THE NEW VHHS FRESHMAN CAMPUS • FOODBAR’S GEORGE MCMILLAN • TRAVELING WITH STEPHEN STAIR
THE KEY TO CHANGE
TWO PASTORS DISCUSS RACE RELATIONS
IN SICKNESS + IN HEALTH
THE STOCKARDS’ JOURNEY OUT OF ADDICTION
reflecting
LIGHT
TALKING ABSTRACTS WITH CARRIE NENSTIEL
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 VestaviaHillsMagazine.com Volume Four | Issue Four $4.95
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2 August/September 2020
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FEATURES
37
IN SICKNESS & IN HEALTH Brian and Rachel Stockard journeyed through the tornado of addiction to a place of restoration, and now they want to fight alongside others who are where they once were.
44
AT LAST LIGHT Stephen Stair is always looking for just the right light for a sunset or sunrise photo around the world and in his own backyard.
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In the wake of national and local events, two pastors sat down to talk about race relations and how a Christian view of the Bible informs them.
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PHOTO BY STEPHEN STAIR
THE KEY TO CHANGE
44
29
PHOTO BY KAREN ASKINS
arts & culture
13 Light Meets Water: Carrie Nenstiel’s Earthy Abstracts 20 In Style: Dress Up or Dress Down 22 Read This Book: Black Voices with Alabama Ties
schools & sports
23 A Place of Their Own: A Tour of the VHHS Freshman Campus 28 Five Questions For: Teacher of the Year Michael Sinnott
food
& drink
in every issue 6 Contributors 7 From the Editor 8 The Question 9 The Guide 58 Out & About 62 Marketplace 64 My Vestavia Hills
29 By Sun & Season: FoodBar’s George McMillan 36 Five Questions For: Milo’s Hamburgers CEO Tom Dekle
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contributors EDITORIAL
Alec Etheredge Madoline Markham Keith McCoy Scott Mims Emily Sparacino
CONTRIBUTORS
Abby Adams Karen Askins Aliza Baker Mary Fehr Rick Lewis Stephen Stair Elizabeth Sturgeon Lauren Ustad
DESIGN
Jamie Dawkins Kate Sullivan Green Connor Martin-Lively
Karen Askins, Photographer
Karen received her first 35mm camera at 21. Once a hobby, photography has grown into a second career. She and her husband, David, have called Vestavia home for 33 years. They have two daughters and sons-in-law: Jordan and Christopher Lawrence and baby Mary Elle, and Devon and Tristan Hughes, students at University of South Alabama Medical School and Harrison School of Pharmacy.
Aliza Baker, Intern
Aliza was born and raised in a small town in Georgia, but she currently lives in Birmingham where she attends Samford University. Her lifelong interest in human psychology grew into a love for hearing people’s stories and getting to tell them in her own words. In her free time, you might find her reading a mystery novel in a local coffee shop or going on a spontaneous road trip with friends.
MARKETING
Darniqua Bowen Kristy Brown Kari George Caroline Hairston Rachel Henderson Rhett McCreight Viridiana Romero Lisa Shapiro Kerrie Thompson
Rick Lewis, Writer
A native of Birmingham, Rick studied English literature at the University of Alabama and was a 2019 Fulbright grantee in Malaysia. When not talking tea-sweetness particulars, he’s likely podcasting or reading secondhand short story anthologies.
ADMINISTRATION Hailey Dolbare Mary Jo Eskridge Daniel Holmes Stacey Meadows Tim Prince
Stephen Stair, Photographer
Stephen was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, where his parents and three brothers still live. He has spent the last 28 years in Birmingham and is privileged to be an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Compliance Officer at UAB Medicine. He has lived in Vestavia since 1998 with his wife Donna and two daughters, Caroline (age 21) and Sarah Beth (age 18).
Vestavia Hills Magazine is published bimonthly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Vestavia Hills Magazine is a registered trademark. All contents herein are the sole property of Shelby County Newspapers Inc. [the Publisher]. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher. Please address all correspondence (including but not limited to letters, story ideas and requests to reprint materials) to: Editor, Vestavia Hills Magazine, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Vestavia Hills Magazine is mailed to select households throughout Vestavia Hills, and a limited number of free copies are available at local businesses. Please visit VestaviaHillsMagazine.com for a list of those locations. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $16.30 for one year by visiting VestaviaHillsMagazine.com or calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 532. Advertising inquiries may be made by emailing advertise@vestaviahillsmagazine.com, or by calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 536.
8 August/September 2020
from the editor
I
ON THE COVER
Reflective Light
Artist Carrie Nenstiel paints abstracts inspired by water from her home studio in Vestavia Hills. Photo by Mary Fehr Design by Kate Sullivan Green
In the rampant uncertainty of 2020, all I want to do is escape into someone else’s story not set in 2020. Tonight you’ll find me immersed in another family’s drama from the 1970s to 2016 (The Most Fun We’ve Ever Had), and later this week I’ll get back into stories of the Great Migration (The Warmth of Other Suns). A couple of weeks ago I went to a lavish wedding in Singapore and back in a day (Crazy Rich Asians), and before that I spent hours in a therapist’s office (Maybe You Should Talk to Someone), on a migrant train in Mexico (American Dirt), spying in France during World War I (The Alice Network) and on trails with Depression-era packhorse librarians in Kentucky (The Giver of Stars). Even when we’re still spending oh so much time at home as the year progresses, words and photos can take us to other places in a way I, for one, find therapeutic. And that’s just what I hope this issue will do, taking you to some fascinating stories in the streets around you. The best escape read is Stephen Stair’s photo essay from his travels around the world and in our backyard—the next best thing to real-life travel we’ll be saving for the future. Our other two features aren’t light reading, but they are stories that need to be told now more than ever. Rachel and Brian Stockard were unbelievably open with their messy story of recovery and are just as passionate about helping others who are journeying through what they once were. Be sure to read it on page 37. Speaking of honesty, stick around for a conversation between Shades Mountain Baptist Church Pastor Danny Wood and Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Dr. Michael Wesley about race relations. It took place in June, but their words are ones I know I need to keep hearing over and over again. Elsewhere in this issue you can escape my other favorite way besides books—with a culinary adventure in our profile on FoodBar’s George McMillan. And looking at Carrie Nenstiel’s abstract paintings makes for a good visual “getaway” too. Back in reality, we’ve got the scoop on the new Cahaba Heights Milo’s and the passion behind Alabama Teacher of the Year finalist Michael Sinnott’s teaching. We also captured answers to all the questions we had about the new VHHS Freshman Campus that are good to know if you have kids who will go to the school or are just curious. And that ends my tour of the pages to come in this issue. I hope you find them as meaningful to read as I did to write and edit. As always, please reach out any time with ideas you have for stories for us. Here’s to the beauty in both escape and reality!
madoline.markham@vestaviahillsmagazine.com
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“ ” THE QUESTION
What did you/are you missing most during the COVID-19 quarantine?
VHHS Theatre Presents “Legally Blonde The Musical” -Debra Lee Talbott
-Allison Evans Maners
Feeling safe. Safety wasn’t much of an issue before. Now, it seems to overlap most all aspects of life.
Hugging my seniors on the last day of school
Smiling at people. I still smile all day at Children’s while I’m working, even though no one can see it.
My 5th grade musical!!! This was an awesome group!!! Not to mention my first K and 1st grade musicals!!! The barn scene will have to wait!
Watching Vestavia Girls Lacrosse win a 3rd straight state championship! They were half way through another undefeated season!
Spontaneity...when are senior hours? Did I pack the hand sanitizer? Where is my mask? If we meet up with xxx, will there be enough space to distance?
-Pamela J. Parsons
-Sadie Broome Stone
-Tammy Herring Holston
10 August/September 2020
I miss just running up and hugging people without asking if it’s ok.
-Faith Cole Lenhart
-Kate Donaldson
-Jackie Bush Hamilton
THE GUIDE
BACK 2 SCHOOL IN THE HILLS & CAHABA HEIGHTS PARK GRAND OPENING AUG. 14 5:30 p.m. Cahaba Heights Park 4401 Dolly Ridge Road
It’s time for a day we’ve long awaited: the opening of the newly renovated Cahaba Heights Park by the elementary school, plus an annual day of fun to mark the start of the school year. The festivities kick off with a ribbon cutting at 5:30 p.m. Check business.vestaviahills.org for updates on the event as the date gets closer. VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 11
THE GUIDE AROUND TOWN COMMUNITY
WEDNESDAYS IN AUGUST Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church Farmers Market Scout Square 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
CYCLING CHALLENGE
FRIDAY NIGHTS IN AUGUST Free Friday Flicks Veterans Park, Hoover
Don Hagan had a dream to ride his bike across the country and raise some money for at-risk children at the Presbyterian Home for Children in Talladega, but he had to rethink it with the COVID-19. The retired Southern Company nuclear engineer and Vestavia Hills resident instead rode the equivalent miles around central Alabama this spring as he wrote a pretend travel log about where he would be if he were still riding cross country. Find his updates at facebook.com/ ChildrensC2CCyclingChallenge/.
SATURDAYS The Marketplace at Lee Branch Lee Branch Shopping Center 8 a.m.-noon SATURDAYS Valleydale Farmers Market Faith Presbyterian Church 8 a.m.-noon AUG.9 A Night of Hope Hoover Met Complex 6:30 p.m. nightofhopetour.com
SPORTS
FAREWELL SEASON Buddy Anderson has been the Vestavia Hills High School head football coach since 1978 and is the winningest coach in state football history. This summer he announced his retirement after the 2020 season plans to his players. There’s no doubt he’ll be missed immensely!
KIDS
KIDS CONSIGNMENT SALES It’s that time of the year. Stock your kids’ fall and winter wardrobe at one (or all) of these sales. Better yet, consign some of their clothes from last year, and you can shop early to call dibs on the best items. Whale of a Sale Vestavia Hills United Methodist Sept. 17-18 Thursday 5-9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Visit whaleofasale.blogspot.com for updates on social distancing precautions. 12 August/September 2020
Market on the Mountain Mountaintop Community Church Find updates on dates and other information at marketonthemountain.com.
AUG. 14-31 Birmingham Restaurant Week Participating Restaurants bhamrestaurantweek.com AUG. 25 Municipal Elections Polling Locations in Vestavia AUG. 25 Summer Shindig Old Baker Farm, Harpersville AUG. 21-23 World Deer Expo BJCC Exhibition Halls AUG. 29 Bark & Wine Benefitting Shelby Humane Society Marriott Birmingham 280 SEPT. 4 Will Kimbrough with Guest Dean Owens Shelby County Arts Council, Columbiana
THE GUIDE SEPT. 12 11th Annual Bob Sykes BBQ & Blues Festival DeBardeleben Park, Bessemer
CITY
SEPT. 23-27 Regions Tradition Greystone Golf and Country Club SEPT. 25-27 Homestead Hollow Arts & Crafts Festival Springville SEPT. 26 Red Shoe Run Virtual 5K Benefitting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama SEPT. 26 Head Over Teal 5K/10K Benefitting Laura Crandall Brown Foundation Any Virtual Location
IN MEMORY
LIBRARY
CURBSIDE SERVICE As of this issue’s time of publication in mid-July, the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest is offering curbside pick-up for books and more as well as online story times and other programming. Visit vestavialibrary.org for more details on those services and other updates.
This monument to honor police officers, past and present, for their commitment and sacrifice was dedicated May 15 on this Peace Officers Memorial Day in honor of officers who have been killed in the line of duty. Props to the Vestavia Hills Police Foundation on spearheading this monument for the lawn at VHPD!
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&CULTURE
ARTS
LIGHT MEETS WATER Carrie Nenstiel’s earthy series of abstracts reflect foamy waves, brewing storms and reflective light. BY ELIZABETH STURGEON PHOTOS BY MARY FEHR VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 15
Carrie Nenstiel paints earthy abstracts in her studio in her Vestavia Hills home.
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C
Carrie Nenstiel and her family have always been water people. She thought she said goodbye to the water after leaving Mobile, where she was born and raised, but the creeks, rivers and lakes around Vestavia Hills have now become important and inspiring pieces of her home. Naturally, when Carrie dedicated more time to painting in 2015, water became her main subject as her style developed. “A lot of my inspiration is not just drawn from South Alabama, but from Central Alabama,” Carrie says. “I’ve lived and experienced both—bay, gulf, other parts of the river system.” Carrie works in oil paints and watercolor in a range of sizes, all capturing abstract scenes of water. When she sees people walk into her booth at an art show, they let out a few deep breaths and feel the peace from her work—all light, soft and airy. Parker, her husband and a biologist for the state, also grew up in Mobile and keeps Carrie informed about Alabama’s water and river systems. “Alabama
has the most miles of rivers, creeks, and streams of any other state,” she says. So, even when she left the bay, the water was still close by, as it is for so many Alabamians. Her watercolor technique flows and brings a watery nature to her work to her oil paintings and larger canvases. Sometimes, she thins and loosens her oil paints in order to create the fluid movement and the many textures of a coastline. Foamy waves, brewing storms or reflective light all come to life in her work. For as long as she can remember, drawing and painting have always been a constant in her life. “The first thing I ever wanted to be was an artist. That was my kindergarten request,” Carrie says. She’d always find herself in the “art barn” of Murphy High School in Mobile, painting murals and creating club decorations as a student. She received her bachelor’s degree in art from Auburn University and then painted on and off until she had her first VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 17
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(Still) Serving Children Safely
ChildrensAL.org
It has always been our priority
to ensure the safety and well-being of each child in our care — and that remains our commitment as we continue our mission during the Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s how we have redesigned our operations to keep our patients and their families as safe as possible: child in 2015. As a new mom, Carrie dedicated more and more time to painting and moving through different subjects and styles. “This was a way to keep a piece of myself as I learned the ropes of being a mom,” she says. Along the way, she built up a body of work and began to get picked up in local galleries, first from Amber Ivey Fine Art in Mobile and then from Four Seasons in Homewood. She loves having her work in both the Mobile and Birmingham art scenes, representing both of her homes. Some pieces go darker or richer than other light and transparent work, but Carrie’s vision of landscapes brings her oil and watercolor work together as an earthy series of abstracts. As her style continues to grow, she tries new techniques, like stretching out canvases or using different washes for a new kind of texture. Her work captures the way light interacts with the water, often shown through her use of gold. The glimmer of gold in her paintings adds a striking new dimension to each piece, something Carries always resonates with when she’s in front of the water. As she reflects on all of her favorite memories on the lake or the bay, in all different places around Alabama, the way a space is illuminated is what sticks in her mind. “When my son was young, we’d go look at the Cahaba Lilies. The light would shine just right, I was with my family and they were really idyllic moments,” she says. “A lot of those moments where I can remember how the light hit the water is how I use
q All visitors are screened immediately for signs of illness and fever. q We follow Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting our facilities. q Our staff practices safe hand hygiene. q We are wearing masks for your safety. Thank you for wearing your face covering. q All visitors to campus are required to wear masks. q Waiting rooms have been reconfigured to accommodate social distancing guidelines.
VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 19
Carrie has found many people who buy her paintings have a connection to water just like she does.
20 August/September 2020
the golf leaf,” she says. The more she shows her work, Carrie realizes how everyone has some sort of connection with the water and the landscapes around it, just like she does. Onlookers will see snow banks or beachy coastlines in her work, even if that’s not what she sees. Carrie often begins with a set of colors and then creates her subject from there in a flowing, expressionistic way that allows for viewers to see these different terrains. Of the many shows she’s done and galleries she’s had her work displayed in, her three years with the Market at Pepper Place hold some of her favorite moments, especially as strangers become more familiar, and then familiar faces become owners of her work. “It means so much for someone to make a connection with you long term. Your work evolves, they stick with you and, in a way, you’re invited into their home,” she says. And in that relationship, Carrie invites each individual to see themselves and their experiences in her colors, shapes and movements that she explores in her art. “People see what they’ve experienced,” she says. “Chances are, living in Alabama, around either rivers, streams, creeks, bays, ponds or gulfs, you’ve experienced or have a memory tied to the water. It’s comforting and universal.” Learn more about Carrie’s work at carrienenstielart.com or @carrienenstiel_art on Instagram, or find it at Four Seasons Gallery in Homewood.
VESTAVIA HILLS FAVORITES Moving to the Vestavia Hills community was always the dream for Carrie. About a year ago, she and her family moved into their home from Alabaster so they could be closer to friends, as well as all of the incredible businesses and fun they find here. Restaurant where you’re a regular? Martin’s Bar-B-
Que Joint. It’s perfect for a family dinner night. My kids love the outside area!
Go-to shop or boutique? The Lili Pad. Such sweet clothing options for kids!
Favorite activity in town? Finding new plants at Andy’s Creekside Nursery.
Best dessert? I love anything from The Heavenly Donut Co.
Outdoor space to spend time? McCallum Park. We love the walking paths and the creek!
VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 21
IN STYLE
DRESS UP OR DRESS DOWN LOOK 1
1
BY ABBY ADAMS PHOTOS BY LAUREN USTAD
2
1. ESQUALO STRIPED DRESS With color and stripes, this dress is everything nice! Ryan Reeve | $98
2. SHEILA FAJL EARRINGS These are everyone’s favorite classic gold hoops. Ryan Reeve | $73
4
3. MUSSE & CLOUD TAN WEDGES Stay comfy with these staple shoes. Ryan Reeve | $75
4. ARDEN TOTE As seen in Rachel Zoe’s Tote Box, so of course you need one. Ryan Reeve | $75
3
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4 3
1
LOOK 2 1. TANGERINE DREAM TEE Graphic tees are in, so wear them while the weather stays hot. Mia Moda | $49
2. LEVEL 99 JEAN SHORTS These shorts will go with everything in your wardrobe. Mia Moda | $89
3. INITIAL NECKLACE Stay on trend with one of these necklaces to pair with any top. Mia Moda | $42
2
5
4. COURTNEY MESH PANAMA HAT A hat can add style and flair to any outfit. Mia Moda | $59
5. COCOBUTTER FLIP FLOPS These are so simple but so necessary. Mia Moda | $50
ACCESSORIES 3
2 1
1. LEOPARD JUTE CROSSBODY BAG Mia Moda | $49
2. LEOPARD MASK
3. ADA LOVELACE PEACH MOONSTONE RING
Mia Moda | $26
Ryan Reeve | $198
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ARTS & CULTURE
READ THIS BOOK
Black Voices with Alabama Ties Recommendations from
Our Editorial Staff
As protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis took place at the start of the summer, books about race relations and the black experience in America started to sell out at local bookstores and national online retailers alike. Likewise, librarians and bookstore owners in our community are great resources for recommending reads that speak to these topics. As one more starting point in those conversations, here’s a list of titles by black authors (and one illustrator), all set in our state. Each comes recommended by our editorial staff, who have found that words and pictures that take place closer to the place you call home have all the more power to shape how you see the world around you and respond accordingly.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
By Bryan Stevenson There’s a reason Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times said Stevenson “may, indeed, be America’s Mandela.” In his book, Stevenson recounts his years as a young lawyer founding Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative to defend the wrongly condemned in the farthest reaches of the criminal justice system—many of them on Alabama’s death row—and how it transformed his understanding of mercy and justice. There’s also a young adult version available and a 2019 film by the same title.
Homegoing
By Yaa Gyasi This novel follows the parallel paths of two sisters from Ghana in the eighteenth century and their descendants through eight generations, illuminating how oppression spills through from generation to generation and creates systemic problems. Latter chapters take us to a cotton plantation in Tuscumbia, Alabama, and the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, among other settings, not far from where Gyasi, a Ghana native, was raised in Huntsville.
Barracoon
By Zora Neale Hurston We have a new mural across from the Pizitz Food Hall to thank for introducing us to Cudjo Lewis. Back in 1931, Zora Neale Hurston interviewed him in Plateau, Alabama, a community 3 miles from Mobile that he and other former slaves had founded. At the time, the 89-year-old was the only living person who had been transported from Africa to America as a slave. In this volume, Hurston, an Alabama native herself best known for writing Their Eyes Were Watching God, captures his story and the tragedy of slavery.
Let the Children March
By Monica Clark-Robinson & Frank Morrison “I couldn’t play on the same playground as the white kids. I couldn’t go to their schools. I couldn’t drink from their water fountains. There were so many things I couldn’t do.” So begins this children’s book account of the thousands of African American children who marched in Birmingham for their civil rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak in 1963. Frank Morrison’s emotive oil-on-canvas paintings that are paired with Clark-Robinson’s poetic words earned this book a Coretta Scott King Honor Award for Illustration in 2019.
Gone Crazy in Alabama
By Rita Williams-Garcia In this book for middle grades, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern travel to Alabama one summer in the 1960s to visit their grandmother, Big Ma, and her mother, Ma Charles, and uncover family history and bonds along the way. This is the third book in a trilogy, so be sure to start with the first, One Crazy Summer, to see how these sisters visit kin all over the nation and discover their own strength along the way.
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SCHOOL
&SPORTS
A PLACE OF THEIR OWN Have questions about the new VHHS Freshman Campus? We did too. Here are the answers we found. BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS KEITH MCCOY & CONTRIBUTED VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 25
Rising VHHS Freshmen
How do you take the freshman class out of high school and put them on their own campus? We sure had a lot of questions about the practicalities of that move as Vestavia Hills High School prepares to open its new Freshman Campus in the former Pizitz Middle School building this fall. To answer them, we sat down with Tyler Burgess, the principal over both campuses, this summer to talk about their plans to offer freshmen all the opportunities they had before just a few minutes’ drive down the road. Can you paint a picture of the school population growth that created a need for more space? Last year the senior class had 480 students, and this incoming freshman class has 575 right now. The current seventh grades class is trending about 615, so about every other year you are seeing large numbers of growth as our city grows.
year olds and intimidation factors.
What has transitioning looked like for ninth graders in the past? All high school students have lunch study period where they lunch for 25 minutes and 25 minutes of free study time. For our ninth graders we saw we could structure that time better, providing a curriculum that daily addresses note taking, mental When the school system was looking at health issues, hygiene and social issues, organizational different options for growth in school system strategies, keeping up with grades and how to be a population, why did it choose to create a new self-advocate. We have written a curriculum for this class, and freshman campus? We saw a freshman campus as a win-win to help have been doing it for two to three years for freshmen capacity issues, adding 600 students to a school that and it’s worked really well. Now going to the new holds 1,200, and to address ways to transition campus we have a chance to expand on that to help students into high school in a better way than and add components to it to help more instructionally. throwing them straight in with 2,000 kids and 18 26 August/September 2020
Pizitz Middle art students painted a mural to “fill the upper deck with fans” in 1995, pictured bottom left. The Pirate Creed that was painted nearby in the building, pictured bottom right, has now been painted in the new Pizitz building that was once Berry High School. This summer the school's walls were repainted to bear the same logos and look as Vestavia Hills High School's gym.
What are other benefits of having freshmen on their own campus? We are seeing and hearing from past freshmen that freshmen eating lunch with other freshmen and building relationships with their grade level should be less stressful experience. Having freshmen sit at a lunch table with students in other grades they don’t know comes with a lot of anxiety, particularly when you have students coming from two different middle schools like we do. For a class of about 600 students, about 150 come from Liberty Park and the rest come from Pizitz. When you merge them together at a new school, you have to help them make those friends and build those relationships. That’s easier to do on their own campus. Will there be times where all four grades come together? We plan to have a big homecoming week where we will include freshmen with the main campus for a lot of those activities. We want to create new traditions as well. We plan for at least one other pep rally type experience in the fall or spring where they will all be together. Toward the end of the year we are working
on opportunities either through live stream to participate in large school celebrations as well. What will sports look like with two campuses? Most sports have a ninth-grade team, so most will practice on that campus. Some sports only have JV and some freshman play varsity, so they will be bussed to the main campus to practice on those teams. Athletics should look like what it looks like now only we have more space and can spread out better. On the main campus last year we had three teams’ practices stacked on top of each other, and some students weren’t leaving practice until 7:30 or 8 at night. What about activities in the arts? We are offering choir on the freshman campus as well as theatre and dance. We are teaching band on the main campus in the morning and bussing freshmen back to their campus afterward so they can practice with the marching band before school and take advantages of the fine arts equipment and spaces on the main campus. The robotics team will come to the main campus for the robotics lab too. VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 27
THEN & NOW AN OVERVIEW OF CAMPUS CHANGES FOR VESTAVIA HILLS CITY SCHOOLS IN 2019 & 2020
IS PROUD TO WELCOME TO OUR EXPERT TEAM OF PHYSICIANS
Beau Grantier, M.D. SPORTS MEDICINE
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Call 205-605-8180
today to schedule your appointment. Grandview Physicians Plaza 3686 Grandview Parkway Suite 430 Birmingham, Alabama 35243
Less Pain. More Living. www.SouthlakeOrthopaedics.com
SCHOOL
CHANGES
Vestavia Hills Elementary East
Added Grades 4-5 to K-3, Fall 2019
Vestavia Hills Elementary West
Added Grades 4-5 to K-3, Fall 2019
Vestavia Hills Elementary Central
Closed Campus for Grades 4-5, Fall 2019
Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights
No Changes, Remains K-5
Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park
No Changes, Remains K-5
Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge Pizitz Middle School (6-8) Liberty Park Middle School (6-8) Vestavia Hills High School (9-12)
New K-5 School in Former Gresham Elementary Campus, Fall 2019 Moving to former Berry High School Campus, Fall 2020 No Changes, Remains 6-8 Separate Freshman Campus Opening at Former Pizitz Campus, Fall 2020
What changes are you making to the new freshman campus building? We are rebranding the pirate logos and creed in the gym and turning them into 1 Rebel branding and adding our alma mater. We are also turning the old band room into a black box theatre and teaching space, so there will be a dance floor that also serves as a theatre stage. It can be used for in-the-round theater experiences that our auditorium would be too big for and for daily instruction for dance and more. Do you have unique experiences planned for this first class? We have a giant school flag that hangs in our main campus gym that was donated by a graduating class, so we are going to put a giant flag in the new gym and have our students sign it as the first class in the building to imprint them into the tradition of the campus.
28 August/September 2020
How will traffic change this year? With 600 students with half of those participating in an activity after school, we shouldn’t have a carpool issue before or after school on the ninth grade campus. It will also take 600 carpoolers off of the main campus, which should open up traffic flow for students who drive. The only problem we foresee is those students where the older sibling drives taking someone to the ninth-grade campus. One hard thing is those who have siblings at the new Pizitz on Columbiana too. We are trying to make sure those times match up since it’s now further away, but we think it will work itself out.
How will the main campus look different this year? We will have more elbow room in the hallways, but it’s amazing how quickly spaces fill up. Teachers who were floating have moved into their own classroom spaces. Some rooms we will use for common planning, and we only end with one room that is empty. Any final thoughts to share heading into this school year? There will be a lot of new normals to get used to. We love our traditions, and we are trying to keep our traditions intact and will also create some new ones. I think that will be exciting for these students though.
VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 29
SCHOOLS & SPORTS
5
FIVE QUESTIONS FOR
Michael Sinnott
Vestavia Hills High School Teacher of the Year PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Talk with Michael Sinnott for even just a few minutes about his passion for teaching, and you’ll understand why he was named one of 16 finalists for Alabama Teacher of the Year for 2020-21. He primarily teaches AP English Language and Composition but has also taught creative writing, public speaking and tenth-grade English, and in addition to that he co-sponsors Scholars Bowl, Mock Trial and Youth in Government. We chatted with him about his journey from Auburn to Vestavia and what stands out from his classroom. Oh and fun fact: current Vestavia Hills Schools superintendent Dr. Todd Freeman taught Michael ninth grade history at Auburn High School. What inspired you to become a teacher, and how did you end up at Vestavia? I teach because of my teachers. My English teachers and band directors had a big influence on my life. I lost my father suddenly in eighth grade, and there was a void left there. Teachers can’t replace parents, but they can step in as surrogates at times. Max Jones and Davis Thompson at Auburn High School became mentors and father figures and guided me toward teaching. I got my undergrad at Auburn in English and stuck around and got my master’s in education. I taught at Auburn High School for two years, and then we moved for my fiance’s career. I was able to get a job at Vestavia, which is her old high school. I just finished my 10th year here.
eating lobster at the Maine Lobster Festival. I have had students write about the ethics of the Vestavia Rebel. It’s interesting to see kids asking these questions.
because it’s a metaphor in the book about life and family.
Can you talk some about what you do tied to the Moth Radio Hour? Two years ago I got invited to one of What other moments stand out from their teacher cohorts in Lower Manhattan, what you do with students each year? one of the nation’s largest organizations Early in the year we do a reading of a for storytelling. Now my students learn commencement speech by Anna Quindlen how to tell their story and turn it into a speaking at Barnard College about the piece of writing. That’s something that struggles she carries as a woman and high really resonates with them. achieving student. She uses the metaphor of a backpack of perfection. I brought two What was it like to end the school year backpacks full of bricks and made them in quarantine? I don’t teach that many seniors, but I write about what is in their backpacks. I had them come up if they wanted to and was able to write them a letter to give put on the heavy backpack to read it and them closure. In my AP classes I give then literally put the backpack down. It every kid a word I think they embody at What do you like most about teaching? was a turning point for the community of the end of the year. Good writing deals I love to read and talk about books. I learners because they are learning to be with abstract ideas like truth and justice love teaching writing and watching kids vulnerable with one another. I also used and love, but it’s expressed through the developing their own voices. If they learn to teach A River Runs Through It about concrete like my grandfather’s calloused to become writers, they can become self fly fishing. After we read the book I’d have hands. I might tell a student they are joy advocates. We do a big unit on David a fly fisherman come, and they’d lead or perseverance. This year I had to record Foster Wallace’s piece about the ethics of them in casting lessons with a fly rod a video to do it. 30 August/September 2020
&DRINK
FOOD
BY SUN & SEASON
FoodBar’s George McMillan is on the hunt to highlight Alabama’s bounty, playing to both Southern comfort and an increasingly global palate. BY RICK LEWIS PHOTOS BY KAREN ASKINS VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 31
FoodBar Chef George McMillan sits in front of a photo his dad and grandfather were in that hangs in his Cahaba Heights restaurant.
32 August/September 2020
F
FoodBar Chef George McMillan carries himself with a certain casual effortlessness, a subtle confluence of both skill and practice. But then again, it should come as no surprise that he’s right at home in a kitchen—he’s been at the dining game for more than 26 years. His resume includes places both locally and nationally acclaimed: Arman’s at Park Lane (where he would meet his wife, Meredith), Hot and Hot Fish Club and Daniel George. But when asked about where he earned his love of food and the people that make it, he harkens back to his upbringing in Birmingham: “Both my grandmothers were great cooks.” His father’s mother, Jean McMillan, was a traditional Southern inspired “down-home kind of cook” and his mother’s mother, Louise Dial, a “little bit more
gourmet, European influenced.” There was also Clara Frisco, who worked for the family, and her masterful soul food creations. And family friend David Apperson, a retired Navy cook, “saw the cuisines of the world” and taught McMillan to think more globally in terms of flavor. It was among this diverse group of food lovers and creators that McMillan first found a desire to try his own hand at cooking. When the weekend came around and he and his sister were left to fend for themselves, he remembers trying to prepare the perfect breakfast, “making sure everything was hot at the same time.” McMillan would keep his love of food into his more obligatory year spent at Auburn University. Not finding anything especially captivating in academia, he went on to work in a series of kitchens VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 33
before ending up at the Jefferson State culinary school, an apprenticeship-like program consisting of two years of schooling and three years of work. He encourages all young people interested in the food industry to try out the “school of hard knocks” method to make sure it’s really the life they wish to pursue. But he couldn’t be happier in his choice. Finding one’s passion is somewhat akin to always finding the perfect skipping stone, and in 2013, McMillan tossed his into Cahaba Heights and opened FoodBar, his long-awaited solo venture. According to McMillan, a lot of what FoodBar aims to do is “work with local farmers and purveyors and sort of follow the sun and seasons.” His restaurant, a turn away from white tablecloths, embraces the upscale-casual approach and leans into the warm comfort of dark woods and soft leather booths. The walls are decorated with pictures of vintage Alabama, a painting of a bass and a healthily stocked wine rack. You’ll find a menu at once upscale and unpretentious—traversing from seared foie gras to an award-winning hamburger (Miller Farms organic beef, caramelized onions and a Parmesan crisp). “I have customers that’ll 34 August/September 2020
call and say, ‘Hey, I’m wearing shorts,’” McMillan says. “I don’t care if you’re wearing flip flops and a bathing suit, come on in.” For FoodBar, highlighting Alabama’s bounty is no small task, with all of its fields, rivers and gulf ripe for the picking. But it’s the search for the best ingredients that McMillan is intrinsically drawn toward; he says if he wasn’t a professional chef he’d be a professional hunter. He’s a chef who knows the soil as well as the market, and his list of suppliers reads like a who’s who of Alabama’s farming pros: Columbiana’s Southern Organics for hydroponically grown microgreens naturally filtered by tilapia; Delta’s Miller Farms grass fed beef; Madison’s Henry Fudge, famous for his fostering of heritage-bred duroc pork; and numerous docks in South Alabama supplying snapper, oysters and a whole host of fresh Gulf seafood. Of course, McMillan’s true art is the fashioning of these prime ingredients into tantalizing meals that not only play to Southern comfort but also to the increasingly global palate of today’s customer. For example, in a meal that riffs off the idea of barbecue and the freshness of greens, Chef McMillan makes a Fudge Farms lacquered pork roast served with a house-made kimchi, butter lettuce and sticky rice. McMillan credits the prevalence of travel and even the Food Network in “tearing down walls around certain foods or flavors,” unlocking culinary experiences people might not have considered before. But the early influence of family and Birmingham are not lost on McMillan—recipes from his grandmothers can frequently be found on the menu too. Of course, FoodBar would not be complete without a full bar to boot, and head bartender David Winter oversees an equally seasonal menu of classic and modern offerings alike. For the summer heat there’s a re-envisioned Aperol spritz made with elderflower liqueur and to ward off the night a whiskey cocktail featuring cold brew coffee and praline liqueur. The bar also features an eclectic offering of both local and domestic beers on tap and by the bottle as well as wine. Now cruising into his seventh year with FoodBar, Chef McMillan says he enjoys being “a beacon for the city” and catering to customers new and old. The response to his approach has been consistent and strong, even through times of great uncertainty for the restaurant business as a whole. During the beginning heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, FoodBar only closed its doors for a few weeks. “We let everybody go home,” McMillan says. “(We) did our
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“
I don’t care if you’re wearing flip flops and a bathing suit, come on in.
”
-FoodBar Chef George McMillan
This Fudge Farms lacquered pork roast is served with a housemade kimchi, butter lettuce and sticky rice.
own house quarantines to make sure everybody was okay and safe.” They ran a take-out only business for about two months for opening back in earnest in June, and the response was immediate and welcome. According to McMillan, seeing people back in his establishment was “encouraging.” And if his sustained success is any metric to go by, he has no plans of slowing down.
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FOOD & DRINK
TOES IN THE SAND SUMMER COCKTAIL Classic inspirations are behind many of the drinks on FoodBar’s menu. This one traces its roots back to the ever-approachable Aperol spritz. A refreshingly cool, floral reprieve from the Alabama heat, this creation of bartender David Winter has the ability to transport you to the island you’d rather be lounging on.
WHAT’S IN IT
HOW TO MAKE IT
1 ounce Tito’s vodka 3/4 ounce St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur 1/2 ounce Aperol 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice 1/4 ounce simple syrup 2-4 thin slices of lemon for garnish Splash of Prosecco
Combine all liquid ingredients except Prosecco into a shaker tin. Add ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain the liquid into a wine glass with the lemon slices placed inside and add ice. Finish off with a splash of Prosecco.
VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 37
SCHOOLS & SPORTS
5
FIVE QUESTIONS FOR
Tom Dekle
Milo’s Hamburgers CEO
Tom Dekle has loved Milo’s burgers for as long as he’s known Vestavia streets. He grew up with both, raised his kids in Vestavia, and now his grandkids are “Milo’s fanatics” too. “The sauce is the difference,” he says of a classic Milo’s burger that was born close to 75 years ago here in Birmingham. “There’s no substitute for it.” We chatted with him to learn more about the restaurant’s new Cahaba Heights location that’s scheduled to open in August and what else is new with the brand.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Why open a location in Cahaba Heights? We had a lot of customers who asked us to come to the community. In fact, it was the most requested area in Birmingham. We know this property’s developer, Will Akin, and when he bought the Rite Aid building, we worked with him on the space. It’s a great location at Green Valley and Crosshaven. We have a great store in Inverness and a great one in Vestavia, and we felt like this is a great fit since it’s far to travel to those other stores. What will be unique about this new location? This store will feature a more upgraded look designed by Cohen Carnaggio Reynolds Architecture and Eric Hendon. We have some high-top community tables and a brighter look with our classic red colors. We’ll have our traditional drive-through lane, and we’ll have an additional spot you can pull up to with a speaker for online orders and third party delivery pickup. 38 August/September 2020
The Milo’s burger and tea are iconic, but what else do you recommend on your menu? Our chicken tenders and our crispy chicken sandwich are extremely popular. Instead of using frozen ones, we figured out how to marinate them for 24-48 hours and hand bread them. We have a grilled chicken sandwich too. With our chicken offerings, we added a Double O sauce, a combination of ranch and Milo’s sauce, and a boom boom sauce with a little heat. We also added a sauce bar inside. You bottled Milo’s sauce for the first time this spring. How did that come to be? We have never bottled the sauce because it’s a refrigerated product. When COVID came around, we were trying to figure out ways to do something different, and we decided to sell the sauce and contribute part of the proceeds to a charity that needs help in this time. We tested it to see if the
customer would pay $5, and the $2 between cost and selling price we gave back to our community. For the first week we tried it on our food truck and sold out. It had a contagious buzz, so we bought 6,500 empty bottles and put them in our stores. The stores would fill the bottles, and we sold all 6,500 bottles in a week. During the pandemic, there were two months where we were able to offer more than 6,000 meals to children in all of our markets. Our goal is to sell the sauce again and to partner with No Kid Hungry, a national group with a local presence. What’s something that Milo’s offers that people might now know about? Our mobile app usage has tripled in the past year. There’s a skip-the-line component, and it will save your order history. It’s about convenience. You can get exclusive offers the public does not have, and soon you’ll be able to earn points and use points.
in sickness
and in health Brian and Rachel Stockard journeyed through the tornado of addiction to a place of restoration, and now they want to fight alongside others who are where they once were. By Madoline Markham | Photos by Mary Fehr VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 39
R
depressed and started taking pain medication to numb his pain—a habit he had no idea would snowball for the next 12 years before he’d get sober. “I would be at church on Sunday asking God to take it away from me, and the next day I’d be doing it again,” he says. He likens addiction to feeling like you are drowning. “My head would come above water and then it would come back down,” he says. “I would get these moments of clarity and say, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’” But more and more his life, hidden behind a veiled curtain everyone outside his house saw, looked like chaos and despair. And as Brian will tell you now, addiction is a family disease. Everyone around the one with the addiction gets sick in their own way. “Our house was awful,” Rachel recalls. “There was no peace. I was mad, hurt, devastated.” And so, being a first born and a teacher, her response was to take control as life spun more and more out of control. “I was checking phone records and up all night,” THE START OF THINGS she admits. “I was literally like CSI Vestavia Hills. I Rachel and Brian met back in 2002 when Rachel was following him and wanted to catch him and was Brian’s daughter Morgan’s kindergarten rescue him. “What I was doing was the definition of insanity, teacher. He’d been divorced about two years at the time, and they had mutual friends from Auburn doing the same thing over and over again,” she University and growing up in Birmingham (she continues. “I was screaming at him and he was sad. went to Homewood and he to Vestavia Hills High It was a vicious cycle.” In 2008 Brian finally sought treatment for the School). When the school year ended, Brian asked first time. Before that he admits he was still full “of her out, and they married a year later in June. When they met, Brian checked every box on pride and arrogance thinking I was special and Rachel’s list and shared how he had just gotten didn’t need to do this.” Afterward he stayed sober baptized and was involved at the then-fledgling for close to three years, but a series of events would Church of the Highlands. But four months after send him back into what Rachel calls a “tumultuous they married, Brian sat Rachel down. “I think I tornado” of addiction. Rachel remembers holding have a problem with pain medication,” he told her. up their then 2-year-old in the middle of it and “What?! We just got married!” she thought saying, “Look at her! Why you can’t you stop?” “I immediately. “This is not part of the plan.” At that want to, but I can’t,” he’d reply. Brian finally hit rock bottom on September 7, point she says she knew nothing about addiction and thought it was a choice, not a disease. So they 2013 and committed to treatment for the long put Band-Aids on everything and kept moving haul—the autumn that Rachel so vividly remembers through life as planned. “I had grown up in a house crying at the Cahaba Heights baseball fields. “At with a dad who was a football coach,” Rachel says. that point I was all in,” Brian recalls. “I was tired of fighting with everyone around me and hurting the “I just told Brian, ‘Just stop, you are weak.’” As it turns out, after his divorce Brian had been people around me, and I was tired of the pain I was Rachel Stockard vividly remembers those days at the baseball fields in Cahaba Heights, the ones where she put her shades on and pretended everything was great. “I had those big glasses on, with crocodile tears pouring down my face seeing all these dads with their sons,” she recalls today. “Putting on that mask I was so burdened and exhausted.” All she could ask herself in those moments was, “Is Brian going to be back?” Her husband had left home for an addiction recovery facility seven days before their daughter Morgan’s 16th birthday in 2013. Their son Bo was 6, and their youngest Lexi was 3. On top of that, Rachel was teaching full time and getting a master’s degree. Life was not easy as a temporary single parent. But still she’d told Brian, “Go, get better!” seeing it as a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain. Or at least that’s what she hoped for as she faced the ugliest bear she could have ever imagined.
40 August/September 2020
In the middle of Brian Stockard’s addiction treatment, his wife, Rachel, would pray that her eyes would be restored to see her husband like she did on her wedding day.
VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 41
Rachel and Brian Stockard with their children Lexie, Bo and Morgan
causing and I didn’t want to do it anymore. I made the decision that I was going to do whatever I had to do to get healthy and recover.” And he did. RACHEL’S SIDE Rachel didn’t realize it at the time Brian went to treatment, but she had years of healing ahead of her too. The first time Brian had come home from treatment she had thrown a laundry basket at him. “You do the laundry!” she screamed. “I have been doing it for so long!” “That is not what you do when someone gets 42 August/September 2020
home from treatment,” she says today though. First she had to realize she couldn’t fix Brian. Eventually she’d come to see she was just as sick as he was in all her efforts to save her husband. “I wasn’t breathing or sleeping because I was in such a panic all the time worrying he was going to die,” she says. And that was just one part of it. With addiction becomes betrayal. Before he left that September, Brian would say one thing and do another. “That’s what (people with addiction) do,” Rachel says. “They are going to protect their addiction with everything they have.”
Seven years later, Brian can see the mess of it in hindsight: “Your husband gets sober, but your life still sucks. You are still and angry and don’t like him, and you are trying to control everything and you don’t know why. It takes humility to call someone who has been through it and let them help you.” One day in the middle of that tornadic mess of treatment, Rachel noticed a framed photo from their wedding and how she looked at Brian so intently. “Brian would come down the stairs when we first got married, and I would literally do a herkie and toe touch and say, ‘Here’s your coffee, I love you so much!’” she says. “And now I would say, ‘God, I need you to restore those eyes to see him like I did that day because I right now want to whip his butt in 27 different places.’” And with time and healing, she started to. She saw that Brian was aggressively and relentlessly pursuing recovery. When she visited him, she would catch a glimpse of the man she married. “I knew who he was deep down, and that’s why I kept fighting,” she says. “It was the addiction that broke my heart, not Brian. I have a visual of a cement shell (around him), and we had to keep chipping away at getting to where he was because I knew what he was capable of.” When things were bad, family and friends would sometimes suggest divorce, but that was never on Rachel’s radar. “I grew up in a house with divorce, and it was not an option for me though it might be for some,” she says. “I remember thinking that no one is going to put my kids to bed but me. I did not want to wake up Christmas morning and drive to Brian’s house to see my kids. “Thankfully Brian decided to get help. Our story could have looked very different had he not. I knew if he was going to get help, I was going to stick by him.” Layer by layer, Brian rebuilt Rachel’s trust with each action down to showing her his gas station receipts for a Powerade. “It’s easy when you stand up there in a wedding dress, and you’re skinnier than you’ve ever been and tanner than you’ve ever been, (to say), ‘For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, ‘til death do us part,’” Rachel says. “(But) what do you do when you are in that ‘For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health’? You fight and ask God to carry you through.” SHARING THEIR STORY Today, Brian has been sober for nearly seven years and has the strength of the Birmingham recovery community behind him. “He has a phone book full of people he is checking in with every day,” Rachel says. “They would actually know before I did if he started to slip, and talk about pressure being released.” What they know now more than ever is the value of sharing their story, especially since they’d kept their journey of addiction hidden for so many years. “I remember thinking (in the middle of it), ‘God, I know there is going to be good coming from this, so when we get through this can you give me a place to tell our story and encourage women?’” Rachel recalls. Coming into sobriety, Brian stayed actively involved in the VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 43
recovery community, providing encouragement and accountability to others in a series of heartbreak and miracles. “If there is a ministry where you can get your butt whipped on a daily basis, it’s recovery,” Brian says. “I have watched more people who lost their lives to this disease. It’s an epidemic like nothing I have ever seen.” The Stockards see their message of particular importance in Vestavia Hills, where they have lived throughout their journey, and other Over the Mountain communities. As they get coffee and dinner with other couples walking through addiction, Brian wants them to get educated about it, to know what they are facing and to get into treatment. “There’s a lot of wanting to stick your head in the sand,” Brian says. “People don’t want to
acknowledge the fact that they are battling this. Addiction still has a stigma especially here. The biggest struggle in our area is wanting to sweep it under the rug, and there’s shame and the guilt associated with it in our community. (And often people) are so embarrassed and ashamed and frustrated that they don’t know what to do.” Rachel picks up from there. “(We want) the Instagram perfect story family (where) there is nothing wrong,” she says. “When everything was really bad, I guarded that with my life. I didn’t want anyone to know. When you can start talking about it (though), there is so much freedom in asking for help and having people support you through it.” Rachel hasn’t been quiet about their story since Brian’s recovery, but telling it at a Storytellers Live event that was also recorded for a podcast in
February 2018 opened more doors for conversations than she could have imagined. In fact, she’s had someone reach out to her at least once a week since then, and in July 2019 she and Brian participated in another Storytellers Live event to jointly share their story to a coed audience. That night Brian also shared he’d just started a position as executive director of Turning Point Foundation, a recovery facility in Thorsby. Two years into sobriety, when the Stockards were still in the “financial ringer” that his addiction had taken them to, some friends at Cocaine Anonymous raised money for Brian to attend Highlands College, Church of the Highlands' ministry training school, which would eventually lead him to Turning Point. “Once we decided to talk about this, all these things have happened that have blown our mind,” Rachel says. “We couldn’t have written this story.” More than anything, Rachel wants to be the person she wished was in her life back in 2013 when she was hiding behind her sunglasses. “(Addiction is) not something we talk through at the baseball fields or is easy for people to talk about,” she says, “but it’s so comforting to say, ‘Me too, that happened to me, and I was crazy too.’”
CHANGING LIVES AT TURNING POINT
Brian started as executive director of Turning Point last summer. The non-profit, in-house recovery center on a 10-acre property 45 miles south of Birmingham is as a faith-based, 90-day program for up to 30 men at a time who are struggling with addiction. Learn more about its work at turningpointal.org.
VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 45
AT LAST LIGHT
STEPHEN STAIR IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR JUST THE RIGHT LIGHT FOR A SUNSET OR SUNRISE PHOTO AROUND THE WORLD AND IN HIS OWN BACKYARD. PHOTOS BY STEPHEN STAIR | TEXT BY MADOLINE MARKHAM
TOP: Last year Stephen visited his older daughter Caroline when she was studying abroad in Florence, Italy. One day they took a side trip to Venice and then a ferry to an island called Burano where bright colored houses line canals. He likes how the line starting from the bottom right corner leads you into this photo. BELOW: In six days Stephen logged 60 miles walking the city, and at sunset he strategized the best spots to capture the city’s colors.
If you travel with Stephen Stair, you will quickly learn two things that his wife, Donna, and daughters Caroline and Sarah Beth know full well. First, he always packs a tripod, and second, he is prone to waking up at odd hours of the night to capture just the right moment on camera. By day he’s an internal medicine doctor at UAB, but for the past decade any chance he gets he pulls out his Canon camera. Anywhere he and his family travel he has his eye out for just the right combination of light and color for a shot, and then he’ll come back at sunrise or sunset to capture it— the only two times he really likes to shoot. “I’m always looking for a unique perspective,” he says. Stephen also enjoyed photographing his daughters in show choir and at track meets at Vestavia Hills High School, and you’ll find an image he took of fall color on Vestavia Parkway on display at Vestavia Hills City Hall. Here he shares some of his favorite shots from travels near and far and the stories behind them. Next up on his list after travelling is safe again: Switzerland, Prague, Paris, New Zealand, Zion National Park, the Oregon coast and Iceland. Find more of Stephen’s photography on Instagram @stephenstairphotography or stephenstairphotography.com. 48 August/September 2020
TOP: Twice a year you can catch a moonbow—a rainbow produced by moonlight rather than sunlight— at midnight at Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park, and Stephen’s family’s trip timed around his daughter’s school schedules just so happened to put them there for one in 2018. The full moon lit up the waterfall. ”It’s one of the coolest things I have done in my life,” he says. BELOW: Jurassic Park was filmed on Nepali coast in Kauai island in Hawaii. When he was there Stephen hiked up about a mile to this vantage point to shoot a flowered plant in the foreground with the coast in the background. He now has this print blown up in his office at UAB.
VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 49
50 August/September 2020
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TOP: Stephen’s family enjoys renting a cabin in Rocky Mountain National Park near Knoxville, where he grew up. Last year he captured this view of Cumberland Gap with clouds settled down in the mountains. FAR LEFT: Stephen happened to be in Fort Morgan a night with clear skies and no moon in May and was able to capture the Milky Way over the ocean where there is no light pollution around 4:30 a.m. “The Milky Way is moving the whole time, so you take 15-20 shots in a row and an editing program brings them together,” he explains. “You can’t see it with a naked eye.” You can see Stephen in the shot too. LEFT: Stephen caught this bird in Fort Morgan too. “It’s like he’s exposed with his legs showing,” he says.
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THIS PHOTO: On a mission trip to Rwanda in 2016, Stephen captured a boat with a volcano in the distance on a day trip to Lake Bulera. Today the image of the crystal clear water hangs in his family’s living room. ABOVE LEFT: A guide led Stephen and a group of nine others on a several hour hike that he says felt like the TV show The Land of the Lost to find a nest of gorillas. Their group spent an hour sitting and watching them. “They don’t pay much attention to you, but the babies are very interested,” he says. ABOVE RIGHT: The only place in the world to find kageri monkeys is in Rwanda, and a guide led Stephen and others to some to observe them. PAGE 51: One of Stephen’s favorite shots to date was one he didn’t even know he took in the moment. On safari in Rwanda he was shooting out the window at everything. He didn’t see the composition of the savannah landscape in this one until he pulled it up on his computer afterward.
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54 August/September 2020
In the wake of national and local events, two pastors sat down to talk about race relations and how a Christian view of the Bible informs them. Transcribed by Madoline Markham | Photos Contributed
Pastor Danny Wood opened his sermon on Sunday, June 7 with a history lesson starting in the 1960s. It was 13 days after George Floyd had been murdered in Minneapolis, and seven days after protests had taken place in downtown Birmingham calling for justice. But before he started his sermon, Wood invited his predominantly white congregation at Shades Mountain Baptist Church into a conversation he’d had
that week with his friend Dr. Michael Wesley, senior pastor of Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, a predominantly African American congregation in the West End, on “racism and the gospel.” Here we share that conversation, edited some for length and clarity. To watch the full version, find the “A Conversation on Racism & the Gospel” video at shades.org/media.
VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 55
Dr. Michael Wesley and Danny Wood film "A Conversation on Racism & the Gospel" at Shades Mountain Baptist Church in June.
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Wood: You have explained the term “systemic racism” in the past to where you helped me understand it in such a great way. Can you explain what systemic racism means? Wesley: Systemic racism is a whole system that has been designed to be anti-black. It’s been in existence for more than 400 years in this country. It began with slavery, and it continued for 100 years under Jim Crow laws. People of color have always been relegated to a second-class citizenship. Many people believe that God did not create people of color the same as he did white people, and as a result laws have been made in government, in education, in politics, in banking, in real estate. In every aspect of the systems of this country, there have been racial divides… We are at a point where the systemic understanding is coming to a forefront. I live in Ross Bridge, but there were times when communities like that would have been considered red lined, when bankers would not lend the money to move into certain communities… There have been more and more young people wo have been coming out, and I think that holds the key to where change may be. People of older generations (have seen) that this is the way this is. Even though people today are not responsible for slavery, they have benefitted from the system that has been in place. I think the George Floyd murder brought it to the consciousness of people, and it’s emblematic of what the system has been where the knee has been on the neck of people of color no matter what arena. With Christian pastors beginning to teach the truth of scripture, we have a chance to bring it to the forefront the wrongness of the system and not just a particular incident. Wood: You can look today and say after 50 something years things are so much better than they were in the ‘60s, but it’s that underlying systemic racism that a lot of us—I say that as a white race—don’t see. Wesley: You probably have been stopped by a police officer, but there’s never been any fear in your heart that your life would come to an end as a result of that stop. Growing up I remember one night in the car with my dad with several of his children in the car, and he was stopped by a white police officer. I remember the fear that was there. My dad explained afterward that he wanted to go home with his family, so he was not going to say anything or do anything that would cause that man to hurt him in front of his family… I have had to teach my sons as they were coming through their teenage years to be aware of how to handle themselves and how to speak intelligently and appropriately so they will be not be hurt should they be stopped. Wood: Where do you think this (movement) is going to lead? Wesley: I think it can’t just be African American leaders speaking up because when it’s just African American leaders speaking up people think that’s what they were supposed to do. They have always spoke against it. But when white leaders and white pastors and the whole gamut of leadership begin to rise and say this is not right, that provides the impetus for VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 57
change. When younger generations begin to understand and see the inequities that are not right… that gives us the great opportunity for change to take place in this nation and in this town. Wood: Back in the 1960s the Letter from the Birmingham Jail from Martin Luther King was precipitated by the eight pastors who were telling him to wait, and he came back with “justice delayed is justice denied.” At that moment the church could have stepped up and done something, but we didn’t and we said we’ll just let the government do it. Now here we are 57 years later and we have another opportunity. There are some things our government needs to do, but from the moral, spiritual standpoint it would seem like this is the perfect opportunity for the church to step up. Wesley: This is a golden moment for the church and for white churches and leaders and black leaders not to pound on what was wrong but how we go forward in fixing the system. I don’t agree with looting or burning businesses. I think it has to be teaching and elections, and each one of us has to look in front of us and see how we might be able to make a difference where we are right now as we go forward from this moment. Wood: We have laws on the book, but we still have racism on our hearts. The 15th amendment gave voting rights, but the white legislature came up with black codes that prevented them from getting registered. Wesley: That’s part of what I mean by systemic. Some people think the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery, and we passed Civil Rights Act and now we are good. But that’s not true. There are still so many underlying things where we come right behind those major landmark legislations and put in place unwritten codes to keep the situation from being done like it should. 58 August/September 2020
At the end of the day, when we go to heaven, all of us who are Christians, I don’t believe there will be a white section and a colored section or a black section. I think we’ll just be in heaven. I don’t think there will be a black Jesus or a white Jesus, I think there will be Jesus and we will worship him as one people. I think earth is that dry run for heaven, so it’s time now that we begin to be that one body that Christ died for. Wood: We have 5,000 members (at Shades Mountain). The question for them is, “What kind of impact can I have?” Wesley: I think it begins with the home. We have a biblical model in the book of Deuteronomy. Talk to your children as you go along the way, put it on their frontlets and foreheads. I think parents have to teach their children the wrongness of systemic racism and try to make sure that we don’t perpetuate what has generationally been passed on to us. As those children are communicating with their peers, they can have those discussions too. When integration came, I was assistant principal at Smith (School in Roebuck). I felt for the first time real hope because I knew those children were eating lunch together, playing in the band together, playing on the same team. I thought these kids will grow up not with the misunderstanding of each other that previous generations had grown up with. I still believe that’s how the hope can take place. The church is the hope of the world. We are the hope because what’s preached is then reinforced at home, and I think if we can do that, that can make the difference. There is no magic wand that no one will be able to wave and it will all go away. There’s no magic bullet that will solve this problem. It didn’t all start at once, and it won’t all go away at once. But we can do it one family, one person at a time.
OUT & ABOUT
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VESTAVIA HILLS FARMERS MARKET
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PHOTOS BY ALIZA BAKER
Vestavia residents and vendors didn’t let a little bit of summer rain get in the way of coming together in Scout Square on Wednesdays for some (socially distanced) fun with local crafts and seasonal goods. The market is organized by Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church. 1. Donna Aydelott 2. Don Whitt 3. Brinson Reed - Bayou Gormet 4. Matthew McCullough and Sara McCarty 5. Pam Weaver - Buttnaked Candles 6. Raven Rice 7. Rosemary Fisk 8. Tre McClung - Emily’s Heirloom Poundcakes 9. Stephanie Rigsby and Rachell Penton - Penton Farms 10. Brian and Michelle Schmidtke 11. Jim Miller and Rick Cybulsky 12. Leah Davenport and Elise Kitch 13. Sue Cybulsky and Cynthia Drake
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MAKING THE WORLD SAFER ONE EDUCATED FIREARM OWNER AT A TIME Serving Birmingham & Surrounding Areas Since 2009!
Our indoor range has 28 lanes and accommodates •pistols •bows •ries •shotguns
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1561 Montgomery Highway, Hoover, AL 35216 VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 61
OUT & ABOUT
VESTAVIA HILLS BLOOD DRIVE
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Vestavia residents came together at the Vestavia Hills Civic Center on June 23 to volunteer and give blood through the American Red Cross. The event was hosted in conjunction with the Southminster Presbyterian Church and the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce. 1. Hollie Garner 2. Jimmie Davis and Betsy Murphy 3. Laura Petro 4. Zach Garner
HOOVER MAYOR Proven Leadership
Promises Kept
Plan for Hoover
Growing current strong partnership with Hoover City Schools $
Continue building Hoover's economy for the future Invest in Hoover’s Neighborhoods Solving Traffic Congestion Maintaining Strong Public Safety Expanded Diversity and Inclusion Efforts
Paid for by Frank Brocato for Mayor
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OUT & ABOUT
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DRIVE-IN BINGO PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED
During the COVID-19 quarantine, New Merkel House, a senior center in Cahaba Heights, held drive-in bingo in its parking lot on June 5. Participants stayed in their cars and honked their horn if they had “bingo” to win a prize. The event was also sponsored by Long Leaf Liberty Park, and new Vestavia Hills Senior Program Superintendent Sandi Wilson helped call out numbers. 1. Eddie Mauter 2. Lewis and Annette Eberdt 3. Rudy and Joyce Duda 4. John Scripps
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MARKETPLACE
Marketplace Vestavia Hills Magazine • 205.669.3131
Need appliance or air conditioner parts? How about a water filter for your refrigerator? We have it all at A-1 Appliance Parts! Call 1-800841-0312 www.A1Appliance.com
Mechanic needed. Must have own tools and five years experience. Apply in person: 1105 7th St N, Clanton. Or call for appointment 205-7554570 HIRING EXPERIENCED FULL CASE ORDER SELECTORS $19.03 per hour plus production $$$ incentives. Grocery order selection using electric pallet jacks & voice activated headsets. Great benefits including Blue Cross health & dental insurance & matching 401k. Pre-employment drug test required. Apply Online: WWW. AGSOUTH.COM Automation Personnel Services Hiring IMMEDIATELY For: Automotive Assembly, General Labor, Production, Clerical, Machine Operator, Quality, Carpentry, Welder, Foundry. Positions In: Calera, Clanton, Pelham, Bessemer, McCalla. Walk-in 64 August/September 2020
applications accepted. Clanton (205)2800002. Pelham (205)444-9774. Avanti Polar Lipids is looking for full and part time employees. Submit resume to jobs@avantilipids. com •Highly proficient math skills required. •High school diploma required. Bama Concrete Now Hiring: Diesel Mechanic 4 Years Minimum Experience. CDL Preferred. Competitive Pay. Great Benefits. Apply in person: 2180 Hwy 87 Alabaster, 35007 Bent Creek Apartments. Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom. On-site Manager. On-site Maintenance. 3001 7th Street. North Clanton, AL 35045. TDD#s: 800-5482547(V) 800-5482546(T/A) bentcreek@ morrowapts.com Office Hours: MonFri, 8am-4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/ Employer Immediate need for LPN’s. Full time LPN Position with sign on bonus. BMC Nursing Home. Responsible for patient care and supervision of CNA staff. Will also provide treatment and
VestaviaHillsMagazine.com
meds for residents. Apply online or call Human Resources at 205-926-3363 bibbmedicalcenter. com Boise Cascade Now Hiring for Utility Positions. Starting pay $13.66/hour. Must be able to pass background screen. Please apply at www. bc.com Core Focus Personnel 205-826-3088 • Now Hiring Production Mill Worker, Jemison. 12hrs (days/nights), ability to pass drug test, background check, physical. Positions working in outside temperature conditions. Previous manufacturing experience required. $11.75/hr to start. $2000 SIGN ON BONUS NEW PAY SCALE TO QUALIFYING DRIVERS EVERGREEN TRANSPORT, is accepting applications for local drivers in the Calera and Leeds, AL, area. Must have Class A CDL, good driving record, 1 yr verifiable tractor trailer experience. Good pay and benefits. Apply in person at 8278 Hwy 25 South, Calera, AL, or call for info 205668-3316.
Industrial Coatings Group, Inc. is hiring experienced -Sandblasters -Industrial Painters Helpers. Must be able to pass drug test and e-verify check. Must be willing to travel. Professional references required. Please send resume to: icgsecretary@hotmail. com or call (205)6889004
Are you a motivated professional? Are you looking for a dynamic career? Are you ready to control your own level of success? See why McKinnons’ is an exciting place to work and grow. Now accepting applications for Sales, Service, and Detail Shop. Apply with the receptionist. 205-755-3430
Owner Operators Wanting Dedicated Year Round Anniston, AL www.pull4klb.com
Shake up your career!!! Are you looking for something new and FUN? Milo’s is always looking for great managers to come join our growing and dynamic team. Apply online at miloshamburgers.com
Lancaster Place Apartments. Location, community & quality living in Calera, AL. 1, 2, & 3 bedroom apartments available. Call today for specials!! 205668-6871. Or visit hpilancasterplace.com Marble Valley Manor. Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments for Elderly & Disabled. Many on-site services! 2115 Motes Rd, Sylacauga. 256245-6500 •TDD#s: 800-548-2547(V) •800-548-2546(T/A). Office Hours: MonFri, 8am-4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/ Employer
Oxford Healthcare in Montgomery currently hiring certified CNA’s and/or Home Health aides in the Clanton, Marbury and Maplesville areas. Must be able to pass complete background check, have reliable transportation and have a strong work ethic. Serious inquiries only. Call 334-409-0035 or apply on-line at www. Oxfordhealthcare.com Specializing in all your hair care needs SERENITY SALON Barber/Stylist Chairs Available for Rent 2 Convenient Locations
MARKETPLACE •2005 Valleydale Rd. •Pelham •3000 Meadow Lake Dr. Suite 107 Call Nichole 205-240-5428 South Haven Health & Rehab NOW HIRING!!! •LPN’s & RN’s -$5,000 Sign-on Bonus for Full-Time shift •CNA’s Apply in person: 3141 Old Columbiana Rd Birmingham,AL-35266 Nursing assistant to care for high functioning quadriplegic home health patient in Jemison. Must have valid drivers license. Part-time. Call Mr. Wilbanks 205-9083333 CLOCK REPAIR SVS. * Setup * Repair * Maintenance. I can fix your Mother’s clock. Alabaster/Pelham. Call Stephen (205)6632822 Electrician - FT Supreme Electric, local-based company in Pelham. Must be willing to learn & work hard. Go to: supremeelectric-al. com Print employment application under Contact Us. Mail to: Supreme Electric 231 Commerce Pkwy Pelham, AL 35124 or call 205-453-9327. Become a Dental Assistant in ONLY 8 WEEKS! Please visit our website capstonedental assisting.com or call (205)561-8118 and get your career started!
Popeyes Seeking friendly, motivated, dependable Crew Members. OPEN INTERVIEWS DAILY 2:00pm-5:00pm 3300 Pelham Parkway. Immediate Openings! Start work this week! Apply online: work4popeyeskitchen. com GENERAL LAWN CARE Specialist in large yards 2+ acres. Serving Chilton, Coosa & many more areas. Bi-weekly, weekly or one-time services available. SPRING CLEANUP SPECIALS! Call Alex today for details: 1-205-9553439 ~Military & Senior Discounts~ Alabama Air Power Inc Now Hiring Industrial Air Compressor Technician Will cross train person with mechanical skills, Electrical and/or HVAC knowledge Blue Cross Health and Dental Paid Vacation Paid Holidays Apply In Person 1293 Hwy 87, Alabaster Acceptance Loan Company, Inc. Personal loans! Let us pay off your title loans! 224 Cahaba Valley Rd, Pelham 205-663-5821 Pharmaceutical Grade Pharmaceutical Grade CBD Oil, a unique concept for sublingual absorption. Helps pain, anxiety, energy & more. Order from home
205-276-7778. www. CiliByDesign.com/ BrendaGlaze $Cash Paid For Used RV’s!$ Motor Homes, Travel/Enclosed trailers, consignment welcome, Cars and Trucks, Pick up available, Mccluskey Auto and RV Sales, LLC 205-833-4575 Construction Workers Needed for Local Construction Company. Must be experienced and dependable. Job is five days a week. Salary based on skills. Must have remodeling experience. Call Adam 205-863-9059 Pop & Sons Demolition & Junk Removal (205)9488494 junkguys2014@ gmail.com •Junk Removal Services •Demolition•More!! FREE QUOTES!! ALSO WITH THE MENTION OF THIS AD GET $20 OFF!!!” Service Tech, Inc. Heating & Air Conditioning AL Cert# 89282 Now Hiring Full-Time Certified Technician •Minimum 5 years experience •Residential, Commercial and Refrigeration •Ipad Experience •On-Call Rotation Apply at: www.servicetechhvac. com Sitting Angels Home Care, LLC NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS Doctor Appointments, Bathing/Dressing Meal Preparation, Errands,
University Baptist Child Development Center is pleased to announce that our First Class Preschool program was awarded The Harvest Place Christian Church Join a New Classroom Grant by Governor us for worship every Ivey and the State SUNDAY The Harvest Place Christian Church Department of Early Childhood Education. 14 Westside Ln, Columbiana, AL 35051 Our second classroom Bishop Wales Williams, will house up to 18 preschoolers who Jr Chief Apostle are 4 years old by •Morning Worship September 1, 2020. Sunday 11am •Life Tuition is incomeEnrichment Classes Sunday 10:15am •Join based and we provide meals at no additional Us Every Tuesday charge. Register Night at JOYFEST at http://alprek. •Midweek Worshipasapconnected.com Begins at 6:30pm WE ARE NOW HIRING www.getyourharvest. Lead and Auxiliary org teachers for First Class 4-year-old Pre-K Western programs. School International Gas & year positions with Cylinders, Inc Signcompetitive pay. On-Bonus! Hiring Lead teachers must SOLO & TEAM CDL Drivers •2yrs Exp•Pass have degree in Early Childhood Education/ D.O.T Physical/ Development. Auxiliary Background Check •Hazmat Endorsement teachers must have Child Development Apply Online: www. Associate (CDA) drive4western.com or 9hrs Early EOE Childhood Education/ Experienced Termite Development. Experience in First Technician or someone experienced Class program & bilingual skills a plus. in route-service work For questions about and wants to learn new profession. Work- registration or to apply for a teaching position, vehicle/equipment contact Lorrie Ozley: provided. Must universitybaptistcdc@ drive straight-shift, gmail.com 205-665have clean driving 4039 record/be 21/pass background/drug test. HVAC Company with Training provided. 43 years in business Insurance/401K offered. M-F 7:00-4:30 NOW HIRING EXPERIENCED + 1 Saturday/month. TECHNICIAN Will Pay $13hr. Send train! Drug test resume to facsmith@ required. Mon-Fri charter.net 8:00am-5:00pm Call 205-663-2199 Laundry,Light House Keeping and More. Lenette Walls, Owner 205-405-6991
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MY VESTAVIA HILLS TYLER KIME
Leadership Vestavia Hills President + Father of Three
Coconut Soup Please
Masaman Thai Kitchen My wife and I always get the Coconut Soup and Basil Rolls at Masaman Thai Kitchen next to Publix on 31. She gets the Masaman Chicken, and I get the Cashew Nut & Scallion with Chicken every time. It’s so good, and a lot of people don’t realize it’s there.
Like Clockwork Canton Road Bike Club Ever since the quarantine started, my 10-year-old son and all the boys on our street get together and ride bikes every day at 3:00. I love that he gets to do that with his buddies. Sometimes there’s up to 10 of them.
Those Rolling Hills
Vestavia Views I grew up here and never noticed the views as a kid, but now I love the scenery. Whenever I drive to work in the morning, I go down the hill on 31 and see this beautiful view of rolling hills and sometimes fog settled in it. It’s a great way to start the day! My dream one day is to have a house on a ridge with a view.
Family Tradition
West Elementary School I went to East and knew I wanted to live here for the school system. All three of my kids, Thomas, Kinley and Karaline, are at West this year, and they can walk to school. We love being so close, and my wife, Jenni, is the PTO president this year.
Food Festival
Wing Ding This is a great community event held on the lawn at City Hall and for a good cause benefitting cystic fibrosis research. I like trying all the wings, and our kids like the kids zone and playing with other kids. I also love the scenery for events at City Hall.
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Emergencies can’t wait Your safe care is our #1 priority. In a emergency, there’s no reason to delay your care. We go above and beyond to ensure safety for you and your love ones. We offer safe, high quality care you can count on 24/7. This is your community built on care.
Social Distancing
Wear a Mask
Clean Environment
Separate Care Areas
Schedule an appointment at BrookwoodBaptistMedicalCenter.com or call 877-909-4233