Village Living
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June 2011 |
neighborly news & entertainment for Mountain Brook
JUICE -pg 6
Beekeeper - pg 16
Volume 2 | Issue 3 | June 2011
Growing into fatherhood By RICK wAtSON
If you’ve received a package via FedEx in the past eight years, you know Ronnie Davis and his upbeat personality. Davis, 40, delivers a cheerful smile along with packages as he catches up with residents on his delivery route in Mountain Brook. What many don’t know is that he is a passionate speaker and writer. He talks about the value of a strong father figure in the lives of children. In April he spoke to more than 20,000 people at StadiumFest, a daylong event held by Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association. If you don’t have a positive role model, he says when he speaks, you learn how to live life from the streets—hence, the importance of a father figure in a young man’s life. This message also led him to write a new, self-published book, The Ingredients of A Man. He was interviewed about the book by Mike Royer on a Spirit of Alabama segment on NBC 13 News. Davis writes of some bad decisions and failures of his youth but points to the positive influence his stepfather, James Woods, had on his life. “He taught me the value of patience, responsibility and the value of a strong work ethic,” he said. “I
June Features • Editor’s Note
4
• City Council
5
• JUICE
6
• Ball of Roses
7
• Village Sports
10
• Billy Angell
12
• Kari Kampakis
13
• School House
18
• Business Spotlight
20
• Restaurant Showcase
21
• Calendar of Events
22
• Around the Villages
23
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about the importance of the man’s role in families that she put a copy of his book in the school’s parent resource library. “He is very happy, friendly, and community oriented,” Carl said. “We all just love him.”
FedEx driver Ronnie Davis wrote The Ingredients of a Man and speaks to groups about the importance of male role models. Photo by Madoline Markham.
can never thank him enough.” It’s Davis’ intention to live up to that role with his two-year-old daughter, Ava Colleen. “I tell Ava Colleen every day how beautiful and smart she is,” he said. He wants to be the best father he can be and to give her the love and guidance she needs to help her grow up to be happy and
successful. When she heard about Davis’ book, Lella Carl asked him to speak to the parents at Saint Luke’s Preschool Partners. Carl is the director of the non-profit outreach program for inner-city children and parents based out of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. She was so impressed with Davis’ ideas
Clearing debris, helping neighbors
Ronnie’s story Davis grew up in rural Walker County. Although his parents did their best to point him in the right direction, none of his family had ever been to college. As a result they didn’t have the experience to help him make good decisions about education when he was younger. Davis excelled at sports and did fairly well academically, but he didn’t realize early enough the importance of taking advanced courses in high school. He thinks counselors sometimes stereotype students, which can cause problems later when they head off to college. No college offered Davis a scholarship, but he qualified for a Pell Grant. He enrolled at University of North Alabama. Like many freshmen, Davis said he didn’t pay much attention to the college handbook, which did not turn out well for him. “Too many parties and not enough
See DAVIS | page 17
Spartans helping Spartans By MADOLINE MARKHAM
miraculously, there was no water damage. “I think we were very fortunate,” Church Administrator Scot Cardwell said. A friend of the Senior Pastor Tim Kallum drove by the church by that morning, saw the damage, and called Kallum to suggest DE General contractors to help with the damage. A crew was on site addressing damage by lunchtime, and work began to clear trees and replace roofs. With the church campus cleanup
A task force has chosen to focus citywide tornado relief efforts on Pleasant Grove, whose high school mascot is also a Spartan. This formal Spartans Helping Spartans effort will build on grassroots efforts initiated throughout Mountain Brook. After sending crews to the area two days after the tornado, Mountain Brook Baptist Church has partnered with Bethel Baptist Church in Pleasant Grove. Mountain Brook Baptist is collecting donations in their gym indefinitely. The only item not recommended for donation is clothing. Other Mountain Brook churches have sent donations and work crews to this area along with others including Cullman, Pratt City, Hayden and Concord. The Emmet O’Neal Library has also worked closely to help Pleasant Grove through its library. ”I don’t operate a chainsaw, but I can shelve books” Emmet
See TORNADO | page 17
See SPARTANS | page 16
Mountain Brook Community Church had significant tree damage on the morning of April 27. Photo courtesy of Scot Cardwell.
By MADOLINE MARKHAM In the early morning of April 27, an EF-2 tornado moved down Dolly Ridge Road and hit Mountain Brook Community Church on its path to Cahaba Heights. Trees came down, a window shattered glass into the sanctuary, picnic tables were thrown 200 feet away, and roofs were damaged. Had the storm been much stronger, an architect said the sanctuary roof might have been pulled off completely. A house behind the church on Briar Glen Drive has been condemned. No one at the church was hurt, and
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