Tuscaloosa magazine summer 2016

also inside: LocaL roots MetaL & Lights suMMer fashion renovating the oaKs 6 intriguing PeoPLe + Much More!

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editor’s letter

Editor Michelle Lepianka Carter Design Editor Janet Sudnik Director of Photography Gary Cosby Jr. Photographers Michelle Lepianka Carter Erin Nelson Copy Editors Amy Robinson Ernie Shipe Laura Chramer Operations Director Paul Hass Advertising Director Lynnie Guzman Marketing Director Sam Kirkwood Prepress Manager Chuck Jones Published by The Tuscaloosa News 315 28th Avenue Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 Executive Editor Michael James Controller Steve Hopper Magazine 205-722-0232 To advertise 205-722-0173 To subscribe 205-722-0102

4

PHOTOS | MICHELLE LEPIANKA CARTER

FROM LEFT: An acai berry drink at the new Juice Bar (Page 31) in the Shoppes at Legacy Park.

Prosciutto-wrapped Cantaloupe is glammed up for a Posh Picnic (Page 15). Locally roasted coffee beans from Kauloosa Coffee Roasters (Page 30).

T

uscaloosa is experiencing growth. It’s visible anytime you take a drive around town.

From new businesses opening along 15th Street and McFarland Boulevard to the housing developments and shopping centers throughout the city, Tuscaloosa is buzzing. A part I’m personally excited about is all the new culinary offerings in town!

I love trying new places to eat that offer something more than the ordinary food you can get in any town. Local Roots food truck (Page 23) brings you fresh food made with local ingredients — on wheels. R. Davidson Chophouse (Page 8) offers a variety of family-sized side dishes to accompany its variety of meaty main dishes as well as unique spins on classic cocktails.

Speaking of cocktails, if you’re looking for a summer sip, check out Roxy’s (Page 20), right down the block from R. Davidson Chophouse, for a chance to cool off from the Alabama heat.

Summer is also a great time for picnics, and we have a feature on how to amp up your typical blanket-on-the-grass setup with a Posh Picnic (Page 15). If you’re a carnivore, check out our Foodie News section, which features a breakfast menu full of protein-packed recipes (Page 26).

Looking beyond the plate, we also journeyed just outside the city limits to meet Chris Freeman, owner and founder of Metal & Lights in Brent (Page 42). The small-town company has made signs and other metal and light pieces seen around the country, including music award shows. Just down the road in Centreville, Teresa Suttle shows us her renovation talents at The Oaks, a venue perfect for a summertime wedding or event.

Returning to town, we picked fashion perfect for an evening out in Tuscaloosa (Page 56).

Volunteers from Sweet Dreams Pillowcase Ministry show us how they bring comfort to cancer patients (Page 68) and we take a look at six more intriguing people in our community (Page 73). And of course no issue would be complete without our popular On the Scene section (Page 86).

I hope you enjoy this issue of Tuscaloosa magazine and get to try some of the delicious new places in town and recipes offered on our pages. Happy summer, and bon appetit!

Reach Michelle Lepianka Carter at Michelle.Carter@ tuscaloosanews. com.

Follow us online on Facebook and Twitter!

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summer 2016

VOLUME 14, NO. 3

contents

20

26

42

08 Dining OuT

20 spiriTs

26 FOODie neWs

15 Dining in

23 arOunD TOWn

34 aT hOme

R. Davidson Chophouse offers fine Get a sip of summer with original dining in an elegant atmosphere. cocktail recipes from Roxy’s.

Take your picnic menu up several notches with these easy recipes.

Local Roots is wheeling in fresh, local fare in its new food truck.

The latest in local food, trends, recipes and epicurean events.

Teresa Suttle shows off the renovations at The Oaks.

On The COver Greg McElroy helped lead the 2009 University of Alabama football team to an undefeated season and national championship and went on to join the NFL. Today, McElroy is back to his college football roots as an analyst for ESPN’s SEC Network, and he still considers Tuscaloosa home.

Cover photo: Michelle Lepianka Carter See story: Page 48

6

POSH PICNIC 48 coVer story

Metal & Lights makes signs that shine around the country.

15

73 6 intriguing people

Former UA quarterback is back in the game as an analyst.

Meet six folks who are making a difference in the community.

56 fashion

86 on the scene

68 good deeds

106 last look

Try on these sizzling summer styles for a night on the town.

42 art

We’ve rounded up a collection of elegant but easy-to-make recipes perfect for dining al fresco. From mini muffulettas to blue cheese coleslaw, they put a twist on classic picnic fare.

At left, lemonade iced tea is garnished with a sprig of mint. Page 15.

A team of seamstresses makes pillowcases to comfort children.

34

The best bashes, parties and charity events of the season.

A splash in the fountain is just the thing for a hot summer’s day.

08

7

dining out

raising the

at r. davidson chophouse, food is meant to be shared

STEAKS

by donna cornelius photos by michelle lepianka carter

The Filet Oscar features a cut of filet mignon topped with crab meat, asparagus and hollandaise sauce.

8

dining out

O

ne of Tuscaloosa’s newest restaurants is not for the faint of appetite.

At R. Davidson Chophouse, meat lovers can choose a 22-ounce porterhouse steak, a 20-ounce cowboy ribeye or a 16-ounce bone-in veal chop. Side dishes like the Loaded Colossal Baked Potato and the creamed spinach are large enough to share. So are salads, which can be meals in themselves.

But the downtown Tuscaloosa eatery is more than a steakhouse. Adventurous eaters already are partial to the pan-crusted rabbit and Conecuh sausage starter and to the Korean-style tacos on the lunch menu.

David Ryan, the restaurant’s owner, isn’t new to the food business. He’s a culinary school graduate who worked as a chef before opening T-Town Cafe at 500 14th Street N. in Tuscaloosa and starting a catering business, A Tavola.

“I’ve always wanted to do a full-service, nicer place,” Ryan said.

He got the opportunity to do that when Tin Top Sports Bar and Grill left the building at the corner of Greensboro Avenue and Fourth Street.

“I was driving past and saw that Tin Top had closed,” Ryan said. “That was November of last year. I found out who owned the building — Robert “Sonny” Deason — and called him. He called me back, and we walked through it a few times, worked out a deal and got in here. In the process of looking at the building, I realized there was no local steakhouse.”

The restaurant’s name comes from its owner.

“My whole name is Robert Davidson Ryan,” he said. “I went with ‘chophouse’ instead of ‘steakhouse’ so the name would stand out. It

ABOVE: bourbon of marathon featuring medley bros. bourbon, apples, fennel, lemon and Cynar at r. Davidson Chophouse in downtown Tuscaloosa.

TOP: David ryan sits in the dining room of his newest restaurant.

makes you think of big hunks of meat.”

Ryan said refurbishing the building took about two and a half months. The restaurant opened in late February.

“We did all the decorating in-house,” he said. “We had new curtains made and touched up the paint. We got tablecloths, which help

>> 9

dining out

TOP LEFT: A veal chop cooked to perfection.

ABOVE: The Clover Club cocktail features bombay Sapphire Gin, hibiscus, raspberry shrub, lemon juice and egg whites.

TOP RIGHT: Sammy yassin carries a platter of food to patrons.

10

acoustically because they block sound, as do the curtains. We put butcher paper on top of the tablecloths so it’s not so ‘fine dining’ and kids can color on it.”

Children are welcome at the Chophouse, and casual attire is fine, Ryan said.

“We also added booths, and we took down eight TVs,” he said.

Although there are still TV sets upstairs and at the bar, Ryan said he wanted to encourage diners to enjoy not only the food but also each other’s company.

“That’s one reason our sides are traditional and family-sized,” he said.

“You order a salad, and it’s meant to be shared. We want people not to be glued to a TV.” Steaks are the stars of the menu.

Ryan said the most popular is the filet mignon, which comes in 6-ounce and 8-ounce sizes, but that his favorite dish is the veal chop.

“We also do fresh fish,” he said.

Pan-seared salmon is on the menu as is a seared sashimi tuna appetizer.

Specials are playfully billed as “fish of the moment.”

Ryan has an executive chef, Kyle Gray, and sous chef, Sam Kott, but often gets in the kitchen himself.

The Hillcrest High School graduate played baseball at East Central Community College in Decatur, Miss., “where I was a pitcher and finished tearing up my elbow,” he said. “I came

to the University of Alabama for one semester and then went to Virginia College to the Culinard to get a culinary degree.”

After that, he worked as a cook at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida. He returned to Tuscaloosa so his wife, Heather, could finish school at UA. Ryan worked for several Tuscaloosa restaurants before landing the food service contract at Shelton State Community College.

“I started doing catering and picked up the Nucor Steel food service contract,” he said. “We still have that.

We’ve done events for Alabama Power, DCH, the University of Alabama’s law school and business school. We do almost all of Nucor’s catering.

“We’ll do anything, from cooking on site to simple drop-offs. We can do a steak dinner or bring a barbecue trailer and a full kitchen trailer.”

R. Davidson Chophouse, T-Town Café, and the catering and food service businesses are all part of Ryan’s Southern Dining Resources company, he said.

Sadly, Heather passed away from inflammatory breast cancer after the couple moved back to Tuscaloosa.

“But she managed to graduate with an accounting degree,” Ryan said.

Last year, he married again.

“I have a little girl, Ashlyn, who’s now 5, and my wife, Amy, has a daughter, too — Alayna, who’s 6,” he said.

dining out

>>

NA1660192

Grill cook Cornelius Richardson prepares cuts of meat for the dinner crowd at R. Davidson Chophouse.

“We had a little boy, Connor, in August.”

The Chophouse’s general manager is Devon Miller. He’s in charge of the restaurant’s wine list and cocktail menu.

“I’m from York, Pa., and came to Tuscaloosa to get my master’s degree in aerospace engineering,” he said. “I bartended here for about three years. I was always interested in food and wine and worked through graduate school to keep my mind balanced. I got more and more interested.”

Before joining the Chophouse team, Miller worked at NorthRiver Yacht Club and then at Kozy’s and The Side

by Side.

Miller said the restaurant features a lot of wines from California, including Alexander Valley, Napa Valley, Sonoma County and the Russian River Valley.

“We also include many great Oregon pinot noirs from Willamette Valley,” he said. “We have a great variety of wines from ‘across the pond,’ including wines from France, Italy and Spain.

Some of the great wines we have from France come from Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley and the Loire Valley.”

Eighteen wines are sold by the glass and rotated on a

11

dining out

ABOVE: Cuts of meat are seared on the grill.

BELOW: Mahi-mahi topped with pineapple de gallo.

seasonal basis, Miller said.

“We also have a lot of craft beer and try to stay as local as possible,” he said.

Among the offerings are beers from Tuscaloosa’s Band of Brothers Brewing Co., Black Warrior Brewing Co. and Druid City Brewing Co. and from several Birmingham breweries.

Miller is especially high on the restaurant’s cocktails.

“We have the classics, but with a twist,” he said. “For our Old-Fashioned, we add apple brandy and make burnt sugar syrup. We make our bitters in-house. The Last Word traditionally has gin, but we make it with tequila.”

The signature cocktails not only are made from original recipes but also have original names.

“For our Old Meets New, we use Redmont Vodka, which was Birmingham’s first vodka — that’s the ‘new,’” Miller said. “The ‘old’ is crème de violette and prosecco — Old World liqueur and wine.”

He’s looking forward to amping up the cocktail list this summer.

“That will be our most creative cocktail menu because so many fresh ingredients are available,” Miller said.

Chef Kyle Gray grew up in Birmingham and worked at Auburn’s Moore’s Mill Club, he said.

“I started there part time as a dishwasher and was head chef after five years,” he said. “I later came to Five Bar and was head chef there in about nine months.”

While the restaurant’s steaks come from Omaha, Neb., its seafood is from the Gulf of Mexico and its chicken is from Jasper, he said.

“We use a lot of Alabama or southeastern-grown products,” Gray said. “I like simple, from-scratch food.”

12

dining out

While he’s proud of all the food at Chophouse, he said he’s most excited about the Sunday brunch menu.

“The French toast is very pretty,” he said. “We cut the French bread ourselves and make a crème anglaise daily. For the candied grapefruit, we halve it, score it, sprinkle it with brown and white sugar and then hit it with the torch.”

Miller said classic New Orleans cocktails like milk punch, French 75 and Corpse Reviver No. 2 also are served at brunch.

“We’ll do mimosa specials,” he said. “We bring a carafe of fresh-squeezed orange juice to the table, and you can build your own.”

The restaurant seats about 200. Dining areas are on two levels, and the upstairs can be rented for special events. The building also has a basement.

“We’re looking not only at using it as an event space but like a speakeasy with 1920s style,” Ryan said. “You’ll be able to go down and have drinks and appetizers. It’s like a speakeasy because it’s not really known about; you can’t really see it.”

ABOVE: An Old Meets New cocktail features Redmont vodka, grapefruit, lemon, creme de violette, prosecco and mint.

TOP AND RIGHT CENTER: Guests enjoy dinner at R. Davidson Chophouse.

TOP RIGHT: Maxx White pours a cocktail behind the bar.

R. Davidson Chophouse is at 2330 Fourth St., Tuscaloosa. For reservations, call 205-614-8782.

Visit www.rdchophouse.com or follow the restaurant on social media. The Chophouse is open Tuesday-Friday for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., for cocktail hour at 4 p.m. and for dinner at 5 p.m.; on Saturdays for lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., for cocktail hour at 4 p.m. and for dinner at 5 p.m.; and for Sunday brunch at 10 a.m.

13

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dining in

poshpicnic these al fresco favorites get a gourmet makeover with elegantly simple recipes by donna cornelius photos by michelle lepianka carter

Prosciutto-Wrapped Canteloupe with Mint gets a flavor boost with fresh herbs and vinegar.

w

e like to think we do everything better in Tuscaloosa — beginning, of course, with college football. But high standards don’t have to stay home if you’re planning a summer picnic.

Whether you’re hauling food, family and friends to a spot near the water, to a park or to the Quad, there’s no reason not to step up the menu. We set up our movable feast at NorthRiver Yacht Club’s Captain’s Cabin on Lake Tuscaloosa. With its rustic dogtrot-style cabin, miniature lighthouse and wooded setting, it turned out to be the perfect spot for a posh picnic — especially when Dana Camp of Tuscaloosa and Jami Gates and Liz Moore of Fête & Fleur pitched in to help.

Try these recipes for your own outdoor party.

We’ve included some instructions for a nonalcoholic drink and a cocktail, too. The recipes may also come in handy later this year when it’s tailgating time.

>>

15

dining in

five-minute cheddar bacon ranch dip

Cook’s note: We served this with Terra Exotic Potato Chips with Sea Salt.

Ingredients: 8 strips cooked bacon, finely diced 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese 1 cup plain Greek yogurt ½ cup thinly sliced green onions 3 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix (about 1 packet) Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until combined or use a stand mixer set at medium-high speed. Serve immediately or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to three days. Before serving, top with extra bacon pieces and green onions if desired.

— Adapted from www.gimmesomeoven.com

prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe with mint

Cook’s note: If you’re making this ahead (1 to 2 hours), cover with plastic and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it. Mint will darken a bit prior to serving, so add the garnish at the last minute.

Ingredients: 1 whole ripe cantaloupe 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh mint leaves (plus whole leaves for garnish) ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper 2 to 3 teaspoons white balsamic or champagne vinegar 6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto Directions: Cut melon in half and scoop out the seeds. Slice one of the halves into slender wedges and cut the wedges in half lengthwise. (Save the other melon half for another use.)

Put the melon wedges in a medium-sized bowl and toss with the mint, pepper and vinegar to taste.

Wrap a strip or two of prosciutto around each piece of melon. Arrange melon on a serving platter and garnish with mint sprigs. Serves 6.

— Anne Marie Balzano, Tuscaloosa

16

white linen

Directions: Fill a highball glass with ice. Add 1.5 ounces of chilled gin. Fill glass with regular or diet ginger ale. Squeeze a lime wedge into the mixture and stir. Top with a floater of St-Germain elderflower liqueur.

dining in

cherry-pistachio tea cakes

Cook’s note: We searched in vain for fresh cherries, but they were out of season at the time of our photo shoot.

We substituted jarred Tillen Farms Merry Maraschino cherries, available at most grocery stores. These cherries have no garish red dye and come with the stems but minus the pits. If you use the non-fresh version, cook the muffins for about 12 minutes, top them with the cherries and then bake for an additional 6 minutes or so.

Ingredients: ½ cup pistachios 1 ⁄3 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 2 ⁄3 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting 2 large eggs 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 12 to 24 medium cherries with stems

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Pulse the pistachios, flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor until finely ground.

Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and eggs in a large bowl and then whisk in the pistachio mixture just until combined. Stir in the melted butter until just incorporated.

Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into each muffin cup. Bake until slightly puffed and just beginning to set, about 8 minutes.

Place 1 or 2 cherries in the center of each cake and continue baking until the cakes feel springy and the edges are lightly browned, 10 to 12 more minutes.

Transfer pan to a rack to cool, about 10 minutes, and then remove muffins from pan to cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

— Food Network Magazine

lemonade iced tea

mini muffulettas

Cook’s note: You can use a favorite olive tapenade instead of the pickled vegetable-olive-salad dressing combo.

Ingredients: 2 (16-ounce) jars of mixed pickled vegetables ¾ cup pimento-stuffed Spanish olives, chopped 2 tablespoons bottled olive oil-andvinegar salad dressing 12 small dinner rolls, cut in half 6 Swiss cheese slices, cut in half 12 thin deli ham slices 12 Genoa salami slices

6 provolone cheese slices, cut in half Directions: Pulse pickled vegetables in a food processor about 8 to 10 times or until they’re finely chopped. Stir in olives and salad dressing.

Spread 1 heaping tablespoon pickled vegetable mixture over the cut side of each roll bottom. Top each with one slice each of Swiss cheese, ham, salami, provolone and roll top. Cover with plastic wrap.

Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

— Southern Living

Ingredients: 3 cups water 2 family-size tea bags 1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves 1 ⁄2 cup sugar 4 cups cold water 1 (6-ounce) can of frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed Garnish: Fresh lemon and lime slices Directions: Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan.

Remove from heat, add tea bags and stir in fresh mint.

Cover and steep for 10 minutes.

Remove and discard tea bags and mint. Stir in sugar until it’s dissolved.

Pour tea into a 3-quart container. Stir in 4 cups cold water and lemonade concentrate. Serve over ice. Garnish with lemon and lime slices if desired. Makes 8 cups.

17

dining in

marinated shrimp

Ingredients: 1½ pounds cooked, peeled shrimp 2 ⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil ½ cup white balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons grated lemon rind 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon hot sauce Directions: Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, lemon rind, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Pour over shrimp, stir and refrigerate mixture in a large bowl or zip-top plastic freezer bag for at least 6 hours or overnight. Drain shrimp and serve on romaine lettuce leaves if desired.

— Dana Camp

LIz Moore, left, and Jamie Gates of Fête and Fleur.

picnic pointers:

blue cheese coleslaw

Ingredients: ¾ cup mayonnaise ½ cup sour cream ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar Salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ medium green cabbage, cored, quartered and thinly sliced ½ small red cabbage, cored, quartered and thinly sliced 1 Vidalia onion, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices Directions: In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese and vinegar, then salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well combined. Add the cabbage and onions and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it.

— Tricia Yearwood, Food Network 18

Jami Gates and Liz Moore of Fête & Fleur helped make our party at NorthRiver Yacht Club’s Captain’s Cabin picture-perfect.

Gates, who’s from Oxford, and Moore, a Tuscaloosa native, recently launched their company to provide floral design and personalized event planning. Both have experience in event management — they’ve coordinated weddings, parties, and events for more than 900 people — and each has made a hobby of floral design.

The two brought flowers in festive colors and recruited Kalynn Anderson of K.and Lettered to hand-letter place cards for the table. For more information, check out K.and Lettered on Facebook and Instagram.

As for their company’s name: Fête means “a festive celebration,” and fleur is the French word for flower.

“Our logo includes a drawing of a honeybee,” Gates said. “This is a symbol of our work ethic. We’re worker bees for our clients and, like the honeybee, we love all flowers.”

Here are some tips from the Fête and Fleur duo: • “Forage first. Look in your yard (and your neighbor’s yard) before you spend any money. We love to start by utilizing flowers and greenery to which we have easy access and build from there.” Gates and Moore used ivy, angel vine, roses and viburnum from their own yards for our picnic.

• “When using premade bouquets from the grocery store, don’t be afraid to deconstruct and rebuild to suit your taste. Use what you like, split the arrangement into multiple containers or add to the arrangement. Change the water every day or so, and things will stay fresh longer.”

• “Play with texture. Too much of the same thing can get boring. For the picnic, we balanced the big, beautiful, round blooms of the hydrangeas with the airiness of the Queen Anne’s lace and the unique look of the angel vine, which were perfect, natural additions for this setting.”

• “Know when you’re in over your head. Throwing parties should be fun and not stressful. Outsource where you can. Great vendors — florists, caterers and planners — are only a phone call away.”

For more information, visit www.feteandfleurevents.com or follow Fête and Fleur on Instagram and Facebook @feteandfleur.

spirits

r e

m m H

s u s la p s

roxy’s bar has created a pair of inventive cocktails that capture the flavor of summer by donna cornelius photos by michelle lepianka carter

H

oneysuckle vodka, plump berries and freshly squeezed lime juice: If those drink ingredients don’t say “summer,” what does?

Two cool craft cocktails at Roxy’s in downtown Tuscaloosa’s Temerson Square are just right for warm-weather sipping.

“We serve more whiskey drinks in the winter but more drinks with vodka and rum in the summer,” said Cliff Clark, who owns the bar with his wife, Anne.

Roxy’s bartender Collins White created the Berry Crush with blueberries, strawberries, lime juice, simple syrup and vodka.

“It’s a daiquiri on the rocks — not the standard version,” White said.

The Roxy Blush has Cathead honeysuckle vodka, pomegranate liqueur and St-Germain

20

ABOVE: A roxy blush, left, and a berry Crush.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Collins White mixes and pours a berry Crush at roxy’s in downtown Tuscaloosa.

spirits elderflower liqueur. It’s named in honor of the Clarks’ Great Dane, as is another drink, the Big Dog — and the bar itself.

Anne Clark grew up in Pennsylvania and Iowa, and Cliff is from northern Virginia. They came to Tuscaloosa about 15 years ago when Cliff went to work for Townsend Honda, where he’s the general manager.

Anne is an academic adviser at Shelton State Community College.

They opened Roxy’s at 2314 Fourth Street last September. It’s not the only bar they own. In January 2014, the couple bought Tavern 1831, just a few doors away from Roxy’s, at 2304 Fourth St. “We had always wanted to run our own business,” Anne Clark said. “We knew the 1831 owner and he wanted to sell, and knew we were looking for an opportunity.”

Roxy’s was formerly another bar, Speakeasy, the couple said.

“We gutted the building and put in the bar, the back bar, the DJ’s booth and raised flooring,” Cliff said.

Anne said they wanted Roxy’s to have a different vibe from 1831, which has a wide craft beer selection.

“We realized downtown didn’t have any nightclubtype lounges, and we wanted to specialize in handmade cocktails with fresh juices and simple syrups we make in-house,” she said. “We have a set menu but can make almost anything you want.”

Cliff said simple syrups are made with raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, and citrus juices always are fresh-squeezed.

Roxy’s also has a nice wine list and has weekly Wine Down Wednesdays, with some wines priced at $4 a glass.

The Clarks said their bartenders are encouraged to be creative.

“It’s like being a chef,” Cliff said. “Sometimes you try new things and they work, and sometimes they don’t.”

Roxy’s brings in a DJ every Friday and Saturday starting at about 10 p.m.

“We also have jazz nights every other Thursday,” Anne said. Saxophone player Willie “Jazzanova” Davis “walks around and plays,” she said.

The Clarks’ 22-year-old daughter, Morgan, manages 1831 and helps at Roxy’s. Their son, Lee, 20, plays baseball at Shelton State. The left fielder just signed to play with Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., his

Roxy Blush Berry Crush

Cathead honeysuckle vodka n Pomegranate liqueur n St-Germain elderflower liqueur n

Blueberries + strawberries, muddled n Fresh-squeezed lime juice n Simple syrup n Vodka

n

parents said.

Roxy’s doesn’t offer food except for one special item the Clarks discovered at the Peninsula New York hotel.

“We were on the rooftop bar there, and they had this nut mix,” Cliff said. “We tried them and thought the nuts were amazing — you’d get one sweet, one salty, one spicy.”

After some detective work, Cliff found out the concoction — the Hotel Brand Fifth Avenue Mix — was made by Charles Snack Foods in Elmsford, N.Y. “I talked to one of the owners, a guy named Ed, and he said he graduated from the University of Alabama in 1946,” Cliff said. “He said he’d been president of New York City’s Alabama Alumni Association and remembered them having a Christmas party one year when Bear Bryant showed up with some players.”

Anne said she and her husband like owning businesses in the city’s center.

“Someday I want to write a book about all the people you meet in downtown Tuscaloosa,” she said. “We get to meet new people and are able to call them our friends.”

For more about Roxy’s, visit its Facebook page. For much of the year, Roxy’s is open Wednesday through Saturday. During the summer, it’s open on Monday and Tuesday nights as well.

21

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around town

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Local roots food truck is open for business. A burger made with house ground chuck, a bacon and onion marmalade, cheddar cheese, bread and butter pickles, and lettuce on a brioche bun. Local roots chef beau burroughs lays rolled flatbreads on the grill in preparation for service. A salad with baby lettuces from Snow’s bend Farm in Coker, French breakfast radishes, fennel, feta, apple cider vinegar and honey.

meals on wheels local roots food truck revs up in tuscaloosa

a

By Donna Cornelius photos By erin nelson

new food truck is off to a speedy start.

Local Roots debuted at the Druid City Arts Festival in April. Its owner, Dustin Spruill, was hoping folks would like his fresh food-heavy menu. He got his wish.

“We had a line for three and a half hours,” he said.

The crispy pork belly sandwich with Korean barbecue sauce, kimchee, pear slaw and scallion mayonnaise sold out, but most diners weren’t disappointed with other dishes, including the Local Roots burger.

“Our burgers and our Granddaddy Fries have been fan favorites,” Spruill said.

The 28-year-old, who’s lived in Tuscaloosa for most of his life, is chasing not just a niche in the city’s food market but also a dream. His own roots inspired him to serve food that’s fresh, locally produced and creative.

“It’s all about food and farming — knowing where your food came from and using good ingredients,” he said.

After graduating from Tuscaloosa’s Paul W. Bryant High School, Spruill played baseball at Auburn University. He returned to his hometown to work in two family businesses.

“We own student apartments,” he said. “And for the past five years,

>> 23

around town

Guests wait in line to order from the Local Roots food truck at the Druid City Arts Festival.

I’ve been vice president of Willcutt Block and Supply Co. My grandfather was the owner.”

His grandparents, Harold and Ruth Willcutt, lived on a 4-acre lot in Woodland Hills, and Spruill said he was a frequent visitor there.

“I learned a lot from my grandfather,” Spruill said. “He had a garden and would work in it every day. We come home these days and watch TV. He’d work a 10-hour day and then come home and work in his garden. We’d hunt and process our own meat.

“My grandmother was an incredible cook, and not just the Southern classics. We were going through her books, and she had seven or eight shelves of cookbooks like ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking.’

“I never really thought anything of it then, but they lived off the land.

They were cool before that was the cool thing to do.”

Spruill is married to Kacie Anderson Spruill, a University of Alabama graduate. About three years ago, the couple went to the Austin Food and Wine Festival in Texas, spurring a career change.

“We had a lot of fun,” he said. “There were great chefs and a lot of demos, including ones on old-school rustic techniques and cast-iron cooking. We met Tim Love, Andrew Zimmern and Ming Tsai. They were all so nice, and I thought, I really want to do this.”

24

Spruill said an encounter with Love, a Texas chef best known for urban western cuisine, was especially memorable.

“My wife asked him if he’d sign her ticket,” he said. “He said no and grabbed her and signed her arm. That’s one thing that draws me to this business — the friendliness that comes with breaking bread at the dinner table.”

Spruill said he’s still involved with the student rental business but quit working for Willcutt Block in order to give his food truck venture lots of time.

“We’re putting in 15 to 16 hours a day,” he said.

He said he spent about a year planning Local Roots.

“I knew I wasn’t ready to open a restaurant,” he said. “I wanted to bring something different to Tuscaloosa and have the freedom of a truck. Food trucks allow you to be flexible. We can do special events and weddings or be open for two hours at lunch.

“Food trucks were a $1 billion industry in the U.S. last year, and this is a neat way to showcase some craft food. For most people, there’s a cuisine that’s tied in with their heritage. If we want to do South America one day, we can do that. We can highlight other cultures, too.”

around town

TOP CENTER: Dustin Spruill, owner of the Local roots food truck, outside the truck in downtown Northport.

TOP RIGHT: Chef beau burroughs trained under Frank Stitt and has worked in fine dining for more than a decade.

Local Roots has a commissary on Ninth Avenue in Northport where prep work is done.

“We have no freezer,” Spruill said. “We make everything ourselves. We grind our own meat for the burgers, smoke our meat and make our own salsa verde and aioli.”

Spruill hired Tuscaloosa native Beau Burroughs to be the chef.

“He’s a rock star,” Spruill said. “We met through mutual friends, and we get along well. He’s extremely talented, a great guy.”

Burroughs trained under Frank Stitt at Bottega Café in Birmingham and Rob McDaniel at SpringHouse on Lake Martin. He also worked at restaurants in California’s Sonoma Valley and, after he returned to Tuscaloosa, at Kozy’s.

“I’d been doing fine dining for about 15 years,” Burroughs said. “With a food truck, we can do really nice food on a scale that’s approachable and finely prepared.”

Burroughs said his philosophy as a chef is “to make each ingredient taste as it should.”

“I don’t try to make a tomato taste like something else,” he said. “I let the ingredients shine. We try to use local foods and source what we can locally.

“This is a nice restaurant — in a truck.”

Right now, Local Roots has a somewhat nomadic existence.

“There are two ways to sell from food trucks: You can go places and ask forgiveness, or you can do things the right way and up front, which is what we’re trying to do,” Spruill said. “Right now, I cannot go downtown.”

He’s among those hoping to change Tuscaloosa’s boundary requirements that prevent mobile food vendors from setting up near brick-and-mortar stores.

“We deserve to be downtown just like any other business,” Spruill said.

For now, the food truck can be found at the Tuscaloosa River Market on Saturdays, on private property and at special events. You can find out where Local Roots will be on certain days through the truck’s social media pages. Frequent locations are JD’s Market and Spirits on Paul W. Bryant Drive, Druid City Music Hall on University Boulevard and the Bank of Tuscaloosa plaza on the Black Warrior River.

“We’ve also been at the lot across the street from Hamner Realty,” Spruill said. “We’ve been at Band of Brothers (Brewing Co.) when they invite us.”

Local Roots also will cater private events.

“We’ll come to your home or business and give you a dining experience you may not have had,” Spruill said. “We like rustic-style dining, but we can be as fancy or as low-key as you want.”

He and Burroughs are working with Snow’s Bend Farm in Coker and several other local farms to get in-season produce.

“We’re open to getting products from local farmers, so if you’ve got it, call us,” Spruill said. “We try to work our menu around what’s available.”

A recent menu included seasonal sausage, sauerkraut, mustard and barbecue remoulade sauce on an Italian bun; smoked Duroc pork butt with salsa verde and cumin-cilantro crema on a flour or corn tortilla; chickpea fritters and tabbouleh.

Spruill said it’s still “kind of surreal that I’m doing this” but that he’s pleased with the way business is going.

“The support has been incredible,” he said. “People tell us they care where their food comes from. We’re excited to be open. We’re putting our hearts and souls into this food truck. And I think it’s the right time to be in Tuscaloosa.”

For more information, follow Local Roots on social media channels or call 205-650-4050.

25

foodie news by donna cornelius, the snooty foodie | photos by michelle lepianka carter

bringing home the bacon ... & sausage, eggs & grits “When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last,“what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”

“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh.“What do you say, Piglet?”

“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.

— From “Winnie-the-Pooh” by A.A. Milne, 1926

t

here are two kinds of people (and silly old bears) in this world: those who love breakfast and those who can do without it.

When my brother, Drew, was little, he never went to bed without inquiring, like Pooh, about the breakfast menu. My mother generally cooked a full morning meal: grits, toast, bacon or sausage, with scrambled eggs for the kids and sunny side up eggs for my father.

On the rare days when we had cereal, we all felt very neglected and put-upon. And that’s strange, because now, I don’t start the day without Rice Krispies, Cheerios or cornflakes except when I can do one of my favorite things in the world and go out for breakfast or brunch.

One of the best brunches I ever had was at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C. Other diners took time to take in the inn’s spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I was too busy eyeing the swanky buffet, which was so large it took several rooms to hold all the tables.

Tuscaloosa has some interesting breakfast and brunch options, too, from The Waysider, a longtime favorite, to newer places like R. Davidson Chophouse, The Side by Side, 301 Bistro and The Avenue Pub. So many T-Town eateries are now making a special thing out of brunch that one of my news writing students at the University of Alabama did a story about all the choices.

My immediate family is split between breakfast eaters and nonbreakfast eaters. My husband and older son are in the latter category, although my son makes absolutely fabulous red velvet waffles and Conecuh sausage corndogs, the recipe for which is in this issue. My younger son, who shares with his mom some OCD tendencies when it comes to food, every morning meticulously concocts a dish that started out as a spinach-mushroom omelet and along the way morphed into a frittata.

When someone else feeds me, I’ll try pretty much anything for breakfast — with one exception. Years ago, I was spending the night with a school friend who lived way out in the wilds of Pickens County. We came down to breakfast to find a platter of what I thought was fried chicken. This was before the days of chicken and biscuits, or chicken and waffles, so I thought the dish was a tad strange. It was stranger than I thought, because it turned out to be fried squirrel.

The one morning staple I can’t live without is coffee. (Side note: I thought I knew a lot about coffee until I met Paul Lasseter and talked with him for this issue’s story about Kauloosa Coffee Roasters.) I don’t own a Keurig, because I drink so much of the stuff that I’d spend the equivalent of a house payment on a week’s worth of pods. I drink coffee not just in the morning but also at noon and at night, although I do have a self-imposed cutoff time of 9 p.m. If ever I need a blood transfusion, the technician probably will have to add a dose of caffeine to keep me balanced.

—

Donna

Donna Cornelius is a Tuscaloosa writer whose motto is: So much food, so little time. Contact her to share recipes, restaurant news or anything food-related at donnawcornelius@bellsouth.net. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @blonderavenous.

26

EpicurEan EvEnts July 16-17 sloss fest Birmingham

The first Sloss Music & Arts Festival will spotlight regional craft beers and specialty cocktails and includes food, too. You can eat and drink while you’re listening to more than 30 musical acts on three stages. Those who attend can see iron-pouring demonstrations. The family-friendly festival is at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, 20 32nd St. N., from 12:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. both days.

For more information, visit www. slossfest.com.

July 28

taste of birmingham Birmingham

Some of Birmingham’s best restaurants are featured at this annual Birmingham Boys Choir fundraiser.

Guests get to taste and then vote for their favorite dish. Cahaba Brewing Co. and Ozan Winery will be there, too. The event is at The Club, 1 Robert S. Smith Drive, and starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $100. For more information, visit www.birmingham boyschoir.com.

aug. 12-21

alabama restaurant week

Tuscaloosa and Birmingham annually are among Alabama cities that take part in this 10-day culinary event that offers two-course lunches and two- to three-course dinners at attractive prices. To see if your favorite restaurant — or one you’ve been intending to check out — is participating, visit www.alabama restaurantweek.com.

foodie news

MEAT: IT’S WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST If you start your day with breakfasts that involve whole grains, protein powder, fresh fruit and other commendable stuff, maybe you should stop reading now.

Or maybe not. Even health-conscious folks sometimes have the urge to fall off the nutrition wagon and onto the meat wagon.

These recipes are calling all carnivores to the breakfast table. You maybe wouldn’t want to have them every morning, but there’s no harm in catering to your inner caveperson every once in awhile.

sausaGe on a sticK My son, Kirk Cornelius Jr., first made these treats for our family’s Christmas brunch last year. I don’t think he’ll get away without making them an annual addition to our holiday menu. FYI, he uses made-inAlabama Conecuh sausage.

He also uses chopsticks to hold the sausages. Chopsticks are just the right size.

They don’t have dangerously pointed ends like kebab skewers and are available in Tuscaloosa at Mr. Chen’s Authentic Cooking and Oriental Market, 514 14th St. Ingredients: 1 16-ounce package hickory-smoked sausage 3 cups pancake mix 1 cup yellow cornmeal Sprinkle of cinnamon 1 whole egg, slightly beaten ½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring About 3 cups water Canola oil, for frying Warm maple or pancake syrup, for serving Chopsticks Directions: Cut the sausage links into pieces about

omelet sliders These little breakfast sammies are nice when you have to feed several people and don’t want to stand at the stove flipping omelets like a short-order cook.

Ingredients: Nonstick cooking spray 12 eggs Salt and pepper to taste 1 small onion, diced About ½ cup of diced green, red and yellow bell peppers 4 slices ham 4 slices turkey 7 slices cheese (you can use American, cheddar or any cheese that melts well) 8 slider rolls (or small dinner rolls) Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk eggs until blended, adding a little salt and pepper. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle onion and peppers over eggs.

Bake about 30 minutes or until the eggs are set.

Remove pan from oven and top egg mixture with ham, turkey and cheese -- a single layer of each. Place tops of rolls on cheese layer and brush the rolls with a little melted butter, if desired.

Return to the oven for about 5 minutes.

Use a knife to cut the mixture into 8 pieces. Use a spatula to remove each piece from the pan and place on roll bottoms.

4 inches long. Cook the sausages in a skillet, turning occasionally until they’re done, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine and stir together the pancake mix, cornmeal and cinnamon. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix in 1 cup of water and then add more water, about ½ cup at a time, until the batter is slightly thick.

Heat canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat to about 350 degrees.

(If you don’t have a thermometer, drop in a spare chopstick; if bubbles form on it, the oil is hot enough.)

Insert chopsticks about two-thirds of the way into cooked sausage pieces.

Dip the sausages into the batter, allowing excess batter to drip off. Carefully drop into the hot oil (it’s fine to put the whole thing in) and use tongs or a spoon to make sure the sausage doesn’t hit the bottom of the pan and stick. Flip it to make sure it has browned evenly. Remove from oil when the outside is deep golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

You can cook more than one sausage at a time, but be careful not to crowd the pan.

Drain on paper towels and then serve with your favorite syrup.

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foodie news

Bang-up Bloody Mary Let your imagination run wild to create a Bloody Mary that’s almost a brunch in itself. We added bacon, shrimp, salami, Slim Jims, cubes of cheddar and pepperjack cheese, celery, pickled asparagus spears, olives and tiny peppers. Handy hint: For convenience, and if you’re making just a few drinks, get a carton of The Fresh Market’s marinated shrimp salad from the seafood salad bar and fish out a few shrimp. Then walk over to the olive bar to get some of the store’s yummy olives and peppers You can use a Bloody Mary mix, such as Zing Zang, or try my favorite recipe from Ina Garten, the Food Network’s “Barefoot Contessa.” It’s a little more trouble — OK, a lot more trouble — but well worth it for those who like a really tasty and hearty drink.

Ingredients: 3 stalks celery, including leaves 36 ounces tomato juice 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish 1 teaspoon grated yellow onion 1 lemon, juiced ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce ½ teaspoon celery salt ¼ teaspoon kosher salt 12 dashes of hot sauce, or to taste 1½ cups vodka Directions: Dice the celery into large pieces, including the leaves, and puree in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until finely minced.

In a large pitcher, combine the tomato juice and the rest of the ingredients except the vodka. With the food processor running, pour ¼ of the tomato juice mixture into the food processor through the feed tube. Then pour the contents of the food processor into the pitcher with the remaining tomato juice mixture. Add the vodka and chill until ready to serve over ice.

Makes about 6 drinks.

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foodie news

What’s new, what’s coming

the restaurant menu is expanding again in downtown t-town

H

ere’s some good news and some bad news.

The bad news is that parking is about to get even more difficult in downtown Tuscaloosa. The good news is that once you find a parking spot, you’ll have some exciting new places to eat (and thus can fortify yourself for what could be a two-mile trip back to your car).

Topping the list of “here’s what’s coming” for foodies is AB, a new fast-casual concept from Epiphany owner/chef Tres Jackson and his partner in the venture, Joel Frederick. Frederick will be head chef at AB, which will have global street food.

“We’ll have specials every other day — food from different cultures that’s sourced locally,” Jackson said.

The restaurant will open this summer in the former home of Sweet CeCe’s Frozen Yogurt and Treats at 2217 University Blvd. But AB may not stop there.

“We’re set up to open in multiple markets — Birmingham, Atlanta — that celebrate local merchants and sustainable food,” Jackson said. “This thing is designed to drop in different footprints.”

Frederick said the menu will include fun eats like tacos, banh mi, cold noodle salads and rice balls. Beer — and maybe wine — will be on tap.

“We’ll have some funky stuff, some that’s super authentic,” Frederick said.

Jackson said AB will be open for lunch and dinner and that prices will be in the $8 to $12 range.

The two men said they’re adding garage doors to the front of the building, with a bar overlooking the street.

What does AB stand for? For now, you’ll have to guess. But rest assured that like everything connected with Epiphany, the name is creative and original.

Another downtown eatery that’s already open is Heat Pizza Bar. It’s the first commercial tenant in the city of Tuscaloosa’s Intermodal Facility.

The fast-casual restaurant offers personalsized traditional pizzas like the margherita and supreme as well as specialty pizzas that include Thai chicken and the Aloha, which has ham, pineapple, jalapenos and red onions.

The salad roster includes a wedge with blue

Chorizo tamales with green tomato verde and chipotle crema prepared and served

by AB at the annual West Alabama Food & Wine Festival.

cheese dressing and a spicy kale Cobb salad.

Diners can eat and sip beer, wine, cocktails or soft drinks inside at tables or at the long bar or at outside tables with a view of Government Plaza.

Heat is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. (3 a.m. on Fridays) and open on Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

A popular Birmingham-based coffee company is expected to open a store later this year in Downtown Rock Point, a mixed-use development at the intersection of University Boulevard and

Lurleen Wallace Boulevard South.

This will be O’Henry’s Coffees’ first location outside Birmingham. There are O’Henry’s stores in Homewood, at Brookwood Village, in Highland Park and in the Regions/Harbert Tower in downtown Birmingham.

O’Henry’s roasts its own beans and offers more than 40 types of coffee.

For updates, visit the company’s Facebook page or its website, www.ohenryscoffees.com.

29

foodie news

not just the same old

grind kaulOOsa COFFee rOasTers sTarTeD WiTh searCh FOr gOOD COFFee

F

ancy yourself a coffee expert? Compared with Paul Lasseter, chances are you don’t know beans.

Lasseter, who owns Kauloosa Coffee Roasters, loves talking with fellow coffee enthusiasts about his favorite beverage almost as much as he likes drinking it.

At a recent Homegrown Alabama farmers market on the University of Alabama campus, Lasseter urged a young Colombian woman to try his coffee from her native country. He gave one man tips on cold brewing. And he greeted returning customers like dear old friends.

Lasseter wore a black and white apron with “Roll Tide” emblazoned on it, so there was no mistaking his college allegiance. But he’s an even bigger fan of what he’s selling.

“This coffee thing came out of looking for a good cup of coffee,” Lasseter said.

He buys beans from specialty coffee importers, he said.

“Specialty coffee is different from commercial coffee, like reserve wines are from box wines,” Lasseter said. “With specialty coffees, you have the quality first and then sustainability. Somebody has to decide whether it becomes commercial or can keep climbing the ladder.

“There are probably 20 good specialty importers. I call and ask what they have — what’s organic, fair trade, bird-friendly, shade grown. The best coffees are grown in natural shade and not on plantations or mechanically picked.”

“The beans start out green and have to be roasted,” he said. “I have about six roasters at home, two that I use on a regular basis. I like to roast small batches.”

Once he roasts beans, he keeps them for nine days.

“Then they become samples,” he said.

He sells bags of beans from coffee meccas like Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya and Sumatra at the Homegrown market on Thursdays and at the Tuscaloosa River Market farmers market on Saturdays. He also offers single cups.

There’s a grinder in his booth for those who 30

don’t have one at home.

“Grinding makes coffee release its aroma,” Lasseter said. “Store-bought coffee is already stale by the time it gets on the shelf.”

Nick Boyd, a UA graduate and musician, said he first bought Kauloosa Coffee at the River Market.

“I picked up a package and got home only to realize it was beans, and I don’t have a grinder,” Boyd said. “I called Paul at about 2 o’clock. By 2:15, he was at my doorstep and brought ground beans.

He didn’t even charge me.”

Lasseter, an Etowah County native, said he has lived in Tuscaloosa since 1976.

“I have a petroleum engineering degree from UA,” he said. “I went to work in the coal-bed methane business. I was involved in that in the early years when it was booming. I did that until 1999, when I had several back surgeries.”

Being forced to retire turned out to be “a blessing,” he said.

“I was able to take care of my wife when she had cancer,” he said. “I quit on Dec. 31, 1999, and she died the following month.”

Lasseter said he’s always been “a food guy.”

“Food paid my way through college,” he said. “I worked at McDonald’s. I was opening a store four days a week and in school full time. I worked during breakfast and lunch and then went to class.”

He started selling his coffee at the farmers markets last October and recently added peanut butter and bread to his product list.

“I make breads of all kinds, sweet and savory,” he said. “I buy an organic whole grain and grind it myself. One of my most popular items is bialys, Jewish onion rolls. People stand in line to buy them.”

“My peanut butter is 100 percent peanuts with skins,” he said. “I roast the peanuts and grind them. Nothing is added. It’s not like at the supermarket. Peanut butter that’s ‘all natural’ does have additives.”

TOP AND ABOVE: Paul Lasseter roasts coffee beans that he imports from all over the world.

He also sells baked goods with homemade dough and freshly ground peanut butter.

Kyle Shuey, a UA graduate student, said he first met Lasseter at the River Market.

“My girlfriend and I love his coffee,” Shuey said.

“I’d say the flavor overall is better than we’ve ever gotten from specialty coffees at the grocery store.”

Shuey said he also likes Lasseter’s attention to service.

“My girlfriend wanted a sweeter, more floral flavor, and he got it for her,” he said. “We have yet to take him up on it, but he’s offered to do deliveries.”

In addition to selling at farmers markets, he can deliver his coffee to weddings and other special events.

He said he hopes to expand his business in the future.

“I’m really happy with the way things have taken off,” he said.

For more information, visit www.kauloosacoffee roasters.com or the company’s Facebook page.

foodie news

Juice Couture HealtHy drinks concept comes to t-town T

uscaloosa juice lovers may have a new main squeeze.

Juice Bar, which opened earlier this year in the Shoppes at Legacy Park on McFarland Boulevard, is drawing college students who know what chia seeds and acai berries are and older folks who have not a clue.

For those who don’t know much about healthy drinking, Paige Spiller, Juice Bar’s manager, is happy to help.

“With a lot of adults, I try to help educate them,” Spiller said. “I ask them what they’re hungry for — lunch or just a snack? Our smoothies are heavier and fill you up more than the juices.”

Spiller and her staff are welcoming and approachable, and so are their surroundings.

Juice Bar has a vibe that combines homey and edgy, with wide wooden boards surrounding the counter where you order, a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, a concrete floor and a cushy sofa as well as tables and chairs for customers.

Spiller said that while spinach and kale are the base for many drinks, other ingredients make this combo tastier.

“Sweet Greens is our No. 1 seller,” she said. “It has spinach, kale, parsley, lemon, cucumbers and apples.”

Juices like Orange You Glad (with carrots, naturally) have apples and pineapple to add some sweetness plus lemon, ginger and mint for extra flavor. We Got the Beet (you can figure out its main ingredient) also has apples, ginger, lemon and carrots.

Smoothies range from the Berry Good, with blueberries, bananas, cashews, lemon and coconut milk, to the PB&J with peanut butter, bananas, strawberries, organic apple juice and flax seed.

“That one tastes just like peanut butter and jelly in a glass,” Spiller said.

The Green Smoothie is another “huge” seller, she said. “You don’t really taste the kale and spinach, because it also has lemon, bananas and pineapple.”

Also popular is the Acai Bowl smoothie.

“Acai berries are from Brazil and are a superfood,” Spiller said. “We top it with granola and local honey, which we also sell.”

Health-conscious customers usually add something extra, she said.

“Most people get shots — allergy shots, sniffle stoppers, or Slim and Sassy, which is a metabolic booster,” Spiller said. “You can get an energizer with peppermint and wild orange. Some have garlic.”

Juice Bar also has non-liquid items, like housemade hummus, salad boxes and cups, sprout sandwiches, spring rolls, kale chips and muffins.

“Our V’s Raw Protein Bars are by Vanessa Harmon,” Spiller said. “They’re not pretty, but they’re very tasty.”

Juice Bar also offers cleanses, which are programs where, for a period of time, you consume only fruit and vegetable juices for nutrition.

“You can do a one-day cleanse to a 30-day,” Spiller said. “You choose. You fill out a form, and we have it ready the next day. Juices are in Mason jars, and you get six juices to drink per day. You can do it for weight loss or to reboot your system.”

Spiller, a Tuscaloosa native, has a bachelor’s degree in wellness management from the University of Alabama.

“I’ve been in fitness all my life,” Spiller said. “I was managing group fitness at Fitness One here, but I needed a new adventure.”

She grew up in the retail world with her family’s company, Spiller Furniture, she said.

“I was comfortable with customer service, but I didn’t realize I was stepping into the restaurant business with Juice Bar,” she said.

John and Vui Hunt started Juice Bar in Nashville, Tenn., in 2013. The company has locations in 15 states, according to its website. Other Alabama stores are in Birmingham, Huntsville and Madison.

“Now, this is like my house and having guests come,” Spiller said. “It’s like entertaining all day long.”

Juice Bar is open 7 a.m.7 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. saturdays; and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. sundays. For more inFormation, visit www.ilovejuicebar. com or the tuscaloosa store’s Facebook page.

TOP RIGHT: Cassie Winter juices fruits and vegetables at the Juice Bar. CENTER: An Acai Berry juice drink.

RIGHT: Fresh ingredients to be added to drinks.

31

foodie news

Wines^ to^ go^ PLANNING A PICNIC? WE’LL HELP!

l^

emonade’s all well and good for picnics. But if your day isn’t complete without a good glass of wine, you may want to tuck a bottle or two into your basket.

Scott Jones knows all about wine.

Through his Birmingham-based company, Jones Is Thirsty, he promotes what he calls “no-snobbery wine education.” He likes sharing his love for and knowledge of wine and does so at wine tastings at people’s homes or at corporate functions.

The author, chef and former Southern Living executive editor has been writing and lecturing about wine for more than 10 years.

Here are his recommendations for some great picnic wines — all available locally and usually priced at $15 or less.

Some have screw tops, too, so you won’t need to pack a corkscrew.

WHitE:

• • • •

Acrobat, pinot gris, Oregon Four Vines, naked chardonnay, California Pacific Rim, riesling, Washington Kenwood, sauvignon blanc, California

rOsÉ: • •

Marqués de Cáceres, rosado, Spain Goats Do Roam, rosé, South Africa

rED: • •

La Quercia, montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Italy Flavco, tempranillo, Spain

sparKLinG: • •

Barefoot Bubbly, brut cuvée champagne, California Cristalino, brut rosé, Spain

For more, visit www.jonesisthirsty.com.

A Community Bank built by Alabamians, for

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at home

34

The brides’ room in the main building of The Oaks in Centreville.

at home

Sprucing up

renovation turns bibb county’s oldest house into a grand wedding venue

the oaks by donna cornelius photos by michelle lepianka carter

t

eresa Suttle doesn’t know who Bessie, Della S. and Evalee were, only that their names and a date — Feb. 15, 1892 — are etched on a windowpane in her office.

It’s a little surprising that the glass is intact 124 years after the names were scratched on it, but maybe not so much when you consider that the window is in a house built in 1835. The Oaks in Centreville is the oldest house in Bibb County, said Suttle, who bought it in 2012.

Dr. David R. Boyd and his wife, Teresa Coleman, built the house on 80 acres. After her husband’s death, Teresa married George Wood Howard. The house stayed in the family until the death of the Howards’ great-great-granddaughter, Emily Howard Cooper Cleveland.

Suttle, who grew up in Centreville, said that as a child, she’d always thought the house was beautiful.

“After Emily died, the house didn’t sell for a while and fell into disrepair,” Suttle said. “An attorney and his wife lived here and tried to renovate it. I had moved back to Centreville and had finished building my own house here.”

Driving past the once-grand house on Walnut Street, Suttle saw “for sale by owner” signs posted there.

“I wanted to save the house,” she said. “It had gotten so overgrown.”

Many people in Centreville — even Suttle’s brothers — thought the house was beyond saving, she said.

“Everybody in town was skeptical when they found out I wanted to do this,” she said.

But Suttle did rescue the house and gave it a new purpose.

After 11 months of renovation and construction, she opened The Oaks as a wedding and special event venue.

In addition to restoring and refurbishing the two-story

TOP: bride Amanda blake and her bridesmaids chat in the brides’ room before her wedding.

LEFT: The Oaks has extensive grounds with elegant landscaping that make great backdrops for all events.

PhOTO by heATher DurhAm

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PhOTO by heATher DurhAm

at home

TOP: Amanda and Jacob blake wed inside a chapel on the grounds at The Oaks.

ABOVE: The newlyweds dance underneath the branches of the oak trees.

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house, Suttle built three other structures on the property, which had been reduced to 5 acres at the time she bought it. Behind the house are a chapel, conservatory and barn. The four buildings surround a courtyard shaded by some of the trees that gave the house its name.

“I didn’t make up the name ‘The Oaks,’ ” Suttle said. “It’s in the history of the house, which I got from the previous owners.”

The history was written by Emily Cleveland, who was a teacher in Centreville.

The account says the house was built by slaves with hand-hewn heart pine. It also says that after a “terrible storm” damaged the house in 1880, the front was rebuilt.

“Porches upstairs and downstairs were added,” Cleveland wrote. “The porches extended across the front of the house. This style was called ‘Show Boat,’ because it resembled the showboats on the river. It was a popular front for houses at this time.”

In 1940, according to Cleveland’s history, she and her husband added a “Mount Vernon front porch. Tall columns and a balcony upstairs were featured.”

When it was Suttle’s turn to renovate the house, contractor Anthony Wolfe, who has since died, and carpenter Oscar Walker helped, she said.

“The oldest section of the house is actually the best-preserved,” Suttle said.

Those who have weddings and other events are free to use the main house, and Suttle has her office there. In addition to the window with its mysterious names, the room has an old cabinet with cubbyholes.

“My grandfather was a game warden and had turkey feet and feathers displayed in this cabinet,” Suttle said. “It was in my cousin’s basement and came from the old post office in Centreville. I try to have something from the town in each room of the house.”

The kitchen isn’t actually used; caterers set up in a workspace in the conservatory.

“It’s just for looks,” Suttle said. “The addition with the kitchen was probably made in the 1940s or 1950s. The floor is old Chicago brick, which I put in. The

at home RIGHT: Wedding guests talk in the courtyard, which features dangling lanterns and a fountain.

CENER: The grand entryway in the main house at The Oaks.

BOTTOM: A wedding chapel was added to the grounds by Suttle.

PhOTO by heATher DurhAm

wooden trim on the stove hood is from a cotton gin that was in town.”

The dining room, however, does have a practical purpose.

“Once the reception starts, the bride and groom are on their feet greeting and talking to people,” Suttle said. “They often come in here so they can sit down and eat.”

The house’s second level is for the wedding party.

The bride’s room has a crystal chandelier, a silk-covered rope for hanging the wedding gown and a dressing table with a lacy skirt.

“I wanted this to be very romantic,” Suttle said.

The upstairs landing opens onto a balcony where brides can stand to toss their bouquets. Would-be bouquet catchers and other guests stand in the front yard, which in the springtime is bright with azalea blossoms.

Also on the second floor are two rooms for the mothers of the bride and groom.

“When we were doing electrical work, the workers found a beam from a barn that was old in 1835, when they built the house,” Suttle said. “It was inside the walls between these two rooms.”

From the upstairs is access to a porch that overlooks the backyard. A walkway leads to the groom’s room, which is over a former garage that’s now Suttle’s prop room. There’s a pingpong table, old lockers from Bibb County High School and an elderly piano that Suttle made into a desk.

One lamp is made from an old parking meter and another from a gear. A flat-screen TV is always on when weddings are held on college football Saturdays, Suttle said.

“The tin insets in the ceiling are from a toy factory that was here when I was a kid,” she said.

The factory, N.D. Cass Co., which once made wooden toys and furniture, also was the source for the wooden floors in the chapel.

“I wasn’t going to have a chapel,” Suttle said. “But there was a church on my cousin’s property in Perry County that I just loved. We went to Lowndesboro and saw all these types of little churches, and we stopped and took pictures.”

She measured the Perry County church so she could build her chapel with the same dimensions and found stained-glass windows at Scott Antique Markets in Atlanta.

“We have 144 chairs plus six pews and can add more seating,” Suttle said. “I’ve had 400 people at a wedding here. We can do a video feed out into the courtyard. And there’s a bell you can ring after the couple is pronounced husband and wife.”

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37

at home CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: The groom’s room at The Oaks is decorated in a comfortably rustic style, with a pingpong table and vintage accents. A faux vintage sign hangs in the room.

An old photograph shows the main house in the late 1800s. An old piano has been converted into a desk in the room.

In the center of the courtyard, where lanterns hang from oak and magnolia trees, is a large fountain with an urn on top. Suttle lights a fire in the urn for nighttime events.

“I wanted a Williamsburg feel with the paths through the courtyard,” she said. “They’re lined with red rock from Alabama.”

38

GW Landscaping in Tuscaloosa gave new life to the courtyard and gardens.

“I wanted traditional Southern plants, and they ran with it,” Suttle said.

Suttle’s favorite addition may be the conservatory.

“I love conservatories,” she said. “I even have books about them. Mine is loosely based on the Harvard Faculty Club conservatory.”

The gallery-style building has brick floors, chandeliers, archways between columns and interior mirrored French doors that hide storage and work areas.

“We do food prep here and have a place for the reception if it rains,” Suttle said. “There’s a work kitchen for caterers. They can drive up directly behind the building to load and unload.”

The back of the conservatory’s bar was once in a Centreville drugstore, she said.

“I had seen it in an antique store in Northport and remembered it, and it was still there when I went back to buy it,” Suttle said. “I think this was meant to be.”

Between the conservatory and barn is an outdoor dance floor with an elevated platform for a band or DJ. It can also be used for wedding ceremonies, Suttle said.

In the barn, whiskey barrels are topped with old doors to create bars, and a chandelier has strands of rope instead of beads.

at home WHERE: The Oaks is aT 430 WalnuT sT. in CenTreville. CALL: 205-225-0044,

PhOTO by heATher DurhAm

visit WWW.TheOaksaTCenTreville.COm Or CheCk OuT The Oaks’ FaCebOOk page.

ABOVE: Names etched in the glass on a window date back to the 1800’s.

TOP: Tables decorated with candlelight and flowers reflected by a wall of French doors in the reception hall at The Oaks.

LEFT: A barn on the property offers a rustic space for receptions.

TOP LEFT: A cubby organizer from the Centreville Post Office in her office at The Oaks.

“We set up bars and photo booths here and also can have rehearsal dinners, extra seating and a place for dancing if it’s raining,” Suttle said.

She said The Oaks is booked almost every weekend during the spring and early summer.

“August has a bit of a lull, and then the pace quickens again in the fall,” she said.

Those who book a wedding get eight hours on the day of the event and two hours the day before but can add extra time, Suttle said.

“On wedding days, the bride arrives to get her hair and makeup done,” she said. “Florists, photographers, musicians and caterers arrive and then the guests. It’s a production every weekend. I’m here for questions and for troubleshooting.”

One of the most memorable weddings at The Oaks had an international flavor.

“I had one couple from Washington, D.C.,” Suttle said. “She was originally from Birmingham, and he was Chinese. We had a Chinese tea ceremony on the porch.”

She said other brides and grooms have come from Louisiana, New York City and Baltimore.

“Most people stay in Tuscaloosa,” Suttle said. “It’s only 45 minutes to Hoover. Some hire buses to transport guests to and from Centreville.

“It’s a really lovely place to have a wedding. You park once, and everything’s right here.

People will say, ‘Oh my gosh — we can’t believe this is in Centreville.’ ” Emily Cleveland’s history of the house ends with: “What does the future hold for The Oaks?

Only time will be able to answer that question.”

Suttle said she sometimes wonders what Cleveland would think about the current version of The Oaks.

“She taught at Bibb County High School,” she said. “I didn’t have her as a teacher, but most people who knew her think she’d be thrilled.”

39

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art

LEFT: A work-in-progress sign at Metal & Lights in Brent.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Chris Freeman, founder and owner of Metal & Lights, removes a piece of metal from an automated cutting torch in his shop.

42

art

let there be

Metal & lights in brent is illuMinating businesses in tuscaloosa + all across the country

Light

by RobeRt “Roots” WoodRuff photos by gaRy cosby jR.

h

ere’s some irony for you.

If you live in the West Alabama area, chances are you’ve seen Metal & Lights’ work and not even known it — like the massive chandelier that hangs in The Avenue Pub in Tuscaloosa or the sign for the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, also in Tuscaloosa.

If you’re a country music fan, or just a fan of awards shows, you probably saw the 8-foothigh “CMA” letters that Metal & Lights created for the Country Music Association Awards’ television ads that were broadcast nearly nonstop leading up to the show.

Or, if you’ve been to see Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour, you may have seen the 8-foot-by8-foot wall by Metal & Lights that is part of the tour’s traveling set.

Yet if you’re trying to find the Metal & Lights building on Main Street in tiny Brent, you’re likely to drive right past it.

That’s because the company that has created those custom marquee and signage pieces for the CMAs and Madonna, as well as the likes of Billy Joel and John Legend, doesn’t have a sign of its own outside its headquarters.

“We’ve got all the pieces cut, we just haven’t had time to put it together,” owner and chief designer Chris Freeman said with a laugh.

No sign has been no problem for the young company, largely because while the shop in

>> 43

art Brent is where everything is created and shipped from, the Metal & Lights storefront and showroom is completely digital. In addition to local sales, in their earliest days Chris and his wife and business partner, Jessica, sold their wares on Etsy.com, an e-commerce marketplace where people around the world connect to buy and sell unique goods.

Metal & Lights has since expanded its online reach to include a storefront on Amazon.com and eBay as well as its own website, www. metalandlights.com, but it was Etsy that led to the pride of Brent, Ala., becoming the toast of New York City.

Kerri Silvestri, the creative director for OTR Collective, an event design and production house based in New York, was perusing Etsy, looking for a piece for an event. She came across the Freemans’ page, which sparked an email exchange, which led to a phone call, which led to a working relationship that has exponentially grown Metal & Lights’ reach.

During one of those first phone calls, Chris Freeman became Silvestri’s go-to guy, as in “I got a guy for that.” She had been on a call with another vendor moments before who had just told her he wouldn’t be able to come through on some copper-topped tables she needed in a month.

“I was calling about another job, but I decided to ask Chris about the tables and his answer was, ‘Kerri, if it’s made out of metal, I can make it,’ and that was the start of our relationship,” Silvestri said. “I’ve never met him, but we truly have this amazing working relationship. He

ABOVE: Zach Fondren crimps a wire connector as he wires up a string of lights for a new sign.

RIGHT: Chris Freeman is framed by one of the signs he is creating in his shop.

44

art consistently delivers these amazing custom designs. I share him with everyone I know because I want him to succeed. Here’s a guy who started out in the family sheet metal business who said, ‘Let’s do more with this, let’s get creative,’ and it’s awesome.”

Creativity and eagerness aren’t what get you to the top of the heap in New York, though.

“My clients aren’t people who just want a $10 letter for their daughter’s birthday party,” Silvestri said. “They are very high-profile people who really expect perfection on high-level concepts and designs, and he gets that and he delivers; he totally delivers.”

Jobs for Silvestri include creating an old-fashioned-style New York street lamp for a Billy Joel after-party and a sign that sat on John Legend’s piano. It also led to the piece that travels with Madonna’s tour that Silvestri described as “breathtaking, with insane craftsmanship.”

Jobs like those led to Metal & Lights’ name starting to spread from New York to Los Angeles and beyond, which led to the shop’s biggest order, both in terms of exposure and sheer size — the CMA letters, which were 8 feet high and combined to go 20-plus feet across.

That’s a far cry from his first project.

“I did some artwork for a girl’s wedding,” Chris Freeman said. “She had seen some lighted letters she liked, and I told her we should be able to do that. I just got to tinkering around with it and it clicked. I still love doing things like that for people’s weddings. It’s such an important day

Zach Fondren works on a new project at the shop.

>>

45

art

LEFT: Chris Freeman carries a piece of newly cut metal for a sign at his shop in Brent.

BELOW: Metal & Lights has clients all over the country, many at high profile places and events.

for them, and to know I had something there, it’s pretty special.”

That favor led to other requests and, pretty soon, he and Jessica were running a business out of their basement.

The success that followed led Jessica to give up her job as a radiology nurse in order to provide the structure for what would become Metal & Lights, taking orders, setting up the materials so that when Chris got off work at Freeman Sheet Metal and Roofing, where he was a junior partner, he could come in and start filling orders.

For Chris, who had been working with metal since he was allowed to be in a shop, it was a continuation of what he’d been doing almost all his life. For Jessica, it was a whole new experience.

“I had no experience in this whatsoever, it’s just something I kind of had to learn as we went along,” she said.

The Freemans’ three children — James Thomas, John Michael and Anna — all under the age of 10, go to school just down the street from the shop with no sign and even have their own little nook in the building.

“Having the business has really allowed us to do more with our children, to spend more time with them and really be more involved, more than we were able to when we were working 8-5,” Jessica Freeman said.

The business that started in the basement has expanded to the point that they employ two more people full time and another part time, but it won’t get much bigger. Chris wants to maintain that personal touch that ensures the quality that Metal & Lights has become known for coast-to-coast.

“I’m proud of the product that we’re putting out,” he said. “I know it’s going to last because I’ve been around it, and I know what I’m making and sending out is going to last.”

46

And if one, or all, of the Freeman children want to go into the family business at some point?

“I hope they do, maybe one day,” Chris Freeman said. “I definitely want to teach them at least what I know. But in the end, I want them to do something that makes them happy. That’s all you can do.”

And you don’t need a sign to see the value of that.

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cover story

on air with

Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy is now a college football analyst for SEC Nation on ESPN’s SEC Network.

Greg

McElroy the former alabama quarterback keeps his head in the game as an sec network college football analyst by donna cornelius photos by michelle lepianka carter 48

T

he field general who led his team to a national championship still commands attention on his home turf.

Late on a Thursday afternoon in April, the University of Alabama campus was relatively quiet — even at the control center of UA sports. In the lobby of the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility, a few people in crimson and white shirts went in and out, and a deliveryman brought in a package. A woman was chatting with the staff member manning the front desk when a guy hurrying up the building’s front steps caught her attention.

“Do you see who’s coming in?” the woman asked.

“It’s Greg McElroy.”

G-Mac was back, and it was one of his favorite places.

The former Tide quarterback grew up in Los Angeles and Dallas. He and his wife, Meredith, live in Charlotte, N.C., headquarters of ESPN’s SEC Network. He’s a college football analyst for the network.

cover story

“I grew up In a locker room” You don’t have to spend much time around McElroy to guess that his parents, Jami and Greg Sr., must be very proud of him — and not just for his athletic accomplishments.

“We have a close family,” McElroy said. “My

dad is my best buddy.

And my mom is the best mom in the world.”

The family, which includes McElroy’s younger sister, Blair, lived in Los Angeles until moving to Texas when McElroy was 10.

“I grew up in a locker room,” he said.

“My dad worked in radio sales and marketing. When (hockey star) Wayne Gretzky was traded to the L.A. Kings, Dad went to them to help bolster their marketing.”

McElroy wasn’t the first college football player in his family. His father played at the University of Hawaii.

“Dad had one way of going to college: athletics,” McElroy said. “He was from a single-parent household.”

Greg Sr. was with the Kings until 1995 and after that worked for the Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, which was “his dream job,” his son said.

“I’m still a die-hard Dodgers fan,” McElroy said. “Dad commuted back and forth to work for them during my junior and senior years in high school. I was getting looks from college scouts, and he didn’t want me to change schools. He

Staff fIlE PhOtOS

But Tuscaloosa has a permanent place in his heart.

“I love coming back to Tuscaloosa,” McElroy said. “It’s probably the most important place in the world to me. I spent the most impactful five years of my life here. The place where I found myself is Tuscaloosa. And I met my wife here.”

He was in town that April day to speak to the Tuscaloosa chapter of the Red Elephant Club, a group of UA football supporters. His job with the SEC Network often brings him back, too.

“If there’s ever an assignment in Tuscaloosa, I come,” he said.

McElroy remembers the first time he visited the UA campus.

“I came to Tuscaloosa on a junior day with my dad,” he said. “I liked Southern culture. I liked places where football was important. If I’m going to put my life into something, I want it to be important to people.”

Any doubts that football and the folks who play it are a tad important in T-Town were put to rest during that visit.

“We ate dinner at Buffalo Phil’s, and this guy was at the bar,” McElroy said. “He asked the waitress who the governor of Alabama was. She didn’t know. He asked her who the Alabama quarterback was. She answered right away: ‘Brodie Croyle.’ ”

TOP LEFT: Greg McElroy (12) is congratulated by Nick Saban in 2009 after winning MVP of the SEC Championship.

TOP RIGHT: McElroy throws a pass during the second half of a game at WilliamsBrice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. on Oct. 9, 2010.

ABOVE: McElroy (12) celebrates a touchdown with teammate Mark Ingram (22) during the first half of the Capital One Bowl against Michigan State on Jan.1, 2011.

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cover story

ABOVE: A fan holds up a sign autographed by Greg McElroy.

took one for the team.”

Greg McElroy Sr. was the Dallas Cowboys’ senior vice president for sales and marketing until 2014. He’s now associate vice president and chief business development officer for Arizona State University’s athletics department.

McElroy said his father was happy to switch from professional to college sports.

“I was here in Tuscaloosa for five years and moved from Tuscaloosa in May 2011,” he said. “My sister got here in July 2011, so Dad was around college sports and college life from 2006 to 2015. He said, ‘I love college. I love being in a college town.’”

His mom recently had a happy experience of her own, he said.

“She was in interior design for a while, but her No. 1 goal is to be a mom,” McElroy said. “She just got a job as a hospital volunteer as a baby cuddler in the (neonatal intensive care unit). She’s very excited.”

While he and his father share a love for sports, he’s more like his mother, he said.

“She’s very, very organized and meticulous, and I’m both,” McElroy said.

“I definitely have my dad’s leadership ability, but he’s the life of the party, and I’m a little more calculated.”

His sister, Blair, is a University of Alabama graduate and now is in graduate school at Arizona State.

“Part of her wants to get into broadcasting, but she has other interests, too,” McElroy said. “She’s a ‘live life to the fullest’ type of person, which I admire. I’m a planner with a method to my madness.”

McElroy said he didn’t know much about Texas when his family moved there.

“If you’d told me I was going to have to ride a horse to school, I’d have believed it,” he said. “I did know people there loved baseball and football.”

McElroy said he was “always one of those guys who, if I tried something, would be pretty good at it. Baseball came naturally.”

2104 University Blvd Tuscaloosa, AL • 205-752-2990 Downtown Next to Taco Mama • locker-rooom.biz 50

cover story

“i made the all-star team in everything — but never football,” mcelroy said. “the light went on during the spring and summer of my sophomore year. it just clicked, and i became a good player.”

So did other sports — except for one.

“I made the all-star team in everything — but never football,” he said. “The light went on during the spring and summer of my sophomore year. It just clicked, and I became a good player.”

ABOVE: Greg McElroy speaks to the media during the fourth day of SEC Media Days on July 16, 2015, in Hoover.

Bama Bound With McElroy at quarterback, Carroll Senior High School in Southlake won the Texas 5A state championship in 2005, and McElroy was named the state’s 5A player of the year.

“My senior year, I decided to commit to Texas Tech and then reevaluate at the end of the year,” he said. “Alabama had been recruiting me all along and, late in the process, they offered.”

Jeff Purinton, UA senior associate assistant athletics director for communications and marketing, said he saw McElroy on almost a daily basis when McElroy became Alabama’s starting quarterback in 2009.

“In media relations, you work with the starting quarterback a lot,” Purinton said. “The quarterback has the most responsibility and is the face of the team.

When you talk to Greg, you realize he’s a sharp guy. He has a dry sense of humor. We had a great relationship from the start.”

McElroy was always on time and always prepared for interviews and press conferences, Purinton said.

“The only thing — sometimes his answers were too long,” Purinton said, smiling.

McElroy also made a strong impression on Ginger Gilmore, UA athletics director of behavioral medicine.

“I met Greg when I first came to the football program from baseball in June 2007,” Gilmore said. “He wasn’t really in the spotlight then. John Parker Wilson

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51

cover story

had the starting position.

“We paid attention to Greg because he had a football brain. We started to notice him on the practice field, too. He won the job because he was so intelligent and developed his athletic ability as well.”

Gilmore said McElroy’s ability to think on his feet was a great asset.

“If a play was botched, he could go to Plan B, Plan C — even Plan D,” she said. “He was tough. He played beyond his abilities, and I say that as a credit to him.

With him, we won championships.”

Most Alabama fans won’t be surprised to learn that the 2009 football season is one of McElroy’s best college memories. The Crimson Tide finished an undefeated season with a 37-21 win over the University of Texas in the BCS National Championship Game. But McElroy said beating the University of Florida 32-13 in the 2009 SEC championship game was even bigger for him and the team.

“Winning the SEC championship was the goal, beating Florida was the goal,” he said. “We didn’t talk about Texas. We talked about beating Florida. The way we beat them — it was so much fun.”

McElroy downplays his role in the lopsided win, which earned him most valuable player honors and includes his memorable sideline run for a crucial first 52

down.

“We all played so well,” he said. “When you put so much time and effort and so many beads of sweat into something — that game was my favorite.”

He said he also liked seeing how people “bought into the program” between 2006 and 2007, when Nick Saban replaced Mike Shula as UA’s head football coach.

“It was a turning of the tide — I hate to use that pun, but it’s true,” McElroy said. “Players began to hold each other accountable. We went from an average, underachieving program to the standard of college football.

It was great to be part of the group who witnessed that.”

McElroy excelled not just on the field but also in the classroom. He was a Rhodes Scholarship finalist and a first-team Academic All-American. He graduated from UA in three years with a bachelor’s degree in business management and earned a master’s in sports management with a 4.0 grade-point average.

The New York Jets picked McElroy in the seventh

ABOVE: McElroy (12) hands the ball off to alabama running back Mark Ingram (22) during the first half of a game at BryantDenny Stadium in 2010.

LEFT: McElroy analyzes the action from the sidelines at a 2010 football game.

TOP LEFT: Greg McElroy celebrates the tide’s win against Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, fla., on Jan 1, 2011. alabama beat Michigan State by a score of 49-7.

cover story round of the 2011 NFL draft. He later went to the Cincinnati Bengals before retiring from professional football in 2013.

“Everybody wants that goal of playing in the NFL,” he said. “But the glamour you think it is — it’s not what you think. I wanted to try, but it was never a huge goal of mine to have a long NFL career.”

Changing direCtion After McElroy finished college, ESPN officials contacted him, he said.

“ESPN said they’d love to have me on board and that they thought I’d enjoy broadcasting,” he said. “But if I hadn’t played in the NFL, I’d always have wondered ‘What if.’ ” When the network called again, he was ready. ESPN had formed the SEC Network and wanted the former Alabama quarterback on board.

“I have not missed (playing) football at all,” McElroy said. “I don’t have to do the physical part. Football is a game of X’s and O’s, of cat and mouse. It’s a mental chess match. There’s no game like it.”

Stephanie Druley, ESPN’s senior vice president of production for its college sports network, hired McElroy.

“We knew Greg from playing in Alabama’s championship run,” Druley said. “We have our eye out for athletes who are smart and who love and are knowledgeable about the game.

“We monitored his progress in the NFL and knew he was interested in TV. We stayed in touch. When he was ready to call it a career, the timing couldn’t have been better with us forming the SEC Network.”

Druley said McElroy’s success at UA “put him on our radar.”

“He’s so knowledgeable, but it doesn’t hurt that he was part of a high-profile program,” she said.

Other of McElroy’s qualities are even more valuable, Druley said.

“His work ethic is so important,” she said. “Sometimes he’ll be ahead of us on things. He might call me and say, ‘What are you doing around this event?’ and I’ll say, ‘Greg, I haven’t even gotten that far yet.’ He’s thirsty for feedback. He is second to none in the way that he wants to get better.”

McElroy also is very organized, Druley said.

“In one of our first meetings, I learned that he loves organizational office supplies and that he loves The Container Store,” she said, laughing.

McElroy’s first assignment with the SEC Network was SEC Media Days in 2014.

“I was a little anxious to be up there,” McElroy said. “People asked, are you going to be able to be critical? But as a player, I’d often try to offer constructive criticism.”

Professionally, he’s been able to put aside his allegiance to his alma mater — so much so that he’s sometimes drawn criticism from die-hard Tide fans.

“The fans care, and I love it,” McElroy said. “But you recognize when parts of the game need work. Players and coaches see the same flaws we see. If Alabama’s struggling to run the fullback in a certain play, the fans have already seen that. If an announcer criticizes something, the fans have already done that, too. But they’ll destroy that announcer.

“I always root for Alabama to win. I always will root for them, but I won’t always be public about my feelings. My obligation is to all football fans.”

One person who thinks McElroy does a good job balancing his heart and his head is Purinton.

“Greg loves Alabama and he’s an Alabama fan, but he’s very fair,” Purinton said. “And he doesn’t come back here and act like he’s king

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cover story

LEFT: Greg McElroy poses for pictures with fans while in Tuscaloosa for Alabama’s game against Tennessee on Oct. 24, 2015.

BELOW AND OPPOSITE PAGE: McElroy talks on a live SEC Network broadcast of SEC Nation before the game.

of the town. He wants to be treated just like the other SEC Network folks — no special treatment.”

McElroy said the best part of his job is getting to experience something he didn’t get to do as a player.

“I love getting on campus, especially in this conference,” he said. “As a player, you don’t get to experience that energy.”

He said he’s had fun seeing fans pack into places like The Junction at Mississippi State University and The Grove at Ole Miss, and he said he gets a kick out of unique game-day features like the University of South Carolina’s “Cockabooses,” old train cars converted to privately owned tailgating vehicles.

“I love what I’m doing,” he said.

Another thing McElroy loves is reading.

“I like a book that will challenge me and make me say, ‘What the heck just happened?’ ” he said. “I like thrillers. I like ‘Life of Pi,’ the ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ books and am now reading ‘Girl on a Train.’ If I really like a book, I’ll finish it in a day.

“I have a good memory for things like movie quotes and trivia. I have Trivial Pursuit, IQ tests and Sporcle on my phone. I can tell you all about “How I Met Your Mother,’ ‘The Office’ and ‘Game of Thrones.’ ” McElroy said he’ll be with ESPN “as long as they’ll have me.”

“I can’t tell you what I’ll be doing 10 years from now,” he said. “But I’ll definitely be involved with football.”

He also may be back in Tuscaloosa more often.

“My wife and I have talked about having a place here on the lake one day,” he said.

Among the many who are always glad to see McElroy back in town is Gilmore. The two have stayed in contact.

“I’ll see him on TV and text him with comments about his clothes,” she said. “He can take a razzing.

“When he’s here, he’ll come to the training room and hang out. It’s always a pleasure to see him come through the doors.”

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summer nights styled by michelle lepianka carter photos by gary cosby, jr.

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good deeds

sweet

Dreams^ crafty ministry gives hope and comfort to children with cancer

68

good deeds

By Kelcey sexton photos By gary cosBy jr.

S^

ewn into each pillowcase that leaves Room 300 of the First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa is a white-and-blue tag that reads, “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8.”

Lining two walls of the room in the Children’s Center of the church is a pair of shelves, stocked with a kaleidoscope of colored and patterned fabric. One holds finished pillowcases, complete with tags, waiting to be washed and packaged; the other houses fabric ready to be matched and stitched together.

On another wall is a large bulletin board featuring photos, thank-you notes and text that says, “Fingerprints don’t fade on the lives we touch.”

Having made more than 2,000 pillowcases, the Sweet Dreams Ministry has touched many lives. The group pieces together and sends pillowcases to children in hospitals who are undergoing cancer treatment in hopes of giving them something to help comfort them during a difficult time.

“It’s just a way we feel like we can help children going through cancer,” said Cathy Dye, a member of Sweet Dreams Ministry.

Her daughter, 20-year-old Michelle Dye, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in June 2005, when she was 9.

It took six weeks to get a diagnosis after Michelle began feeling ill and throwing up.

Cathy said she took Michelle to the doctor at least twice a week to try to figure out what was wrong. Brain tumors often cause balance issues, but Michelle had performed successfully at her ballet recital. Different medications for allergies and indigestion did not fix the problem.

As the sixth week of Michelle’s symptoms approached, she went to a friend’s house to play and swim. Cathy said she got a call from the friend’s mother that day

ABOVE: A bulletin board showcases thank-you notes for the pillowcases at FIrst baptist Church of Tuscaloosa.

OPPOSITE PAGE: From left, Lisa Fitzgerald, michelle Dye and Cathy Dye hold one of the pillowcases they create for kids.

saying that Michelle jumped from the diving board and wouldn’t stop crying or screaming. “You’ve got to come get her,” she said.

They didn’t yet know that Michelle was dealing with pain from pressure building up at the back of her head where a tumor was located.

Cathy rushed her daughter to the doctor’s office. A different doctor was there that day, she said, and he sent them to DCH Regional Medical Center, where a scan revealed Michelle had a brain tumor.

The nurses told them they needed to go straight to Children’s of Alabama hospital in Birmingham, Cathy said, and so they did.

“I didn’t know it was cancer,”

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good deeds

Volunteers with the Sweet Dreams ministry work on new pillowcases at the church.

she said. “I just thought it was a tumor.”

The following Monday, they operated on Michelle. She began chemotherapy and radiation treatments that would last from June 2005 until September 2006.

Michelle’s cancer has not returned since her treatments ended in 2006, and Cathy said she knows God is the one responsible for that.

“Turn to God completely (when these things happen), because that’s what I did,” she said. “I gave it to him from the beginning … There’s nothing you can do about it. You just tell God not to let it hurt her and make her better.”

During Michelle’s radiation and chemotherapy treatments in Birmingham in January 2006, family friend Lisa Fitzgerald made Michelle a turquoise pillowcase with a floral print for her to carry with her during hospital visits.

“My daughter got a sewing machine for Christmas,” Lisa said, “and she made a cute one as a birthday present for a friend who had a January birthday.

So that’s why I just decided to make Michelle a cute one to take with her to

70

the hospital.”

The pillowcase always went with Michelle to Children’s, Cathy said, so Michelle wanted to make one for another girl in the hospital.

“Lisa went back to her Bible study (at First Baptist) and was talking to them about Michelle wanting a pillowcase for the little girl, so it just started as a ministry then,” Cathy said. “They made her one, and then we just started making other pillowcases for other patients. So when Michelle would go up (to Birmingham) for chemo, I would take some with me, and as we saw the children, we would give them a pillowcase.”

The ministry grew and grew from there, Cathy said. Donations fuel the ministry, and they’ve continued creating colorful pillowcases for children in hospitals for 10 years.

“It just grew into a ministry because when (these children) are in the hospital rooms, they’re just

good deeds

(surrounded by) blank walls with nothing,” Cathy said. “They’re laying there, and they don’t feel good, so (they need) something that’s theirs that they can relate to, that they can carry back and forth with them, and you know they’re going to be in bed, so the pillowcases were it.”

Each shipment of pillowcases contains a wide variety of patterns and designs for children to choose from, because members of the ministry discovered early on that “you can’t just pick a pillowcase and give it to them,” Cathy said.

“We met a little girl the first night (we were) in the hospital; she’d just been diagnosed,” she said of the same young girl they wanted to give a pillowcase. “When we saw her, she came in with a little pink smocked dress with a big bow in her hair. Michelle wanted to give her a pillowcase, so Michelle came back and picked out a flowered, girly pillowcase, and we sent it back up (to Children’s of Alabama) for her, and we sent other pillowcases, too, because we were just getting started — and she picked the cowboy boots. She liked the one with the cowboy boots,” she said, laughing.

That’s why a social worker or child life specialist, someone

ABOVE: Marlane Banks irons material to make a pillowcase.

LEFT: Michelle Dye cuts ribbon and prepares to wrap a pillowcase for delivery.

who gets to know the child, is often the one to select several pillowcases for them to pick from, she said. Some of them also contact the ministry when the hospital is running low on types of pillowcases, such as ballet or wildlife ones.

“I remember one we gave to a little, little boy (in the hospital named Parker). He picked one that had frogs on it and kept trying to pick the frogs off,” Michelle said with a laugh.

Another memorable instance involved a boy named William from Tuscaloosa who also was receiving treatment for a brain tumor. He declined choosing a pillowcase when asked, but learning from William’s father that he was an Alabama fan gave Lisa an idea.

Cathy and Michelle returned to the hospital with an Alabama-themed pillowcase, just for William, and while they weren’t able to give it to him personally, Cathy said they could hear his excited yells from outside his room. She said they later learned that

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good deeds

RIGHT: Lisa FItzgerald, left, michelle Dye and Cathy Dye at First baptist Church, where they work on their ministry.

William passed away a few months after receiving the pillowcase and that it was buried with him.

“So we know how much it means to the kids,” Cathy said tearfully.

Each pillowcase is made up of three different pieces of fabric: a large section to serve as the body and two smaller strips to serve as the outside bands. The fabrics are washed before the matching process begins and after the sections are sewn to create a pillowcase. After that, each pillowcase is meticulously folded by Michelle to fit into its plastic packaging — this packaging is easily wiped clean before being given to children in the hospital.

Michelle, Cathy and Lisa, along with ministry members Nancy Budzius, another cancer survivor, and Marlane Banks, meet up on nights when their schedules allow for them to pick out, rip and pair material to be sewn into pillowcases. They often get together and work into the night, matching, talking and laughing.

“We do it because we know it means something to the children,” Cathy said. “We enjoy getting together, but then we know the end result is going to be something good for the children.”

The women are invested in making sure time is put into pairing pieces of fabric — no pillowcase is just “thrown together,” Cathy said. Sometimes this means taking a vote as to what colors look best with what fabric, and if one pillowcase looks too bold or busy, someone will speak up.

“I wouldn’t want to lay my head on that,” Michelle said one night, judging a swatch of patterned fabric and swapping it for something different.

They make sure pillowcases with directional patterns flow the same way throughout. If they don’t and, for instance, a flock of birds is flying upside down, the pillowcase is taken apart, and the process begins again.

When the Sweet Dreams Ministry was in its beginnings, matching and sewing were done by the same people — often during gatherings they called “pillow parties” — but the ministry now has a system where the pillowcases are made in stages, which works best with everyone’s schedules.

72

Most weeks, they’re able to make about 25 from start to finish.

Originally, pillowcases were sent just to Children’s, but Sweet Dreams Ministry now sends pillowcases to children’s hospitals in areas such as Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas and Nashville, Tenn.

Marlane said she’d like to see the group ship pillowcases to every state. Cathy agreed, saying donations would help make it possible to reach that many children in hospitals wherever they can.

“Anybody that knows what we’re doing, if they can help, they want to,” she said, adding that monetary donations to the ministry are the most convenient since they like to make a day of purchasing bundles of fabric during local sales. They also accept volunteers who come Wednesday afternoons to help with creating the pillowcases.

Cathy said her perspective on life has changed since Michelle’s successful treatment and the start of Sweet Dreams Ministry.

“I know how special life is now, and now I know what it means to try and give these kids a little something,” she said, “because we can’t heal them, but we can go back and try to give them something while they’re going through treatment.”

For more information about the ministry, visit www.first tuscaloosa.org/sweet dreamsbro15.pdf.

6

INTRIGUING

PEOPLE

Meet six folks who make a difference in our communities

NIKKI WARRENBURTON

Northport Postmaster, U.S. Postal Service

STEVE DAVIS

Historian, Alabama Department of Mental Health

beau Gunter

Firefighter, Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service

THOMAS DAVIS JR.

Singing finalist, Apollo Theater Amateur Night

JEFF POWELL

Manager, Tuscaloosa Regional Airport

TAMMY JACKSON MONTGOMERY Sumter County District Court Judge

73

6 intriguing people

No.1

Nikki WarrenBurton northport postmaster, u.s. postal service by lydia seabol avant photo by michelle lepianka carter

W

orking for the U.S. Postal Service is a family business of sorts for Northport Postmaster Nikki Warren-Burton. When her father retired from the military, he worked as a mail carrier. A part-time stint at the Tuscaloosa Post Office in college led to a full-time career for Warren-Burton. Her husband is a dispatch clerk, and their 21-year-old son is a mail carrier.

Warren-Burton, who was named Northport’s postmaster last year, is the first African-American female postmaster for the city.

But, despite the family ties to the USPS, it’s 74

not a career path Warren-Burton always strived for. Instead, it’s something she discovered she enjoyed.

“I was going to school at the University of Alabama for aerospace engineering and was taking a semester break and started working as a temp at the Post Office and ended up staying,” WarrenBurton said.

She spent 13 years as a mail carrier in Tuscaloosa before going into management full time.

Before her current post, she served as a manager in Tuscaloosa, Trussville, Hueytown, West Blocton and Pleasant Grove.

As a graduate of Tuscaloosa County High School who considers Northport her hometown, being named the city’s first female postmaster was especially meaningful, she said. Although she

didn’t know early on that her career would take the path it did, serving as a postmaster was a goal from her early mail carrier days, she said. Now, she has many goals in her new position.

“It’s a pretty exciting opportunity,” WarrenBurton said. “It gives me the opportunity to make some changes, which I’ve started doing, and getting the post office more out in the forefront of the Northport community.”

Warren-Burton said some of her goals are increasing community involvement, working with area businesses as well as the Northport municipal government, getting to know the mayor and the City Council, and working to meet the city’s needs.

“I want to see if there is anything that the city and I can collaborate on together, something that

“I love InspIrIng change for my peers or my employees, and even my customers. I lIke beIng able to do somethIng that other people have not been able to do, or thought about doIng.” I can help them on for the good of that community,” Warren-Burton said.

Northport is rapidly growing, she said, which impacts the post office. Although people send fewer letters than they used to, the volume of packages processed at the Northport Post Office is up 40 percent from the same time last year, Warren-Burton said. The result: The Northport Post Office is doing well and has actually outgrown its current building.

“As far as ordering, it seems people don’t have time to go to the stores anymore, and the post office is cheaper delivery than FedEx or UPS,” she said.

Warren-Burton wants to reach out to local USPS customers by stepping out of the box — and out of her office. This past April, the Northport Post Office offered punch and cookies to customers filing their taxes on deadline. Burton said she makes it a point to frequent the post office lobby, answering questions or even helping a customer tape a package to send. “(The customers) love that; they appreciate that I come out in the lobby and help them,” Warren-Burton said.

Sometimes, the simplest of gestures can go a long way, she said.

“I’m very hands-on, and I appreciate that they respect me as much as they do,” Warren-Burton said.

name: Nikki WarrenBurton

to go into management full time.

age: 40

something most people don’t know about me: I enjoy making a difference.

With my upward mobility (in my career), I know I can accomplish things and help mentor other employees, new supervisors or people thinking about becoming supervisors.

personal: Husband, Michael Burton; daughter, Mikayla, 13; son, Nicholas, 21, grandson, Cameron, 2½; and two adopted daughters, Simoen Warren, 23, and Latisha Watson, 30. hometown: Northport the people who have influenced my life: My mentor in the postal service is Willie Traywick, who is now postmaster in Houston, Texas; I worked under him at the Tuscaloosa Post Office. He was crucial in encouraging me to move ahead. I was acting supervisor off and on for about 10 years; he convinced me

my proudest achievement: Raising my children. I think they turned out pretty good! why i do what i do: I love inspiring change for my peers or my employees, and even my customers. I like being able to do something that other people have not been able to do, or thought about doing.

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6 intriguing people

no.2

Steve Davis historian, alabama department of mental health

by ed enoch photo by michelle lepianka carter

T

alk with historian Steve Davis about his career with the Alabama Department of Mental Health and he will tell you his decades in human resources were simply a way to making a living.

“I never thought being the personnel specialist was part of me. This is part of me,” the 64-yearold said of his work documenting the history of Bryce Hospital and other state facilities. “It may be harder to give up than I think it will be.”

The time when he has to give up the job of historian and his effort to preserve the history of Bryce will inevitably come, but Davis plans to work as long as it brings him joy and he feels he is making a difference.

“I would like to see the museum in the Bryce Main (building) come to existence,” he said.

Davis was recognized as the Bryce Hospital historian long before it officially became his job.

With a Southern voice meant for storytelling, he has shared the institution’s history since the late 76

1970s with schoolchildren, civic clubs or the curious who called.

Davis formally became the Department of Mental Health’s historian eight years ago as the state prepared to sell the historic Bryce property to the University of Alabama.

“It has sort of been my dream job since then.

But I just kind of fell into it,” Davis said.

As a new college graduate, Davis came to Bryce as a gate guard when another job fell through. He began to explore the history of the hospital during his time as public relations director from 1977-79, a job that included giving tours of the building.

Davis, uneasy with the intrusiveness of the ward tours, discovered visitors were more interested in the history than walking through the hospital. Davis selected artifacts and records and set up a display in the parlor of the superintendent’s house on the lawn.

“So I did as much about history as I could, both to educate those students but also to keep them out of the treatment plans of patients and/or their living spaces,” Davis said.

Davis transferred to human resources in late 1979 but remained the go-to historian and tour

guide for anyone who wanted to talk about the history of Bryce.

The preservation of Bryce’s historical records and artifacts faced the same challenges that bedeviled the service life of the institution: the persistent pressure for more space and money.

Furniture, portraits and papers were sometimes lost, misplaced or thrown away.

“The reality is, you can’t keep everything …

Almost always, the bottom line is money,” Davis said.

Davis recalled recovering boxes of papers that belonged to the third superintendent of the hospital, J.S. Tarwater, from a truck bound for the dump.

At one time, every grave in the hospital cemeteries was marked, Davis said. But through neglect, displacement and theft, many of the markers went missing.

“We know there are at least 3,000 that are unmarked. I don’t mean marked by a number, I mean unmarked … We only know it is there because of ground-penetrating radar,” Davis said.

The Department of Mental Health, which had flirted with the idea of selling the hospital grounds

name: Steve Davis age: 64 personal: Wife, Cindy Davis; sons, Jeremy and Patrick; daughter, Paige. hometown: Tuscaloosa. the people who have influenced my life: Several people in my family; we are an extremely close extended family. My grandfather taught me to respect authority and chain of command but also that every human being was worthy of respect and honor. my proudest achievement: I hope I have been a good grandson, son, husband and father. I am extremely proud of being a small part of the preservation project of the old Bryce campus, records and cemeteries as well as ongoing projects for Partlow records and the Searcy Hospital grounds and records.

why i do what i do: I truly believe in the mantras “The further backward you can look, the further forward you can look” and “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I really believe that presenting and preserving the history of people with mental illness helps to reduce the stigma often associated with it. In an age when there is more information available than at any other time, we are losing things that can never be replaced in the state, national and world arena. That is one of the tragedies of our era. something most people don’t know about me: I caught a touchdown pass from Joe Namath in a touch football game when I was 12, mowed Coach Paul W. Bryant’s yard for 10 years and danced very poorly with a Rockette at Radio Music Hall.

to the university as far back as the 1960s, finally sold the property in 2010, Davis said. The agreement came with the conditions that the historic dome of the main building and certain artifacts be preserved and space be set aside for the museum.

Davis enjoys the idea of the iconic white dome being preserved for the future, but saving the brick and mortar of the place is not his ultimate goal.

The records and buildings are useful artifacts to tell the story of Bryce’s human legacy. Davis, invoking the maxim that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, wants to ensure the people of Bryce are not forgotten.

With the stigmas attached to mental illness as well as privacy laws, Davis argues the treatment history of the mentally ill has often been neglected.

Davis recalled the first grave he helped locate. The patient’s relatives, six women in a pickup truck from the Gadsden area, came in search of their greatgrandmother.

“They cried, they hugged me, they prayed, they jumped up and down,” Davis said. “I thought, you know, they will never know this woman, but they kind of lifted her up as a human being. She wasn’t just a person who was put away at Bryce and forgotten. Even after 80 years, I think it was, buried there, she at least had her ceremony that day. Somebody recognized her. That is just a great part.”

Davis said he gets at least a call a day about patient records, the history of the building or life at the hospital.

“One thing I really wanted to do with this job was try to use the history lessons to dispel some of the stigma of people who have mental illness,” he said.

Davis almost left Bryce in the early 1980s. As a human resources manager, Davis went to nearby Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility in 1982 to handle the hiring of the new staff. The new posting at Taylor Hardin lasted for only about six months.

“The first day I was over there, I thought, ‘All this stuff I learned about the history of Bryce is useless,’” Davis said. “I just knew right then I didn’t want to leave. I came back to my old position at Bryce because I was still able to do tours and things over here. At that point and time, I realized this was something special to me, and I was lucky.”

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6 intriguing people

No.3

Beau Gunter firefighter, tuscaloosa fire and rescue service by kelcey sexton photo by michelle lepianka carter

“G

o, Daddy, go!”

Beau Gunter could hear his daughter’s voice through his helmet, echoing through the nearby speakers.

She cheered into the announcer’s microphone as her father edged closer to the finish line of the 2015 Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge obstacle course.

Gunter, a firefighter with the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service, dragged a 175-pound rescue 78

dummy, meant to simulate an incapacitated person, back 100 feet and over the finish line, winning the Montgomery competition’s individual race and setting a new personal best: 1 minute and 23 seconds.

A little more than a minute is all it took to scale the stairs of a six-story tower while carrying a 55-pound high-rise pack. He then had to drop the pack, hoist a 55-pound doughnut roll (a rolled-up fire hose) to the top of the tower, drop it and run back down the steps, hitting each one with his feet. From there, competitors must drive back a machine weighing 220 pounds with a sledgehammer, simulating breaking down a door; pick up a charged hose line and fire water at a

target. Finally, participants have to pull a 175- to 180-pound dummy back 100 feet across the finish line. All of this is accomplished while wearing full firefighting gear.

The obstacle course measures firefighters’ physical fitness, Gunter said. Now in its 25th year, the combat challenge’s “No. 1 goal is to get firefighter fitness at a higher level.”

It was the highlight of his six years competing and the fastest he’s ever run, he said. The 18-year firefighter said he believes it had a lot to do with his family. His daughter Eden, 8, and wife, Bridget, were there to cheer him to victory from the sidelines.

“It just has been a family thing for me, and it’s

name: Beau H. Gunter age: 38 personal: Wife, Bridget; daughter, Eden, 8; stepson, Nick, 18 hometown: Thomasville people who have influenced my life: My father, Phillip Gunter, and my mother, Ginger Weldy.

My mother has been a big part of my life. My father was the greatest man I’ve ever known. He was the strong backbone, and my mother was the caring, compassionate one. Brea Wiggins, my sister, who just recently got married and had a baby. She’s a very tough young lady. My grandfather, Harold Gunter; my grandmothers, Katharine Gunter, who is a tough older woman, and Gladys Carleton, my mother’s mother, is in her 90s and sharp as a tack.

My stepfather, Ricky Weldy, is another positive influence.

It was tough at first to allow another person to come into my life, but he’s been a blessing to us. something people don’t know about me: I’m very private. I may put up a façade, and I’m a jokester, but in my personal life, I’m very private. I like to stay to myself. I spend so much time out in public, around people, and when I’m not doing that, I want to be by myself. I love to hunt

and spend time in the woods, train and spend time a lot with my daughter. We’re knee-deep in horseback riding lessons right now. I love my family, and I’m a family man. I have one show I like to watch, and that’s “The Walking Dead.” I don’t spend much time watching TV, but if I’m off on a Sunday, we kind of make it an event to watch.

Me and my wife, Bridget, are involved in it, so it’s a Sunday routine sometimes, watching “The Walking Dead” and getting Buffalo wings. my proudest achievement: My daughter, and trying to bring pride and honor to my family and my family’s name. why i do what i do: I think it all stems back to the things I was taught. My mother was a very nurturing person, and I think that bled off into me. It’s incorporated into what I do as a job. I genuinely care about you, what happens to you, the citizen over here, the person over there. I genuinely care what happens, and that’s what we get called for all the time, and I want to help. I have that overbearing need of wanting to help people. My father was a public servant, so the role models that are inherent to you as a child, I think that’s what was burned into my brain, my DNA, to do what I’m doing now.

been a big moment in my life for that to happen, for that to link together,” he said.

Bridget traveled with and supported him as he participated in different competitions nationwide in 2015, 13 in all, leading up to his winning the U.S. Grand National Championship for the combat challenge that year.

Team races are included in addition to individual ones — the sevenmember Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue competitive team annually participates in both types. One event in Albertville in 2009 was the team’s first experience with the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge, and it was one not easily forgotten. “(The first year we did it) crushed us. It was so hard on us,” Gunter said.

“When I got done, I didn’t want anybody to see me in the condition I was in, I was hurting so bad. So I got done and went behind this trailer and got down on my hands and knees. I had one of the guys from Clayton County, Ga., come over there. He patted me on the shoulder and said, ‘Don’t worry, buddy. Next year, it’ll be better,’ and he handed me a Power Bar,” he said, laughing.

Gunter, 38, comes from a family of law enforcement officers in Thomas-

ville, Ala. His grandfather was a deputy sheriff, and both his uncle and his father were Thomasville police officers who were also volunteers for the Thomasville Fire Department.

“I grew up in a fire truck,” Gunter said. “I grew up a lot of times going to Sunday afternoon training meetings with my daddy and going on calls sometimes, and I would sit up in the fire truck. I loved it, but I never thought of having myself a career in fire service.”

Gunter’s professional career has several paths, but all seem to lead him back to his roots. Volunteering at his hometown fire department; joining the student firefighter program at Livingston and working there; going to recruit school at the Alabama Fire College; being certified as a paramedic in Tuscaloosa; going to work for the Madison County Fire Department; returning to work in Tuscaloosa — the destination seems clear.

“People tell you the things you’re born to do, and (this job) found me,” Gunter said. “I’ve got the best job in the world. I’m proud to say I feel that way. Life is good, and finding this sport combat challenge has been a blessing, too.”

It’s given the Tuscaloosa team the chance to travel and meet people across the world, and it gave Gunter the opportunity to go to Abu Dhabi in March to compete for the U.S. in the UAE World Firefighter Challenge, where he placed 13th in the world.

It’s also renewed his spirit with the fire service and given him something to channel his energy into, he said, and he hopes to see the interest in the firefighter combat challenge live on.

“I want to look 20 years from now when I’m an older firefighter and see the younger guys doing this, what we started,” he said. “I want to see them continue with the team. For what it’s given me, I want to see other guys reap the benefit of it, too.”

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no.4

Thomas Davis Jr. singing finalist, apollo theater amateur night

By stephen dethrage photo By gary cosBy jr.

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e good or be gone.

That’s the golden rule at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater, where the cheers of the audience can lift a performer to fame and fortune, and their jeers summon “the Executioner” to boot those deemed unworthy off stage.

After three competitions and three first-place finishes, Tuscaloosa’s Thomas Davis Jr. has to be good one only more time. A Nov. 23 showoff against other Amateur Night winners is all that stands between him and a $10,000 prize and the name recognition that comes with overcoming the crucible of the Apollo, “where stars are born 80

and legends are made.”

Davis, a graduate of Stillman College, made his first trip to the world-renowned theater in Harlem, New York, on Feb. 23, and it went remarkably well. His performance of Sam Cooke’s civil rights anthem “A Change is Gonna Come” earned him a standing ovation, a perfect score and an firstplace finish from the notoriously tough Apollo audience.

Two weeks later, his victory was less assured.

At the “Show Off” Amateur Night, a kind of quarterfinal heat, the crowd still cheered as Davis navigated the notes of the 1964 classic, but the audience was more muted and there was no ovation. When it came time to name a winner, the decibel meter used to gauge the audience’s reaction had Davis tied with a trio of female vocalists.

Another round of vocal voting led to another tie.

Finally, on the third go-around, David edged out the others.

The competition remained close. After spending a couple of months away from New York with his wife, Charakii, and their 2-year-old daughter, Skylar, Davis returned to the Apollo on May 11 for the semifinal “Top Dog” contest. He sang last, following strong performances from EdeeT, a Tokyo-based dance group, and Matt the Violinist, a Bronx native who played electric violin renditions of hip-hop songs.

Once again, the crowd voted with their lungs, and once again, Davis found himself tied for first place, this time with Mathew Silvera, the violinist. Another round of voting, another tie, then a moment of doubt for Davis. Inn the second tiebreaker, Silvera went first, and the crowd gave him an unbeatable score, a perfect 100.

“There’s noT going To be a firsT, second or Third place This Time,” he said. “They’re noT going To have a Tie and give Two people $10,000. i jusT have To go ouT There and win iT.” name: Thomas Davis Jr.

Tyshawn Gardner

age: 25

something most people don’t know about me: I am horrified of roller coasters. I can fly, go on planes, be 20,000 feet in the air, but I cannot stand roller coasters.

hometown: Born and raised in Fort Dodge, Iowa, moved to Emelle, Alabama, at age 10 the people who have influenced my life: Former principal Eric Hines, mother Mary Foy, nephew Demetrius FoyHutchins, friend and agent Kevin Croom, Plum Grove Baptist Church pastor

my proudest achievement: Receiving a bachelor’s degree in history from Stillman College. why i do what i do: Singing is my purpose, that’s my passion. If I don’t sing, I die. It literally keeps me alive.

As Davis began to prepare to accept a second-place finish and congratulate Silvera, the audience did the unprecedented. Their applause swelled and faded, and a moment passed as the decibel meter processed the din. Davis’ score appeared — another 100. He and Silvera were tied again.

The emcee, a comedian called Capone, stepped in to break the deadlock.

For the first time in the history of Apollo’s Amateur Night, he declared a tie for first place, crowning Davis and Silvera the winners of the evening.

“God is able, even when you’re up against great talent, he is still able,” Davis said. “(That) night reminded me of that. If you trust in him, he is able to make what seems to be impossible possible.”

Davis, a Fort Dodge, Iowa, native who moved to Emelle in 2000, can catch his breath for a while. His final competition at the Apollo, the “Super Top Dog” Amateur Night, is in November, leaving him plenty of time to prepare and pursue other ventures, including recording a live show in Tuscaloosa this summer.

Emory Marshall, the CEO of the RITE Marketing Group, said Davis would be at First Wesleyan Church on McFarland Boulevard on July 30 to perform several original songs that will be recorded and compiled into a DVD. When November does come, Davis’ competition will be tougher than ever.

Every Super Top Dog contestant has placed first, second or third in at least three previous Amateur Night elimination rounds.

Davis said he’s ready to take the stage and be good or be gone.

“There’s not going to be a first, second or third place this time,” he said.

“They’re not going to have a tie and give two people $10,000. I just have to go out there and win it.”

NAAC61942

personal: Wife, Charakii Davis; daughter, Skylar, 2

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6 intriguing people

no.5

Jeff Powell manager, tuscaloosa regional airport By lydia seaBol avant photo By gary cosBy jr.

G

rowing up next to a small airport in Haleyville, Jeff Powell knew from an early age that he wanted to work in aviation. Inspired by a friend who worked for Delta Airlines, Powell earned his pilot’s license at Auburn University. But he said he knew early on that he wanted to do something different: He wanted to work in airport administration.

“I finished with my pilot’s license but knew that wasn’t the career for me,” Powell said. “It was fun as a hobby, but not what I was really interested in. I wanted to apply aviation to a community services role.”

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Powell transferred to the University of Alabama and graduated in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in commerce and administration.

After some postgraduate work in aviation, he worked for a year at Portsmouth International Airport in New Hampshire before taking a job at Nashville International Airport, where he worked for seven years. During that time he also graduated with a master’s in public administration from the University of Nebraska.

Last year, he got an opportunity he couldn’t turn down: the chance to come back home. He was hired as airport manager at the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport in August.

It’s rare in Powell’s line of work to be able to have a career close to your hometown or even in your home state, he said. Part of the appeal of moving back to Tuscaloosa was being back

in Alabama, close to family and closer to Powell’s hometown, which is about an hour and a half north of Tuscaloosa.

“This is home,” Powell said. “It was one of the big decision factors of coming back here.

Our son is almost 2 years old, and we were looking at where to raise him. This was an ideal spot to come back.”

Although the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport is much smaller than the Nashville International Airport, each has its similarities, Powell said.

“I think airports all face the same problems.

They just have different ways and different resources to address them,” Powell said. “(Nashville’s) big focus is air service, while we are general aviation, but we are still held by the same standards by the FAA and the state.”

As part of Powell’s new role, he oversees the

“I chose the professIon In thIs fIeld, because I wanted to take my passIon of avIatIon wIth communIty servIce. beIng able to do thIs In a communIty I consIder home Is rare In thIs Industry.” operation, maintenance, construction and growth of the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport and examines its current and future needs. In 2015, the airport had more than 50,000 takeoffs and landings. On average, the airport has about 140 “operations” — either a takeoff or a landing — each day.

“We focus on the current and future needs of the airport, whether that is today, next week or month, out to 20 to 30 years,” Powell said.

Powell is still examining the airport’s needs and making a plan for the future.

“I think every airport has a wish list,” Powell said. “I’ve been here since August, and I’m still getting caught up here today to see what is best for the airport. The key is what is best for the city of Tuscaloosa.”

Powell said he would love to see commercial airline service once again, improved facilities and more service to meet growing commercial and industrial needs in the area.

“I would like to make sure that when people come to the airport, we want it to be a great experience,” he said.

In addition to his airport role, Powell has served in the Alabama Army National Guard for the past five years and is a first lieutenant and platoon leader in an engineer company. Powell decided to join after he was inspired by a friend and classmate.

“I had a friend, Mark Forrester, that I looked up to who had passed away in Afghanistan,” Powell said. “We went to the same high school, became friends at the university, I knew what he stood for, and it really affected me when he passed away.”

Powell went to officer school at the Alabama Military Academy. He said the experience has made him a better person.

“I think the military pushes you out of your comfort zone,” Powell said. “I expect a certain standard out of myself as compared to before.”

name: Jeff Powell age: 32 personal: wife, Kendra; son, Harrison, 2. hometown: Haleyville. the people who have influenced my life: My parents and family, the community of Haleyville.

I spent all my life there, and it had a huge impact on me. something most people don’t know about me: A lot of people don’t know that I am in the military and that I serve in the Alabama Army National Guard. my proudest achievement: Graduating from the Alabama Military Academy in 2013 was quite an achievement to me. Getting my pilot’s license was also a big deal, and I do enjoy spending time with my son, Harrison. why i do what i do: I chose the profession in this field, because I wanted to take my passion of aviation with community service. Being able to do this in a community I consider home is rare in this industry.

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6 intriguing people

no.6 Tammy Jackson Montgomery sumter county district court judge by becky hopf photo by michelle lepianka carter

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t started with a high school field trip.

Tammy Jackson Montgomery’s Livingston High School history teacher took the class on a visit to the courthouse in Livingston, the Sumter County seat, to show the students a courtroom demonstration of the legal system in action. It made such an impact that one of those kids decided to make it her vocation.

“I was amazed at the proceedings. Something just took hold of me from seeing the judge, the lawyers, the defendants — that this is what I wanted to do. I thought it was my calling, to make a difference in my community,” she said.

Not only did she make the dream reality, she one-upped it. Montgomery didn’t stop at becoming a lawyer. She became a judge.

Going beyond has been a way of life for Montgomery, 56. She was valedictorian of her 1977 senior class and Student Government Association president. She graduated from the University of Alabama cum laude in 1981, earning Distinguished Undergrad in Criminal Justice honors along the way and, in 1984, received her 84

law degree.

Those were just baby steps. In 1997, she made Alabama history when she was elected Sumter County District Court Judge, becoming the first woman and only the second African-American elected to the position of district judge, a position she still anchors. She is the first black woman in the state elected in her initial bid.

As SGA president at Livingston High, Montgomery was part of a statewide group of student leaders invited for a campus visit when she met the University of Alabama’s then-President Richard Thigpen, an attorney and law professor.

Thigpen was so struck by the high school student, particularly her ambition to earn a law degree from Alabama, that he took her under his wing.

He became, and remains, her mentor. He saw something in her then that made him believe that this young woman from the tiny town of Coatopa would do extraordinary things.

A few weeks before her high school graduation, Thigpen called Montgomery and told her funding had been made available for her to begin summer school at Alabama. She could start college two weeks after graduation.

“I wasn’t ready to go,” Montgomery said. “I was scared. I wanted to wait until fall. He said,

‘Tammy, the funding is available now. It might not be available later.’ I didn’t get to do orientation or anything. I just followed his lead.”

Despite the whirlwind beginning, she settled in and thrived in college, making high grades that led to opportunities such as being a dormitory resident adviser in Tutwiler Hall, which helped cover housing costs.

After graduation, she plotted a career path that exposed her to a variety of experiences, including U.S. congressional and Congressional Black Caucus internships. But perhaps it was the way her parents raised her that made the biggest impact, giving her the tools she’d need not only to fairly weigh right from wrong, but also to enmesh herself into service to her community.

“With the value stream my parents instilled, fairness was the only option,” Montgomery said of her upbringing by her mother, Alice, an educator, and her father, Charles, a businessman. “My grandfather couldn’t read or write — he could print his name. But he was a genius at math. He raised vegetables and sold them, and he always knew the quantity. He knew what profit margin he was seeking — and always got. I’d watch him have those exchanges. It played a large part in teaching me to be strategic and making me think, observe.

name: Tammy Jackson Montgomery age: 56 personal: Husband of 32 years, George Montgomery; son, George Jr., age 22; parents, Charles S. Montgomery and Alice Hines Jackson, both deceased. hometown: Coatopa people who have influenced my life: My parents. My father was a World War II veteran who operated his own business. My mother was a teacher and Head Start director. My sister, Wanda, and my brother, Charles Jr.; my grandfathers; my high school history teacher, Mildred Black; Dr. Richard Thigpen. something most people don’t know about me: I like to antique shop for pie birds; I love to bake. My

specialty is sweet potato soufflé with a praline crust and, a tossup, brownies with the secret ingredient of Snickers bars. proudest achievement: Getting my law degree from the UA School of Law. It was really hard work, but standing on the steps at graduation and seeing the pride on my parents’ faces when I stepped up to get my J.D. makes me proud today. why i do what i do: I want to make a difference in my community.

I have been so blessed. For those who receive much, much is required. I want to make a difference, particularly with the children, and it’s about giving them a point of view of opportunity. I want children to understand, “I’m here. I did it. The opportunity is there. Dream it. Set your goals. That’s your ladder to making your dreams your reality.”

“That’s a large part of what I do as a judge, observing, keeping up with the details. I learned about service to my community from my family. My mother took the little ladies to the grocery store or the pharmacy or church. My parents were always looking out for others. It instilled in us that that was normal, that we should do positive things.”

The busy wife to husband George and mother to George Jr. continues that legacy. Since 1998, she’s shared her love of the legal system, and her hope that it will influence a child into a career in law, by holding a mock trial for third-graders to observe. At heart, it’s an anti-bullying message: Little Red Riding Hood v. the Big Bad Wolf. It takes place in a real courtroom. Theater students from the University of West Alabama don costumes to play the key roles. Montgomery enlists attorney friends to represent each party. The Wolf’s defense is that he had a toothache, and it made him grumpy. A real dentist and a mental health testify how an aching tooth might affect someone.

She chairs Children of the Village Network Inc., which provides literacy, job training, food programs and speakers, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who speak to teens during prom season. She brought Pizza Hut’s Harvest Program to Sumter County. Leftovers from the Livingston store are distributed to 19 organizations, most involving children. She works with the local post office each May, distributing mail bins full of canned goods collected by the mail carriers to those in need. She orchestrated a tie-in with the West Alabama Food Bank where she and volunteers, including Sumter County Commissioner and former Alabama basketball player Marcus Campbell, drive to Tuscaloosa to pick up food to distribute to the elderly.

Montgomery also works with Turning Point of West Alabama; is on the United Way of West Alabama board of directors; has helped establish college scholarships; spearheads the collection of unused toiletries from hotel stays and packages them for victims of domestic violence; helped bring the Dolly Parton Library, which sends books to kids to encourage reading, to Sumter County; teaches Sunday school; and even served as a Miss America pageant judge.

“Everybody has a calling, and I tend to think this is mine,” Montgomery said.

“I’ve received so much. I want to give back.”

Children’s of Alabama relies mightily on the support of the community to care for our patients.

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a happy, healthy childhood.

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Abbie Willingham, Abby Holland and Erin Stanton 9. James Moore, Chris Chirino and Jacquelynn Myrick 10. Dorothy Thomas and Ethelda Potts 11. Al Wyatt and Stephanie Wyatt 12. Rachel Herrington, Michael Myrick and Heidi Myrick 13. Bill Cassels, Rebecca Cassels and Elizabeth Cassels

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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Gala

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7. Francine Marasco, Rex Keene, Donna Keene and Elizabeth Bradt 8. Brenda Noland, Jon Atkinson and Joan Atkinson 9. Samuel Rutley and Etta Felton 10. Bobby Horton and John Graham 11. Debbie Brenner and Andrea Glover 12. Kay Johnson and Rich Johnson 13. Nini Jobson and Jody Jobson

Powerup Celebration

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5. Chad Crawford, Mindy Crawford and Trisha Conyers 6. Hannah Hamner and Jill Duke 7. Chris Jones, Virginia Jones, Curry Robertson and Sarah Morrison 8. Denise Bradberry and Phil Bradberry 9. Renita Allen, Lauren Yeager and Derek Yeager 10. Stephanie Gargus, James Gargus, Chris Cole and Lacie Price 11. Bryan Boswell and Nancy Hubbard

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7. Mary Crisler and Helen Layden 8. Kathy Clayton and Ruby Obradovich 9. Lurie Sullivan and Teresa Mills 10. Debbie Wenth and Karen Cottingham 11. Pam Franklin and Linda Sears

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Brunch for Boobs

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1. Morgan Henry, Jaida Hughes, Christina Sargent and J’Lynn Timmons 2. Erin Wiggins and Jerry Tingle 3. Wendy Harris and Kameca Webb 4. Stan Acker and James Gunter 5. Mallory Boshell, Easton Boshell, Bailey Mitchell,

Tara Mitchell, Madison Claire Davis and Kim Clark 6. Eddie Pugh and Gary Minor

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Emily Valdez 8. Abbie Hill, Anna Taylor Livingston and Audrey Jones 9. Jimmy Bendall and Maddie Ramm 10. Lauren Balut, Cheng Zhang and Katie Rhea 11. Dena Pearson and Claire Williams holding Professor Fizzy Wig 12. Janet Myers and Spencer Wildman

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1. Joel Kucharski, Barbara Kucharski, DeLaine Stricklin and Bill Stricklin 2. Geraldine Smith and Robbie Lewis 3. Jheri Ogden, Katherine Nyquist, Mackenzie Atkinson, Will Elkins and Kaitlin Havert 4. Marcia Hay-McCutcheon and Rebecca Brooks 5. Ella Bryan, Mary Bryan and Lottie Bryan 6. Jheri Ogden, Marie Tucker and Kat Puzinauskas 7. Mike Daugherty, Garett Nelson and Montanna Barton 8. Alex Krieger, Leah Tucker and Lacey Watts 9. Brandon Englebert, Rick Cox, Ella Grace Cox and Sharon Cox 10. Caroline Railsback, Judy Voss, Michelle Boteler and Meredith Boteler 11. Melanie Queen, Avery Elkins, Elizabeth Thigpen and Barbara Kucharski

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on the scene

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Tuscaloosa Volksfest april 2, 2016 government plaza

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photos | erin nelson

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1. Anke Mader, Deanne Kronauer, Britta Roller and Ester Scheeff 2. Mason Beale, Heinz Neunzig, Bob Melton, Germany Greer, Jim Roberts and Jason Hoff 3. Flavia Scarsella, Grace Scarsella and Alex Edinger 4. Fran Wuebold, Paul Wuebold, Phillip Wuebold, Andrew Wuebold and Irina Wuebold 5. Luisa Mader, Anke Mader and Leonie Mader

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6. Claire Calderone, Abigail Calderone and Matt Calderone 7. Ken Winters, Joachim Diehl and Jorge Canoa 8. Sandy Kilpatrick and Ed Kilpatrick 9. Elliot Thomas and Beverly Roskos 10. Niklas Fahl, Eric Schulz and Raegan Lemmond 11. Bobby Diehl, Isalia Canoa and Petra Winters 12. Hanna Armstrong, Wes Huffman, JT Wilson and Chris Fleay

april 7, 2016 dinah Washington cultural arts center photos | erin nelson

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1. Jon Hall and Elizabeth Hall 2. Rick Turpin and Christi DeZoort 3. Silke Suhr, Michael Ford and Georgia Buettner 4. Cathy Wooldridge, Bobby Wooldridge, Greg Gaddis and Ruth Gaddis 5. Charlotte Bowers and John Bowers 6. Lauren Shoemaker, Phillip Bush and Katie Bush 7. Tom Bailey and Glen Smith 8. Pat Cross and Roger Cross 9. Ellen Pratt, Gena Kilgore and Rita Sturdivant 10. Kathy Helm, Steve Helm, Cheryl Peterson and Barry Peterson 11. Drew Brislin and Hays Webb 12. Rodney Marshall and Debra Marshall

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on the scene

Wind Down with Rotary

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DCH Foundation BBQ & Blues

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april 30, 2016 tuscaloosa regional airport photos | karley fernandez

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9 1. Marilyn McCullough, Samuel Pastor, Beverly Pastor, Mary Lowe, Carolyn Brooks, Howard Brooks and James Coates 2. Kelsey Wyatt, Jennifer Rollins and Rachael Green 3. Blake Snodsmith, Leigh Snodsmith, Beth Feller, Matt Feller, Mary Ellen Hanna and Rick Hanna 4. Whitnee Sandlin, Charity Golden and Tim Golden

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5. Mark Lancaster, Paige Lancaster, Adam Powell, Cara Powell, Chad Wilson and Mary Katherine Wilson 6. Sharon Ruyle, Ronnie Miller and Scott Brown 7. Elizabeth Hamner and Patrick Hamner 8. Ron Phelps, Buddy Moman, Cynthia Overton and Bob Way 9. Jerita Green, Lisa Irby and Annie Little

Family of the Year Event honoring Brad and Susan Cork

april 26, 2016 home of jim and karen brooks

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1. Karen Brooks, Stuart Bell, Frank Wingard, Beverly Wingard and Susan Bell 2. Jathan Whitehead, Susanna Cork, Peyton Cork and William Cork 3. Danielle McInerney, Tommy Hester and Jackie Wuska 4. Steven Rumsey and Frances Rumsey 5. Karen Brooks and Jim Brooks 6. Jim Harrison, Leroy McAbee and

Tom Joiner 7. Susan Cork and Brad Cork 8. Mary Frances and John Slaughter 9. Theresa Chandler and Bryan Chandler 10. Monique Scott and Jon Lambert 11. Jenny Pass, Dianna Flemming and Paula Boston

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on the scene

Alexis de Tocqueville Society

on the scene

Feral Cats of Tuscaloosa: A City Underground Art Gala

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april 28, 2016 dinah washington cultural arts center photos | laura chramer

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1. Amanda Fowler and Les Fowler 2. Joan Mitchell, Phillip Bobo and Beth Bobo 3. David Wyatt, Malorie Lemley, Armando Garduno, JC Seibert and Beth Coker 4. Tim Golden, Charity Golden and Billy Mitchell 5. Lynn Richardson and Jason Worley 6. Ama Galindo and Janet Latham 7. Liv Davis, Kaci Davis and Thomas Wilson 8. Paul Bodholdt, Bianca Hessar-Amiri and Ashten Lyle 9. Laura Hurd and Josh Newman 10. Brittany Thomas, Braxton Young and Emily Stebbins

11. Kristine Fitts, Alexander Gรถrs and Madeline Fitts 12. Paige Orzechowski, Seth Evans and Lucy Roberts

april 21, 2016 tuscaloosa river market photos | laura chramer

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1. Cristen Holman, Randall Holman, Justin Sheehan and Heidi Sheehan 2. Jason Black, Annabelle Black, Jennifer Black and Amelia Black 3. Borden Cater, Caroline Ellis, Caroline Harvey and Sarah Burnett 4. Leigh Anne Lennox and Emma Lennox

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5. Marlisha Childs, Diana Molina and Anna Vasquez 6. Janet North, Madden North and Rebecca Binford 7. Jo Hosey and Jean Carlson 8. Erica Porter, Amy Jordon and Joanna Averette 9. Matt Wagner and Brett Garner 10. Michael Annunziata and Sarah Ferguson 11. Dennis Riffer, Radhika DeLaire and Nick Porter

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on the scene

Death By Chocolate

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West Alabama Food & Wine Festival

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Adam Adcock and Brooke Foley Pat Duggins and Lucia Duggins Bethany Roland and Renee Cobb Beakie Powell, Michael Cooke, Melissa Cooke, Lindsay Leisure and Michael Maloney 5. Janice Clary, Cameron Clary and Marty Clary 6. Maria Williams, Brittany Kalb, Stephani Clements, Jenni Miesse and Kaitlin Reager 7. Mike Wilson, Misty Creel, Caroline Strawbridge and Chip Culp 8. Jerrell White and Beonica Taylor 9. Tyler Speegle and Jordan Sloan 10. Melissa Carter and Mitzi Carter 11. Sherry Ellis and Kenneth Crawford

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Alabama Wildlife Federation Annual Wild Game Cook-Off

on the scene

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march 10, 2016 tuscaloosa river market photos | laura chramer

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9 1. Kohler Damson, Robert Smith, Cooper Real, Garrett Jones, Hunter Meeks and Colby Eady 2. John Troupe, Sarah Troupe, Whit Mize, Beverly Tierce, Tim Watson, Anna Mize, Johnathan Mize, Sami Atkins and Adam Crawford 3. Mary Dell Chism and Billy Chism 4. Renee Rimer, Aprille Cook, Jackson Cook and Rob Rimer 5. Zac Snider, Thomas Monk and Jordan Miller 6. Kevin McKinstry, Fred Denelsbeck, Alicia Cramer, Janet Massey and Larry Massey 7. David Fernandez, Harry Piper, Victoria Plott and Wood Howell 8. Tucker Brown, Stephanie Owens, Josh Brown and Monroe Payne 9. Landon Dorman and George Noah Dorman

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Women’s Leadership Alliance Luncheon

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april 14, 2016 indian hills country club photos | michelle lepianka carter

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1. Carol Wright, Susan Randall, Susan Hathorne, Lori Colburn, Brenda Randall and Vicki Burch 2. Lanette Samaniego, Susan Newman, Lottie Burleson and Courtney Page 3. Daphanee Dean and Jaela Avery 4. Dedra Cabaniss and Debbi Besant 5. Melissia Davis and Bettie Woods Davis 6. Meghan Truhett and Sandra Wolfe 7. Sandra Ray and Linda Chambers 8. Kay Harris and Cissy Fuhrman 9. Patricia Barnes (Sister Schubert) and Amanda Layton 10. Margaret Donnelly and Sarah Beth Hahn 11. Brittany Roper and Jenny Pichon

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april 6, 2016 ua museum of natural history

5 1. Marysia Galbraith, Randy Mecredy and Julia Cherry 2. Karen Crunk, Harry Blewitt and Phillip Crunk 3. Catherine Roach and Brandon Stacey 4. John Friel, Lydia Joffray and Jeremy Joffray 5. Nancie Blewitt and Harry Blewitt 6. Nancie Blewitt and Jerry Kickerson 7. Michael Murphy, Harry Blewitt and Milady Murphy 8. Lisa Blewitt Gaskill and Chris Gaskill

NA5658524

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on the scene

Reception Honoring Dr. Harry Blewitt

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Last LooK

dog days of summer photo by michelle lepianka carter Oliver the pup cools off under a fountain at Camp May behind May Veterinary Northridge on Watermelon Road on May 25. With summer’s hot temperatures on the way, dog owners can use Camp May as a daycare or overnight board for their pets. The camp has an indoor and outdoor play space for dogs, including a pool and fountain.

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