Business Alabama - July 2024

JULY 2024

UPSCALING

34 PIGGLY WIGGLY

COMBAT 47 BANKS CHECK FRAUD SPOTLIGHT ON

53 CALHOUN AND TALLADEGA

INVESTING IN CARE DR. HANNAH HIGHTOWER

HELPS CULLMAN REGIONAL DELIVER A HIGHER LEVEL OF BABY CARE

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Volume 39 / Number 7

JULY 2024

CONTENTS

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Kamal Constantine offers up stuffed grape leaves from Naman’s International Foods, one of the array of local businesses with outlets in Constantine’s newest Mobile Piggly Wiggly store. Photo by Mike Kittrell.

Features 12

HEALTH CARE DELIVERING ON NEWBORN CARE As hospitals cut back on obstetrics, nurseries, Cullman Regional expands

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KEEPING HEALTH CARE HEALTHY Rural hospitals — and some urban ones — struggle for financial fitness

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EARLIER DETECTION, NEWER TREATMENTS Alabama researchers forge new pathways to hope

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PRIVATE COMPANIES FIGHTING FIRE WITH CARE The smallest details are a big deal to Guntersville’s Kappler Inc. MORE AT THE STORE Mobile’s newest Piggly Wiggly includes outlets for prime local businesses

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BUSINESS OF SPORTS ALABAMA’S OLYMPIC TIES Athletes, training site take spotlight as Paris Games approach

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BANKING WRECKED DEPOSIT Check fraud has become a major problem within the financial industry

4 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

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KINDNESS ON THE HORIZON Bank turns to random acts of kindness to celebrate 160 years in business

RETROSPECT 74 ROBERT WILBY: AN ALABAMA “MOVIE MAN” Selma native Wilby had a knack for running movie houses — at one point overseeing nearly 100 of them

7 On the Cover: Dr. Hannah Hightower in Cullman Regional Medical Center’s new Level II nursery.

Photo by Cary Norton.

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7: The Boeing Starliner heads for the International Space Station, powered by an Atlas V rocket from Decatur’s United Launch Alliance.

50: First Horizon Bank celebrated 160 years of operation by offering random acts of kindness to its communities. Here, Birmingham Assistant VP Jan Blackshear looks over gift baskets staffers prepared for clients facing especially busy seasons.

74: Robert Wilby managed the movie houses that brought the silver screen to Montgomery and beyond.

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Departments 7

TOP RANK 23 ALABAMA’S LARGEST HOSPITALS 37 ALABAMA’S LARGEST PRIVATE COMPANIES

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SPECIAL SECTIONS 24 MOVING HEALTH CARE FORWARD 43 BUSINESS COUNCIL OF ALABAMA GEOGRAPHIC SPOTLIGHT 53 CALHOUN & TALLADEGA COUNTIES

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BENCHMARKS: MONTHLY BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFING COMPANY KUDOS: A MONTH OF ACHIEVEMENTS BA INDEX: HUNDREDS OF LEADS EACH MONTH CAREER NOTES: WHO’S MOVING UP HISTORIC ALABAMA: A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE ALABIZ QUIZ: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 5

JULY 2024 BusinessAlabama.com Volume 39 / Number 7

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Benchmarks

Coca-Cola United to invest $330 million in new facility COCA-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY UNITED INC. broke ground in June for a $330 million

plant and headquarters in Birmingham’s Kingston community. The facility will create up to 50 new jobs and retain 750 positions.

“For over 120 years, Coca-Cola United has been a stand-out member of Birmingham’s business community, so it’s wonderful to see this world-class company make another major investment to build a new headquarters facility in the Magic City,” said Gov. Kay Ivey.

Coca-Cola United purchased the land of the former Stockham Valves and Fittings site on 40th Street North in 2013. It is about two miles from the bottler’s current location off A rendering of the new plant.

East Lake Boulevard.

“This project has been years in the making and we are excited to build a campus that will reflect our founcase-picking system that is among the most advanced in the bevdational core values of quality, excellence, integrity and respect,” erage industry. said Conrad Rafield III, chairman of Coca-Cola United’s board “Coca-Cola Bottling Company United is the definition of a of directors. legacy business in Birmingham. Having been in our community The new facility, which will be visible from Interstate 20/59, and a part of its growth for more than 100 years gives me great will include a 150,000-square-foot multi-floor office complex pleasure to see the city play a significant role for future generaand a 300,000-square-foot warehouse featuring the Vertique tions,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

B U S I N E S S

B R I E F S

GENEROUS The University of Alabama National Alumni Association has received its largest gift ever — $8 million — from the estate of Bill Decas, who didn’t attend UA but admired the school. Floridabased Publix supermarkets says its partnership with Feeding America has donated more than 100 million pounds of produce to food banks around the region since 2020, including more than 8 million pounds to four food banks in Alabama.

System board of trustees has approved a plan to raise in-state tuition at the systems’ schools by 2.5%. In addition, out-of-state tuition would rise by 3% at UA and UAB, and by 4% at UAH.

SHIPS AHOY Theodore-based Silver Ships has delivered four Coastal Fast Response Boats to the Naval Sea Systems Command for use by U.S. allies. The boats are part of a $6.12 million contract.

GOING UP The University of Alabama

BIGGER & BETTER Lockheed Martin has broken ground for an $18 million engineering center in Huntsville.

The 500-employee facility will serve military and defense programs. Genpak LLC has reopened its food service packaging plant in Hope Hull after a $22.8 million expansion and upgrade. Alabama Aerospace, a subsidiary of Birmingham Fastener, is expanding to California with the opening of Alabama Aerospace West in Santa Fe Springs to distribute parts for aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, land vehicles and more. Hoover-

based OHD, which makes medical and occupational safety equipment, is planning a $2.3 million expansion in Hoover’s Meadow Brook Corporate Park.

NEW AT THE TOP Bonnie Tully, once the leader of Evonik’s Mobile operations, has been named chief operations officer for North America.

Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba has been elected the new president of the Alabama League of Municipalities. Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan was elected as vice president. Lori Stanfield will be interim CEO of Mizell Memorial Hospital in Opp following the resignation of Mitchell Myers. Stanfield is the hospital’s community outreach coordinator. Oxford High School Principal and former high school football coach Heath Harmon has been named executive

director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

HEAD OF THE CLASS Three Alabama colleges have new presidents. Catherine Wehlburg has been chosen to lead Athens State University.

At Tuskegee University, alumnus Mark Brown has been selected as president. Anthony Leigh has been named president of Huntingdon College in Montgomery.

PAY HIKE About 66,000 workers will be eligible for overtime pay under new federal rules that take effect July 1. The rules raise the salary threshold of salaried workers who will be eligible for overtime pay. That threshold expands to $43,888 by July and $58,656 by Jan. 1, 2025.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 7

BENCHMARKS

Play ball RICKWOOD FIELD, the oldest profession-

al baseball stadium in the nation, welcomed major league play in July when the St. Louis Cardinals met the San Francisco Giants June 20.

From 1924 through 1960, the historic field was home to the Birmingham Black Barons who played in the Negro Leagues.

Superstar Willie Mays started his career with the Barons in 1948 before joining the New York Giants in 1951.

Mays played in the final Negro League World Series there in 1948.

The three-day event at Rickwood, which was refurbished before playing host, included a tribute to the Negro Leagues and a night that featured hiphop and celebrity softball.

From the time last year when the plans were announced, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has taken to social media to express his enthusiasm for the project.

“I am so excited that Birmingham will be able to share the magic and legacy of Rickwood Field with MLB’s millions of fans,” he posted on Facebook.

B U S I N E S S

B R I E F S

LOW BUDGET The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that in 2023, about 15,000 workers were paid at or below the minimum wage. That number is a 50% increase over 2022.

15 for the Tide’s game against Wisconsin.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Birmingham-based Waverly Advisors has acquired Derbend Asset Management, based in Peachtree City, Georgia. It’s Waverly’s fourth acquisition in Georgia since 2022. Cooper Lumber, part of Mobilebased The Cooper Group, has acquired Thomasville Lumber.

FLY ME TO THE GAME Delta Airlines will offer direct round-trip routes to certain cities for University of Alabama football games from airports in Birmingham and Huntsville.

The first will be Sept. 13 and

FLY ME DIRECT Southwest Airlines is adding nonstop flights out of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport to Phoenix and Nashville. The new flights will begin in November.

ELECTION REBOOT The United Auto Workers union is petitioning the National Labor Relations Board to order a new election, citing unfair labor practices. Workers from May 13-17 voted against unionizing at the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International plant in Vance and at a nearby battery facility.

CONSTRUCTION MILESTONES Stone Building LLC has been selected by the BirminghamJefferson Convention Complex board for a $46.1 million

8 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

contract to build a 9,380-seat amphitheater near Protective Stadium. It will be operated by Live Nation. Vestavia Hills-based Stone Building is also lead contractor for a new fire station in Mountain Brook. Ground was broken in June for that project, which should be complete in 18 months. Capstone Building Corp. has completed construction of Leo at Flint Crossing, a $54 million rental development in Meridianville.

The 360,500-square-foot complex includes 266 singlefamily units. Birmingham-based Robins & Morton has finished the AdventHealth Winter Haven ER in Florida. Robins & Morton and architect Barge Design Solutions have completed Phase 1 of an expansion at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida.

WELCOME TO ALABAMA The Alabama Futures Fund has invested in IQID, a company that makes software that uses AI for higher education admissions and enrollment. The New Orleans-based company will move its headquarters to Birmingham as part of the investment.

CONTRACTS Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $756 million U.S. Army contract to support the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon System. The firm’s Huntsville and Courtland facilities participate in this project. Huntsvillebased VetTech LLC has won a $348 million contract to provide services for the Missile Defense Agency. Some of the work will be performed at Redstone Arsenal. Enterprise-based ALFAB has been awarded a

BENCHMARKS

International intrigue

“The company strongly believes that this action by the Mexican government is illegal,” Vulcan said in a statement in May. “The company has the necessary permits to operate and intends to vigorously pursue all lawful avenues available to it in order to protect its rights and resume normal operations. The company currently has the ability to export inventories readily available for shipment from the port. In March, Vulcan received its routine three-year customs permit, which enabled the company to continue serving its customers.”

Mexico Daily News reported in late May that the government is considering making the site a Protected Natural Area as a tourist destination on the Caribbean coastline.

Two Alabama companies with major international operations — DRUMMOND CO. and VULCAN MATERIALS — have been caught in international political and economic tangles.

Drummond Co., based in Birmingham, but with major operations mining coal in Colombia, faced an imminent halt to its shipments of coal to Israel. The Colombian government sought to stop supplying fuel to Israel in an effort to stop the Middle Eastern conflict with Gaza.

Colombia is the largest supplier of coal to Israel and supports about a fifth of the nation’s production of electricity.

Drummond ships more than 30 million tons of Colombian coal annually to customers in Europe, the Mediterranean, South America and Asia, as well as to the United States.

Vulcan Materials, also based in Birmingham, but with a limestone operation and port in Mexico, saw its operations taken over by Mexican authorities.

Vulcan has operated at the Quintana Roo site for A Vulcan Materials quarry. Photo by Samantha Mays/Vulcan. more than 30 years.

B U S I N E S S

B R I E F S

$59.2 million contract to make aluminum matting landing mats for the U.S. military.

CAMP TIME After $13 million in renovations, the popular campground at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham has reopened.

LEGAL WOES The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Hyundai, Smart Alabama and Best Practice Service over child labor accusations. Court filings say Smart Alabama employed a 13-year-old on an assembly line in Luverne that formed sheet metal into auto parts.

Best Practice Service provided the worker to Smart Alabama, which provided parts for the Hyundai plant in Montgomery, the documents say.

END OF AN ERA Mobile-based Austal USA christened its final Littoral Combat Ship for the U.S. Navy. The USS Pierre was the 19th LCS built by the Alabama shipyard. The keel for the first LCS was laid in 2006.

RUE THE DAY Once-thriving mall retailer Rue 21 is shuttering all of its brick-and-mortar stores, including 12 in Alabama.

Red Lobster has closed four locations in Alabama, as it filed for bankruptcy. Closings are called “temporary” but no plans for reopening have been announced. JCPenney plans to close its location in Mobile’s Shoppes at Bel Air by Sept.

22, leaving the retailer nine locations in Alabama.

NEW HOSPITALS Birmingham-based Encompass Health, along with BJC Healthcare, opened the Rehabilitation Institute of

St. Louis – West County. The facility is a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital. The Sanders Trust, a Birminghambased health-care real estate investment and development company, has completed development of the North Florida Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.

PLUM ASSIGNMENT For the second straight year, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense at Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal has been named the top place to work in the Army. USASMDC works in the space, missile defense and high-altitude mission sectors.

SCREEN TIME Auburn University is on the brink of a new videoboard — 47 feet tall — in the north end zone. Trustees were expected to approve the $26 million project in June.

GROTTO REFRESH More than 100 structures in the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman will be restored in a major renovation of the tourist attraction on the grounds of St. Bernard Abbey. Brother Joseph Zoettl built the structures over the course of five decades.

WATER PLEASE Alabama Mineral Springs began bottling water in early June at its $6 million plant in Jemison in Chilton County.

ROCKET REBOOT Lawmakers have secured $7 million in state funds to replace the Saturn 1B rocket, which stood at the welcome center on I-65 in Ardmore for four decades before being taken down last year. There’s no timeline as to when construction will start or finish.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 9

BENCHMARKS

Boeing Starliner heads for space on ULA rocket “The launch of NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams marks the return of human spaceflight to Cape Canaveral and extends the Atlas legacy,” ULA posted on its website after the launch.

ULA, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, added loads of detail — and an array of video — on its website.

“CFT is the final test to demonstrate the full end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system to deliver crews to and from the space station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

The unique Atlas configuration for Starliner includes a dual-engine Centaur upper stage to deliver the performance needed to shape the trajectory for crew safety; a launch vehicle adapter that structurally attaches the Starliner to the Atlas V rocket for ascent; a 70-inch-long (1.8-m) aero skirt to enhance the aerodynamic characteristics, stability and loads of the Atlas V; and an Emergency Detection System that provides an extra layer of safety for astronauts riding the reliable Atlas V. The Atlas V Starliner launch countdown features a fourhour planned, built-in hold at the T-minus 4-minute mark. This allows the rocket to be fueled and placed in a quiescent state before boarding of the astronauts into the spacecraft.”

Liftoff. Photo courtesy of United Launch Alliance

After two last-minute delays, the BOEING Starliner rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral in early June, carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station.

Powering the launch was an Atlas V rocket built by United Launch Alliance in Decatur. The rocket is a direct descendant of the Atlas LV-3B that carried John Glenn into space in 1962.

B U S I N E S S

B R I E F S

JOB PREP AT AIDB Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind in Talladega has launched a modern manufacturing program to prepare students for job opportunities in the state’s burgeoning manufacturing sector. The program will also be open to adults with various disabilities.

maintenance and about $106,000 to the city of Fort Payne for taxiway improvements at Isbell Field.

A+ BBQ Bob Gibson, namesake of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, is among the 2024 class of inductees into the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame. Gibson will be inducted posthumously at a ceremony in Kansas City in November.

UPGRADE The Alabama Department of Transportation has awarded about $226,000 to the Bay Minette Municipal Airport Authority for pavement

OUTDOOR AID Innovate Alabama has launched Seek AL, a campaign to introduce innovators to the outdoor amenities Alabama has to offer. The campaign will focus on the state’s parks, waterways, greenways and trails.

MARS MATTERS Aerojet Rocketdyne in Huntsville is among seven companies around the country looking into more affordable and efficient ways to obtain samples from Mars surface. The companies are testing proposals and have received up to $1.5 million to test their methods.

BHM BOOST Traffic at the Birmingham-

10 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

Shuttlesworth International Airport from January to April was up 8% over the same time period last year. The airport saw 969,433 passengers in the first four months of 2024.

NURSING NOTES The University of Montevallo will launch its new nursing program in the College of Health Professions in August.

The program will offer a prelicensure BSN track and an RN to BSN track.

CITY HALL CELEBRATION The new Huntsville City Hall building opened in May at 305 Fountain Circle.

CLUB TIME The University Club, just off the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, has reopened after a nearly $17.5 million renovation.

ABODES ABOUND Gateway Village, a $45 million apartment complex, has opened in Athens. Developer was Centerpointe Athens Partners LLC and general contractor was Capstone Building Corp.

The Hoover City Council has approved plans for a 15-acre mixed-use development on Inverness Parkway. NAI Chase Commercial is representing the landlord on behalf of Inverness Center North Office Park, while Louisiana-based Stoa Group will develop the multifamily and retail portions.

PLAY ON The Huntsville City Council has approved a $7 million project to build a recreation center in West Huntsville.

The approved contract for the Martin Road Recreation Center is with Florida-based Chorba Contracting Corp.

BENCHMARKS

New Jefferson County industrial park could lead to 4,700 jobs

A new 1,100-acre industrial park in JEFFERSON COUNTY could create 4,700 new jobs, according to the Jefferson County Economic & Industrial Development Authority.

JeffMet North Industrial Park is on property off I-65 at Exit 275 near the Gardendale/Morris area. The JCEIDA also developed JeffMet Lakeshore Information Technology Park and JeffMet Titusville.

The latter was sold to DC Blox.

“JeffMet McCalla has been very successful,” said JCEIDA Executive Director Othell Phillips. That property, he said, has yielded 4,658 jobs.

“McCalla is more of a manufacturing and industry park, and that’s kind of what County officials hope the new park will attract auto suppliers and other we’re trying to duplicate in the North manufacturers.

Jefferson area, because the manufacturing industry produces more jobs,” Phillips said.

Lincoln. In addition to automotive supplier opportunities, the The new property is 72 miles from property would be “ideal” for additive manufacturing and food the Mazda Toyota plant in Huntsville, 47 miles from the production facilities, according to the JCEIDA. Mercedes plant in Vance and 57 miles from the Honda plant in

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 11

HEALTH CARE

Nurse Practitioner Casey Vaughn tends to a young patient at Cullman Regional.

DELIVERING ON NEWBORN CARE

As many hospitals cut back on obstetrics, nurseries, Cullman Regional expands

By JENNIFER G. WILLIAMS — Photos by CARY NORTON

12 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

H E A LT H C A R E

The Cullman Regional Medical Group OB-GYN team, from left: Lance Justice, D.O.; Taylor Massengill, M.D.; Lauren Stone, C.R.N.P.; and Thomas Richard, M.D. Team member John Wideman, M.D., is not pictured.

C

ullman Regional Medical Center continues to expand its obstetric and nursery services while hospitals across the state are closing or reducing those programs due to issues including cost and staffing.

The hospital, which has been expanding in other areas in recent years — adding beds and expanding ER facilities at its main campus and opening new facilities in neighborhood communities — recently added neonatal services to its nursery to become the only Level II neonatal unit between Decatur and Birmingham, according to records with the Alabama Department of Public Health.

With the addition of a fourth OB-Gyn physician, six neonatologists and four neonatal nurse practitioners to the medical staff, Cullman Regional has boosted the care available in the growing community to help families stay local when that extra care is needed for a newborn.

“The goal with the Level II nursery is to try to keep those kids in the same hospital with their mom, close to home instead of having to travel an hour-and-a-half or two hours to get that level of care,” says Dr. Hannah Hightower, the new medical director of the Cullman Regional nursery and board certified in both pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine. “We want to keep those kids close to home and close to their families.”

Since October 2023, four hospitals in Alabama have closed their obstetrics programs. Three — Shelby Baptist Medical Center in Shelby County, Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Jefferson County and Monroe County Hospital — shut down their programs within a month. In May, Whitfield Regional Hospital in Demopolis put its obstetrical services on hold for lack

of personnel.

Each year, all delivering hospitals in Alabama report the level of nursery care they provide to newborns from Level I to Level IV to the Alabama Department of Health.

“Basically, a Level I nursery is truly what you think of as a well-baby nursery,” says Hightower, who also works with other high-level NICUs in the state, including those at Children’s of Alabama, Grandview Medical Center and St Vincent’s East. “Babies in a Level I nursery are expected to have a standard 48-hour stay in the hospital with mom and go home.” These babies may need a little bit of extra care, she says, but are typically pretty healthy.

Level II has a specialty nursery, which includes equipment and staff that can support slightly underdeveloped or somewhat sick babies who are expected to get well quickly.

“These babies are what we would call mildly ill or expected to recover within a few days’ time,” continues Hightower. “Some examples might be babies that need a little oxygen for two or three days but are progressing and getting better and are going to come off in a few days, or infants who may need some IV fluids or may have trouble feeding initially and may need some tube feedings but are getting better, babies that may need antibiotics for some kind of infection — so you know these babies need a bit more specialized care.”

Levels III and IV are for Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) and can care for moderately to seriously ill babies. There are currently 11 Level III nurseries across the state, and only two Level IV nurseries — both located in Birmingham, at UAB Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Alabama.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 13

H E A LT H C A R E

“

The goal with the Level II nursery is to try to keep those kids in the same hospital with their mom, close to home instead of having to travel an hourand-a-half or two hours to get that level of care.”

— Dr. Hannah Hightower, medical director of the Cullman Regional nursery

ROAD TO EXPANSION

The process to upgrade Cullman Regional’s nursery began last fall, when the hospital’s provider group added three OB-gyn physicians and a nurse practitioner.

“Hospitals around us that were providing level two care for the most part were doing it with neonatologists and neonatal nurse practitioners, and so after discussing with our pediatricians, we felt the community would benefit from a more specialized level of care,” says Lisa Courtney, vice president of physician services at Cullman Regional. “And we knew the group that Dr. Hightower is part of is highly regarded in the state, so we reached out.”

The updated nursery has added some isolette cribs, also known as incubators, which can maintain a warm temperature for a newborn and isolate them from germs. “With these additional cribs, we have more space for those Level II babies who may need more specialized care inside the nursery versus in the room with their moms,” says Hightower.

And the physicians group Hightower is a part of includes specialized nurses and physicians who can rotate their time among various medical facilities. Having that familiarity on a team is invaluable, she says. “It’s a very close relationship and there are people coming to Cullman who are already on our team that we’ve already worked with for years, so I think it’s really going to be successful.”

MEETING COMMUNITY NEEDS

And while several hospitals across the state are having to shut down or curtail their OB and nursery services, Cullman Regional says they are grateful to be able to offer more. ”We’ve been fortunate enough that we have been able to grow and be successful in other areas of the hospital so it allows us to add needed services,” says Courtney. “And really, this is all about our community. Having more specialized services here in Cullman keeps our patients from being transferred elsewhere.”

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Cullman Regional fared better than many hospitals across the state and country, officials say, and has been expanding with the increase in population in the surrounding communities.

Hospitals that are having to reduce their services are doing so mainly out of budgetary constraints, health experts say, and are typically located in more rural areas.

“If you have a hospital that is struggling in other areas, honestly, they may not be able to afford adding a new service, even if it’s something the community needs,” explains Courtney.

The most recent labor and delivery closure, albeit announced as temporary, is Whitfield Regional Hospital in Demopolis, which announced in May on Facebook that their “primary physician who staffs the labor and delivery unit…will be on extended leave until September 1, 2024, and unfortunately, there are no replacement physicians readily available to provide 24/7 coverage in the labor and delivery unit.”

“The problem seems to be getting worse, not better,” said Gregory Ayers, vice chairman of the Medical Association of Alabama and chair of the Public Health Committee at a committee meeting in May. “Each time we meet it seems like there’s another closure or another lack of services in a certain area.”

And the closures at other facilities not only affect the local communities, but also the surrounding medical facilities, says Hightower, who was also a part of the NICU services at the nowclosed Shelby Baptist and Princeton Baptist medical centers.

“Closures only increase the challenges,” she says. “It makes it more difficult to get access to the care of these populations. With an increase in either inadequate or no prenatal care, which affects both maternal and infant outcomes, it increases cost both for individuals and the health care system and it puts a strain on the facilities still operating as well. Socially, having to help out these families to come back and forth being able to get the parents to Birmingham to be able to spend time and learn about their baby’s needs is an extraordinary thing.”

“Some of it is just whether you can provide it or not financially,” she adds. “OB is an expensive unit to have in a hospital because it requires minimum staffing whether you have zero patients that day or 10. You’ve got to remain staffed to take whatever comes in and so it can be really taxing on a small hospital — and so it can be difficult for a hospital to be able to keep that afloat financially.”

Jennifer Williams and Cary Norton are freelance contributors to Business Alabama. She is based in Hartselle and he in Birmingham.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 15

H E A LT H C A R E

Thomasville Regional Medical Center.

KEEPING HEALTH CARE HEALTHY

Rural hospitals — and some urban ones — struggle for financial fitness

By DEBORAH STOREY

A

s mayor of a small town in rural Alabama, your daily concerns should be public safety, sanitation, economic development and such — not trying to keep the city’s hospital open.

But that’s a hot topic for Mayor Sheldon Day in Thomasville, where the city’s four-year-old hospital is about to be auctioned off.

That city’s potentially dire health care situation is becoming too common across the state as smaller hospitals cut services just to stay in business and worry about care for their most vulnerable

16 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

residents.

Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center in Anniston, for instance, is turning a second hospital location into an urgent care facility.

The reasons behind this are complex and include federal reimbursement rates, affordability of coverage, gaps in Medicaid, low wages in some areas and doctors who would rather practice in large cities.

Thomasville Mayor Day points out, though, that the problem

H E A LT H C A R E

Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center in Anniston.

Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day.

Louis Bass, president and CEO of the Health Care Authority of the City of Anniston.

of ailing hospitals isn’t confined to rural areas.

“All hospitals in Alabama are suffering more and more,” he says. “The crisis of rural hospitals closing at an alarming rate cannot be ignored.”

The CMS — federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — formula pays larger hospitals more for the same services, Day says.

“Alabama gets less reimbursement than most other states per claim and rural hospitals see less individuals than larger more populous areas,” he says.

Rural areas have a higher percentage of uninsured, too, plus fewer people in general to pay the bills. That can make it hard to lure doctors.

“These three factors alone are extremely detrimental to rural hospitals and are the major causes of the funding shortfalls in rural hospitals all over Alabama,” Day says.

“This coverage gap is another huge part of the issue for hospi-

Danne Howard, deputy director and COO of the Alabama Hospital Association.

tals in rural areas,” he adds.

Almost 10 years ago Thomasville leaders and the Healthcare Authority of the City of Thomasville decided to support construction of a new acute care hospital — Thomasville Regional Medical Center.

“We passed a sales tax to support the project and continue to do so,” says Day. “Since this tax was passed specifically for health care, the funds are dedicated to that purpose and that purpose only.”

The initial hope was that TRMC would bring “a new level of advanced health care to a vast rural region,” Day says. Now, the hope is that someone like Progressive Healthcare will buy it.

He’s not kidding about that vast part. Thomasville is 75 miles from Meridian, Mississippi; 100 miles from Mobile, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery; and 120 miles from Birmingham.

“We know of many patients who have utilized TRMC for emergency care who would likely not have survived the extendJuly 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 17

H E A LT H C A R E

ed trip to another health care facility if TRMC had not been here,” he adds.

“Lack of access to quality health care in rural areas has proven to be more fatal and health care outcomes are worse simply because of limited access to quality care where they live and work.”

One big issue seems to be that coverage gap, where hardworking individuals make

too much for Medicaid but can’t afford private insurance.

Providing government health care coverage for those who can’t afford it is one favored option. Expanding Medicaid is controversial, though.

If Alabama adopted traditional Medicaid expansion, at least 174,000 more people would be covered, according a

KFF Health News report cited by NPR in a May story. Like many issues, it boils down to politics.

“The connection to Obamacare remains a stumbling block in Alabama’s Republican-dominated state legislature,” the article said.

The Alabama Hospital Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield and state legislators are looking at ways to “close the gap” using federal funding.

The “All Health” initiative would close the coverage gap over time, Day says, and “have a profoundly positive impact to struggling rural hospitals in the future.”

Day is in his seventh term as mayor of Thomasville, population roughly 5,500.

More than 50,000 work or do business in the Clarke County town several times a week.

TRMC’s struggle is unique in one respect. In a quirk of timing, it did not benefit from federal reimbursement for COVID treatment. TRMC opened in March 2020 as a 29-bed facility and immediately began dutifully caring for COVID patients. Federal funds later poured into thousands of other hospitals, but reimbursement was based on 2019 numbers — just months before TRMC opened.

As a result, Thomasville’s sparkling new hospital “was caught in no-man’s land,” Day says, and didn’t get the money.

IN ANNISTON, TOO

Anniston is seeing some of the same problems.

The City of Anniston recently provided an infusion of cash for its hospital — $400,000 for fiscal year 2024. Business partners donate, too.

“Alabama has the lowest Medicare wage index in the nation, impacting Medicare payments to hospitals,” says Louis Bass, president and CEO of the Health Care Authority of the City of Anniston, as he echoes Day’s observations.

“This low reimbursement rate, when coupled with the lack of Medicaid expansion, makes it difficult to operate profitably,” says Bass.

Recruiting physicians to rural areas is difficult because they make less there, Bass notes.

18 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

H E A LT H C A R E

A proposed bill in the Alabama Legislature called the Rural Hospital Investment Program could help some hospitals if passed, Bass says. It would create a tax benefit for donations. It won’t help RMC, though.

ONE SUGGESTION

Danne Howard, deputy director and COO of the 138-member Alabama Hospital Association, agrees on the major issues contributing to the rural health care crisis like insurance coverage gaps.

“There’s no one single answer” to fix it, Howard says.

But a specific initiative would help.

“There is one thing that the state of Alabama could do. It wouldn’t solve everything, but it would by leaps and bounds provide some stability into not just the rural systems but our entire health care delivery system,” Howard says.

“That is closing the coverage gap using resources available for expanding Medicaid,” she says. “If you think about it, providing a way to have access to care through insurance coverage really changes everything.”

If nothing else, think of it in financial terms, she suggests. “It’s a workforce initiative,” Howard says.

The state commissioned a survey asking about the biggest barriers to keeping a job.

“Number one was transportation.

Number two was health,” she says.

Many people who want to work can’t because they have uncontrolled diabetes and can’t afford insulin or nutritious food, for example.

“As a result, they miss a lot of work and they can’t hold down a job. If we could get a healthier workforce, then that increases workforce participation,” she says.

“There are studies from other states that show once they expanded Medicaid the workforce participation rates increased,” and disability applications decreased.

In Alabama, if you are somewhat healthy, childless, between ages 19 and 64, Howard says, you don’t qualify for Medicaid no matter how little money you make.

Many people want to work, but “go on disability simply to have health care

coverage,” she says.

“It’s an economics driver,” Howard says. More working people means more tax revenue.

“If we were to do this, it would have a greater impact on the state of Alabama than all the automotive manufacturers combined,” she says.

If rural hospitals cut key services like

labor and delivery, “urban hospitals do not have the capacity to absorb their volume. Every link in this chain has to be supported for the whole delivery system to stay healthy.”

Deborah Storey is a Huntsville-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 19

H E A LT H C A R E

EARLIER DETECTION, NEWER TREATMENTS Alabama researchers forge new pathways to hope

By GAIL ALLYN SHORT

A

t the University of South Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology researchers are looking for clues in the human body and even utilizing artificial intelligence in studies to advance early disease detection and more effective treatments for maladies such as cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

Their research could one day lead to new medications, better ways to detect disease and even enable physicians to predict with greater accuracy which treatments will benefit each patient the most.

Dasgupta says.

So, he and the other researchers looked to the body’s cell mitochondria. Mitochondria are organelles inside of cells, and they contain some 1,500 proteins that they use to regulate cellular metabolism, stress and even cell death.

Unfortunately, cancer cells wisely use the proteins in mitochondria, too, which makes the cancer cells more aggressive, Dasgupta says.

Most of the 1,500 proteins travel from cytoplasm into mitochondria through a protein import system, and EARLY DETECTION OF this system works through PANCREATIC CANCER proteins called translocases Pancreatic cancer is one of the most of the outer mitochondrial aggressive and deadliest forms of membrane or TOMM. cancer because early detection is Dasgupta says he discovdifficult, and only 1% of patients in ered that the central outer stage 4 of the disease live five years. mitochondrial membrane Santanu Dasgupta, Ph.D. But researchers at the Universitranslocase, or TOMM22, ty of South Alabama’s Frederick P. is expressed in high levels in Whiddon College of Medicine and pancreatic cancer patients. the USA Health Mitchell Cancer “So, I identified that Institute made a discovery recently that could one day lead to TOMM22 is a protein that is present outside the mitochondrial new treatments for pancreatic cancer and methods of diagnosing membrane, which acts as a receptor, like a door, like an open it early. road, through which all the food that can help cancer cells to “The number of estimated cases that will be diagnosed in this grow comes in,” he says. country this year is around 66,440 patients, and, unfortunately, With that knowledge, the researchers engineered pancreatic 51,000 will die within one year,” says Santanu Dasgupta, Ph.D., cancer cells to express high levels of TOMM22 and found that a USA pathology faculty member and principal investigator for the cancer cells became aggressive. But when they engineered the study. cancer cells to block TOMM22, the cells became significantly less He says pancreatic cancer often spreads to other organs before aggressive, he says. doctors can make a diagnosis.

“That TOMM22 could be used as a marker in blood tests to “But if you could identify the tumor in some way, like in a detect cancer early,” says Dasgupta, “and, we can also make a blood test, while the tumor is within the pancreas and it doesn’t drug targeting this door because if I have a drug that can block spread, then you can cut it out and you can kill the cancer,” this door, then pancreatic cancer cells cannot move to other parts

20 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

H E A LT H C A R E

Benjamin Henderson, Ph.D.

of the body and cannot kill the body.”

“That’s the whole idea.”

The researchers published their findings in Molecular Cancer Research.

Richard Myers, Ph.D.

PREDICTING BREAST CANCER RESPONSES TO TREATMENT

At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, researchers are using machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, to predict at the time of diagnosis how well a patient with triple-negative breast cancer will respond to chemotherapy.

“TNBC is aggressive; it spreads fast,” says Ritu Aneja, Ph.D., associate dean for research and innovation at the UAB School of Health Professions.

“Treatment options for TNBC are limited, with chemotherapy being an integral part of the treatment regimen,” says Aneja, “but studies show that only 30-40% of tumors shrink in response to chemotherapy.”

The remaining 60-70% don’t respond, and patients who undergo chemotherapy often suffer from unpleasant and distressing side effects such as nausea, vomiting and hair loss.

“Newer immunotherapies have improved outcomes by about 10-15%, yet chemotherapy remains the mainstay of TNBC treatment,” she says.

To understand why some triple-nega-

Meagan Cochran.

Ritu Aneja, Ph.D.

tive breast cancer tumors respond well to chemotherapy and others respond partially or not at all, scientists at UAB, Georgia State University and the University of Galway in Ireland, used machine learning to examine the microenvironments of tumor samples before chemotherapy.

A tumor’s microenvironment is the ecosystem surrounding a tumor that consists of both immune cells and tumor cells, as well as blood vessels, stroma and other cells that nurture tumor cells.

Microenvironments are known for influencing how well a tumor responds to chemotherapy.

Machine learning involves creating complex algorithms that can be trained on preexisting data and can also spot new or unique perception data patterns that may be missed by the human eye, she says.

Aneja and her team used machine learning to develop an algorithm or predictive model that could recognize specific features and patterns in the breast tumor microenvironments and tell the difference between responders and non-responders.

The results of the study showed 85%

accuracy, with the algorithm correctly predicting that 42 out of 51 cases would respond positively to chemotherapy and 29 out of 34 cases would be unresponsive to the treatment.

“The future is bright,” says Aneja. “If one is diagnosed with TNBC, the prediction algorithm will be able to tell whether the person will benefit from chemotherapy and if the cancer will be aggressive or metastasize later, just by examining their biopsy sample.”

SCIENTISTS LOOK FOR EASIER PARKINSON’S DIAGNOSTIC METHOD

At the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, researchers are on the hunt for a way to detect Parkinson’s disease early and monitor its progress.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that causes stiffness, intense tremors in the hands and legs, a shuffling gait and other debilitating symptoms. There is no cure, and the symptoms can grow worse over time.

Moreover, no test exists to determine if someone has the disease. Consequently, to make a diagnosis, doctors must conduct physical and neurological exams, evaluate patients’ symptoms, and see how patients respond to certain medications before July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 21

making a diagnosis.

So, scientists at HudsonAlpha are launching a study that will involve taking blood samples to look for biological molecules called biomarkers that could signal when Parkinson’s disease is present.

“Could we be better at detecting it earlier? The earlier you detect something, the better chances you have for developing effective treatments,” says Richard Myers, Ph.D., HudsonAlpha’s chief scientific officer and president emeritus.

In addition, biomarkers may provide new information about the biology of Parkinson’s that could be helpful for researchers in the future, Myers says.

Benjamin Henderson, Ph.D., a senior scientist at HudsonAlpha, says their researchers will examine hundreds of blood samples from people with Parkinson’s disease and other control subjects — people without the disease — in hopes of identifying biomarker signatures.

“The main goal of this is to enroll hundreds of controls and hundreds of patients because that’s going to give us the ability to perform sequencing assays and statistically find things that are relevant,” Henderson says.

The researchers will collect blood samples at the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine on the HudsonAlpha campus. All participants must be age 19 or older, and they must be either Parkinson’s patients; unaffected, biological relatives of Parkinson’s patients; or people who live with Parkinson’s disease patients.

“We’re going to get basic medical and family history information and blood samples. Then we’ll have them to do a sniff test, which is a measurement of their ability to know and distinguish different scents,” says Meagan Cochran, director of clinical education for HudsonAlpha and director of the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine.

“That’s because it turns out people with Parkinson’s disease often lose that ability. That’s a good example of a known biomarker for Parkinson’s disease.”

To participate, email PDstudy@ hudsonalpha.org or call 256-327-9640.

Gail Allyn Short is a Birmingham-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.

22 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

H E A LT H C A R E

Alabama’s Largest Hospitals

Ranked by number of patient beds. In cases of a tie, those entities are ranked by number of employees.

By ERICA JOINER WEST

WEBSITE

YEAR FOUNDED

# OF BEDS

# OF EMPLOYEES

619 19th St. S. Birmingham, AL 35233

205-934-4444

uabmedicine.org

1945

1,207

11,000

Tracy Doughty President & COO

101 Sivley Rd. Huntsville, AL 35801

256-265-1000

huntsvillehospital.org

1895

881

9,800

Mobile Infirmary

Susan Boudreau President

5 Mobile Infirmary Cir. Mobile, AL 36607

251-435-2400

infirmaryhealth.org

1910

681

2,400

4

Brookwood Baptist Medical Center

Jeremy Clark, CEO

2010 Brookwood Medical Center Dr. Birmingham, AL 35209

205-877-1000

brookwoodbaptistmedicalcenter. com

1973

595

1,375

5

DCH Regional Medical Center

Katrina Keefer President & CEO

809 University Blvd. E. Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

205-759-7111

dchsystem.com

1923

583

3,500

6

Princeton Baptist Medical Center

Daniel Listi, CEO

701 Princeton Ave. SW Birmingham, AL 35211

205-783-3000

princetonbaptistmedicalcenter. com

1922

499

1,026

7

Baptist Medical Center South

Peter Selman, CEO

2105 E. South Blvd.

Montgomery, AL 36111

334-747-2100

baptistfirst.org

1963

492

2,292

8

Decatur Morgan Hospital

Kelli Powers, President

1201 Seventh St. SE Decatur, AL 35601

256-973-2000

decaturmorganhospital.net

1915

457

1,700

9

Grandview Medical Center

Daniel McKinney, CEO

3690 Grandview Pkwy.

Birmingham, AL 35243

205-971-1000

grandviewhealth.com

2015

434

3,391

334-793-8111

southeasthealth.org

1957

420

3,100

RANK

PHONE NUMBER

HOSPITAL

TOP ADMINISTRATOR/TITLE

ADDRESS

1

UAB Hospital (includes UAB Hospital-Highlands)

Brenda Carlisle CEO UAB Medicine

2

Huntsville Hospital

3

10

Southeast Health

Rick Sutton, CEO & President

1108 Ross Clark Cir., Dothan, AL 36301

11

Ascension St. Vincent's Birmingham

Tim Puthoff, President & COO

810 St. Vincent's Dr. Birmingham, AL 35205

205-939-7000

ascension.org

1898

409

2,130

12

USA Health University Hospital

Josh Snow, CEO

2451 University Hospital Dr. Mobile, AL 36617

251-471-7000

usahealthsystem.com/uh

1966

406

2,586

13

Veterans Affairs Medical Center - Tuscaloosa

John Merkle, Director

3701 Loop Rd. E. Tuscaloosa, AL 35404

205-554-2000

tuscaloosa.va.gov

1932

381

1,208

14

Ascension St. Vincent's East

Suzannah Campbell President & COO

50 Medical Park Dr. E. Birmingham, AL 35235

205-838-3000

ascension.org

1946

362

1,350

15

USA Health Providence Hospital

Richard Metzger Interim CEO

6801 Airport Blvd.

Mobile, AL 36608

251-633-1000

usahealthsystem.com/providence

1854

349

1,551

16

Gadsden Regional Medical Center

Mark Dooley, CEO

1007 Goodyear Ave. Gadsden, AL 35903

256-494-4000

gadsdenregional.com

1906

346

1,400

17

Jackson Hospital

Joe Riley, President/CEO

1725 Pine St. Montgomery, AL 36106

334-293-8000

jackson.org

1946

344

2,061

18

Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center

Louis Bass, CEO

400 E. 10th St. Anniston, AL 36207

256-235-5121

rmccares.org

1944

338

1,500

19

Children's of Alabama

Thomas Shufflebarger, CEO

1600 Seventh Ave. S. Birmingham, AL 35233

205-638-9100

childrensal.org

1911

332 + 48 Bassinets

5,300

20

East Alabama Medical Center

Laura Grill, President/CEO

2000 Pepperell Pkwy.

Opelika, AL 36801

334-749-3411

eastalabamahealth.org

1952

314

3,500

21

Medical West, An Affiliate of the UAB Health System

Keith Pennington, CEO

995 9th Ave. SW Bessemer, AL 35022

205-481-7000

medicalwesthospital.org

1964

310

1,200

22

Riverview Regional Medical Center

John Langlois, CEO

600 S. 3rd St. Gadsden, AL 35903

256-543-5200

riverviewregional.com

1917

281

825

23

Springhill Medical Center

Jeff St. Clair, CEO & President

3719 Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36608

251-344-9630

springhillmedicalcenter.com

1975

270

1,200

24

Bryce Hospital

Sheila Tatum Penn, Director

1651 Ruby Taylor Pkwy.

Tuscaloosa, AL 35404

205-507-8000

mh.alabama.gov

1861

268

624

25

Walker Baptist Medical Center

Sean Johnson, CEO

3400 Hwy. 78 E. Jasper, AL 35501

205-387-4000

walkerbaptistmedicalcenter.com

1980

267

525

26

North Alabama Medical Center

Russell Pigg, CEO

1701 Veterans Dr. Florence, AL 35630

256-629-1000

namccares.com

1919

263

1,400

27

Shelby Baptist Medical Center

Holly Dean, CEO

1000 First St. N. Alabaster, AL 35007

205-620-8100

shelbybaptistmedicalcenter.com

1959

252

936

28

Flowers Hospital

Jeff Brannon, CEO

4370 W. Main St. Dothan, AL 36305

334-793-5000

flowershospital.com

1950

235

1,500

29

Hill Crest Behavioral Health Services

Ballard Sheppard, CEO

6869 5th Ave. S. Birmingham, AL 35212

205-833-9000

hillcrestbhs.com

1925

221

311

For more hospitals, visit BusinessAlabama.com.

Sources are Business Alabama survey and the Alabama Hospital Association

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 23

S P EC I A L A DV E R TI S I N G S EC TI O N

HEALTH CARE IS VITAL TO INDIVIDUALS, COMMUNITIES, STATES AND THE NATION. In Alabama, thousands of people are working to move health care forward in their day-

to-day activities. Improving the lives of individuals doesn’t just involve doctors and nurses, but also researchers, insurers, educators, builders, financiers and legislators. This month, we celebrate all of those people on the front lines and those who work behind the scenes, their businesses and the communities they impact.

24 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

26 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 27

With Business Alabama digital products, we can help deliver your message to Alabama’s business community Choose from a variety of options: BUSINESS ALABAMA WEBSITE DEDICATED EMAIL MARKETING DAILY DIGITAL NEWSLETTER BRANDED CONTENT BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIENCE TOP RANK CATEGORY SPONSORSHIP

Averages over

37,000 unique visitors

Averages over

140,000 page views per month

FIND OUT MORE! 28 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

PRIVATE COMPANIES

Guntersville-based Kappler provides the gear that protects fire fighters and other first responders.

FIGHTING FIRE WITH CARE The smallest details are a big deal to Guntersville’s Kappler Inc.

By CARY ESTES

30 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

PR I VAT E CO M PA N I E S

W

hen it comes to facing fire or dealing with hazardous chemicals, the separation between life and death can come down to a matter of inches. Particularly when those few inches are the width of the protective apparel separating a person from the dangers lurking all around.

That is what Laura Kappler-Roberts wants the employees of Guntersville-based Kappler Inc. to keep in mind at all times as they are creating the air-tight suits and other protective gear used nationwide by fire departments, hazmat teams, the military and a variety of general industries such as oil and gas, health care and food processing.

“What we do is very specialized, and it’s very important,” says Kappler-Roberts, daughter of company founder George Kappler and the current president and CEO. “These people suit up and go into nasty situations, and sometimes they’re not sure what they’re getting into, so they need to assume the worst. Our suits can mean life or death for somebody. It can be the reason they are able to go home to their family that night.”

The company was much different when George Kappler started it in 1976 in a small building in downtown Guntersville.

It began simply as a contract sewing firm — with eight employees and six sewing machines — manufacturing coveralls for area businesses. But Kappler increasingly became interested in the protective clothing worn by workers in hazardous situations.

“This was around the time when asbestos abatement was really big, and the country just couldn’t get enough of those throwaway protective coveralls,” KapplerRoberts says. “So my father acquired the material and started manufacturing his own Kappler-branded throwaway coveralls. That led to his exploring more about protective clothing, looking at what was out there and what was needed.

“He is a chemist by education, and he was trying to simplify the end-use for these products. So he established an R&D group and we started developing our own protective fabrics that we could use to make garments to protect against liquid and vapor chemical challenges. Basically, his goal was to keep bad stuff off people.”

George Kappler soon realized there was a growing need for this type of material, and he worked to fill the void. By 1980, Kappler Inc. had expanded to 50 employees. Two years later, the company moved into a new larger facility in Mountain Crest Industrial Park, where it is still based today.

That same year, Kappler Inc. was named one of the 100 fastest-growing private companies in the country by Inc. magazine.

Along the way, the company began producing fire-protection suits and other related materials. In the 1990s, Kappler Inc. created the first single-skin chemical flash-fire suit to be certified by the National Fire Protection Association.

“Our work with vapor hazards is what propelled us into the fire market,” Kappler-Roberts says. “We developed a fabric and learned about some seaming technologies in which we could keep out the bad chemicals and create a vapor-type seam as well. This development really revolutionized the hazmat world.”

Kappler-Roberts took over as president and CEO in 2014. Over the past decade, the company has continued developing new and better protective apparel, including an expanded-view, anti-fog visor system for gas-tight suits. In 2020 the

company opened the Kappler Technology and Training Center.

Several times each year, Kappler Inc. brings in some of the users of their protective apparel for a training session, a gathering that enables the company’s workers to meet people who use the products they are creating. The company also holds an annual Fourth of July luncheon that includes a guest speaker who gives a first-person account of the importance of these products.

“We like to put a face to the people who we’re serving. That always hits home to our employees,” Kappler-Roberts

Kappler gear also protects industrial employees and members of the military.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 31

PR I VAT E CO M PA N I E S

“

These people suit up and go into nasty situations, and sometimes they’re not sure what they’re getting into, so they need to assume the worst. Our suits can mean life or death for somebody.

It can be the reason they are able to go home to their family that night.”

— Laura Kappler-Roberts, Kappler president and CEO

says. “It really solidifies the message that there are real humans wearing these products that we’re making, and they are counting on us to ensure their safety.

“There aren’t a lot of companies that do what we do.

We hand-make these suits.

It’s a very manual process.

There is not a lot of automation. It’s labor intensive, but it’s really a labor of love.

It’s an opportunity to serve others in a different kind of capacity, and we take it very seriously.”

Cary Estes is a Birmingham-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.

Other Similar Companies In addition to Kappler, there are other companies in Alabama that are fired up about helping with fire protection and prevention. Here is a quick look at three of them: HILLER COMPANIES IN MOBILE

Founded by Herbert S. Hiller in New Orleans in 1919, the Hiller Companies purchased a Mobile-based fire-protection company in 1981 and then moved its headquarters to Mobile in 1988. The company has expanded significantly since then through acquisitions and mergers, and now has offices in a dozen states.

Hiller offers fire protection products and services for entities ranging from small businesses to nuclear testing facilities, aircraft carriers and offshore oil platforms. The company provides inspections and maintenance for fire detection and suppression systems, as well as a variety of products such as fire extinguishers, fire-resistant clothing and air-breathing devices.

“Mobile is a very special place for Hiller,” Chairman of the Board Duncan Greenwood said in 2019 on the com-

32 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

pany’s 100th anniversary. “Technology has opened the industry up for more and more opportunities, and the Mobile branch has shifted from a primarily marine-based operation to a more even distribution of marine, offshore and commercial business.”

M&H VALVE IN ANNISTON

The roots of M&H Valve date to mid1800s New York City, when the company began manufacturing products for the water and steam industries. The shift to Alabama came in 1925, as the portion of the company that made cast iron fittings and valves was relocated to Anniston.

By the 1950s, M&H had grown into a major manufacturer of fire hydrants and valves for water systems across the southeast. In 1984, the company was purchased by Birmingham’s McWane Inc., though the name and Anniston headquarters remained the same.

These days, M&H produces approximately 17,000 fire hydrants and 60,000 gate valves each year. More than 250 people work at the company’s 146,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

CAHABA FIRE IN TRUSSVILLE

Ryan King spent more than 15 years working as a firefighter and paramedic.

Ben Horton had more than 15 years of experience in the mechanical, aerospace and nuclear engineering industries. In 2022, they teamed up as the co-founders of Cahaba Fire, an R&D organization focused on creating products for fire departments and rescue teams throughout the United States.

Barely a year after the company’s formation, Cahaba Fire was awarded $25,000 by Alabama Launchpad, an early-stage, seed-funding program established by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. One of the company’s initial products is the FireWedge device that enables firefighters to quickly stabilize a ladder placed on a slope.

“Firefighters need a way to do more with less. The industry is missing critical tools and equipment for certain emergencies, and that is what we are here to change,” King said during the Alabama Launchpad event. “(Our) mission is to research and develop innovative equipment necessary for first responders to perform their job safer, faster and more reliably.”

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 33

PR I VAT E CO M PA N I E S Kamal Constantine strives to give his customers all they could wish for at his newest Piggly Wiggly location in Mobile.

MORE AT THE STORE

Mobile’s newest Piggly Wiggly includes outlets for prime local businesses

By CRYSTAL CASTLE — Photos by MIKE KITTRELL

Y

ou need fancy chocolates? An elegant flower arrangement?

Authentic international foods? But you have time for only one stop on your shopping trip?

Kamal Constantine has created the solution in his newest Piggly Wiggly location at University and Airport in Mobile. It houses an upscale version of the classic Pig, but with other local businesses inside. There’s a branch of Three Georges Fine Southern Chocolates, of Lush Floral and of Naman’s International Foods.

And it’s all part of the particular experience Constantine wants to offer his newest customers.

Born in Lebanon, Constantine came to America when he was about 17 years old and went to school in Charleston, South Carolina.

He moved to Mobile in 1979 and worked at Greer’s for 10-15 years. He and the original owner of the company, Danny Manning, remain close friends.

34 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

“He started to retire,” Constantine says. “I had a small ownership in the company, and I ended up buying him out about three years ago. I started in the business working produce, cleaning floors and things like that before moving up to manager and store supervisor and then to owner.”

After taking ownership of the grocery group, Constantine and his team added stores, and he now has 15 locations. The Alabama Grocers Association has named him the 2024 Retailer of the Year.

His cooperation with local merchants started at the location in Fairhope.

“There was a lady who was going out of business and the people that she was renting from downtown went up on the rent,” Constantine says. “We just told her not to go out of business and to come open something in our location. That was Andree’s, and Andree’s is now one of the biggest icons in Fairhope.”

PR I VAT E CO M PA N I E S

Constantine, or K.C. as many of his employees and vendors call him, sets up the vendors within the store’s pointof-sale system.

Customers are able to check out with any of the merchandise A large selection of wines, prepared goods and at any of the sushi are among the attractions. registers. He then shares in the revenues with the vendors. The merchants don’t have any pressure to stay.

Constantine wants everyone in his store to be successful and encourages the vendors to make the decision to leave if their location in his store isn’t doing well.

“When I came here, we wanted to do the same thing (as we did in Fairhope) but at a larger scale,” Constantine says. “So, we added Naman’s International, The Flying Pig, the Pig Fish seafood area, sushi, Three Georges, Boar’s Head and a pharmacy. This is our first pharmacy we’ve had; it’s a local lady, and the business is doing very well. I like to support the community and foster local businesses. I’m not interested in opening a Walgreen’s inside one of my stores.”

Constantine says going forward the offerings for his stores will be location and demand specific.

“There are some areas that don’t care about Three Georges because it’s a very expensive chocolate and we don’t want (Three Georges) to fail in those certain stores,” Constantine says. “My goal is to move this idea into all the stores where it applies. Not many people like international food, so each store will be different.”

According to its corporate website, Piggly Wiggly is Ameri-

ca’s first self-service grocery store and was founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1916 by Clarence Saunders. In grocery stores of that time, shoppers presented their orders to clerks who then gathered the goods from the store shelves. Saunders noticed that this method resulted in wasted time and expense, so he came up with a solution for shoppers to serve themselves.

Today, there are more than 500 Piggly Wiggly stores serving communities in 18 states.

Piggly Wiggly’s corporate headquarters are in Keene, New Hampshire. It issues Piggly Wiggly franchises to qualified independent grocery retailers. The company also provides the retailers with services such as support, marketing programs and a line of promotional items.

When looking for a location for his newest Piggly Wiggly, Constantine took an old building he says was an eyesore for a long time and worked to make it more welcoming. He started with bright lighting and painting the ceiling white to make the space feel more open.

“One thing I keep hearing from customers in our business is that the aisles are too small,” Constantine says. “So, I knew with this store I wanted to make 8-foot aisles, and people seem to love the comfort of shopping here.”

Despite his larger-than-normal aisle size, the store has seen no July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 35

PR I VAT E CO M PA N I E S

impact to the number of aisles within or amount of items it’s able to carry. According to Constantine, the average store is 30,000-40,000 square feet, and this store is 54,000 square feet. Another thing this location has is lots of cash registers, addressing another common customer complaint — long checkout times.

It’s imperative to Constantine that his stores stand apart from others in the area as extremely clean. However, he’s not paying for extra cleanings but instilling a sense of communal responsibility among his staff.

“In our training, we work on keeping our stores as clean as our homes,” Constantine says. “I tell them that if they have time to lean, they have time to clean. It’s not only the

job of the cleaning people to keep this place in order. If someone is walking by and sees something that needs to be done, they do it. If I see someone walk by trash on the floor and act like it’s not their job, they won’t last here.”

The owner says his employees tend to care deeply about where they work and take pride in its success, which leads to customer satisfaction.

“In any business, if you don’t keep going forward, you go back,” Constantine says. “You don’t want to sit still in any business or anything that you do. I always want to keep going forward, even if that means trimming poor performing locations or moving them somewhere they can thrive.”

Facade of Mobile’s newest Piggly Wiggly location at Airport and University.

Constantine has come a long way from his days working in the produce department of a local Greer’s. He remains committed to providing the best experience for shoppers at all his locations. The grocer says he weighs heavily the responsibility he has not only to his community, but to the people he employs as well.

“When Danny and I started this business together, we had close to 40 employees,” Constantine says. “Now we have 700 employees. It makes you think about every decision you make because it affects so many people’s lives. At the same time, I get the blessing of knowing I’m helping 700 people pay their bills. It’s really a gift to me to be able to do that.”

Crystal Castle and Mike Kittrell are Mobile-based freelance contributors to Business Alabama.

36 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

PR I VAT E CO M PA N I E S

Alabama’s Largest Private Companies

Compiled by MEGAN BOYLE and ERICA JOINER WEST

2023 SALES

(MILLIONS of $)

TOTAL EMPLOYEES IN AL

TYPE OF BUSINESS

3021 7th Ave. S. Birmingham, AL 35226

(205) 328-4000

brasfieldgorrie.com

5,800

1,306

Construction

Michael Suco President and CEO

4600 East Lake Blvd.

Birmingham, AL 35217

(205) 841-2653

cocacolaunited.com

4,100

750

Food and beverage

O’Neal Industries Inc.*

Craft O’Neal Chairman and CEO

2311 Highland Ave. S. Ste. 200 Birmingham, AL 35205

(205) 721-2880

onealind.com

3,600

500

Metals distribution and manufacturing

4

EBSCO Industries Inc.*

J. David Walker President and CEO

5725 Hwy. 280 E. Birmingham, AL 35242

(205) 601-9949

ebscoind.com

3,100

836

Global conglomerate

5

Robins & Morton*

Bill Morton Chairman and CEO

400 Shades Creek Pkwy.

Birmingham, AL 35209

(205) 870-1000

robinsmorton.com

2,280

260

Construction

6

Great Southern Wood Preserving Inc.*

Jimmy Rane CEO

1100 U.S. Hwy. 431 N. Abbeville, AL 36310

(334) 585-2291

yellawood.com

2,000

909

Wood treatment

7

Motion Industries

James Howe President

1605 Alton Rd. Birmingham, AL 35210

(205) 956-1122

motion.com

2,0002,499

400

Wholesale distribution

8

Alfa Insurance Corp.

Jimmy Parnell President and CEO

2108 E. South Blvd.

Montgomery, AL 36116

(334) 288-3900

alfainsurance.com

2,0002,499

9

American Cast Iron Pipe Co.*

J. Michael O’Brien President and CEO

1500 32nd Ave. N. Birmingham, AL 35207

(205) 325-7701

american-usa.com

1,820

1,550

Manufacturing

10

PS Logistics*

Scott Smith CEO and Co-founder

1810 Avenue C. Birmingham, AL 35218

(205) 788-4000

pslogistics.com

1,700

1,200

Flatbed transportation service in North America; Multi-modal brokerage, 3PL, warehousing and leasing company

11

Diversified Energy Co.

Robert Hutson, Jr. CEO

1600 Corporate Dr. Hoover, AL 35242

(205) 408-0909

div.energy

1,5001,999

1,582

Petroleum and natural gas extraction

12

Drummond Co. Inc.

Richard Mullen CEO

1000 Urban Center Dr. Ste. 300 Birmingham, AL 35242

(205) 945-6500

drummondco.com

1,5001,999

730

Mining bituminous coal; foundry coke

13

Progress Rail Services Corp.

John Newman President and CEO

1600 Progress Dr. Albertville, AL 35950

(800) 476-8769

progressrail.com

1,5001,999

560

Provider of rolling stock and infrastructure solutions and technologies for the global rail industry

RANK

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

Ranked by most recent sales figures available as of press time. In cases of a tie, companies are ranked by number of Alabama employees.

COMPANY

OFFICER/TITLE

HEADQUARTERS

1

Brasfield & Gorrie*

Jim Gorrie CEO

2

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United Inc.*

3

Property and casualty insurance

14

Trillion Communications Corp.

Brian Hamilton CEO

3871 Pine Ln., Ste. 141 Bessemer, AL 35022

(205) 481-1678

trillionusa.com

1,5001,999

6

Electronics wholesale

15

Consolidated Pipe & Supply Co. Inc.*

David Kerr, Richard Kerr Co-CEOs

1205 Hilltop Pkwy.

Birmingham, AL 35204

(205) 323-7261

consolidatedpipe. com

1,300

370

PVF Distribution/light manufacturer

16

Caddell Construction Co. Inc.*

Mac Caddell President and CEO

445 Dexter Ave. Ste. 11000 Montgomery, AL 36104

(334) 272-7723

caddell.com

1,033

144

General contractor

17

Infinity Property and Casualty Corp.

Glen Godwin CEO

2201 4th Ave. N. Birmingham, AL 35203

(205) 870-4000

ir.infinityauto.com

1,0001,499

2,200

Property and casualty insurance

18

Intergraph Corp.

Steven Cost CEO

305 Intergraph Way Madison, AL 35758

(256) 730-2000

intergraph.com

1,0001,499

1,000

Spatial management software

19

Altec Inc.

Lee Styslinger III CEO and Chairman

210 Inverness Center Dr. Birmingham, AL 35242

(205) 991-7733

altec.com

1,0001,499

635

Derricks (except oil and gas field); hydraulic/ electric, truck/carrier mounted aerial work platforms; overhead uraveling cranes; truck bodies (motor vehicles); construction machinery

20

Mayer Electric Supply Co. Inc.

James Smith President and CEO

3405 4th Ave. S. Birmingham, AL 35222

(205) 583-3500

mayerelectric.com

1,0001,499

150

Electrical supplies; commercial and industrial lighting fixtures; lighting fixtures, lamps and accessories

21

BL Harbert International LLC

Billy Harbert Chairman and CEO

820 Shades Creek Pkwy.

Ste. 3000 Birmingham, AL 35209

(205) 802-2800

blharbert.com

1,0001,499

372

General contractor

22

Hoar Construction*

Turner Burton President

2 Metroplex Dr. Ste. 400 Birmingham, AL 35209

(205) 803-2121

hoar.com

965

385

Construction

23

McWane Inc.

C. Phillip McWane Chairman

2900 Hwy. 280 S. Ste. 300 Birmingham, AL 35223

(205) 414-3100

mcwane.com

950-999

625

Fire hydrant valves; bitumious coal surface mining; ductile iron castings; coke over products (chemical recovery); valves and pipe fittings

24

Constellium Muscle Shoals LLC

David D’Addario CEO

4805 2nd St. Muscle Shoals, AL 35661

(256) 386-6000

constellium.com

850-899

1,250

Aluminum can stock for beverage and food packaging industries

Craft O’Neal Chairman and CEO

744 41st St. N. Birmingham, AL 35222

(205) 599-8000

onealsteel.com

850-899

254

Steel

25

O’Neal Steel Inc. (suby of O’Neal Industries Inc.)

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 37

OFFICER/TITLE

HEADQUARTERS

(MILLIONS of $)

TOTAL EMPLOYEES IN AL

(205) 536-8400

naphcare.com

831

35

Government healthcare and technology contractor

PHONE NUMBER

2023 SALES

COMPANY

WEB SITE

RANK

PR I VAT E CO M PA N I E S

TYPE OF BUSINESS

26

NaphCare Inc.*

Brad McLane, CEO

2090 Columbiana Rd. Vestavia, AL 35216

27

PowerSouth Energy Cooperative

Gary Smith, CEO

2027 E. Three Notch St. Andalusia, AL 36421

(334) 427-3000

powersouth.com

800-849

600

Generation, transmission and distribution of electric power

28

Mando America Corp.

Chung Mong Won CEO

4201 N. Park Dr. Opelika, AL 36801

(334) 364-3600

mando.com

800-849

475

Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies

29

Peco Foods

Mark Hickman Chairman, CEO and President

1101 Greensboro Ave. Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

(205) 345-4711

pecofoods.com

800-849

450

Poultry processing

30

Gulf Distributing Holdings LLC*

Elliot Maisel, CEO

3378 Moffett Rd. Mobile, AL 36607

(251) 665-2520

gulfdistributing.com

761

887

Wholesale distribution

31

Buffalo Rock Co.*

Matthew Dent President and CEO

111 Oxmoor Rd. Birmingham, AL 35209

(205) 942-3435

buffalorock.com

750

1,616

Manufacturing and distribution of wholesale beverage and snacks

32

Huntsville Utilities

Wes Kelley President and CEO

112 Spragins St. NW Huntsville, AL 35801

(256) 535-1200

hsvutil.org

700-749

634

Water and sewage services

33

Infinity Insurance Co.

Joseph Descher National Director SIU

2201 4th Ave. N. Birmingham, AL 35203

(800) 463-4661

infinityauto.com

700-749

210

Insurance agents

34

SMP Automotive Systems Alabama

Cezary Zawakzinski CEO

10799 Ed Stephens Rd. Cottondale, AL 35453

(205) 723-4990

smp-automotive.com

650-699

1,917

Motor vehicle bumpers and bumperettes

35

CRC Insurance Services LLC

DND DND

1 Metroplex Dr. Ste. 400 Birmingham, AL 35661

(205) 870-7790

crcgroup.com

650-699

75

Insurance agents

Sources: Dun and Bradstreet, Business Source Complete and company surveys.

Those companies submitting information are marked with an * after their name.

38 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

For more private companies, visit BusinessAlabama.com.

BUSINESS OF SPORTS

The U.S. men’s wheelchair rugby team, subject of the movie “Murderball,” is based at the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham. Lakeshore is also the governing body for USA Wheelchair Rugby. Photo courtesy of the Lakeshore Foundation.

Alabama’s Olympic Connections From athletes to training facilities, the world’s biggest sporting event looms large in state

O

By ALEC HARVEY

n the evening of July 31, 1984, in a matter of 49.8 seconds, Rowdy Gaines’ life changed forever.

In the McDonald’s Olympic Swim Stadium in Los Angeles, the Auburn University graduate touched the end of the pool and won the 100-meter freestyle,

40 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

setting an Olympic record and winning the first of three gold medals he’d hang around his neck.

“It was like a fairy-tale ending to a long, long journey, that’s for sure,” says Gaines, who was in his swimming prime four years earlier and couldn’t compete because of the U.S. boycott against the

Moscow Olympics. “It’s funny, because half of me feels like it was yesterday, and then the other half of me has no idea who that guy is.”

It was not yesterday. In fact, this summer marks 40 years after Gaines’ Olympics performance, an anniversary he’ll be marking in Paris by announcing his ninth

BUSINESS OF SPORTS

Olympic Games for NBC. The Olympics (July 26-Aug. 11) and Paralympics (Aug. 28-Sept. 8), both in Paris, may be more than 4,000 miles away, but the torch burns strong in Alabama, whether it’s the Paralympians training at Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham or the many Olympic athletes, like Gaines, in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Auburn University graduate Rowdy Gaines won three gold medals at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.

Associated Press photo.

‘MURDERBALL’ AND MORE

The 2005 movie “Murderball” chronicled the training of the U.S. wheelchair rugby team leading up to the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

That training took place at the Lakeshore Foundation, which is also the ultra-physical sports’ governing body.

“It’s just part of what Lakeshore does, but it’s a big part,” says Chris Thomason, chief advancement officer at Lakeshore.

“We are, of course, an official U.S. Olympic and Paralympic training site, which is just really cool, but we serve people from every walk of life. A third of our membership are senior adults, 60 and older.

A third of our members join because of a disability, and another third of our members are veterans.”

Lakeshore’s facilities include a large swimming pool, gym for various sports, strength and weight-training equipment and the newly opened Sports Science and Training Center.

That center, which opened in January, was designed with Paralympians in mind, but it also hosts Olympians from time to time.

“Think of Colorado Springs or Lake Placid, New York, with the Olympic training centers in those places,” Thomason says. “We are very much like them.”

Athletes at Lakeshore are training in many sports, from swimming to track and field to fencing to blind soccer, but it’s wheelchair rugby and boccia (a precision ball sport similar to bocce) that are most prominent. Lakeshore is the governing body for both USA Wheelchair Rugby and Boccia United States, and both of those national teams train in Birmingham.

The U.S. has won seven medals in boccia since its introduction as a Paralympic sport in 1984, and the U.S. wheelchair rugby team has earned medals (two gold)

in all four Paralympics it has entered.

The wheelchair rugby team includes Chuck Aoki, among the best wheelchair rugby players in the world, and Sarah Adam, the only woman to win a gold medal in wheelchair rugby, according to Thomason. Birmingham’s Jennifer Schuble, a five-time Paralympic medalist in para-cycling, also trains at Lakeshore.

A July 26 event, Celebration of Champions, at Lakeshore will raise money for the athletes there prepping for the Paralympics, as well as supporting the

foundation’s adaptive sports programs.

The fundraising goal is $200,000.

“These are elite athletes, so they have to spend an enormous amount of time training to be the best at what they do,” Thomason says. “Many of them have part-time jobs, and a few will have full-time jobs when their companies are willing to work around their schedules.

But what you end up with is people with disabilities are not represented in the employment sector. A much higher percentage of people with disabilities are July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 41

BUSINESS OF SPORTS

• Jesse Owens, the track and field leg-

Lakeshore Foundation is also the governing body of Boccia United States, which will field a team for the upcoming Paralympics in Paris. Photo courtesy of the Lakeshore Foundation.

unemployed, and then you throw in the training for your athletes and they have to deal with that. … We raise money to help figure that out, and then we also advocate for our athletes in communities and with businesses across the country from a government perspective.”

Thomason says he’s continuously inspired by the athletes he sees at Lakeshore.

“There’s a really, really strong work ethic and a desire to be seen as the athlete that they are and not necessarily a disabled athlete,” he says. “They don’t put up with whining or feeling sorry for yourself or anything like that. They deal with what they have and absolutely make the best of it.”

And Lakeshore Foundation has been successful in helping them.

Since 2003, when the facility was designated an official Olympic and 42 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

end from Oakville who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

• Jennifer Chandler, who won the gold in the women’s three-meter springboard event at the 1976 games in Montreal. The Langdale native, as well as Rowdy Gaines, worked at the ASHOF at one point. She also worked at the Lakeshore Foundation.

• Vonetta Flowers, the Birmingham native, University of Alabama at Birmingham graduate and bobsledder.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, she became the first Black woman to win gold in a Winter Olympics event.

• Charles Barkley, the Leeds native and Auburn University graduate, led basketball’s “Dream Team” to gold at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and repeated four years later in Atlanta.

• Evander Holyfield, born in Atmore, won a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles before becoming boxing’s heavyweight champion.

• Mia Hamm, a Selma native, won gold with the women’s soccer team in 1996 in Atlanta and 2004 in Athens, and silver in Sydney in 2000.

Paralympic training site, it has produced 52 Paralympic athletes, coaches and staff, with those athletes winning 30 Paralympic medals.

THE DRAW OF THE OLYMPICS

Olympic medals also abound at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Some are on display at the hall of fame in downtown Birmingham, which has inducted more than 30 Olympic medalists since its formation in 1967.

“The Olympics are big across the globe, and Alabama is no exception,” says Scott Myers, executive director of the ASHOF. “Our Olympians here are a natural draw, and it probably does increase attendance around the Olympics.”

Myers points to the array of athletes represented in the ASHOF, including:

That just scratches the surface, Myers says.

“There are a lot of great storylines relating to Alabama Olympians,” he says.

He can’t say for sure every Alabamian who has earned an Olympic medal is in the ASHOF, but it’s possible.

“It’s one of those achievements like the Heisman Trophy,” he says. “Winning a Heisman Trophy doesn’t guarantee you a spot in the Hall of Fame, but it does look good on a resume, right?”

For Gaines, it was a game-changer.

“My life would have looked a lot different if I didn’t have that Olympic experience, and especially the Olympic performance that I had,” he says. “I probably would have had another career. It would have been completely different.”

Alec Harvey is executive editor of Business Alabama. He is based in Birmingham.

BANKING

WRECKED DEPOSIT Check fraud has become a major problem within the financial industry

By CARY ESTES

A

sk most people younger than around age 35 about check fraud, and their response likely will be something along the lines of, “Wait, people still use checks?”

Oh yeah, they sure do.

And we’re not just talking about grandma pulling out her checkbook each month to pay the utility bills. A significant number of businesses in the United States continue to make payments the old-fashioned way, by cutting a check and placing it in the mail.

According to data from the U.S. Federal Reserve System, there were approximately 3.15 billion commercial checks issued in 2023. Granted, that is down considerably from the peak of slightly more than 19 billion in 1992. Still, it is more than 3 billion opportunities for somebody to commit check fraud, which has become a major issue for banks in recent years.

“It is a tremendous problem that is not getting any better,” says Scott Latham, president and CEO of the Alabama Bankers Association. “It is growing day by day and costing our industry a tremendous amount of money. Banks are writing off lots of losses due to check fraud.”

“

It is growing day by day and costing our industry a tremendous amount of money.

Banks are writing off lots of losses due to check fraud.”

— Scott Latham, president and CEO of the Alabama Bankers Association

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 47

BANKING

“

Karen Pugh, COO of Pratt“One of the reasons check fraud ville-based River Bank & Trust, is rampant right now is because agrees. “The last few years have of fraud within the U.S. Postal Check fraud had been been rough,” Pugh says. “It’s not a Service,” Latham says. “That is how declining until the chip consumer problem as much as it a lot of these criminals are getting is our businesses. They are being their hands on the physical checks. came out, which really hit big-time. We spend a lot more We are strongly encouraging indireduced credit and debit time than we ever did monitoring viduals and companies to exercise card fraud significantly. checks. Right now, it is the most tremendous caution when it comes important thing we do every day.” to mailing checks.”

Now it has really shifted It is a problem that had been Increasingly, financial instituback, and we have seen growing gradually for several years, tions are using their own techcheck fraud grow each year then escalated suddenly. The Finology in an effort to combat the nancial Crimes Enforcement Nettechnology of check washing. One for the past three or four work (FinCEN) reported last year way is through a fraud-detection years.” that incidents of check fraud nearly software called Positive Pay, which doubled from 2021 to 2022, enables businesses to see images of increasing from approximately their checks that a bank receives — Mark 350,000 to 680,000. This jump each day in order to verify that it McVay, has coincided with a dramatic dematches with what the business chief risk crease in credit card and debit card originally issued. “That is the fraud following the widespread number one way to reduce losses,” officer at acceptance of chip technology in McVay says.

ServisFirst the late 2010s.

One potential drawback to this Bank.

“Check fraud had been desystem is it requires a daily effort by clining until the chip came out, somebody within the business to which really reduced credit and confirm that all the checks the bank debit card fraud significantly,” says received are indeed correct. “PosiMark McVay, chief risk officer tive Pay is a solution,” Powell says, at Birmingham-based ServisFirst “but there can be a lot of customer Bank. “Now it has really shifted resistance to it because it requires back, and we have seen check fraud more work on their part to review grow each year for the past three or all the items.” four years.”

Pugh says River Bank & Trust Though the problem stems from recently invested in a fraud-techthe use of 20th-century style paper nology software called Verafin that checks, it is implemented these days through a 21st-century constantly looks for sudden changes in patterns involving bank technology called check washing, which involves the digital macustomers, including greater-than-normal deposit amounts. nipulation of a physical check. Here is how attorney Jerry Powell, “It takes our customers’ history and pulls any unusual activity former general counsel for Compass Bank and Cadence Bank and like out-of-sequence numbers or amounts and images that don’t current special counsel for the ABA, describes the process: match up,” Pugh says. “It’s costly, but we think it is going to be “Crooks steal a check and they digitally change the payee and worth the investment. It has definitely cut down on some of our the dollar amount,” Powell says. “Then they reprint that digitized manual work involving check monitoring.” information on another check and take it to a bank, generally Of course, the best way to eliminate check fraud is to elimia large money-center bank that has millions of checks coming nate the use of physical checks entirely. Payment services such as through. They deposit it to an account, and by the time anybody CashApp, PayPal and Venmo allow transactions to occur elecrealizes what has happened, the fraudster takes the money and is tronically, as do ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments, in long gone.” which money is directly deposited into an account.

This digital theft is made possible by physical theft, usually “We are trying to make our customers aware of this problem involving checks that are mailed. Sometimes mail drop boxes are and encourage them to shift to more digital-type payments,” Mcsimply broken into, but there also have been cases where postal Vay says. “There are so many digital-type options out there today, employees have assisted thieves by selling them keys to the drop and they are all much more secure than checks.” boxes. Late last year, a former Mobile postal worker admitted This is a stark departure from the general thinking of 15 to in federal court to participating in a scheme that resulted in the 20 years ago, when many people were reluctant to engage in any theft of nearly $18 million in business checks sent through the sort of electronic financial transaction because it seemed too risky. mail.

As a result, it remains difficult for many businesses to break their 48 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

BANKING

check-writing habit.

“We’ve been writing checks for more than 100 years. It is a tough transition for some people,” Latham says. “But until we can crack down and get ahold of the criminal aspect of it, which is going to be hard to do, then we have to find alternative secure ways to transact our business.”

It is a problem that may resolve on its own given enough time, as the generations that have been raised on technology and are comfortable with electronic payments — and, frankly, find paper checks kind of weird — become more involved in the business world. After all, according to data from the Federal Reserve Boards, the number of commercial checks issued in the U.S. has declined every year since 1999.

“I have two daughters, aged 31 and 29, and one of them is a banker,” Latham says. “And I can tell you, they don’t use checks.”

Cary Estes is a Birmingham-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.

“

It’s not a consumer problem as much as it is our businesses.

They are being hit big-time. We spend a lot more time than we ever did monitoring checks. Right now, it is the most important thing we do every day.”

— Karen Pugh, COO of River Bank & Trust

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 49

BANKING

First Horizon Bank treated its communities to wide-ranging random acts of kindness.

Kindness on the Horizon

Bank turns to random acts of kindness to celebrate 160 years in business

By DEBORAH STOREY 50 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

A

fter her first day of chemotherapy, the woman was depressed — rightly so. She planned to head straight home and

collapse.

Her doctor suggested she stop by the store to buy popcorn, then go home and watch a good movie. She resisted, but realized she really needed cat food.

As she entered a Birmingham Winn-Dixie grocery store, two smiling employees of First Horizon Bank walked over and gave her a $25 Visa gift card.

BANKING

“She just kind of started tearing up,” says Millie Rudder, vice president and retail market manager in Birmingham, as she relates the story. “She said, ‘You don’t know what this means to me. It’s just amazing on a day like this.’”

That was just one of hundreds of acts of kindness spread across Alabama like a cozy quilt in a campaign of good deeds carried out by employees of First Horizon Bank.

As part of the celebration of the bank’s 160th anniversary, employees of First Horizon gave away 1,600 $25 gift cards and fanned out to undertake hundreds more nice gestures during Random Acts of Kindness Week Feb. 11-17.

Bank executives say it’s just part of showing appreciation to the areas they serve.

“We are excited to mark our 160th anniversary by actively expressing our gratitude to the communities that have supported us throughout the years,” says Beth Ardoin, chief communications officer at First Horizon Bank, in explaining the initiative.

Alex Morton, executive vice president and head of Birmingham operations for the bank, emphasizes that the card giveaway was just one component of a broader goodwill effort.

“Across the whole 12-state franchise we gave back to the community both with doing acts of kindness as well as giving gift cards at various times,” says Morton.

“This was truly a random act across multiple ways to do it,” he adds.

“Each banking center was given a certain amount of gift cards to give out,” explains Rudder, but they did other nice things, too.

Those involved say that associates enjoyed coming up with creative and spontaneous ways to spread good cheer and maybe prompt a few smiles or tears of gratitude.

“It was a fun week,” says Morton.

Bank associates “had so much fun with it,” agrees Rudder.

Some gave Lifesaver candy — pun intended — to first responders. Others passed out treats and water bottles to parents in school pick-up lines.

“It gave an opportunity for us that are usually inside in banking centers to get out a little more and be able to serve,” says Rudder.

Some associates surprised citizens by paying for gas or groceries. Others delivered unexpected flowers and gifts. And some served lunch at a retirement community.

Headquartered in Memphis, First Horizon has 12 locations in Alabama in Birmingham, Fairhope, Fultondale, Hoover, Huntsville, Madison, Mobile, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills.

As part of the random acts initiative in Birmingham in particular, bank commercial teams prepared appreciation baskets for local businesses to offer encouragement during their busiest times.

In Huntsville, the Downtown Rescue Mission received personal items for the Owens House, a shelter for homeless women and children. At one banking center, 80-year-old cleaning

woman Ann Gaines received a gift card in recognition of her ever-present smile and energy.

Also in the Huntsville area, Acts of kindness ranged from gift baskets for busy local businesses to helping a teenager bank associates find the perfect prom dress. delivered a gift card to the Rocket City Trash Pandas baseball team mascot, Sprocket, as he visited local businesses. They donated food and supplies to the Greater Huntsville Humane Society. Employees of one professional accounting business enjoyed free doughnuts from the bank as they geared up for their busiest season.

In the Mobile area, First Horizon associates Lisha Klumpp and Lauren Vaughn gave a gift card to “Miss Carolyn,” a longtime employee of the Fairhope Piggly Wiggly.

Virginia Knight, First Horizon’s vice president in Mobile, took a girl from the Boys and Girls Club to buy her first prom dress — the first dress she ever owned, in fact.

Rudder went shopping with them. “She stepped out in this beautiful gown,” she says. “She just lit up the room with her smile.”

Although this was the first time for the week-long card giveaway, bankers say it falls in line with the bank’s philanthropic philosophy in general.

First Horizon has spearheaded community involvement initiatives in the past, Morton says, but “nothing to the extent we’re doing it now to celebrate our 160th year anniversary.

“Our intent was really to go bring joy into our markets and our communities. That’s what we were focused on, to let our employees give back,” he says. Toward that goal, “we were extremely successful.”

“One of our passions is giving back to the community,” Morton adds. “We’ve always been active in the community, volunteering and giving of our time and talents.

“Last year we gave almost 1,000 volunteer hours across the state,” he says. “We’ll always do that.”

As one of the oldest banks in the country, what is today known as First Horizon has served clients through the American Civil War, two world wars, financial panics and the Great Depression.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 51

Even Sprocket, the mascot of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, got a bit of extra kindness.

In 1864, Ohio businessman Frank S. Davis traveled to Memphis to open its first national bank — First National Bank of Memphis. The bank continued to operate during a yellow fever epidemic in 1878 when many people fled the city.

On its 100th anniversary, First National moved into a 25-story corporate headquarters at 165 Madison in Memphis, where it remains today. In 1977, the name changed to First Tennessee.

In 2004, First Horizon National Corp. became the parent company name. A 2017 merger with Capital Bank made First Tennessee the fourth-largest regional bank in the Southeast. Two years later it began operations under the First Horizon brand name.

When First Horizon National Corp. merged with Louisiana-based IberiaBank Corp. in 2020, it created one of the top 25 banks in the country in deposits. The “National” was dropped from its name in late 2020.

With $81.7 billion in assets as of December 2023, First Horizon operates in 12 states. Fortune and Forbes magazines have recognized it as one of the nation’s best employers and a Top 10 Most Reputable U.S. Bank.

First Horizon has roughly 7,300 employees in 418 locations, primarily in the Southeast but as far north as New York.

Deborah Storey is a Huntsville-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.

52 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

SPOTLIGHT

Calhoun & Talladega Counties

Calhoun County

Talladega County

by LORI CHANDLER PRUITT

The grandstands were full for Talladega Superspeedway’s race in April, the Geico 500.

C

alhoun and Talladega counties, in east Alabama, have easy interstate access, a great quality of life and work hard to attract business, industry and tourism that benefit the region.

Both counties are working to have available land, infrastructure and spec buildings to attract more industry. The Calhoun County Economic Development Council received an $858,000 Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS) grant to help purchase 150-plus acres of property near the Oxford West Industrial Park.

And plans are being developed for a third 100,000-square-foot speculative building in the Lincoln Industrial Park in Talladega County. The first two spec buildings there are occupied by Lohr and Aer-Flo Sports.

Calhoun County’s largest employer is the Anniston Army Depot. The county also is the home of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Center for Domestic Preparedness, providing training for first responders from all 50 states.

And McClellan, a former U.S. Army fort that is now a master-planned mixed-use development, continues to grow.

In Talladega County, Honda Alabama Auto Plant is the largest overall employer, creating its own economic impact and attracting automotive supplier firms.

Lake Yahou Park features a half-mile walking trail around the 8-acre freshwater catch-andrelease lake.

Meanwhile, schools and colleges work to build the workforce.

Calhoun County is home to the new Choccolocco Research Education and Technical Experience Center (CREATE), offering varied skills training. “This is something we’ve needed for a long time,” says Center Director Lorie Denton. “This will truly change east Alabama.” Upskill

training for adults and incumbent worker training will be offered in the evenings, she says.

And in Talladega County, programming and site development is completed for the future East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub (EARTH), located on the former Avondale Mills property in Sylacauga. It includes space for EARTH July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 53

S P O T L I G H T: OV E R V I E W

M E D I A N H O U S E H O L D I N CO M E

P O P U L AT I O N Total Alabama Population: 5,073,903

State of Alabama $59,609 Source: U.S. Census Bureau

and the Talladega County Board of Education’s planned Rural Innovation Campus.

These counties also are home to major tourism attractions, from NASCAR at Talladega Superspeedway to the Talladega

National Forest. It also is home to a wide range of tourism attractions — from hiking and biking to historical locations.

Ecotourism is very popular.

Quality of life and amenities for residents and tourists also are important here,

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (estimates)

as cities build bike trails, hiking trails, park improvements, downtown revitalization and more.

Lori Chandler Pruitt is a freelance writer for Business Alabama. She is based in Birmingham.

All Business. All Alabama.

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Economic Engines

TAXES PROPERTY TAX NOT INCLUDING SCHOOLS OR MUNICIPALITIES

CALHOUN COUNTY: 12.5 mills TALLADEGA COUNTY: 9.5 mills

STATE OF ALABAMA: 6.5 mills

SALES TAX CALHOUN COUNTY: 1%

M1 Abrams tanks are on the move, shipped out from Anniston Army Depot.

CITIES WITHIN THE COUNTY:

ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT (ANAD)

Anniston Army Depot, established in 1941, is the Department of Defense Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for almost all ground combat, assault bridging, small arms, towed and self-propelled artillery systems, locomotives, rail equipment and non-tactical generators.

Major tenants include the Anniston Munitions Center, the Defense Logistics Agency Distribution and the U.S. Army Museum Support Center.

The Anniston Munitions Center is a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command organization that is responsible for the storage, distribution and demilitarization of a $64 billion munition stockpile. The Defense Logistics Agency Distribution’s 240 employees sustain the warfighter through distribution operations exceeding 100,000 transactions annually. Within its 35 million cubic feet of storage area, it manages six million items, ranging from

B U S I N E S S MAY 2024: Groundbreaking is planned this summer for a 79-room Fairfield

by Marriott hotel in Jacksonville.

APRIL 2024: The Choccolocco Research Education and Technical Experience (CREATE) Center opens in Oxford in the former Honeywell building, providing job training for high school students.

MAY 2024: Waites Construction is

microchips to tanks and valued at more than $11 billion. The U.S. Army Museum Support Center-Anniston supports more than 40 Army museums worldwide and more than 167 historical holdings.

Including its tenant organizations, the depot boasts a workforce of 3,771 employees and is the largest employer in Calhoun County and among the largest in the state.

A major economic force within Calhoun County, Anniston Army Depot contributes $1 billion to the state’s economy.

HONDA ALABAMA AUTO PLANT

The Alabama Auto Plant, formerly Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, has been building Honda vehicles in Lincoln in Talladega County since 2001 and employs more than 4,900.

According to a 2019 Economic Development Partnership of Alabama study of Honda and its key Tier-1 suppliers in

ANNISTON: 5% GLENCOE: 5% HOBSON CITY: 4% JACKSONVILLE: 5% OHATCHEE: 5% OXFORD: 5% PIEDMONT: 5% SOUTHSIDE: 5% WEAVER: 5%

TALLADEGA COUNTY: 3% CITIES WITHIN THE COUNTY:

CHILDERSBURG: 4% LINCOLN: 5% MUNFORD: 5% OAK GROVE: 3% SYLACAUGA: 4.5% TALLADEGA: 5% WALDO: 1%

STATE OF ALABAMA: 4% Source: Alabama Department of Revenue

the state, the annual economic impact is $12 billion, with 45,000 total jobs in Alabama and representing 5.4% of the total Alabama GDP. In April 2023, officials celebrated the

B R I E F S

clearing 200 acres in the Childersburg Industrial Park made possible by a Growing Alabama Grant from the Alabama Department of Commerce. The Talladega County Economic Development Authority will clear and seed an additional 113 acres in the southeast portion of the park.

SEPTEMBER 2024: Land clearing and preparation is underway for a new workforce development center in

56 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

Talladega County, called East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub (EARTH). It will be located on the former 48-acre Avondale Mills site in Sylacauga, led by Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement.

MARCH 2024: Alabama Specialty Products announces a $3 million expansion, with plans to add eight employees.

ASP has grown to more than 200 employees since its beginning as Metal Samples in 1980.

MARCH 2024: Programmable Logic Consulting purchased the former Koch Foods (Sylvest Poultry) building on the Old Birmingham Highway with plans to refurbish it and provide engineering services and manufacture industrial control panels for UL Certified Automation Systems. They plan to start with two employees and grow to 15 in three years.

MARCH 2024: Heritage South Credit Union has

expanded in Sylacauga, with a new data center that provides more office space and meeting areas and is home to IT, collections, accounting and the U.S. 280 branch call center.

FEBRUARY 2024: Braxton Harris Co., a warehouse/ distribution company in Anniston, announces a $4.6 million expansion, adding 40 jobs.

FEBRUARY 2024: The Calhoun County Economic Development

S P O T L I G H T: ECO N O M I C E N G I N E S

opening of the plant’s new $16 million, 66,000-square-foot Post-Production Option (PPO) facility.

The plant is the world’s exclusive production home of the popular Honda Pilot and Passport SUVs, including all TrailSport models; the Odyssey minivan and the Ridgeline pickup. Its annual production capacity is 680,000 Honda light trucks and V-6 engines. Since it came to Lincoln, associates have produced more than 5.7 million vehicles and V-6 engines, with total investment of $3 billion.

ENEOS USA Inc. and rolled steel slitting firm Precision Strip Inc. Metals industries are also key, including Tyler Union in Anniston, FabArc in Oxford, Doncasters in Oxford, M&H Valve Co. in Anniston, AmeriBolt in Childersburg, American Foam Cast Inc. in Sylacauga and Cooper Steel South in Childersburg. Associated Metalcast in Oxford is undergoing an $8.1 million expansion, adding 101 jobs.

VEHICLE PRODUCTION AND REHAB

Anniston is home to the nation’s premier training facility for emergency responders — the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP). With a work force of about 1,000, half full-time and half part-time, the Center develops and delivers advanced all-hazards training to emergency responders from all 50 states, U.S. territories and federally recognized tribal nations. Its mission: “Training the Best for The Worst.”

Approximately 60,000 emergency responders complete CDP training annually.

Calhoun County is home to multiple vehicle firms, several of them among the area’s largest employers. Companies include transit bus maker New Flyer, automotive seating supplier Bridgewater Interiors, interior automotive systems maker International Automotive Components, armored vehicle maker General Dynamics OTS Land Systems, military vehicle rehab firm BAE Systems and automotive seating maker CVG. CVG recently expanded and Bridgewater Interiors has announced an expansion.

In Talladega County, main players in this field include Honda supplier New South Express, plastics firm Kasai North America, Gulf Shore Assemblies, tractor-trailer firm Lohr North America, motor vehicle parts maker Nemak Aluminum Components, automotive stamper Cleveland-Cliffs (Fleetwood Metal) Industries, lubricant and grease firm

B U S I N E S S Council receives an $858,000 Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS) grant to help purchase 150-plus acres near the Oxford West Industrial Park.

OCTOBER 2023: Auto Custom Carpets Inc. in Oxford, which makes replacement automotive carpet, announces a $3.4 million expansion, adding 25 jobs.

SEPTEMBER 2023: Plans are being developed for

FEMA CENTER FOR DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS

TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

The 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, which opened in 1969, is NASCAR’s most competitive, the highest-banked and the longest track on the schedule. Three and four-wide racing at 200 mph is the norm.

The venue draws visitors from all 50

states and 22 countries, making it a major tourism draw for the region.

ALABAMA INSTITUTE FOR DEAF AND BLIND (AIDB)

AIDB serves almost 36,000 infants, children, adults and seniors in all 67 counties of the state who are deaf, blind, deafblind and multi-disabled and their families.

AIDB includes five campuses in Talladega: Alabama School for the Deaf, Alabama School for the Blind, Helen Keller School of Alabama (for children with multiple disabilities), E.H. Gentry Technical Facility (for adult rehabilitation) and Alabama Industries for the Blind (providing job training and employment).

In recent updates, the Daniel Foundation and others are working to create an AIDB Student Life and Conference Center. And AIDB has partnered with East AlabamaWorks to offer a modern manufacturing program to K-12 and adult students, age 16 and older.

Alabama Industries for the Blind is the fifth largest agency in the U.S. to employ people who are blind. Its focus is on a strong Upward Mobility Program to allow for promotions within the agency.

AIB currently has 279 employees, 155 of whom are blind or visually impaired.

AIB partners with National Industries for the Blind and The AbilityOne Program.

AIB received the 2023 National Industries for the Blind Employment Growth Award and placement in Upward Mobility.

This year AID added a new product

B R I E F S

a third 100,000-squarefoot speculative building in the Lincoln Industrial Park. The previous two are occupied by Lohr and Aer-Flo Sports.

AUGUST 2023: Dennis Gilliam is named president of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. He is a longtime employee of AIDB. AUGUST 2023: Boozer Beam, which makes laminated wood beams, announces a $2.5 million expansion of its facility

in Anniston, adding five jobs.

JULY 2023: Tyler Union, which is among the McWane Inc. family of companies, is expanding its pressure fittings operation in Anniston, a $13.8 million investment adding about 15 jobs.

JULY 2023: Wellborn Cabinets broke ground on its 250,000-squarefoot facility in the Oxford Industrial Park. The company is investing $17 million and will

employ 400 people when operational next year. The Calhoun County Economic Development Council and the city of Oxford developed the 130acre industrial park in Talladega County.

JULY 2023: PlastiCal has begun a $15 million expansion, mostly adding equipment but eventually adding 40 employees.

PlastiCal started in 2020 with the manufacture of plastic pellets for the injection molding industry.

JULY 2023: Sims Bark has constructed a power pole plant and has completed the expansion of its facilities to include a pallet plant to manufacture pallets for its own use, as well as provide pallets to companies in the Talladega County area.

JULY 2023: Associated Metalcast in Oxford announces an $8.1 million expansion, adding 101 jobs.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 57

S P O T L I G H T: ECO N O M I C E N G I N E S

manufacture of roofing shingles, Atlas Web Technologies in its coating materials and Heritage Plastics and PlastiCal in plastic pellets. Marble also is used for national cemetery markers, sculptures and buildings.

Among the largest is Imerys USA Inc., a marble quarry producing traditional Alabama White marble; Omya Alabama also produces ground calcium carbonate for a variety of uses and Sylacauga Masonry Arts produces cut marble to be used for items such as counter tops, sculptures and architectural uses. A recent newcomer to the sector is Sims Bark in Sylacauga, which bags marble chips.

Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind.

line — producing bandoleer pouches for the federal government. That new line employs 26 people, 88% of whom are blind. Workers produce paper products, safety vests, pillow cases and more for clients including the federal government, the Alabama Department of Transportation, Troy University, University of Montevallo and Mayer.

MCCLELLAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

McClellan is a former U.S. Army base that is now a master-planned, mixed-use development in Anniston with residential, commercial, industrial, education, research and technology development opportunities — plus an array of sports and leisure options.

Lake Yahou Park offers fishing, biking,

B U S I N E S S MARCH 2023: Omya Inc., an industrial minerals producer, has announced a $26 million expansion that will employ an additional six people.

hiking, paddle boating and picnicking, connecting to 18 miles of scenic trails that welcome hikers, bikers, walkers and runners. The park and trails attract thousands of visitors to the community annually.

The McClellan Development Authority has been upgrading security systems, adding wayfinding signs and clearing land for more homes while private companies have added new businesses.

MARBLE

Quarries in Sylacauga in Talladega County produce the whitest, purest marble in the world, giving it the name “The Marble City.” Companies in the city grind the marble to use as an additive in pharmaceuticals, paints and other products.

IKO Southeast uses ground marble in its

WOOD PRODUCTS

Both counties number wood and paper products companies among their largest manufacturers. In Calhoun County, those include fiberboard and flooring maker Kronospan, which just announced a major expansion. MJB Wood announced it will locate in Anniston.

A huge boost to the area is Wellborn Cabinet, based in Ashland, which will open a new manufacturing facility in Oxford, a $17 million investment that will create 400 jobs at the newest industrial park. The Calhoun County Economic Development Council and the city of Oxford developed the 130-acre Oxford West Industrial Park.

In Talladega County, Legacy Cabinets, Resolute Forest Products and GeorgiaPacific are counted among the largest.

B R I E F S

MARCH 2023: Aer-Flo Sports began production in the former Lincoln speculative building two.

Aer-Flo makes netting and other products for athletic fields and employs 95 people.

hardwood and softwood panel products, announces a $350 million expansion — an Oriented Strand Board (OSB) manufacturing plant on 44 acres at its 460acre Oxford plant. The expansion will add 125 jobs, for a total of about 600 employees. The company has invested more than $1 billion since beginning operations in Oxford in 2008.

MAY 2023: Kronospan, a major producer of

APRIL 2023: American Honda Motor Co.

58 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

opens a $16 million, 66,000-square-foot accessory installation plant on its Lincoln campus. The plant will add accessory packages to completed vehicles made next door at the Alabama Auto Plant.

redesigned 2023 Pilot SUV, the largest and most powerful SUV in Honda’s history. The new vehicle involved changes in structure and training at the $3 billion, 4,500-worker factory.

MARCH 2023: MJB Wood, a wood products company, announces it will locate in Anniston and add 70 jobs.

OCTOBER 2022: M&J Shipping, a logistics company in Sylacauga, announces a $650,000 expansion, adding 22 jobs.

DECEMBER 2022: Honda’s Alabama Auto Plant launches a

AUGUST 2022: Bridgewater Interiors, an automotive interiors

company in Oxford, announces a $2 million expansion.

JUNE 2022: Laserfab, a metalworking company in Calhoun County, announces a $1.5 million expansion, adding 15 jobs.

JUNE 2022: FabArc Steel in Oxford announces a $2 million expansion and 15 new jobs.

Source: Economic developers

Largest Industrial Employers CALHOUN COUNTY ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT | BYNUM

Combat vehicles, bridging, small arms, ammunition handling • 4,100 employees

NEW FLYER | ANNISTON

Transit buses • 750 employees

KRONOSPAN | OXFORD

Fiberboard and flooring • 590 employees

TYLER UNION | ANNISTON

Ductile, iron, water main fittings 466 employees

BAE SYSTEMS | ANNISTON

Military vehicle rehab • 450 employees

GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS BYNUM Armored vehicles • 400 employees

BRIDGEWATER INTERIORS LLC OXFORD Automotive seating systems 390 employees

TALLADEGA COUNTY HONDA ALABAMA AUTO PLANT LINCOLN Automobiles/V-6 engines 4,900 employees

NEW SOUTH EXPRESS LINCOLN/TALLADEGA

Honda supplier • 1,170 employees

NEMAK ALUMINUM COMPONENTS SYLACAUGA Motor vehicle parts • 700 employees

KASAI NORTH AMERICA INC. TALLADEGA

Plastic extrusion • 676 employees

LEGACY CABINETS | TALLADEGA Cabinets • 551 employees

FILTER BUY | TALLADEGA

AC and custom filters • 400 employees

BLUE BELL CREAMERIES | SYLACAUGA Ice cream • 367 employees

Source: Economic developers

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 59

Higher Education

Students at Jacksonville State University.

JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY

Jacksonville State University is a comprehensive, public university that offers about 100 academic programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels, including more than 40 online programs.

JSU unveiled a revamped general education program that will go into effect this fall with the incoming freshman class that is believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S. It’s known as “Jax MIX: Merging Innovation and eXperience,” which fully embeds badged micro credentials within general education and is designed to empower students to develop key skills valued by employers while collecting new credentials through a colorful badging system.

The key skills were determined by an extensive survey of industries and sectors to identify the skills and knowledge most valued by employers of JSU graduates. Those focused skills include ethics, critical thinking, communication, professionalism, creative problem-solving, leadership, diversity and civic participation. The program is aimed at producing graduates with a diverse skill set. Current students also can look into participating.

In March, 44 Alabama law enforcement officers representing 25 agencies enrolled in the first class of students at JSU’s Southeastern Leadership Command College, a nine-week program dedicated to training police officers to lead departments and agencies. It’s the first program of this kind in the state and is one of several programs and initiatives the school has established over the past decade to support law enforcement. JSU is also home to the Northeast Alabama Law Enforcement Academy.

The university continues to grow, with new enrollment records set for the third consecutive year. Construction projects underway include the North Village Residence Hall, Jax State Dining Hall and the Loring and Debbie White Football Complex. In addition, the Randy Owen Center for the Performing 60 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

A FAME student on the Ayers Campus of Gadsden State Community College.

Arts (ROC) is underway on the former First Baptist Church of Jacksonville site. The ROC Educational Wing renovation will include a 450-seat recital hall, rehearsal hall, backstage suites, recording studio, educational classrooms and meeting and office space. New construction of the ROC, on the front of the ROC Educational Wing, will house the 1,000-seat Phil and Denise Webb Performance Hall and the Pi Kappa Phi Lobby.

With an anticipated completion date of early 2026, the new construction and renovated Educational Wing will provide concert, performance and educational space for the College of Arts, Humanities and Sciences, and collaborative learning spaces for the entire university. To date, more than $22 million has been raised toward the $41.3 million project.

Other updates include a $250,000 grant from the Alabama Board of Veterans Affairs, which will fund the Victory Center, serving military members and their families and also provide internships for students pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degrees in social work or clinical mental health counseling. While the location is not yet determined, the center started accepting clients in June.

Several programs have earned kudos recently: accreditation reaffirmation for the College of Business and Industry from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; niche.com ranking among the best nursing programs in America for the School of Nursing; and continued accreditation for the respiratory therapy program from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.

Jax State is in the Conference USA, and sports teams have set some milestones. In the first year of play in the new conference, the football team became bowl eligible and won its bowl game — marking the first time a team in its first year in that conference has had that success.

And the school’s bowling team, in its first year, won the

S P O T L I G H T: H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

national championship, marking the first national championship in Division 1, first time to win Conference USA in bowling, and more.

TALLADEGA COLLEGE

The first private historically black liberal arts college in Alabama, Talladega College has been known for academic excellence for more than 150 years. Located in a historic district in the city of Talladega, it offers a close-knit, student-centered environment.

According to the newly released 2023 Washington Monthly college rankings, Talladega College is 36th overall among 242 colleges and 12th for social mobility.

The college also ranked 18th among 288 colleges and universities for the “Best Bang for the Buck” ratings in the Southeast, putting it in the top 10% of those institutions.

U.S. News and World Report placed Talladega at 13th for Social Mobility nationwide in its 2022-2023 rankings.

And, the Princeton Review’s newly released rankings placed Talladega as one of the best colleges in the top 109, out of the 2,300 colleges and universities in the South. Princeton Review does not assign number ranks within that top 109 category. For the social mobility ranking, U.S. News and World Report assesses graduation rates for Pell Grant students.

About 68% of students are Pell Grant eligible and come from families that earn less than $50,000 annually.

Several programs at the college have earned accolades recently. The Great Tornado Band led the 2024 London New Year’s Day Parade and was named a Top Five HBCU Band by HBCU Buzz.

The Esports Rocket League Team won the 2024 HBCU Discover Bowl. And the school claimed a second-place finish at the 2024 HBCU Battle of the Brains competition at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

In other sports, the women’s volleyball team claimed the 2023-2024 regular season and conference GCAC Championships. Gymnast Krystin Johnson became the first HBCU athlete to win the USAG National Vault Championship, with teammates Kiora Peart-Williams, Alexa

Chuy and Alondra Maldonado achieving First-Team All-America Honors. And the men’s baseball team won the 2024 Hope Credit Union GCAC Conference Championship.

GADSDEN STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE — AYERS CAMPUS

Savery Library at Talladega College.

Gadsden State Community College’s Ayers Campus in Anniston serves approximately 700 students taking academic courses, health science programs and technical training offerings.

The campus offers general studies as well as accounting, computer science, office administration and child development.

Students can also choose from three health science programs — nursing, surgical operating room technician and EMT. It offers 12 technical programs including auto collision repair, automotive manufacturing technology, electrical technology, diesel mechanics and welding.

The Ayers Campus is home to two unique programs not offered at other Gadsden State campuses — the Mobility Nursing Program and the Alabama Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education, also known as FAME. The Mobility Nursing Program gives practical nurses and paramedics the opportunity to become a registered nurse.

It is taught in three semesters with one nursing course each semester.

FAME is an apprenticeship-style program that combines classroom and lab learning with work experience at local industry partners. There is a selective admissions process for both programs.

In fall 2024, the innovative CoMeT program will begin on both the Ayers Campus in Anniston and the East Broad Campus in Gadsden. The Consortium of Machining Education Training is a hybrid work-based apprenticeship program where students attend classes two days a week while simultaneously working for an industry partner.

The Ayers Campus offers on-campus

dual enrollment as well as adult education, English literacy acquisition and the federally funded Veterans Upward Bound, Upward Bound, Talent Search, Student Support Services and the Cheaha Educational Opportunity Center.

CENTRAL ALABAMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE/CHILDERSBURG CAMPUS, TALLADEGA CENTER

Central Alabama Community College (CACC) is a multi-campus institution and one of Alabama’s five original community colleges. It offers several academic and career technical programs at its main campus in Alexander City, and at other locations in Childersburg, Talladega and Prattville.

CACC offers more than 40 academic programs plus programs leading directly to careers. CACC recently introduced an artificial intelligence certificate in collaboration with Intel and Manufacturing 4.0 courses. The college’s nursing apprenticeship program is the second largest in the system. The college in 2023 was recognized by the Prattville Chamber of Commerce as Industry of the Year.

CACC just announced a new standalone Licensed Practical Nursing program at its Talladega campus, which begins this summer. It is part of the college’s effort to expand programs and help address critical healthcare needs of the region.

CACC recently announced a memorandum of understanding with Dovetail Landing, solidifying a collaborative effort to support workforce training, education and career placement of veterans participating in Dovetail Landing programs.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 61

Movers & Shapers LOUIS BASS is president and CEO of

the Health Care Authority of the city of Anniston, which owns and operates the RMC Health System. The $230 million health system includes Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center and related facilities, has 1,900 employees and serves patients in five counties. Earlier, he was CFO and director of finance at Lloyd Noland Hospital in Fairfield. He began his career with Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

ALTON CRAFT has served as mayor of

Oxford since 2016. Prior to his election, he served as the city’s finance director for more than 30 years, where he and former Mayor Leon Smith increased the city’s cash reserves and credit rating, and he worked with the city council to finance many capital projects and improvements.

GERALD “JERRY” CREEL JR. is

fiber-optic network is available to every electric consumer.

It also helps recruit industry to the region.

Its subsidiary, Coosa Valley Technologies, provides high-speed internet service to more than 6,000 customers.

COL. CRAIG A. DANIEL is com-

mander of the Anniston Army Depot. He is a distinguished military graduate of Radford University and holds MBA and MS degrees, plus credentials from an array of military programs. He has commanded and participated in military assignments around the world. Awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Award, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Superior Unit Award and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge.

BRANDON FREEMAN is executive

director of Central Alabama Community College, Talladega Center. He is president of the Chamber of Commerce of Talladega-Lincoln-Munford, chair of the Talladega City Industrial Development Board, vice-president of Talladega Main Street and a board member for Samaritan House. He serves on advisory committees for Dovetail Landing, Talladega-Clay-Randolph Childcare Corp. and Jacksonville State University. He holds a bachelor’s degree, MBA and two additional master’s degrees.

vice president and chief credit officer at First Bank of Alabama. He is active in the Alabama Bankers Association and Bankers 2 Leaders. He is treasurer of The Right Place and a board member of United Cerebral Palsy of East Central Alabama and active in other nonprofit and organizations in the area. He is past president of Kiwanis Club of Anniston and graduated from Leadership Calhoun County. He graduated from Wingate University in 1999 and is attending the Graduate School of Banking at LSU.

JON CULLIMORE is CEO of Coosa

DENNIS GILLIAM is president of the

Valley Electric Cooperative. The cooperative serves more than 18,000 consumers in rural parts of six counties and its

Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, where he has worked for 30 years. A University of Alabama graduate, he holds

special credentials in visual impairment education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and in education administration from the University of Montevallo, plus a Doctor of Education in Deaf Studies Deaf Education from Lamar University.

ASHTON HALL, a Talladega native, in

2023 became the city of Talladega’s youngest-ever elected mayor at age 22. During high school, he served as an ambassador for the Talladega Chamber of Commerce and as president of the Talladega High School National Honor Society. After graduating, he attended Talladega College where he was SGA president and held leadership roles in his fraternity. He teaches math at Stensley Road Elementary School and recently hosted the city’s first Mayoral Scholarship Ball, which raised scholarship funds for local students LINDA HEARN is executive director of

the Calhoun County Area Chamber & Visitors Center.

She has worked with the chamber since 1990. She is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with additional credentials from Auburn University and the U.S. Chamber Institute for Organization Management at the University of Georgia. She is a graduate of the Leadership Calhoun County. She has helped lead the chamber to 5-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

She is a member of the Alabama Chambers of Commerce and was honored for her years of service to the organization.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 63

S P O T L I G H T: M OV E R S & S H A PE R S

DON KILLINGSWORTH JR. is

president of Jacksonville State University.

A JSU graduate with a doctorate from the University of Alabama, he

has worked most of his career at JSU. He earned his doctorate in higher education from the University of Alabama. He is a former president of the Calhoun County Area Chamber and Visitors Center board and now serves on the City of Jacksonville Industrial Development board, is vice chair of the Alabama Council of College and University Presidents and vice chair

of the board for Conference USA. He also is a Calhoun County Rotary Club member and recent Leadership Alabama graduate.

DONNIE MILLER is executive director

of the Chamber of Commerce of Talladega, Lincoln and Munford. He brings 32 years of business experience to the position, while also living in Talladega for more than 60 years. He owns Miller’s BBQ in Talladega, which he started in 2005, and previously owned Miller’s Dinner Bell for 11 years.

He served on the Talladega City Council from 2007-2015.

MARGARET LIVINGSTON MORTON

is CEO of the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement Family Services Center and president of the East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub, which is now underway. She is retired from Sylacauga City Schools. She holds B.S., master’s and Ed.S. degrees from the University of Alabama, plus guidance certifications from Jacksonville State University. She serves on numerous boards on educational, family and special needs issues.

ANDY ROBERTSON is workforce

development coordinator for Gadsden State Community College.

He also serves as the FAME coordinator and division chair for the career and technical education programs on the Ayers campus. He spent almost 10 years in industry as a maintenance technician in the box division of Inland Paperboard and Packaging in Rome, 64 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

Georgia, and later as a service engineer for Vulcan Engineering.

TERRY L. SMILEY is vice president

of the eastern division for Alabama Power, where he oversees sales, economic and community development and external affairs activities. He received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Birmingham-Southern College. A member of the Anniston Rotary Club, he serves on the board for the Alabama Trails Foundation and AIDB Foundation and is vice chair of the board for Talladega College. He was an All-American in basketball for two years and was inducted into the Birmingham-Southern College Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

SHANNON STANLEY is superinten-

dent of Oxford City Schools.

She has more than 29 years of experience in Alabama public education as a teacher and administrator. Stanley has also served as a School Improvement Leadership Coach with Southern Regional Education Board, working with school districts in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. She is an adjunct professor in educational leadership at the University of Alabama and works with its Superintendent’s Academy.

DERRICK SWANSON is city manager

for the city of Talladega. He was appointed commissioner of the Alabama Firefighters Personnel Standards and Education Commission in 2023. He began his career as a medic for the city of Tuskegee and advanced to fire chief. He worked in

leadership roles for the Alabama Fire College and later as captain over emergency services for the Macon County Sheriff’s Office. He earned associate degrees in fire science and EMS and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He is a 2023 graduate of the Alabama Public Safety Leadership Academy and a national registered paramedic with 25 state and national fire certifications.

GREGORY J. VINCENT, an

award-winning educator, executive, civil rights attorney and community leader, is president of Talladega College.

He recently served as professor and administrator at the University of Kentucky. A native of New York City, he attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and competed in basketball, cross country and track. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Ohio State University and a Doctor of Education from the University of Pennsylvania. He has received several honors and awards for his work.

PHIL WEBB, is owner of Webb Con-

crete & Building Materials in Oxford. He is on the boards of Alabama Power, the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders’ Governmental Affairs Advocacy, Calhoun County Home Builders Association, the President’s Cabinet and capital campaign cabinet at the University of Alabama, JSU Foundation, Calhoun County Economic Development Council and NobleBank & Trust. He is a board member and past chairman of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, YMCA of Calhoun County and Knox Concert Series. Webb is a member of the Calhoun County Quarterback Club and Anniston Rotary Club.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 65

Health Care al simulation lab.

RMC partners with Jacksonville State University to staff its student health clinic. It also partnered this year with the city of Anniston and St. Michael’s Health Clinic, a faith-based, not for profit organization, to open a new location with extended service hours. RMC also works with the Interfaith Ministry for dental care and prepares and distributes Meals on Wheels.

RMC also is very active with workforce development. The hospital participates in World of Works, the largest career exploration program for students in the region; partners with area schools to support their health sciences programs; holds on-site hiring events; offers a 20% tuition scholarship discount per semester to RMC employees who attend JSU; and began a student nurse assistant program with Gadsden State Community College.

Regional Medical Center.

CITIZENS BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER

Citizens Baptist Medical Center.

RMC HEALTH SYSTEM

Regional Medical Center (RMC) Health System is the largest not-for-profit health care provider in northeast Alabama. It has about 1,520 employees over two campuses.

In Anniston, the system includes RMC Anniston, with 338 beds. RMC Anniston offers advanced cardiovascular, oncology, orthopedic, joint replacement and rehabilitation services, women’s and children’s services and numerous other specialty offerings. RMC has several family practice locations.

In March, it was announced that RMC’s Stringfellow hospital campus in Anniston would transition this year into an outpatient-only facility offering surgical and gastroenterology services, along with a 66 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

seven-day-a-week urgent care center.

Officials say the changes will ensure that patients can access the right services in the right settings and that RMC can meet the future health care needs of the community it serves. Stringfellow will provide care through its emergency and surgical departments until the transition is complete. Stringfellow employees will be retained and can explore positions within the RMC organization.

The RMC Foundation is building a wellness trail and park for the community, staff, patients and visitors to enjoy on campus. It should open this fall. The foundation also purchased a simulation mannequin and worked with the critical assessment team to develop an education-

Citizens Baptist Medical Center in Talladega is located on the I-20 corridor and is a vital part of the community. It has 122 beds and is one of the largest employers in the county, with more than 300 employees. The hospital is part of the Baptist Health System and Tenet Health joint venture, Brookwood Baptist Health.

It offers several services, including chest pain and stroke care, surgical services that include minimally invasive, surgery, 3D mammography, orthopedics with rehabilitation and psychiatric care.

COOSA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER

Coosa Valley Medical Center in Sylacauga, with about 490 employees, is one of the largest employers in Talladega County and is an independent, non-profit hospital owned and governed by the Sylacauga Health Care Authority.

The 168-bed hospital has 19 areas of medical specialization, with plans to add services. There is a 20-bed senior behavioral unit within the hospital. There also is a professional office building, a medical arts building and a clinic in Childersburg.

The hospital treats about 30,000 people yearly in its emergency department, and its ambulatory/outpatient program provides treatment to 61,000 patients yearly.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 67

Community Development

The master-planned community of McClellan, in Annistion, offers residential, commercial, retail, education and more.

CALHOUN COUNTY

The county is building two new community centers at Thankful Park and in the White Plains/Choccolocco area, says Mark Tyner, Calhoun County manager. Also, improvements are being made to Chief Ladiga Park, the Alexandria Community Center and Woodland Park.

In April, ground was broken for a new restroom facility and plaza that will complement the existing pavilions at Ladiga Landing.

Infrastructure improvements include the Corning water tank project and several other water projects with Anniston Water and Calhoun County Water, along with several road surfacing projects and two bridge replacements at McClellan Road and Alexandria-Wellington Road, he says. The county also participated in the 911 radio system upgrade and made transfer station improvements to the county landfill.

Other improvements include updates for the Calhoun County Courthouse and two major renovations to the county jail to include a medical and psychiatric unit with observation cells, he says.

The city of Anniston in April broke ground on the Chief Ladiga Trail Extension at Michael Tucker Park, a $7.2 million investment into the state’s premier 68 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

rails-to-trails system. The addition will add 6.5 miles, bringing the trail’s length to about 39.5 miles. It will then connect Anniston’s Multimodal Amtrack Station to the state of Georgia’s Silver Comet Trail, forming the longest paved pedestrian pathway in the U.S. at about 105 miles. The extension should take about 14 months to complete. The trail links the cities of Anniston, Weaver, Jacksonville and Piedmont as it traverses Calhoun and Cleburne counties.

The city is renovating the 118-year-old former federal courthouse building in Anniston as a new city hall. The project is on schedule, and a ribbon cutting could come in early 2025.

The city’s comprehensive plan, finalized in 2022, has already resulted in $112 million in total economic impact, with increased business licenses, sales tax revenue, new businesses, property improvements, infrastructure and playground upgrades, museum improvements and home repair grants.

The city has finished several projects, including the City Market, Barber Terrace, Noble Street Park, a medical clinic, playground and splash pad upgrades.

More are on the way.

Also in Anniston is McClellan, once an Army base and now a 10,000-acre

master-planned community offering residential, commercial, industrial, retail, education, technology and research development. It is managed by the McClellan Development Authority, a nonprofit corporation charged with economic development.

Anniston Regional Airport is state-certified as an unlimited general aviation airport and provides hangars, tie downs, flight instruction, jet fuel and more. The airport’s 7,002-by-150-foot runway can accommodate dual wheel aircraft up to 500,000 pounds.

Officials are looking for more development at the airport and the accompanying acres.

The city of Oxford’s Choccolocco Park was added to the Appalachian Highlands Alabama Birding Trail this year. The city installed a new outdoor fitness court at the park, and the city now has eight new pickleball courts at Oxford Lake/Civic Center, says Stacy Booth, city spokesman.

Several new businesses have come to the city, including Jim ‘N Nicks Bar B-Q, Crumbl Cookies, Blue Fin Japanese Sushi & Steakhouse and Campers Unlimited, some of more than 20 new businesses that have opened in the city since 2022.

A Culver’s restaurant is underway, and the Quintard Mall, a longtime shopping area, has been restructured with a new look and format.

New downtown businesses include two new restaurants, The Bank Oxford and Le Coin Des Artistes, along with the Pet Treat Bakery. The city’s historic railway depot is being restored as Spring Street Station, a new restaurant and event space with a small outdoor amphitheater.

Council member and owner of Hubbard’s Off Main, Charlotte Young Hubbard, is working with several partners on the train depot restoration.

A new hotel, TownePlace Suites

by Marriott, opened in April near the

S P O T L I G H T: CO M M U N I T Y D E V E LO PM E N T

Exchange retail area, and a new Candlewood Suites is under construction with a scheduled opening date of fall 2024.

The city has made improvements to Leon Smith Parkway, a major artery in the city, adding additional lanes and traffic control upgrades to better handle increasing traffic to the Oxford Exchange retail/restaurant area and sports/recreation at Choccolocco Park, Booth says.

The 1,200-seat Oxford Performing Arts Center is in its 11th year as the “busiest stage in Alabama,” hosting more than 60 musical headliners from all genres of music and major touring Broadway shows each year. The center is host to the Rubato International Piano Competition, held every two years.

And just adjacent to the arts center, the city is planning the Alabama Children’s Museum and Discovery Center. ADECA grant funds have been used to demolish dilapidated buildings downtown to make way for the museum and mixed-use commercial space.

The city of Jacksonville is embarking on an expansion at Ladiga Landing Park, with new restrooms and an extended parking area. The city also will have a new Fairfield by Marriott Hotel.

Jacksonville City Schools named Michael Barber as the new superintendent.

Schools throughout the county continue to offer new workforce-related programs.

In August 2024, students at Oxford High School will have the opportunity to take classes in the new Choccolocco Research, Education and Technical Experience, or CREATE, a regional workforce development, technology and innovation center. Over the next few years, the programs will be open to other area students as well.

Calhoun County schools has a career academy and is working on $40 million in facilities improvements.

Anniston city schools offer several career technical programs and some dual enrollment options.

TALLADEGA COUNTY

The city of Talladega has been awarded a $1.2 million FY23 Community Project

The CREATE Funding workforce initiative for development center. a walkway to benefit deaf and blind residents; a SMART DOT (U.S. Department of Transportation) grant for $1.1 million to enhance safety and ensure equitable accessibility in the city by employing the latest technologies through fish-eye camera systems, emergency vehicle preemption units and deaf/blind accessible pedestrian signals; and a Safe Streets for All $280,000 grant to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries, officials say.

With funding from T-Mobile ($50,000), Talladega Clay Randolph Childcare Corp. ($75,000) and others, plans are underway to construct Unity Playground, the city of Talladega’s firstever inclusive, fully accessible ADA public playground.

In addition, with support from Alabama Power Foundation, Talladega County Commissioner Tony Haynes, Alabama Historic Preservation Commission, Rep. Steve Hurst, Sen. Lance Bell, the Education Trust Fund Grant and lodging taxes, the Talladega Tourism Commission plans to open the city’s first-ever visitor center this summer on Talladega’s Historic Courthouse Square.

The city of Sylacauga is in the planning stages of a new recreational and aquatic center.

And a collaborative effort is developing the East Alabama Rural Innovation & Training Hub (EARTH), part of the Avondale Mills Economic Development and Revitalization program. Phase one, programming and site development, is completed and includes space for the EARTH and the Talladega County Board of Education’s planned Rural Innovation Campus. The school system owns a large portion of the old Avondale Mills site.

Next comes approval of the schematic

design and selecting a general contractor, says Margaret Morton, CEO of Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement. Demolition continues on the primary EARTH facility, and renovations should begin in fall 2024.

The mission is to provide east Alabama with a workforce development system that is responsive to the needs of individuals and businesses, as well as future economic development. Career fields will include health care, alternative energy, hospitality, early care, transportation, agriculture, technology and manufacturing. Different programs will collaborate for certain projects, such as building affordable housing in the former Mill Village.

The city of Childersburg is creating a new judicial complex on U.S. 280, purchasing the former Medical/Surgical Building, along with two additional lots adjacent for parking.

In the growing city of Lincoln, Lincoln Landing on Logan Martin Lake is booked each week through this year with fishing events of all kinds, city officials say. The landing includes 10 boat launch pads, built for year-round use for different water levels. City officials say the fishing park has the potential to be a major tourism destination.

The city’s fire department was awarded a $183,238 FEMA grant to purchase strategic equipment, officials say. It is matched by a 5% contribution from the city. And the state recently announced about $1 million to be used to repair McCaig Road, an access road that runs along I-20.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 69

Culture & Recreation festivities and events:

Alabama Birding Trail.

BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL —

February | Anniston The longest-

running Black Heritage festival in the Southeast.

MARBLE FESTIVAL — April | Sylacauga

Celebrating the magic of marble.

NOBLE STREET FESTIVAL —

April | Anniston Cyclists take note!

TALLADEGA WALK OF FAME — GARDENS & HISTORY

More than 2,000 natural history items are on display at the Anniston Museum of Natural History and the Berman Museum of World History, with the Longleaf Botanical Gardens just outside.

Animal shows and hands-on discovery activities are designed especially for children.

TAKE A HIKE

The Chief Ladiga Trail runs from the Alabama/Georgia line through Anniston, Weaver, Jacksonville and Piedmont. The paved Rails to Trails project, Alabama’s first, follows the former Seaboard/CSX Railroad and connects to Georgia’s 63mile Silver Comet Trail. Pinhoti Hiking Trail spans 110 miles and transverses the ridges and crests of the Talladega National Forest Mountains through Georgia to connect with the Appalachian Trail. It runs through both Calhoun and Talladega counties. Sylaward Trail at Lake Howard in Sylacauga is popular for hiking and fishing.

RIDE A BIKE

Coldwater Mountain Bike Trail, on 4,000 acres of Coldwater Mountain in Anniston, offers beginner loops and a 10mile Blue Loop for intermediate riders.

The trail is open to hikers and runners as well.

TEST YOUR OFF-ROAD

TOP Trails OHV Park beckons allterrain bikes and quads on thousands of acres at the foot of Alabama’s highest point. Choccolocco Mountain Off-Road 70 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

Vehicle Park offers 450-acres for ATVs, side-by-sides, dirt bikes, four-wheel drives, rail buggies and rock crawlers.

SEE THE BIRDS

The Appalachian Highlands Birding Trail, the Piedmont Plateau Birding Trail and others have sites in these and neighboring counties.

REVISIT YOUR RIGHTS

Follow the Anniston Civil Rights Trail to 10 historic sites throughout the city, including the Freedom Riders National Monument.

ENJOY THE OUTDOORS

Cheaha State Park ranges around Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in Alabama.

The park features trails and a small lake, two museums and a restaurant with a grand view, plus accommodations. It’s all within Talladega National Forest, which deserves a visit in its own right. Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge provides 6,000 acres of mountain longleaf pine forest and is home to the Bains Gap Waterfall and trails. The 11,000acre Neely Henry Lake in Ohatchee is perfect for skiing, boating and fishing as is the 17,000-acre Logan Martin Lake.

Canoe or kayak down Terrapin Creek and enjoy the scenery while you cool off in the spring-fed water. Selwood Farm in Talladega County offers bird hunting, sporting clays and accommodations. It also is a site on the Alabama Quail Trail.

And Talladega Creekside Resort offers camping plus kayak and canoe rentals on Cheaha Creek.

April | Talladega

US CANINE BIATHLON —

May | Anniston Dogs and handlers

compete in this four-mile challenge course.

OXFORDFEST — October | Oxford

Arts, crafts, music, food and fun.

CROSS THAT BRIDGE

Oxford Lake is home to one of Alabama’s oldest covered bridges, moved from Coldwater Creek to its Oxford Lake home. The park has sports and play space, too. Or visit Kymulga Mill & Covered Bridge near Childersburg.

PARK IT

Choccolocco Park in Oxford hosts soccer, softball, baseball and track events and features water and natural resources, picnic pavilions, walking and biking trails and a playground.

GO UNDERGROUND

Take a guided tour at Majestic Caverns in Childersburg and see the light, sound and water show. Or stay on the surface to visit the park’s 20 above ground attractions.

TAKE A SHOT

CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park is a 500-acre site offering sport shooters opportunities to practice and participate in competitive events.

HANG OUT

Pursell Farms offers accommodations,

event space, golf, horseback riding, yoga and more on 3,500 acres.

PAY TRIBUTE

Centennial Memorial Park is the official home of Alabama’s Veterans Memorial and State Law Enforcement Memorial.

Talladega’s Hall of Heroes Museum is a tribute to veterans and first responders.

TAKE A SWING

Test your skills at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Silver Lakes course between Gadsden and Anniston. Or try Alpine Bay Golf in Alpine, Anniston Municipal Golf Course, Cane Creek Golf Course in McClellan, Cider Ridge Golf Course, Indian Oaks Golf Club or Pine Hill Country Club.

TASTE THE GRAPE

White Oak Vineyards grows the fruit for its trademark label, Southern Oak Wines.

ZOOM, ZOOM

Speed is king at Talladega Superspeedway, the Talladega Short Track and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

PONDER THE PAST

Jemison Carnegie Heritage Hall Museum in Talladega features soaring 18-foot ceilings and Beaux Arts style plus the freestanding staircase leading to less formal lower galleries. Built by slave labor in 1863, Janney Furnace was burned

by Union troops, but each year hosts the Battle of Ten Islands Reenactment.

Visit the site and the Civil War & Native American Museum.

TOUR THE TOWNS

Talladega’s Historic Silk Stocking District covers 113 acres and architectural styles include Queen Anne, Classical Revival, Colonial Revival and other late Victorian types. The Talladega Courthouse Square Historic District, centered on the 1836 courthouse, includes the original Henderson Drug Store, the Isbell Bank, the first city hall, the Kenwin Building, the post office and the Ritz Theatre.

APPRECIATE THE ARTS

Jacksonville State University offers a variety of drama and musical productions, art exhibits, and various sporting events throughout the year. Talladega College offers workshops, lectures and presentations by outstanding artists, scientists, and political, business and civic leaders.

It also is home to the Dr. William R. Harvey Museum of Art, which houses the critically acclaimed Amistad murals.

Check out concerts and performances at the 1,130-seat Oxford Performing Arts Center. In Talladega, check out The Historic Ritz Theatre, considered one of the best surviving examples of the Art Deco main street theaters of the 1930s. And since it reopened in 1998, it’s considered one of the premier performing arts centers of east central Alabama.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 71

Company Kudos

by ERICA JOINER WEST

BTS Technologies Inc., of Birmingham, has received Technology Assurance Group’s Outstanding Economic & Customer Satisfaction Award, its top award. Winners are selected based on their economic performance and superior customer satisfaction. Founded in 1976, BTS Technologies is a managed technology services provider.

Faulkner University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program has been granted initial accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. Graduation from a CAPTEaccredited physical therapy education program is necessary to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination, which is required to participate in physical therapy in all 50 states.

For a ninth consecutive year, Howard Bentley Buick GMC has been named Dealer of the Year by General Motors.

Owned by Wayne Bentley and operated

by General Manager Taylor Bentley Conner, the dealership is located in Albertville.

Huntsville International Airport has been named the Best Small Airport in the 2024 Newsweek Readers’ Choice Awards.

It is the only airport in Alabama to have secured a spot on the list.

The American Association of CriticalCare Nurses has conferred two gold-level Beacon Awards for Excellence on Mobile Infirmary’s surgical intensive care unit and its medical intensive care unit.

Regions Bank has received the 2024 President’s “E” Award for Export Service in recognition of the bank’s work to provide financing solutions to corporate

AUGUST Sports Means Business Taking Stock of Alabama’s Public Companies Legal Matters Pictured, center, with the award is Roger Wentowski, president of BTS Technologies Inc.

banking clients that collectively increase the nation’s exports. Regions was one of 10 U.S. entities recognized.

Southeast Health, in Dothan, has performed its 350th successful transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedure. The hospital’s first TAVR was performed in 2017.

The University of Alabama and the University of Montevallo were included in the Broadcast Education Association’s 2024 Recognition of Institutional Excellence in Media rankings in the 2024 Top Winning Overall Programs category.

Wallace State Community College has been named a semifinalist for the 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The prize will be awarded next year.

WBHM 90.3 FM and the Gulf States Newsroom have won 14 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for 2024, including Overall Excellence, the highest award presented, from the Radio Television Digital News Association for Region 9.

Williams Blackstock Architects, of Birmingham, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The company, which was started in 1994, has grown to a 55-person staff of architects and interior designers.

Top Rank Profiles Geographic Spotlight: Chilton County

SEPTEMBER Building Alabama Insuring What Matters Drinking In History AGC 40 Under 40 Geographic Spotlight: Pike, Barbour & Bullock Counties Check BusinessAlabama.com for daily business headlines and additional content

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July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 73

RETROSPECT

Robert Wilby: An Alabama “Movie Man” “T

By SCOTTY E. KIRKLAND

he cinema has no boundary,” American writer and director Orson Welles once observed. “It is a ribbon of dream.”

Films have the power to transport and inspire. Theaters, then, are vehicles. They are temples. From the era of silent film through the late 1950s, Alabama’s Robert Wilby oversaw some iconic early movie houses in the state and region.

Robert Bailey Wilby was born in Selma in 1888. He was the firstborn child of English immigrant William Wilby and Alabamian Elizabeth Wood.

After high school, Robert attended the Georgia School of Technology. He returned to Selma in 1908 with a newly minted engineering degree and entered into business with his father. A contractor and plumber by trade, William Wilby had signed on to manage and maintain Selma’s Academy of Music. At the time, the academy was more of a traditional playhouse for traveling theatre troupes.

Young Robert encouraged his father to expand the academy’s offerings to include silent films. For the next three years, father and son worked alongside each other at the academy.

Beginning in 1911, Robert Wilby ran the establishment himself.

In 1915, Wilby’s talents caught the eye of the proprietors of the Strand Amusement Co., who lured him to Montgomery to manage their three movie houses: The Strand, Orpheum and Plaza. The company added another theater, the Colonial, the following year.

Tickets for the theaters ranged from 5 cents to 40 cents. Wilby made the Strand — located at historic Court Square — his base of operations.

74 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

ABOVE: Atop the marquee of Montgomery’s Paramount theater in 1958, you can see, “A Wilby Theatre.”

Courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives & History. LEFT: A 1938 ad in the Selma Times-Journal heralding the opening of the Wilby Theater in the renovated Academy of Music.

R E T RO S PE C T

The eager new manager worked to make the company’s theaters the most comfortable and popular in town. When patrons complained the Strand was too hot, a potential death sentence for a business in the summertime Southland, Wilby acted quickly to remedy the problem with additional electric fans and an expensive new ventilation system that cost a reported $1,500 (about $42,000 today). It proved a worthwhile expense. Later, he initiated the first Saturday morning movies in the city for young children.

To keep patrons apprised of the many goings-on at the various Strand theaters, Wilby began a weekly newsletter. Though principally comprised of clips from industry publications, Wilby managed to insert his own writings and wit. In the first issue, he announced a $10 naming contest for the publication. Thus, the first few editions were cheekily entitled “THIS PAPER HAS NO NAME.” Nearly 200 people wrote in with suggestions.

Wilby selected “STRAMCO POST,” an acronym for “Strand Amusement Company’s Plaza, Orpheum and Strand Theaters.”

Enterprising Wilby also had his own interests. In an era of segregation, state and municipal laws prohibited African Americans from enjoying the amusements of the Strand Co.’s theaters.

In 1917, Wilby partnered with three area businessmen and founded the Pekin Amusement Co., to construct a new theater for Black patrons. Capital stock in the new venture began at $10,000.

History happens to us all. As Robert Wilby worked to establish himself in Montgomery, the drums of war in Europe grew louder. Once America entered the Great War, the theater manager did his part to aid the home front. He booked government-produced films on American preparedness and a documentary filmed on the battlefields of France. He opened his theaters for rallies, fundraisers and other patriotic functions. When the government selected Montgomery as a place to train soldiers, Wilby made

TOP: Black patrons line up outside Robert Wilby’s Pekin theater in Montgomery in 1939. Courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives & History.

BOTTOM: Robert Wilby. Courtesy of the George C. Griffin Photograph Collection, Georgia Tech Library.

them feel “wanted and welcome” in the city, offering up the orchestras of the Strand and Orpheum theaters for social functions. He even set up one of his older “moving-picture machines” on the nearby base, Camp Sheridan. The theaters of Strand Amusement Co. encouraged patrons to join in singing the “The StarSpangled Banner” between films. During the holiday season of 1918, Wilby offered soldiers free movie tickets.

In 1918, the Strand Amusement Co. extended its reach to Birmingham.

Executives put Robert Wilby at the head of those theaters as well. His hometown paper took note of the promotion and praised Wilby’s “unusual and extraordinary ability” in the business of motion pictures. A year later, he signed on with S. A. Lynch Enterprises, overseeing more than a dozen of their Alabama theaters.

Wilby’s star continued to rise.

By 1931, he was vice president of a chain of more than 30 southern theaters. That same year, he acquired the Paramount-Publix theaters in several Alabama cities, like Anniston, Selma and Montgomery, including some of the same establishments he managed as a younger man.

His partner in the venture was Herbert F. Kincey, another Dallas County native, who once worked with Wilby at the Academy of Music. By 1949, they managed nearly 100 theaters together.

In 1938, the year he turned 50, Wilby’s hometown extended him a great honor: the renovated Academy of Music — the place where his career began — was renamed in his honor. “SELMA’S DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE” read an advertisement in the local paper. The Wilby Theatre continued in operation for more than three decades thereafter. It was destroyed by fire in June 1972. Today, the Selma Public Library occupies the site.

Failing health brought an abrupt close to Wilby’s half-century managerial career in 1957. Herbert Kincey replaced him as head of their company. Though residing in Atlanta, he maintained close ties in Selma and Montgomery. When Wilby died in September 1961 at the age of 73, businessmen from both cities attended his funeral. Alabama newspapers marked the passing of the homegrown “Movie Man.” By the time of Wilby’s death, none of the original Montgomery theaters he managed remained in operation. The beloved Strand had closed in late July 1952. In the era of “talkies,” that followed Wilby’s departure from the city, the Strand nurtured a generation of young B-Western movie aficionados. But the demise of these Capital City temples of silent film in favor of increasingly larger theaters would likely come as no surprise to Robert Wilby, who enjoyed a long career along a rapidly changing “ribbon of dream.”

Historian Scotty E. Kirkland is a freelance contributor to Business Alabama. He lives in Wetumpka.

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 75

Index AbilityOne Program.........................................56 Academy of Music, Selma.................................74 Adam, Sarah.................................................................40 Aer-Flo Sports............................................. 53, 56 Aerojet Rocketdyne..........................................10 Alabama Aerospace............................................7 Alabama Bankers Association..................... 47, 63 Alabama Board of Veterans Affairs....................60 Alabama Chambers of Commerce......................63 Alabama Children’s Museum and Discovery Center..........................................68 Alabama Council of College and University Presidents...................................63 Alabama Department of Commerce...................56 Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs................................68 Alabama Department of Public Health..............12 Alabama Department of Transportation....... 10, 56 Alabama Firefighters Personnel Standards and Education Commission..........63 Alabama Futures Fund........................................8 Alabama Grocers Association.............................34 Alabama High School Athletic Association...........7 Alabama Historic Preservation Commission.......68 Alabama Hospital Association...........................16 Alabama Industries for the Blind......................56 Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind.... 10, 56, 63 Alabama Iron and Steel Council........................78 Alabama League of Municipalities......................7 Alabama Legislature.........................................16 Alabama Mineral Springs...................................9 Alabama Power Co............................................63 Alabama Power Foundation..............................68 Alabama Seafood Cook-off................................78 Alabama Specialty Products..............................56 Alabama Sports Hall of Fame............................40 Alabama State Highway Department.................79 Alabama Trails Foundation...............................63 ALFAB Inc...........................................................8 Alpine Bay Golf................................................70 AmeriBolt Inc...................................................56 American Association of Critical Care Nurses......73 American Cast Iron Pipe Co...............................78 American College Testing Inc............................63 American Foam Cast Inc....................................56 American Honda Motor Co................................56 American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame..............10 Andree’s Bakery and Deli..................................34 Aneja, Ritu....................................................................20 Angiolillo, Bruce...........................................................78 Anniston Army Depot......................53, 56, 59, 63 Anniston City Schools.......................................68 Anniston Civil Rights Trail.................................70 Anniston Municipal Golf Course........................70 Anniston Museum of Natural History ................70 Anniston Regional Airport................................68 Anniston, City of.................................. 16, 66, 68 Aoki, Chuck...................................................................40 Appalachian Highlands Birding Trail........... 68, 70 Appalachian Trail..............................................70 Ardoin, Beth.................................................................50 Armstrong, Brenda.......................................................78 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.......................................73 Associated Metalcast........................................56 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business......................................60 Athens State University......................................7 Atlas Web Technologies....................................56 Auburn University.............................9, 40, 63, 78 Austal USA.........................................................9 Austin, Leonard............................................................78 Auto Custom Carpets Inc...................................56 Ave Maria Grotto................................................9 Avondale Mills........................................... 53, 56 Avondale Mills Economic Development and Revitalization .......................................68 Ayers, Gregory..............................................................12 BAE Systems............................................... 56, 59 Bains Gap Waterfall..........................................70 Bank Oxford, The..............................................68 Bankers 2 Leaders............................................63 Baptist Health System......................................66 Barber Terrace, Anniston...................................68 Barber, Michael............................................................68 Barge Design Solutions......................................8

A guide to businesses (bold) and individuals (light) mentioned in this month’s issue of Business Alabama.

Barkley, Charles............................................................40 Barnes & Associates..........................................78 Barnham, Stephen.......................................................78 Bass, Louis..............................................................16, 63 Battle of Ten Islands.........................................70 Bay Minette Municipal Airport Authority...........10 Bell, Conrad..................................................................78 Bell, Sen. Lance.............................................................68 Bentley, Wayne.............................................................73 Berman Museum of World History....................70 Best Practice Service LLC.....................................9 Bielen, Richard.............................................................78 Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q.....................................10 Birmingham Association of Realtors..................78 Birmingham Black Barons..................................8 Birmingham Fastener.........................................7 Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.......8 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport................................8, 10 Birmingham-Southern College.........................63 Birmingham, City of...........................................7 BJC Healthcare...................................................9 Black Heritage Festival, Anniston......................70 Blount Brothers Construction............................79 Blue Bell Creameries........................................59 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama....... 16, 63 Blue Fin Japanese Sushi & Steakhouse..............68 Boar’s Head Provision Co. Inc............................34 Boccia United States.........................................40 Boeing Co........................................................10 Booth, Stacy..................................................................68 BoozerBeam Laminated Co. Inc.........................56 Braxton Harris Co.............................................56 Breast Cancer Foundation of Alabama...............78 Bridgewater Interiors LLC........................... 56, 59 Broadcast Education Association.......................73 Brock, Jacob..................................................................78 Brookwood Baptist Health................................66 Brown, Brittany.............................................................78 Brown, Mark...................................................................7 BTS Technologies Inc.........................................73 Bureau of Labor Statistics....................................8 Burnett, Derrick............................................................78 Burnett, Lonnie.............................................................78 C Spire/Cellular South Inc.................................78 Cadence Bank..................................................47 Cahaba Fire Co. LLC...........................................30 Calhoun County...............................................53 Calhoun County Area Chamber & Visitors Center..........................................63 Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce............63 Calhoun County Economic Development Council....................... 53, 56, 63 Calhoun County Home Builders Association......63 Calhoun County Quarterback Club....................63 Calhoun County Schools...................................68 Campers Unlimited..........................................68 Candlewood Suites...........................................68 Cane Creek Golf Course, McClellan....................70 Capital Bank....................................................50 Capstone Building Corp................................8, 10 Carlson, Ron.................................................................78 Cartner, Randy..............................................................78 Centennial Memorial Park................................70 Center for Domestic Preparedness/FEMA..... 53, 56 Centerpointe Athens Partners LLC.....................10 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services......16 Central Alabama Community College.......... 60, 63 Chamber of Commerce of Talladega-Lincoln-Munford..........................63 Chandler, Jennifer........................................................40 Chandrani, Sarkar.........................................................78 Cheaha State Park............................................70 Chief Ladiga Trail........................................ 68, 70 Childersburg Industrial Park............................56 Childersburg, City of........................................68 Children’s Hospital of Alabama.........................12 Choccolocco Mountain Off-Road Vehicle Park.....70 Choccolocco Park, Oxford............................ 68, 70 Choccolocco Research Education and Technical Experience Center....... 53, 56, 68 Chorba Contracting Corp...................................10 Chuy, Alexa...................................................................60 Cider Ridge Golf Course....................................70 Citizens Baptist Medical Center.........................66 City Market, Anniston.......................................68

76 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

Civil War & Native American Museum...............70 Cleveland-Cliffs (Fleetwood Metal) Industries....56 CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park...................70 Coastal Alabama Community College................78 Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United Inc.........................7 Cochran, Meagan.........................................................20 Coldwater Mountain Bike Trail..........................70 Command Alkon Inc.........................................78 Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care..........................................60 Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education..........................73 Community Bank.............................................78 Compass Bank..................................................47 Conference USA.......................................... 60, 63 Conner, Taylor Bentley..................................................73 Constantine, Kamal......................................................34 Cooper Group, The..............................................8 Cooper Lumber..................................................8 Cooper Steel South...........................................56 Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative......................63 Coosa Valley Medical Center.............................66 Corcoran, Scott..............................................................78 Courtney, Lisa...............................................................12 Craft, Alton....................................................................63 Creel, Gerald Jr.............................................................63 Crocker Moving Services...................................78 Crumbl Cookies................................................68 Cullimore, Jon..............................................................63 Cullman Regional Medical Center.....................12 Culver’s Franchising System LLC........................68 CVG Alabama LLC..............................................56 Daniel Foundation............................................56 Daniel, Craig A..............................................................63 Dasgupta, Santanu.......................................................20 Davis, Frank S................................................................50 Day, Sheldon................................................................16 DC Blox............................................................11 Decas, Bill.......................................................................7 Deforest, Ashley............................................................78 Delta Airlines.....................................................8 Denton, Lorie................................................................53 Derbend Asset Management...............................8 DiPiazza, Samuel Jr.......................................................78 Doncasters Group Ltd........................................56 Dothan, City of ..................................................7 Dovetail Landing........................................ 60, 63 Downtown Rescue Mission...............................50 Dr. William R. Harvey Museum of Art................70 Drummond Co....................................................9 Eades, Kelvin................................................................78 East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub..............................53, 56, 63, 68 East AlabamaWorks..........................................56 Economic Development Partnership of Alabama............................................ 30, 56 Education Trust Fund........................................68 Elliot, Mary...................................................................78 Embridge Realty..............................................78 Encompass Health..............................................9 ENEOS USA Inc..................................................56 Epstein, Sara.................................................................78 Evonik Corp........................................................7 FabArc Steel Supply Inc.....................................56 Fairfield by Marriott................................... 56, 68 Fairhope, City of.................................................7 Faulkner University..........................................73 Federal Emergency Management Agency............................................ 53, 56, 68 Filter Buy.........................................................59 Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.............47 Finley, Dawn.................................................................78 First Bank of Alabama.......................................63 First Horizon Bank............................................50 First National Bank of Memphis........................50 First Tennessee Bank........................................50 Flowers, Vonetta...........................................................40 Flying Pig, The.................................................34 Forbes Magazine..............................................78 Forstman, Kyle..............................................................78 Freedom Riders National Monument.................70 Freeman, Brandon........................................................63 Gadsden State Community College....... 60, 63, 66 Gaines, Ann..................................................................50 Gaines, Rowdy..............................................................40 Gaston, Maury..............................................................78

Gateway Village, Athens...................................10 GCAC Conference..............................................60 General Dynamics...................................... 56, 59 General Motors Corp.........................................73 Genpak LLC........................................................7 Georgia School of Technology...........................74 Georgia State University...................................20 Georgia-Pacific LLC............................................56 Geurs, Nicolaas.............................................................78 Gibson, Bob..................................................................10 Gillliam, Dennis......................................................56, 63 Glenn, John..................................................................10 Goodwin, Phil...............................................................78 Grandview Medical Center................................12 Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders.........................................63 Greater Huntsville Humane Society...................50 Greenwood, Duncan.....................................................30 Greer’s Market/Autry Greer & Sons Inc...............34 Guastella, Joseph.........................................................78 Gulf Shore Assemblies......................................56 Gulf States Newsroom......................................73 Hall of Heroes Museum, Talladega....................70 Hall, Ashton..................................................................63 Hamm, Mia...................................................................40 Harmon, Heath...............................................................7 Haynes, Tony.................................................................68 HBCU Buzz.......................................................60 HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital...............................8 Health Care Authority of Anniston............... 16, 63 Healthcare Authority of the City of Thomasville.............................................16 Hearn, Linda.................................................................63 Henderson, Benjamin..................................................20 Heritage Plastics..............................................56 Heritage South Credit Union.............................56 Hightower, Dr. Hannah.................................................12 Hiller Companies.............................................30 Hiller, Herbert S............................................................30 Historic Ritz Theatre..........................................70 Hobart and William Smith Colleges...................63 Holyfield, Evander........................................................40 Honda Alabama Auto Plant......................... 53, 56 Honda Manufacturing of Alabama........ 11, 56, 59 Hoover City Council..........................................10 Horton, Ben..................................................................30 Howard Bentley Buick GMC...............................73 Howard, Danne.............................................................16 Hubbard, Charlotte Young............................................68 Hubbard’s Off Main, Oxford..............................68 HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology..........20 Huntingdon College...........................................7 Huntsville International Airport........................73 Huntsville, City of............................................10 Hurst, Rep. Steve..........................................................68 Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama.............9 IberiaBank Corp...............................................50 IKO Southeast..................................................56 Imam, Syed..................................................................78 Imerys USA Inc.................................................56 Inc. Magazine...................................................30 Indian Oaks Golf Club.......................................70 Inland Paperboard and Packaging....................63 Innovate Alabama............................................10 International Automotive Components.............56 International Motorsports Hall of Fame.............70 International Space Station...............................10 Inverness Center North Office Park....................10 IQID Technology.................................................8 Isbell Field, Fort Payne......................................10 Ivey, Gov. Kay..................................................................7 Jacksonville Industrial Development Board......63 Jacksonville State University...........60, 63, 66, 70 Jacksonville, City of.........................................68 Janney Furnace................................................70 JC Penney..........................................................9 Jefferson County Economic & Industrial Park.....11 JeffMet Lakeshore Information Technology Park..........................................11 JeffMet North Industrial Park...........................11 JeffMet Titusville.............................................11 Jemison Carnegie Heritage Hall Museum..........70 Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar B-Q.........................................68 Johnson, Krystin...........................................................60 JSU Police Academy..........................................56 Justice, Dr. Lance..........................................................12

INDEX

Kane, Michele...............................................................78 Kappler Inc......................................................30 Kappler-Roberts, Laura.................................................30 Kappler, George............................................................30 Kasai North America Inc.............................. 56, 59 Keller Williams Realty......................................78 Kelley & Mullis Wealth Management................78 KFF Health News..............................................16 Killingsworth, Don Jr....................................................63 Kincey, Herbert F...........................................................74 King, Ryan....................................................................30 Kiwanis Club of Anniston.................................63 Klumpp, Lisha...............................................................50 Knight, Virginia............................................................50 Knox Concert Series..........................................63 Koch Foods/Sylvest Poultry...............................56 Koepfgen, Bruce...........................................................78 Kramer, Jeff..................................................................78 Kronospan LLC........................................... 56, 59 Kymulga Mill & Covered Bridge........................70 Ladiga Landing Park, Jacksonville....................68 Lakeshore Foundation......................................40 Lamar University..............................................63 Laserfab Inc......................................................56 Latham, Scott................................................................47 Le Coin Des Artistes, Oxford..............................68 Leadership Alabama.........................................63 Leadership Calhoun County..............................63 Legacy Cabinets......................................... 56, 59 Leigh, Anthony...............................................................7 Leo at Flint Crossing...........................................8 Lincoln Industrial Park............................... 53, 56 Lincoln Landing, Logan Martin Lake..................68 Lincoln, City of.................................................68 Live Nation Entertainment Inc.............................8 Lloyd Noland Hospital......................................63 Lockheed Martin...................................... 7, 8, 10 Logan Martin Lake............................................70 Lohr North America.................................... 53, 56 Longleaf Botanical Gardens..............................70 Lush Floral.......................................................34 M&H Valve Co............................................. 30, 56 M&J Shipping..................................................56 Macon County Sheriff’s Office...........................63 Majestic Caverns..............................................70 Major League Baseball.......................................8 Maldonado, Alondra.....................................................60 Manning, Danny...........................................................34 Mantel, Kristine............................................................78 Marble Festival, Sylacauga................................70 Massengill, Dr. Taylor....................................................12 Mayer Electric...................................................56 Mays, Willie....................................................................8 Mazda Toyota Manufacturing............................11 McClellan Development Authority....................68 McVay, Mark.................................................................47 McWane Inc................................................ 30, 56 Meadow Brook Corporate Park, Hoover...............7 Meals on Wheels..............................................66 Medical Association of Alabama........................12 Mercedes-Benz U.S. International..................8, 11 Messer, Shon................................................................78 Metal Samples Co.............................................56 Mexico Daily News.............................................9 Miller, Donnie..............................................................63 Miller, Jamie.................................................................78 Miller’s BBQ, Talladega.....................................63 Miller’s Dinner Bell..........................................63 Milner, Ashley...............................................................78 Missile Defense Agency......................................8 Mizell Memorial Hospital...................................7 MJB Wood Group.............................................56 Mobile County Health Department....................78 Mobile Infirmary..............................................73 Molecular Cancer Research...............................20 Monroe County Hospital...................................12 Morton, Alex.................................................................50 Morton, Margaret Livingston.................................63, 68 Mountain Brook, City of .....................................8 Mountain Crest Industrial Park, Guntersville.....30 Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge.....70 Murderball, movie...........................................40 Myers, Richard..............................................................20 Myers, Scott..................................................................40 NAI Chase Commercial......................................10 Naman’s International Foods............................34

NASA...............................................................10 NASCAR..................................................... 53, 56 National Fire Protection Association..................30 National Industries for the Blind.......................56 National Labor Relations Board...........................8 National Public Radio.......................................16 NBC Sports.......................................................40 Neely Henry Lake.............................................70 Negro League Baseball.......................................8 Nemak Aluminum Components.................. 56, 59 New Flyer/NFI Group Inc............................. 56, 59 New South Express..................................... 56, 59 New York Giants.................................................8 Newsweek Magazine........................................73 Niche.com........................................................60 Noble Street Festival, Anniston.........................70 Noble Street Park, Anniston..............................68 NobleBank & Trust............................................63 North Florida Rehabilitation Hospital..................9 Northeast Alabama Law Enforcement Academy..................................60 Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center, Anniston....................... 16, 63 Oak Mountain State Park....................................9 Occupational Health Dynamics............................7 Odette Restaurant, Florence..............................78 Ogden, Kyle..................................................................78 Ohio State University........................................63 Omya Alabama Inc............................................56 Orpheum Theater, Montgomery........................74 Owens House, Huntsville..................................50 Owens, Jesse................................................................40 Oxford City Schools..........................................63 Oxford High School............................................7 Oxford Lake......................................................70 Oxford Performing Arts Center.................... 68, 70 Oxford West Industrial Park........................ 53, 56 Oxford, City of............................................ 56, 63 Oxfordfest, Oxford............................................70 Palomar Insurance...........................................78 Paralympic Games............................................40 Paramount-Publix Theaters...............................74 Patterson, Damon.........................................................78 Peart-Williams, Kiora....................................................60 Pekin Amusement Co........................................74 Pet Treat Bakery, Oxford....................................68 Phillip, Othell...............................................................11 Piedmont Plateau Birding Trail.........................70 Piedmont, City of.............................................68 Pierce, Staci...................................................................78 Pig Fish Seafood...............................................34 Piggly Wiggly............................................ 34, 50 Pine Hill Country Club......................................70 Pinhoti Hiking Trail..........................................70 PlastiCal LLC.....................................................56 Plaza Theater, Montgomery..............................74 Powell, Jerry.................................................................47 Prattville Chamber of Commerce.......................60 Precision Strip Inc.............................................56 Princeton Baptist Medical Center......................12 Princeton Review.............................................60 ProAssurance Corp............................................78 Programmable Logic Consulting.......................56 Progressive Healthcare.....................................16 Protective Life Corp...........................................78 Protective Stadium.............................................8 Publix Super Markets Inc....................................7 Pugh, Karen..................................................................47 Purdue University............................................78 Pursell Farms...................................................70 Quintard Mall..................................................68 Radford University...........................................63 Radio Television Digital News Association.........73 Rafield, Conrad III...........................................................7 RealtySouth.....................................................78 Red Lobster........................................................9 Redstone Arsenal...........................................8, 9 Regions Bank...................................................73 Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis West County..................................................9 Ren, Bin........................................................................78 Resolute Forest Products...................................56 Richard, Dr. Thomas......................................................12 Rickwood Field, Birmingham..............................8 Right Place, The................................................63 River Bank & Trust............................................47 RMC Anniston..................................................66

RMC Health System.................................... 63, 66 RMC Stringfellow Campus................................66 Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Silver Lakes...........70 Robertson, Andy...........................................................63 Robins & Morton................................................8 Rocket City Trash Pandas...................................50 Rotary International.........................................63 Rubato International Piano Competition...........68 Rudder, Millie...............................................................50 Rue 21...............................................................9 RxBenefits Inc..................................................78 S.A. Lynch Enterprises.......................................74 Saliba, Mark....................................................................7 Samaritan House..............................................63 San Franciso Giants.............................................8 Sanders Trust.....................................................9 Saunders, Clarence.......................................................34 Schuble, Jennifer.........................................................40 Scott, Derrick.................................................................78 Seek AL............................................................10 Seims, Aaron.................................................................78 Selma Public Library.........................................74 Selwood Farm..................................................70 ServisFirst Bank...............................................47 Shelby Baptist Medical Center..........................12 Shoppes at Bel Air, Mobile..................................9 Silver Comet Trail....................................... 68, 70 Silver Ships Inc...................................................7 Sims Bark.........................................................56 Smart Alabama LLC.............................................9 SmartBank.......................................................78 Smiley, Terry L..............................................................63 Smith, Leon..................................................................63 Southeast Health ............................................73 Southeast Health Neurosciences Clinic..............78 Southern Regional Education Board..................63 Southwest Airlines.............................................8 Spencer-SHE.....................................................78 Spring Street Station, Oxford............................68 St. Bernard Abbey...............................................9 St. Louis Cardinals..............................................8 St. Michael’s Health Clinic.................................66 St. Vincent’s East..............................................12 Standard Commercial Roofing & Envelope Solutions...................................78 Stanfield, Lori.................................................................7 Stanley, Shannon..........................................................63 Still Serving Veterans.......................................78 Stoa Group.......................................................10 Stockham Valves and Fittings..............................7 Stone Building LLC.............................................8 Stone, Lauren...............................................................12 Strand Amusement Co......................................74 Strand Theater, Montgomery............................74 Sullivan, Sherry..............................................................7 Summer Olympic Games..................................40 Swanson, Derrick..........................................................63 Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement........................................ 63, 68 Sylacauga City Schools......................................63 Sylacauga Health Care Authority.......................66 Sylacauga Masonry Arts....................................56 Sylacauga, City of....................................... 56, 68 Sylaward Trail at Lake Howard...........................70 T-Mobile US Inc.................................................68 Takemoto, Satoshi........................................................78 Talladega Chamber of Commerce......................63 Talladega City Industrial Development Board....63 Talladega Clay Randolph Childcare Corp............68 Talladega College................................. 60, 63, 70 Talladega County.............................................53 Talladega County Board of Education.......... 53, 68 Talladega County Economic Development Authority...............................56 Talladega Courthouse Square Historic District....70 Talladega Creekside Resort...............................70 Talladega Historic Silk Stocking District.............70 Talladega Main Street.......................................63 Talladega National Forest........................... 53, 70 Talladega Short Track........................................70 Talladega Superspeedway.................... 53, 56, 70 Talladega Tourism Commission.........................68 Talladega Walk of Fame....................................70 Talladega-Clay-Randolph Childcare Corp...........63 Talladega, City of........................................ 63, 68 Taylor, Timothy..............................................................78 Technology Assurance Group............................73

Tenet Health.....................................................66 Terrapin Creek..................................................70 Thomason, Chris...........................................................40 Thomasville Lumber...........................................8 Thomasville Regional Medical Center................16 Thomasville, City of..........................................16 Three Georges Candy Shop................................34 TOP Trails OHV Park..........................................70 TownePlace Suites by Marriott..........................68 Troy University.................................................56 Tully, Bonnie...................................................................7 Tuskegee University...........................................7 Tuskegee, City of..............................................63 Tyler Union/McWane.................................. 56, 59 Tyner, Mark...................................................................68 U.S. Army.....................................................8, 56 U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense...................9 U.S. Canine Biathlon, Anniston..........................70 U.S. Chamber of Commerce...............................63 U.S. Department of Labor....................................9 U.S. Department of Transportation....................68 U.S. Federal Reserve System..............................47 U.S. Navy...........................................................9 U.S. News & World Report.................................60 U.S. Pipe & Foundry Co......................................78 UAB Hospital....................................................12 United Auto Workers..........................................8 United Cerebral Palsy of East Central Alabama..........................................63 United Launch Alliance.....................................10 Unity Playground, Talladega.............................68 University Club, Tuscaloosa...............................10 University of Alabama.........................7, 8, 63, 73 University of Alabama at Birmingham........................... 7, 20, 40, 63, 78 University of Alabama in Huntsville....................7 University of Arkansas......................................63 University of Galway, Ireland............................20 University of Georgia........................................63 University of Kentucky.....................................63 University of Mobile.........................................78 University of Montevallo.................10, 56, 63, 73 University of Pennsylvania...............................63 University of South Alabama.............................20 USA Health.......................................................78 USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute.................20 USA Wheelchair Rugby.....................................40 Valiant Cross Academy......................................78 Vaughn, Casey..............................................................12 Vaughn, Lauren............................................................50 VetTech LLC........................................................8 Vincent, Gregory J........................................................63 Virginia University...........................................78 Vulcan Engineering..........................................63 Vulcan Materials................................................9 Waites Construction.........................................56 Wallace State Community College.....................73 Warren Averett.................................................78 Washington Monthly Magazine........................60 Watkins, Eileen ............................................................78 Waverly Advisors...............................................8 WBHM 90.3 FM................................................73 Weaver, City of.................................................68 Webb Concrete & Building Materials.................63 Webb, Phil....................................................................63 Wehlburg, Catherine......................................................7 Wellborn Cabinets............................................56 Welles, Orson...............................................................74 Wentowski, Roger........................................................73 White Oak Vineyards........................................70 Whitfield Regional Hospital..............................12 Wideman, Dr. John.......................................................12 Wilby Theatre, Selma........................................74 Wilby, Elizabeth Wood..................................................74 Wilby, Robert Bailey.....................................................74 Wilby, William..............................................................74 Williams Blackstock Architect............................73 Williams, Sunita...........................................................10 Wilmore, Barry.............................................................10 Wingate University..........................................63 Winn-Dixie Stores Inc........................................50 Woodfin, Randall........................................................7, 8 Wright, Johnnie...........................................................78 Wright, TJ......................................................................78 YMCA of Calhoun County..................................63 Zoettl, Joseph.................................................................9

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 77

Career Notes JACOB BROCK

JOHNNIE WRIGHT

DAWN FINLEY

CONRAD BELL

LONNIE BURNETT

by ERICA JOINER WEST

NICOLAAS GEURS

ASHLEY MILNER

SCOTT CORCORAN

DERRICK SCOTT

DAMON PATTERSON

AARON SEIMS

Protective Life Corp. has appointed new directors Stephen Barnham, Joseph Guastella, Bruce Koepfgen and Satoshi Takemoto to its board.

BRITTANY BROWN

RICHARD BIELEN

STACI PIERCE

PHIL GOODWIN

ACCOUNTING

Mary Elliott, CEO of Warren Averett, has been named by Forbes as one of America’s Top 200 CPAs for 2024.

BANKING

Fairhope native Jacob Brock has joined Community Bank as loan officer for the Baldwin County market.

SmartBank has promoted Johnnie Wright to regional president, Coastal West market, which includes Mobile, Fairhope and Pensacola regions.

CONSTRUCTION

Standard Commercial Roofing & Envelope Solutions, of Birmingham and Montgomery, has promoted Kristine Mantel to president and Derrick Burnett to executive vice president and chief operating officer.

EDUCATION

Dawn Finley has been selected as the next dean and McWhorter Endowed Chair in Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction.

Conrad Bell, senior vice president and chief security officer at C Spire, has been appointed to Valiant Cross Academy’s board of directors for a two-year term.

Lonnie Burnett has joined Coastal Alabama Community College as vice president. Burnett previously served as president of the University of Mobile.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has named Nicolaas Geurs dean of the School of Dentistry.

The University of Mobile has named Ashley Milner dean of the School of Education 78 | BusinessAlabama.com July 2024

MAURY GASTON

BIN REN

CHANDRANI SARKAR

ENGINEERING

Spencer-SHE, an engineering consultant and training firm in Birmingham, announced that Kelvin Eades, training manager and safety specialist, has earned his bachelor’s in health science from Purdue Global University and Syed Imam, project engineer, has completed a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

FINANCIAL ADVISORS

Scott Corcoran has joined Kelley & Mullis Wealth Management as chief investment officer.

HEALTH CARE

Derrick Scott, Mobile County Health Department bureau director of environmental health services, has earned his doctorate in healthcare administration from Virginia University of Lynchburg.

Dr. Damon Patterson, an interventional neurologist, is joining Southeast Health Neurosciences Clinic in Dothan.

USA Health has added Dr. Aaron Seims as a pediatric surgeon. In addition, Brittany Brown, director of operations for internal medicine at USA Health, has been named a 2024 Nurses of Note by PerfectServe.

INSURANCE

Shon Messer, of Palomar Insurance, has earned the Food Certification designation from Nationwide. Nationwide’s training program helps agents become aware of unique risks and insurance needs in various industries.

ProAssurance Corp. has elected Richard Bielen and Staci Pierce as new directors on its board. In addition, the company has re-elected directors Bruce Angiolillo and Samuel Di Piazza Jr.

ORGANIZATIONS

Phil Goodwin, director of sales operations and government affairs for U.S. Pipe & Foundry Co., has been named the new chair of the Alabama Iron and Steel Council. Goodwin succeeds Maury Gaston, of American Cast Iron Pipe Co., who has served the council as chair since 2017.

Bin Ren, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Chandrani Sarkar, of USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, are new members appointed to the medical advisory council of the Breast Cancer Foundation of Alabama.

Still Serving Veterans, has added TJ Wright, Michele Kane, Jeff Kramer, Randy “Glint” Cartner and Brenda Armstrong to its board of directors.

REAL ESTATE

The Birmingham Association of Realtors has presented its annual awards to Jamie Miller and Ashley Deforest of Keller Williams, Leonard Austin of Crocker Moving Services, Eileen Watkins of RealtySouth, Timothy Taylor of Barnes & Associates and Kyle Forstman of Embridge Realty.

RESTAURANTS

Chef Kyle Ogden, of Odette in Florence, took home the 9th annual Alabama Seafood Cook-off designation of top chef for 2024.

TECHNOLOGY

Command Alkon has appointed Ron Carlson as senior vice president, industry liaison.

RxBenefits, a technology-enabled pharmacy benefits optimizer, has hired Sara Epstein as chief legal officer.

Historic Alabama

Alabiz Quiz Challenge yourself with these puzzlers from past issues of Business Alabama magazine. If you feel pretty confident, send your answers via email to ewest@pmtpublishing.com or, beginning July 19, work the quiz online and check your answers at businessalabama.com.

July 2024: Q: Which hospital is Alabama’s largest?

Hint: these are the top four.

A) Brookwood Baptist Medical Center B) Huntsville Hospital C) Mobile Infirmary D) UAB Hospital

June 2024 (one month ago): Q: Chart Industries is expanding to make even bigger cryogenic tanks — well over 1,000 cubic meters. The plant is known by its nickname based on its location. What do they call it?

A) Dottie for Dothan B) Flo for Florence C) Jeffy for Jefferson County D) Teddy for Theodore

July 2023 (one year ago): Q: Kronospan announced plans for a $350 million expansion in Oxford. What does Kronospan make?

A) Aluminum screening B) Automobile bumpers C) Oriented strand board D) Threaded fasteners

July 2019 (five years ago): Q: Lockheed Martin broke ground for an expanded manufacturing plant, doubling the number of of JASSM long-range cruise missiles it could produce. Where is the missile plant?

A) Prattville B) Scottsboro C) Troy D) Union Springs

July 2014 (10 years ago): Q: Alabama manufacturer Milton Magnus began battling for his company’s and his industry’s rights on the world stage, particularly struggling with Chinese imports that undermined his market.

What does Magnus produce?

A) Air purifiers B) Computer chips C) Interactive dashboard displays D) Wire coat hangers

CARRYING THE WEIGHT This 1954 photo shows workers assembling girders during construction of the bridge over the Alabama River for the northbound lanes of U.S. Route 31 between Montgomery and Prattville. Blount Brothers Construction Co. of Montgomery built the bridge. A shipyard in Houston, Texas, fabricated the girders, which were delivered in sections by rail. At the time, the 220-foot steel deck girders were the longest the Alabama State Highway Department had designed and used. Photo courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives & History.

Do you have a photo you’d like us to consider for Historic Alabama? Send it to Erica West at ewest@pmtpublishing.com.

July 1999 (25 years ago): Q: Our July issue highlighted the mayors of several key cities. Which of these was not mayor in 1999?

A) Fairfield — Larry Langford B) Huntsville — Loretta Spencer C) Mobile — Mike Dow D) Tuscaloosa — Walter Maddox Answers from June: D, A, C, D, C, A

July 2024 BusinessAlabama.com | 79