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AmoréThat’s

College

and the spring’s hottest fashions

Sydnii Todd

Nightthe oldest homecoming tradition in the country

UM

SHELBYSHELBYLiving

I am a NICU nurse full time.A full time mom of 3.

And I crossfi t 5 days a week.

So YES, I am an ATHLETE!

April 2012 3

4 ShelbyLiving.com

No one can predict what the market will do in the next five years. But judging by the last five, there’s only one thing we know is certain: change. That’s why in the Stephens College of Business MBA pro-gram, we don’t simply prepare you for today’s busi-ness issues - we teach you to think critically, adapt, create, solve and lead others to do the same.

Unconventional Wisdom

For more information: mba@montevallo.edu

or 205.665.6544

April 2012 5

On a Sunday afternoon, I headed to Shelby’s restaurant in Pelham.

The restaurant wasn’t actually open, but owner Kolbe Mele was kind enough to open its doors for a photo shoot for this issue of Shelby Living. I was joined by our new freelance photographer, Mary Beth Shelton, and Miss Shelby County 2012 Sydnii Todd.

We had a great afternoon. Sydnii modeled fashions from local stores, and she and Mary Beth played around in the restaurant, thinking up new scenarios for each outfi t.

I learned a little bit about Kolbe, Mary Beth and Sydnii that day. Kolbe is a Shelby County native who owns Grey Bar on U.S. 280, but wanted to open another place in west Shelby County. Mary Beth is a professional commercial and wedding photographer who has a gift for fashion shoots, as well. (Seriously, you should thank her when you see this amazing spread. We never could have pulled that off without her direction.) I had heard wonderful things about Sydnii from people across Shelby County, and I was happy to fi nd out all of the kind words were true. A senior at Troy University, Sydnii is studying broadcast journalism and was a joy to work with. In addition to being gorgeous and having legs for miles, she’s polite and really fun. She was game for anything Mary Beth threw her way.

It was one of those days that make me really appreciate my job. I made some new friends and found a new restaurant to try.

One thing I’ve learned after six months on this job is there’s always something new to discover in Shelby County. If you fi nd something you think the rest of Shelby County should know about, send me an email! I’m always looking for story ideas, and I love hearing from our readers for any reason. Have a wonderful April! l

Miss Shelby County 2012 Sydnii Todd spent the day at Shelby’s restaurant in Pelham for a fashion photo shoot. She is pictured in clothing and jewelry by Chic Boutique in Birmingham.

ON THE COVER

Cover design: Daniel HolmesPhotography: Mary Beth Shelton

Katie McDowell, EditorKatie.McDowell@ShelbyLiving.com

Katie McDowellAmy JonesWesley HallmanNeal WagnerChristine BoatwrightNicole Loggins

Lisa PhillipsLaura BrookhartAngie BrownCorey NolenMary Beth Shelton

Daniel HolmesJamie SparacinoAmy BaldisJon Goering

Matthew AllenAlan BrownMelissa ClarkThomas LaBooneMeagan MimsDiane FantLaShan JohnsonTracy Jones

Tim PrinceJan GriffeyMary Jo EskridgeAnnie McGilvrayCatherine Cousins

editorial

ContriBUtors

ProdUCtion

marketing

administration

Shelby Living is published monthly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Shelby Living is a registered trademark. All contents herein are the sole property of Shelby County Newspapers Inc. [the Publisher]. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher. Please address all correspondence (including but not limited to letters, story ideas and requests to reprint materials) to: Editor, Shelby Living, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

Shelby Living is mailed to select households throughout Shelby County, and a limited number of free copies are available at local businesses. Please visit Shelbyliving.com for a list of those locations. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $22 for one year by emailing subscribe@shelbyliving.com, or calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 21.

Advertising inquiries may be made by emailing advertise@shelbyliving.com, or by calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 26.

SHELBYSHELBYLivingFrom the Editor

March 2012 5

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April 2012 7

arts & culture

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‘Paint first, analyze later’Tony Criswell paints from his studio

a night in the sPotlightPurple and gold face off at College Night

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Why i loVe shelBy CoUntyDonna Francavilla shares her memories

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health & fitnessat home in ChelseaPGA golfer Gary Christian settles down

roPin’ and ridin’The Ellisons place in Armed Forces rodeo

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ask the doCtorWhat you need to know about autism

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entering the ringRound I Boxing trains its members

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featureshold eVerythingPick up one of these colorful purses

the horsePoWer hUtEric Joiner’s classic car garage in Chelsea

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a PlaCe of CommUnityOpportunities abound at the YMCA

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history keePersMeet the people who study the area’s past

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fUll-on fashionSydnii Todd models local fashions

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24home & food

add Color to yoUr BreakfastFrank McEwen loves every color grits

CreatiVe in the CoUntryA city couple makes a home in Columbiana

‘momma of the kitChenOlonia Jones shares her Orange Souffle Glaze

that’s amoreItalian-food in a romantic setting

8 ShelbyLiving.com

Our first statewide Alabama Gives Day was a huge success with almost $800,000 in donations pouring in to support the non-profits in our neighborhoods. Every day, when we see a need in our community, manpower,

money and prayers are graciously given. While cash is always welcome, there are many things we can

contribute on a daily basis. Not only does this help provide for others, it helps us to declutter and simplify our own lives. Every home and office has an “excess” of usable items,ww and the key is to know how and where to organize your family’s donations. n Set up a donation station: Use shopping bags, clear bins or

cardboard boxes that can be donated along with the items. Label the container. Put a container in a few different rooms, such as bedrooms, closets, garages and basements. n Ask hard questions:

Do you love it, need it or value it? If you said “no” to any of these three questions, then out it goes. Reasons to keep items should not be that you might squeeze back into it one day, it was a good deal or you have barely used it. n Usable is the key

word: Some things are beyond donating. Would you want something that is dirty, stained, broken or missing pieces? If it is beyond repair, then donating may not be the answer.n Household items: One thing that typically causes overcrowding

in your closets is sheet sets for beds you no longer have. Too many towels and linens take up space and are much needed in animal shelters. n BOGO: Coupons, daily deals or store specials may save you

money; however, if you have no space to store these deals, then clutter just appeared in order to save a few dollars. Consider donating the extra toilet paper, paper towels or giant dish soap to First Light, Jimmie Hale Mission, King’s Ranch or the Salvation Army.

Here’s an idea for those involved in meetings, networking groups and associations: Everyone contributes $1, $5 or $10 along with his

or her business card for a drawing. The winner gets to donate the money to the charity of his or her choice. How good would you feel knowing you contributed to a non-profit organization that is dear to someone’s heart?

It’s that simple.

Give to receive

Lisa Phillips, owner of SimpleWorks, lisa_phillips@bellsouth.net, 981.7733

The Simple Life

How good would you feel knowing you

contributed to a non-profit organization that

is dear to someone’s heart?

April 2012 9

Written by Christine BoatWrightPhotographs by jon goering

A nightin the spotlight

10 ShelbyLiving.com

The energy was electric in Palmer Auditorium during the University of Montevallo’s College Night on Feb. 11.

The room was packed with students and alumni alike sporting colors that represented their loyalty to either the purple or gold side for the university’s 94th annual homecoming celebration. The divided room rang out with cheers, taunts and songs throughout the evening until Student Government President Sherrod Hall took the stage to announce the winner.

Before he even had a chance to finish speaking, the Gold side members erupted into cheers as Gold Victory won College Night for the second year running.

“Thank you for always being classy and supporting your

Clockwise from top left: Purple Side performers Caylyn Sallas and Sam Rodger during “Skin Deep.” Gold Side students perform “Three Ring Ransom.” Purple Side leader Todd Campbell holds up a “V.” Purple Side students join hands in a circle. Both sides’ leaders are joined on-stage to kick off the shows.

Purple and Gold battle for victory during UM’s 94th College Night.

April 2012 11

side,” Gold co-leader Lindsey Bristol to her team. “All the work you put into it pays off tonight on Palmer stage.”

College Night is the longest-running homecoming tradition in the country, according to UM President John W. Stewart III. The teams are judged on a point system. A panel of judges review the College Night performances and award “performance points,” while each team can earn “pre-performance points” earlier in the week through athletics, spirit levels and other events.

The students’ work began a little more than a month prior to College Night, as auditions for the night’s performance were held Jan. 3, Bristol said. Bristol and her co-leader, J.R. Burt, were elected a year ago and, along with their committee, chose the show in November.

The Gold team wrote scripts, music, lyrics and staging, as well as created costumes and backdrops for “Three Ring Ransom,” a six-scene musical production set at the Ruebacker Mayhem Circus.

The show featured characters in a traveling circus and their bitter ringleader, Araxia, played by Courtney Ladnier, who desired nothing more than to be a famous showgirl herself. After Emmaline, played by Julie Beasley, attempts to join the circus after running away from her wealthy family, Araxia plans a kidnap-and-ransom scheme with Emmaline’s family fortune in mind.

Unfortunately for Araxia, Albert, Araxia’s son played by Cody Webb, falls in love with Emmaline and saves her from her kidnapping. The couple takes over the circus and lives a life full of adventure, as was a key theme in the production.

“Literally blood, sweat and tears have gone into this,”

12 ShelbyLiving.com

said Webb after Gold was announced the winning team. “We lost three years in a row prior to last year. This year was even more amazing.”

The Purple Victory production focused on the depth of beauty in “Skin Deep.”

“We couldn’t be more excited about what’s about to happen,” said Purple co-leader Todd Campbell before the Purple production began.

The show began with a self-professed “bromance” between most eligible bachelor of the county Bonofasio, played by Caylyn Sallas, and “the unfortunate looking one” Edgar, played by Sam Rodger. The two

friends are kidnapped, and Bonofasio must wed Franzjula, played by Jenna McCown, the queen of “Franzland.”

The land’s residents believe Franzjula to be the most beautiful woman in the world, but none of the subjects have laid eyes on their queen since she was a child. As a woman, she “let herself go,” and sent her guards to find her a husband. When Bonofasio is brought before her and he sees her, he gasps and later explains to Edgar, “She’s a little too much for me to take in.”

Later, Edgar and Franzjula meet in the night, and Edgar explains outer beauty is not as important as loving one’s self. Franzjula then

Clockwise from top left: SGA President Sherrod Hall announces a Gold Side victory. Gold Side team members celebrate a “GV” (Gold Victory.) Purple Side members

April 2012 13

releases Bonofasio, and Edgar marries the queen.“When I first got here, I felt like I didn’t belong,” said Sallas after

the winner was announced. “But these people are so loving. You can’t imagine what it’s like to be on Purple side with all of these beautiful people to love you. For us, it’s a PV (Purple Victory) no matter what.”

Both teams choose a phrase from the script of their productions, and the SGA president uses that phrase to announce the winner.

When Hall stood between the two sides on stage to announce the winner, he said the University of Montevallo was named in the top 40 most socially awkward colleges.

“It’s because we don’t follow the cookie-cutter mold of a university. Montevallo is uncommon, and it’s just meant to be,” he said, signaling Gold’s victory.

The 2012 College Night was the university president’s second time experiencing the show.

“I am astounded at the breadth and depth of talent on this campus,” Stewart said. “They’re not all theater and music majors, but business, accounting, science and more. The high level of production is indicative of the type of leadership we produce here.

“It’s pretty distinctive, isn’t it?” he said after the show.l

sing onstage after the show. Gold Side’s Julie Beasley celebrates backstage. The Purple Side chants during a break. Gold Side students hold up the team’s hand sign.

14 ShelbyLiving.com

Short Stories &

Buchanan Forest Management has gifted 12.77 acres of historical property to the Historic Shelby Association, specifically for the use of the Shelby Iron Works Park, according to historian Jerry Willis.

The property contains remains of portions of facilities that were operated by Shelby Iron Company, including furnaces, the frame of the Shelby Chemical Company building as well as various underground components.

The gifted land is located directly across from the existing Shelby Iron Works Park. The donation was made to the Historical Shelby Association, which owns and operates the Shelby Iron Works Park.

“We would like to make an archeological survey to see what’s there,” said Willis. “We’re going to try to hand-clean the underbrush and see what can be salvaged.

— nicole loggins

A gift of land

Helena will have a new restaurant and sports bar this spring.

The owners of Papa Saia’s, a restaurant and sports bar currently in Alabaster’s Colonial Promenade shopping center, are planning to move their business to the former Incahoots building, which has been vacant for nearly two years.

Owner Tammy Casteel said she thinks the new location will be “great for business,” and said she plans to fully utilize the restaurant’s

location overlooking the Buck Creek dam.“The people in Helena have been great,”

Casteel said. “This is a perfect location. There are so many great festivals in Old Town Helena and at the amphitheater.”

Casteel said she was unsure when the Papa Saia’s in Alabaster will close. The new location will feature a wing bar, live music and plenty of televisions to show sports events.

— neal Wagner

Welcome to Helena

The University of Montevallo women’s basketball team raised just under $1,300 at its annual Play 4Kay Breast Cancer Awareness event Feb. 18.

Play 4Kay is a global, unified effort for a nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund, in partnership with the WBCA and The V Foundation, is the official Play 4Kay charity.

The Falcons hosted five breast cancer survivors at the game.

The five survivors included Mary Beth Armstrong, Veronica Smitherman, Kittye Keener, Susan Thompson and Dawn Rasco. The five were honored at a halftime ceremony, along with two women who could not be in attendance. Senior Davia Harris walked in the ceremony for her mother Mary Harris, while former Montevallo men’s basketball player R.J. Severtsgaard walked in honor of his mother Karen Ahrens.

— staff reports

Falcons vs. breast cancer

14 ShelbyLiving.com

April 2012 15

Shrimp in the state park?

Cheer for childrenCheeriodicals, a gift company based out of Mt Laurel, has

partnered with Children’s of Alabama to bring hospitalized children “big green boxes of cheer.”

“Gary and Mary Martha Parisher, founders of Cheeriodicals, came to us with the idea of partnering with Children’s of Alabama,” said Janie Jones, community development coordinator for Children’s. “We asked our child life specialist to find items that were appropriate for children in the hospital to keep the children stimulated, and (items) they would enjoy while in the hospital.”

Cheeriodicals are gift boxes designed for specific recipients. The boxes designed for hospitalized children are divided by age and gender.

“We have boxes for (ages) 4-11, then 12-17,” Cheeriodicals founder

Mary Martha Parisher said. “We’ve gotten suggestions for people that say we need an in-between box, a third category to divide in half.”

Due to hospital restrictions, the boxes do not contain snack food, but offer children “silly windup toys, activity books, cards games,” Parisher said. In addition to bringing cheer to hospitalized children, anyone purchasing any type of Cheeriodical can support Children’s. When purchasing a Cheeriodical and entering the promotional code “Childrensofal,” the company will donate $3 to Children’s of Alabama. The promotion will continue throughout 2012.

For more information about Cheeriodicals, visit Cheeriodicals.com.

— Christine Boatwright

When Alabaster Mayor David Frings, who is the director of the Oak Mountain State Park Interpretive Center, reached down to pick up the small animals swimming around in a puddle at the park, he wasn’t sure what he was holding.

Frings, who is also a professor with the Samford University master’s of environmental management program, was leading a conservation biology class about a year ago when the class came up on the puddle on a dirt service road about a quarter-mile east of the park’s golf course. Frings didn’t know it at the time, but he had just discovered a species of animal undocumented in Alabama.

“They basically look like tiny shrimp in a clamshell, so their common name is actually clam shrimp,” Frings said, noting adult clam shrimp are about a quarter-inch long. “We collected some specimens and looked through some literature and found out nobody had reported finding them in Alabama.”

Sixteen U.S. states and parts of Canada and Mexico have reported finding the species, but Tennessee is the only nearby state where they are documented, Frings said. Although Frings discovered the animals about a year ago, it took he and colleague Kevin Morse several months to determine the species was undocumented in Alabama.

The animals live primarily in isolated pools of water, such as those found on dirt roads after it rains.

— neal Wagner

16 ShelbyLiving.com

Arts & Culture

Written by laUra BrookhartPhotographs by jon goering

analyze later’‘Paint first,

An empty chair might be an unlikely subject, but the singular elements Troy Crisswell chooses to translate onto canvas have a lot to say.

The object, the light that illuminates it and the atmosphere created by the shadows “suggest

something or somebody missing - a lonesome spirit.”“Now I didn’t know this when I started painting,” he said. “I

didn’t start out thinking ‘Oh, I’m going to paint a chair in the desert.’ I paint first and analyze later.”

Crisswell’s process involves asking himself, ‘Have I done all I can

do to make this thing into something?’ Then he asks himself again and again “reaching way down.”

“It’s mostly a mental effort that makes the difference,” he says.He has painted more than once the old depot chair that belonged

to his grandfather, E.G. Smitherman, who worked for Southern Railway. Crisswell and his mother lived with his grandparents in Montevallo after his father died when he was 5 years old.

Crisswell began drawing cartoons and exaggerated figures as a teenager, moving on to large-scale abstractions in his college freshman year before being diverted by his electric guitar and going

Troy Crisswell in his Calera studio.

April 2012 17

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ABOVE FROM LEFT: Some of Crisswell’s work includes, The Wizard, Artist’s daughter reading newspaper and Falling. To see more examples visit Troycrisswell.com.

on the road, mostly in the New England area, with rock bands.Restless and out of money, he eventually returned to Montevallo

where his first full-time job was making county maps.After reading a book on Van Gogh when he was 26, he became

seriously interested in painting and found work as a graphic artist. His evolving painting style mixed realism with surrealism and abstraction.

Crisswell began attending a life drawing group that he attended weekly for the next 22 years.

In 1982 he met his future wife, Becky Bolton, a self-employed clay artist who sold her work through galleries and art fairs. He began dedicating himself to establishing a volume of work in watercolor – rustic country scenes that sold quite well when he began doing outdoor shows in 1987.

He eventually found himself able to fully support himself as an artist and in 1997, began to explore oils as well.

Crisswell incorporates the immediate influences of his surroundings in the home studio he and Bolton built in Buxahatchee Woods.

Themes that have developed into a series are figurative portraits usually modeled by family or friends, still life scenes of their cats and a mime series that his daughter Alyssa modeled.

He has also inserted himself into his semi-surreal takes. He is the man with the coat and hat in the desert running past the grand piano or pushing the wheelbarrow loaded with an enormous egg. His is the face of the man in the moon hovering over a howling dog below.

“I started painting self-portraits not expecting them to sell. I like to act out and carry on and Becky takes photographs of me which are incorporated into a scene,” he said.

Crisswell’s self-published book, “Thoughts on Painting,” reveals he also enjoys writing and has told his story illustrated with a history of his work plus techniques on drawing and painting.

He still plays some guitar, too, at Gips in Bessemer. Daughter Alyssa’s indie-pop-folk band, Sue Scrofa, is taking off in L.A. The cover art of their second CD, entitled “White Cat,” is, let’s just say, very Troy Crisswell. l

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alabasterpediatric dentistry

April 2012 19

Miss Shelby County 2012 Sydnii Todd goes behind the scenes at Shelby ’s restaurant in Pelham to model looks from local boutiques

Full-on Fashion

Images by mary Beth sheltonLocation by shelBy’sClothing by ChiC BoUtiqUe, agatha ainsley and j. allen’s

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ABOVE: Cocktail dress by Muse, $162; Metallic shoes by Sacha London from Agatha Ainsley, $126; Jewelry, price upon request; all available at Chic Boutique, 270 Doug Baker Blvd., #300, Birmingham.

April 2012 21

ABOVE: Dress, $184; shoes by 67 at Agatha Ainsley, $176; jewelry, price upon request; all available at Chic Boutique.

ABOVE FROM LEFT: Top, $114; Jeans, $156; jewelry, price upon request; all from Chic Boutique.

22 ShelbyLiving.com

THIS PAGE: Jumper by Flying Tomato, $36.95; available at J. Allen’s Gifts, 37 Buck Creek Plaza, Alabaster.

April 2012 23

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Grays’A military couple fi nds a home in Shoal Creek

February 2012Free in Shelby County • $4.95

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Grays’A military couple fi nds a

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ChefBirmingham Bake & Cook Co.brings cooking to the classroom

TopSmashing

ShamrockMt Laurel’s new Irish pub

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ABOVE FROM LEFT: Sweater, $36.95; top, price upon request; leather and pearl necklace by Two’s Company, $9.95; all available at J. Allen’s; leggings and shoes, model’s own.

24 ShelbyLiving.com

Home & Food

HoldPick up one of these colorful

purses during spring shopping

everything

This feminine bag has a removable strap, so it can also be used as a clutch. Bag, $62, Chic Boutique.

This tiny pink purse is a girly complement for any outfit. Purse,

$54, Chic Boutique, 270 Douglas Baker Blvd. #300, Birmingham.

This bag doubles a clutch and a shoulder bag.Centerfold Tutti Fruitti, $59,95, J. Allen’s Gifts.

April 2012 25

Holdeverything

These bags add a bright pop of color to any outfit and offer just enough space to store everything you need. Bags, $54 each, Chic Boutique.

This funky purse is by Desigual, a Spanish clothing company. Purse, $74, Chic Boutique.

These candy wrapper clutches are a fun

way to brighten up your outfit. Clutches

by Nahui Olin, $24.95-$28.95, J. Allen’s Gifts.

26 ShelbyLiving.com

The horsepower hutWritten by neal Wagner

Photographs by jon goering

PP

SI W

2N

April 2012 27

Walking into Eric Joiner’s classic car garage off Shelby County 47 in old downtown Chelsea is like stepping into a 1970s drive-in restaurant parking lot.

The walls, which are painted the same color as an orange 1960 Chevrolet Camaro, are

adorned with neon “speed shop” signs, Dino fuel signs and pieces of memorabilia from the Talladega Superspeedway.

Gasoline pumps from long-defunct service station brands flank about 20 cars and trucks from a bygone era in American history. Every day, Joiner’s garage contains an average of more than 6,000 horsepower - about the same as a couple of train locomotives.

“We’ve got everything from a truck that can’t even get out of its own way to a 1967 Mustang Shelby GT350, one of the fastest cars ever made,” Joiner said, pointing to a red 1948 Ford F100 pickup truck. “I eat, sleep and breathe cars. I always have.”

Joiner opened Eric Joiner Classics across the road from Chelsea City Hall in spring 2011, and has since been stocking the building with pristine examples of some of the most iconic cars ever made.

Through the business, Joiner hunts down, purchases and resells vehicles of all kinds. Although he has sold cars and trucks from nearly every generation, he specializes in classic, V8-powered muscle and sports cars.

On a recent afternoon, Joiner’s garage was stocked with a 1970 Boss 302 Ford Mustang, a 1973 DeTomaso Pantera, a 650-horsepower 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 1952 MG TD roadster.

Having been involved in car sales for a few decades, 54-year-old Joiner has seen both good and bad times in the automotive industry.

“The car business has been pretty lean for the past three to five years, but I see a turn coming, especially with old cars,” Joiner said. “People put money in old cars because they see them as a good investment.”

Joiner keeps an eye out for classic cars nearly everywhere he goes, and regularly has friends stop by and tell him about potential vehicles for sale.

“The funny thing is, when you have a building full of old cars, people who have old cars tend to come to you,” Joiner said.

He recently found the Pantera and the Shelby GT350 Mustang partially taken apart under piles of items in his friend’s garage. In January 2012, Joiner sold a Rolls Royce Corniche convertible once owned by former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.

“I have seen five or six super-rare cars like that come through here. You don’t get to see those cars often, let alone have a chance to come in, sit in one and touch it like you can here,” Joiner said. “These are really cool cars. They take you back in time.”

Like most car guys, Joiner can sometimes become attached to the pieces of automotive history he sees come through his shop.

“They’re just like your children,” Joiner said. “You want the best for them, and you want them to be taken care of. But at some point, you have to let them go.

“I like to eat three meals a day, and I can’t eat without selling cars,” Joiner added with a laugh.

On most days, Joiner’s wife, Kathy, can be found in the shop helping Eric run things. Although Eric said his wife did not initially share his love for fast cars, he said the hobby has grown on her over the years.

“On our first date, I showed her my new Corvette. I was so proud of that thing,” Eric said. “All she said was ‘That’s nice.’”

“But today, she surprises me because she knows a lot about (cars) just from being around them,” Joiner said.

In the future, Joiner said he would like to expand his shop to hold more cars and potentially offer restoration services for customers.

“My buddy bought this place with the idea to put me in here,” Joiner said. “It’s well suited to what we are doing, but I would like to expand sometime in the future.”

But for Joiner, he will be living his passion no matter where his business takes him.

“I just have a passion for it. I know old cars really well,” Joiner said. l

28 ShelbyLiving.com

Henry Emfinger’s father was a coal miner for 30 years in Bibb County. As there was no housing near the coal mine in Marvel, Emfinger’s father moved his family to Aldrich, which is west of Montevallo on Shelby County 10.

“We moved into the house when I was 7,” Emfinger said. “I immediately fell in love with the camp.”

When Emfinger was 12 years old, Santa gifted him with a Brownie box camera, he said, which is now on display in the Aldrich Coalmine Museum.

Although the Aldrich coal mine closed in 1942, young Emfinger continued to document life in Aldrich with his camera. Many of the photos he made line the walls of the museum, which is housed in the mine’s original general store.

Emfinger remembers playing in the old coalmine as a child.

“I went in as far as I could see daylight,” he said. “Once daylight left, I got out of there. I didn’t have enough sense to take someone with me.”

Emfinger joined the U.S. Air Force in 1960 and served through 1980. He now owns and runs the coal mine museum. He and his wife purchased the general store building, which houses the majority of the museum. They also purchased Farrington Hall, an adjacent building that served as a mine’s offices.

“Future generations need to know and need to remember what was here,” Emfinger said. “A lot of people don’t know Aldrich is here. They come, and they learn.”

The Aldrich Coal Mine Museum is located at 137 Shelby County 203 in Aldrich. For museum hours, call Emfinger at 665-2886. l

Henry Emfinger

History keepersof Shelby County

Written by Christine BoatWrightPhotographs by jon goering

April 2012 29

of Shelby County

Albert “Peter” Datcher Jr. was 50 years old when began digging into his family’s past. He realized he was the same age as his great-grandfather, Albert Baker, when slavery ended, making Baker a free man in 1865.

“It did not hit me until I saw how old he was, how when slavery ended he was 50 years old and (had) nothing. I was 50,” he said.

The deeper Datcher dug, the more he learned about his family and its ties to the Harpersville community.

“I have come to realize that a lot of the information I started to receive and fi nd told me I was supposed to do this,” Datcher said. “Black people have not had their history told.”

Datcher’s ancestors were slaves on different plantations in Harpersville.

“Slavery lasted 200 years, not two weeks,” he said. “Our history was not just the ‘50s and ‘60s.”

Datcher remembers his mother passing down the family’s legacy to her children.

“I was told a lot of family history,” he said. “It didn’t matter to me then, but my mother never let me forget it.”

When Baker and his wife, Lucy, were freed from slavery, Baker purchased 100 acres of land in Harpersville from Dr. W.R. Singleton for $5 per acre. The Datcher family still farms the land today, under the care of Datcher’s brother and nephew.

“It’s the last black farm started by a slave in the county that’s still running,” Datcher said.

Datcher’s collection of vintage photographs and historical records will be archived by the state of Alabama this spring.

“You never know how connected it all is until you start connecting the dots,” he said. l

Albert “Peter” Datcher Jr.

30 ShelbyLiving.com

Dr. Ruth Goodwyn’s involvement in the incorporation of Indian Springs Village had to do with destiny.

According to Goodwyn, the city of Pelham had invited the Indian Springs community to annex into Pelham in 1985.

“A lot of people didn’t want to object, but Hoover and Birmingham were moving in,” she said. “Everyone wanted to stay the way we were.”

“We wanted to have control of our destiny,” she added.

Goodwyn and her husband moved to Indian Springs in 1972, and Goodwyn was the Mountain Brook librarian for 23 years.

“I just liked Indian Springs the way it was,” she said. “There were rumors going around to make an entire city from Highway 31 to 280.

“A lot of people have horses, and we just liked it the way it was,” she said. “From 31 to 280, we didn’t want it to be one big strip mall.”

Goodwyn and her husband obtained signatures for a petition to incorporate the town and met with other community leaders at Indian Springs School campus, and in 1990, the couple saw their efforts pay off when the town was incorporated.

Today, Goodwyn, the town’s historian, is working to complete a written history of Indian Springs.

“I just feel like I need to write it all down. I feel like it’s a story,” she said. “I hope the good Lord will let me live to get that done.” l

Ruth Goodwyn

April 2012 31

Ken Penhale grew up riding his bicycle through some of Shelby County’s most historic places, as the city of Helena was a bustling coal mining community. The Penhales moved to the area in 1875, and Penhale’s paternal great-grandfather served as mining superintendent. His grandfather was a mine foreman and fi rst mayor of Helena in 1917.

He spent time as a child around Helena’s coke ovens, which are now on city property where Buck Creek and Cahaba River meet. Penhale said the land will someday be a park with walking and hiking trails.

Recently, Penhale, with help from the community, collected much of the city’s history into the Kenneth R. Penhale City of Helena Museum in downtown Helena.

“People had stuff in their basements, storage and stuck here and there,” he said. “I’ve been real fortunate with people sharing what they’ve got.”

When asked why he spends time preserving Helena’s history, Penhale said it’s important for future generations.

“It’s an old saying, and I didn’t coin it, but if you don’t know where you’ve been, you don’t know where you’re going,” Penhale said. “I love history, and I’ve always been interested in historic preservation.”

Part of Penhale’s mission has been to preserve artifacts from the Eureka mining camp, which is where the new Helena High School will be built.

“If we don’t, it’ll be lost forever,” he said of locating pieces of Helena’s mining past. “It will give a glimpse of what life was like in a mining camp.”

In addition to his work on Helena’s history, Penhale, whose brother, Sonny Penhale is the mayor of Helena, served as the fi rst president of the Shelby County Historical Society and was invested in restoring the old courthouse in Columbiana.

“It’s something you have. It’s hard to explain what your interests are. It’s just there,” he said of his interest in history. “It’s important to have roots.”

The Kenneth R. Penhale City of Helena Museum is located at 5260 Helena Road in Helena. l

Ken Penhale

32 ShelbyLiving.com

April 2012 33

Bobby Joe Seales knew his family tree was rooted in Shelby County history, but only started digging into that history after he became an adult.

“In high school and college, I hated history,” Seales said. “When I was in college and my parents were still living, I decided to do some of the family history. There were so many Seales, I gave up.”

While attending the University of Montevallo, Seales wanted to become a math teacher. He became an internal auditor, but found a second calling caring for the county’s history.

Seales began by helping with records from the courthouse, but soon became the executive director of the Shelby County Museum and Archives, which is located in the old courthouse in Columbiana. He also became the seventh president of the Shelby County Historical Society in 1999.

Seales discovered his family moved to the area before the county was established.

“My great-great grandfather was born in a wagon train on the way to Shelby County,” he said.

“Here, you’re related to everyone if you’ve been here any length of time,” he said after explaining his family’s numerous connections with other local families, even Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley.

“I love Shelby County history because I can go back and see what my ancestors did to make Shelby County what it is today,” he said.

Seales, also a genealogist, said he helped a woman, who was adopted as a child, from Maryland find her birth mother’s grave in the county.

“Something about that really touched me,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. The names matched up, and it all fell into place.

“I’m here to help people, here to help the public,” he said.

The Shelby County Museum and Archives is loacted in the heart of Columbiana at 1854 Old Courthouse. Visit Schsociety.org for more information. l

Bobby Joe Seales

34 ShelbyLiving.com

This page: Tom Daspit of Studio D Photography shoots a photo of a bride and groom from above. (Contributed by Studio D Photography.) Opposite page: Kelli Hewett Taylor of Daniel Taylor Photography lays on the ground to get an unusual angle of the wedding party praying. (Contributed by Daniel Taylor Photography.)

April 2012 35

A bride-to-be’s to-do list can be incredibly daunting.

There’s a dress to pick, china to select and a wedding

party to choose. That’s not including the vendors to hire to make your big day perfect: planners, photographers, event spaces, florists and musicians. The list seems never ending.

Hiring the right vendors for your wedding can go a long way in keeping your stress level at a minimum both during the planning stages and on your big day.

For budgets big and small and engagements short and long, keep this advice from local vendors in mind when planning your dream wedding.

how to hire the professionalsYour initial research will probably be

done online. Wedding websites and online reviews are a great place to start, but your background research should be more thorough than that. Background research can go a long way in making sure you’ve hired the right people.

Schedule an interview with potential vendors in person, and make a list of questions you want to ask. A vendor should have an established history planning or shooting events and be willing to provide references. Be sure to inquire about insurance and back-up plans.

Another clue you’re working with pros? They’re involved with professional associations in the area, such as the Association of Bridal Consultants.

“With any profession, whether it’s photographers, events planners, vendors, the bride needs to be sure the vendor has expertise in the field,” said Meghan Cease, owner of M. Elizabeth Events in Birmingham.

Personality is also a factor to consider when hiring vendors. You’re going to spend a considerable amount of time with your vendors both on your wedding day and during planning, so it’s important you get along.

“It’s kind of overlooked at times, but

Wedding planning with the prosWhat you need to know when hiring vendors for your big day

Written by katie mCdoWell

36 ShelbyLiving.com

ABOVE: Associates of M. Elizabeth Events shield a bride from the sun on her wedding day. BELOW: A binder from M. Elizabeth Events keeps the wedding day on track. (Both contributed by M. Elizabeth Events.)

April 2012 37

it’s very important that you have a very good personality connection with your vendor,” said Tom Daspit, owner of Studio D Photography in Helena.

finding the right photographerWhen searching for the right

photographer, keep in mind you’ll still need to meet in person - and see printed samples.

“Having a website is not necessarily a sign of being a professional ... whatever you see on the website, you want to see in your hand,” said Kelli Hewett Taylor of Daniel Taylor Photography in Birmingham.

Vendors should have insurance and a backup plan. Taylor said she and her husband take a copy of wedding photos to a bank vault the Monday following the wedding. Otherwise, in the event of a flood, power surge or theft, the photos are gone.

You should also talk to your photographer about what happens if he or she is unable to attend the wedding. Most professional photography companies have assistants or contract freelancers with similar styles.

What if i’m on a budget? If you need to stick to a budget, consider

hiring a wedding planner. It may seem odd to spend money when you’re trying to save money, but wedding planners have connections and resources that most brides don’t.

“With our company, we see budgets from A-Z,” Cease said. “We help make sure (brides) stay inside their budgets.”

Almost all vendors suggest prioritizing what’s most important to you on your wedding day.

“Obviously, I’m biased, but I’m going to tell brides not to skimp on the photography,” Daspit said. “That’s what you have after the wedding. You can’t recreate it. You can’t get that back. You have to get it right the first time.”

Be wary of cost-cutting measures, such as printing photos at chain stores. Professional labs will produce photos of archival quality and with consistent color.

If you have your heart set on a certain photographer who is out of your price range, Taylor suggested asking for recommendation of a photographer with a similar style at your price point. She said established photographers may have assistants or freelancers who may have a style similar to the one you like.

The most important thing - no matter your budget - is finding a consultant, photographer or vendor who respects your creative vision and is excited to work with you. l

38 ShelbyLiving.com

The YMCA of Greater Birmingham has three branches in Shelby County: Alabaster, Pelham and Greystone. While each facility shares the same three tenets of the YMCA - youth development, healthy living and social responsibility - each also offers its community unique opportunities. Find out more at Ymcabham.org.

A place of community

Whether it is sports, summer camps, or exercise classes, opportunities abound at the local YMCA.

Written by angie BroWnPhotographs by jon goering

April 2012 39

Opened in October 2010, the Alabaster Family YMCA already has big plans for a new addition to the existing building, Membership Director Carol Hamilton said. The current space features workout equipment and exercise classes, such as spinning, Zumba, BodyPUMP and pilates.

While the YMCA has had a presence in Alabaster for a long time with its childcare facility on Seventh Street, once the new addition is complete on Plaza Circle, all programs will be housed under the same roof. The offi cial groundbreaking and ribbon cutting is April 18, and the project is expected to take about 10 months to complete, Hamilton said. The addition will double the size of the current building and will include expanded childcare and a year-round

pool. Hamilton expects the aquatics program will be a huge draw, especially for the senior population.

Around 850 people are members at this branch, and fi nancial assistance is available for membership.

“We try not to turn anyone away membership-wise or program-wise,” Hamilton said. Currently, members can enjoy a variety of activities, including youth sports. Registration for T-ball and baseball will begin on April 2, and other upcoming events and classes, such as summer day camp, including specialty camps such as Princess Camp or Wild About Wilderness Camp as well as sports camps and traditional camps, swim lessons, lifeguard certifi cation and more are available as well. l

Alabaster YMCA117 Plaza CircleAlabaster, AL 35007663-7240Childcare Center1303 Seventh Street SWAlabaster, AL 35007663-6504

Hours:Mon. to Thurs.: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.Friday: 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.Sat: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.Sunday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

40 ShelbyLiving.com

Pelham YMCA2610 Pelham Parkway

Pelham, AL 35214664-9622

Hours: Monday-Friday: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.Saturday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday: 1 to 6 p.m.

The Pelham branch, open since 1997, has a membership base of approximately 2,000, but they anticipate 2,500 this summer, Membership Director Leslie Lazaro said. The facility boasts two pools, one year-round indoor and one outdoor that will open during the summer season as well as an outdoor track.

“We’re a huge youth program branch,” Lazaro said. The summer day camp is a large feature and includes

traditional camps, but also specialty camps, sports camps and aquatics camps.

“I’m signing my kids up right now,” Lazaro said. “One week it’s basketball camp, the next it’s outdoor adventure, and the next it’s gross-out camp.”

Baseball and T-ball registration, open to members and non-members, begins in April, with practice in May and games beginning in June. Volunteer coaching opportunities are often available.

The branch has a strong senior program, Lazaro said, because it accepts Silver Sneakers members, which is a health insurance benefit certain plans offer. It also partnered with the Shelby Baptist Medical Center’s Rehab Services and offers Warm Water Therapy classes in a 96-degree heated pool, which is particularly helpful for those with arthritis or post-surgery issues.

“We are very tied to the community,” Lazaro said. “We provide scholarships and are a huge support for families...making it possible for folks who might not have that opportunity.”

Last year alone, the branch gave $106,000 in financial assistance.

April 2012 41

Greystone YMCA5414 Highway 280Birmingham, AL 35242981-0144Hours: Mon. to Thurs.: 5 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.Friday: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.Saturday: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.Sunday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Open for six years, the Greystone facility features two swimming pools, a wading pool, tennis courts, childcare and youth sports and summer camp, among others programs. It also offers exercise classes and equipment.

Kristin Harris, associate/membership director, said popular classes include Y Cross and Zumba.Membership is approximately 2,700, with a number of opportunities awaiting members, especially during the summer. April is a great

time to sign up for summer camp, which is open to children ages 5 to 12. Kids swim every day and go on a field trip once a week in traditional camp, Harris said. There are specialty camps focused on drawing, pottery and much more. Summer swim team is a favorite and includes beginners to experienced swimmers, so long as the person can swim the length of the pool. The swim team competes in a meet once a week around the city. Both summer camps and the swim team are available to members and non-members alike.

Another popular program is T-ball and baseball for children ages 3 to 12. Registration for summer play begins April 2. Tennis is also popular at Greystone. “We have a very active tennis program,” Harris said. “We have a pro on staff. We do the whole variety of clinics and leagues and socials.” Several volunteer opportunities exist at Greystone, where volunteers can help with youth development, including sports, youth programs,

summer camp and after school.l

42 ShelbyLiving.com

at home in Chelsea

PGAgolfer

April 2012 43

Gary Christian left Inverness Country Club in a bad mood following a round full of awful swings and missed putts.

To blow off some steam, Christian decided to drive around and look for a future home for his family.

Christian’s day didn’t get any better when he found himself lost on U.S. 11 in north Shelby County. However, the natural beauty Christian encountered in the flowing hills and valleys during his drive made his mind up about where his family would live.

“I had a bad nine holes of golf and went looking for some property,” Christian said. “I got lost on Highway 11. I couldn’t find my way back out. The hardest part was finding it again.”

Christian, a 40-year-old who began his first season on the PGA Tour at the Sony Open Championship in January, now calls Chelsea’s Deer Ridge his home along with his wife Kimberly and sons Nicholas and Alex.

Several factors led to the Carshalton, England native making his home in Shelby County, including the Shelby County School System’s reputation, Christian said.

“We loved the modernity of the schools,” Christian said. “There are also great teachers in the system.”

Christian said his family benefits from having “non-traditional” jobs, which keep the husband and wife away from U.S. 280 during morning and afternoon rush hour.

“We love it,” Christian said. “The quality of life is pretty high in Shelby County. We don’t realize how lucky we are until we look around.”

Christian’s path to Chelsea took him through stops in Hanceville, Auburn and Dallas, Texas.

Christian decided to come to America to prove he could earn a living playing golf after graduating from high school in England. Christian took a chance on his future after saving up money to participate in a tryout in front of college coaches in Florida.

“I worked two years in London in an extremely boring job,” Christian said. “I was playing golf two days a week and beating guys who were playing seven days a week.”

The trip to Florida paid off, Christian said. Christian and his family relocated to Hanceville when he was offered a men’s golf scholarship to play at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.

“There were a lot of college golf coaches there,” Christian said. “I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to Wallace State. I was an All-American at Wallace and earned a scholarship to Auburn.”

After graduation from Auburn University, the Christian family moved to Birmingham due to his wife’s job. The Christian family spent three years in Dallas when she was transferred before another change brought the family back to Birmingham.

“We much prefer Birmingham to Dallas,” Christian said.Christian played on the Nationwide Tour for six years before

earning his PGA Tour card following his victory at the Mylan Classic at Southpointe Golf Club on the Nationwide Tour last September.

Christian said he drew a lot of media attention leading up to the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii, because of his age, but he feels like he can be competitive in his first season on golf’s biggest stage.

“I don’t feel like I’m that old,” Christian said. “Age is just a number. The main thing is to remain mentally strong.” l

at home in Chelsea

PGAWritten by Wesley hallmanPhotographs by jon goering

44 ShelbyLiving.com

Calera rancher Kenny Ellison is amazed looking back at the accomplishments he and his wife, Rhonda, had at the Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association (PAFRA) World Finals last November in Midland, Texas.

Kenny, who captured the world champion buckle for Team Roping Heeler at the event, never expected to come back home with a title following the 18-hour trip. Rhonda came back home with the reserve world title for Team Roping Header.

“It’s like someone racing on a short track around here winning the Daytona 500,” Kenny said. “That meant everything to me.”

The couple became involved with PAFRA through Rhonda, a 21-year military veteran who is currently a public health officer with the Air National Guard. Rhonda, who runs the Calera Animal Hospital with her husband, started her military career with four years on active duty with the Army.

PAFRA is a world-wide military rodeo association comprised of active duty, guard, reserve and honorably discharged veterans and their dependents. The group brings together those that share two loves — military and rodeo, Rhonda said.

Rhonda Ellison said joining the association was a no-brainer for her and her husband. Kenny developed an affection for roping at an early age, and he got his wife involved when the two met 12 years ago.

The couple has been traveling to compete in Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeos across the country ever since, she said.

“We go quite often,” Rhonda said.Rhonda said she picked up her roping skills from her husband,

who inspired her passion for the sport.“He taught me everything I know,” Rhonda said. “He’s been

doing this for over 40 years.”The 2011 world finals was the couple’s first experience on the

association’s biggest stage. Kenny said years of roping experience together paid off for the couple.

“We’ve done exceptionally well,” Kenny said. “For our first year, you can’t ask for any better results. We’ve been blessed. We’ve worked really hard.”

The husband and wife tentatively plan to return to Midland, Texas in November to defend their 2011 world titles. l

Ropin’ and ridin’

THIS PAGE: Kenny Ellison recently won the world champion buckle at the Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Assocation World Finals. OPPOSITE PAGE: His wife, Rhonda, was awarded the reserve world title.

April 2012 45

Written by Wesley hallmanPhotographs by jon goering

46 ShelbyLiving.com

On any given day, the boxing gym of Round 1 Boxing at American Fitness is fi lled with members hitting speed bags, performing conditioning activities and working with mitts, among other exercises.

Located on Valleydale Road, the 10,000-square-foot facility contains a full-sized boxing ring, heavy bags, speed bags, treadmills, free weights and more, as well as an outside space for conditioning equipment, such as jump ropes and chin-up bars. Coach Dave Godber has more than 20 years of coaching experience with the sport as well as fi ght experience, and Round 1 Boxing is the franchise holder of the Alabama Golden Gloves and Silver Gloves program. The program is one pathway to the Olympic movement, Goldber said.

“I’m in charge of starting the process with the young kids or young adults here in Alabama, and I move them on to the regional levels. You can’t just appear at regional, you have to win your state. I put on the state tournament for both the kids and the adults once a year,” he said.

This year’s state golden gloves tournament will be March 31 and April 1 at Round 1 Boxing. The boxing facility has a competitive fi ght team of around 25 people, one of which, Mikey Santos, is traveling along with Goldber to the Olympic Trials. There are very few places that offer Olympic-style boxing, says Dave, and Round 1 Boxing is one of them. His two sons, Chris and Luke, also compete and have numerous fi ght experiences. Kids ages 8 to 16 are Silver Gloves

competitors, young adults 17 to 35 are Golden Gloves competitors, and men and women over 35 are considered Masters Boxing. Goldber stressed that the No. 1 priority of amateur boxing is safety, and participants are always well protected and supervised whenever they enter the ring.

But this monthly membership facility is not just for competitive fi ghting or those interested in learning the skill. It’s also for those who want to take advantage of the superior conditioning that boxing affords. A women’s boxing class is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and everything else is open gym.

“It’s like having a personal trainer,” Goldber said, and beginners are often the best students because they have not developed any bad habits. Sessions last an hour and a half, and “they do not stop moving,” Goldber said. The 125 members explore every aspect of fi tness, from cardio to muscular to skill orientation.

Goldber, whose grandfather was a professional boxer, started out boxing as a kid in Toronto, Canada, before moving to Alabama to attend Auburn University. He joined the Marine Corps and started coaching boxing full-time in 1989.

“I have a true passion for it,” he said. “What we want are self-empowered kids, and self-empowered kids feel good about themselves and fi nd themselves in little trouble. They are able to handle pressure much more than the average person, and that’s what life deals you is pressure in all sorts of areas. They learn to make good decisions under pressure situations. We call them gentle giants.”

Find out more at Round1goldengloves.com or call 907-1752. l

Written by angie BroWnPhotographs by Corey nolen

Entering theEntering theRingRound 1 Boxing equips its members with boxing skills, supreme fi tness and self-empowerment

ABOVE: Dr. Frank Melazzo spars with a partner at Round I Boxing. OPPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Hunter Brantley works out with a punching bag; Coach Dave Godber stand in the ring;

Dave assists Jeffrey Tapia as he prepares to work out.

April 2012 47

48 ShelbyLiving.com

What you need to know about

Regina Bedgood watches as a class works out.

April 2012 49

q: What are common signs of au-tism and asperger syndrome?

A: Autistic disorder and Asperger Syndrome are under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders on the DSM – IV criteria. The common signs in individuals with these disor-ders are the social challenges that they have. In addition unusual behaviors and interests are common in both disorders. The main difference is the development of language on time on individuals with Asperger’s disorder but they will still have difficulties with the social use of language as well as restrictive interests.

q: When do asd signs typically manifest?

A: ASD signs can be present since early infancy, however these are difficult to detect. The signs become clearer to parents by 18 to 24 months of age when children do not have language develop-ment. Some children may not manifest signs until later.

q: do you believe autism occurs before or after birth? in other words, do you think it is a condition you’re born with or is it caused by environ-mental factors?

A: There are many factors that are associated with having an Autism Spec-trum Disorder. Some have been geneti-cally related like some syndromes and some have been environmental related. The research shows that perhaps are a combination of factors and perhaps some children have a predisposition to this.

q: for years, parents with young children worried about a link be-tween autism and vaccines. recently, the medical journal retracted a study that sparked the vaccine scare in the late 90s. does the medical community still battle the belief that vaccines cause autism?

A: Unfortunately, the medical com-munity still battles with this belief. Even though there has been a retrac-tion on the study, many parents remain

skeptical to vaccination. Pediatricians should continue to encourage parents to vaccinate their children as there has been several researches done and no link between vaccination and autism has been found.

q: the number of children di-agnosed with autism has increased significantly since the 1990s. What do you attribute the increase to?

A: The increase is probably related to a number of factors, which include change in criteria to make the diagnosis and increased recognition of signs by parents and providers.

q: approximately one out of every 110 children has autism. do you think autism is being over diagnosed?

A: There are two separate reports that have reported a similar incidence. The CDC reviewed records in order to make the estimate, and the other study asked parents by phone. Although both studies are strong they also have weaknesses. However, it is still reported that the age of diagnosis is later than the ideal time for intervention, therefore it is impor-tant to make a diagnosis earlier.

q: is asd more likely to affect people of particular genders, races or socioeconomic groups?

A: Many studies have shown that males are more affected than females. There is no difference in race. Regard-ing socio economic groups, the results vary. However, it is possible that higher socioeconomic groups tend to have more access to services and therefore receive the diagnosis earlier.

q: the new edition of the diagnos-tic and statistical manual of mental disorders - a standard reference for diagnosing mental disorders that also influences treatment and insurance decisions - is expected to narrow the definition of autism. how will this ef-fect people diagnosed with asd?

A: It should not affect people who already have the diagnoses of autism.

However the effect on how many children will receive the diagnosis it is not clear, but the American Psychiat-ric Association believes that this new definition will help make more accurate diagnoses and therefore more focused treatment.

q: autism was first used as a diag-nosis in children with emotional or social problems in the 1940s. What were other diagnoses used for autism prior to that time?

A: Children were probably described mostly by the behavioral signs that they were having. Some used to describe them as early cases of schizophrenia.

q: how many adults are diagnosed with asperger syndrome each year?

A: I am not aware of the exact number of adults being diagnosed with Asperger each year. There is concern that people have been mislabeled with this term.

q: how can an adult go years without receiving a diagnosis? should an adult who suspects he or she has asperger syndrome seek an official diagnosis from a doctor?

A:Besides the social challenges that persist into adulthood, people with ASD may develop language and have normal cognitive abilities. Therefore they may not have received a prior diagnosis. If an adult believes they may have Asperger Syndrome they should seek care to get help with their diagnosis, and to get treatment. They may have many difficul-ties with relationships or at work and may benefit from some treatments.

Dr. Myriam Peralta Carcelen is a professor of Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is board certified in development and behavioral pediatrics. She is the current medical director for the Medical Autism Clinic, located at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama, which provides medical evalua-tions for children with autism. l

Ask

the

Doc

tor

AutismWhat you need to know about

50 ShelbyLiving.com

Eight years have passed since Jimmy and Stephanie Dikis moved to Columbiana from Hoover.

The couple, who have two grown sons, loved the city, but they were ready for a change of pace. They wanted land and an escape from the hustle and bustle of the Birmingham area.

They were familiar with Columbiana because they used to drive through the town on the way to the 4-H Center. They liked the quaint downtown, but never thought much about moving there until Jimmy stopped for lunch one day with a friend.

“Stephanie, this place is like Mayberry,” he said to his wife when he returned home.

They decided to take a chance, and bought 10 acres of land on Shelby County 47 in Columbiana. They rented a home in the area for a few years before their own home was completed in the fall of 2007.

In the last five years, the couple has grown roots in the county. Stephanie, a graphic artist by trade, began taking classes at the Shelby County Arts Council and now teaches there. Jimmy befriended the neighbors, who call him “Hoover” and introduced him to the quirks of farming life.

The Dikises brought their own style to Columbiana. Both Greek Orthodox, Stephanie grew up in Albuquerque, N.M., while Jimmy was raised in Hoover.

Their three-story, Craftsman-style home reflects their

Creative in the country

A city couple finds Columbiana offers space for family, friends and art

Written by katie mCdoWellPhotographs by jon goering

ABOVE: The foyer contains a mix of old – a beautiful antique dresser – and new – paintings and pottery – that provides a colorful entrance to the home. LEFT: Weathered doors hanging over the bed offer a unique focal point for the master bedroom.

April 2012 51

Written by katie mCdoWellPhotographs by jon goering

52 ShelbyLiving.com

TOP: The Dikises created a niche for a favorite statue they bought in New Mexico. ABOVE LEFT: Religious icons in the master bedroom hint at the Dikises’ Greek Orthodox roots. ABOVE RIGHT: Jimmy and Stephanie Dikis moved to Columbiana several years ago after they decided they wanted to enjoy a slower pace of life.

April 2012 53

TOP LEFT: Finished pottery pieces line the wall in Stephanie’s downstairs studio. TOP RIGHT: Prints by Susan Dennis Gordon of the Shelby County Arts Council hang on the wall in the dining room. ABOVE: The guest bathroom features rich colors and textured fabrics.

54 ShelbyLiving.com

April 2012 55

Exceptional Experiences Every DaySM

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backgrounds, as well as their interest in the arts.

“At times I think we’re too traditional, but we’re not,” Jimmy said. “The house is kind of eclectic.”

The furniture may be traditional in the sense that much of it is antique wood, but the intricate detailing gives it an unusual look. Favorite pieces include a buffet and dining table and chairs in the living room, which were bought at estate sales and antique stores in the area.

The wall colors, intense reds and golds, brings the house to life, as well as the eclectic mix of artwork – sculptures, paintings, pottery – scattered throughout the house.

Finding the perfect paint color was a challenge for the couple, especially Stephanie, who still has dozens of pint-sized cans of sample paint in the basement.

“I have a very detailed eye for hues,” she said with a laugh.

The master bedroom features the Dikises’ charming mix of new finds, antiques and do-it-yourself projects.

Neutral linens are complemented by rich reds and golds. Two weathered, old doors hang above the bed. A niche in the wall holds religious icons, mostly family heirlooms, as well as the crowns from their weddings.

The second floor is home to their sons’ bedrooms, as well as one of the Stephanie’s studios.

“I live with Martha Stewart,” Jimmy said jokingly. “Whether it’s pottery, jewelry or painting, there’s always something to do.”

The upstairs studio is for Stephanie’s beadwork. While her jewelry making has taken a backseat to pottery for now, Stephanie has had success in the past, even selling pieces to Bromberg’s a few years ago.

Her second studio is located on the ground floor. There she creates custom, functional pottery pieces that she sells on Etsy.com and in local exhibits. A second living room serves a recreation room on the ground floor as well.

Of course, the real draw for the Dikises is their sprawling property – all 10 acres of it. It was the reason they moved to the country, and while it takes more work than they expected, they aren’t complaining. While the landscaping isn’t complete, they have a plan in place to create both a floral and herb garden this year.

The Dikises also love to spend time watching University of Alabama football games on the porch or relaxing in the hot tub after work. They invite friends and family over to sit around the fire pit on cool night.

Five years after they’ve moved into the home, the Dikises are happily settled into country life. In fact, looking back on the move, they’re surprised they ever worried.

“When we were doing this, all of the things came together,” Stephanie said, “which kind of made it feel like we were supposed to do it.” l

LEFT: The kitchen is a favorite place for the Dikises to gather. ABOVE: Stephanie created these funky owl vases in the kitchen.

56 ShelbyLiving.com

dining guide

ALCOHOLSERVED

CATERINGAVAILABLE

RESERVATIONSRECOMMENDED

LIVEMUSIC

FACEBOOK TWITTER BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER

the Shelby Living

April 2012 57

dining guide

Pub 2619340 Helena Road / Pelham / 205.444.0261

Pub261.net

Miami Cafe3569 Hwy 31 / Pelham / 205.358.8348

If you want something that has Caribbean flare, Miami Cafe’s got it! They serve nothing but authentic cuisine from the classic Cuban sandwich to Arroz con Guandules with roasted pulled pork. If you don’t have time to dine in, then take it with you! Catering is available for special occasions or corporate events that are sure to impress. Enjoy the taste of the Caribbean.

Home-cooked meat & three lunch 11-2 • Great pub foodLive entertainment Mon-Sat • No cover charge Monday-Thursday

6 pool tables • 16 flat-screen tv’s • 32 draft beers

Pelham’s Best Bar & Grill

Mikey’s Grill4254 Southlake Parkway Suite 7 / Hoover

205.538.7637 / Mikeysgrill.com

Mikey and Melissa have been in the fine dining business for more than 30 years combined. Mikey buys only the freshest seafood possible and cuts all steaks in house. Come try our one of a kind Chicken Saltimbocca, topped with sweet marsala prosciutto, cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella cheeses or one of our many other signature dishes. We have great daily lunch specials starting at $5.50, and an extensive wine collection at our bar, and you can enjoy anything on our menu all day. We are open from 11 a.m.-2 Tuesday - Friday for lunch, 4:30-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, and 4:30-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday for dinner. So, if you’re looking for a wonderful dining experience, come to Mikey’s Grill.

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Blue grits Blue grits are more expensive, as blue corn costs about twice as much as yellow or white corn.McEwen said blue grits might have a little more pro-tein than the white grits. “I think the colored (grits) may have a little more flavor,” he said.

Speckled grits Speckled grits are a mix of McEwen’s yellow and white grits. McEwen’s sister, Susan McEwen McIn-tosh, author of the cookbook “Glorious Grits,” prefers the speckled grits. “She thinks they’re the prettiest,” McEwen said.

GritsAdd color to your breakfast

Written by amy jonesPhotographs by jon goering

April 2012 59

Frank McEwen loves his grits — no matter their color. McEwen’s business, McEwen and Sons, sells organic grits,

cornmeal and polenta, among other products, to some of the culinary world’s best and brightest stars.

McEwen sells four different kinds of organic grits — white, yellow, blue and speckled. He gets his corn from an organic farm in

Illinois. He said the real differences among the grits come in how they look on the plate, not how they taste.

“If you close your eyes, you might taste little differences, but it’s very slight,” he said.

However, he’s not choosing sides. “I like ‘em all. Whoever wants to cook ‘em for me,” he said,

laughing.Here’s a primer on the other differences among McEwen’s four

kinds of organic grits.

White grits White grits come from white corn and are “more traditionally Southern,” McEwen said. Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B–Q restaurants uses McEwen’s white grits, along with highly regarded Louisiana chef and James Beard Award winner John Besh.

Yellow grits McEwen said the yellow grits and the white grits are his two most popular kinds of grits. Lots of big culinary names order McEwen’s yellow grits, such as James Beard Award winner Frank Stitt of Highlands Bar and Grill, and other restaurants like Hot and Hot Fish Club and the Fish Market.

Add color to your breakfast

60 ShelbyLiving.comChocoalte covered cannoli

April 2012 61

For New York native Lorenzo Billitteri, running his North Shelby restaurant, Amore, is just as entertaining as any Broadway show.

“For me, it’s always been a passion and an art. The food, the ambience, the service. It’s my version of the theater,” Billitteri said. “The dining room is our stage.”

Billitteri opened Amore about six years ago after he found a location intimate enough to fit his vision of a place where adults could enjoy romantic dinners.

“I’ve always liked small, intimate places. It allows me not to be open for lunch,” he said. “We spend the whole day focusing on dinner. If we were open for lunch, to me, it would take away from what we try to do.”

While there are varied classic Italian dishes on Amore’s menu, Billitteri said patrons have shown a fondness for the restaurant’s seafood, veal and pasta dishes.

Grouper fish dishes are especially well-loved, including the black grouper pescatore, a meal of grouper, scallops and shrimp sautéed with garlic and white wine in a light marinara sauce over linguini, and the black grouper francaise, which consists of lightly battered grouper sautéed in white wine with capers, tomatoes and mushrooms in a lemon butter sauce with shrimp.

The menu also boasts favorites such as veal parmigiana, with veal baked in a marinara sauce topped with fresh mozzarella, and pasta creations such as baked ziti, chicken cacciatore and ravioli with ricotta cheese.

All dishes come with house salads, homemade garlic bread and bruschetta.

Amore’s atmosphere is just as sumptuous as the chef’s creations, with rich red and burgundy colors decorating the walls, dark wood detail throughout the architecture and wine bottles bringing the feel of Italy inside.

While bottles decorate Amore’s walls, wine is also a restaurant fixture. Amore has three different wine menus, with one apiece for red, white and reserve wines. The menus include wines in all price ranges. Even with the restaurant’s extensive wine menus, Billitteri said there’s more to add to please his customers.

“We’re adding lots of new wines, lots of names that people want,” he said. “I think in this kind of restaurant, people want to enjoy good wine with their food.”

Billitteri said he planned every aspect of the restaurant, which only seats between 30-35 patrons at one time, to amp up the intimacy and romance for his customers. Meals are by candlelight, with the lights dimmed.

That’s

Written by amy jonesPhotographs by jon goering

Amoré

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April 2012 63

“It’s about creating the intimacy. If it’s someone’s on a date or a married couple who got a babysitter and want to have a romantic evening, it secludes you from the other people around you,” he said, adding that waiters are armed with fl ashlights in case there’s diffi culty reading the menu. “We try to give people a true dining experience. We want them to feel like when they come through the door, they forget about what’s out there. They’re transported.”

For more information on Amore, visit Letsamore.com or call

437-1005. The restaurant is open Tuesdays-Thursdays from 5-9 p.m. and Fridays-Saturdays from 5-9:30 p.m. The restaurant is located at 5510 U.S. 280, Suite 116.

Billitteri said he recommends customers make reservations for weekend dinner dates.

He said the restaurant can usually squeeze customers in at the last minute, but making reservations is the best way to ensure there will be seats available in the dining room.l

LEFT: Stuffed Grouper topped with lump crab meat wrapped with apple smoked bacon. TOP: Grouper Francaise with recipe. ABOVE: Sous chef Frank Johnson.

Grouper FrancaiseIngredients: 8 oz skinless snapper filetFlourTwo eggsChopped parsleyParmigiano cheeseFreshly ground pepper1 / 2 cup olive oil1 / 4 stick melted butter1 / 2 cup sliced white mushrooms1 cup dry white wineJuice of 1 / 2 lemon3 thin lemon slicesChicken stock, if neededCapers, if desiredSundried tomatoes, if desiredKalamata olives, if desired

Directions: 1. Lightly coat both sides of the snapper filet in flour. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350.2. In a small bowl, beat two eggs and add a pinch of parsley, a pinch of Parmigiano cheese and a pinch of fresh ground pepper. Place snapper in the egg wash and coat.3. In a sauté pan, heat olive oil. When oil is hot, gently place snapper in the pan and let cook on both sides for 30 seconds per side. 4. Carefully remove snapper from pan and place into another sauté pan with melted butter. Add mushrooms and a pinch of parsley. (If you want, add capers, sundried tomatoes and Kalamata olives now.) When pan is hot, add white wine and lemon juice. 5. Place lemon slices on top of snapper and allow to simmer for two minutes before finishing in oven for another three minutes. Add a small amount of chicken stock if extra liquid is needed. Makes one serving.

64 ShelbyLiving.com

Home & Food

Ingredients:12 medium-sized oranges6 eggs11/2 cup sugar1 qt. water2 oz. gelatin1/2 qt. whipped creamMint leaves for garnish, if desired

Directions:1. Cut tops off oranges and scoop out pulpy insides. Retain orange juice.2. Add six egg yolks and sugar to orange juice. Whip mixture until light color.3. Combine water and gelatin in a saucepan. Heat mixture and stir

until gelatin dissolves.4. Add six egg whites to orange juice mixture, then fold in whipped cream and gelatin. Whip until fluffy.5. Spoon mixture into empty orange peels. Dollop with whipped cream and add mint leaves, if desired.

Olonia Jones found her life’s work nearly half a century ago in the kitchens of the University of Montevallo.

“After 46 years, you learn to do a few things,” Jones said of her cooking abilities.

Jones, who will turn 70 in August, said a position in the university kitchen was the fi rst job she ever had.

“There’s been a lot of companies, but I’ve always been in this place,” she said.

“I’m so old they’re going to have to wheel me in and stand me up,” she added, laughing.

When Jones fi rst took the job, she worked on the line as a “young teeny bopper,” she said.

“All boys worked in the bakery, but I’d sneak in there anyway,” she said.

One day, the supervisor caught Jones in the bakery joking around with the boys and asked her to make a chocolate pudding recipe. She has worked in the bakery ever since.

“I used to come up with different recipes with leftover things,” she said. “We have

‘Momma’ of the kitchenWritten by

Christine BoatWrightPhotographs by jon goering

ABOVE: Olonia Jones uses a dollop of whipped cream to complement her fluffy orange filling. While she recommends using a mint leaf as garnish, Jones added green icing to give the dessert more color. RIGHT: Jones, whose first job was at the University of Montevallo, has continued working for the university for 46 years.

Orange Soufflé Glaze

April 2012 65

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to go strictly by recipes (for the current company), but I always break the rules. They’re always after me.”

Jones does more than provide sweets for the university’s students and staff, however.

“They call me their momma,” she said, indicating she knows each student and cares for individual needs.

Jones has always lived in Montevallo, and she has four children, nine grandchildren and “six-and-a-half” great-grandchildren, as another is on the way.

“I just love to get up and come here and mess with these children,” Jones said of the students. “I’d be sitting at home doing nothing. I love to come up here and be with these children.”

Jones invented her orange

souffl é glaze from her own recipe and uses the orange juice from the oranges to give the dessert a fresh, light fl avor.

“It’s a very light dessert,” she said. “It wouldn’t fi ll you all the way up after a big supper.”

The recipe makes about 12 desserts with regular-sized oranges, but about six with larger navel oranges.

“Navel oranges are larger. You’ve got to get his belly out and fi ll that whole thing up,” she said.

Although she isn’t the head of the kitchen, Jones admitted she “likes to boss folks around,” and won’t tolerate shoddy work in her kitchen.

“They know if they see me coming, and if it ain’t right, they know I’m going to tear it down,” she said. l

66 ShelbyLiving.com

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To fi nd out more about any member listed or other Chamber members, visit the online Business

Directory at Shelbychamber.org.

Critter Control of Birmingham Angie Barbon 10450 U.S. 280, Westover Pest Control & Services

donut joe’s Richard Byrd 3199 Lee Street, Pelham Food — Donuts

firehouse subs-280 Claudia Porter 5269 U.S. 280 South Birmingham Restaurant

firehouse subs — alabaster Claudia Porter 100 South Colonial Dr Ste 1200 Birmingham Restaurant

games2U Karen Cole 171 Market Street, Centreville Recreation/Entertainment

green Park south Jessica Caceres 301 Green Park South, Pelham Apartments/Leasing

UPs David Wilson 118 Citation Court , Birmingham Shipping Services

Willow house Karen Allison 509 Lane Park Run, Maylene E-Commerce/Specialty Gifts

New Members

February Ambassador of the Month

Kendall Williams

Ambassador Spotlight

Congratulations to Kendall Williams for being recognized as our Ambassador of the Month for February 2012. She is very active in the Ambassador Program and is an asset to our Chamber! Kendall serves as Community Liaison with America’s First Federal Credit Union. Their website states, “As a member of America’s First Federal Credit Union, you are an important part of a fi nancial institution that focuses on providing a level of service that

exceeds your expectations. We are dedicated to providing you with the latest products, services, and information to make your life easier.”

Williams for being recognized as our Ambassador of the Month for February 2012. She is very active in the Ambassador Program and is an asset to our Chamber! Kendall serves as Community Liaison with America’s First Federal Credit Union. Their website states, “As a member of America’s First Federal Credit Union, you are an important part of a fi nancial institution that focuses on providing a level of service that

exceeds your expectations. We are dedicated to providing you with

For more information about America’s First Federal Credit Union and the services they offer, contact Kendall Williams at (205) 716-3379 or at kendallw@amfi rst.org.

April 2012 67

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April 2012

3 Focus Columbiana, Shelby County Reporter, 115 North Main Street8:30 - 9:30 a.m. ~ No RSVP required. No cost.

EventsFind more details of what you can expect about any event listed by visiting the Greater Shelby County Chamber ’s website at

Shelbychamber.org. Register for events online at Shelbychamber.org, call the RSVP Line at 663-8923 or the Chamber at 663-4542.

GSCCEventsGSCCEvents

5 Business After Hours, Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, 1000 Amphitheatre Dr., Pelham 5 - 7 p.m. ~ No RSVP required. No cost.

10 Chamber Works, Chamber, 1301 County Services Drive, Pelham, 8:30 - 10 a.m. ~ No cost. RSVP required by noon, Monday, April 9th

12 A Taste of Shelby County, Cahaba Grand Conference Center, 3660 Grandview Parkway. 6 - 8 p.m. ~ Advance Tickets: $25 - At the door: $30

19 “Emergency Ready Program” SERVPRO, 10 Monroe Drive, Pelham, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. ~ RSVP required by noon, Tuesday, April 17th. Investment: No cost.

24 Network 280, Mitchell’s Paper Etc., 300 Doug Baker Blvd, Ste 1008:30 - 9:30 am ~ No RSVP required. No cost.

26 Speed Networking for Professionals, Hampton Inn & Suites 280 at Eagle Point, 6220 Farley Court, 8:30 - 10 a.m. ~ RSVP required by April 24th. No cost.

27 Annual Picnic, Alabaster Senior Center, 1097 - 7th St. S.W., Alabaster11 a.m. - 1 p.m. ~ RSVP required by April 25th. Investment: Members $17, non-members $25.

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2012 Continual Sponsors

A.C. Legg, Inc.Alabama Power

Alabama Telco Credit Union

ALAGASCOAliant Bank

America’s First Federal Credit Union

AT&TAT&T Advertising

SolutionsBrookwood Medical

CenterBusiness Telephones Inc.

Cahaba Grand Conference Center

Cahaba Valley Computer Services

Charter BusinessFastSigns

First Commercial BankGraham and

Associates, CPALegacy Community

Federal Credit UnionM&F Bank

Minuteman Press Alabaster

Shelby Baptist Medical Center

Shelby County ReporterStewart Organization

2012 GSCC Board of Directors

David NolenM&F Bank (Chair)

April Weaver Shelby Baptist Medical

Center

Bill KellerRegions Financial

Clint Umphrey Texas Roadhouse

Dave DavisLegacy Community

Federal Credit Union

Howard BaileyNeil Bailey Insurance &

Investments

Joe SullivanSullivan Communications,

Inc

John Browning Cahaba Valley

Computer Services, LLC

Keith Barfi eld Barfi eld, Murphy, Shank & Smith, PC

Keith Brown Jefferson State

Community College

Lisa McMahon Warren, Averett, LLC

Mike Vest Governor’s Commission on Physical Fitness & Sports

Paul Rogers Aliant Bank

Phillip Heard Alabama Gas Company

Silvia Hoyos Hispanic Interest

Coalition of Alabama

Terri WilliamsAT&T

Tim Bowen Alabama Power

Company

Tim PrinceShelby County Reporter

Taste of Shelby County

The Greater Shelby County Education Foundation and the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce are hosting the 5th Annual Taste of Shelby County on Thursday, April 12, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Cahaba Grand Conference

Center, 3660 Grandview Parkway, Birmingham.There will be vendors from all over Shelby County offering a taste of

specialty dishes from their menus. Vendors include restaurants, wineries and caterers. It will be an evening of music for those who would like to dance and dine.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door and are available for purchase at the Chamber offi ce or online at Shelbychamber.org.

A portion of the proceeds go to the Greater Shelby County Education Foundation. For more information please contact the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce at (205) 663-4542.

5th Annual

Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce 1301 County Services Drive, Pelham, Alabama 35124 (205) 663-4542 • Fax: (205) 663-4524 info@shelbychamber.org

Contact Us

Vivian Johnson Sam’s Club Hoover

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377 Huntley ParkwayPelham, AL 35124

Scan it. Browse it. emBRACE it.

Pelham & Calera | 205.664.4140www.BracingTeam.com

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April 2012 71

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Annual Chamber PicnicApril Luncheon

Join us for some fun in the sun and the shade at the Chamber’s Annual Picnic. The picnic will be on Friday, April 27th at the Alabaster Senior Center, 1097 - 7th Street S.W., Alabaster. Plan to make it an afternoon of fun after attending the picnic ... we’ve made it easy! We have outdoor fun plans in store for our members this year!

We’re having hot dogs and hamburgers along with all the fi xings you’ve come to expect. Plus music, games, and more creative ways to network with your fellow Chamber members while hanging around the covered tent. The weather has been requested to be beautiful that day, so make plans now to come out and fellowship with us! See you there!

Alabaster Senior Center, 1097 - 7th Street S.W., Alabaster. RSVP required by noon, Wednesday April 25th.Investment: Members $17, non-members $25.

Looking for a great gift for that sports fan on your list?! Tickets to the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy are the perfect gift! All the stars of the Indy 500 will be in Birmingham March 30 - April 1 at Barber Motorsports Park to compete on the fi nest road course in North America. Visit Barbermotorsports.com and surprise that special someone with tickets to the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama! As an added bonus, kids 12 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult! Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased at Barbermotorsports.com.

The need for speed

April 27, 2012 - 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.Alabaster Senior Center

The Greater Shelby County Education Foundation is seeking grant opportunities. If your company or organization offers grants for various education initiatives, such as workforce development, please contact us with the information. Call (205) 663-4542 for more information. Thank you for helping us further promote education throughout Shelby County!

Attention:

72 ShelbyLiving.com

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Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce luncheon

The Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce held its

monthly luncheon at the Pelham Civic Complex Jan. 25.

1. Lauren Dobson and Deanna Schrecongost2. Phillis Bolena, Wendy Sandlin and Jennifer Mann3. Erin Stephenson and Terri Williams4. Melinda and Dan Ward with Cindy Vinson5. Bob and Brenda Fitzgerald6. Lynn Coleman and Scott Walden7. Tom Sanders, Robbie Anderson, Mickey Ashman and Diane Lowe

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8. Angela Finley, Heather Dill and Lori Glennon9. Bryan and Karen Cole10. Trisha Freeman and Gene Wahnefried11. Gregory Tenn, Bruce Koppenhoefer and Madelyn Bonnett12. Kelly Harper and Paul Fairbanks13. Ben Colvin, Gayton Lopresti and Chris Strickland14. Jim Furhmeister and Gregg Maercher15. Nathan Click, Dawn Wood and Pelham Mayor Don Murphy

8 9

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9

Wild About ChocolateThe Alabama Wildlife Center held Wild About Chocolate Feb. 11 at the Harbert

Center in Birmingham.

1. Billy and Meghan Coffman2. Greg and Jolyn Berry 3. Elizabeth and Chris Imms4. Ming Yen Chua, Angelo Wilks and Daizy Walia5. Becca and Stan Huner6. Glen and Sandra Allinson with Legacy 7. Jason and Phoebe Christian8. Jeff and Tammy Harris9. Bill Foster and Jean Cecil

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10. Curtis and Liz Rozzelle11. Brandy Parker and Moiz Foulad12. Eva and Paul Franklin13. Jennifer and Jay Worrall 14. Stacy Morgan and Anne Wynn 15. Jill and Alvin Atlas16. Duane Brown and Lynn Brown17. Roni and Bill Payer

11

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1. Donna Burnett and Candice Meyer2. Casey Cook and Vickie Cook3. Harley and Shelli Chapin4. Brooks Lide and Dr. Fawzia Aloumi5. Chris Black and Jacqueeta Davis6. Marcie Gaylor and Heather Taylor7. Christine and Kathy Marino8. Debbie Stallings and Leslie Densmore9. Cameron Reynolds and Ashton Collier

1

3

6

Shelby Living Bridal Show

The Shelby Living Bridal Show was held at the Cahaba Grand

Conference Center on Feb. 5.

April 2012 77

&Shelby Spotted&Shelby Spotted

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10. Christen Thacker, Jenny Wilson and David Carn11. Ashlyn Marshall, Mona Barlow, Keat Marshall and Katelyn Marshall12. Jordan and Pat Wood13. Melinda Garrett and Deitra Duncan14. Buck Malone and Megan Lee15. Jennifer Woodbery and Lindsey Hipp16. Mazie Kendred and Jacques Cole17. Sam Raymond and Kirn Cramere 18. Kristin Shirey with Jacqueline and Julia Aguirre

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4

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Daniel Wallace book signing

The Red Mountain Reading Series hosted a reading, meet-

and-greet and book signing with Daniel Wallace, author of “Big

Fish” and many other books on Feb. 8 at Jefferson State

Community College.

1. Keema Boland and Kwanna Smith2. Katie Boyer and Rhea Watkins3. Heather Mitchell4. Daniel Wallace and Justin Gilbert5. Ed Beauchamp6. Sarah Neece and Katie Johnson7. Patti Henry and Lanier Isom8. Adrienne Webb and Donna McElroy

1

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ask the professionals

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Have a Heart for the Arts

The fifth annual Have a Heart for the Arts luncheon was held

Feb. 11 at the First Baptist Church in Columbiana.

1. Christine Steele and Phoebe Robinson2. Teresa House and Danielle Ray 3. Robin and Katelin Bosshart4. Jean West, Helen Ray, Betty Broome and Pauline Ellison5. Charlene Ray and Marcia Murrah6. Norma Loftin and Freddie Akridge7. Pam Oliver and Miss Shelby County 2012 Sydnii Todd

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8. Stephanie Dikis and Linda Cundiff9. Leslie Murrah, Dee Neumann and Suzan Cochran10. Haley Mims and Barbara Robinson11. Susan Dennis Gordon, Stacy Walkup, Jane Hampton, Terri Sullivan, Rachel Fowler, Sandra Annonio and Maria Kennedy.12. Lisa Ramsey, Tammy Holcombe and Molly Holcombe13. Marie and Abby Kennedy14. Frankie Stroud and Dr. Stancil Handley

10

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Shelby Spotted&

UM College NightThe University of Montevallo’s 194th

College Night was held Feb. 11 in Palmer Auditorium.

1. Kim and Jennifer Riker2. Abraham and Rebecca Hieronymi3. Olivia Hollon and Amanda Reed4. Alexandria Kohl and Eileen Larsen5. Mike and Sue Meadows6. Caroline Cody and Richard Hillard 7. Shan Jones and Juliana Green8. Kirsten and Kari Atwell9. Back row, Mary Mathieu, Cema Woodall, Olivia Tennant, Katey Segrest, Kacey Davis, Kelsey Bardeo and Jordan Martin. Front row, Maribel Lagunas, Kendra Clerry and Emily Donovan

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10. Nick Pappas, Will Brewbaker and Billy McLauren11. Nancy Alexander, Jim Craft and Sandra Craft12. Laura and Jonathan Wise13. Josh Miller, Emerald Hammon, Sam Phillips and Parker Cantrell14. Marissa Marshall and Richie Lisenby15. Lyn Roberts, Brandon Thomas and Trent Friday16. Phalicia Wencil and Christina Cobb17. Erika Hargrove, Milly Benson, Amy George, Lindsay Hodgens and Abbey McNeely

10 11

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Dessertissements Dessertissements, an annual

fundraiser for the Alabama Youth Ballet and Grebel

Dance, was held Feb. 12 at the Grebel Center for Dance in

Pelham.

1. Jennifer and Riley Lehman2. Kellye Self and Debbie Grebel 3. Beth and Dan Arnold4. Shawne Sisk and Lynda Gilbert5. Paul Gilbert, Becky Miller and Trent Miller6. Vanessa Culpepper and Vanessa Araiza7. Catherine and Harry Findley 8. Lila and Bailey Killian 9. Betty Massey and Gincie Walker

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Cowboy Day ParadeThe Cowboy Parade was held in

downtown Columbiana on Feb. 18.1. Belle Malone and Luke White2. Ava Vansant, Canyon Wells, Montana Wells and Madyson Beaslee3. Erin Hall and Jordan Scott4. Susan, C.R. and Chuck Goodwin 5. Raphael Cairns and Lesia White 6. Avery Leake, Emily Dover, Justin Leake, Autumn Howard and Bailey Thomas

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7. Jane Johnson and Anna Evans8. Austin Wilson, Laurel Pierce, Ashley Wilson and Kate Pierce the dog9. Paisley Barrow and Leigh Ann Langley10. Matt, Damian and Paige Stafford11. Susan Minor, Molly the dog and Clete Ponder12. Michele and Rachid Akkouch13. Wanda, Gordon, Jessica and Tiffany Kirkland14. Beau Gustafson, Tristan Bell and Carolyn Bell15. Freda Cooper and Aprille Hayes

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Fairy Tale Ball The fourth annual Fairy Tale Ball was held on Feb. 18 at the City of

Calera Library. 1. Haley Barnes and Kayla Braswell2. Felicity and Ariana Goebel3. Vincent and Ava Manley4. Mary Vivian Hays and Deborah Camp5. Dylan and John Minor6. Blakely Freeman with Alyssa and Ashtyn Brown7. Jayme Glass, Sean Reardon and Heather Hilyer8. Carissa and Ava Abbott9. Jason Linden and Tiffany Smith10. Bridgette and Kaylee Spurlin11. Carol Aldridge and Ava Cate Bradley12. Jackie, Hannah and Jack Mayes with Aaron Shelnutt13. Jordan Cracraft and Carrie Glass14. Kailey and Christy Kelley15. Terrin Haynes with Akasha, Sean and Leah Dudley16. Jeremy Cracraft, Diane Lucas, Scott Gregory, Lynn Moon, Gary Ragsdale and Wes Mobley17. Trazi and Makagan Howard

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Shelby County’s 194th birthday celebration

The celebration was held at the Shelby County Museum and Archives

in Columbiana.1. Beverly Justice, Beverly Hall and Rachel Clinkscale 2. Ron Howard, Sallie Cox and Jim Strickland3. David Nolen, Sydnii Todd and Jim Strickland4. Evelyn Adams and Sonja Carbonie 5. Karen and Chuck Jensen 6. Scott Martin, Barbara Gilliland, Nancy Davis, Mckey Griffin, Bill Justice and Josh Arnold7. Steve Phillips and Scott Beason8. Kim Foster, Austin Foster, Jo Farr and Carolyn Dennis 9. Larry and Jodi McDade10. Scarlott Lowe, Mayor Allan Lowe and David Nolen11. Jim Fuhrmeister, Rick Shepherd and Mayor Ray McAllister

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1. David, Jared, Jason and Michelle Blackburn2. Margaret and Justin Hamlin 3. Donny and Diane Walton with Mary Bradford Walton 4. Jamie Parks and Cade Falkner5. Alana Bottsford and Destiny Horton6. Shannon and Hailey Minor7. Barbara and Hannah Minor8. Jenny and Lauren Livingston

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George Washington’s Birthday CelebrationThe American Villiage in Montevallo celebrated George Washington’s 280th birthday on Feb. 20.

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Month-long regional folk art exhibit: The Shelby County Arts Council will host a Regional Folk Art Exhibit, guest curated by Bruce Andrew, March 8-April 26. The SCAC is located at 104 Mildred Street in Columbiana. For more information, call 205-669-0044 or visit Shelbycountyartscouncil.com.

March 30Best BBq Cook-offThe Second Annual Shelby County’s Best BBQ Cook-off Corporate Competition will be March 30 in downtown Columbiana. Prizes will be awarded for best ribs and sauce. Tasting tickets are $10 each, and kids 10 and under eat free with paid adult. Come for barbecue, live music, fences on parade exhibit, car show, space bounce, face painting and more. Set up at 6 a.m., judging at 4:30 p.m. and public tasting from 5-7 p.m. Info: Terri Sullivan at terri@shelbycountyartscouncil.com or 215-1136 or Stacy Walkup at soshelby@bellsouth.net or 267-8872.

March 31health fairThe 2012 South Shelby County Community Health Fair will be held March 31 at Liberty Baptist Church in Chelsea

from 9 a.m.-noon. “Living Health from Head to Toe” is presented by the South Shelby Chamber and the Health and Wellness ministry of Liberty Baptist Church. Booth sponsor for non-chamber members is $100. Sponsor for members or Liberty Baptist Church members or medical business is $75. Info: Southshelbychamber.com.

Walk with meWalk with Me will be held at Veterans Park in Alabaster at 9:30 a.m. on March 31. The walk is a fundraiser for Easter Seals of the Birmingham area. For more information, call 943-6277. To register, visit Eastersealsbham.org.

Book fairThe Alabaster Books-A-Million will host a book fair to benefit the Friends of the Library on Saturday, March 31 from noon to 3 p.m. Pick up a voucher from a Friend at the door that will direct 10 percent of your purchase price to the Friends.

art Walk Montevallo Art Walk 2012 will be held March 31 from 4-8 p.m. on Main Street. Interested artists contact the Blue Phrog Gallery at 665-3766 or email montevalloartwalk@gmail.com.

motorcycle ride

The Ride for Rett Syndrome Motorcycle Ride will be held March 31 in Pelham. The event benefits local girls and women with Rett Syndrome, a neurological disease. The ride begins at 333 Cahaba Valley Parkway North in Pelham. For more information, email admin@serett.org or call Rene Davis at 661-9597.

April 5a taste of shelby County The Greater Shelby County Education Foundation and The Partnership of Shelby County are hosting the Fifth Annual Taste of Shelby County on Thursday, April 12, from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center. Proceeds benefit the Greater Shelby County Education Foundation. Vendors from across Shelby County will offer a “taste” of their specialty dishes from their menus at the event. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by Marc Phillips and Groove Daddy. For more information, call 205-663-3542.

author readingAuthor Michael Levy will present his writing April 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Library Reading Room of Indian Springs School Info: Douglas Ray at dray@indiansprings.org or Jessica Smith at

jsmith@indiansprings.org.

April 7 easter egg huntAn Easter egg hunt will be held Saturday, April 7 from 10-11 a.m. at Orr Park in Montevallo.

April 10jazz ensembleThe University of Montevallo Jazz Ensemble will hold a performance April 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Palmer Auditroium.

April 11-12spring theatre festivalThe Spring Theatre Festival will be held April 11-12 at Chichester Black Box Theatre at the University of Montevallo. A series of short, provocative and often experimental plays presented by our advanced directing students. Adult content Please call (205) 665-6200 for tickets and further information.

April 14 ready.set.Cure. Are you ready to run? Come join us at beautiful Oak Mountain State Park for friends, food, fab tunes and a 5K! It’s fun for the whole family! Ready.Set.Cure. is a fundraiser created and executed by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

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Junior Board. The race will begin at the Dogwood Pavillion. Registration costs $25 and begins at 7 a.m. The race starts at 8 a.m Children 12 and under are free. If you have any other questions or wish to become a corporate sponsor, please contact Meagan Yeilding at myeilding@gmail.com.

April 16 lsC golf tournamentThe Leadership Shelby County golf tournament will be held Monday, April 16 at 12:30 p.m. at Riverchase Country Club in Hoover.

April 19 montevallo golf tourneyThe Montevallo Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament will be held Thursday, April 19 at the Montevallo Golf Club.

April 19-21heartbreak houseThe University of Montevallo’s theater department will perform Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw. The performances are scheduled for April 19-21 at 7:30 p.m. and April 22 at 2 p.m. at Reynolds Theatre. Shaw’s witty, thought-provoking play is set in England on the eve of World War I. As an extraordinary collection of

guests reunite, hearts and minds become trapped by a young woman’s dilemma—whether to marry for love or for money. Please call (205) 665-6200 for tickets and further information.

April 22family fun and fitness day A Family Fun and Fitness Day will be held at Orr Park in Montevallo April 22 from 2-4 p.m. The event will include games and activities for the family. Vendors will offer healthy snacks, fitness programs, demonstrations and instructions.

April 28 derby runMark your calendars early for The Derby Run 5k/10k benefiting Special Equestrians. For more information, visit Specialequestrians.org.

tour de BlueJoin us on this scenic bicycle ride through Jefferson, Shelby and St. Clair counties to help promote prostate cancer awareness and fund free prostate cancer screenings in Alabama. Ride starts at 8 a.m. on April 28 from the Birmingham Bicycle Company, 1105 Dunston Ave., Birmingham. There are three ride options

(60, 75, 100 miles). Cost is $40 and includes an event T-shirt. Register online at UrologyHealthFoundation.org, or contact Sherry Wilson at swilson@urologyal.com or 445-0117.

May 3 art exhibitThe Shelby County Arts Council will host an exhibit by University of Montevallo faculty members Dr. Scott Meyers and Scott Stephens May 3-31. An opening reception will be held May 3 from 6-7:30 p.m. The SCAC is located at 104 Mildred Street in Columbiana.

May 4iyaz comes to PelhamThree-time platinum recording artist Iyaz, along with special guest “Mann” will perform at the Pelham Civic Complex, 500 Amphitheater Road, on Friday, May 4. The concert is being hosted by the Helena and Pelham Youth Athletic Associations and all proceeds will benefit local youth programs.Iyaz is best known for his top 40 pop hits “Replay,” “Solo” and “Pretty Girls,” and for his appearances on the wildly popular Disney television show, “Hannah Montana”, and the subsequent movie,

“Hannah Montana Forever.”Tickets for this special event will go on-sale to the public Friday, March 16th at 10:00am. Tickets may be purchased through Ticketbisquit at the Pelham Civic Complex box office or online at Pelhamciviccomplex.com.

May 6Collared shirt dayShelby Humane Society’s Collared Shirt Day is back! The event is scheduled for Friday, May 6. For more information, visit Shelbyhumane.org.

shs Volunteer orientationShelby Humane Society Volunteer Orientation will be held May 7 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 1-3 p.m. at the North Shelby Library at 500 Cahaba Valley Road in Birmingham. Reserve your space today by calling 205-669-3916.

May 11-12 Buck Creek festival The Buck Creek Festival will be held May 11-12 in Helena. Enjoy live music, arts and crafts and the annual duck race in historic Old Town Helena.

Do you have an event you want to share with the community? If so, email Katie.Mcdowell@shelbyliving.com. l

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DonnaFrancavilla‘A great place to raise my children’

Written by katie mCdoWellPhotographs jon goering

Journalist Donna Francavilla, a self-described Italian “Jersey” girl, has been a Shelby County resident since 1994. When Alabama is in the news, she serves as a contributor for CBS, as well as a correspondent for

radio stations around the country. The mother of four is also owner of Frankly Speaking Communications, which works with clients on messaging, imaging, presentation, voice and media training. Francavilla, who lives in Greystone, also serves on the board of Leadership Shelby County and is a member of Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church.l

Why I LOVE Shelby County

q: Why did you move to shelby County?A: I moved to Shelby County when my former husband

accepted a position with Alabama Neurosurgeons at Brookwood and Shelby Hospitals. What drew us here was Shelby County’s beauty, growth and promise, warm, generous people and emphasis on good family values. I felt this area would be a great place to raise my children, and indeed it was.

q: Where is your favorite spot in shelby County?A: I enjoy visiting Shelby County’s parks. Oak Mountain

State Park and Veterans Park are among my favorite places to relax, bike, hike and swim.

q: Why did you decide to become a journalist?A: My love for broadcasting was confi rmed at age 20, during

my fi rst day of work at KYW News Radio in Philadelphia. President Reagan suffered a gunshot wound. Pandemonium temporarily dominated the newsroom, but in the midst of this adrenaline rush, I realized the critical role effective communicators play in informing the public of pressing issues. I wanted to be a part of that information delivery system.

q: What is the most challenging story you have covered?A: I think that covering killer tornadoes and deadly

hurricanes required the most courage and fearlessness I could muster. Violent, dangerous weather could shake the bravest

among us. I recall reporting from the concrete pad that was Trent Lott’s home in Mississippi, then as night was falling, discovering I couldn’t fi nd my way back because all road signs were bent, missing or generally unreadable, traffi c lights no longer worked due to widespread power outages, and some desperate, scared storm victims approached my car, trying to steal it. Each time I describe the devastating damage, and the lost lives, a wave of sadness overwhelms me. I feel the victims’ losses so intensely. After being an eyewitness to some of Mother Nature’s indiscriminate fury, I am left emotionally drained, and ever so grateful for God’s blessings.

q: through your business, frankly speaking Communications, you offer tips on how to become an effective speaker. What are the most common mistakes you see public speakers make?

A: Well-intentioned speakers try to communicate everything they know about a subject so as to appear intelligent or knowledgeable. Often speakers will pack so much information into their Power Point presentations that the audience can’t focus on the speaker’s message. Excessive words and images behind the speaker often distract from the presenter’s message. My advice: Less is more. Make three signifi cant points. Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then, summarize what you’ve just said.

The Leslie S. Wright Center Samford University

800 Lakeshore DriveBirmingham, AL 35229

(205) 726-2853 www.samford.edu/wrightcenter

Ballet HispanicoMarch 30, 7:30pm

“sleek, gorgeous dancers blending modernballroom and ballet”-NY Sun

“...The Peking Acrobats regularly passed from the seemingly impossible to the virtually unbelievable.”-LA Times

Photo Credit: Brittany App

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Photo Credit: Eduardo Patino

Peking AcrobatsMarch 27, 7:30pm

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