the Conservatory. One of the new buildings will house Persian plants, and the other will include medicinal plants.

Spicer said plans are also in the works to expand the Conservatory’s water theme, including adding a cascading water feature to the Tropical Room.

The structural changes at the Conservatory were headed up by The Pennington Group, Inc. out of Birmingham. Montgomery Smith, Inc. did the design and engineering work, and the city of Birmingham picked up the $115,000 tab for that.

Officials with The Gardens said the city also supplied in-kind services to shepherd the project through the See conservatory, next page

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 43

home & gardens

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Archadeck of Birmingham

Archadeck of Birmingham is a family-owned custom design and build remodeling business started in 1993.

“We specialize in custom designed decks and screened porches creatively designed to look original to the home,” says John Crews, owner, pictured on the far right with Derek and Carissa Crews. “Quality construction standards and commitment to customer service ensures a functional outdoor living space that adds value to your home.”

Archadeck of Birmingham is a licensed residential builder and general contractor with Workman’s Compensation and general liability insurance coverage.

The companys’ goal is to always concentrate on the needs of customers and to design around their vision of the project, John said.

“We invite you to call for a free design con-

sultation and/or a free deck safety inspection if you happen to own an existing deck. At your consultation we will show you past projects, discuss your needs and tastes, explain your construction material options, including the lowmaintenance wood alternatives, talk about costs, and measure and photograph your home/lot.”

Archadeck of Birmingham, 3444 Country Brook Lane, 970-0121.

www.birmingham.archadeck.com

Hanna’s Garden Shop Horticulturist and landscaper C. Beaty Hanna founded Hanna’s Garden Shop in 1986.

Having been in the landscape business for many years, Beaty responded to his customers’ requests for a retail nursery that provided high quality plants at reasonable prices.

Beaty’s nephew, Steve and his wife Cindy joined the business in 1989 and have continued to expand and develop the nursery. The nursery is currently managed by Steve, above left, and his son Andy.

Steve and Andy said they are seeing a rapid increase in above-ground gardening, squarefoot gardening, vegetable and herb gardening, organic gardening and composting.

Steve and Andy said they are happy to offer tips on making improvements to your outdoor space by suggesting the right kind of plants and how and where to plant them for the best results.

“Come by and we’ll help guide you through the whole process,” Andy said.

Hanna’s will be sponsoring the Birmingham Rose Society’s 62nd annual Rose Show at the Birmingham Botanical Garden on May 10-11.

Hanna’s will be sponsoring the Birmingham Rose Society’s 62nd annual Rose Show at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens May 10-11 and rose expert Gloria Purnell will be at Hanna’s on May 24 at 10 a.m. to talk with customers about roses and how easy they are to grow.

“Among other items, Hanna’s has the largest selection of roses in the Greater Birmingham area and we believe, in Alabama,” Andy said.

Hanna’s Garden Shop, 5485 U.S. 280 East, Birmingham. 991-2939.

She’ll Forget the Thorns and Remember Your Thoughtfulness…

Sharon Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 FAX: 205-824-1246 April 2014 This is your AD PrOOF from the OvEr THE MOuNTAiN JOurNAl for the May 1, 2014 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.

Get her a great pair of gardening gloves!

Life comes at us with joy and pain, but we get to decide which to focus on. Focus your Mom’s thoughts on the beauty of your remembrance this Mother’s Day and thank her for helping you navigate life’s thorns.

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.

Save 25%

OTMJ-0514

Thank you for your prompt attention.

The Conservatory’s makeover included stripping the old glass and cleaning the structure, upgrading base electrical distribution and automating ventilation sashes, repairing interior partition walls and replacing doors, removing asbestos and lead, re-glazing with safety glass, restoring the original entrance appearance and installing an internal Mylar shade blanket and insulation system.

From previous page

design and bidding process. Jim Smith served as the construction administrator for the first phase of the project.

The project was made possible by donations from the Lucille S. Beeson Charitable

Trust, the Brooke Family Foundation, the city of Birmingham, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Lyndra and Bill Daniel, the Daniel Foundation of Alabama, Lorol Roden Bowron Foundation and two anonymous donors.

Additional funding was provided by the Butrus Family Advised Fund, Valley OffShoots Garden Club and the Holly Oak Garden Club. ❖

Good through May 31st, 2014.

It’s a double dose of love that will keep bringing her joy.

Photo special to the Journal

conservatory,

on any single pair of gardening gloves (long or short) and/or any single rose bush for Mom!

Come to Hanna’s for the healthy plants.

Come back for the expertise.

Open Monday-Friday 8am-6pm Saturday 8am-5pm | Sunday 11am-5pm 205-991-2939 | hannasgardenshop.com On Hwy 280 across from Drivers Way.

garden shop

Hanna’s Expertise to grow on.

44 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

Bridal Pair

Business

Mom, Daughter Love Working Together at The White Room

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

A

lmost 10 years ago, Carolyn Kelley had had enough of pulling weeds and mowing grass in her yard, so she decided to find someone to do it for her so she would have more time to sew.

That decision led Kelley to open The White Room Bridal Salon, a business that lets her work side by side with her daughter, Cathy Kelley, every day.

When she made the fateful decision to hire out her yard work, Carolyn was doing alterations on wedding gowns at a local shop.

“I was standing out under a tree talking to the guy who was doing the yard work, and he asked me what I did for a living and we struck up a conversation,” she said. “He asked me what I would do when I got older and I couldn’t sew, and I realized it was something I had never really thought about in detail.”

The conversation with the landscaper got Carolyn to thinking about being her own boss.

“The guy told me I should open my own business so that if I couldn’t sew anymore, I could sell it and retire,” she said.

And a decade later, Carolyn said retirement is nowhere in her immediate line of sight.

“The first 10 years have just flown by, so here I am at almost 70 working harder than ever before,” she said. “And I love every minute of it.”

Carolyn first opened the shop in Helena and five years later moved the business to its current location in Cahaba Heights.

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

T

he place where generations of Over the Mountain residents have gone to buy gifts for special occasions for more than 50 years will close its doors later this month.

The Briarcliff Shop, which opened in Mountain Brook’s English Village more than half a century ago and moved to Homewood four years ago, is closing May 21, owner Mary Glen Carlton of Mountain Brook said.

Carlton has owned and operated the shop since buying it from the previous owners 12 years ago. Her mother, Glenda McPherson, also of Mountain Brook, has worked with her daughter at the shop since the beginning.

Carlton said the Briarcliff Shop is known for being a great place to purchase gifts for weddings, Mother’s Day, graduation, birthdays and other special occasions.

Carlton said about a year ago, she decided she wanted to spend more time with her 6-year-old twins, Mary Grace and William, and looked for buyers for the shop.

“It was a very hard decision to make, but I want to be home with my kids,” Carlton said.

But Carlton said while she knows she’s doing the right thing for her family, she is still having a hard time saying goodbye to the Briarcliff Shop.

“I will miss the friends I’ve made

Cathy said at the time the business opened, she had a full-time job at BellSouth.

Cathy said she would leave her job at BellSouth and come to the shop and do all the computer work and close out the books for the day.

“She and I would be up until 2 o’clock in the morning,” Cathy said. “She’d be sewing as fast as she could while I kept everything in order.”

From the beginning, the mother-daughter duo made a wonderful team, they said, because they shared the same principles.

“I knew nothing about business or running a business when we started this, but I believe in treating people the way you want to be treated, and my customers have picked up on that,” Carolyn said.

Cathy said the Golden Rule to treat others as you want to be treated is something her mother instilled in her at very young age and a philosophy she thinks has served her well in life and in business.

“I have such respect for this woman, for my mother, and seeing the relationships she builds with each and every customer and every designer inspires me and makes me want to work even harder,” Cathy said.

Carolyn said a strong work ethic is something she and her daughter share and that has been a key to the success of the business.

“Cathy and I are the same person in two bodies. Cathy takes after me. She has an incredible work ethic,” Carolyn said. “Every employer she’s ever had has felt blessed to have her, and I feel the same way.”

Cathy Kelley, left, and her mother, Carolyn Kelley, are the mother-daughter team behind The White Room Bridal Salon in Cahaba Heights. They also get some help from Biscuit the dog. Photo special to the Journal

The mother and daughter not only work together every day but also live together.

But while the mother and daughter are alike in many ways, they are different in one striking way, Cathy said.

“I don’t sew,” Cathy said. “I just never was interested in learning it at the level that mom does it.”

Carolyn said she’s been sewing since she was a child growing up in the Memphis area. It is a skill she learned from her mother.

“My mother made all of my clothes, and growing up, I had clothes that no one else had,” she said. “I’ve always loved the challenge of taking fabric and thread and scissors and creating something beautiful and new.”

Thanks for the Memories

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Carolyn continued to make her own clothes and clothes for friends and at 19, she started working in a ladies’ alterations shop.

“The sewing I did growing up and the alteration work I did for so long gave me a wonderful foundation for the work I do now,” Carolyn said. “I learned so much about how to put things together the right way by taking everything apart for alterations.”

Carolyn said she also worked in a couture wedding shop in Memphis for about 10 years. She has taken classes at the Royal School of Needlework in London and classes on French smocking and embroidery techniques.

“I have to avail myself of every chance I have to learn,” Carolyn said. “Unless you push yourself, you’ll never get better, and you always want to be looking forward and getting better.”

Cathy has her own role in making sure each bride who visits The White Room walks out with the perfectly fitted wedding dress of her dreams.

Cathy, who serves as the shop’s manager, creates custom veils to complete the dresses her mom makes.

“She had me cutting lace like crazy,” Cathy said. “Since I was cutting the lace for the veils, I started making them, and I also do some of the design work. With both of our talents, we make a great team.”

The team gets some moral support from Biscuit, Cathy’s dog. Biscuit greets every customer with a toy in his mouth, ready to play, Cathy said.

“It’s such a fun place to come to work every day and not just because I get to work with my mom,” Cathy said. “We take our job of being a part of what is the most important day in our customer’s life very seriously, and we feel so blessed to have a role in that happiness.”

For more information, visit www.thewhiteroombirmingham.com or call 970-6767. ❖

Briarcliff Shop Is Closing after 50 Years

here, the people who started out as customers and ended up being true friends,” she said. “There’s a sense that I’m letting them down a little bit by closing, but my customers have been really supportive and understand my decision.”

Carlton got her first taste of the retail business as a child, her mother said.

“Her father owned HoodMcPherson Furniture, so she’s been around it her whole life,” McPherson said. “Our family has been in the retail business in one way or another for a long time.”

After working as a manager in another retail shop for several years, Carlton said she was ready to make the leap to being her own boss.

“The Briarcliff Shop came up for sale, and so I jumped at the opportunity to own my own shop,” Carlton said. “It was more exciting than scary to make that jump.”

Carlton said she knew she would need some help juggling the responsibilities of being a small business owner, so she turned to her mother.

“She has always been great to jump in and help out in any way she could,” Carlton said.

McPherson said she is glad she was able to help Carlton realize her dream of owning her own shop.

The Briarcliff Shop is closing its doors later this month. Mary Glen Carlton, right, is the owner. Her mother, Glenda McPherson, has helped at the shop since Carlton bought it 12 years ago. Journal photo by Keysha Drexel

McPherson has been a real estate agent for more than 25 years and splits her time between that job and helping out at the Briarcliff Shop.

“It’s been wonderful to watch Mary Glen achieve all that she has, and it’s been wonderful to be a part of that,” she said.

The mother and daughter said

some of their fondest memories over the last 12 years have been the trips to market they have taken together to purchase new merchandise for the store.

“It’s time that we have gotten to spend together and enjoy each other that I wouldn’t take for anything in the world,” McPherson said.

Both women said their time behind the counter at the Briarcliff Shop has taught them lessons about business.

“I learned that you don’t necessarily buy what you want or what you like--you buy what the customers want,” McPherson said.

Carlton said while offering the right merchandise at the right price has been very important, she said owning the shop has taught her that retail is all about relationships.

“Retail is all about working with people and building relationships with your customers,” Carlton said. “It teaches you patience and compassion, because sometimes, people just want to come in and talk.”

The women said their loyal customers were the reason the shop was able to survive the economic downturn a few years ago that had small business owners shutting their doors left and right.

“Being a locally-owned, family-

run business helped us weather that storm, I think,” Carlton said. “Our customers know us as friends and neighbors, and they supported us as much as they could through that.”

“The thing is, a lot of what we sell is not something that you just have to have, so we had to learn how to be a little more selective with the merchandise we were offering,” she said.

The shop’s customers showed their loyalty when Carlton moved the business from English Village to 1829 29th Ave. South in Homewood four years ago, McPherson said.

And it is those loyal customers Carlton and McPherson said they are thinking about as they prepare to close the doors of the Briarcliff Shop.

“The shop has a long tradition in the community, and we would love for that tradition to continue, even if I don’t own it,” Carlton said. “We would love for someone to come along and buy the shop and keep it open.”

Carlton said she is looking forward to staying home with her children but said she hasn’t ruled out a return to retail.

“Never say never,” she said.

“Retail is in my blood, and I’ll feel sure I’ll be back in it in one way or another in the future. I’d love to own another store someday.”

The Briarcliff Shop is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, call 870-8110. ❖

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 45

business briefs

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

UM President Will Address Hoover Chamber

OTM Chambers Will Host Candidates’ Forums

Zoo CEO Will Be Guest Speaker in Homewood

The president of the only public liberal arts university in the state will be the speaker at the Hoover Chamber of Commerce luncheon on May 15.

John Stewart, the 15th president of John Stewart the University of Montevallo, will speak at the event at Hoover Country Club, 3140 Club Drive.

Since his arrival at UM in August 2010, Stewart has endeavored to raise awareness of the school through speaking engagements and a new branding and marketing campaign launched in September 2011, university officials said.

He is the former vice president for institutional advancement at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla. Stewart earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Wake Forest University, a master’s degree in English from Washington College in Chestertown, Md., and a doctorate in English with a focus on African/Caribbean and Harlem Renaissance literature from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Reservations to attend the meeting are $20 in advance or $22 at the door.

Networking begins at 11:30 a.m. The program starts at noon.

For more information, visit www. hooverchamber.org or call 988-5672.

Two Over the Mountain Chambers of Commerce will host events this month to let voters meet candidates in the June 3 primary election.

The Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce will host a candidates’ forum May 8. The Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce will host a similar forum May 13.

Voters will get a chance to hear from U.S. Congressional District 6 candidates at the Greater Shelby County Chamber event from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center, 3660 Grandview Parkway, Birmingham.

The Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Work Group will also be cohosting a series of candidates’ forums this election season.

The Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce’s candidates’ forum is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www. shelbychamber.org or call 663-4542.

On May 13, the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce will host a meet and greet with the candidates from U.S. Congressional District 6, Alabama Senate District 16 and Alabama House Districts 46 and 47.

Candidates will be given a few minutes to introduce themselves at the event at Vestavia Country Club, 400 Beaumont Drive.

Reservations received by May 9 are $18, and late reservations are $25.

Networking begins at 11:30 a.m. The program starts at noon.

For more information, visit www. vestaviahills.org or call 823-5011.

The president and chief executive officer of the Birmingham Zoo will be the guest speaker at this month’s Homewood Chamber of Commerce meeting.

William Foster will speak at the Chamber’s May 20 membership meeting at 11:30 a.m. at The Club in Homewood. The meeting is sponsored by HealthSouth Lakeshore Rehabilitation Foundation.

MAY 14-18 SHOAL CREEK

Foster joined the zoo as CEO in January 2004. Under his tenure, the zoo has completed major expansion projects like the Trails of Africa exhibit and the new Giraffe Yard.

Foster has a bachelor’s degree in science and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tuskegee University.

Reservations to attend the May membership meeting are $20 and are due by May 15.

For more information, visit www. homewoodchamber.org or call 8715631.

English Village Plans ‘Spring Clean’ Event Shoppers in Mountain Brook will get a chance to check out the latest offerings from English Village merchants during Spring Clean Saturday on May 3.

The theme for the event comes from the idea of getting ready for spring.

Business owners will offer lifestyle tips and advice during the May 3 event.

For more information, call the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce at 871-3779. ❖

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46 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

Sweet 16

Schools

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Three from OTM Schools Are Teacher of the Year Finalists

By Keysha Drexel

T

Journal editor

he state Department of Education has named three Over the Mountain teachers to the “Sweet 16” pool of candidates for the next Alabama Teacher of the Year.

Ann Marie Corgill of Cherokee Bend Elementary School in Mountain Brook along with Hoover City Schools’ Ellen Anson of Rocky Ridge Elementary and Craig Thompson of Spain Park High School are among the 16 finalists selected from more than 150 elementary and secondary school candidates across the state.

State education officials will narrow the candidates to the “Final Four” before May 14, when the 2014-2015 Alabama Teacher of the Year will be named.

The winning teacher will be in the running for the national Teacher of the Year award and will present workshops to other educators.

An elementary and secondary teacher was named from each of the eight Alabama State Board of Education districts in March. Local board of education members, a local superintendent or representative, the current district Teachers of the Year and a representative from higher education served as committee members in selecting nominees.

Mountain Brook’s “Sweet 16” finalist is literally writing the book on being a great teacher.

Corgill, who teaches all subjects to her fourth-grade class at Cherokee Bend

Elementary, is working on her second book, which will be about quality instruction. She is also the author of “Of Primary Importance: What’s Essential in Teaching Young Writers.”

Corgill has been a teacher for 20 years and has taught at Cherokee Bend Elementary since 2012. Before that, she was a national consultant for Development Studies Center and also taught at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School and in Hoover schools.

Her first job after receiving a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Alabama in 1994 was at Brookwood Forest Elementary School in Mountain Brook.

Corgill also has a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“I teach because there’s a child out there who hates math as much as I did, and it’s my job to teach her that she is a learner,” Corgill said in a Mountain Brook Schools newsletter.

Both of Hoover’s “Sweet 16” finalists were named their school system’s Teachers of the Year for 2013-14.

Anson is the Hoover City Schools’ Elementary Teacher of the Year, and Thompson is the Secondary Teacher of the Year. They received the awards at a surprise ceremony in December. Anson and Thompson were chosen from among the Teacher of the Year winners at each of Hoover’s 17 schools.

Hoover City Schools Superintendent Andy Craig said Anson and Thompson were selected as the district’s Teachers of the Year based on nominations from their co-workers.

“Being selected by your peers for excel-

The three Over the Mountain teachers who have made it to the “Sweet 16” pool of candidates for the next Alabama Teacher of the Year are, from left: Ann Marie Corgill, Cherokee Bend Elementary School, Craig Thompson, Spain Park High School and Ellen Anson, Rocky Ridge Elementary School. Photos special to the Journal

lence is an incredible honor,” Craig said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have highquality teachers throughout our school system.”

Anson is the self-contained multi-handicapped teacher at Rocky Ridge Elementary School. She has taught in Hoover City Schools for six years.

Anson has degrees from the University of West Florida and Alabama A&M University and has been a teacher for 39 years.

Thompson teaches 10th-grade AP U.S. History and select ninth-grade courses at Spain Park High School. He has taught in Hoover City Schools for 10 years.

Thompson holds degrees from Tulane University and the University of Montevallo and has been a teacher for 13 years.

Last year, Jeff Johnson, the head of the science department at Hoover High School, was among the “Final Four” candidates for the Alabama Teacher of the Year. In 2012, Amanda Fox, a teacher at Greystone Elementary, and Suzanne Culbreth, a math teacher at Spain

Park High School, were in the “Final Four” for the state award. Culbreth was named the 20122013 Alabama Teacher of the Year.

The state Teacher of the Year award program is among the oldest and most prestigious of its kind, according to a statement by the Alabama Department of Education.

“Alabama continues to be represented with some of the most outstanding educators in the nation,” State Superintendent of Education Tommy Bice said in a statement. “Their dedication to education, commitment to learning and compassion are reflected in the accomplishments of their students. We are proud to have teachers of this caliber working in our schools.”

Alison Grizzle, a Birmingham City Schools math teacher, is the current Alabama Teacher of the Year.

“These 16 distinguished teachers represent the hard-working, talented and passionate teachers around the state who dedicate themselves on a daily basis to the students of Alabama,” Grizzle said in a statement. ❖

School Notes

Shades Mountain Christian School ▪K3 - 12th Grades ▪Student/Teacher Ratio 12:1

More than half the students at Southminster Day School participated in the 2014 Mercedes Marathon.

▪AHSAA Sports

Southminster Students Run in Marathon

▪Band, Theatre, Choir & Art

smcs.org Call to arrange a tour

205-978-6001

Photo special to the Journal

Southminster Day School had 51 percent of its student body participate in the Mercedes Marathon this year.

The 2014 event was held Feb. 15 at Linn Park in downtown Birmingham.

The Southminster students participated in the kids’ marathon for grades K-5.

The students trained for the marathon during their physical education classes at school. They learned to build their endurance and about the importance of hydration and healthy eating during the months leading up to the marathon.

NAMM Foundation Honors Homewood Homewood City Schools received a special designation from the NAMM

Foundation.

The NAMM Foundation recently announced the results of its 15th annual Best Communities for Music Education survey.

The survey acknowledges schools and districts across the U.S. for their commitment to and support for music education in schools.

Homewood City Schools was designated a “Best Community” in the NAMM survey.

This is the ninth year Homewood City Schools has received this honor.

Previous award years are 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

This year, Homewood was one of only four communities in Alabama that NAMM designated as one the nation’s best school districts for music education.

“These schools and districts make a

strong commitment to music education in the core curriculum supporting its essential value to a well-rounded education for every child,” said Mary Luehrsen, NAMM Foundation executive director.

The BCME survey includes a nationwide search for communities that exemplify strong commitment to music education.

Established in 1999, BCME recognizes and celebrates schools and their administrators, teachers, board members, parents and students for their support of music education and their efforts to assure access to all students as part of the core curriculum.

Participants receiving the “Best Community” designation answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation and instruction time.

Shades Cahaba Students Learn About Character Shades Cahaba Elementary School in Homewood held a character education assembly March 20.

The assembly focused on bullying.

Each semester, Shades Cahaba holds character education assemblies on different topics for students.

Miss New Mexico High School America Gianna Blaudeau attended as a special visitor.

Shades Cahaba students performed Members of the Mountain Brook High School Debate Team celebrate a successful season. From left: Sam Vaughn, Eric Vaughn, Ethan Fooshee, John Martin Weed, Angela Fu and Sophia Giovanelli. Photo special to the Journal

Mountain Brook Debate Team Sweeps State Finals

of 15 top positions in the open division and received first place in the team competition.

Todd Taylor and Susan Gifford led the Vestavia Hills team as sponsors.

Mountain Brook High School’s Spartan Debaters had a series of victories at the recent Alabama State Debate finals.

Sophia Giovanelli and Jack Fitzpatrick won the state title in the Policy Debate category.

Also in Policy Debate, ninth-graders Caroline Selesky and Paige Berryhill won third place.

Angela Fu, a sophomore, was successful against every debater in her bracket.

Fu was undefeated throughout the finals and won the state title in the junior varsity Lincoln-Douglas category.

John Martin Weed, a ninth-grader, won second place in the novice LincolnDouglas category and novice Senate category. He was also ranked among the top 16 novice Lincoln-Douglas debaters in the country at the Atlanta national debate tournament.

Ali Latif portrays Abraham Lincoln Overall, the combined successes at Bluff Park Elementary’s Living Museum. Photos special to the Journal of the Spartan Debaters earned them the runner-up Sweepstakes title for the finals.

Vestavia Hills Students Achieve in LSU Contest The Vestavia Hills High School math team won first place at a recent competition.

The event, hosted by the Louisiana State University Department of Mathematics, was held March 22.

LSU has hosted the annual competition for high school mathematics students for 13 years.

During the event, students tested their mathematical abilities in individual and team competition.

Teachers also had the chance to meet and mingle with colleagues and LSU faculty members.

The Vestavia Hills team won eight

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 47

schools

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Bluff Park Students Present Living Museum

Students from Bluff Park Elementary presented their Living Museum Feb. 28.

To prepare for the annual event, third-graders at the Hoover school researched well-known people from history.

The students prepared oral reports on the person they were assigned to research. They gathered photos of the historical figures and made costumes for the event.

On the day of the event, the students came to school dressed as the historical figures they researched.

The students set up displays showcasing their research. In character, they gave speeches and answered questions about the historical figures.

a flash-mob dance to the song “Brave.”

Shades Cahaba was named a National School of Character by the Character Education Partnership in 2012. Schools are named an NSOC for five years.

This was the second time Shades Cahaba had been recognized as an NSOC, earning the first award in 2006.

Shades Cahaba Elementary School was one of 24 schools and one school district recognized nationwide in 2012 by the NSOC.

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This is your AD PROOF from the OVER THE MO June 3, 2010 issue. Please fax approval or

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When: June 22–25 What: Three-day workshop features premedicine advising, expert panels, networking and field trips Website: howard.samford.edu/md-calling

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When: June 22–25 What: Four-day program features expert panels, a mock trial, analysis of legal cases and advice about law school application Website: howard.samford.edu/jdcalling

Great Ideas Summer Institute

When: July 6–12 or July 13–19 What: Five-day program gives students the opportunity to engage in lively discussions with faculty members and other exceptional high school students Website: www.samford.edu/fellows/greatideas

Quantitative Finance Summer Institute When: July 6–12 or July 13–19 What: Five-day seminar allows students to study the mathematical and analytical methods used in modern finance Website: www.samford.edu/fellows/greatideas

Minority Youth Science Academy When: July 6–9 What: Three-day program offers college preparation and mentoring for outstanding minority students with an interest in the sciences Website: howard.samford.edu/mysa

Summer Debate Institute When: June 22–July 5 What: Two-week program emphasizes 21st century debate skills led by a national-caliber staff Website: www.samford.edu/debate

Imagine! Summer Camps

When: June 2–6 and 9–13 What: Two-week camp gives students the chance to plan, create and participate in a production of The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood Website: www.samford.edu/arts/theatre/imagine.aspx

Piano and Chamber Music Institute

The Vestavia Hills High School Math Team won first place in the team competition at the LSU Department of Mathematics’ contest in March. From left: Allan Feng, Philip Wang, Ankit Bansal, Lin Lin Pan, Tyler Whitehurst, Jin Liu, Will Mathews, Charles Li, Hunter Whitehurst and Nikitha Prattipati.

Photo special to the Journal

When:June 8–14 What: One-week program gives students the opportunity to further their performance abilities while increasing general knowledge of music Website: www2.samford.edu/piano/opus14

Produced by Samford Office of Marketing and Communication

48 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

SCHools

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Vestavia Hills High School Band members on the USS Missouri, where they performed and raised an American flag. Photo special to the Journal

Homewood High School senior Madison Collins, center, was awarded the Dr. Jodi Newton Scholarship by the Homewood City School Foundation April 3 as part of the Homewood Grown event. Collins is with Homewood High School Principal Zack Barnes, left, and Homewood City Schools Superintendent Bill Cleveland. Photo special to the Journal

Collins Receives Dr. Jodi Newton Scholarship Homewood High School senior Madison Collins was awarded the Dr. Jodi Newton Scholarship April 3.

The Homewood City Schools Foundation presented Collins with the award as part of its Homewood Grown event, held in Homewood’s SOHO Square.

The Foundation established the scholarship in 2008 in honor of former Superintendent Dr. Jodi Newton.

Collins, the daughter of Brian and Suzy Collins of Homewood, is a member of the Homewood High School varsity volleyball team, the Homewood High School Band, National Honor Society, Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta, Peer Helpers, Key Club and Student Government Association.

Outside of school, Collins has served as a facilitator for the Birmingham Civil

Rights Youth Forum.

She is also an active member of Hunter Street Baptist Church, where she serves on the youth leadership team and is a member of the Chi Alpha Choir.

Collins said she will attend Auburn University, where she will study premedicine on an academic scholarship.

Stonecreek Montessori Students Win in Robotics Robotics teams from Stonecreek Montessori Academy have found success at recent tournaments.

The Robostangs, a team of eighth through eleventh-graders, participated in the FIRST Tech Challenge State Qualifying Tournament in McDonough, Ga., Jan. 18.

The team won the PTC Paramateric Technology Corporation Design Award for building and operating a robot that combines unique aesthetics and high

Shades Mountain Christian School ▪K3 - 12th Grades ▪Student/Teacher Ratio 12:1 ▪AHSAA Sports ▪Band, Theatre, Choir & Art

smcs.org Call to arrange a tour

205-978-6001

functionality.

The Robostangs was also one of two teams statewide invited to the LEGO League competition to demonstrate its robots to the younger teams.

E.G.G.O. My LEGO, a team of fourth through seventh-graders, and the Super Montessori Builders, a team of first through third-graders, traveled to Huntsville to take part in the Alabama state tournament Jan. 25.

E.G.G.O. My LEGO participated in the FIRST LEGO League, themed Nature’s Fury, while the younger Super Montessori Builders participated in the Junior FIRST LEGO League, themed Disaster Blaster.

The teams were charged with researching, constructing and demonstrating innovative robotic designs that can prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

For their ability to problem-solve, stay on task, ensure wide participation and work effectively as a team under pressure and time limits, E.G.G.O. My LEGO earned the Teamwork Award.

E.G.G.O. My LEGO’s challenge included controlling its robot to react to natural disaster scenarios in fast-paced 150-second drills.

The team also won first place in the research and robot competition in the regional qualifier held in Birmingham in November.

The Super Montessori Builders received the Solid as a Rock Model Design Award.

The team presented its research on tsunamis to judges and demonstrated its striking LEGO model of a tsunami wave near a mountain equipped with an operational rescue elevator.

Reich Crowned Miss Olympian 2014 Eighteen students from Mountain Brook High School competed in this year’s Miss Olympian Pageant.

Another 17 students attended the Candyland-themed event as a part of the pageant staff.

Annie Reich won the pageant. She sang “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles.

Emily Sink was first alternate and played “All of Me” by Jon Schmidt on the piano.

Kelsey Platt was second alternate.

She sang “I’ll Be Waiting” by Adele and played the piano.

Mary Kathryn Parrott was third alternate and sang “Dream a Little Dream of Me” by Cass Elliot.

Katie Seeger was fourth alternate.

She danced to “Freedom” by Aretha Franklin.

Barrett Potter received the congeniality award.

Students at Liberty Park Middle Go Greek Liberty Park Middle School in Vestavia Hills recently held its annual Greek Day festivities.

Sixth-grade students and teachers all prepared for and participated in the day.

Language arts classes read “The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan, and students created films in iMovie based on research about their favorite Greek god, goddess, monster or hero.

Students in math classes learned about surface area and used that knowledge to create Greek temples, such as the temples of Poseidon, Athena Nike and the Parthenon.

To build the temples, students used cardboard, paper towel rolls and paint.

During Greek Day, sixth-grade teachers and students dressed as Greek characters.

Students also presented their iMovie films and cardboard temples to their parents.

In the afternoon, students watched the Disney film “Hercules.”

Students learned more about Greek culture through activities led by parent volunteers.

The activities included sampling traditional Greek food, reviewing Greek root vocabulary and watching videos about Greek architecture and present day Greece.

Parents also led students in making an evil eye pendant, learning a Greek dance and participating in Olympic-style games.

Vestavia Hills Band Performs in Hawaii The Vestavia Hills High School Band recently traveled to Hawaii for a special performance opportunity that officials said was educational, entertaining and inspiring.

On March 21, the band performed a tribute of patriotic music on the pier of the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor and at the Hale Koa Military Hotel in Honolulu.

The performance was accompanied

by American flag visuals provided by the school’s Color Guard.

While in Hawaii, Vestavia Hills students met a U.S. Army officer and watched his promotion on the deck of the USS Missouri.

Students also had the opportunity to raise an American flag on the USS Missouri.

The flag was given to the band after its travels and is now displayed at Vestavia Hills High School.

Prince of Peace Dance Benefits Amelia Center Girls from Prince of Peace School in Hoover brought their dads to the school’s annual Father-Daughter Dance Feb. 7.

The event, sponsored by the school’s House of St. Paul service group, was held at Deasy Hall.

The Valentine’s Day-themed dance began at 6 p.m., and girls from kindergarten through fifth grade wore fancy dresses for the evening.

DJ Jerry Dichiara provided music for the 210 partygoers.

The benefit dance has been a Prince of Peace School tradition for many years and this year raised $700, which will be donated to the Amelia Center.

Mountain Brook High School students recently competed in the 2014 Miss Olympian Pageant. From left: Barrett Potter, Kelsey Pratt, Emily Sink, Annie Reich, Mary Kathryn Parrott and Katie Seeger. Photo special to the Journal by Hank Spencer

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Springs Eternal

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 49

SChools

mitchell'S place

Summer

Indian Springs School Launches $20 Million Campaign

By Taylor Burgess

camp Teamwork

Journal Intern

Though Indian Springs School in North Shelby has reached a milestone with its $20 million Campaign for Springs Eternal--the largest capital campaign in the school’s history--ISS Director Gareth Vaughan said he is excited about the future.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be able to usher in this next chapter in Indian Springs School history,” Vaughan said. “The passion and dedication that we are witnessing from the ISS community will give our students the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly global world and provide our world-class faculty a state-of-theart stage on which to shine.”

More than 300 Indian Springs School students, faculty, alumni and friends gathered on the ISS campus to celebrate the public launch of the campaign.

At a ceremony that kicked off Alumni Weekend 2014 festivities, Vaughan, board chairman Libby Pantazis and campaign co-chairman and alumnus Rusty Rushton announced that the school will begin construction this summer on new classrooms and will continue planning for a new dining hall and new arts center at the nationally recognized boarding and day school.

The Campaign for Springs Eternal was created in response to Indian Springs School’s new Campus Master Plan, which identifies the need to

muSic activitieS

crEativE art

OutdOOr games

Indian Springs School recently launched the largest capital campaign in the school’s history to help fund classroom expansions and other new buildings.

This artist’s rendering shows what the new administration building will look like once it’s complete. Rendering special to the Journal

replace or modernize aging buildings dating from 1952, when the school opened.

The proposed plan includes modernizing classrooms to accommodate emerging technologies, replacing the current dining hall with a new dining hall that includes an outdoor dining area and new appliances, and creating a new arts center with studios and a gallery.

Construction on the classrooms phase is scheduled to begin this summer, school officials said. The timing and details for the arts center and dining hall phases will be finalized by the Indian Springs School Board of Governors later this year as fundraising continues.

“The firms we’ve chosen absolutely recognize the unique character of the school--the new buildings will be beautiful yet modest and part of

the natural landscape,” Vaughan said.

“We will be honoring the original architecture and respecting our connection to the outdoors.”

Vaughan asked the entire Indian Springs community--alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends--to join together in making a commitment to the campaign, which will continue through 2018.

For more information, visit issspringseternal.org. ❖

Self-eSteem

sports

Self- regulation

Indoor games

rolE playing

Educational activitiEs

a camp designed for children (6-18 years old) with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities.

Camp SeSSionS: June 16th - 26th July 7th - July 17th July 21st - July 31st

Mon.-Thurs., 9am-2pm for more information, contact Sandy Naramore, snaramore@mitchells-place.com or 205-957-0294.

6th AnnuAl

Mountain Brook Sports Corporation Golf tournAment Wednesday, May 14, 2014 To: Caroline Highland Park Golf Course From: Over the Mountain Journal 823-9646 ph, 824-1246 fax

$250.00 per player lunch & range balls or Date: includes april $1000 SponsorshipsThis includes foursome, & range ballsyour sales represen is your ad proof for the May 1stlunch issue of OTMJ. Please contact

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Please make your tax-deductible Please make sure all information is correct, including address contribution payable to:

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Mountain Brook Sports Corp.

If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the friday before the press date Thank you for your prompt attentio Tax Id. 63-119-6540

Oak Mountain Elementary’s Gifted Resource Class heard from Cornelius Ngosa, left, and Prima Shimoomba of Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, during their recent visit to the school in Shelby County. Photo special to the Journal

Oak Mountain Students Hold Book Drive for Library in South Africa Students from Oak Mountain Elementary’s Gifted Resource Class recently held a book drive to benefit Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa.

Donations to the drive contributed to the Learning Dreams Library in Jeffrey’s Bay. Two Jeffrey’s Bay residents, Cornelius Ngosa and Prima Shimoomba, visited with the Oak Mountain students to talk about their culture, their heart for children and their love for education.

Ngosa and Shimoomba said their dream is to build the library into a place

where children will have access to books, music and tutoring.

School officials said the drive was very successful, with 1,752 books collected.

The Gifted Resource Class students had studied compassion and used the book drive as a chance to put their learning into action, officials said, adding that all Oak Mountain Elementary students were involved in the book drive.

After the end of the book drive, the students invited Ngosa and Shimoomba back to the classroom. They celebrated the success of the event together by seeing pictures of the children who will be helped and learning more about putting compassion into action. ❖

Proceeds will benefit athletic programs at Mountain Brook High and Junior High Schools.

Note that each participant may designate the sport they want to receive the contribution.

List the name of the program on your check and the funds will be earmarked.

SHOTGUN STARTS AT 8:00 A.M. & 1:00 P.M. Lunch will begin at 11:30.

Tourney will be a scramble format.

MOUNTAIN BROOK SPORTS CORPORATION

c/o Mike Morrison / Mountain Brook Sporting Goods MBSport@bellsouth.net 66 Church Street, Mountain Brook, AL 35213

50 • Thursday, May 1, 2014

sports

Opening Runs

Hoover Sweeps 6A Regionals, Soccer Playoffs Get Underway

By Lee Davis

Journal Sports Writer

The Hoover Bucs offered strong evidence once again that they plan to make serious bids for the Class 6A boys’ and girls’ track and field championships.

Both teams swept to impressive wins in the Class 6A sectionals Saturday.

Hoover’s boys totaled 185.5 points to easily outdistance runner-up Vestavia Hills’ 118 total. Marlon Humphrey sparked the win with victories in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. Teammate Daniel Fort won the discus throw.

The Buccaneer girls scored 235.5 points to take a comfortable win over second-place Mountain Brook, which chalked up 106.33 points. Brittley Humphrey, Marlon’s

sister, won the 100- and 300-meter hurdle events.

Sarah Sanford won the 400-yard run, and Presley Weems took first in the 800-yard run. Eva Thomas claimed the high jump title. Valencia Johnson and Chloe White took first place in the triple jump and javelin, respectively.

Rachel Ready of Mountain Brook won the 1600- and 3200-meter runs.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association soccer playoffs also began over the weekend.

In Class 6A boys’ play, third-ranked Hoover defeated Mountain Brook 3-0. Ian McIntosh, Justin Parra and Henry Bernard scored goals for the Bucs.

Hoover goalie Jackson Hoesley earned the shutout.

Mountain Brook goalie Sam Morris made three saves.

In other Class 6A boys’ games, Vestavia Hills defeated Thompson 6-0 and Oak Mountain routed Tuscaloosa County 7-0.

In Class 6A girls’ play, Oak Mountain handled Tuscaloosa County 10-0, Mountain Brook whitewashed Thompson 3-0 and Vestavia Hills defeated Hoover 5-0.

In Class 1A-4A boys’ play, Indian Springs defeated Altamont 2-1 and Westminster-Oak Mountain overwhelmed Fultondale 4-1.

In Class 1A-4A girls’ competition, Altamont routed Susan Moore 10-0 and Indian Springs defeated Oneonta 6-2.

No Class 5A results were available by press time.

Mountain Brook Will Host Volleyball Clinics

Mountain Brook High School will offer volleyball clinics for young players this summer.

MBHS Head Volleyball Coach Haven O’Quinn, her coaching staff and members of the school’s Elite Eight team will lead the clinics June 3-5 at Spartan Arena.

The clinics are geared for fourth through eighth-graders of all skill levels. The camp will focus on game fundamentals, according to camp officials.

The three-day event ends with a round robin tournament for campers.

All participants will receive Mountain Brook Volleyball T-shirts.

For more information and registration forms, email O’Quinn at o’quinnh@mtnbrook. k12.al.us. Registration materials are also at Mountain Brook Sporting Goods.

Miller Williams, center, was named the overall 2014 5A Class ScholarAthlete winner at the 29th annual Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Banquet and Awards Ceremony. He is pictured here with Homewood High School Principal Zach Barnes, left, and Homewood City Schools Superintendent Bill Cleveland, right. Photo special to the Journal

Homewood Student Honored at Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Banquet

Golf Tournament Will Benefit Mountain Brook Athletics The 16th annual Mountain Brook Sports Corporation Golf Tournament is set for May 14 at Highland Park Golf Course.

Proceeds from the tournament will benefit athletic programs at Mountain Brook High School and Mountain Brook Junior High School.

Participants can designate their contributions for a particular sport.

The entry fee is $250 per player and includes lunch and range balls. Sponsorships are $1,000 and include a foursome, lunch and range balls.

The scramble format tournament has shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Lunch is at 11:30 a.m.

To sign up or for more information, contact Ken McPherson at 661-4471 or ken@mcphersonoil.com.

For information about hole sponsorships and donations, email Mike Morrison at MBSport@bellsouth.net.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

The Raptors are coached by Kris Dunn and Mike Evers. Team members are, from left, front: Evan Smith, Brady Dunn and Tyler Fanning. Back: Ryan Giegel, Taylor Bush, Wilder Evers, and Cameron Atkinson.

Oak Mountain Raptors Win Four Titles

The fourth-grade Oak Mountain Raptors Blue Team ended their basketball season with a total of four championships. The Raptors were the repeat champions in the Jingle Bell Jam tournament in December, then continued a 48 game winning streak to win the North Shelby Basketball Association regular season and the Over the Mountain League’s regular season, both undefeated.

They lost only one game the entire season, by two points in the NSBA tournament championship game. The team is pictured with their trophies after winning their fourth title, the OTM tournament championship against Homewood, 36-23.

A senior from Homewood High School was recently recognized as one of the state’s finest scholar-athletes during the 29th annual BryantJordan Scholarship Banquet and Ceremony.

Miller Williams was named the overall 2014 5A Class ScholarAthlete winner. He was among the 48 scholar-athlete regional winners recognized at the banquet.

Miller is the eighth Homewood High School student to be named a class scholar-athlete winner. Of the eight, Homewood High School had four students named The Larry D. Striplin Jr. Scholar-Athlete winners, the highest honor of the BryantJordan Program.

Last year, Homewood High School graduate Maggie Williams was named the 5A Class winner. She is now attending college in North Carolina for her undergraduate studies.

As a regional winner, Miller was awarded a $2,500 scholarship and won a $3,000 scholarship for being named this year’s 5A Class winner.

Miller has played basketball and football during his time at Homewood High School and said he will attend Vanderbilt University for his undergraduate studies. He plans to study economics and political science.

The Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Program was created in 1986 by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Alabama High School Athletic Association. One objective of the program is to recognize and honor Alabama students who have by ability and effort achieved a level of excellence in the areas of academics and athletics that is commensurate with their potential.

About 400 seniors are nominated through the Bryant-Jordan program each year.

tennis titles,

finals.

Ziqi Wange defeated Bob Jones’ Vince Rettke in the No. 1 finals, Cabel Cantrell defeated Huntsville’s Anthony Pelegrini in the No. 2 singles, Jack Patton defeated Mountain Brook’s Yates Jackson in the No. 4 seed and Brian Akhtar defeated Will Cook in the No. 5 finals.

Mountain Brook’s Ben Shearer defeated Vestavia’s John Morson in the No. 3 finals. The Spartans’ David Faulkner defeated the Rebels’ Paul Taylor in the No. 5 finals.

In the doubles finals, Wang and Cantrell overcame Mountain Brook’s Jacob Weinacker and Shearer in the No. 1 seed. Morson and Patton defeated Huntsville’s Pelegrini and Cook in the No. 2 seed. Akhtar and Taylor defeated Mountain Brook’s Will Hargrove and Faulkner in the No. 3 seed.

From page 52

Vestavia Hills Heat Wins Second-grade 2014 Basketball Championship The Heat coached by Bo Mundy and Nicolas Peters finished the season strong to claim the league title. Team members are from left: Jackson Hess, Gage Verner, Miles Plugge, Frank Poole, Harrison Faust and Grayson Peters. Alex Pitts is not pictured

In doubles, Mountain Brook won two of the three seeds.

Howe and Kilgore defeated Vestavia’s Kristen Jebeles and Harper Anderson for the No. 2 seed victory. Sarah Cooper and Kat Sours overcame Vestavia’s Bailey Hymer and Pearlman for the No. 3 spot.

Spain Park’s duo of Daryn Ellison and Kendal Holladay defeated Vestavia’s Haley Harmon and Nelson in the No. 1 doubles.

“What makes high school tennis great is the fact that it’s a team sport,” Farlow said. “The kids play as individuals but play for a team.

Every win is important at this stage.”

The Vestavia boys claimed victory in four of the six singles seed

Thursday, May 1, 2014 • 51

sports

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

baseball, From page 52

The Lions swept the Patriots despite the fact that Homewood had beaten Briarwood twice in three meetings during the regular season.

Ethan Simmons tossed a four-hitter to effectively handcuff the Patriot batters in the first game. Briarwood’s bats went wild in two innings, scoring eight runs in the fourth and six runs in the seventh.

John Michael Pegusky had three hits, including a pair of doubles, in the first game. Jake Bracewell had three hits in four at-bats, highlighted by a two-run homer in the sixth inning.

Simmons helped his own cause with a double and an RBI. “When you get that much offense, it really helps a pitcher,” he said.

“Winning that first game was big.”

The second game was just as impressive. Bracewell took the mound and scattered seven Patriot hits.

Homewood took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, thanks to a single from Adam Stewart, but the Patriots wouldn’t seriously threaten again.

Bracewell’s control was a key to the victory, as the Lion pitcher threw 60 strikes in just over 100 pitches.

Brayden Housel’s RBI single cut Homewood’s lead to 2-1 in the fifth inning. Housel then scored on a Patriot error to tie the game at 2-2.

Pegusky’s ground ball scored the go-ahead run. Tim Robertson’s triple and a Homewood wild pitch in the sixth led to a pair of runs that closed the margin to 5-2.

“We benefited from two outstanding pitching jobs,” said Briarwood coach Steve Renfroe. “Our guys were focused and competed well.”

Homewood’s season ends at 21-12. Briarwood, now 18-10 for the year, moves on.

Spain Park came into its series with Pelham determined to show that the Jaguars were not intimidated by the defending champs. They signaled confidence and aggressiveness in the first inning of the second game by attempting to steal home with two outs.

“We wanted to send a message that we were going to be the aggressor here in this series,” said Spain Park coach Will Smith. “I think we responded to it.”

In both games Spain Park jumped to 2-0 leads and never looked back.

Austin Haight had two hits and drove in two runs for the Jaguars in the opener. Mason Duke earned

Above: Mountain Brook’s John Eagin scores after getting caught in a rundown in the Spartans first game of their series with Hewitt-Trussville.

Journal photo by Lee Walls Jr.

right: Homewood’s Cade Mullins completes the double-play despite the slide of Briarwood Christian’s Tim Robertson during AHSAA Class 5A baseball playoffs. More photos at otmj.com Journal photo by Marvin Gentry

the win on the mound, giving up only four hits while striking out six Panthers.

Spain Park scored four runs in the fifth inning to secure the victory.

With the bases loaded, the Jags’ Jon Sumner hit a shot that came off the glove of Pelham’s first baseman. The ball flew over the head of the second baseman, and Spain Park took advantage of the confusion to score two runs.

Haight added a sacrifice fly to score another run. Sumner added another hit.

In the second game, Spain Park moved to a 5-1 and hung on for dear life to earn the sweep. In Pelham’s last at-bat, the Panthers earned three consecutive hits to load the bases before scoring a run on a walk. A grounder scored another run to cut the margin to 5-3. Then senior pitcher Josh Rich struck out two Pelham batters in a row to get the win.

The victory had to be particular sweet for Rich, who had been the

davis,

From page 52

school competition.

“There’s no way I won’t be taking the state meet seriously,” she said. “Most of the pressure I feel is self-imposed. Personal bests are always important to me, and I want to run the best times possible in my last high school meet.”

Boone seems to be peaking at the right time.

She won an impressive victory in the 400meter dash at the prestigious Mountain Brook Invitational in early April. Her final time of 57.30 was one of her best of the year.

“The Mountain Brook meet was a good one

victim when Pelham rallied from a 5-1 deficit to take a 6-5 playoff win a year ago.

“Everything was racing through my mind,” Rich said. “But there was no way I was coming out of the

because there was plenty of competition from Classes 6A and 5A,” Boone said . “It was a cross section of some of the best girls in the state. That was a nice confidence builder.”

And while Boone is usually conservative when listing specific goals, she’s not shy when citing one aim for the state meet.

“I’d like to set the state record for the 300meter hurdles,” she said. “If I run a good race, I think I can do it.”

Boone has a busy summer planned, but most of it won’t involve running.

“My coaches at Auburn said to take a break and enjoy the summer,” she said. “But I plan to be busy.”

She sure does. Boone plans to go on a mis-

game.”

Parker Hall had two hits and scored two runs for Spain Park in the second game. Dalton Brown and Hunter Dawson each had two hits.

The Jags, now 32-16 for the sea-

sion trip to Belize. After that, she will spend time at the JH Ranch, a Christian camp in California, where a long biking trip along the Pacific Coast is on the agenda.

“I’m just going to have some fun,” she said.

As her high school years come to an end, Katie Brooks Boone saw a lot of success come with the fun.

All-Star Week…

The rosters for the North-South soccer and baseball teams were announced last week. The all-star games will be played July 22.

Will Patridge of Hoover will be one of the girls’ soccer coaches. Madison Caldwell of Spain Park, Kate Denney of Oak Mountain,

son, will host Northview Friday in the Class 6A quarterfinals.

After suffering a one-sided defeat in the first game of the series, Mountain Brook rallied with wins on Friday night and Saturday to eliminate Hewitt-Trussville in Class 6A play.

After falling 15-3 in the opener, the Spartans rebounded with a 5-1 win in the second game and a 3-2 nail-biter the following day to clinch the victory.

In game three, Mountain Brook took a 2-0 lead in the second inning after Pete Berryman’s sacrifice into centerfield and J.D. Kubiszyn’s RBI single.

The Huskies rallied with two runs in the top of the fifth inning, thanks in part to a two-out error.

Undaunted, the Spartans rebounded to earn what would prove to be the winning run in the bottom of the fifth.

Kubiszyn’s shot to centerfield with two out scored Drew Odum. Odum went three for three for Mountain Brook. Davis McDougal, relieving starter Burt Bellande, earned the win.

The previous day, Mountain Brook responded to the decisive opening loss with an impressive win, thanks in part to the pitching of Alan Hale, who tossed a four-hitter with five strikeouts.

“Alan is one of those kids who is a great competitor,” Spartan coach Lee Gann said. “He always wants to pitch, no matter how tough the situation.”

Odum knocked in Parks Shoulders on a groundout in the second inning to give Mountain Brook a lead it never relinquished. Berryman had two hits and two runs for the winning cause, and Odum had a single and three RBIs. Mountain Brook advances with a 28-12 record for the season and meets Sparkman in the quarterfinals.

The news wasn’t quite so good for the other Class 6A team representing the city of Hoover as Hillcrest of Tuscaloosa swept the Hoover Bucs 7-4 and 9-2.

Lee Clark’s three-run homer in the seventh inning gave the Patriots the victory in the first game.

In the second game, Hoover’s efforts were hampered by four errors that produced three unearned Hillcrest runs. The Bucs’ best offensive producer was catcher Billy Reed, who had two hits, including a tworun double.

Hoover ended its season with a 35-13 record.

Leigh Haynes of Mountain Brook, Hannah Hudson of Briarwood, Jenna McLaughlin of Vestavia Hills and Julia Terry of John Carroll Catholic were chosen for the North roster.

Included on the boys’ North soccer roster are Clay McDonald of Oak Mountain, Joseph Riner of John Carroll, Paul Roth of Mountain Brook and Watterson Young of Vestavia Hills.

Rick Davis of Hoover and Lee Gann of Mountain Brook will coach the boys’ North baseball team. Selected for the roster were Andrew Autrey and Jack McPherson of Mountain Brook, Richard Davis of Hoover, Carter Jacobs of Vestavia Hills, Joseph McCormick of Oak Mountain and Adam Stewart of Homewood.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Sports

Homewood’s Miller Williams Recievs BryantJordan Award P. 50

Lee Davis

Final Run Members and coaches of the Mountain Brook high school girls tennis team celebrate their 6A state championship. From left: Wally Nall, Margaret Ann Clark, Sarah Cooper, Lil Kilgore, Carlee Petro, Mary Martha Grizzle, Olivia Howe, Elinor Anthony, Kathryn Sours, Susan Farlow and Glenn Lamar.

Photos special to the Journal

Net Gains

By Lee Davis

Journal Sports Writer

One of Alabama’s greatest sports dynasties reasserted itself last weekend. And another dynasty seems to be getting a head of steam.

The Mountain Brook girls’ tennis team staged a last day rally to win its 26th Class 6A state championship at Mobile’s Copeland Cox Tennis Center.

Coach Susan Farlow’s team finished with 64 points to slip past runnerup Huntsville’s 57 total and defending champion Vestavia Hills’ 56 score.

“When we won No. 2 and 3 dou-

Members and coaches of the Vestavia Hills high school boys tennis team with their fourth consecutive 6A state trophy. From left: Galen White, Adam Kolasa, Griffin McCullough, Jack Pilleteri, Paul Taylor, Peter Maluff, Patrick Cronin, Will Harper, Jamie Cory, Ziqi Wang, John Morson, Cabel Cantrell, Jack Patton, Stephen Williams and Brian Akhtar.

Spartan Girls, Rebel Boys Claim Tennis Titles bles, we started feeling better about things,” Farlow said. “But it still wasn’t over.”

Meanwhile, the Vestavia boys were doing pretty well with the dynasty thing, too. The Rebels won their fourth consecutive Class 6A title. Vestavia scored 85 points to easily outdistance runner-up Mountain Brook’s 61 total.

Broom-times

Briarwood Sweeps Homewood As Jags Send Champs Packing

By Lee Davis

Journal Sports Writer

The coming of spring means that lots of folks get out their brooms and start cleaning house.

Much the same could be said in last weekend’s rounds of the state high school baseball playoffs.

In two dramatic series, local teams

“We played hard all day,” Vestavia coach Adam Kolasa said. “We had big expectations and pulled through.

When you execute your strategy to perfection, it’s a good feeling. We had great teamwork. Everyone was pulling for each other.”

The Mountain Brook girls won four of the six singles finals and two

of the three doubles championships.

Carlee Petro defeated Huntsville’s Emma Burgess for the No. 1 title, Olivia Howe defeated Huntsville’s Emily Grace Forbes for the No. 3 crown, Lil Kilgore defeated Huntsville’s Renee Melkerson for the No. 5 seed and Elinor Anthony defeated Huntsville’s Laura Walker for the No. 6 title.

Vestavia’s Hannah Nelson handled Decatur’s Anna-Quinn Weaver for the No. 2 title. The Rebels’ Rebecca Pearlman was defeated by Huntsville’s Audrea Walker for the No. 4 championship.

See tennis titles, page 50

Briarwood Christian’s Jeffrey Travis slides under the tag of Homewood’s Jordan Acton during AHSAA Class 5A baseball playoffs at Homewood High School last Friday. More photos at otmj.com Journal photo by Marvin Gentry

ended the seasons of high profile rivals with sweeps.

In Class 5A, Briarwood used two impressive pitching performances to eliminate fifth-ranked Homewood by scores of 14-1 and 5-2.

In Class 6A, Spain Park stunned defending Class 6A champion Pelham with 6-2 and 5-3 victories.

Boone Sets High Goals For Last State Meet

T

he spring is a busy time for any high school senior, so it’s probably understandable that Katie Brooks Boone hadn’t gotten around to reflecting on her legacy at Westminster-Oak Mountain until last week.

But when the emotion finally hit her–it came at full speed.

“The other day before practice, I was sitting in a circle, stretching with the seventh and eighth-graders and trying to give them some tips, and all of the sudden I got a little sad,” Boone said, when contacted just prior to the state sectional meet. “I realized that in two weeks, my career at Westminster will be over, and I’ll be moving on in my life. It’s really a bittersweet feeling now.”

Surely there’s more sweet than bitter. Despite coming from a small school, Boone has distinguished herself as one of Alabama’s finest runners. Last spring, she won Class 1A-4A championships in the 100, 200 and 300-meter hurdles and would like to at least equal that trifecta in next week’s state meet.

Boone comes from a family of runners, and the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. She will be running at Auburn University next fall, just as her parents did a generation ago.

But none of that means Boone plans to coast through her final high

See Baseball, page 51

See Davis, page 51

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