Twenty
of leadership with Virginia Carruthers Smith PAGE 8
Colorful Designers Virginia Grisham and Eleanor Tolbert PAGE 16
Here comes the Heart Ball PAGE
IN THIS ISSUE
4
6 | The Debutante Club of Birmingham
8 | Mountain Brook Council President Virginia Carruthers Smith GIVING TREE
10 | Brian and Wendy Barze chair the Heart Ball ABOUT TOWN
11 | Things to do, people to see and hear
HOMES
12 | A Comfortable Oasis
Liz and Curt Rozzelle’s modern Tudor home in Hollywood is ever-evolving in design.
16 | A Colorful Collaboration Grisham Tolbert Interiors
18 | Katherine McRee is leading Cahaba Heights to new...heights
19 | Coach Elijah Garrison has Homewood boys basketball on the right track in his first season as head coach
20 | Mountain Brook dominates the 2024 Spartan Invitational
New Year, New You! I
’ve never been a big fan of the phrase, New Year, New You—as if turning the calendar page had some magical transformational power. But, so far, 2025 is giving definite “New You” vibes. I had no idea I’d be starting the year with my friends Lee and Claire carrying forward Maury Wald’s vision for the Over the Mountain Journal, but here we are. And honestly, I couldn’t be more excited! To be a part of something so special—something of which I have always been a big fan— telling stories, means the world to me. As a longtime Homewood resident and journalism junkie, Maury’s mission to celebrate the people, places, and stories of the Over the Mountain communities is important to me. And we want to keep that spirit very much alive—so that you’ll be excited to open your issue and read stories about people you know, organizations you support, and events you’ve been to. We want to hear and tell your stories. Email me at Bsmith@otmj.com, and share your ideas. I can’t wait to hear them and share them in OTMJ! In the meantime, I’ll be embracing the new year and all the exciting things to come!
–BARRY WISE SMITH
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JO U RNA L
January 23, 2025
Publisher & Executive Editor: Lee Hurley
Editor: Barry Wise Smith
Designer: Claire Cormany
Photographer: Jordan Wald
Contributors: Tally Reynolds Dettling, Rubin Grant, Madoline Markham Koonce, Loyd McIntosh, Anne Ruisi
Account Executives: Julie Trammell Edwards, Gail Kidd, Maury Wald
Vol. 34, No. 12
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:
MOUNTAIN
“I come from Alabama With a banjo on my knee I’m down in Birmingham For a couple of days to ski.” –garrison keillor
PHOTO BY BRIT HUCKABAY
The 58th annual Beaux Arts Krewe Ball
The Beaux Arts Krewe will celebrate the 58th annual Beaux Arts Krewe Ball on February 28, at Boutwell Auditorium. This year’s ball decorations and tableau will recall scenes of Oriental grandeur as dancing pages in Chinese costumes join in the merriment with the royal court and members of the Krewe. Proceeds raised through the event benefit the European Art Collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Thirty-one young women will be presented, and one of these ladies will be revealed as the Queen at the Ball, while two others will be presented as the Queen’s Ladies-in-Waiting.
THE 2025 BEAUX ARTS KREWE PRINCESSES ARE:
Julia Fletcher Abele, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Fletcher Abele, Jr.
Harriet Huntress Crommelin Adams, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Seth Adams
Emily Browning Amason, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Gilbert Amason III
Anna Caroline Bates, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Reed Robertson Bates
Eloise Katherine Berte, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Scott Liles Berte
Hagen McKenzie Blackwell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Slade Blackwell
Evelyn Islay Brady, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Henry Brady III and Mrs. Elizabeth Edgerton Brady.
Mary Isabella St John Butler, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Butler
Alice Caldwell Byars, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Oliver Byars
Olivia Ann Clegg, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Charles Clegg
Sarah Welles Edwards, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Hugh Edwards II
Ann Sutherland Elliott, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Rolling Elliott
Lauren Catherine Grubbs, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Jason Grubbs
Welden Williams Holman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jamie MacKinnon Holman
Emma Elizabeth Hughey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Fletcher Hughey
Mary Lawson Jolly, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rogers Jolly, Jr.
Margaret Cater Kracke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Lee Kracke, Jr.
Ellison Bay Matthews, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dean Dillard Matthews
Katherine Walker Methvin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gordon Methvin, Jr.
Madeline McRae Mitchell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Kenneth Mitchell III
Sadie Ann Patton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pegues Patton
Beverly Head Perkins, daughter of Mrs. Hillery Head and the late Mr. Giles Gilpin Perkins
Margaret Louise Rainer, daughter of Mr. James Walton Rainer IV and Mrs. Julie Shipp Rainer
Mary Lucy Redden, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Walton Redden
Olivia Joan Ritchie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Alan Ritchie, Jr.
Jane Morgan Knight Sauls, daughter of Mr. Charles Bradley Sauls and Mrs. Knight Crocker Sauls
Madeline Fay Stephens, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bryson David Dudley Stephens
Juliet Emmaline Stewart, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Colin Carter Stewart
Lillian Tanner Still, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Christopher Still
Ann Derby Welden, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Edgar Welden, Jr. and Mrs. Danielle Puccetti Welden
Lois Corinne Whiting, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Palmer Gaillard Whiting OTMJ
first row seated from left: Bay Matthews, Margaret Kracke, Emily Browning Amason, Islay Brady, Emmaline Stewart, Hagen Blackwell, Caroline Bates. middle row: Lillian Still, Sarah Wells Edwards, Alice Byars, Lawsie Jolly, Harriet Adams, Wels Holman, Ann Derby Welden, Sadie Patton, Ann Sutherland Elliott, Julia Abele, Beverly Perkins, Maggie Rainer. back row: Jane Morgan Sauls, Ellie Kate Berte, Madeline Mitchell, Loie Whiting, Emma Hughey, Lucy Redden, Lauren Grubbs, Madeline Stephens
Sarah Welles Edwards, Lillian Still, Wels Holman, Ann Derby Welden, Alice Byars
Lauren Grubbs, Margaret Kracke, Ann Sutherland Elliott, Sadie Patton, Loie Whiting
Madeline Mitchell, Bay Matthews, Emma Hughey, Julia Abele and Maggie Rainer
Jane Morgan Sauls, Emily Browning Amason, Emmaline Stewart, Ellie Kate Berte
Lawsie Jolly, Madeline Stephens, Lucy Redden, Beverly Perkins, Harriet Adams
Caroline Bates, Hagen Blackwell, Islay Brady
A Countdown to a Black and White Ball
The Debutante Club of Birmingham celebrated its 95th year as it rang in the New Year on December 31st honoring 18 young ladies at Mountain Brook Club. Gathering for cocktails and dinner prior to the Ball, the 2024 Debutantes and their escorts included Katherine Bradford and Matthew Schultz, Margaret Moore Clapp and Andrew Fielden, Elizabeth Anne Crommelin and Calvin Wilbanks, Millie Martin Dorman and Max Mullin, Mary Douglass Evans and Paul McMinn, Payton Flynn and Will Harris, Cami Fowler and Crockett Stultz, Mary Winston Hendry and Cam Taylor, Kate Howell and John Woodward, Sarah Huddle and Gilbert Amason, Mary Carlisle Jones and Preston Horsley, Caroline Kracke and Wood Hamilton, Annie LaRussa and Luke Hedrick, Jessica Randolph and John Henley, Olivia Robinson and
Wilks Fisher, Isabel Swoger and John Daniels, Emma Williams and Drew Elliott and Carlisle Wilson and Neil Carlson.
In keeping with the tradition of the early years of the Debutante Club, the honored debutantes wore long white gowns, and their escorts wore ivory dinner jackets, while guests wore black formal attire.
The Ball began at 9 p.m. as guests arrived to elaborate decorations created by Robert Logan. The “Countdown to a Black and White Ball” theme included timepieces and clocks merged with romantic 19th-Century Victorian-age imagery and industrial age technologies and objects. The debutantes’ fathers and escorts wore sashes made from fabric displaying antique clocks. Antique clock ticking could be heard in the living room below the conversation of the guests.
| The Debutante Club of Birmingham |
Kate Howell, Annie LaRussa, Millie Dorman
The Ballroom quickly filled with the crowd of enthusiastic revelers as they danced to the sounds of the seven-piece band, “All in One” from Atlanta. The mood for a fun-filled evening was set as all enjoyed the music and the ballroom decorated in timepieces and the gear-train innerworkings of clocks displayed along the walls. As a fireworks display shown on the ceiling, the band rang in the new year with a chorus of “Old Lang Syne.”
Enjoying this festive New Year’s Eve night, were members of three generations, including grandparents and parents and families of the Debutantes and their friends from near and far. Many of the Debutantes hosted friends from college who enjoyed Birmingham for the first time. All will remember a festive New Year’s Eve celebration of a “Countdown” to the year 2025! OTMJ
Margaret Moore Clapp, Elizabeth Anne Crommelin, Mary Douglas Evans, Mary Winston Hendry, Payton Flynn
Caroline Kracke, Jessica Randolph, Carlisle Wilson, Cami Fowler, Sarah Huddle
Katherine Bradford, Olivia Robinson, Isabel Swoger, Emma Williams, Mary Carlisle Jones
Madame President
Virginia Carruthers Smith leads the Mountain Brook City Council with experience.
BY BARRY WISE SMITH
PHOTO BY JORDAN WALD
For 25 years, Mountain Brook native Virginia Carruthers Smith has served her community on the City Council—17 of those years as Council President (Smith has served as president since 2008). For her many years of dedicated service, this year, the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce selected her as the 2025 Jemison Visionary Award winner.
“I’m incredibly honored to receive this award,” Smith says. “I feel as a council member, it is an award that is not individually won but as a team. We all work together to strive for the best for our city, and I’m grateful to be a part of this amazing team of public servants.”
Smith grew up in Mountain Brook attending Highland Day School before moving to Brook Hill, an all-girls school that is now The Altamont School. “All my friends were going to the junior high, and I went to Brook Hill,” Smith recalls. But after her first year,
Brook Hill became Altamont and went coed, and Smith graduated high school there.
She went on to do her undergraduate work at Bryn Mawr, another all-women institution, where she majored in classical archeology.
“I did several digs during high school,” Smith remembers. “I did several Paleo Indian digs in the U.S., and I did a dig in Mallorca, Spain, in the ruins of a Roman city.” As a student at Bryn Mawr, Smith continued her archeological education, spending two years working on the site of the ancient city of Morgantina in Sicily, Italy. “I just wanted to dig,” Smith says. “I loved that part of it, but I didn’t want to teach. I wanted to be out in the field digging, not in the classroom.”
Smith’s father was an attorney, so she developed a Plan B and decided to go to law school. “It was always in the back of my mind,” she says. To get experience, Smith took a job as a paralegal in Washington D.C. while applying to law school. After she gained acceptance to
the law school at Washington & Lee, she left her job to return to school. After graduation, Smith moved back home and went to work at Maynard Cooper (now Maynard Nexen) where she met her husband, David. “I had a job offer from a D.C. law firm, but the Birmingham firms offered a lifestyle that was more conducive to having a family, and I knew I wanted to be married and have children,” Smith says.
The Smiths married in 1989 and decided it was best they didn’t practice at the same firm. Smith moved to Johnston Barton where she stayed for two-and-a-half years. During that time, she had her oldest son Auston followed quickly by her son Everett. “I turned in my
resignation at Johnston Barton the month before Everett was born,” Smith says. “They had been so good to me, but I knew it was time.” Daughter Virginia followed in 1994.
While no longer practicing law, Smith wasn’t one to sit still. She became involved in community service, serving on the Preschool Partners board, volunteering at St. Luke’s and working with the Botanical Gardens and BirminghamMuseum of Art.
With three young children, Smith had a keen interest in Mountain Brook’s parks and decided to apply for a position on the city’s park board. Helene Elkus, who served on the city council at the time and served as the
“We all work together to strive for the best for our city, and I’m grateful to be a part of this amazing team of public servants.” –virginia smith
park board liaison, had decided not to run for re-election and was looking for a female with parks interest when she came across Smith’s application. “She (Elkus) approached me about serving on council,” Smith recalls. “I hadn’t really thought about that, but after talking it over with her and my husband, I decided to run for council in 2000.” Winning her election, Smith has served on the city council ever since (her councilmate Billy Pritchard was elected at the same time and still serves on the council with Smith).
Looking back on her two-and-a-half decades of service, Smith is proud of what the council and the city have accomplished. “I love the big projects,” she says. “I love getting in the weeds and really digging into those. I’m very proud of the projects we’ve done.” Some of her highlights are the creation of the Village Master Plan in 2017, which led to the development of Lane Parke; the building of the new City Hall in Crestline;
the development of Cahaba Village on Highway 280 and the redevelopment of the city’s parks.
Looking forward, Smith is anticipating the opening of the city’s new fire station on Overton Road; the development of Chester Court, a new residential development on the site of the former Shades Valley Presbyterian Church; a new senior housing development on the site of Village Dermatology and two new traffic roundabouts on Cahaba Road in Mountain Brook Village. “I’m hoping we have a great Brookwood plan soon, and I hope the Hollywood bridge gets built,” she says about the pedestrian additions to the bridge on Hollywood between Homewood and Mountain Brook.
“I’ve enjoyed it all,” Smith says. “I’ve met lots of terrific people, worked with fabulous council members, and the staff of the city of Mountain Brook could not be better. I’m honored and privileged to serve this city.” OTMJ
Build it and they will come
The Heart Ball is back and bigger than ever.
BY LEE HURLEY PHOTO BY JORDAN WALD
Birmingham, Alabama, surprises many visitors. It’s our hills that catch them off guard first, people tend to think of us as Kansas down south. The fact that we sit at the beginning of the Appalachian Mountains is unique and interesting and throws carpetbaggers off guard. Perhaps a lesser surprise is our national prominence in Orthopedics and Cardiovascular care. Those aren’t the only two areas of medicine we excel in, but they have put us on the map as a destination for care.
left: Brian and Wendy Barze below: Amee Calloway created this bespoke art piece for the Ball.
so I got an ablation, which is a procedure that uses heat or freezing to destroy heart tissue that causes irregular heartbeats.” That too has turned out to have a happy ending, but as Barze will tell you “not all of these stories have happy endings.”
And so it’s the gratitude for their positive health outcomes along with a passion for helping others and supporting our world-class medical community that compelled the formidable philanthropic power couple of Brian and Wendy Barze to take on the Chairmanship of this year’s Heart Ball. The Birmingham Heart Ball has raised over $19 million for local cardiovascular research, advocacy, and education efforts which is no small chunk of change.
plenty of time and money to causes, but heart health is a passion. “In Birmingham what I think is really compelling is those who give to cardiovascular care locally get multiple times for their donation because of all the research grants and dollars we receive,” Barze says. As the chairman of the ball Barzes’ main function is to help raise money, which is not always the most pleasant task. “I knew this would be out of my comfort zone, but I really feel strongly about the reason.” If Brian is the chief money raiser then Wendy is the chief party planner, and as Brian says, “That is why the Heart Ball is going to be an amazing event.”
This year’s ball is Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Birmingham Country Club, and it’s actually the 101st anniversary celebration of the founding of the American Heart Association. The event is sponsored by Encompass Health and Motion Industries, and throughout the evening as the guests come clad in black tie and hopefully wearing red, the Association will recognize volunteers and patrons, feature stories of survivors and entertain guests with dinner, dancing and an auction. “We also have some serious signature cocktails,” Wendy says, “thanks to the generosity of Chad Kelly with United Johnson Brothers. And this could never have been planned without Beth Gregory, Kayla Owen, Hannah Pryor and so many others.” Last but not least, this year’s event will honor Johnny Johns, former chief executive officer of Protective Life, and his wife Nancy with the Association’s Heart of Gold Award in recognition of their philanthropic support of the Birmingham community.
“We are so grateful to Brian and Wendy for their leadership and support, says AHA executive director Lizzi Willicott. “The Heart Ball is an opportunity for us not only to celebrate the amazing progress we’ve made in the fight against heart disease and stroke, but also to showcase the impact that we are making in the Birmingham community today.”
birth) heart defect called Coarctation of the aorta, which was preventing him from getting oxygen-rich blood to the lower half of his body. Doctors stabilized him, and a few days later, Dr. Al Pacifico did open heart surgery on their eight-pound baby. Thankfully it was a complete success. Jay grew up to live a perfectly normal life, playing football for Mountain Brook High School and active in all kinds of ways.
“I’m forever amazed how this thing touched our lives,” says Wendy Barze. “When it’s your child with this type issue, it’s the most important thing that’s
“The Heart Ball is a beautiful and wonderful event, but it’s also an investment in the health of Birmingham and beyond.”
–lizzi willicott, executive director development and community health
Ask Brian Barze—this year’s Heart Ball chairman along with his wife Wendy—about cardiovascular care in Birmingham, and they will tell you that heart doctors at Children’s Hospital saved their four-day-old son Jay’s life. Soon after they came home from the hospital, they noticed Jay’s labored breathing, and the late (wonderful) Dr. Tommy Amason sent them straight to the ER. Jay was born in 2000 with a congenital (meaning from
ever happened. It’s overwhelming, and nothing else matters. But what I did not know at the time is that a pediatric cardiologist follows these patients for life. As an adult, Jay sees Dr. Mark Cribbs who knows his entire history. When you’re a 24-year old, there is a difference in how you take care of yourself. Words like wellness and life balance get a lot of attention but they have serious meaning here.”
Jay adds: “I’m extremely grateful for the tremendous care that I’ve received from Dr. Johnson, Dr. Pacifico and Dr. Cribbs. Each of them played a pivotal role in improving the quality of my life.”
Jay Barze is not the only member of the Barze family to experience heart issues. A few years after Jay’s birth, when Wendy was pregnant with their third son Edward, Brian was diagnosed with a congenital issue that went undiagnosed into adulthood. “I had what’s called atrial septal defect, which is a hole in the heart wall that separates the upper chambers of the heart,” Brian says. “I had rhythm issues and irregular and rapid heartbeat,
As the CFO of PS Logistics, Barze has given
Amen. OTMJ
Jan. 28
VIVA VESTAVIA HILLS 2025
Enjoy a tasty evening sampling food, beer and wine from 25 restaurants at the annual Viva Vestavia Hills 2025 on Jan. 28. The event, from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Vestavia Hills Civic Center, will benefit general and scholarship funding for the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
FREE E-RECYCLING DAY AT THE ZOO
Always a successful event, Jefferson County Commission will be holding another FREE E-Recycling Day at the Birmingham Zoo on Saturday, January 28 from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
Below is a list of accepted items.
*Collection will close when capacity is met*
WHERE: Birmingham Zoo
LOCATION: Main Parking Lot
*E-Recycling Day will take place in the Zoo’s main parking lot. Guests visiting the Zoo will have to pay daily admission to enter the facility.
WHEN: Saturday, January 28, 2023
TIME: 9:00 am – 11:30 am
CONTACT-FREE DROP-OFF
• Place items in the trunk
• Remain in vehicle
WHAT TO BRING FROM HOME
**Household quantities only.**
• Cable Boxes, Modems, Routers
• Cell Phones and Tablets
• Computers and Laptops
• Cords, Cables, Wires, Chargers
• Printers, Scanners, Copiers, Fax Machines (Ink and Toner Cartridges)
• Rechargeable Batteries (Rechargeable ONLY)
• Security Equipment
• Small Appliances (Coffee Makers, Hair Dryers, Irons, Microwaves, Toasters, Vacuums)
• Televisions and Monitors (all types)
• Regular Paper, Paper Folders (5 box limit)
DO NOT BRING
• Cardboard
• Binders
• Binder Clips
• Wet Paper
• Alkaline Batteries
• Lightbulbs
• Major Appliances
ABOUT TOWN
Jan. 30 - Feb. 1
TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
LIL LAMBS CONSIGNMENT SALE
• Thursday, January 30 – Presale
($5 cash at the door) – 5:00-8:00pm
• Friday, January 31 – Regular Sale
9:00am-1:00pm & 4:00pm-6:00pm
• Saturday, February 1 – Regular Sale (many items 1/2 off) – 8:00am-12:00pm
Follow our Facebook page for updates and giveaways—AND—invite your friends. A portion of proceeds benefits the ministries and missions of the church.
Jan. 24
INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
Please join the Alabama Holocaust Education Center and the Homewood Public Library to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The program is free, but pre-registration is required at ahecinfo.org/upcoming-events
WHEN: 6 p.m.
WHERE: Homewood Library
Jan. 24-25
CHANTICLEER
The Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for its wide-ranging repertoire and dazzling virtuosity. The group brings its sounds to Birmingham in this concert.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Brock Recital Hall, Samford University
Jan. 31
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE IN CONCERT
Get ready to embark on an epic adventure to a galaxy far, far away! Experience Star Wars: A New Hope like never before as the Alabama Symphony Orchestra brings John Williams’ legendary score to life. Watch the full movie on the big screen, while the powerful ASO performs the unforgettable soundtrack live.
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: BJCC Concert Hall
MIDDAY MUSIC
Organist Gillian Gardner is the featured performer in this free, 30-minute recital on the Grieb-Williams organ at the Cathedral Church of the Advent.
WHEN: Noon
WHERE: Cathedral Church of the Advent
Jan. 30-Feb. 9
DEARLY BELOVED
An over-the-top wedding, three feuding sisters and a church full of small-town eccentrics. What could possibly go wrong? Find out in this fast-paced comedy.
WHEN: Various showtimes
WHERE: Homewood Theatre
Feb. 1
JAZZ CAT BALL
Join the Greater Birmingham Humane Society for the Jazz Cat Ball, one of the largest animal rescue fundraisers in the Southeast that attracts more than 1,000 animal-loving supporters. Enjoy a seated dinner, entertainment by a live jazz band and DJ RJ, casino games and live and silent auctions. WHEN: 5:30 p.m.-midnight
WHERE: The Finley Center
Feb. 1, 8 & 15
THE BIGGEST LITTLE HOUSE IN THE FOREST
This delightful children’s theatre adventure is geared to youngsters up to age 5.
WHEN: 2 p.m.
WHERE: Birmingham Children’s Theatre
Feb. 2
VITAMIN STRING QUARTET
Vitamin String Quartet is one of the most popular string ensembles in the world. For their current tour, they’ve created fresh arrangements of a variety of music by artists such as Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, BTS, Bridgerton, The Weeknd and Daft Punk.
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Aly Stephens Center
BUSCH TRIO
The three members of this chamber music group met at the Royal College of Music in London. Now they perform in concert and at festivals in Europe and the U.S. You won’t want to miss this performance. WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Brock Recital Hall, Samford University
Feb. 6-16
STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S ASSASSINS Assassins is a stunning and darkly comic journey into the minds of history’s most famous (and infamous) assassins! WHEN: Various showtimes
WHERE: Virginia Samford Theatre
Feb. 7
A NIGHT WITH THE AEOLIANS Oakwood University’s student singing group, The Aeolians, perform with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Alys Stephens Center
Feb. 12-March 2
SUMMER: THE DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL
With a score featuring more than twenty of Summer’s classic hits including “Love to Love You Baby,” “Bad Girls,” and “Hot Stuff,” this electrifying musical is a tribute to an icon of an era.
WHEN: Various showtimes
WHERE: Red Mountain Theatre OTMJ
The Vitamin String Quartet will perform Feb. 2 at the Alys Stephens Center
A COMFORTABLE OASIS
Liz and Curt Rozzelle’s modern Tudor home in Hollywood is ever-evolving in design.
BY MADOLINE MARKHAM KOONCE
PHOTOS BY BRIT HUCKABAY
Construction on Liz and Curt Rozzelle’s new modern Tudor home in Hollywood was completed in 2018, but in some ways that’s just when its story began. “You have to let the house and the yard and the garden tell you what it wants,” Liz says. “Is it in the right place? Where does the sun come in? What is the soil like? What does this room sound like?”
Take, for example, the walls in the Rozzelles’ living room, dining room, and kitchen. Originally, they had been painted Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore, a neutral color that was popular at the time. Every time Liz walked in those rooms, though, the color didn’t sit right with her. “It was like a battleship in there,” she says. “I couldn’t handle it.”
Instead, she found that Farrow & Ball Pigeon, a cozy bluegrey color, looked really good next to the grey subway tile that also has purple hues, so she tested it out and then painted it on the walls of all three rooms herself. To complete the look in the dining room, she had custom color block curtains made with a color similar to Pigeon on the bottom and an ivory color on top for the 10-foot walls, and she had solid ivory ones made for the living room.
A study on the front of the house with wood paneling had a similar story. Its original grey color didn’t feel quite right, so Liz painted it a dark blue-black (Cyberspace by Sherwin-Williams)
opposite page, top: Liz Rozzelle works on a floral arrangement in the spacious kitchen of her Hollywood home, which was built in 2018. opposite page, bottom: Liz designed her living room to be warm and natural looking, with comfortable seating for her family.
below: For the entryway to the home, Liz selected a Persian rug with dark colors to ground its design.
| HOMES |
right: Liz especially enjoys how natural light floods the dining room all day and sharing meals with her family at its round table.
“You have to let the house and the yard and the garden tell you what it wants.”
– liz rozzelle
that now feels like what it was always supposed to be.
No matter which room you are in in the home, Liz has the same vision-come-to-life for it, for their family, including sons Daniel, a UAB student, and TJ, a senior at Homewood High School. “What I have in this house makes me happy when I look at it,” she says. “I want it to feel warm and comfortable for everyone, especially my family.”
The dining room is emblematic of what Liz loves most about her home in general. Its tall windows let in ample daylight all day, as does most of the house as it was designed, and she has filled it with pieces that are meaningful to her.
The round oak dining table from Restoration Hardware was purchased 18 years ago and remains one of her favorite pieces in the house. The vitrine next to it had been a very dark wood stain when it was Liz’s grandmother’s, but she had a special furniture company remove it to reveal the original wood color.
On the opposite wall hangs one of several watercolors in the house that Liz’s mom painted in the 1970s. The paintings had been seemingly ruined with rubber cement when Liz got them from her mom, but an art instructor she found removed the acidic yellow marks from them, and Framed on Crescent framed them.
These meaningful spaces are also welcoming when the Rozzelles host events for medical residents Curt, a pediatric neurosurgeon, works with at Children’s of Alabama and fill their house with 40 to 50 people. Generally, most everyone ends up in their spacious kitchen, with cabinets painted Baked Brie by Behr and topped with honed Colonial granite countertops.
Behind the kitchen, the living room is full of wood and brass pieces and warmer colors that create a cozy space for the family of four adults and five rescue cats. The focal point of the room is a limestone fireplace that the Rozzelles had custom made. Most of the furniture came from Restoration Hardware, including the couch that Liz has had reupholstered in a blue fabric, but the drink tables by the couch are from Anthropologie and the rug from Perigold.
“I want things to be warm and natural looking, with nothing too hard,” Liz says. “Everything needs to be soft and comfortable.”
The trim color that ended up feeling just right for the living spaces is ICI French White, a custom color Benjamin Moore mixed for Liz. She also had the exterior painted the same hue a while after moving in since she thinks it works really well with green landscaping and the dark trim (Dragon’s Breath by Benjamin Moore), and she had it painted by Reyes Painting, a business she highly recommends.
| HOMES |
Elsewhere in the house are two bedrooms on the main level and four upstairs, plus an extra TV room upstairs. Behind the house sits a separate three-car garage with a studio apartment above it that family and friends stay in when they visit and where their teenage sons like to hang out with friends. But perhaps the most significant space in the home for Curt is the basement. After living in the space for a while and seeing it getting cluttered, the Rozzelles brought in a designer from California Closets to create a plan for floor-to ceiling bookshelves for
Curt’s collection of more than 400 military history games (games where you take an event in history and re-enact it with rules and roleplaying) that surround a commercial grade gaming table in the center.
For Liz, though, her favorite space is not inside the house but outside it, where on a good week she spends at least 30 hours gardening. Recently she planted native hydrangeas along the driveway, and she spends a lot of time in a pollinator garden in the backyard that now has mostly native plants. “That’s my favorite thing about the
garden: There’s always a problem to solve,” she says. “Whatever solution you give it, you’re not really going to be wrong because you are going to learn from it. It satisfies my drive to learn and educate myself.”
Just like all the spaces inside Liz’s home, the garden is a place for serene comfort.
“I feel like a home should be an oasis for your family once you leave the chaos of everyday life at your job or school or whatever is going on,” she says. “You want to come home and be able to rest and relax and have pretty things to look at. OTMJ
A Colorful Collaboration
Grisham Tolbert Interiors
BY TALLY REYNOLDS DETTLING
BY JORDAN WALD
Get to know the creative minds of Grisham Tolbert Interiors—Virginia Grisham and Eleanor Tolbert. This duo met and created their firm in a uniquely organic way, starting as work colleagues at Cantley & Company in 2016. Over the next six years, they formed a sister-like bond that has helped them become a powerhouse in the design industry.
OTMJ: How long have you been interior designers?
virginia grisham: I graduated in 2016 from Alabama, so I’ve been working in design for nine years now.
eleanor tolbert: I’ve been working in the industry for 17 years. After studying abroad in Madrid during my junior year at SMU (Southern Methodist University), I realized that I wasn’t very happy in my advertising degree, and all I’d taken pictures of were architectural details while there. During my senior year, I began working with a designer in Dallas. She encouraged me to get a degree in design, so I went to Samford and earned that degree in 2012.
When did you meet & open your business together?
ET: We’re both from Mountain Brook but met at Cantley & Company—a high-end kitchen and bath company. I worked there because I wanted to know kitchens and bathrooms backwards and forwards and felt like it was an expensive way to make some bad mistakes if you didn’t fully understand them. While working there, Virginia did a summer internship while waiting to start a position with Ruby Ansley. We were in a tiny office together every other day for four months and still enjoyed each other’s company. She left for Ruby Ansley, and I had my first baby that year. We became good friends and stayed in touch. In 2020, I was out on my own, and Virginia was still at Ruby. I always thought it would be more fun to work with a design partner, and 2020 proved that for both of us. I’d call and bounce ideas off her.
VG: At my birthday dinner in August 2021, I looked at Eleanor across the table and said, “I think I’m ready to do this. If you’re ready, let me know.”
“We want to help you make your home the place you love.”
–virginia grisham & eleanor tolbert
with action items. We have realized that by working together we can get twice as much done in half the time. In planning meetings, if I don’t hear a detail or sidenote from a homeowner, you can guarantee Virginia picked up on it and vice versa. We present a much more cohesive design style because of that.
Who would you say your mentors are or those that helped you get to where you are today?
VG: My great-aunt and my aunt, both designers, were a huge influence on me growing up. As well as my former boss, Sally Amen, at Ruby Ansley. She taught me a lot.
ET: My first boss at a design firm in Dallas, Kara Adam, was incredible. It was the first glance I got at interior design. The first week I started working for her, one of her client’s babies came early, and they were still weeks out from installing the nursery. Kara said let’s surprise her, so we started calling all the workroom vendors to see if they could get everything done in three days. And they all came through—the custom rug, draperies sewn, lighting changed, and artwork hung. To see how important your work rooms are and your relationships with them—that was instilled in me from day one. Those are the unsung heroes: our seamstresses and upholsterers.
ET: We waited until January 2022 to make it official.
What project has been your favorite to create?
BOTH: We’d say it would be our first full house renovation for a family in Mountain Brook. They’d already lived in their home for eight years. We were able to assist the architect, select all the furnishings, and basically transform the entire home without even changing the roofline. It was fun seeing what you can do without adding a second story and still be able to use and enjoy every square inch of your space.
How do you plan for a new business year?
ET: We are very organized—almost to a fault! Every week we have a new to-do list
BOTH: Our office is next door to Gilchrist, and both sets of parents are often guilty of dropping in with the excuse they were just getting a limeade, so they can sneak a peek at projects we are working on. They all love design! But truly, both of our families are always encouraging and helping us.
Favorite style trends for 2025 and beyond:
VG: Wallpaper—I love it! I hope it stays!
ET: I love showing people’s personalities in artwork and using family heirlooms. Use what you love! Things that will last!
Lastly, what’s one thing you want prospective clients to know about working with Grisham Tolbert Interiors?
VG: It’s a marathon, not a sprint. We have clients who we will put an entire plan together for, but we will only do one or two big pieces or rooms at a time until the home is completed.
BOTH: There’s no limit to what we will help you with—from whole home designs to one project, and everything in between. We want to help you make your home the place you love. OTMJ
PHOTO
Virginia Grisham and Eleanor Tolbert
Katherine McRee
Leading Cahaba Heights To New...Heights
BY LOYD MCINTOSH
PHOTO BY JORDAN WALD
Katherine McRee is a leader who doesn’t think of herself as one.
At least that wasn’t on her radar screen when she and her sister, Susan Day, opened the Lili Pad, a popular children’s boutique in Cahaba Heights two decades ago. However, in recent years, McRee has emerged as one of the most significant and highly respected civic leaders in Vestavia Hills, sparking a renewed sense of community and creativity taking root throughout the city.
A native of Mountain Brook, McRee grew up in Crestline and got her first glimpse of small business ownership after her mother, Susan Pierce, and partner Leigh Cooper, bought Town & Country Clothes in 1990. McRee worked in the shop as time allowed while finishing high school and attending Auburn University.
Soon after starting their own families, McRee and Day considered launching their own retail business and approached their mother for advice. “Mom said, ‘You have no idea how much work it is,’” laughs McRee, “she was right!”
However, after some time had passed, McRee
and Day decided the area needed a children’s clothing store, and, they learned a children’s boutique in Homewood was for sale. McRee, who moved to Cahaba Heights with her husband William in 1996, initially thought about relocating the business.
“My sister and I had started talking about opening a children’s store because we had little bitty ones, and we thought Cahaba Heights had the potential to be up-and-coming,” explains McRee. “We were thinking about buying an existing store and then we thought, ‘Wait, we can open our own store with less money.’”
McRee and Day opened the Lili Pad in The Heights shopping center during a comprehensive remodel in 2004. McRee says she has “mentally blocked out” much of the struggle getting the business up and running during the construction, but trusted the vision of their landlord Raymond Gottlieb.
Gottlieb impressed McRee and Day with his agenda to lure Starbucks to the shopping center in addition to the plans for the complex’s renovation. “Raymond assured me he was going to completely redo the shopping center and
recruit new businesses, which has enhanced the entire community,’” explains McRee.
The Lili Pad opened with a modest footprint of 1,700 square feet. Success followed quickly, and they expanded to 5,000 square feet by 2007, added a sister store for tweens, GiGi’s, and won Alabama Retailer of the Year in 2008. “Being moms ourselves, we asked ‘What do moms want? What do I want when I go into a store?’” McRee says, highlighting ideas such as an area for kids to play while moms shop, free gift wrapping, a simple and generous return policy, and easy parking. “Every decision we make revolves around making a mom’s life a little bit easier.”
“Someone’s got to take the lead and say, ‘how do we transform this community into a village?’”
–katherine mcree
With the store in good shape, McRee soon turned her attention to helping Cahaba Heights reach its full potential. McRee has fond memories of living in Crestline, particularly the special events, how the tight-knit business community supported each other, and how important these small businesses are to the residents. As a business owner
and resident of Cahaba Heights for more than 20 years, McRee envisioned a similar village-style community.
“Growing up in Crestline, seeing the holiday events and what the merchants in Crestline and Mountain Brook Village would do to bring families together, I thought, ‘Why can’t we have that here?’” McRee says.
McRree eventually organized the Cahaba Heights Merchants Association (CHMA), a 501©(3) aimed at transforming the community into a hip, dynamic entertainment district. As the CHMA’s president, for instance, McRee has spearheaded community events like Deck the Heights and Heights Hangouts to support small businesses and raise money for the beautification of Cahaba Heights. She has also collaborated with the City of Vestavia Hills to foster infrastructure improvements, including sidewalk construction throughout the community.
She also mentors other civic-minded residents and business owners, such as Drew Carter, an insurance agent interested in making similar enhancements in the Rocky Ridge community.
Currently, McRee is taking on her largest project to date, raising more than $40,000 and working side-by-side with city leadership for the Cahaba Heights Gateway. A comprehensive project including new signage, landscaping, and pedestrian improvements along Pump House Road from US 280, and other enhancements, the Gateway is another step toward turning McRee’s vision into reality.
“Someone’s got to take the lead,” McRee says, “and say, ‘how do we transform this community into a village?’” OTMJ
Coach Elijah Garrison Has Homewood Boys Basketball Team on Right Track in His First Season as Head Coach
BY RUBIN E. GRANT
Elijah Garrison wasn’t uneasy as he embarked on his first season as Homewood’s boys basketball coach, succeeding Tim Shepler. No one could have blamed him if there had been a tinge of anxiety. Shepler stepped down last spring after 29 years at the helm, leaving Garrison a tough act to follow.
Shepler posted 662 career wins and led the Patriots to the 2016 Class 6A state championship. He also guided Homewood to state runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2010 and led the Patriots to 13 area titles while sending 28 players to the college ranks. Last season, he was voted 2024 OTM Boys Basketball Coach of the Year after leading the Patriots to a 24-9 record and their first regional final appearance since 2016.
Shepler also hand-picked Garrison as his successor. Garrison came to Homewood three years ago after serving as head coach at New Hope in Madison County. “I think it’s an honor to be his replacement,” Garrison says. “It’s cool that before his retirement he acclimated me to the job and recommended me to get the job. That means a lot to me. It’s special.”
“I don’t think there’s any pressure,” Garrison continues. “I’m extremely thankful for the support we have gotten from our athletic director, our principal, the superintendent, the students and the community. It’s amazing the support we have.”
Two months into his first season, Garrison has led the Patriots to a 13-9 record through the first full week of January. “November and December
BY LOYD MCINTOSH
were a roller coaster,” Garrison says. “We’re not a young team in terms of age, but we’re young in varsity experience. We’ve had to learn how to win close games, prepare for varsity games and practice for varsity games. I’m a first-year head coach at Homewood and also a second-year head coach, so it’s a learning experience for all of us.”
“As we went into Christmas break, we had played some highly ranked teams,” Garrison says. “We played a tough schedule pre-Christmas, so we got some experience quickly.”
The Patriots have gotten contributions from players up and down their roster, something they
need to be successful. “Coming into the season, we had three players with experience, Kaleb Carson and Latham Binkley, a Trevecca Nazarene University signee, and Daniel Vinson, who led us in minutes played last season,” Garrison says. “We’ve gotten a couple of surprises, Hayes DeCoudres, our post player, and Drew Susce, who has done a really good job.
David Walden has been a spark off the bench, and Charlie Sims has been a threat from the outside.”
“We don’t really rely on one guy to score 30 points, but several to give us eight to 14 points,” he continues. “If we have four, five or six guys do that we’re going to click offensively.”
Homewood split its first two Class 6A, Area 9 games, dropping a close game at home against Minor, 51-49, and pulling out a 61-58 win at Parker. They were scheduled to play area games at Jackson-Olin on Jan. 14 and at Minor on Jan. 17. “Our area is like it’s been the last few years, very competitive,” Garrison says. “Minor does a good job of knowing who they are. With Parker, I think they have the most talented players No. 1 through No. 10. Their talent is what scares you.
“It’s going to be up and down in the area. There are no easy outs.”
Garrison believes the Patriots are in a good position as the regular season winds down.
“I don’t know if we had any expectations before the season,” he says. “We want to be the best version of ourselves. We’ve lost a couple of games we didn’t want to lose, and we’ve won a couple we probably shouldn’t have won. I preach all the time that it’s not the results, but the process of getting better.”
“After beating Parker, we control our own destiny and that’s where we want to be.”
Garrison’s maiden voyage has come under the watchful eye of Shepler. “Coach Shepler has come to just about every home game,” Garrison says. “I ask him questions all the time, and he’s given me his stamp of approval. He told me we’re in a good spot. If someone who has won about 700 games tells you you’re in a good spot, you must be doing all right.” OTMJ
PHOTO
left: First year head coach Elijah Garrison running plays
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Mountain Brook Dominates 2024 Spartan Invitational
BY LOYD MCINTOSH PHOTOS BY LOYD MCINTOSH
Five Mountain Brook High School wrestlers advanced to the finals in the 2024 Merril Lynch Spartan Invitational Tournament held at Mountain Brook High School, on Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14.
Bobby Rutkoff and Bill Bradford captured first place, and Stephen Springfield, Christopher Brown and Beckett Smith finished in second place to lead the Spartans to a first-place finish in the prestigious annual tournament featuring wrestlers and schools throughout Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.
The Spartan Invitational was first held in 2000 and went through several format changes until it was revived under its current format in 2012, explains Mountain Head Wrestling Coach Justin Ransom. The 2024 edition brought top-flight wrestlers from 22 schools to one of the area’s most anticipated tournaments. “For many local schools, it’s a premier event that they can send their guys to. It’s got all different levels of wrestling,” says Ransom. “There are some elite wrestlers here including from out of state.”
Rutkoff, a senior in the 106-pound weight class, defeated Sricharan Kosanam of Collierville High School in Tenn., 9-0 in the final. Rutkoff, the No.-1 ranked 106-pound wrestler in tAlabama at the time of the tournament, advanced to the championship match after defeating Fabian Robles of Shelby County High School, Cale Miller of Allatoona High School (Acworth, Ga.), Owen Kane of Fairhope High School, and Kellen Mitchell of Oak Grove High School.
Bradford, a junior wrestling in the 150-pound weight class, defeated Scottsboro High School’s Josh Draskovic, 6-1, to capture the Spartan Invitational title. In earlier rounds, Bradford won matches against M. Walker of ClayChalkville, Braden Doss of Hewitt-Trussville, Bryce Boothe of Fairhope and Weston Neutz of Collierville to reach the finals.
The 2024 edition brought top-flight wrestlers from 22 schools to one of the area’s most anticipated tournaments.
Wrestling in the 132-pound weight class, Springfield ran through wrestlers from ClayChalkville, Moody and a fellow Spartan, Nate Carter, to reach the finals, losing 8-2 to Nick Sykes from Shelby County High School. Brown finished second with a 17-1 loss to Scotsboro’s John Stewart in the 138-pound weight class after reaching the finals with wins over wrestlers from Clay-Chalkville, Thompson High School, Allatoona (Ga.) and Brookwood High School.
Wrestling in the 175-pound weight class, Smith advanced to the final with wins over opponents from Villa Rica (Ga.), Allatoona and Collierville before losing to Shelby County’s Xander Shook of Shelby County.
David Newell and David Smith finished in
third place in the 126-pound and 132-pound weight classes respectively.
Other area wrestlers finishing in the top three include Bradley Williams from Spain Park High School who captured first place with a win over Thompson High School’s Chase Kellgren, 11-1, in the 157-pound weight class.
Ford and Josh Milazzo, also from Spain Park. finished third place in the 120-pound and 138-pound weight classes respectively.
Mountain Brook High School hosted the Mountain Brook Invitational on Saturday, January 4. OTMJ
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS:
THE VESTAVIA HILLS REBELS came in second place in the Heart of Dixie wrestling tournament, hosted by Vestavia Hills High School on Dec. 27. Individual champions include Ryan Mckelvey (108 pounds), Stone Phillips (128 pounds) and Cooper Cook (192 pounds).
MOUNTAIN BROOK dominated the Mountain Brook Invitational held on Saturday, January 4. Weight class champions include Bobby Rutkoff (108 pounds), Stephen Springfield (128 pounds), Christopher Brown (140 pounds), Gibbs Watson (159 pounds), Beckett Smith (177 pounds) and Stuart Andrews (192 pounds). Chelsea High School’s Porter Schott also captured first place in the 217-pound weight class.
6A REGION 3 DUALS RESULTS
Mountain Brook High School, January 10, 2025
1st Place - Mountain Brook High School
2nd Place - Homewood High School
3rd Place - Pelham High School
4th Place - Spain Park High School
5th Place - Helena High School
6th Place - Chelsea High School
Bill Bradford Christopher Brown
Stephen Springfield