DRIVEN HORIZONS ‘25
Elmore County is on the road to Success and Prosperity
From the General Manager's Desk
Our focus for Horizons ’25 is you the Elmore Countians who are driven to have a positive impact on your community. Our first discovery in putting together this year’s edition we couldn’t even come close to featuring everyone who meets the description. It’s a good problem to have and a fortunate one for Elmore County. Across the spectrum of occupations and lifestyles, ages and socioeconomic standings, people in Elmore County are driven, and their zeal for the community makes the difference. Here at Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc., we are excited to tell you about a few of the many people who are driven in Elmore County and share their stories the how and why of their missions to improve the quality of life here. We hope you are impressed and inspired we certainly are.
In Tallassee, Betsy Iler was blown away after her interview with Dr. Daniel Free, the agribusiness teacher at Tallassee High School. Free aspires to guide each of his students to success after they cross the stage at graduation. He teaches skills in a wide variety of trades, from skid driving to horticulture, small engine repair, wildlife conservation even welding. Free is on a mission to provide much more than an all-around education; he wants each student to have a bulletproof resume. Learn how and why he’s driven on page 30.
Grandview YMCA’s Bill Myers took it to heart when his father told him about paying civic rent doing something beyond the 9-to-5 job to make the community a better place. As director of Millbrook’s YMCA, Myers was already on a roll with the concept when an opportune land donation inspired a vision of partnership and has since transformed the community. Discover the secret for yourself on page 12.
Wetumpka’s Shellie Phelps agrees. The spirit of working together toward the goal of community renewal and revival in Wetumpka led HGTV Home Town Takeover producers to choose this vibrant community as the star of their television series. Phelps dove in, devoting her energy and enthusiasm to bringing the dream to life. Read all about the drive for continued growth in Wetumpka on page 38.
And in small but mighty Eclectic, local businesses and residents are driven to collaborate to further growth through two initiatives aimed at improving quality of life and economic vitality. Check out the Eclectic they envision in the articles on pages 36 and 50.
At TPI, we can’t help but be inspired by the dedication of Elmore County’s movers and shakers. Our own Cliff Williams is driven to report the news honestly, fairly and with integrity, sharing your stories and more to support the many visions and projects now changing life for the better throughout the area. Get a deeper look at what makes Cliff so driven in the article on page 18.
And then, read on. Discover more stories in these pages – more efforts, more successes – and join the efforts of so many others in this community who are driven to make a positive difference.
Tippy Hunter, TPI General Manager
STAFF
Chairman
Kenneth Boone
General Manager
Tippy Hunter tippy.hunter@alexcityoutlook.com
Editor-in-Chief
Betsy Iler betsy.iler@alexcityoutlook.com
Creative Services
Audra Spears audra.spears@alexcityoutlook.com
Marketing Consultants
Renee Trice renee.trice@alexcityoutlook.com
Carmen Rodgers carmen.rodgers@tallasseetribune.com
Business & Digital Development Director
Angela Mullins angela.mullins@alexcityoutlook.com
Audience Development Director
Baily Terry baily.terry@alexcityoutlook.com
Contributors
Cliff Williams
Lizi Gwin
Melody Rathell
Abigail Murphy
Samuel Higgs
Austin Elliott
Shaylee Beck Moore
Dalton Middleton
thewetumpkaherald.com tallasseetribune.com
“The situation in Elmore County is one where the sum is greater than the individual parts. Two plus two is more than four here.”
~ Cliff Williams
Ann Harper & 17 Springs
For her entire working career, Ann Harper has been driven to serve the public. From community planner to executive director at the Central Alabama Regional Planning Commission to Lanark and economic development at the City of Millbrook, Harper has always looked for partnerships.
“Nothing worthwhile in economic development can be done alone,” she said. “Projects are so much better with the right partnerships.”
Harper noted the attention 17 Springs is getting and everyone asking how it came to be.
“It is simple,” Harper said. “It is five public and private entities coming together for the good of the people.”
She left Lanark and joined the City of Millbrook as the economic development director in March 2018. There were already conversations about the Grandview YMCA’s vision for the property. Those conversations started to include the City of Millbrook, Elmore County
Commission, Elmore County Economic Development Authority and the Elmore County Board of Education. It has taken a few years, but 17 Springs is coming to life.
“The 17 Springs story ought to be a case study in collaboration,” Harper said. “You’re talking about a county government, a city government, a board of education, a private nonprofit; and then, an economic development authority, all working together,” Harper said. “What makes it difficult is everybody has to be accountable to someone else in this, too, especially the public part of it.”
The 17 Springs project is huge for Millbrook. Its commercial district is attracting attention from yet to be named retailers. The City of Millbrook also owns a large parcel across the road from 17 Springs.
STORY BY CLIFF WILLIAMS
PHOTOS BY CLIFF WILLIAMS & COURTESY OF MILLBROOK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Millbrook Economic Development Director Ann Harper helps partners work together on projects like 17 Springs.
Harper’s job in economic development is to help bring retailers, restaurants and other com mercial businesses to town.
“We are very pleased with the small indus tries we do have,” Harper said. “We understand we likely won’t get much in the way of indus try.”
Harper said the beauty in 17 Springs is that it attracts visitors who will shop, eat and sometimes stay local.
“Visitors like that are not very taxing to our ser vices and infrastructure,” Harper said. “By making an investment in 17 Springs to help recruit retail, it will generate taxes to help fund city services and infrastructure.”
The parks and recreation and retail projects go hand in hand. The extra revenue from visitors makes it attractive to businesses. The extra busi ness generates tax revenue to help fund parks and
quality of life projects from which residents benefit.
Harper’s interest in Millbrook is deep rooted. She grew up in northern Virginia, but her parents moved to Millbrook just before her senior year in high school. Originally, Harper planned to stay in Virginia to complete high school, but she came on to Elmore County with her parents.
Al Kelley was in his first term as mayor at the time.
“We have known each other for a long time,” Harper said.
Harper graduated from Stanhope Elmore High School and attended Auburn University. She went to work with CARPDC as a planner.
“I started as a planner,” Harper said. “I got good at writing grants. I eventually worked my way up to executive director.”
CARPDC exposed Harper to Millbrook and the other municipalities of the River Region. She then took a brief leave to start raising a child, but Kelley wouldn’t
let her sit at home.
“He worked with the City to get me contract work,” Harper said. “I could work my own schedule and even work from home.”
Above: Emerging from a large donation of land, 17 Springs will feed the local economy with tax dollars from sports tourism, retail sales and new hotels; Left: For Harper, Elmore County is home.
She took a job with Lanark when the Alabama Wildlife Federation made the area its home. Then, Carol Thompson retired from the City of Millbrook as economic development director. Harper was interested and got the nod in 2018. She has been running ever since.
“Economic development is a process,” Harper said. “It can’t be defined by a moment.”
Harper is frequently contacted by businesses that show interest in Millbrook.
“I connect them with the appropriate people,” Harper said. “My job is to facilitate a new business coming to town.”
Harper’s been in various jobs, all centered around growth. Looking at her current position, she doesn’t see anywhere else she would rather be until retirement.
“Elmore County is home,” Harper said. “My sister lives here in Millbrook. I want to see it prosper for my family and friends for years to come.”
Bill Myers
Grandview YMCA’s VP of Operations pays more than his share of civic rent
STORY BY CLIFF WILLIAMS
PHOTOS BY CLIFF WILLIAMS & COURTESY OF BILL MYERS
The YMCA is about the only thing Bill Myers knows. He started working at the Y in Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the age of 14. He now heads up the Grandview YMCA in Millbrook, is vice president of operations for the Greater Montgomery YMCA and oversees the 17 Springs project.
“It’s the only job I have ever had,” Myers said. “I decided when I was a freshman at Ole Miss that I would make the Y a career.”
Myers said the mission of the YMCA is important to him, as it puts Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.
“All that is important to me,” Myers said. “I think we have an opportunity to change and impact lives.”
He came to the Grandview YMCA in 2008. It was the fourth YMCA at which he worked in three states.
“In order to move up, you have to move around a little,” Myers said. “I have had the opportunity to do that, but my wife and I just really like it here.”
Sticking with the Grandview Y has paid dividends for Myers, citizens of Millbrook and Prattville and the Y. The facilities have grown not only in Millbrook, but also expanding the Y in Wetumpka, serving more people.
Myers helped the board create a larger vision for the Y in Millbrook. It included adding tennis courts and a field for team sports. But Myers learned as a child there is always more to being a good citizen than just doing a job. It is a story his father told him many times.
“You have to pay your civic rent,” Myers said. “He would explain that civic rent means doing something other than your 9-to-5 job, something that would help the community or make the community a better place.”
Sometimes, that means being a Rotarian, Kiwanian or Civitan. It might mean volunteering at church. Myers has done a good bit of volunteering but saw an idea at the Grandview YMCA that could have generational impact.
million project that is reshaping sports tourism in Elmore County. Myers credits the strong partnership of those groups to the success of what is being built at 17 Springs.
“We get questioned all the time how we did it,” Elmore County Commission Chair Bart Mercer said. “Every one of the partners checked their egos at the door. It is amazing how much better things are when you work together.”
“I think we have an opportunity to change and impact lives.” ~ Bill Myers
Thanks to a land donation several years ago, the Grandview Y had some property adjacent to its location on the hill in Millbrook. Myers shared some ideas of expansion with others. Soon, a larger idea grew, and Myers found himself leading others through the concept – and now the construction – of 17 Springs. The scope of the project was on a scale Myers and the Y couldn’t pull off alone, but it led to partnerships that entities across the state and the Southeast are admiring. City of Millbrook, Elmore County, the Elmore County Board of Education and the Elmore County Economic Development Authority signed on for the $100
Mercer credits Myers for leading the charge.
“He saw something and brought the idea forward,” Mercer said. “We realized no one partner could do something on a scale like this. It’s all thanks to ideas and conversations that began with Bill.”
Myers helped recruit regional tournaments to 17 Springs even before it was completed.
Mercer said the project will have a generational impact on all of Elmore County, as witnessed by quality-of-life projects in Holtville, Wetumpka, Eclectic and Tallassee.
Myers is now set on paying his civic rent. He sought appointment to the Elmore County Board of Education and now serves as the representative for District 1.
The position will help guide the next generation in Elmore County.
“I just think you ought to leave things better than you found them,” Myers said.
Facing Page: Bill Myers has built a career with YMCA; Above: Sworn in as a member of the Elmore County Board of Education, Myers serves to pay his civic rent, a lesson he learned from his father.
Teacher of the Year
STORY & PHOTO BY CLIFF WILLIAMS
Courtney Davis just knew she was going into the medical field – or so she thought.
While a student at Prattville High School, everything pointed in that direction.
“I really wanted to be a nurse and go into medical stuff. And so, I did this health internship my senior year,” Davis said.
She went to the elementary school and worked in the school nurse’s office for six weeks. But Davis was already used to interacting with children. She was a lifeguard, swim instructor and after-school counselor at the Prattville YMCA.
“I loved seeing the kids when they got out of school,” Davis said. “I loved teaching swim lessons. I loved, you know, just being a part of that and watching them grow and learn how to do things.”
Davis went to Nashville’s Trevecca Nazarene University and soon found herself changing majors to education. Four years after her college graduation, she started teaching math at Redland Middle School.
“I love the kids,” Davis said. “They make me so happy. They’re hilarious, and they bring me joy every day when I come to school. I like being able to help them on their way in their journey.”
Last year, Davis was named Elmore County Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Davis has continued her education, getting her masters
and education specialist degree xs from the University of West Alabama. She hopes to earn her doctorate as well.
Courtney Davis (center) didn’t expect to be named Teacher of the Year in just her fourth year of teaching.
Davis’ first job was at Redland Elementary School, and she transferred to Redland Middle when it opened last school year. Davis is a fifth grade teacher at the school, the math department lead. She also serves on the teacher retention committee and tutors students. She is trying to break the stigma associated with education and encourages others to get into teaching.
“I see how education is getting crazier and crazier based on how society is changing and how the world is changing,” Davis said. “I am still hopeful for the future of education. I think the teachers that are getting into it now truly do want to do it.”
This is not Davis’ first time teaching fifth grade. Although she has taught fourth and sixth grades, she has returned to teaching fifth. In her first three years of teaching, she stayed with the same group of students as they progressed through fourth through sixth grades.
“It was amazing,” Davis said. “I got to watch them grow from when they were like, 8 or 9 years old to 11 and 12. I got to be a part of that journey the entire time and see their growth year after year.”
The experience also allowed Davis to have a better
understanding of student learning disabilities and needs through individual education plans.
“I got to advocate for them to get what they need,” Davis said. “I had a better understanding of what they needed.”
Davis said following the students meant she had to change her content each year, but it was ultimately rewarding, as she developed better relationships with not only students but also with parents.
“I think it solved a lot of academic issues and behavior issues,” Davis said. “I grew as well. From being a little baby teacher who was scared to talk to parents to knowing them very well because I’ve had to talk to them multiple times. I feel like it’s easier to talk about their kid because we’re both invested in their kid.”
Davis said she was surprised to be named Redland
Middle School Elementary School Teacher of the Year, much less the county elementary school teacher of the year.
“It is my fourth year of teaching,” Davis said. “After the interview at the county, I was one of the youngest people and was surprised to get it with that little experience.”
Davis is now going through the application process for district and state elementary school teacher of the year. She said the interview process with retired and experienced teachers gives her hope for her teaching endeavors. Davis credited the teachers and staff she works with daily. They have helped her figure out the best way to connect with students.
“I’m just starting out,” Davis said. “It makes me feel like I’m headed in the right direction and that what I do is making a difference in what matters.”
Cliff Williams
STORY BY BETSY ILER & PHOTO BY AUDRA SPEARS
Cliff Williams learned journalism the oldfashioned way – by the seat of his pants.
And with the help of a mentor in late TPI
Managing Editor Mitch Sneed, he’s a newspaperman through and through. He tried to be an engineer or go into business, but when he got the chance to go into newspapers with a camera, this Dadeville native was all in. Williams is TPI’s Elmore County reporter, covering the whole area from Tallassee to Millbrook and up through Eclectic, and he’s driven to keep Elmore County residents informed.
Williams connected with a camera as a kid. His grandfather and his father were serious camera buffs, and when they put a camera in young Cliff’s hands at about 5 years old, his destiny was sealed. From then on, he just wanted to take pictures. He started his career at the Auburn Opelika News in 2000. A year later, he ran into Mitch Sneed there. When Sneed joined the TPI team in 2014, Williams fol
“He showed me how to be both a journalist and a friend to almost anybody,” Williams said. “He had a work ethic in covering the community, and that’s what I try to do. People in Elmore County joke with me; they think there’s more than one of me because I try to be everywhere.”
The work ethic was part of Williams’ growing up years, too.
“It wasn’t that it was said. It was implied,” Williams said. “My dad was over maintenance and facilities for the Tallapoosa County school system, and any time things came up from work, he’d get phone calls – even at the dinner table. He’d try to handle it from where he was, and sometimes, he’d just push away from the table and go fix the problem.”
Williams worked in the Alexander City office for the first few years of his TPI tenure, but he found his niche in Elmore County, working out of the Wetumpka office to cover city and county government, schools and human interest stories. He’s dedicated to keeping readers informed of developments and occurrences throughout the county. His stories have covered the 17 Springs expansion from its inception. He was on the streets minutes after the 2019 tornado ripped through Elmore County, and he was on the phone with medical authorities as soon as COVID-19 hit.
“The biggest thing for us is to get the word out,” Williams said. “Trying to highlight what’s there; what’s working, especially between education and small business. People need to know about these things.”
His heart is in his work, and the work lives in his heart. He loves covering Elmore County. “There’s an indescribable spirit to it,” he said. “A lot of it is centered around people willing to give of themselves to create an environment and not necessarily take credit for it. There’s a spirit of cooperation. Leaders here see a better place in front of them. The culture is still being built. More are stepping in to lead the charge, and others are working behind the scenes.”
This sense of driving growth is driving Elmore County to a better future, Williams said.
TPI’s Elmore County Reporter Cliff Williams is dedicated to keeping residents in the know on important issues.
“Everybody works together in general with few exceptions,” he said. “They have identified a target they want to achieve, and they work together to achieve each other’s goals. They are doing it the best I’ve ever seen it done right now, as far as public and private working together. Even the communities are helping each other. It’s not always an us-or-them mentality.”
Williams noted he has a lot to work with, and that makes his job easier; and yet, also harder. In a county where there’s a lot going on, there are a lot of stories to tell.
“People like what Elmore County has to offer. It’s between the beaches and the mountains, but it has recreational things for the kids to do,” he said. “There’s a housing shortage here. That’s proof that people have moved into Elmore County.”
At the same time, quick growth brings its own issues, and Williams keeps his news-eye on reporting those issues honestly, fairly and with integrity.
“Education has to be supported financially with the growth. New schools are needed in Holtville and Eclectic,” he said. “It’s not a matter of mismanagement. Elmore County does a great job of educating youth with one of the lowest-funded student ratios in the State, but it turns out some of the best students.
“Another issue is finding reasonable housing. Several developments should be coming online in the next few years, which should turn into more retail. With that, do we have the infrastructure, like water and sewer and power, to serve them?”
He also keeps his eyes peeled for the next genera tion of leaders.
“We have a great core that’s been doing this for a decade or more. Some of them have made this their life’s work, but in the next 10 or 20 years, we’ll lose them. We need to be finding the next group that will come on board and learn and make it their own,” he said. “This is a situation where the sum is greater than the individual parts. Two plus two is more than four here. I’m trying to highlight what’s there; what’s work ing.”
What Williams loves to cover is the stories of chil dren’s successes.
“So many people who don’t have school-aged kids live here. They have no clue that one of the best robot ics teams in the entire Southeast is in Wetumpka. They don’t know that one of the best high school bands is in Eclectic. People need to know about these things,” said Williams, who happens to be the father of a 14-yearold son.
Among the most important stories about children that he writes, Williams said, are the tales of their untimely deaths.
“In almost every case, in talking to their families and friends, they all had bright futures ahead of them. It’s sad to see it end. You wonder what they could have done with those lives – if only they’d had a fire extin guisher in the car or they had worn a seatbelt. Or in the
case of suicides, if they had reached out for help from somebody, anybody,” he said.
The best, most uplifting story he’s ever covered, Williams said, was last year when Deborah Stringfellow was named State Teacher of the Year at an event at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
“She has the credentials for any job in the school building. She chose to stay in the classroom. Four decades of experience, and she still shares her knowledge with others,” he said. “Most of the media missed it, but I had reported on her several different times. The reason she moved to the area was to be closer to a granddaughter, and when she was announced with the award, that granddaughter gave her flowers and was the first to hug her. Her fellow teachers and coworkers were sitting out in the parking lot, and when the announcement was made, they all bolted into the building to support her. I’m glad I didn’t miss that.”
That’s something Williams could say every time he races from one side of the county to another, catching meetings in both places, making calls when he can’t make all the games, taking extra time to be sure he understands the issues and always pushing the deadline. When The Wetumpka Herald and The Tallassee Tribune – and even this magazine – hit the newsstands, Williams looks at the stories and sighs.
“Glad I didn’t miss that one.”
CHARLINE POPE
STORY BY SHAYLEE BECK MOORE & PHOTO BY BETSY ILER
The dedication of Yvonne Charline Pope, 66, is a driving factor behind the success of one of Elmore County’s most precious resources – the Tails End Thrift Store.
Dedicating more than 24 years of volunteer service to the Wetumpka community, Pope has played a key role in establishing the beloved local thrift store, which serves as an outlet to help fund the lifesaving efforts of the Humane Society of Elmore County. Pope, in collaboration with several other volunteers, transformed HSEC’s original fundraising efforts from a simple donation table into a thriving, permanent establishment for the animal shelter.
“I was actually one of the first people to help start the thrift store,” said Pope. “We were originally having yard sales to raise money, and it was getting very tough to plan certain times of the month to attend high-traffic events, such as the Santuck Flea Market.”
Realizing yard sales were becoming a difficult source of income for the volunteer crew, the team began looking for a new way to bring in revenue – a physical store.
“There was a woman who was the president of the board of directors at the time, and she had an idea to get an old school trailer to create our first store,” said Pope. “We didn’t realize that it would turn into a real thrift store.”
The trailer storefront gained momentum and quickly became a success within the community. In June 2017, the dream of a permanent establishment became a reality with the grand opening of Tails End Thrift Store, located next door to the Humane Society. Entirely volunteer-run, the thrift store directs every dollar raised to support the humane society’s
needs, including animal care and shelter upkeep.
Charline Pope has volunteered at Elmore County Humane Society for 24 years.
“It is run strictly by volunteers, so every dime goes to the humane shelter,” said Pope. “Money raised goes toward dog food, cat food, medication, general vet bills. An animal will come in with a broken leg, and instead of having to put it to sleep, we can fix it. It has made a difference in the health and welfare of the animals.”
Pope’s passion for volunteering and helping others began long before she became a resident of Wetumpka. Originally from Montgomery, Pope has supported a variety of charitable organizations over the years, including serving as a bell ringer for the Salvation Army, organizer of Meals on Wheels fundraisers and team lead for March of Dimes during her time at Russell Corporation.
In particular, Pope enjoyed volunteering at the Montgomery Zoo for its annual Halloween celebration. Driven by her love for animals, Pope knew that after moving from Montgomery she wanted to continue making an impact in the local animal community.
“I’ve always been crazy about helping with animals in some shape, form or fashion,” said Pope. “I fell in love with volunteering and knew once I moved to Wetumpka that I wanted to get involved with the animal shelter. It was my first choice.”
Today, Pope leads the volunteer program as the volunteer coordinator for the Humane Society, matching individuals with roles within the shelter that align with their strengths and interests.
“We have volunteers of all ages at the thrift store,” said Pope. “They are all plugged into different areas. Some help with testing electronics and others help with sorting donations. It’s great, because if it weren’t for the volunteers, none of this would be happening.”
In addition to playing a key role in onboarding new volunteers, Pope dedicates her time as a cashier when the thrift store is open to the public. On closed days, she sorts through community donations, stocks items and ensures the store remains clean and organized.
Pope’s vision for the future of the Tails End Thrift Store is bright, and she doesn’t see herself slowing down
“Volunteering is very rewarding,” said Pope. “I just want to help others and I love meeting people. I have made some very close friends over the years through giving back. My main goal is to get young people involved with the thrift store to help continue our mission.”
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Dr. Virginia Vilardi
WHS teacher changes lives through the scientific process
STORY BY & PHOTOS BY CLIFF WILLIAMS
The tinkering and chatter in Dr. Virginia Vilardi’s Wetumpka High School classroom can be heard from morning to night. It’s the sound of future engineers, physicists, nuclear scientists and doctors learning the ins and outs of the scientific process hands-on with robots, battery-powered race cars and science projects.
Vilardi encourages cooperation between her students.
“We teach the students payback,” Vilardi said. “Somebody helped you, and you need to come back and help the next group, or help the ones younger than you.”
Vilardi’s former students work for the military in topsecret labs. They work for the Center for Disease Control and as family doctors, but it all started with biology in Ohio. Vilardi got her Masters in Education, so she could teach and help her military family as they moved around. She didn’t even know how to operate a computer. Her husband, Robert, had been asking for one. She only thought she might keep up with her recipes on it. Then, Vilardi got a summer job teaching biology at a local university.
“I thought I was going to make like $500,” Vilardi said. “I made $5,000 and said, ‘Here, go get your computer and get everything it needs. It needs to be top of the line, so we never have to buy another.”
It was a 286. He also bought a printer – dot matrix.
“Today’s phones have more computing power,” Vilardi said.
Robert was soon stationed overseas. There was a six-hour time difference. Phone calls were frequent, and Robert taught his wife how to use the computer via telephone calls.
Above: Dr. Vilardi (right) encourages discussion among her students; Inset: The WHS robotics team is among the best in the Southeast; Facing Page: Vilardi offers congratulations to WHS senior Whitley Shull (left) after he placed in the Congressional APP project.
“He was my mentor,” Vilardi said. “It wasn’t Windows back then. I learned by pushing a button and seeing what it would do. You had to write the code. By the time he came back I could make that computer sing and dance.”
Vilardi has taught computer science at Wetumpka and even has the school’s cyber security team under her umbrella.
When she moved to Wetumpka, she quickly developed
a student team for the science fair. It wasn’t long before they were successful. It was based on the scientific process or method.
“It’s the foundation,” Vilardi said. “It develops problem solving skills for life, for anything.”
Vilardi soon took a team of students to compete in Huntsville. There were storms and tornadoes. Everyone huddled in the halls of hotels and conference centers. And the awards were boxed up. There was no ceremony.
“The next day, they handed us a box of awards for my kids,” Vilardi said. “They did amazing that year. I had several who got scholarships. They didn’t have their time on the stage. It was awful.”
But everyone came home safe. To date, that first team is still one of the most successful Vilardi has had in nearly four decades of teaching.
The science teacher had been asking school administrators for a class to make the team even better.
80s now and still come back to help from time to time.
“I knew nothing about engineering, but Bob did,” Vilardi said. “The first year, we learned all sorts of things. As always, the scientific process still applies.”
Vilardi’s students have patents like carbon fiber pointe shoes for ballet. Others have developed floating containers to grow vegetables in almost any environment. But her students don’t just leave Wetumpka. They come back and are judges at her science fairs.
Richard Dennis was in his first year as principal at Wetumpka when Vilardi asked for a favor. She wanted a ceremony to celebrate her students. The new principal agreed and even volunteered to be master of ceremonies.
“The parents came,” Vilardi said. “I got the class.”
Vilardi was still a biology teacher. She got the class, but she also got the BEST robotics team. It was an area in which Vilardi had little knowledge. The science teacher took her truck with her mother as a passenger to the BEST kickoff to pick the needed supplies.
“I went in and saw this whole playing field set up and thought, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’” Vilardi said.
She came home and asked her husband who could help. Bob and Barbara Ryan came up. They are in their
As part of the science fair, county, state and even national winners come to rest under wings for competitions. Vilardi has written many letters of recommendation.
They are all part of why she has taught for as long as she has.
“The kids keep me motivated,” Vilardi said. “I have great kids. The kids change, and they are different every year.”
Vilardi has taught her own children. They grew up going to the competitions as infants, toddlers and then students. Grandchildren, too. They are like athletic coaches’ children. They are at almost every meeting. They hear and see everything.
“This year, I have four of my grandchildren,” Vilardi said. “They may kill me. It’s very different having them in the class. It is hard because they grew up in it and have seen it so much. They think they own everything.”
Vilardi calls her former students back to help. They do it to keep the program going and pour back into the current students some of what Vilardi has poured into them. It’s a process that is evident in many places around the world.
“When you’re Nick Saban, you follow the formula,” Vilardi said. “It doesn’t matter who you have for players, you work the formula, and there will always be success.”
Dr. Daniel Free
STORY BY BETSY ILER & PHOTOS BY CLIFF WILLIAMS
“All it takes is one person in somebody’s life. The stress kids are under is so tremendous. I want to be their ally, be in their corner.”
~ Dr. Daniel Free
On the first day of class, Tallassee teacher Dr. Daniel Free tells his students he will not demand their respect – but he will earn it through honesty, transparency and humility. Free does that and more, as countless students sign up for his ag classes every year, choosing forestry, carpentry, welding, wildlife conservation, small engine repair and construction science over other electives.
“It’s not an easy class. In horticulture, they must learn 360 plants. For wildlife, 330 animals, but the kids keep stepping up,” said Free, whose outlook on life changed for the better in the 10th grade at North Alabama’s Albertville High School.
“I didn’t enjoy high school, and I didn’t try that hard. Then, I took an ag class, and the teacher, Heath Golden, held me accountable. Before that, I had no idea what I wanted to do in my life, and to be honest, I didn’t think that much about it. All it takes is one person in somebody’s life. The stress kids are under is so tremendous. I want to be their ally, be in their corner.”
Free said he makes his classes hard on purpose, so his students learn not only to step up but also to build their confidence in ways that don’t compromise humility. In addition, he offers his students opportunities to excel and to envision positive futures.
“Most of the kids who take my classes are not going into agriculture, but they will have opportunities to use these skills in their home lives or enter other fields that use these skills,” he said. “Take construction. This year, we added certifications on the skid steer, excavator and the bulldozer. Through the community college, they can earn college level certifications in surveying, electrical, carpentry helper. If they already have the safety and credentials in the classroom, they’re further ahead. I want to give them an all-around education; and then, soup it up and give them a bulletproof resume.”
He also encourages students to be leaders.
“Sometimes, a teacher can see that the light bulb isn’t clicking with the kids, but there’s one student who gets it. And that student can teach it to others. Kids have a way of explaining things to each other that they understand,” he said. “I love seeing a kid take a leadership role. They inspire me.”
The job is personal for Free, who now calls this small Alabama town home. His students see Free not only as a teacher but also in other roles throughout the community. They see him as a husband to his wife of nine years, a pre-kindergarten teacher’s aide in Tallassee. They see him as a father to his 7-year-old daughter, who loves to join class activities. They see him as someone who works hard at his job; someone dedicated to his faith; and someone who handles difficult situations with integrity.
Dr. Free (center) encourages students to explore the answers when they have questions or problems with class projects.
“If I handle a situation poorly, I have to go back and apologize, not just because it’s the right thing to do but because it teaches the kids. It goes back to humility,” he said.
“They see me in those roles, and that’s what it is to be a true young man.”
Free’s reward comes in seeing students excited to be in class and in meeting former students in businesses all around town. It reminds him of the impact of his former teacher.
Above: Horticulture stdents must learn to identify 360 plants; Left: Though few of them pursue futures in agriculture, all of Free’s students learn skills they will use at home and in other careers; Facing Page: Free takes ahands-on approach to earn his students’ trust and respect.
Following Golden’s inspiration during his own high school years, Free charted a course to teach at the university level. He earned a bachelor’s degree and interned at Tallassee High School in 2012 under Dr. Brock Nolin. When Nolin advanced to a position in administration, Free was offered the ag teaching position. He planned to teach at the high school level for four or five years; and then, transition into a corporate job or teach at the college level. Reaching toward that goal, he finished his Ph.D. at age 27, but a funny thing happened on the way to achieving professorship.
“Every year, something kept coming up to keep me here. It would be a kid I wanted to see through to graduation or something a parent said about their kid giving up band to be in my class. I didn’t want to leave this. I didn’t want to leave them,” he said. “For something that used to mean so much to me, teaching at the college level is nothing now. I don’t want to be one of those teachers who comes for a little while and goes. I want
to teach ag. As for what the future holds, I will be an ag teacher in Tallassee. Every year solidifies that for me.”
Free was named Tallassee City Schools Teacher of the Year in 2017 and again for the 2023-2024 school year. He also was named 2022-2023 Central Alabama Ag Teacher of the Year. Such designations are evidence that he is passionate about his role.
But finding his calling has not stopped Free from pursuing further education. Last year, he took Spanish lessons, so he could better communicate with the handful of Hispanic students in his class. This year, he’s learning Greek to take his understanding of scripture to a deeper level. Continuing his own education is another role in which students see him.
Earning the respect of his students is a high responsibility, Free said, and he’s grateful for the overwhelming support he receives from the community and from the school system administration.
“The faculty at Tallassee, and specifically the career tech faculty I work with are superior – and my administrators, Dr. Nolin, Dr. Glass, Mrs. Barron and Mr. McNaughton – they all know my goals and have always seen my vision and let me run with it. It’s such amazing support,” Free said. “I love going into businesses around town and seeing my former students at jobs here. It always makes my day when I see their success in the community. My family, we love being here. We’re planted in Tallassee.”
A VISION FOR ECLECTIC
STORY BY BETSY ILER
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NETWORKING ECLECTIC
Beneath its façade as a sleepy small town, Eclectic is driving toward growth and success, as local businesses, merchants and residents have taken steps to join the Main Street Alabama network. The effort, which began almost a year and a half ago, is spearheaded by Jessica Hoagland at Hercules, Inc., and a board of 15 local business representatives.
“We’re bringing the community together to bring life to the area, to attract more businesses and more walkthrough traffic,” Hoagland said. “We want to show people our small town and be a voice for local businesses.”
Eight months ago, Main Street Alabama came to town and made a presentation to a well-attended gathering of Eclectic businesses, outlining the requirements for membership as a Main Street community and offering suggestions for how to build toward that designation.
Facing Page: The inaugural Networking Eclectic event in December featured a snow machine; Above: Caroling, a Tree Walk, luminaries, hot chocolate and other activities helped bring awareness to the business growth and opportunities the organization hopes to bring to town.
“To be a Main Street community, we have to have a fulltime staff person in a dedicated office location,” Hoagland explained. “We’re working toward that. We can’t call ourselves a Main Street organization, but we’ve taken on the name of Networking Eclectic for now.”
The first step, Hoagland said, is to raise awareness of the project throughout the community, and Christmas provided the perfect opportunity. The Networking Eclectic Committee hosted a Christmas Village event Dec. 14 in the town’s beloved pecan grove. Volunteers served hot chocolate under trees that were strung with lights. A snow machine added to the festive atmosphere. Children wrote letters to Santa, and Elmore County High School students decorated Christmas trees for the Tree Walk at the event.
With the recognition of townspeople, the committee hopes to do more and be a voice for local businesses. Hoagland said they are working toward establishing a social media page and producing a map of downtown
businesses.
“We’re acting as both a chamber and a merchants association for now,” she said. “We want to include businesses from outside of town.
“We like the Main Street organization because we’re not pressured for a timeline. We do this on our time, meet the goals on our schedule.”
Those parameters are perfect for owners of small businesses, who have to be involved with their storefronts on a daily basis and sometimes might be limited with the time they can devote to the committee.
“But we all work,” Hoagland said. “We meet once a month, and we have small goals we’re working toward. After the Christmas event, we’ll work on fundraising goals and how to achieve them.”
Those goals might be subtle changes that would improve the appearance of the downtown area, Hoagland said.
“We’ll do things for the community, like add benches and trash receptacles. We’ll start with smaller projects to see the town’s reception. So far, people are excited that there’s a networking board, and that there’s a relationship we’re building with Main Street,” she said. “We have someone who can give us guidance. We had an initial meeting with Main Street in the conference room at Hercules, and 45 people showed up. What’s happening in town is bringing everyone together.”
The guidance is a tremendous draw in the effort, she said, because it represents more than a few residents trying to put something together.
“We have someone to go to. We didn’t know where to start,” Hoagland said. “The vision is that this organization will be a destination for information, for business help, for help with press releases, to see events and job fairs and show what local businesses have to offer.”
Shellie Phelps
Cooperation helps create innovative partnership for quality of life
STORY BY CLIFF WILLIAMS
BY CLIFF WILLIAMS & COURTESY OF SHELLIE PHELPS
Wetumpka was far from where it is today when Shellie Phelps moved across the country in 2017 to call it home.
Phelps identified Wetumpka, along with a few other cities in the Southeast, as a place to visit, as she planned a move for a better future for her children.
“I basically flew to Atlanta and rented a convertible,” Phelps said. “I had a list of places that were close to the beach because I didn’t want to shovel snow anymore. I was looking for a place with low crime, good schools, outdoor recreation and a strong arts community.”
Phelps crossed a few places off her list as she drove through the region. Her father suggested she was looking for a miracle invitation to move. In fact, Phelps said, she just didn’t know what the miracle or the town would look like. But she saw a vision in Wetumpka, as well as a plan in place to make it better.
“On the third day, I came over the bridge in Wetumpka, and my heart skipped a beat,” Phelps said.
Phelps found a ‘For Sale’ sign hanging on the boarded-up windows of a now renovated building.
She called the phone number on the sign.
“Five minutes later, Lynn Weldon and David Robinson from the City got out of a car,” Phelps said.
“As we were speaking, it was like telling a ghost story because it was so dark up there,” Phelps said. “After about an hour, Lynn was talking to me about the plans for bringing the town back to life, and I was talking to her about how I believe that the arts are
PHOTOS
the best way to tell one’s story, and she looked at me and said, ‘You should move here.’”
The rest is history.
The house she saw on the hill overlooking downtown was the Big Fish house, the set for Director Tim Burton’s 2003 fantasy drama based on the 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace. Mayor Jerry Willis told Phelps it was owned by a gentleman in California. She placed a cross-country call to the owner.
“‘You don’t know me. I’m an artist from Colorado,” Phelps told him. “‘I am in Wetumpka; are you interested in selling your house?’ He said, ‘Actually, I had an appointment with a realtor this afternoon. I will cancel it.’”
Phelps settled into a hotel before flying back to Colorado and her children.
“You pray for a sign; you pray for direction; you pray for all that,” Phelps said. “Then God gives you those things. So, I bought the house.”
It was a risk. Phelps and her children knew no one in Wetumpka. They were moving out of a 4,300-square-foot house with a fourcar garage on 40 acres to move into the downstairs of a home that almost 15 years earlier had been converted into a movie set. Phelps packed up her family. They drove cross country for three days. All she knew was that Wetumpka didn’t have much snow; crime was low; and the arts community was good. Her initial visit was brief but impactful. Her second trip across the Bibb Graves Bridge wasn’t as impressive as it was the first time. This time, Phelps saw it through the eyes of her children.
“I have attended many of those churches,” Phelps said. “And I am now friends with the pastors at most of them.”
Phelps said writer and photographer Jenny Stubbs had already laid the foundation with Main Street, along with City leaders like Willis and Weldon, when she had moved to Wetumpka. Phelps quickly introduced art into the schools in Eclectic and Redland and created the steamboat mural on the old hotel downtown.
Those first couple of years were tough, Phelps said. She drank coffee on the porch, hoping to see vehicles downtown in addition to the old blue pickup truck parked in front of the barber shop. The same was true at night.
“It was a ghost town, but that truck let me know I wasn’t the only one,” Phelps said.
About two years after the move, a job came open at the Wetumpka Area Chamber of Commerce, just steps from her new home.
Facing Page: Shellie Phelps saw what Wetumpka could be the first time she crossed the city’s iconic bridge; Above: Phelps (right) was part of the team that welcomed HGTV producers to the area.
“I promptly said, ‘Siri, what does a chamber of commerce do?’” Phelps said. “It’s because I really had no idea. I was an art teacher and decided that a chamber of commerce is really about connecting people.”
Phelps set to work connecting artists in town, including Stubbs and musician Kathy Willis.
“We all realized art can elevate,” Phelps said. “It can transform people and communities.”
“We came over the bridge, and the crying ensued,” Phelps said. “The downtown looked rough. The house was terrible. The appliances were in the dining room with the doors off. They were dirty. It was awful.”
The children were ready for anywhere but Wetumpka.
“Please don’t make us live here,” her children begged.
But they all quickly found home. Within 24 hours, and before Phelps could hang a shower curtain, Kathy Willis knocked at the door and invited her to an opening for an exhibit at The Kelly.
“I dug through those boxes and found some shoes, and I took a shower with no shower curtain,” Phelps said. “I went that night, and that night, those people scooped me up. I got invited to church and to yoga. And those people have been my people since I got here.”
In fact, Phelps has received invitations to attend 36 different churches in the Wetumpka area.
That was 2019. It was before HGTV put Wetumpka on the map on a large scale. But Phelps found a community that supported one another.
“Because this town is inclusive and loving, and they reach out,” Phelps said. “They not only say they’re going to help; they actually do. You know, other places people say, ‘Oh, let me know if I can help.’ But here, they actually help.”
Stubbs, Phelps and others dreamed of a Dickens Christmas. They wanted to create something magical all across downtown. It was 2019, and the north portion of Company Street was practically unoccupied.
“We put lipstick on a pig,” Phelps said. “We took the empty buildings and washed the windows and put Christmas lights up and tried to create the idea that they were not empty.”
Even broken windows were wrapped to look like presents. Stubbs enlarged pages from books to entice people
How Wetumpka won over HGTV
Wetumpka was ready when HGTV executives came looking for a community that was working together to overcome development obstacles for Ben and Erin Napier’s 2021 Home Town Takeover
“We already knew who we were and who we wanted to become,” said Chamber of Commerce Director Shellie Phelps. “We already had a team of people working together and rowing in the same direction. We believe in our community, and we work respectfully together. There is something so special about this place. I believe that the producers saw that and could feel it.”
Home Town Takeover co-creator Jenna Keane and her team received thousands of applications from across the country, all vying for the Napier superstars’ new television series. The Napiers had transformed their Laurel, Mississippi, community through renovation projects at homes and businesses, and HGTV executives wanted more.
“I sat down with Ben and Erin, and I interviewed them on the steps they took in Laurel,” Keane said. “We tried to turn it into a manual for small towns.”
When the production team came across Wetumpka’s application, Keane planned a visit to the home of faith, trust and meteor dust. She was greeted by Jenny Stubbs and Shellie Phelps.
“The show that Jenny and Shellie put on for us, it started with donuts,” Keane said. “Then conveniently, the mayor was in our path. Everyone offered a little help here and there.”
Several enchanting elements of the community helped to solidify the choice of Wetumpka. The Big Fish house also helped to sway the decision.
“It was a key factor for us,” Keane said. “It was a beacon. It represented so much and had that neat quirk of having been a movie house in the past.”
The show was a hit. It was HGTV’s No. 1 show. Keane believed Wetumpka spoke to people. It was the definition of the town she tries to find.
After the show aired, foot traffic in downtown Wetumpka increased by more than 475 percent, and though it’s tapered off to a more manageable level, people continue to come from all over the world to experience the city’s magic.
to walk down the street. Teddy bears were put in empty buildings artists, too.
“People walked by, and they said, ‘Oh my gosh, look, there’s something in there, right?” Phelps said.
Stubbs and Phelps did it again the next year, securing the keys to empty buildings and giving them the feel of being occupied.
On the third year, the plans had to change; the keys to Company Street buildings were no longer available.
“This time, most of the buildings had been renovated,” Phelps said.
But the team was determined: Not even filming for the HGTV Hometown Takeover could stop Dickens Christmas.
“I laugh about that now, but here we are filming in the middle of a global pandemic,” Phelps said. “They tell us, since they’re doing Company Street, that we can’t decorate for Christmas.”
Phelps had a conversation with the producers, who told her they couldn’t adjust the filming schedule. Filming had to happen. Phelps put her foot down, asking for just Thursday through Sunday. They could decorate on Thursday and return things to normal on Sunday in time for HGTV to return to filming, she told the producer.
“You don’t get to take Christmas. It’s for the kids,” Phelps said. “We had the robotics kids down here. We had everybody. We decorated all of Company Street and the alleyway, in one day.”
Sunday was spent cleaning it all up. Meanwhile, Phelps was moving in and out of her home for the production.
Everyone thought the fame from HGTV would be a blip on the calendar, but the first round of tourists started bringing their friends, time and time again.
“Our shops started to stay open on Sunday afternoons,” Phelps said. “We now have more restaurants open. They opened three restaurants in August.”
Phelps sat on her porch looking over a downtown that had no available parking spots, even on weekdays and when there were no events. Now, she had lived in Wetumpka longer than she had lived anywhere else.
“I’ve lived all over the world,” Phelps said. “I have gypsy feet. I lived on Guam twice, Alaska, South Dakota, Illinois, Florida, Colorado and Georgia.”
Phelps convinced her brother to move to Wetumpka. Her children have more than warmed up to Alabama especially Wetumpka. It is quite the contrast to a photograph of Phelps’ children that she uses in her presentations with the text, “Please, Mama, don’t make us live here.”
At the end of the presentation is another photograph of her children having coffee on the porch of the Big Fish house.
“The kids love it now,” Phelps said. “One goes to Auburn; one just graduated from Alabama. And they both say, ‘y’all.’ So yeah, we love it here very much.”
It’s a vision Phelps saw in the first moments of her first trip to Wetumpka. It’s a vision that is keeping her in place as she watches to see where Wetumpka goes next.
“I love this place,” Phelps said. “From the minute I first pulled into this town, I knew from the bottom of my toes that there was something so exceptional about this place.”
The Art Town Makers Gallery
STORY & PHOTOS BY CLIFF WILLIAMS
Vanessa Royal opened The Art Town Makers Gallery on Bridge Street in Wetumpka because she wanted to contribute to the county’s art vibe with a niche gallery.
Royal is an artist herself and a founding board member of the Kelly Fitzpatrick Center for the Arts. But she wanted to do more for the arts scene in Wetumpka.
“I used to live in Asheville, North Carolina, and art was big there,” Royal said. “They had a lot of big makers galleries in their downtown. I also love lots of different art.”
Royal feels The Kelly has helped to jumpstart the art scene in Wetumpka. It helps highlight many local artists with revolving exhibits. But Royal felt more could be done to support local artists. Once shows at The Kelly are finished, another show goes up, and most of the art goes back to the artists. Royal shared her vision of creating a makers gallery with the late Don Sawyer.
“He really encouraged me to do this,” Royal said. “I have been collecting his art for a while.”
Royal and her husband, Jeff, purchased a home from Nicky and Natasha Godwin. The Godwins own Nick of Thyme on Bridge Street and purchased the building a few years ago. The space adjacent to the oil and vinegar store became available recently, and conversation between the Royals and Godwins led to the fruition of Royal’s vision of an art makers gallery.
“Our model is different from The Kelly,” Royal said. “We believe there are a lot of people shopping for art. We have paintings and pottery, of course, but we also have handmade jewelry and baskets. It’s not all just fine art like The Kelly. It’s a retail market, but we won’t be selling anything that has been mass produced.”
The Art Town Makers Gallery features handmade art by artists known by the Royals; some are local artists, but others are from across the country and around the world.
“We are trying to provide a space for artists to sell their art,” Royal said.
They plan to host receptions and events, such as wine-and-paint parties but want to stay away from offering art lessons.
The new gallery opened last fall. The Royals held a grand opening ribbon cutting and reception after they completed their move in and set up the gallery.
Visit The Art Town Makers Gallery on Facebook for more information.
Clockwise from Left: The Art Town Makers Gallery is a place where artists can sell their work, as well as show it; Everything at The Art Town Makers Gallery is individually handcrafted; The grand opening and ribbon cutting was held in August.
Dawson Parker
Tallassee native turns a dream of going fast into a race for the championship
STORY BY AUSTIN ELLIOTT & PHOTOS COURTESY OF DAWSON PARKER
Tallassee native Dawson Parker has dreamt of going fast his entire life. When Parker was just a young boy, he fantasized about being inside a race car as it made the turn and headed for the winning checkered flag. That dream has now become his reality.
Parker got his foot in the door of the racing world on account of David Huneycutt, his father’s boss, who had previous ties in the world of cart racing. Parker realized that this was a shot at his childhood dream coming true.
“Initially, all of the involvement I had with cars was Grand Prix type of stuff, and it was all from Powersports of Montgomery,” Parker said.
He spent lots of time going back and forth between Powersports of Montgomery, where his racing roots lie, and Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham. It was at Barber Motorsports that he truly got the feel of being a high performance driver.
“I’m not sure if you really call it racing that we did at Barber, but it was definitely my introduction to what it meant to be on and around the track, and to hear the loudness of the engine as it was being pushed to the max,” Parker said.
Not much later, Parker found himself in the driver’s seat of a 2002 modified BMW equipped with all of a racer’s bells and whistles, including a roll cage and shocks. And it was there that Parker got the giddy-kid feeling of going fast again. He spent hours upon hours burning rubber on the track in anticipation of driving in his first race.
hopeful Parker in Greenville, Alabama.
“We had been looking for a while; and then, we found this car basically in the middle of nowhere from a guy who had a truck driving company that he was going to fund from selling the car,” Parker said.
If the story wasn’t already perfectly cinematic enough, Parker’s uncle became his mentor and crew chief on the track. Tommy Shaw had a history of racing dating to the early 1970s when the circuit was prominent around the South. Now with his car and a team, Parker was in pursuit of victory.
“I learned so many important lessons, and I am still learning them from my uncle. He was the one who taught me everything about building the car,” Parker said. “With a stock race car, you have to develop a capable shocks system within the car, as well as sufficient suspension and brakes.
Previous Pages: Years of practice prepared Dawson Parker for the challenge of sitting behind the wheel of a race care; Above: Winning trophies is part of the thrill for Parker; Facing Page: Parker suits up for a day at the races.
“They’re looking for you to grow as a driver first. They want to know if you can handle the car around the track without crashing it. It is a surreal experience for a first time driver to feel that initial apex hit or that whipping feeling of the car coming around the turns,” Parker said.
After almost a year of practice and preparation, Parker was ready for race day. The next step was to find a race car to his team’s liking, along with meeting street stock racing requirements. This meant that Parker and his team were on the hunt for an automobile with superior suspension, a decent non-crash history, and of course, a car that could go fast. The trek landed the
“The most important part of the car is probably the tires. They have to have a close-to-perfect PSI at all times, or it can get a little hairy out there.”
Just like any other new challenge, there were some initial obstacles.
“We started with a 70 lot racer, which is one of the bigger fields, and we could not finish the first few races due to either spark plugs fouling out or some other thing happening,” Parker said.
Parker and his team made the appropriate adjustments and quickly went from leaving races half-finished and room for desire, to finishing in the top three of 14 car races.
“It took us figuring some things out, but once we did, it was all up from there,” Parker said.
The rest of the season saw Parker and his team finish the year with a handful of top 10s and a couple of top three results with not a single wreck.
“We got to be on camera and received some notice, which was really cool for us, so I was proud of that,” Parker said.
Ultimately, Parker was named the Street Stock Racing Rookie of the Year. Now, he is preparing for another big season back home.
“Very excited for this upcoming season. We want to gain more sponsors. We are chasing that championship trophy,” Parker said.
Watched
STORY &
Leaders from across the state are watching Elmore County – especially its public-private partnerships and growth. The message was delivered by Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter who was the keynote speaker at the Unity Breakfast hosted last November by the Elmore County Economic Development Authority.
“When something’s wrong, you go fix it,” Ledbetter said of people in Elmore County. “You don’t wait on somebody; you go fix your neighbor’s problems.”
Ledbetter noted it’s been going for years but was especially highlighted following the January 2019 tornado that struck Wetumpka. The legislator also noted Elmore County has been successful in finding partnerships.
“I get excited when I hear about people working together,” Ledbetter said. “There is growth here, and 17 Springs is just the start of it.”
Ledbetter said everyone at the state level is asking about how Elmore County is bringing so many partners together to pull off large projects. He said it reminds him of partnerships that have pulled off $1 billion in work at the Mobile port, making it the fastest-growing port on the East Coast.
Ledbetter said partnerships have helped build Alabama into the country’s No. 1 automobile exporting state, as well as No. 2 in the country in agriculture, No. 1 in building commercial airliners and No. 5 at producing ships.
“The public private partnerships that we’re showing we’ve done over the last two years in our state are making a difference,” Ledbetter said. “If you think you’ve seen growth in our state the past few years, you ain’t seen noth-
ing yet if we stay on the trajectory we’re on. You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Clockwise from Left: From ongoing construction at 17 Springs in Millbrook to whitewater recreation in Wetumpka and revitalization in Tallassee, Elmore County has captured the attention of State officials.
Elmore County Commissioner Bart Mercer welcomed those in attendance to the breakfast. He recognized attendees as the movers and shakers in Elmore County and the River Region.
“It hit me what these people have been involved in,” Mercer said. “Something is going on in Elmore County. It’s just a lot easier to be a part of the team this day and time in Elmore County than it is to not be part of the team.”
Mercer noted more than 75 percent of those in attendance at the breakfast were involved in the county commission, economic development, education or Elmore County municipalities.
The Elmore County EDA has hosted the Unity Breakfast in the past as an annual event. Director Lisa VanWagner brought it back this year to remind everyone that great things are happening in Elmore County, such as 17 Springs, the quality of life projects across the county and small business growth.
“When we work together we are better,” VanWagner said. “As evidenced by the Speaker of the House, Elmore County is becoming the gold standard in the state in unifying partners for the common purpose of making Elmore County better.”
PHOTOS BY CLIFF WILLIAMS
Eclectic Beautification
Small towns often struggle twofold in efforts to beautify their areas, support downtown businesses and make positive impressions on visitors because manpower is limited and so are funds. Despite those struggles, Eclectic the Beautiful is driven to make a difference.
The 12-member nonprofit organization was founded in 1987 to procure Christmas decorations for the town.
“A group of citizens got together and raised the funds,” said Dean Williams, vice president and former long-time president of Eclectic the Beautiful.
Following that original project, the group found other projects that needed doing. They started raising funds to pay for them. Over the years, they’ve replaced 50-gallon plastic barrels on downtown streets with attractive trash receptacles; painted paw prints on roads leading to the school; arranged for the painting of two murals downtown; maintained the ‘Welcome’ sign at the intersection of routes 170 and 63; and welcomed new residents with gift bags. They put up wreaths for the 4th of July and the Cotton Festival, as well as bows for the Elmore County High School homecoming. And they continue to refresh the supply of holiday decorations as needed.
“We go looking for what needs to be done,” said
Eclectic the Beautiful President Marlo Wilks. “We see a need, and we go after it.”
Going after it usually means making arrangements for every aspect of the job, from assessing the need to gathering costs, raising funds for materials and labor and getting the job on the calendars of all parties involved. The new memorial for Verdie Nummy – a local force for the community who passed in April of 2023 – was just such a project.
“Years ago, there was a big tree in town, and people would gather under it,” Wilks said. “We wanted to revive that. The fire department donated a Japanese maple for the project, and we have purchased two benches with an engraved granite stone. We’ll have a dedication ceremony for it when it’s all done.”
As the projects seem never-ending, so is the fund raising. Eclectic the Beautiful raises monies through a bingo event in the fall and the May Market every spring.
“We used to do the Taste of Eclectic event every year, but COVID-19 put an end to that,” Wilks said.
The group also sells T-shirts and a line of Southern Happy Home flavorings and colorings for cooking. And they accept donations.
“We receive no funds from the City,” Wilks said.
STORY & PHOTOS BY BETSY ILER
“The City does put out the flags on the street during patriotic holidays, but the Eclectic the Beautiful board pays for them and maintains them.”
On the group’s radar for future projects is cleaning up the flower bed in front of the senior center.
“That was done very nicely several years ago, but now it’s overgrown,” said Williams. “We’ll provide the funds, and the students in the ag department at the high school will be hands on to get it done.”
This spring, Eclectic the Beautiful will host its Third Annual May Market. The first year of the event included 50 vendors. The second year, 70 vendors set up booths at the City’s parking lot.
“We hope to grow the May Market as large as Cotton Festival that’s in the fall,” Williams said. “That brings in thousands of people every year.”
The bingo event also is growing. Following the first game night, Eclectic the Beautiful netted $600 after expenses. The second year, they raised $2,000.
“We try to do fundraisers, so we do not burden the local businesses asking for their donations. They already do so much for the town,” Wilks said.
While they try to be frugal, the projects still cost money. Wilks said they hope to increase the number of
group members to 15, adding some who could be hands-on with the projects.
“Most of our members have fulltime jobs, and it’s hard to be hands-on for these projects. If we could find a few volunteers who have the time and the physical ability to take on some of the work, we could save the labor costs and do more projects around town,” she explained.
Above Left: Eclectic the Beautiful tries to fund projects through events, rather than burden local businesses with requests for funding; Above Right: Among many other projects, the group maintains a sign at the town’s entrance, boasting of Eclectic’s growing businesses.
Donations also would allow the board to purchase more Christmas decorations and take on some bigger projects. Eclectic the Beautiful is working on setting up a 501 (c) 3 status, so donations would be tax deductible.
To volunteer with Eclectic the Beautiful, call Marlo Wilks at 334-425-4618. To make a donation, send checks to Eclectic the Beautiful at P.O. Box 241105, Eclectic, AL 36024.
Bear Woods
learned every position. I studied the game and every position I played and the ones around me. When I got to Canada, it was the same thing.”
Woods’ coaching career began earlier than most people realize.
Around 2019, Woods had his first opportunity to be a player coach. He was entering year nine of his playing career and received a call before the preseason. He was basically told he would be cut by the end of training camp. The Toronto staff didn’t want Woods to come all the way from Alabama to Toronto just to get cut a few weeks later, but they did want him there. They offered him a role as a player coach.
“I sat in some of the coaching meetings and learned how to chart film and learned the software and such,” Woods said. “I was preparing for that next step. I got to spend the first six
STORY BY DALTON MIDDLETON
PHOTOS BY DALTON MIDDLETON & COURTSEY OF BEAR WOODS
weeks or so of that training camp as a coach, but then I got another playing opportunity.”
During that spring training camp, multiple linebackers for the Toronto Argonauts went down with injuries. Woods was asked to step back into a player role, and he did exactly that.
At age 32, he played his first three games of the 2019 season and finished with 31 tackles in three games. That earned him a new playing contract, and coaching was put on the backburner.
During the next three years – the final three of his playing career – he received numerous offers to coach, both at the high school level and in the CFL.
“Our staff used to laugh, and they told me they’d never had an active player getting offered coaching positions from other teams,” Woods said.
Woods always knew he wanted to coach. Following COVID19, he was sent to Toronto as a player/coach again. But after being released, he returned home to Wetumpka, where he and his wife, Jennifer, and their children had lived in the offseason for the previous six years.
Then, Wetumpka Coach Tim Perry retired from leading the Indians. Woods put his hat in the ring, and everything moved much faster than he expected. That’s because of his preparation, he surmised. He was coached by some of the best coaches that professional football has seen.
whether he was going to be coaching or not, he and his family were going to be in Wetumpka. He was going to live on North Bridge Street. That was his family’s decision. When the world shut down for the pandemic, they wanted to be in Wetumpka.
And now he’s the hometown football coach.
“To be able to be in my family’s hometown and be the hometown coach is just special,” Woods said. “When we bought our house in 2014, there wasn’t a football stadium on our street, and I never thought I’d be coaching high school football, but I knew I’d be working with young men. Whether that would have been some type of speaking deal or church related, but being able to be a football coach has been tremendous.”
Facing Page: Playing or coaching, on and off the field, Bear Woods endeavors to win the moment; Woods was destined to be a coach, even as he played in professional football leagues.
“During my entire playing career, I was compiling information from all these coaches – how they scheduled their days and game plans, their philosophies, how they laid out everything and why they did things the way they did,” Woods said. “But where I really learned how to prepare was from Toronto Coach Ryan Dinwiddie.”
According to Woods, Dinwiddie had his entire playbook ready to go if he was ever promoted. If he was promoted to a coordinator, he had every play in a binder and all his plans for what he would do. If a head coaching job opened up, he had a larger, more in-depth binder full of playbooks and everything a head coach would need. If those positions happened, Dinwiddie was ready.
Woods prepared the same way. His binders were ready when Perry retired.
“When this job happened, there was no scrambling for me,” Woods said. “I was prepared. I was already in the coaching world, one foot in and one foot out because I was so dadgum good at tackling people, so I kept tackling.”
It was the perfect situation for Woods. Regardless of
What really stuck out to Woods about the position was the chance to be an athletic director. Not only does he coach his team, but he also impacts every athletic team for the community. He enjoys influencing all sports for the betterment of the community.
As he is in the midst of his third season leading the Indians, Woods has tried to do exactly that.
“The biggest responsibility is that my faith in Jesus Christ is something I don’t hide,” Woods said. “I’ve built Wetumpka athletics around a heart to serve. We’re here to serve. As a public servant, you’re working in a government school, you’re here to serve. My desire to serve comes from knowing that I serve a Risen Savior who didn’t come to be served but to serve. So, when we talk about the Wetumpka way, in a nutshell, it’s just a heart to serve.”
Woods likes the strides that the community has made in his three years as a leader. In the Wetumpka gym, every athletic team is involved and has equal access to opportunities, such as the weight room. That isn’t just kids who are on teams, as he allows access to the general population of students if they choose to stick with physical education and get into strength and conditioning.
Woods’ catchphrase since he took over the program has been, ‘Win the moment.’
It’s something he preaches every day to the kids, whether they’re on his football team or not.
“Having the responsibility of stewarding these young boys and girls into being their best, on and off the field, is the biggest blessing,” Woods said. “We want to ‘Win the moment.’ The moment is a gift, and we won’t take that for granted. We want everyone to do everything they can to be the best versions of themselves.”
