SMITH FARM RENOVATION • DIVERSITY LITERATURE INITIATIVE • LA SABROSITA ICE CREAM SHOP
HOW GOLF GOT US THROUGH A PANDEMIC SEE THE 2021 HOOVER’S BEST WINNERS
imaginative
JUNE/JULY 2021 HooversMagazine.com Volume 10 | Issue 3 $4.95
FREEDOM INSIDE A BLUFF PARK ART TEACHING STUDIO HooversMagazine.com 1
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FEATURES
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HOW GOLF GOT US THROUGH A PANDEMIC Golf course—check! Golf cart— check! Golf simulator—check! Here’s a spouse’s account of the official sport of social distance.
HOOVER’S BEST WINNERS 2021 You voted. We tallied. See who Hoover’s favorite restaurants, retailers and more are.
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PHOTO BY MORGAN HUNT
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PHOTO BY LINDSEY DRENNAN
arts & culture
11 Imaginative Freedom: Amy Anderson’s Teaching Studio 19 Book Nook: Hello Summer Reading 22 Read This Book: Extraordinary Lives
schools & sports
23 Mirrors & Windows: Diversity Literature in Hoover City Schools 30 Five Questions For: Finley Award Winner Buzz Millard
food
& drink
31 Little Tasty: International Flavors at La Sabrosita Ice Cream Shop
home
in every issue 4 Contributors 5 From the Editor 6 The Question 7 The Guide 20 Aldridge Gardens 70 Chamber Connection 74 Out & About 78 Marketplace 80 My Hoover
& style
37 Smith Farm 2.0: A Savoy Street Renovation
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contributors EDITORIAL
Alec Etheredge Nathan Howell Madoline Markham Keith McCoy Scott Mims Emily Sparacino
CONTRIBUTORS
Kathryn Bell Donna Campbell Sarah Cook McBride Lindsey Drennan Ashley Farlow Jeremy Raines Lindsay Schluntz Mary Tweedy
DESIGN
Jamie Dawkins Connor Martin-Lively Brittani Myers Kimberly Myers Briana Sansom
MARKETING
Darniqua Bowen Evann Campbell Jessica Caudill Kari George Rachel Henderson Rhett McCreight Viridiana Romero Kerrie Thompson
ADMINISTRATION Kristy Brown Hailey Dolbare Mary Jo Eskridge Daniel Holmes Kinley Johnson Stacey Meadows Tim Prince Brittany Schofield Savana Tarwater
Kathryn Bell, Photographer
Kathryn is a freelance photographer with a recent degree in art from the University of Montevallo. Her photography has led her to photograph presidential candidates and create fine arts work inspired by the classics. She fancies herself a plant lady and enjoys the challenge of keeping rare and difficult plants alive and enjoys exploring Birmingham!
Amy Ferguson, Writer
Amy resides in Hoover’s Lake Wilborn community with her husband, Eric, their almost-2-year-old little girl, Avery, and their love-able chocolate labradoodle. She earned degrees from Auburn University and the University of Alabama, but faithfully cheers for the Auburn Tigers. She is a lover of written word, a self-proclaimed book worm and a bona fide social butterfly. During the work week, Amy works for a start-up healthcare company out of San Francisco.
Morgan Hunt, Photographer
Morgan recently finished her BS in art from the University of Montevallo. With her business, Morgan Hunt Media, she works as a freelance commercial and wedding photographer in the Birmingham area while getting her MA in photography from Savannah College of Art and Design. She believes that photographs have a very unique storytelling ability, and her work lives in a space between journalism and fine art.
Elizabeth Sturgeon, Writer
Elizabeth was born and raised in Birmingham and has stayed close to home ever since. A recent Samford University graduate, Elizabeth serves as the communications coordinator at Birmingham-Southern College, where she covers stories about students, alumni and campus culture. She is always down for a meal she’s never eaten before or a movie she’s never seen.
Hoover’s Magazine is published quarterly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Hoover’s 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, Hoover’s Magazine, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Hoover’s Magazine is mailed to select households throughout Hoover, and a limited number of free copies are available at local businesses. Please visit HooversMagazine.com for a list of those locations. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $14.95 plus tax for one year by visiting HooversMagazine.com or calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 532. Advertising inquiries may be made by emailing advertise@hooversmagazine.com, or by calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 536.
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from the editor
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ON THE COVER
Did you know that more than 50 languages are spoken in Hoover City Schools? I didn’t until I started working on an article on a Diversity Literature Initiative in Hoover City Schools for this issue, a fact that drove home the importance of the initiative working to make sure students are reading books that both reflect their cultures and expose them to new ones. One of our other stories in this issue, on La Sabrosita Ice Cream Shop on Lorna Road, covers the Mexican roots of its owners and the international flavors on its menu, and has me wanting to try their guava popsicle and lychee bubble tea. But that still only accounts for one of those 50 languages. I’m just one person with one set of connections, so I’d love to hear from you, our readers, about any ideas for stories you have to better cover the diversity in our city. Feel free to email me any time with suggestions you have! As for this issue, there are lots of stories I’m excited to share with you in addition to those two. If you’ve driven down Sanders Road anytime since the 1960s, you know the pastoral Smith Farms property and have likely wondered what will be happening to it since the Smith family sold it a couple of years back. A new neighborhood on part of the property is still in the works, but in this issue we take you on a tour of one of its homes that will remain and its new renovations. Be sure to give it a read to learn about the renovation and the history of the property as told by a member of the Smith family who grew up there. Amy Ferguson’s account of how golf got us through a pandemic— complete with commentary on her husband’s basement golf simulator— is sure to make you laugh and ring true if you know anyone who lived that story over the past year. And I can’t forget our cover story on not just a new art teaching studio, Art & Soul, but also the story of the artist behind it. Last but certainly not least, we have tallied all your votes and are unveiling the winners of our annual Hoover’s Best contest. Check out what restaurants, retailers and more took home the awards, and while you are at it, make note of any local business you want to try out. Best wishes for a joy-filled summer around Hoover! See you at Free Friday Flicks or the Ross Bridge Farmers Market?
Imaginative Freedom
Amy Anderson teaches art students in her studio, Art & Soul, off Shades Crest Road in Bluff Park. Photo by Kathryn Bell Design by Kimberly Myers
madoline.markham@hooversmagazine.com
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“ ” THE QUESTION
What’s the best part of summer in Hoover?
All the fun trails (Veterans Park, Aldridge Gardens, Moss Rock Preserve), parks, Hoover Met and the splash pad! -Lori Jones
The SEC Baseball Tournament -Russell Pate
Movies at Spain Park! -CJ Mullins
Walks at Hoover ballparks with my dog -Mary V Virciglio
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All the restaurants with great outdoor seating!
-Tracey Smith
Running on Shades Crest Road early in the morning when the sun is coming up -Richard Vandrell
Hoover Produce Co-op
-Leigh McDowell Davis
Swimming at the Y, sitting outside eating Ice Cream at The Whole Scoop and grabbing a cupcake right next door to eat with it at CakEffect, and Hoover Library activities -Cherinita Ladd-Reese
THE GUIDE
ROSS BRIDGE FARMERS MARKET FRIDAYS 4-8 P.M. 2101 Grand Avenue Shop local businesses and farmers’ selections at this market full of fresh produce, live music, kids activities, food trucks and more. The market runs May 14-Aug. 13 this year. Find more details on the @rossbridgefarmersmarket Facebook page. HooversMagazine.com 9
AROUND TOWN THROUGH JANUARY 2022 All Things Bright and Beautiful & Ways of Seeing Exhibits Birmingham Museum of Art SATURDAYS The Market at Pepper Place 2829 Second Avenue South THURSDAYS Hoover Public Library Storytime Veterans Park
COMMUNITY
A COMMUNITY TRADITION Area high school sophomores were presented recently as the 2021 Hoover Belles this spring at The Hyatt RegencyThe Wynfrey Hotel. This new class of Belles
will serve for two years as representatives for the City of Hoover, and each young woman will earn a minimum of 30 community service hours at civic and local charity events. Each new Hoover Belle was announced by Mistress of Ceremony Haley Bagwell Scallions, a former Hoover Belle, and then they got to dance to the music of The Dave Amaral Trio.
FRIDAYS IN JUNE
Free Friday Flicks Veterans Park
Free Friday Flicks is celebrating its 30th birthday this year by kicking off the season of Friday night outdoor movies with the first film they showed in 1992: 101 Dalmatians! The park opens at 6:30 p.m. each week, and the free movie starts at
dusk. BYO blanket, and find updates on films and more on the @freefridayflicks Facebook page. Here’s the schedule: uJune 4: 101 Dalmations uJune 11: Trolls World Tour uJune 18: Tom & Jerry Movie uJune 25: The Croods: A New Age uJuly 9: Rain Date
JUNE 8, JUNE 22, JULY 13 & JULY 27
Summer Nights at Cross Creek Church 5:30-8 P.M. 560 Lake Crest Drive
Join Cross Creek Church for dinner, crafts, sports and Bible time for ages 10 June/July 2021
K4-fifth grade on select evenings this summer. The cost is $5 per child, and no sign-up is necessary. For more information, visit crosscreekchurch.net/ summer-nights/ or email info@ crosscreekchurch.net.
JUNE 1-6 Birmingham Barons vs. Tennessee Smokies Regions Field JUNE 4 Summer Reading Begins Hoover Public Library JUNE 6 Vulcan’s 117th Birthday Bash Vulcan Park & Museum JUNE 12 2021 Birmingham Heart Walk Digital Experience JUNE 12 Hydrangeas Under the Stars Aldridge Gardens JUNE 17 Blood Drive The Finley Center JUNE 18-20 Euphonious Music Festival Birmingham Zoo JUNE 18-20 I’m With Mike Virtual 5K Presented by The Mike Slive Foundation for Prostate Cancer Research JUNE 22-27 Birmingham Barons vs. Pensacola Blue Wahoos Regions Field
JUNE 29-JULY 4 Birmingham Barons vs. Chattanooga Lookouts Regions Field JULY 9-AUG. 1 Summer Film Series Alabama Theatre JULY 10 Birmingham Legion vs Memphis 901 FC BBVA Compass Field JULY 13-18 Birmingham Barons vs. Rocket City Trash Pandas Regions Field JULY 16-18 37th World Deer Expo BJCC Exhibition Halls JULY 31 Birmingham Legion vs Atlanta United 2 BBVA Compass Field
SATURDAYS
MarketPlace at Lee Branch 8 A.M.-NOON Village at Lee Branch Shop local fruits, vegetables, eggs, grass
fed meat and unique artisans with an Alabama flair each week right off Highway 280. To learn more or place an order, visit themarketplaceatleebranch.com.
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JUNE 17
Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Hoover Country Club
SCHOOLS
SIGNED & READY The first ever signing day at Riverchase Career Connection Center (RC3) took place on April 20 as 11 seniors committed to work for local construction companies after graduation. All of them are part of the school’s Skilled Trades Academy that teaches hands-on experiences and industry knowledge to prepare students to graduate with employability and to succeed in their fields. How cool is that?
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Join the Hoover Area Chamber for its monthly luncheon to honor 2021 scholarship recipients. Networking for the event begins at 11:15 a.m., and food will be served at noon. Register or learn more at hooverchamber.org. You can also join the chamber for Coffee & Contacts on June 10 7:30-9 a.m. at Brookwood Baptist (5295 Preserve Way) or for Business After Hours on June 24 5:30-7 p.m. at Infiniti of Birmingham (1804 Montgomery Highway).
&CULTURE
ARTS
IMAGINATIVE FREEDOM Art and soul are inseparable in Amy Anderson’s Bluff Park art teaching studio. BY ELIZABETH STURGEON PHOTOS BY KATHRYN BELL HooversMagazine.com 13
Amy Anderson works with art students in her Bluff Park studio, Art & Soul, which opened in January.
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Step into Art & Soul off Shades Crest Road, and you’re met with a gallery wall of potential on the right. Ships are deep at sea, and sunsets are vibrant with melty warmth. Dancers and animals and hazy landscapes all cluster together and draw the eyes of those who want to paint them. To the left, owner Amy Anderson already has a candle lit. The wall is clear and calm to counter her inspiration wall with a peaceful ambiance. Toward the back, she has her own used book library of nature, sports and other images, and even further back is what remains from kids’ art camps and after school classes. Only months into opening her new space, Amy has already found the right rhythm. On one of the bleakest, coldest days in January 2021, Amy came to the space in Bluff Park, right down from Mr. P’s, and saw her dream come to life – her own studio to teach art to all ages and levels. She signed the lease that month and, 10 days later, held her first class in the space. Today Amy offers a wide range of different classes at Art & Soul, including open studio nights, one-onone private lessons, after-school art, and more subject- or medium-specific workshops. “Everyone has a different taste and style, and I don’t mind giving people freedom,” Amy says. Hence the wall of different subjects, sizes and textures. She allows her students to pick what they’re interested in painting,
and she helps them work toward the finished product. “No matter who you are or what age you are, you can connect with something on the wall,” she says. As she develops her different classes, Amy brings a lifelong love of painting and a diverse range of different art and teaching experience. She remembers her early fascination with adding water and color onto a page, and she’s continued to pursue art in whatever way she can, even when it didn’t always intertwine with her career. As a student at UAB she studied psychology and then spent a number of years working in substance abuse prevention. Amy would speak to children and community groups about substance abuse, truancy, bullying and other topics. “That’s when I started to get good at public speaking and feeling confident to pursue my dream.” Then in 2015 she decided to quit her full-time position to teach art, working with grants through Dothan’s Cultural Arts Center that took her all over the area. Amy would bring supplies and work with area elementary schools, or hold adult watercolor lessons during the day, or go to the Diversion Center, a juvenile safe house facility, where she taught teenage girls. She also picked up every other teaching gig she could find to become a full-time freelance art teacher, HooversMagazine.com 15
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HAPPY ACCIDENTS Growing up, Amy remembers watching Bob Ross with her family. “I was enamored with the peacefulness – Bob is so Zen and happy,” she says. There’s no denying that the Bob Ross spirit is strong throughout Art & Soul, plus the influence of the artists in her family, like both her grandfathers. She remembers seeing the enjoyment they got from art and their attention to color, texture and detail. Don’t be surprised if you see a Bob Ross night on her schedule soon!
and she was inspired by the way art affected people, especially working in groups. “Art is a bonding thing,” Amy says. “For me, I want the social part – I want to do art with other people and encourage other people. It’s something where you need feedback, or encouragement.” In 2019, Amy and her family – she was then pregnant with her second son – moved to Bluff Park, and she began to connect to the art community here. She held art classes at Wild Roast Café and also turned her basement kitchenette into a small studio for private lessons. 2019 also marks when Amy defined her own painting style and built her body of work. Her abstract blooms, as Amy calls them, are blooming petals that intertwine and pass through each other. “I love creating the transparent petals and wondering which petal is on top,” she says. She works with acrylic paints and gloss on wood and sticks to a high-contrast “romantic and vintage” color palette – rosy pinks and purples or, for her “moody blooms,” deep and varying blues. Amy paints natural imagery – more blooms, trees, fish – in watercolor, too. She brings a loose and abstract look to these as HooversMagazine.com 17
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ART & COMMUNITY Amy hopes to take art outside of her walls this fall through something called Art Club, a club for community art service projects. Back when she worked with Dothan’s Cultural Art Center, Amy remembers bringing water bottles to school art classes that didn’t even have a sink in the room. She wants to locate other needs in Birminghamarea communities and find ways to share art and positivity – however that takes shape.
well, and many of her students want to paint pieces in this style. In all of her classes, she focuses on what her students want to paint or what they want to hang in their home. As pupils gather in her space, Amy is inspired by the confidence children show. “They’re brave when it comes to art,” Amy says. She sees they are not afraid to pull an idea from their imagination and recreate it on paper, and she likes to expose them to all kinds of mediums – pastels, charcoal, splatter paint, tie dye, sometimes clay. Amy has room to cover the wall in butcher paper and let them work at a big scale, and she likes to teach them about murals too. (She’s worked on quite a few herself over the years.) In her week-long spring break workshop for kids in the spring, she really saw all of this come to life in the new studio. Amy had students who wanted to try every new medium, and others who always wanted to stick with a canvas and their own ideas. “Some just know exactly what they want to do, and they’ve been waiting for the moment to do it,” Amy says. The type of classes Art & Soul offers is evolving as it grows, but it will always incorporate the balance of independence and guidance, of loving your finished product and enjoying the experience, for all her artists. Amy’s psychology background really comes
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into play in the ways she sees painting and creating as a therapeutic practice. With small class sizes and one-on-one attention, Amy provides students with all the tools they need to create something beautiful. “All you have to do is start – don’t wait until you have the perfect idea,” she says. “You’ll get in the flow and you’ll find that inspiration.” And with the inspiration comes a burst
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of creative energy and a peace in the process of creating something of your own. It’s all in the name, Amy says. Art runs deep in who and how we are. “It’s soul stuff. Art and soul – those things are inseparable.” Art & Soul is located at 807 Shades Crest Road. Learn more at artsoulbluffpark.com or call 205502-4133.
THE SIMPLE LIFE
Hello Summer Reading Last year was definitely different for everyone, but this summer we are so excited to be able to provide programming again that will bring back those much-missed library interactions. And what better way to start than with in-person summer reading! As it happens, this year will be my 22nd Summer Reading at the Hoover Library. Every year it never fails to excite and energize me. And after a crazy 2020, I am definitely ready to get back to business as usual. In an effort to reach as many people as possible, we have decided to get out in the community with several new ventures and to bring back a few of our beloved programs. While things may not be 100 percent the way they were pre-COVID, we have a lot of fun things planned. Stop by the Library on June 4 for a Children’s Popsicle and a reading log to start your Librarian summer reading goals. The following week, we will have programs at Veterans Park. We are hosting several awesome performers outside this year: TomFoolery and his juggling acts, Alabama Wildlife featuring a few birds of prey, Dr. Magical Balloons and his crazy ballooning antics and lastly, Lew-E’s Comedy Show. There will also be storytime (we could never forget storytimes). This year’s summer reading theme is made for stories. You can meet some of our storytellers at Veterans Park on Thursdays beginning June 3. They will share storytime, a take home craft and a few surprises. We are also hosting some programs at the library for elementary kids and teenagers. We are also happy to have the summer meals program back at the Hoover Library. This federally funded program will be available each day throughout the summer. Summer meals plays a valuable role in helping children learn, grow and stay healthy. It also follows right along with our goal of keeping kids’ brains and bodies strong. Something new to share is our Little Free Libraries. We have 15 little library locations all around the city, including many apartment complexes. They will help us to meet our goal of expanding the library outside of its central Hoover location. Our hope is they will extend availability to those who love reading by allowing them easier access to books. It may also create some new readers along the way. I love my community and believe the Hoover Library is one of the best parts about living in Hoover. It’s a blessing for me to have such an amazing library to patronize and work. I look forward to seeing all of your smiling faces and hope to meet some new friends as we come back together.
Wendy Geist
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Aldridge Gardens Special Event Venue As summer begins, so does the wedding season. In the last few years, Aldridge Gardens has quickly become one of the premier wedding venues in the Southeast. With our grounds offering numerous “venues” and wedding sites, we can host weddings of all shapes, sizes and configurations. Want a small intimate ceremony? Our Gardens offers numerous places. Envision a large, formal wedding with seated guest? We have several options for that too. And don’t forget—we are the perfect place for engagement parties, rehearsal dinners and receptions. The Aldridge House or our Pavilion are perfect for parties AND dinners! Amanda Baker, Director of Sales and Catering here at the Gardens, can help you plan a truly memorable event. Contact Amanda at 205-739-6554 or at amanda.baker@hooveralabama.gov. Let us help make your dream come true!
3530 Lorna Road • Hoover, Alabama 35216 • 205-682-8019 • www.aldridgegardens.com • info@aldridgegardens.com
Summer at the Gardens
Community Orchard Did you know Aldridge Gardens has planted a Community Orchard? It’s free for the picking, but leave some for others! With “food deserts” appearing countrywide, Aldridge Gardens decided to plant an orchard, free and available to all. Last year, during the pandemic shutdown, the Gardens’ staff did an initial planting of blueberries, blackberries (thorn-less of course!), raspberries and fig trees. On Arbor Day last March, the second phase of apple and pear trees were planted.
The blueberry, blackberry and raspberry plants are producing and will be available this spring. The fruit trees may bear as early as next year, but realistically, the 2023 spring/summer/fall harvest will be the first. In addition to being a fun and purposeful planting, the orchard will be an additional source of pollinators for the bees and birds, something Aldridge Gardens is committed to. And yes, this is free of charge for the public. Our only request is to be respectful of our orchard, and leave some for others!
Renovated Woodland Stream Have you seen the “new” Kay’s Woodland Stream? It’s not really new, just wonderfully renovated. We did re-do the outfall, moving it up the hill to create a really nice “waterfall” as the stream drops into the large pool at the base of the Japanese Maple. Years of silt had created a false bottom to the stream that has now been cleaned and flushed. The pump has also been serviced, and now, we have a flowing, delightful stream again! Visit the Gardens and discover Kay’s Woodland Stream all over again.
Summer months are very special at Aldridge Gardens. Hydrangeas are in full bloom, and color is everywhere. Plus, this warm weather is perfect for all of our beautiful garden weddings and outdoor events. We continue to set records on the number of visitors coming to Aldridge Gardens on a daily basis. Some are out to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the gardens, while others are putting down a blanket for a picnic. Whatever the reason, we all are in need of some outdoor space and great weather, and Aldridge Gardens is just the spot for that. While weddings are in abundance, the gardens remain open during these events, so you might get to see a beautiful bride enjoying her special day, a group of birdwatchers viewing their favorite species or a big catch being made at the lake. There is so much to do and see right in the middle of Hoover! We have also partnered with the Hoover Library and have our first “little free library” installed in our parking lot area. It has been refilled every week since it was installed, and we are thrilled that everyone is using it. Aldridge Gardens is your neighborhood garden, and we hope everyone continues to support us and to visit during these summer months. To book an event or schedule a photography session, contact Amanda Baker at 205-739-6554 or amanda.baker@hooveralabama.gov. Memberships are available, and you can visit our website aldridgegardens.com or call Janet Abernathy, Membership Coordinator at 205-739-6553 for more information on these and our calendar of events and educational classes. Thank you all for visiting and supporting beautiful Aldridge Gardens.
ARTS & CULTURE
READ THIS BOOK
Extraordinary Lives Recommendations from
Pam Bainter
Hoover Public Library Nonfiction Library Specialist
Since 2017 Pam Bainter has moderated Hoover Library’s Insatiable Readers book talk group. These avid readers meet one Saturday morning each month to discuss new and exciting books from a different nonfiction subject area, learn about library events and talk about other bookish topics. These books about extraordinary lives you might or might not be familiar with all came from recent Insatiable Readers sessions—and just might make you an insatiable reader too.
Sharp
by Michelle Dean Mixing biography, history and literary criticism, Dean highlights 10 women who used their writing prowess to make a place for themselves in literature. Dorothy Parker, Renata Adler, Hannah Arendt, Joan Didion, Norah Ephron, Pauline Kael, Janet Malcolm, Mary McCarthy and Rebecca West all had what Dean calls “sharpness, the ability to cut to the quick with their precision of thought and wit.” This book is engaging and entertaining with its focus on these women and its look at the 20th-century literary scene.
His Truth is Marching On
by Jon Meacham Pulitzer Prize winner Meacham offers a timely portrait of the late congressman and activist John Lewis. We learn about his early years in Southeast Alabama, his role as a go-to organizer in the Civil Rights Movement and his years instigating “good trouble” in the halls of Congress. We also see the story of a preacher, a man committed to a nonviolent revolution and, as Meacham notes, one who fought for America to “find its moral compass.” The book ends with an afterword by John Lewis penned before his death.
Being Heumann
by Judith Heumann In this 2020 memoir, Heumann chronicles her life as a disability rights advocate. Paralyzed by polio when she was 18 months old, she has long been an activist. Heumann has pushed for inclusion for as long as she can remember, from fighting to attend elementary school after being described as a “fire hazard” to leading the political fight to implement protections for disabled people’s rights sparking a national movement that led to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Wild and Crazy Guys
by Nick de Semlyen This is the story of six personalities who ruled the 1980s comedy scene and of the films that made them famous. de Semlyen profiles Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase using candid interviews from the wild and crazy guys themselves along with those from the people who knew them. This insider account shows the comedy scene in New York City and Los Angeles was often funny, but sometimes tragic as well.
Dolly Parton, Songteller
by Dolly Parton and Robert K. Oermann Dolly Parton’s songs tell stories, and in this book she tells the stories about her songs. This annotated collection of Parton’s song lyrics is enhanced with stories and photographs from every stage of her life and career, from her childhood in the Tennessee mountains to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry and beyond. Organized biographically as well as thematically, she leads the reader from her earliest attempts at writing lyrics to her response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is full of details about Parton’s life and career.
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SCHOOL
&SPORTS
MIRRORS & WINDOWS How more diverse literature is making its way into classrooms to better reflect the students reading it. BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY MORGAN HUNT & CONTRIBUTED HooversMagazine.com 25
Sixth-grade student Sarah Nagi
D
Dianna Minor will always remember the day she first read The Proudest Blue by Ibtijab Muhammad with English Language Learning students at Berry Middle School. The book tells the story of two sisters on the first day of school. For one of them it’s their first day wearing a hijab made of a beautiful blue fabric. Not everyone sees hijab as beautiful, though, and in the face of hurtful words, the girls find new ways to be strong. After reading the book, Minor’s student Sarah Nagi who wears a hijab herself came up to her. “It’s a book about me,” she told Minor. And that’s just the reason Minor, a curriculum and literacy coach, is leading a committee to incorporate more literature by minority authors into the curriculum in Hoover City Schools. Minor explains the importance of the Diverse Literature Initiative (DLI) in terms of mirrors and windows. “Students should be able to see themselves (in a mirror) in what they read and be able to peer into a window into the lives of others,” she says. “Our students are interested in reading about people from different backgrounds. We have over 50 languages
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Hoover High School English teacher Reed Lochamy
spoken in our district, so we have to make sure we are including all those students in what we teach.” When the first pilot phase of the initiative launched in 2019, that looked like small groups of students spanning across elementary and secondary grades reading titles like Fly Girl by Sherri Smith about a young African American woman who wants to fly in the 1940s, and a team of sixth-grade students reading Ghost by Jason Reynolds about a student on the track team and the relationships he builds, rife with humor. In pilot classrooms in eighth grade and ninth grade, The Boy in the Black Suit about friendship, family, and community was an engaging and popular text with young adolescent students. At the elementary level, books like Can I Touch Your Hair? by Troy Brown Read about hair texture were read aloud, too. Minor also notes that these reading selections made it into classrooms thanks to financial support from the HCS central office and administrators at each school. While that first phrase of the initiative focused on African American literature since it represents the largest minority population in the school system, this
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Porsha Key and Dianna Minor
28 June/July 2021
fall a second phase of the pilot will introduce authors who are Asian American, Hispanic American, Indian American and Native American to classrooms in each school in the system. In Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, students will read about the questions a boy asks while riding the bus home with his grandmother after church. In The Water Princess by Susan Verde, others will learn about girl dreaming of bringing clean water to her African village. For Hoover High School English teacher Reed Lochamy, the first year of the DLI looked like piloting a study of Just Mercy that was adapted for young adults with his 12th-grade students. Senior English is a British literature class, so the nonfiction work by Bryan Stevenson—who started the Montgomerybased Equal Justice Initiative and writes about defending wrongly condemned incarcerated people in Alabama—is quite the departure from Beowulf, Macbeth and Canterbury Tales. “Seniors in non-advanced English class…are not always super enthused to read things that are 400 years old,” Lochamy says. “You have to work hard to connect that to the lives of students in your class. When we read Just Mercy, it was remarkable how much more engaged students were. It applied to their lives and discussions in our current situation much more. It sparked their genuine curiosity and became in some ways a research project to bring back to the class. We wound up compiling documents and resources (on the topic). “Stevenson’s work both hit on that interesting question of fairness and criminal justice while also hitting on questions about race that have been prominent on our campus. There have been incidents that have sparked questions about race and equity (here too).” Now that that pilot year has passed, Lochamy’s thinking that in part came from the DLI has led him to switch up his reading list for his IB English 11 class next year to better reflect the South Asian and East Asian students in his classes too. His students will engage with a collection short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, the daughter of Indian immigrants, as well as Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, a novel about the Cultural Revolution in China by Dai Sijie, and two other new novels. To make room for them, he’s taking out works like A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibson—which he says he hates to lose—and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, a book he said opened up discussions about colonialism and racism since it was written in 1899. Also new next year, Lochamy will be teaching a new African American Literature elective open to all
students at Hoover, and Clare Johnson, who came up with the idea for the course, will also teach it at Spain Park High School. The class will start off with reading Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower–an author Lochamy admits he was largely unfamiliar with until he read her book Kindred through the predecessor to DLI, a voluntary teacher book study called Cover to Cover. Later in the year the African American Literature class will study All American Boys, a novel about an incident of police brutality where the chapters from
the perspective of white characters were written by Brendan Kiely and the ones from the perspective of black characters were written by Jason Reynolds, and still later Ta-Nehisi Coates’ graphic novel Black Panther. “(The course) will focus on exposing students in the course to the Black experience as seen through the lens of a variety of time and place and gender,” Lochamy explains. He also notes that the class will start and end with Afrofuturism. The genre, he says, is much like science fiction and focuses on empowering and uplifting
HooversMagazine.com 29
A DLI-INSPIRED READING LIST Writing this article made us want to read some of the books that are a part of the Diversity Literature Initiative, so we rounded up a list of titles that got shout-outs in it for easy reference.
ELEMENTARY
SECONDARY
30 June/July 2021
Members of the Diverse Literature Initiative gathered for a meeting this spring.
themes as a departure from the important stories of struggle in African American literature. No matter the text or the grade level, though, Minor says the literature curriculum in Hoover City Schools will always being fluid as more works are always coming into print. And the eight members of the DLI committee—also led by co-chairs Elizabeth Lochamy and Porsha Key, a media specialist and reading coach at Shades Mountain Elementary School, respectively—will continue to work to make
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sure the curriculum acts as mirrors and windows for students of all races and cultures in the school system. Lindsey Brooksbank, a first-grade teacher at Green Valley Elementary School, summed up the “why” of DLI well following her first year in the pilot: “(My students) like reading a book and seeing a character who looks like them. They can relate because they see a character doing something they might do at home or school, and it helps them connect to the text better.”
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SCHOOL & SPORTS
5
FIVE QUESTIONS FOR
Buzz Williams
Spain Park High School Credit Recovery Teacher PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Each year a character award named after W.A. Berry High School Coach Bob Finley is awarded for two graduating seniors and one Hoover City Schools employee, and talking to Millard “Buzz” Williams it quickly becomes apparent why he received the award this year. We spoke with him this spring about why he chose to get into teaching after his first career with AT&T and the passion he has for building relationships with his students in the credit recovery program. How did you get into teaching? I was in the Navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and Kennedy assassination and start of Vietnam War. From there I went to what was then Bellsouth and worked as a lineman and worked my way into marketing. After 30 years with AT&T, I earned degrees from Birmingham Theological Seminary then from Samford University in education. I had noticed that there was an absence of patriotism in America in certain areas, and I realized a lot of young people coming out of schools didn’t realize the sacrifice made by the founders and in recent years. There seemed to be an absence of gratitude. So I thought, “I can sit back and complain about it or become part of the solution.” So that’s why I earned a master’s in secondary education focusing on social studies. I thought it would give me an opportunity make a difference in schools.
asked me to come in as an instruction support teacher teaching students in a credit recovery program, where they have a second opportunity to take a class online if they had struggled in it. I might have 14 to 15 students in a classroom taking a different class online. The management and oversight requires things that go beyond academics. Some students are homeless, and some have had difficult family circumstances. All teenagers need a support system. Without parental support, they come in tired and need support in the classroom.
experiences growing up and my own difficult situations, and I think that helps them. After school I like to visit them where they work.
How have you seen your students grow over the course of their time in your classroom? I see change and maturity take place in them. They ask me questions that might not have anything to do with the subject they are working on, about budgeting and what their options are after school. I am also the sponsor for the Armed Forces Club. I try to How do you view your mission in the help them understand what their options are so they can make an informed decision. classroom? My responsibility is to teach all of my students. Every one of them has worth even Tell us about your life outside of school. I am married to a marvelous lady, Carol, though their behavior might be less than preferred. It’s a classroom full of different and we have one son and five daughters, 15 people, different faiths, some who are grandchildren and four great grandchildren. disparaged, some who have difficulty I am the chaplain for the Helena Scout focusing. If you are managing a class like Troop 2 and have been for the last 12 years. What does it mean to teach “credit that, you have to cultivate relationships I teach leadership straining to senior scouts, with them and be honest with them. I also and talk about servant leadership and recovery?” When I graduated in 2016, Spain Park share my personal testimony of my cultivate relationships. 32 June/July 2021
&DRINK
FOOD
HooversMagazine.com 33
La Sabrosita serves up ice creams, popsicles and more from its colorful shop on Lorna Road.
34 June/July 2021
T
The words used to describe the dozens of tasty treats at La Sabrosita Ice Cream Shop may vary depending on a person’s native tongue. But, the sweet taste from a mouthful of ice cream or licking a fruity popsicle is the same in every language — no translation needed. Victor Olivas and his wife, Maria Soto, opened the ice cream shop on Lorna Road in 2014. Originally from Mexico, the couple spent their adult lives in Georgia, which is where they realized the popularity of ice cream shops. So, when they moved to Hoover a decade ago, they knew they wanted to open a similar business with their family. Now, their oldest two daughters,
nieces and nephews help out with the Lorna Road shop—making it a true family business. Their heritage has played a large role in the flavors, dishes, overall atmosphere they’ve created and, of course, the shop’s name. La Sabrosita, which means “little tasty” in Spanish, carries ice cream, water- and cream-based popsicles, rolled ice cream, tapioca drinks, mixed fruit cups, teas, corn on the cob and other dishes you might not find anywhere else in town. All of their ice creams are homemade, so customers won’t be able to buy the same flavors at a grocery store or other local eatery. They plan to remodel the shop this year so that they can make HooversMagazine.com 35
all of their ice cream in-house, also allowing them to play around with even more flavors. The ice cream is available in milkshakes, banana splits, ice cream bars, crunchy ice cream sandwiches and cones. “You can really tell it’s homemade with the creaminess of the ice cream,” Olivas says. Their paletas de crema (cream-based popsicles) include flavors like pistachio, pine nut, pecan, coffee, rice, coconut, dried fruit, cheesecake and dried prune. Their water-based popsicles come in lemon, strawberry, tamarind, guava, grape, watermelon, bubblegum and cucumber with chili. To cool down and liven up taste buds, customers can take a sip of one of their popping bubble teas. Flavors include mango, passionfruit, lemon, strawberry, peach, lychee, pineapple, pomegranate and more. The welcoming, bright colors found throughout the shop are the perfect match for the fresh, colorful treats that keep customers coming back
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again and again. Walking into this sweets heaven is truly the dream of every child — or those who are a child at heart. “My favorite part is seeing new people and meeting new customers,” Olivas says. The shop attracts people of all ages and nationalities. Some describe the shop like an old-timey ice cream parlor, and customers especially enjoy relaxing in the rustic, handmade wooden booths. The location has nearly 3,000 square feet, giving customers plenty of space to eat their sweet treats. “People can come inside, get their ice cream and relax with their family in one of the booths,” Olivas says. “We also have seating outside where they can enjoy their ice cream.” For those craving something a bit more on the savory side, try Dorilocos, a bag of Doritos topped with a variety of ingredients. Another especially popular dish is their chicharrones preparado. For this item, they fry a piece of wheat in a 10-by-5inch square shape, serving it with toppings like
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cabbage, cheese, sour cream and salsa — sort of like a salad. It’s definitely not the average ice cream shop snack, but once people give it a try, it’s easy to taste why they keep coming back for more. Their menu is written in both English and Spanish with plenty of images, and the team is more than happy to answer any questions about the items — as long as customers are ready to have their mouths water. La Sabrosita also has an ice cream truck the family takes to events, offering popular ice pop flavors like watermelon, Neapolitan, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate, lemon, strawberry, kiwi strawberry mango, bubblegum, pineapple strawberry, and esquimales with nuts and yogurt. For those who look for authentic, international tastes without leaving the city limits, they won’t want to miss out on the expansive menu of treats La Sabrosita has to offer. “Come and give us a try,” he says. “There’s something for everyone.” La Sabrosita Ice Cream is located at 3702 Lorna Road in in the River Oaks Village shopping center. During the summer months, La Sabrosita is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
HooversMagazine.com 37
TOP FLAVORS TO TRY With 28 flavors of ice cream available at any given time — not to mention all of their other menu items — the variety alone sets La Sabrosita Ice Cream Shop apart. Their cheese-flavored ice creams like queso con fresa (strawberry cheesecake) are especially popular. Other must-try flavors include pecan, lemon and mango with chili powder. Owner Victor Olivas’s personal favorite flavor is their rum raisin. “We definitely have flavors that people have never heard of,” he says. “We try to get away from flavors like vanilla and chocolate and try different flavors they can’t get anywhere else.”
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&STYLE
HOME
SMITH FARM 2.0
A colonial on Savoy Street is renovated and ready for a new generation of memories. BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY LINDSEY DRENNAN HooversMagazine.com 39
David Smith, far right, with his older brother on their family property in the 1960s
D BEFORE
Drive down Sanders Road to where it intersects with Savoy Street in Bluff Park, and for a second you might think you are in Kentucky bluegrass country. David Smith has a lifetime of memories on the 33 acres there. Some of his earliest memories were playing in the creek that ran through the property and in his family’s swimming pool. In later years he’d ride motorcycles on the trails behind his home where his brother, 10 years his senior, had ridden horses, and store his collector cars in the barns where his dad kept his collection, including a light blue 1954 Ford convertible that David says won every race it was in. When David was 2 years old in 1964, his parents R.E. and Helen had bought 22 acres of property near where David’s brother had been riding horses on Lazy Acres Ranch and moved into a single-story home on the property where David remembers cooking out on the patio with friends and gathering eggs from chickens for breakfast. By 1967 R.E. and Helen had completed the two-story colonial home with white columns where they’d reside the
40 June/July 2021
AFTER
remainder of their lives. The neighboring properties at the time also had acreage and horse stables, and over the decades to come the Smiths bought up several other parcels of land, including the 5-acre corner of Savoy and Sanders that belonged to James Tyler and another property on the other side of their home (with a house where David’s nephew and his wife, Brian and Dawn Smith, live today). Altogether the Smiths eventually owned 33 acres, much of which was lined with white fences and 15 of which had to be mowed, a chore David says he spent hours on throughout his life. After his mother Helen passed away in 2019, 11 years after R.E., David spent many days sorting through the four homes and five barns on the property and ultimately decided to auction off the farm in the fall of 2019. David Hare, the owner of the Bluff Park Ice Cream Shoppe, now owns 8.6 acres on the corner of Sanders Road and Savoy Street and plans to preserve the land. The remaining 25.86 acres went to developer Lance Kitchens, who
Exterior The most notable change to the passerby is the removal of the original eight round columns and green shutters and the addition of a smaller, more modern front porch in its place. Not pictured: The porch ceiling is painted light blue, which according to Gullah/Geechee tradition, brought good luck and warded off evil spirits.
has plans to start construction this summer on a new neighborhood fittingly called Smith Farm—but not for the 2 ½ acres that two-story Smith colonial home sits on. When builder and remodeler Matthew Gregory bought the Smith Farm house, it hadn’t been renovated since it was built in 1967, and its décor was very much spoke to that era. Matthew admits he’s partial to old homes and passionate about bringing them new life, and that’s just what this team did this past winter and spring. To update the look of the exterior, all eight colonial pillars came down along with the green shutters, and in place of the original porch overhang they built a new single story overhang that frames a new black front door with four square columns. Inside, in place of shag carpet they laid new hardwoods, in place of floral wallpaper up went eggshell-colored paint and in place of dark wood cabinets now hang bright white ones with gold hardware. On the main floor, Matthew’s team created a
master suite with a spacious bathroom and closet. In the kitchen area they took out a fireplace that was in bad shape and opened up the space where it was between the kitchen and the living room. They also removed a second staircase that took up space in the kitchen beforehand and took down the walls that had created a hallway between two living rooms to create a more open feel. Upstairs, the original design had a master suite that took up the width of the upstairs and two additional bedrooms. Since he moved the master downstairs, in its place, David created an upstairs living space and four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. All in all, the home now has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and two half bathrooms. The house’s original windows and interior doors remain, now with new hardware and a fresh coat of paint, and its 9-foot ceilings still create a feeling of grandeur as they did back in the ‘60s, just with a fresh look for its new owners to make their own lifetime of memories in the decades to come. HooversMagazine.com 41
Master Bathroom Twenty-four-by-thirty-inch ceramic tile with marble look is the showstopper of this spacious bathroom, with metallic accents, a large shower and a soaking tub to round out the space.
Master Bedroom Originally the house had a master suite on the second floor, but Matthew moved it to the back left side of the main floor instead in keeping with more modern home designs.
42 June/July 2021
Living Rooms There has always been a living room on the front of the home and another on the back, but Matthew opened up the hallway that once stood between them. The fireplace in the front living room is original to the house.
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HooversMagazine.com 43
Dining Room Most of the rooms in the house now have canned lighting, but a metallic chandelier makes a fun statement in this room on the front of the home.
Kitchen The home’s original kitchen was gutted and opened up to the living room adjacent to it. The bright space now showcases white cabinets with gold hardware and an island four bar stools wide.
Breakfast Room This eating space off the kitchen overlooks a well that was originally on the property and the backyard. 44 June/July 2021
MORE RENO STORIES Matthew Gregory documented the Smith family home renovation on a video on his YouTube channel, and you can find more footage of his home renovation projects around Birmingham on it too. To see the videos search
Entryway
for the “Matthew Gregory” channel on YouTube.com.
To freshen up the look of the staircase you see in the front entrance, Matthew added a metal railing with a contemporary flair in place of the traditional wood spindles that had been there for decades before.
HooversMagazine.com 45
Upstairs Living Room Matthew reworked the entire upstairs and created a living space at the top of the stairs that can act as a kids den.
Upstairs Bathroom All four bedrooms on the second floor of the home how have their own bathroom with a grey vanity and classic white tile.
46 June/July 2021
Renovator Matthew Gregory
BEHIND THE SCENES Renovation Construction: Matthew Gregory, Gregory Dream Homes
Renovation Project Manager: Daniel Bunting Staging: Monica Kelley Interiors & Staging Realtors: Andrea Quick & Lori McRee, Sweet HOMElife Real Estate
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48 June/July 2021
How Golf Got Us Through a Pandemic Golf course—check! Golf cart—check! Golf simulator—check! Here’s a spouse’s account of the official sport of social distance.
BY AMY FERGUSON PHOTOS BY MORGAN HUNT
HooversMagazine.com 49
I
I’m certain that if asked, my husband would say he’s never been more in love with me than on the day I scooped up a handful of 2017 Masters tickets posted last minute in a local Facebook group. It was instinct. I didn’t confirm if Eric’s schedule would even allow for it or think to check on hotel room availability. I just went with my gut, assumed I was making the right decision and claimed those tickets as mine within seconds of their posting. It turns out, I made the right call. “You have never been as cool as you were that day,” Eric admits. “We are talking bucket list stuff here. As much as I’d like to play a round at Augusta National one day, going as a spectator was always far more realistic, but had never happened. I was so very excited to go, and it definitely did not disappoint.” I’d argue golf is my husband’s first real love, a
50 June/July 2021
childhood passion that continued to blossom into his adult years. It’s also one he shares with Jeffrey Criswell. When Jeffrey joined the finance department at Eric’s company several years ago, the two developed a big brother-little brother camaraderie. Almost 10 years his senior, Eric’s quick wit and sharp tongue balanced well against Jeffrey’s hijinks and dad jokes, a dynamic that played out both in the office and on the golf course. Like Eric, Jeffrey never tires of the game. Jeffrey’s love for the game developed in his younger years as well. And even though he grew up outside of the Birmingham metro area, he would constantly navigate his way back to the Hoover Country Club (HCC) to play with other junior golfers. “I love the course (at HCC),” Jeffrey says. “It’s challenging and gives me the chance to use every club in my bag, no matter what tee I play from.”
Director of Golf Chip Purser plays on the course at Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa. He and his team made adjustments to the course after the pandemic began to help prevent the spread of the virus.
HooversMagazine.com 51
Eric Ferguson built a DIY golf simulator during the COVID-19 pandemic.
52 June/July 2021
He always knew he wanted to join the HCC as an official member, but it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world that he finally took the plunge. In June 2020, as the state slowly emerged from lockdown and implemented strict social distancing policies, Jeffrey signed on the dotted line. “I just had to be outside,” Jeffrey remembers about last summer. “I would play four to five nights a week after being cooped up, working inside my house all day. And it made more sense to become a member instead of paying dues every time.” And he wasn’t alone, not by a long shot (pun intended). As the coronavirus continued to disrupt our everyday lives, the interest in golf soared as more and more people flocked to the fairways. The game served as a much-needed distraction from all things coronavirus and allowed folks to socialize responsibly, which ultimately resulted in a record-breaking year for the golf industry. Official policies and procedures varied from state to state, but according to Chip Purser, a devout lover of the game and the director of golf at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa, his main focus was to create and maintain a safe environment before and after golf play for all his guests and associates. “Our entire team followed the industry
HooversMagazine.com 53
ERIC’S DIY GUIDE TO BUILDING AN INDOOR GOLF SIMULATOR Tip #1
Think through your overall goal to determine budget. Are you looking for an element of entertainment while knocking back a few beers with your buddies? Or are you more interested in practicing to improve your overall swing? The more accurate data points you need to advance, the more expensive the technology. Tip #2
Do not underestimate the importance of a high-quality hitting mat in your setup. Your wrists will thank you. Tip #3
If your space allows, invest in a ceiling-mounted projector. This keeps it safe from getting hit and prevents you from playing hop-scotch over power cords, wiring, etc. Tip #4
Your enclosure should be sturdy and durable to absorb the impact of the shots, but also protect all surrounding areas. Additional side nets, ceiling padding, etc. can help deflect stray shots and prevent damage. Tip #5
Not everything involved in a DIY golf simulator build should actually be DIY. It’s important to know when to buy certain items versus attempting to makeshift on your own. Don’t skimp on an impact screen, corner hardware and/or protect netting. 54 June/July 2021
recommendations and social distancing guidelines to prevent any spread of the virus,” Chip says. “On the course, we removed rakes from bunkers as well as public water coolers and ball washers from all tee boxes. We also added pool noodles to cups and continue to sanitize every golf cart prior to each guest use and after play.” As new and interested people were drawn to the game for the first time, devoted fans of the sport found creative ways to scratch the golf itch. Several families in Lake Wilborn community—where Eric and I live with our ever curious and always energetic 2-year-old daughter—used the pandemic as an excuse to purchase a golf cart and pretend they were zipping around on a beautiful course in an exotic country. Others went a different route. For my husband, his itch was finally scratched when I gave him my blessing to convert a portion of our garage into his very-own golf simulator room. (Yes, I am Wife of the Year. Thank you for asking). Using a combination of materials purchased from Home Depot, Amazon and a variety of golfspecific retailers online, Eric embarked on the ultimate DIY project. He was head down crossing every T and dotting every I, ensuring the setup was ready to go when the technology arrived. We barely saw him outside of dinner. Finally, after 14 “brutal weeks” of waiting (crazy high demand makes for long shipping time), the wait was over. An onlooker would have thought it was Christmas morning at the Ferguson house on that magical September day. “I was pumped,” Eric remembers. “All my golf buddies were inviting themselves over to try it out.” Standing at a little over 9 feet tall, the simulator provides just enough room to swing all the clubs and a convenience factor that a real course can never offer. “I can go downstairs and play a round in 30-minutes,” Eric says. “It’s nice to have the option to practice anytime I want to improve versus occasionally showing up at a golf course and hoping I play OK.” Still, luckily for Chip and others who manage golf courses around the world, there’s no substitute for getting outside with Mother Nature for a round of 18 holes. That part just doesn’t translate in the dark corner of any basement. “I’m old school,” Chip says. “To me, golf simulators are a great tool to be used only if you can’t get outside.” Throughout the past year, as Chip worked diligently to ensure everyone felt secure at the course, his spare time to actually play the game he loves so much was limited (although he hopes to change that this year). “Everyone should play golf,” Chip says. “I believe the game builds character. Players are required to call penalties on themselves, follow the rules and take what they get. You can’t blame anyone else for your performance, but along with that, you get great satisfaction out of your successes. It’s a wonderful game.” The Ross Bridge golf course will challenge even the best of golfers. Book a tee time at rtjgolf.com/rossbridge.
Jeffrey Criswell and Eric Ferguson drive Eric’s golf cart near his home in Lake Wilborn.
HooversMagazine.com 55
HOOVER’S BEST WINNERS 2021 You voted. We tallied. See just who Hoover’s favorites are.
Photos by Keith McCoy & Contributed
56 June/July 2021
BEST FRIENDLY SERVICE Santos Coffee
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BEST DATE NIGHT RESTAURANT The Anvil Pub and Grill 611 Doug Baker Boulevard, #103 (205) 637-7100 theanvilpub.com Runners Up: Tre Luna Bar & Kitchen, Farrelly’s Southern Bar & Kitchen BEST MARGARITA Taco Mama-Trace Crossings 5220 Peridot Place, Suite 100 (205) 882-8226 tacomamaonline.com
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Runners Up: Moss Rock Tacos & Tequila, La Fiesta HooversMagazine.com 57
BEST SWEET TREATS Bluff Park Ice Cream Shoppe
BEST BARBECUE Moe’s Original BBQ – Hoover 1031 Brocks Gap Parkway, Suite 191 (205) 774-8800 moesoriginalbbq.com Runners Up: Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, Full Moon Bar-B-Que
BEST LUNCH SPOT The Anvil Pub and Grill 611 Doug Baker Boulevard, #103 (205) 637-7100 theanvilpub.com
BEST CASUAL RESTAURANT Taco Mama - Trace Crossings 5220 Peridot Place, Suite 100 (205) 882-8226 tacomamaonline.com Runners Up: Tre Luna Bar and Kitchen, Jefferson’s
Runners Up: Ashley Mac’s, Taco Mama-Trace Crossings BEST BURGER Baha Burger 4745 Chace Circle (205) 682-6980 bahaburger.com Runners Up: Green Valley Drug, Melt Hoover
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BEST COFFEE Santos Coffee 1021 Brocks Gap Parkway, Suite 101 (205) 502-7020 santoscoffee.us Runners Up: OHenry’s Coffees, Wild Roast Cafe
BEST SWEET TREATS Bluff Park Ice Cream Shoppe 815 Shades Crest Road bluffparkicecreamshop.com (205) 423-5055
BEST PIZZA Tortugas Pizza 2801 John Hawkins Parkway (205) 403-9800 tortugaspizza.com
Runners Up: Edgar’s Bakery, The Whole Scoop Ice Cream Shop
Runners Up: Vecchia Pizzeria & Mercato, Tre Luna Bar and Kitchen
BEST PATIO DINING The Anvil Pub and Grill 611 Doug Baker Boulevard, #103 (205) 637-7100 theanvilpub.com
BEST DRINKS/COCKTAILS The Anvil Pub and Grill 611 Doug Baker Boulevard, #103 (205) 637-7100 theanvilpub.com
Runners Up: Tre Luna Bar and Kitchen, Tip Top Grill
Runners Up: Tre Luna Bar & Kitchen, The Casual Print at the Grove
BEST MILKSHAKE Bluff Park Ice Cream Shoppe 815 Shades Crest Road (205) 423-5055 bluffparkicecreamshop.com Runners Up: The Whole Scoop Ice Cream Shop, Green Valley Drug
BEST CHEF Sedesh Boodram - The Anvil 611 Doug Baker Boulevard, #103 (205) 637-7100 theanvilpub.com Runners Up: Brian Mooney - The Luna Bar & Kitchen, Clint Bullock - Farrelly’s Southern Bar and Kitchen
Thank you for voting us Best of Hoover! Schedule a free consultation at BhamSmile.com.
HooversMagazine.com 59
BEST CHURCH Hunter Street Baptist Church
COMMUNITY
BEST COMMUNITY EVENT Moss Rock Festival mossrockfestival.com Runners Up: Bluff Park Art, Ross Bridge Farmers Market BEST NEIGHBORHOOD Bluff Park Runners Up: Ross Bridge,Russet Woods BEST LOCAL CAUSE Hoover Helps hooverhelps.org HOOVER’S
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We’re proud to be voted Hoover’s Best Bank or Credit Union! Our mission is focused on making a difference in our members’ lives by helping them meet their finacial goals. While we know how important a safe place to save for the future is, thats not all we offer. Stop by and let us be a service to you with: High Savings Rates Easy Ways to Borrow
Free Checking Accounts Convenient Digital Banking
Visit us at one of our two Hoover locations: 4725 Chace Circle, Hoover, AL 35244 or 6400 Tattersall Park Drive, Hoover, AL 35244 apcocu.org Equal Housing Opportunity Lender Federally Insured by NCUA
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Runners Up: Hope for Autumn Foundation, Grace Klein Community BEST OUTDOOR SPOT Moss Rock Preserve 617 Preserve Parkway/ 4600 Preserve Parkway/ 1517 Patton Chapel Road hooveral.org Runners Up: Aldridge Gardens, Veterans Park BEST CHURCH Hunter Street Baptist Church 2600 John Hawkins Parkway (205) 985-7295 hunterstreet.org Runners Up: Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Riverchase United Methodist Church
BEST LOCAL PERSONALITY James Spann alabamawx.com Runners Up: Mr. Justin at the Hoover Library Kids Department, Nicole Allshouse BEST PUBLIC/ PRIVATE SCHOOL Prince of Peace Catholic School 4650 Preserve Parkway (205) 824-7886 popcatholic.net Runners Up: South Shades Crest Elementary, Hoover High School
HEALTH & BEAUTY
BEST DERMATOLOGY PRACTICE Pure Dermatology & Aesthetics 5346 Stadium Trace Parkway (205) 682-8022 puredermalabama.com Runners Up: Inverness Dermatology, Naaman Clinic BEST PEDIATRIC PRACTICE Greenvale Pediatrics – Hoover 5295 Preserve Parkway (205) 987-4444 childrensal.org/hoover-office Runners Up: Comprehensive Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, Dr. Toren Anderson
BEST FAMILY MEDICINE PRACTICE Birmingham Internal Medicine Associates 7191 Cahaba Valley Road, Suite 300 (205) 628-9167 completehealth.com/practice/birmingham-internalmedicine-associates/
BEST DENTAL PRACTICE Chace Lake Family Dentistry 1817 Chace Drive (205) 989-0090 chacelakefamilydentistry.com
Runners Up: Hoover Specialty Care, Ross Bridge Medical Center
Runners Up: Hoover Family Dentistry, Anglin Pediatric & Family Dentistry
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BEST ORTHODONTICS PRACTICE Birmingham Orthodontics – Hoover 5291 Magnolia Trace (205) 628-9789 bhamorthodontics.com Runners Up: Backus Orthodontics, Brocks Gap Orthodontics BEST EYE CARE PRACTICE Alabama Family Eye Care 5356 Stadium Trace Parkway, #100 (205) 733-0507 alfamilyeyes.com Runners Up: EyeCare Associates - Hoover, Costco Vision Center BEST CHIROPRACTIC CARE PRACTICE Reignite Chiropractic 2717 John Hawkins Parkway, Suite 107 (205) 855-3305 reignitechiropractic.com Runners Up: Birmingham Health, LakeCrest Chiropractic & Wellness
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SHOPPING & SERVICES BEST PHARMACY Ross Bridge Pharmacy 3601 Market Street, #104 (205) 290-5833 rossbridgepharmacy.com
Runners Up: Green Valley Drug, Mills Pharmacy at Bluff Park BEST HAIR SALON Jeremy Stephens Salon 5220 Peridot Place (205) 402-0022 jeremystephensbrand.com Runners Up: Stone Salon, Parlor Salon BEST NAIL SALON The Nail Bar 1913 Hoover Court (205) 848-2211 Runners Up: Riviera Nails, Touch & Glow Nail Spa
BEST SPA The Spa at Ross Bridge 4000 Grand Avenue (205) 949-3041 facebook.com/spaatrossbridge Runners Up: Spa Cahaba, Birch Tree Day Spa BEST FITNESS CENTER Burn Boot Camp Hoover 1021 Brocks Gap Parkway, Suite 121 (205) 335-1884 burnbootcamp.com
BEST FITNESS CENTER Burn Boot Camp Hoover BEST PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY Pediatric & Adolescent DentistryBrocks Gap Dental Group 1015 Brocks Gap Parkway, Suite A (205) 982-0112 brocksgapdentalgroup.com/pediatric-adolescentdentistry/
Runners Up: Hoover YMCA, Iron Tribe BEST PERSONAL TRAINER Steven Lee- Burn Boot Camp Hoover 1021 Brocks Gap Parkway, Suite 121 (205) 335-1884 burnbootcamp.com Runners Up: Paul Anderton - Hoover YMCA, Matt Gackle- Iron Tribe
Runners Up: Pediatric Dentistry Med-plex Hoover, Anglin Pediatric Dentistry BEST SENIOR LIVING FACILITY Danberry at Inverness 235 Inverness Center Drive (205) 443-9500 danberryatinverness.com Runners Up: Galleria Woods, Aspire Physical Recovery Center at Hoover
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BEST NURSERY Andy’s Farm Market & Garden Center 124 Mars Hill Road (205) 402-2639 andysgardencenter.com
BEST KIDS ACTIVITY Explore Playground & Splash Pad
Runners Up: Collier’s Nursery, Gardner Nurseries BEST HARDWARE STORE Bluff Park Hardware 597 Shades Crest Road (205) 823-1953 Runners Up: The Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement
SHOPPING & SERVICES
BEST NEW BUSINESS Reignite Chiropractic 2717 John Hawkins Parkway, Suite 107 (205) 855-3305 reignitechiropractic.com
BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE ARC Realty – Hoover 5220 Peridot Place, Suite 124 (205) 969-8912 arcrealtyco.com/real-estate-office/103/hoover Runners Up: Chick-fil-A- the Grove, Shay’s Jewelers
Runners Up: Santos Coffee, Taco Mama - Trace Crossings
Thank you for ! t s e b e h t s u g n i t vo At Danberry at Inverness, we are proud to be named 2021 Best Senior Living Facility in Hoover by the readers of Hoover Magazine. Modern, all-inclusive senior living with warm hospitality, extraordinary amenities, a perfect location, and no entrance fee. Danberry at Inverness welcomes you!
235 Inverness Center Drive | Hoover, AL 35242 (205) 443-9500 | DanberryAtInverness.com
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BEST BOUTIQUE/CLOTHING TIE BETWEEN: Dear Prudence 4441 Creekside Avenue, Suite 125 (205) 407-7523 dearprudence.com
BEST SPECIALTY STORE Shay’s Jewelers 3301 Lorna Road, # 1 (205) 978-5880 shaysjewelers.com Runners Up: Wrapsody, Buff City Soap Hoover
Wrapsody of Hoover 1028 Marble Terrace, Suite 116 (205) 989-7277 wrapsodyonline.com Runner Up: Von Maur BEST GIFT SHOP Wrapsody of Hoover 1028 Marble Terrace, Suite 116 (205) 989-7277 wrapsodyonline.com Runners Up: Hoover Shipping Center, Orenda Originals
BEST STORE FOR HOME FURNISHINGS/DÉCOR/KITCHENS HomeGoods 1660 Montgomery Highway (205) 823-5221 homegoods.com Runners Up: Urban Home Market, Hobby Lobby BEST FLORIST Hoover Florist 1905 Hoover Court (205) 823-5273 hooverflorist.com Runners Up: Flowers on a Shoestring, Fig & Fern
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BEST DRY CLEANER Champion Cleaners 5403 Highway 280 (205)408-2797 championcleaners.com BEST PUBLIC/ PRIVATE SCHOOL Prince of Peace Catholic School BEST JEWELRY STORE Shay’s Jewelers 3301 Lorna Road, # 1 (205) 978-5880 shaysjewelers.com
Runners Up: Park Place Cleaners BEST KIDS ACTIVITY Explore Playground & Splash Pad 1060 RV Trace hoovermetcomplex.com Runners Up: Moss Rock Preserve, Let’s Play
Runners Up: Southeastern Jewelers Inc., Jared BEST ANIMAL CLINIC Lake Crest Animal Clinic 551 Lake Crest Drive (205)403-4003
BEST CHILDREN’S DAYCARE Ardent Preschool & Daycare - Trace Crossings 5390 Magnolia Trace (205) 733-5437 ardentpreschool.com
Runners Up: Bluff Park Animal Clinic, Patton Chapel Animal Clinic
Runners Up: Prince of Peace Catholic School, Hunter Street Baptist Church
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HOME, FINANCE & AUTO BEST REMODELER Natco Construction (205) 965-9678 natcollc.com
Runners Up: Rick Nelson, AS Construction BEST REAL ESTATE AGENT Donna Gaskins - ARC Realty donna@donnagaskins.com (205)441-0333 donnagaskins.com Runners Up: Allison Burleson - AllisonBurleson. com, Gwen Vinzant - Realty South
BEST REAL ESTATE AGENCY ARC Realty – Hoover 5220 Peridot Place, Suite 124 (205)969-8912 arcrealtyco.com/real-estate-office/103/hoover Runners Up: Keller Williams Hoover, RealtySouth BEST INSURANCE AGENT Ryan Goolsby - State Farm 2807 Wisteria Drive (205)879-5674 ryangoolsby.net Runners Up: Vivian Mora - State Farm, Chris Dorris - State Farm BEST INSURANCE AGENCY Vivian Mora - State Farm 3253 Lorna Road (205)822-5023 vivianmoraagency.com
BEST HAIR SALON Jeremy Stephens Salon
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Runners Up: Ryan Goolsby - State Farm Insurance Agent, Nationwide
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Runners Up: Regions Bank, Avadian Credit Union BEST AUTO SERVICE Christian Brothers Automotive-Tattersall Park 6612 Tattersall Drive (205) 598-3106 cbac.com Runners Up: Anthony’s Full Service & Express Car Wash Hoover, Hoover Toyota BEST FINANCIAL ADVISOR Baker Camp Arnold Capital Management 421 Emery Drive (205) 847-1885 bakercamparnold.com
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BEST BANK/CREDIT UNION APCO Credit Union 4725 Chace Circle (205) 823-7403/ 6400 Tattersall Park Drive (205) 547-9400 apcocu.org
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BEST NEW/USED CAR DEALER Hoover Toyota 2686 John Hawkins Parkway (205)978-2600 hoovertoyota.com Runners Up: Hendrick Hoover Automall, Car Max BEST CAR WASH Anthony’s Full Service & Express Car Wash - The Grove 3037 Alabama 150 (205)987-7878 anthonyscarwash.com
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Runners Up: Jeff Roberts - Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, TrueWealth Advisors, LLC
Runners Up: Tidal Wave Auto Spa, Anthony’s Full Service & Express Car Wash Hoover BEST HVAC SERVICE OnTime Services 2668 Old Rocky Ridge Road (205) 942-1405 ontime59.com
STORIES IC LOVE PANDEM STYLES AL HAIR ANTIC BRID
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Runners Up: Capital Heating & Cooling, Fast Appliance
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Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce C O N N E C T I O N S
Recent Ribbon Cuttings & Anniversaries
MAPCO The Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce, alongside Mayor Frank Brocato, welcomed the MAPCO convenience store chain with a ribbon-cutting celebration on March 30 at 2 p.m. The new store is located at 200 Inverness Center Drive. MAPCO is a chain of convenience stores with more than 340 locations throughout the southeastern region of the United States. MAPCO is committed to offering guests a “better break,” where they can refresh and recharge at their own pace with quality products and services at a value that is made more relevant to the individual. The Hoover store celebrated entry into the Hoover community by offering several limited-time promotions on food and beverages, including a free frozen or fountain drink as well as 99-cent candy, packaged snacks, doughnuts and grilled hot dogs. MAPCO takes pride in its community-focused values, and that is reinforced from the environment they create for their guests to the charitable outreach they provide in the communities they serve.
3000 RIVERCHASE GALLERIA 72 June/July 2021
Palmetto Moon The Riverchase Galleria gave a warm southern welcome to our new neighbors Palmetto Moon! This is Palmetto Moon’s first location in Alabama. On April 30, the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome the South Carolina-based company to the Riverchase Galleria. Palmetto Moon was born from humble beginnings. After sending their youngest daughter off to college, Karen and Robert Webster opened the small shop as a seasonal kiosk in Charleston’s Citadel Mall on Nov. 1, 2002. This family-run organization now operates 28 locations scattered throughout the Southeast with fan-favorite brands like Palmetto Moon, Simply Southern, Columbia, Southern Marsh, Old Row, Patagonia, Local Boy Outfitter, and Hippie Runner. For more information, visit palmettomoononline.com.
HOOVER, AL 35244
Recent Ribbon Cuttings & Anniversaries
Pazzo! Big Slice Pizza Pazzo! Big Slice Pizza has been in our Hoover community since 2014 and was started by partners Jim Sarris and Alfredo Frias. The Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed them to the Chamber family on March 10, 2021, by slicing the ribbon. Pazzo! Big Slice Pizza is located at 1678 Montgomery Highway, Hoover 35216. Pazzo means “crazy” in Italian and conveys the attitude of our unique and exciting new fast-casual concepts. It is not a test location of Pazzo! Calzone Bakery and offers freshly made, over-stuffed calzones and premium salads along with simple Italian side dishes. They don’t take any shortcuts here. All of their recipes follow time-honored techniques, and they promise to serve locally grown, in-season produce when possible, and other products made using sustainable farming methods. Who says quick can’t be great? Check them out on Facebook @pazzocalzonebakery.
Congratulations to Global Services, Inc. on their Silver Anniversary The Chamber was honored to share this important milestone with Global Services, Inc’s Navdeep and Renu Narang and their incredible team! This humble team has been serving our community for 25 years, and we believe the best is yet to come. Here is to 25 more! Global Services Inc. is a family owned and run business based in Hoover. They provide contract screen print and embroidery services. The company was established in 1993 and does custom embroidery and screen printing on apparel, accessories, and promotional products with your logos or designs. They are committed to the highest possible quality and customer service at the best possible prices, and they strive to earn your repeat business. For more information, visit shivawear.com.
Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux On March 30, the City of Hoover, Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce and Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux officials came together for a groundbreaking on the franchisee’s second location in Hoover. Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux was first started on Sept. 9, 2003, by college friends and walk-ons Brandon and Jack. Franchisee Matt Roth and his team opened their first location in Hoover at 6401 Tattersall Park Drive in 2019. The second Walk-On’s location is located at 5249 Peridot Place. For more information, visit walk-ons.com.
205 - 988 - 5672
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New Members AS OF MAY 10, 2021
uThe Hillsboro School 3/4/21
uPetSuites Hoover Stay & Play 4/5/21
uCentral Alabama Pressure Washing 3/9/21
uSlimFit Weightloss Clinics Hoover 4/8/21
uHOTWORX Hoover 3/10/21
uPalmetto Moon 4/9/21
uCenter for Vein Restoration 3/11/21 uNew York Butcher Shoppe 3/11/21 uGerm Away Pros 3/19/21 uAmerican Airlines 3/25/21 uHommati of Greater Birmingham 3/25/21 uLeader One Financial 3/26/21
uTaproot Cafe 4/9/21 uwerkplas 4/12/21 uDarby Enterprise Global Solutions 4/28/21 uService Tech, Inc. 4/28/21 uGwen Vinzant/ RealtySouth Inverness 5/3/21 uProctor U 5/5/21 uTouching You, Inc. 5/5/21
Thank you to our 2021 Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees Eric Land, ABC 33/40 Television Linda Cencula, Avadian Credit Union - Corporate Robert Fowler, Balch & Bingham LLP Deborah Stephens, Behavioral Health Systems, Inc. Ashfaq Taufique, Birmingham Islamic Society Jabo Waggoner, Alabama State Senator Jabo Waggoner Cody Burns, WBRC Fox 6 Television Leisha Harris, Grandview Medical Center Len Luther, Gresham, Smith and Partners Todd Beegle, On Tap Sports Cafe - Galleria Mike White, Riverchase Galleria Rick Smith, Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa Monique Holiness, Home Depot - Inverness Elena Chadwell, Home Depot - Riverchase Darin Boykin, WalMart - Hoover #1229 Richard Edwards, WalMart SuperCenter - Highway 280 Benjamin Yim, OMNIWON Digital Mr. Ira Levine, Levine & Associates Dwight Sandlin, Signature Homes Dr. Timothy Lee, Alabama Heart & Vascular, P.C. April Calloway, Fresenius Medical Care Leanne Messer, Brookdale University Park Brooke Wood, Alabama Credit Union - Hoover Lori Moler, Children’s of Alabama Jamie Popee, Diversicare of Riverchase Josh Hullett, Galleria Woods Retirement Community Gina Cannady, Legacy Community Federal Credit Union - Corporate Ridge Christina Bunn, Medical West Hospital Kris Freeman, Comfort Care Home Health and Hospice John Santamour, Aprio, LLP Chuck Kramer, Progress Bank and Trust Raven Bell, AlaTrust Credit Union Jody Mattson, America’s First Federal Credit Union Chip Vance, OS1 Sports & Injury Clinic Kristen Vaughn, Wind Creek Hospitality Derrick E. Ragland, APCO Employees Credit Union Kashif Siddiqi, Jubilee Joe’s Restaurant Zeke Eldridge, Alabama Vein & Restoration Medspa-Chace Circle
Brandon Kemp, Santek Waste Services/Mount Olive Landfill Ida Adnyana, UNAGI Bento & Sushi David Riddle, Bedzzz Express Buz Boyd, BMW of Birmingham Robert Bailey, Lexus of Birmingham Cale McWatters, Loyd Select Staffing Mark Grenier, Topgolf Dana Meginniss, St. Vincent’s Health System Gus McKenzie, Troy University Terry Rippstein, Terracon Consultants, Inc. Leo Wang, The Seafood King Homewood Peter Gong, The Seafood King-Bessemer Jason Jiang, The Seafood King Hoover Joey Fernandez, Truist Bank-Hoover Phillip Corley, Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt, LLC Aeriell Lapsley, The Trails at Cahaba River Terri Williams, AT&T - Alabama Crystal Dixon, Costco Wholesale Kevin Kilpatrick, GCap Financing, Division of Peoples Bank Dr. Mary Gilmer, Ortho Alabama Spine and Sports Tracy Horton, WorkSmart Staffing Michelle Suggs, Somerby at St. Vincent’s One Nineteen Keith Strickland, Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc. Paul Sutton, werkplas Reggie Torbor, Taproot Cafe Vivian Mora, State Farm Insurance - Vivian Mora Agency Brian Skelton, Skelton’s Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration Sonny Warbington, Brown Heating & Cooling Nicole Self, Express Oil Change/Tire Engineers -Corporate Offices Will Hawkins, CB&S Bank Libby Davis, American Family Care Jarrod Edwards, BancorpSouth - Hoover Jamie Black, McDonald’s Terry Poole, Long-Lewis Ford Lincoln Mark Jenkins, Enterprise Holdings Rodney Berry, Peoples Bank of Alabama Kimberly Jackson, Alabama Power Company
uUplift Nutrition, LLC 3/30/21
3000 RIVERCHASE GALLERIA 74 June/July 2021
HOOVER, AL 35244
F i n d U s O n l i ne
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Hoover Chamber Officers and Board of Directors
Paul Dangel The HyattRegency Wynfrey Hotel 2021 Chair of the Board
David Custred McLeod Software 1st Vice-Chair
Diana Shaw Knight Sovereign CPA Group LLC Vice-Chair Finance
April DeLuca Magic City Law 2nd Vice-Chair
Terry Turner, Terry D. Turner, Jr., J.D., Attorney at Law
Lynn Ray Business Telephones, Inc. Vice-Chair Administration
Greg Knighton City of Hoover Liaison
Past Presidents Jason Cobb, America’s First Federal Credit Union Jerry Cross, Jefferson County Economic Dev Authority Dan Ellis, EBMS Richard Head, RE/MAX Advantage - Richard Head Dan Mikos, Mikos/Kampakis Insurance Services Jerome Morgan, Oncort Professional Services Chris Schmidt, Daniel Corporation Kathleen Spencer, Spencer Consulting Group Joe Thomas, McDaniels & Thomas Wealth Management, LLC Terry Turner, Terry D. Turner, Jr., J.D., Attorney at Law Terri Williams, AT&T – Alabama
Presidents Circle Antonio Sankey, Antonio D. Sankey & Assoc., LLC John Lyda, Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Tyler Lipe, Regions Bank
Kimberly Jackson, Alabama Power Company
Vivian Mora State Farm Ins The Vivian Mora Agenncy
Rohen Porbanderwala Lake Crest Chevron
Natalie Fleming, Brookwood Baptist Medical Center Robert Pettigrew, Cigna Joel Smith, Hendrick Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram / Chevrolet Paul Dangel, Hyatt Regency Birmingham - The Wynfrey Hotel Henry King, King Acura David A Custred, McLeod Software Corporation Tyler Lipe, Regions Bank - Downtown
James Robinson, Spire Energy
Sandy Syx, Doozer Software
Tyler Williams, BlueCross BlueShield
205 - 988 - 5672
Ben Yim, LA Wax Club
Charlie Conklin, Sentry Heating, Air & Plumbing Bill Inabitt, Synovus Bank - formerly First Commercial Bank of Hoover
WWW.HOOVERCHAMBER.ORG HooversMagazine.com 75
OUT & ABOUT
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Carnival rides, a vintage auto show, food trucks, vendor exhibits and more filled Veterans Park for this annual event on April 25. 1. The Beda Family 2. Marlina Fairweather, Danielle Brewer and Olivia Garibay 3. The Baggette Family 4. Caroline Ballenger, Eli Parton and Danielle Morgan 5. The Watson Family 6. The Santa Cruz Family 7. The Bishoff Family 8. Hoover Police Officers McCreless and Parrish 9. The Knizel Family 10. The Collins and Barthold families 11. The Sullivan Family 12. The Franklin Family 13. The Parks Family 14. Herrera Family 15. The Robinson and Smith families
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The Hoover City Schools Foundation held a night of barbecue, entertaining and auctions at Aldridge Gardens on April 30. 1. The Pettits 2. Beth and John Lyda 3. Tiffney Triesler and Eric Chambers 4. Myles Hitt and Melissa Wilcox 5. Carly and Alex Derencz 6. Alli Ammons and Isabel Corley 7. Chantal Hopkins, Takeria Stephens and Mandi Banks 8. Luke Williams, Debbie Mar and Blake Stevens 9. Mayor Frank and Frances Brocato, Lauren Sisler and John Willard 10. Hoover City Schools Foundation Student Board 11. HCSF Board Members 12. John Willard, Steve Parker, Anna Parker and Lauren Sisler 13. Jimmie Simmons, Paul DeMarco, Steve Ammons and David Wheeler
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We work tirelessly to help kids get well because the world needs to see what Natalie dreams up. 11
WE DO WHAT WE DO BECAUSE CHILDREN HAVE DREAMS.
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ChildrensAL.org
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MARKETPLACE
Marketplace Hoover’s Magazine • 205.669.3131
Now hiring RN’s and LPN’s throughout Alabama! $250 community referral bonus for RN’s and LPN’s. Sign-on Bonuses available at select locations! For more information please contact: Paige Gandolfi Call/text: 724-691-7474 pgandolfi@wexfordhealth.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 applications accepted. Clanton (205)280-0002. Pelham (205)444-9774. Bama Concrete Now Hiring: Diesel Mechanic 4 Years Minimum Experience. CDL Preferred. Competitive Pay. Great Benefits. Apply in person: 2180 Hwy 87 Alabaster, 35007 Lancaster Place Apartments. Location, community & quality living in Calera, AL. 1, 2, & 3 bedroom apartments available. Call today for specials!! 205-668-6871. Or visit hpilancasterplace.com Marble Valley Manor. Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments for Elderly & Disabled. Many on-site services! 2115 Motes Rd, Sylacauga. 256-245-6500 •TDD#s: 800-548-2547(V) •800-548-2546(T/A). Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/ Employer LAND FOR SALE 180 acres, located on Walnut Creek. Will not divide property. Call for more information: 205-369-5641 CLOCK REPAIR SVS. * Setup * Repair * Maintenance. I can fix your Mother’s clock. Alabaster/Pelham. Call Stephen (205)663-2822 HIRING EXPERIENCED FULL GENERAL LAWN CARE •Grass Cutting •Limb Trimming •Storm Cleanup •Debris Removal •Serving Shelby, Chilton, Coosa & many more areas. •Decks •Porches •Stairs •Demolition Call Alex today for details: 1-205-955-3439 Military & Senior Discounts
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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
General Cleaner Needed -Daytime shift, office building, downtown Clanton. Approximately 4-6 hours work, Monday–Friday. Tasks include dusting, sweeping/mopping, removing trash, cleaning restrooms. Call 205-365-8414 or 205-424-5252 $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 205-668-3316. SEPCO Sealing Equipment Products Co. Inc. JOIN OUR TEAM! •Braiding Operator •Parts Finisher •Grafoil/ Ring Press Operator •CNC Machinist If you are looking for a fantastic company to work for, with competitive pay & benefits, submit resume at: www.sepco.com/careers EOE 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! MacLean Power Systems NOW HIRING 3098 Pelham Pkwy, Pelham, AL 35124 We are actively hiring for production operations Apply at: www.macleanfogg.com/careers
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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 Boise Cascade Now Hiring for Utility Positions. Starting pay $14/hour. Must be able to pass background screen. Please apply at www.bc.com WELDER NEEDED MIG & TIG •Light gauge stainless, aluminized, galvanized Manufacturing and Assembly Helpers Needed •Paid Holidays •Typical Shifts 6:00am-2:30pm Call RICK: 205-761-3975 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 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 Acceptance Loan Company, Inc. Personal loans! Let us pay off your title loans! 224 Cahaba Valley Rd, Pelham 205-663-5821 Experienced Termite Technician or someone experienced in route-service work and wants to learn new profession. Work-vehicle/ equipment provided. Must drive straight-shift, have clean driving record/be 21/pass background/drug test. Training provided. Insurance/401K offered. M-F 7:00-4:30 + 1 Saturday/month. Pay $13hr. Send resume to facsmith@charter.net Maintenance Technician 11p-7a, Some weekends. Aluminum smelting manufacturer seeking multicraft maintenance technicians to perform Machine Repair, Machine Installation, Pipefitting, Basic Machining, Metalwork/Fabrication and
Welding Qualified. Email resumes: jkendall@bermco.com Maintenance Supervisor Days Shift- Some nights and weekends Aluminum smelting manufacturer seeking qualified candidates to delegate maintenance workand PM’s as required to maintain daily operations of production. Manage project scheduling and completion dates. Email resumes:jkendall@bermco.com Accounts Payable Clerk Aluminum smelting manufacturer seeking qualified candidates to perform accounting and clerical duties related to the efficient maintenance and processing of accounts payable transactions. Experience using RIMAS a plus. Email resumes: jkendall@bermco.com Purchasing Agent Aluminum smelting manufacturer seeking qualified candidates to identifying suppliers, researching goods and services, processing purchase orders, verifying items received & managing inventory. Email resumes: jkendall@bermco.com Front End Loader / Rotary Operator 3pm-11pm, 11pm7am Overtime & weekends may be required. Aluminum smelting manufacturer seeking qualified FELOs to charge furnace, take samples from furnace & dross off furnace. Must have front end loader and forklift experience. Email resumes: jkendall@bermco.com Air Conditioning Installer Experience preferred, (not required). Must be drug-free! Call 205-663-2199 Gables Crossing Apartments 1, 2 & 3 BR UNITS $385 to $485 (205) 225-0055 gablescrossingpro@gmail.com Maintenance Worker Needed for Apartments. Part-Time. Experience Preferred. Call 205-225-0055 Eastern Tree Service • 24Hour Storm Service • www.ETSTree.org • Experienced Professionals • Quick Response • Free Estimates • Call Us Today: 205-856-2078
Tru Acupressure Clinic LLC. Licensed Therapist. Services Available: •Deep Tissue •Swedish •Acupressure •Hot Stone. Same-Day Appointments. Walk-Ins Available. *$50 SPECIAL!* 1 Hour Foot/Back Massage when you bring in this ad! 844 Highway 31 Suite I, Alabaster. OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! 9:30am-9:30pm 205-624-211 AL License #E-3013 SPRING LAWNCARE SPECIAL Let us clean up those leaves for you! FULL SERVICE LAWN CARE includes planting, trimming, flower beds, cleaning fence rows, and work other don’t want to do! Ensure your lawn is beautiful, regardless of the season AND have the BEST lawn in the neighborhood! Free Estimates! Discounts available for Military & Seniors Affordable Lawncare 1 (205) 461-3671 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 DSLD Land Management is actively seeking: •Tree Surgeon •Gas Plumber •Carpenter •Landscape Technician •CDL Driver •Office Administrators •Registered Landscape Architect 205-437-1012 dsldland.com Earth Angels In-HomeCare LLC. BBB Accredited, licensed, bonded, following CDC guidelines to keep out clients safe. 205-881-4034 or 205-484-1301. earthangelshcare@gmail.com 1365 A Hueytown Rd. Hueytown, AL
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MY HOOVER
DEBBIE RUTHERFORD
Hoover Service Club Volunteer + Public Relations Professional
46 Years & Serving Strong
Hoover Service Club The Hoover Service Club is extra special to me and my family as it was founded and organized by my great-grandmother, Flora “Mimi” Mae Pike (pictured), my grandmother Mary Lou Woolley and eight others in 1975. During my childhood, I remember how they would make Christmas ornaments to sell to provide items such as a walker and other necessities to those in need. Today, it has been exciting to stand alongside great servant leaders in continuing the legacy of serving and giving back to those in need in Hoover.
Hidden Gems
Duck Time Star Lake Growing up I enjoyed walking from my grandparents’ home to Star Lake. Often, my grandparents and aunt would drive us there for the childhood thrill of feeding the ducks, and my grandfather was once photographed for the newspaper after he rescued one of the ducks.
Lasting Friendships
Leadership Hoover Last year I was selected to participate in the Leadership Hoover Class 2020-2021, which has been a wonderful, fulfilling experience that enabled me to learn even more about our great city. In addition, the program is very effective in highlighting opportunities to serve, as well as enabling new and lasting friendships with amazing local leaders.
Memory Keeper
Aldridge Gardens In addition to touring the beautiful gardens and the Veterans Memorial, I have memories here taking lunch and treats to visit with my dad who, after retiring, worked at Aldridge Gardens, and attending other events, my favorite of which was my sister’s wedding.
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Bluff Park Sunsets You know you are about to see something beautiful when you see cars lined up along the bluff that overlooks Shades Valley to see and photograph a breathtaking, vividly colored sunset. One of my favorite spots is Lover’s Leap, behind Tip Top Grill. Another childhood memory is of the Sunday drives with my grandparents through Bluff Park.
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