HBJ Sep 23 Issue

TECHNOLOGY

Solving the Mystery of Huntsville’s Brilliant Anti-gravity Scientist

By

ENTERTAINMENT

Huntsville Music Month Kicks Off with Line-Up of Events

On August 17, the Huntsville Music Office announced the agenda for 2023’s Huntsville Music Month, which will begin on September 1st at Tangled String Studios, followed by a musical performance from Microwave Dave.

By

Laura

Boehringer

- Page 10

ADDITIONAL STORIES

• Sit Down With Success: A Conversation with Ric Patterson of RP Media

By Heather Price • Page 3

• City of Huntsville Chosen to Host Global Event for First Time

By Gus Wintzell • Page 5

• Congressman Strong Talks Values, Recent Success at 2023 Washington Update

By Laura Boehringer • Page 14

• Home Field Advantage at Toyota Field Proves Strong as Mayor Finley Excites at Second Annual Celebrate Madison

By Noah Logan • Page 18

Dr. Ning Li’s son talks about his mom’s career and legacy along with the internet’s obsession with her disappearance.

Noah Logan - Page 6

Why Workplace Openness is Essential for A Growing Culture

Open communication and transparency are key ingredients in successful organizations. Pew Research Center found that the third most common reason for employees to quit their current job was feeling disrespected at work. While employees leave their positions for a variety of reasons, this one is tied most directly to the relationship between management and staff.

While the top two reasons - not enough pay and too few opportunities for advancement - may be difficult to improve, especially for small businesses and organizations, staff leaving because they feel disrespected in the workplace is a failure of leadership that should be taken very seriously.

Policy vs. Culture

While many employers may boast of having an open door policy, or announce that they are always open to employee input, written policy can often differ drastically from actual workplace culture. A simple comic square by Tom Wilson, where the suggestion box feeds directly into the recycle bin, perfectly illustrates how many employees feel about providing feedback to leadership at work.

Staff who feel that their voices are ignored or never taken seriously will simply stop sharing their observations and ideas. Even worse, if management steals ideas by implementing them but not acknowledging where they came from, or retaliates against workers for pointing out errors and inefficiency, word will spread quickly and employee input will cease.

Leaders with Character

The first of the CODE principles, for developing adaptive leaders, is character. In this context, character is about earning respect through honesty and transparency. A willingness to admit mistakes and the ability to acknowledge when certain processes are no longer working are also elements of open and adaptive leadership. Managers who are overly authoritarian or preoccupied with protecting their own position, reputation, or ego will quickly lose the trust of their employees.

This is especially true with middle management who can easily benefit from presenting ideas or taking credit for the successful work of their staff to upper management or executives as though it was their own. If this behavior is allowed to continue, a toxic work environment

will form and employee satisfactionand retention - will suffer.

Developing an Open Environment

Creating an open work environment takes time and intentional effort. While some employees may seem disinterested, most workers actually want to know how the company is doing, at least in a general sense. Knowing that the business or organization is doing well and what is coming on the horizon, gives staff a sense of security and stability. This may also mean sharing certain metrics or periodic reports with staff and addressing certain issues with all staff[4] instead of only with management. Another key step in creating this more open workplace environment is to embrace failure in a positive way. Everyone makes mistakes. Treat errors as opportunities for learning and growth, instead of something that must be immediately punished. Employees who fear retribution may try to cover up mistakes or fail to report them, potentially causing greater long-term harm to the business.

Benefits of an Open Environment

Developing trustworthy leaders, being transparent with staff, and forming an environment that welcomes suggestions and feedback creates a more positive workplace experience for employees. This, in turn, increases employee job satisfaction which increases employee retention. Frequent and honest feedback from various levels within the organization is also necessary to create an environment of continu-

ous improvement. According to Indeed, valuing employees builds trust, increases productivity, boosts team morale, reduces turnover, and improves brand

By: Alexander Duck, II

reputation. In short, the business will only do its best when there is mutual trust between staff and management and employees do not dread coming to work.

Conclusion

If an employee has an idea that could save the company $100 per week but says nothing because they do not feel that their input is valued by leadership, that business is losing $5200 per year because they lack an environment of openness. While those numbers may not be startling at first, they could be critical for a small shop or non-profit organization struggling to stay afloat. The stakes may be even greater with larger scale operations as the potential for excessive waste, costly errors, loss through inefficiency, and missed opportunities is also greater. Employees perform their best and stick around the longest at workplaces where they feel respected, and that respect begins with the honesty, fairness, and transparency demonstrated through leadership. w

A Conversation with Ric Patterson of RP Media

Sit Down With Success is a feature of the Huntsville Business Journal on entrepreneurs and their keys to success. To read the full story, please visit the Huntsville Business Journal website.

Ric Patterson grew up in nearby Albertville, Ala., an only child raised by a single mother after losing his dad at age 11. Young Patterson was a talented catcher, which landed him a baseball scholarship at the University of Alabama where he earned a degree in social work.

But Patterson didn’t have career aspirations for social work. Through a series of events, Patterson discovered a career in marketing and advertising, which he has passionately pursued for more than 40 years. The founder and president of RP Media recently sat down with the Huntsville Business Journal and shared his journey and business practices to which he credits his success and joy.

How did you get into marketing and advertising?

I went to an employment agency here in Huntsville. They called me about a week later and said, “We think we found a job that’s perfect and meets all your criteria.” I said, “Well what is it?” They said, “It’s working at a TV station.” I said, “Doing what?” They said, “Selling advertising,” and I said, “I didn’t know they sold advertising.” So I came to Huntsville with Channel 19, and ended up working for Channel 19 for 20 years.

What led you to start your own business?

Over the years I had watched a man out of Birmingham, who had a business very similar to mine. I decided I would talk to him about helping me go into business, and he said he’d be glad to help me. Then I talked to two others. … I said, “I’ve talked to two other people, and if any of you tell me that you think I’ve lost my mind, I’m not sure that I want to do this. But if three good businessmen tell me they think I can make this work, then I think it’s

worth the risk.”

What is your business philosophy?

We help people do things that they need to have done because we want to, and by necessity, we give our entire interest, attention and love to this thing at hand. I learned to love this business. I’ve been at it for almost 45 years. I wanted to do something that I enjoyed and that I was able to help people who wanted my help.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own business?

Controlling your expenses and having capital to be able to at least last a year would be two things, and then the biggest thing is that you have to continue to learn. Everything changes. What I do today is so different from what I did the first ten years I was in business.

What do you enjoy most about running your own business?

I get a huge charge out of seeing

people succeed. I had a client several years ago and I love the guy and he was so awesome to work with, and he told me up front, he said, “Ric, I bought a company, there’s two stores. I want to build this company to five stores and sell it.” And he did, and he told me you know you were part of this.

It’s about relationships, and that’s what I love about it, those relationships that I have with these people. w

By: Heather Price /

Photo by Steve Babin

Subsidiary of EVENT Publishing

President /Publisher

Todd Stephenson

Editor Gus Wintzell

Writers

Contributing Writers ………………………………………

Graphic Design

Laura Boehringer

Ashlyn Grey

Marie Johnson

Noah Logan

Heather Price

Alexander Duck

Jim Steele

Justina Simon

Amy Pearson

Website Jim Gharib

Photographers

Steve Babin

Justina Simon

Director of Sales …………………………………… Carolyn Stephenson

Distribution …………………………………………………… Glenda Mace

Huntsville Business Journal is published monthly by EVENT Publishing, PO Box 14219, Huntsville, AL 35815. For advertising information call 256.533.8078, e-mail todd@eventhuntsville.com, or visit us on the web at www.huntsvillebusinessjournal.com

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ALL CONTENTS ©2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION OR USE IN WHOLE OR IN PART OF THE CONTENTS WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER IS PROHIBITED. HUNTSVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF EVENT PUBLISHING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. UNSOLICITED PHOTOGRAPHS OR ARTICLES ARE SUBMITTED AT THE RISK OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER OR AUTHOR. EVENT PUBLISHING ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR THE RETURN OF ANY UNSOLICITED MATERIALS AND MAY USE THEM AT ITS DISCRETION.

City of Huntsville Chosen to Host Global Event for First Time

To kick off an exciting and busy SMD week here in the Rocket City on August 07, Mayor Tommy Battle announced a unique global sporting event that the City will play host to in 2026.

Over the past few years, Huntsville has garnered national and global attention with the ever-growing sports industry that is burgeoning in Madison County. In the past year alone, Huntsville hosted the latest expansion for the MLS NEXT Pro team Huntsville City FC and hosted the UCI Para-Cycling World Cup on May 2629, 2023, the first time the event was ever hosted on U.S. soil.

Mayor Tommy Battle, alluding to the success of such past accomplishments, announced that Huntsville will host the UCI Para-Cycling World Championship on September 4-7, 2026. This will be only the second time the event will ever have been held in the United States, with Greenville, South Carolina hosting the Champi-

onship back in 2014.

“We were proud to host the event. It went well. I wanted to say good job to the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber for all of the help back in May. A lot of work went into this, and the teams liked what they saw. We gave them a huge welcome, in hopes that they would come back. Well, they are coming back, and they are coming back to Huntsville for something much bigger,” said City of Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.

The announcement builds off of the UCI Para-Cycling World Cup hosted by Huntsville back on Memorial Day weekend. The event saw more than 350 athletes from 40 countries. The event saw thousands of attendees, from supporters to team members, in attendance and generated a noticeable amount in economic development for Madison County.

According to Madison County Commission Chairman Mac McCutcheon, the 2023 World Cup generated around $2.4 million in impact for the Huntsville/Madison County area and alone saw 3700 hotel and motel rooms booked for the event.

Retail was also affected by the event, such as Mid City’s REI Co-op, which saw a noticeable increase in bike shop services in the days leading up to the event.

“I am excited for what’s to come, and I am excited for our community. I am inspired by these athletes. To compete the way these athletes compete, and the way they take that adversity and move forward and excel makes me

By: Gus Wintzell

inspired,” said McCutcheon.

Julie O’Neill Dussliere, Chief of Paralympics & Internally Managed Sports at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, was also in attendance for the announcement.

“First and foremost, we want to share our sincerest gratitude to the City of Huntsville, the Huntsville/ Madison County Chamber, and the Huntsville Sports Commission that have partnered to have such successful events here in the past. We would like to thank all those partners involved who helped host the first ever UCI Para-Cycling World Cup in the United States, and for UCI for seeing the incredible potential that Huntsville has for being host city of the Championship,” said Dussliere.

The UCI Para-Cycling World Championship will be hosted on Labor Day weekend in 2026. For more information, please visit www.uci.org. w

/ Photos courtesy of the City of Huntsville

Solving the Mystery of Huntsville’s Brilliant Anti-gravity Scientist

Dr. Ning Li’s son talks about his mom’s career and legacy along with the internet’s obsession with her disappearance.

As the phone started to ring and I waited for George Guangyu Men to answer, I was still trying to think of what I would say and how the interview would go. It’s not uncommon in my line of work to call up a stranger and start asking questions, but how do you transition from introducing yourself to someone to asking him if you can write a story about the disappearance of his mother? Everything about this story was proving to be uncommon.

I first learned about Dr. Ning-Li from a YouTube video that I watched shortly before summer. Titled “The Scientist That Discovered Antigravity Then Disappeared Completely” garnered more than 3 million views and was based on a Huntsville scientist. Over the course of the next 22 minutes, I listened intently as the video’s creator, who goes by the name Barely Sociable, told a story which seemed appropriate for a mystery novel.

Not only was Dr. Ning-Li from Huntsville, she was also a trailblazer in her field of anti-gravity research. After migrating to America from China in 1983, Li began working at the University of Alabama Huntsville’s (UAH) Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research.

She became famous and somewhat controversial for a series of papers she co-authored from 1991 –1993.

In her work, Li described a practical method of producing an anti-gravity field, which had never been done before. It’s always been held that, because gravity is a basic force of nature, constructing an antigravity machine is theoretically impossible. However, Li and her co-author, Douglass Torr, theorized ways around this belief using a high temperature superconductor (HTSD.)

In an HTSD, the tiny gravitational effect of each individual atom

is multiplied by the billions of atoms in the disc. Using about one kilowatt of electricity, Li claimed, her device could produce a force field that would effectively neutralize gravity above a 1 foot in diameter region extending from the surface of the planet to outer space.

To demonstrate their research, they invited officials from the renowned science and technology magazine, Popular Mechanics, to visit their laboratory in Huntsville to see their work-in-progress, a 12-inch disk which acted as a HTSD. Upon the disc’s completion, they told the magazine, a bowling ball placed anywhere above this disc will stay exactly where you left it.

In the late 90s, she claimed to have created anti-gravity devices that were fully functional, and this was big news in both scientific journals and mainstream press. In 1997, Dr. Li continued to expand on her concept and conduct more experiments. She published papers describing the anomalous weight changes in objects suspected over a rotating superconductor.

To say her work, referred to as “taming gravity,” could change the world is an understatement. Taming

gravity would drastically change the way we transportate on every level. Humans could travel the world at ease and we could finally get our hands on those sweet hoverboards from “Back to the Future.” It would also transform how we power transportation and effectively end our reliance on fossil fuels.

So, what became of Dr. Ning Li? The story gets even stranger.

In 1999, Li left UAH to start her own company, AC Gravity, and commercialize a device based on her theories. Her colleagues obviously believed in her work as the chair of UAH’s Physics Department, Larry Smalley, also departed the university to join her. Public records show that in 2001, the U.S. Department of Defense gave AC Gravity a grant for $448,970 to research the technology. However, these results were never published.

In fact, Dr. Li never published anything again. And even though the business license for AC Gravity was updated yearly through 2018, there is no record of any further work done by the company.

Li’s career after 2002 is the subject of great mystery. Barely Sociable’s research turned up a docu-

By: Noah Logan / Photos courtesy of UAH/George Men

ment showing that she gave a presentation at the 2003 MITRE conference titled “Measurability of AC Gravity Fields.” The MITRE Corporation manages federally funded research for several U.S. agencies. At the conference, she presented along with a Redstone Arsenal official from U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, meaning that her research was still being conducted up to that point.

The trail on Li ends after her last documented correspondence in May 2003 when she sent a private email to colleagues claiming to have conducted an experiment in which she observed an “11-kilowatts of output effect.” The significance of that amount is still a mystery as well.

Her absence did not go unnoticed. In 2004, journalist Tim Ventura sent an email to another scientist in the field named Eugene Podkletnov with the subject line “Tracking Down Dr. Ning Li.” In the email, Ventura writes, “Every 2 months, I re-try the lining@

comcast.net email address that you gave me for Dr. Ning Li — I can tell from return-receipts that somebody is reading her email, but I never get a reply.”

Podkletnov responded, confirming her wellbeing and that she was still working with the DoD but unable to talk about her work. He also told Ventura that he was unable to get a working email address or phone number for her.

As the years passed, the conversation regarding Li’s whereabouts started to amplify along with the conspiracies around it. In July of 2008, a scientist named Jack Sarfatti provided a rather alarming update during an interview that was later posted on YouTube and included in the video from Barely Sociable.

During the interview, Sarfatti claims that Li was no longer working for the DoD and had moved back to China to continue her work. The transcript of the interview conveys the seriousness of this accusation.

“This is very important from a national security and political point of view. One of the key scientists… is a Chinese woman named Ning Li. She has disappeared and gone back to China,” said Sarfatti. “She was working at NASA and the Redstone Arsenal but she has disappeared for several years now. The people at The Pentagon cannot reach her anymore. She is allegedly back in China and the Chinese are pouring money into similar experiments now. That’s why our intelligence guys are very interested. The most likely people to develop the first anti-gravity propulsion technology are the Chinese.”

The video about Ning Li ends shortly after Sarfatti’s interview with no clear answer as to her career after 2002. I immediately replayed the video and started to figure out how to continue this story.

Various articles have been published online in the two years since the YouTube video with only one update. An obituary was published on the Berryhill Funeral Home website: Dr. Ning Li passed away on July 27, 2021. However, her obituary revealed

nothing else regarding her “disappearance.”

“She was 79 years old...One of the world’s leading scientists in super-conductivity anti-gravity. Dr. Li constructed the first 12-inch HTSD of the world in the late 90s,” the obituary reads.

Since Berryhill Funeral Home is located in Huntsville, it’s safe to assume the accusations of Li leaving for China, or even being kidnapped, were wrong. However, many readers casted doubts on the credibility of the obituary and continued to support various conspiracy theories instead.

The obituary contained the name of her son, George Guangyu Men, along with his children. After an embarrassing amount of research, I found where George has registered an LLC within the city and the phone number associated with his business. It took a bit to work up the courage, but I was way too far down the rabbit hole to give up at this point. I gave George a call and, after getting to know each other a bit, he was gracious enough to invite me into his home and talk about his mother.

George informed me that while no one has called his phone before, I wasn’t the first person to contact him

on the topic. He has received various letters from people in New Zealand, amongst other places, hoping to learn more about Dr. Li’s research. He can’t help but laugh when he recalls the one time he asked his mom about her work.

“I asked her once,” he recalled.

“I said ‘Mom, do you need to tell me something?’ She told me, ‘First off, you don’t know anything. Second off, if you even think you might know something, you forget about it.’ I said okay that’s fine.”

George was vaguely aware that

people were still interested in his mom but he didn’t understand just how interested people were. I played Barely Sociable’s video for him and his two children in his living room along with showing him some of the online discourse and he was able to clarify some things

people have speculated on over the years. Most importantly, Dr. Li never left the DoD and never left the country to work for the Chinese government. There is one nugget of information that lines up with Sarfatti’s 2008 interview.

George said that his mother was visited by Chinese officials on one occasion in 2008 when members of the CCP were visiting America. They did attempt to recruit her back to the country to continue her work, but Li had no interest. Li had migrated along with George in the late 80s and had no desire to leave her position. She did attempt to return for her mother’s funeral after she passed away, but George says that she was

denied permission.

“I remember that so clearly,” he said. “She was very upset.”

George also explained how he noticed change in his mom after leaving UAH for the private sector. He says all the secrecy that comes with the job began to change her demeanor and behavior over the years.

“When she was at University, she loved to publish her findings,” he recalled. “But after she got her top secret clearance, she wasn’t allowed to share anything anymore with anyone. She became much quieter. She would return from work looking worn down with her makeup messed up. It wasn’t like that when she was at the University.”

I have filed requests through the Freedom of Information Act for the results of her 2001 grant along with any other research from her, but it was denied along with requests from others. It’s safe to assume that we won’t be finding out the specifics of her research after

2002 for a long time.

It’s immediately apparent, when talking to George, the admiration he still holds for his mother.

“My mother was very concentrated. She concentrated on one thing and only one thing at a time,” he explained. “She passed that down too. She told us to find our one thing, concentrate on it with all you have and don’t feel the need to compare yourself to any other people. Just do the best you can with your passion. And I think her grandkids will learn from that.”

Dr. Li continued to work at Redstone Arsenal every day until 2014 when Li was struck by a vehicle while crossing the street on the UAH campus. This accident unfortunately had a lasting effect on their family. His father, Li’s husband, suffered a heart attack at the moment he saw his wife of 46 years being thrown from the impact. He would pass away a year later in 2015.

For Li, this accident caused per-

manent brain damage that resulted in Alzheimer’s disease shortly after. Li lived with George who took care of his mom for the last six years of her life before she passed away in 2021. These years were difficult for George. Watching a loved one suffer from Alzheimer’s is always a horrendous thing. Add onto that, he knew intimately how smart she was before the disease ran its course and how much her intelligence meant to her.

“For six years, people asked how I could do that for six whole years,” George said. “I said first of all, she’s my mother. Second of all, she gave us a better life. Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to come to the states and get my education. Third, I just really admired her as a person.”

George found comfort in his religion and his church community from the Chinese Christian Church of Madison during these times. He recalled how he could always tell when his mom was uncomfortable even when she couldn’t talk. When the

Buddhism inspired music he was playing didn’t succeed at comforting her, it was a member of his church who suggested playing Christian hymns and, according to George, he noticed the difference right away.

My conversation with George, along with this entire story, was one to be remembered. I am amazed how such a brilliant and intelligent woman seems largely forgotten in a community that places such an emphasis on brilliance and intelligence.

In our first phone call, George asked me questions about what I hoped to accomplish in this story. I had a general idea at the time, but it became more and more apparent over time. What George was able to share might not satisfy the swarms of conspiracy theorists and UFO enthusiasts that seek out information about his mom’s research. But hopefully we can bring more awareness, both within our community and online, about just how amazing of a person Dr. Ning Li truly was and the story of her life. w

2023 SMD Symposium Recap: Tech Advances, Partnerships, and Missile Defense Services Highlight Another Successful Event

The 2023 Space and Missile Defense Symposium has come to a close, and with it one of the busiest months for Huntsville this year.

The event, held on August 8-10 at the Von Braun Center, featured 20 Tech Track discussions and over 260 exhibitors showcasing products and services ranging from weapon systems and precision machining to end-user training.

The SMD Symposium is an annual networking, education, and professional development event for the space and missile defense industry, supported by Titanium Patron Northrop Grumman, among a number of others. Its 2023 event attendance exceeded 6,000. Its various components occupied South Hall, Propst Arena, M.C. Smith Concert Hall, North Hall 3, East Hall 2&3, and the Mars Music Hall.

The diverse roles of attendees and exhibitors provided ample opportunity to learn about and discuss new technological and business developments both within and outside of attendees’ individual disciplines.

In addition to a plethora of exhibits, networking suites, wargames and a Huntsville Association of Small Business in Advanced Technology (HASBAT) Small Business Showcase, the symposium featured 20 “Tech Track ” symposium sessions hosted by missile defense industry experts on August 8 and 9.

Artificial intelligence, ballistic detection and hypersonics were all recurring Tech Track themes. A few presentations included “Orbital Debris: A Cybersecurity Threat to Military Warfare and Space Systems” hosted by Philomena Compton of Mission Multiplier, “Using Generative Artificial Intelligence to Explore Defense against Hypersonic Gliders” with Jorge O’Farill of MTSI and “Data Driven Modeling and Technique (as Applied to Hypersonic Flowfields and Signatures)” with

HASBAT Small Businesses Showcase participants had the opportunity to show their tech offerings to SMD Symposium attendees on August 8-10. Participating organizations presented unclassified company overviews, capability descriptions and advantages, and customer data.

The 2023 symposium theme was “Space and Integrated Air, Missile Defense: Meeting the Global Challenge.”

“This year’s theme recognizes that missiles have become a common and expected facet of modern warfare, which makes missile defense and missile defeat efforts more important

than ever. Finding ways to effectively defend against these types of threats is an important task and really is why we’re all here this week,” said SMD Executive Committee Chairman Bob McCaleb in his welcome to the Symposium.

High-profile exhibitors included Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, Deloitte, BlueHalo, the Missile Defense Agency, and the United States Space Command. Among big names like these were small, 50-employee businesses like PPT Solutions, a government contractor supporting Army aviation and Homeland Security with safety and reliability testing as well as software development.

One standout non-profit organi-

By: Laura Boehringer /

zation exhibitor was Nā ‘Ōiwi Kāne, which supports Native Hawaiian businesses working in missile defense as well as Hawaiian culture and tradition, funding over 25 unique programs and having awarded $3 million to charities. According to a Nā ‘Ōiwi Kāne representative, the organization “takes profits from our companies and reinvests that in the Hawaiian community to help better the culture, help promote the culture, and keep traditions going alive within the community.”

Exhibitors also included specialized services and products that often go overlooked in space and missile defense, like Seal Company which specializes in distributing and manufacturing seals and gaskets for government contractors and World Micro, a supply chain solutions company, which works in global material sourcing in terms of expediting clearances through customs and International Traffic in Arms Regulations compliance as well as testing and measurement, IT and computing, and ground-support.

The SMD Symposium App 2023 allowed attendees to build custom schedules, identify target exhibitors, and receive notifications of agenda changes.

The 2024 SMD Symposium is scheduled for August 6-8. The symposium has already invited organizations to contact them for 2024 exhibition space availability. w

Photos courtesy of Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce

Charlie Stallard of Northrop Grumman Space Systems.

Huntsville Music Month Kicks Off with Line-Up of Events

On August 17, the Huntsville Music Office announced the agenda for 2023’s Huntsville Music Month, which will begin on September 1st at Tangled String Studios, followed by a musical performance from Microwave Dave.

According to Huntsville’s Music Officer, Matt Mandrella, Huntsville Music Month aims to highlight Huntsville’s local musical talent as well as boost the creative economy. HMM will include a total of over 100 events, starting with Launchpad, a free concert series from September 1-3 to be held in Big Springs Park.

“We’re bringing in a big stage at Big Spring Park East, setting up some awesome lighting elements and we’re just going to have a huge party out there for three days and put some of the best and brightest musicians on a big stage and just really showcase and have an all-out good time,” Mandrella said.

Opening night on Friday, September 1, will be headlined by Deaqn

Sue, whose Orion Amphitheater performance was featured in the September 2022 issue of Rolling Stone, joined by Grammy award-winner Kelvin Wooten.

Friday’s event will also include performances from Common Man, Dante’s Pride, and the Alabama A&M Maroon and White Marching Band.

Saturday, September 2, will include performances from Lamont Landers, Element XI, and Microwave Dave. Sunday, September 3, will also mark the first Jazz in the Park Huntsville event, headlined by Jessy J and featuring acts from Tr3ple Threat and Erisa Nicole.

Other events include Women in Music Week, an extension of last year’s Women in Music Weekend, the Music Industry Career Fair and Community Expo, a school instrument drive, and performances from local artists at the City Hall lawn leading up to Huntsville’s City Council meetings, which begin at 5:30 on September 14 and 28, followed by performances of The Star-Spangled Banner during the meetings.

Karmeesa Padgett of the Huntsville Music

Month as an event intended to “shine a brighter spotlight on our music community, inspire creation, establish new concepts and events, encourage collaborations and help champion Huntsville’s appeal to musicians and fans through its reputation as a music friendly city.”

Advocating for Huntsville’s music scene as a whole, Mayor Battle cited Dave Matthews, Phish, Stevie Nicks, Kenny Chesney, Jelly Roll, and Snoop

By: Laura Boehringer

Dogg as artists who have had sold-out shows in Huntsville over the last year.

“It really is something for everyone here,” Battle said. “And while we’re proud to welcome superstar entertainers, our local artist community is one of our biggest assets.”

For more information and to see the full Huntsville Music Month calendar, visit huntsvillemusic.com/ musicmonth or the Huntsville Music Office’s Facebook page. w

/ Photos courtesy of The City of Huntsville

Education, Workforce Development

By: Gus Wintzell / Photos

Dr. Patricia Sims’ story begins in a smaller town just a little over 20 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi.

Canton is its name, although some of the locals in the area call it “Nissan City,” a name that pays homage to the Nissan plant there and the economic development that followed its opening decades ago.

A life growing up in a smaller Mississippi town instilled within her strong characteristics, such as a hard work ethic and a focus on community support, that according to Dr. Sims still affects her professional goals to this day at Drake State.

During our interview, Dr. Sims reflected fondly on warm Saturday mornings where she would wake up with her siblings and help various people around her neighborhood in Canton, MS.

“Every weekend, we would get up early and mom would take me and my siblings in the back of our dad’s pickup truck, and we would go around and help the elderly in our community. In Canton at the time, before Nissan got there, a lot of the older folks did not have people to care for them, so my Mom stepped up to help. This sense of duty, respect, and love is what still resonates with me today,” recalled Dr. Sims.

Of course, many things changed when Nissan opened up a production facility. Jobs grew and the community continued to flourish, but that same sense of community support echoed throughout the small town roads Dr. Sims played on as a child.

“Times were tough. Before Canton became known as ‘Nissan City’ we did not have much. And what was funny was that I really did not understand that we were poor. But, that did not matter. We had each other, and we had a community beyond our family. We had the faith to back up our community, and to me it felt like we had everything we always needed,” said Dr. Sims.

Dr. Pat Sims moved to Huntsville,

Alabama after she finished her undergraduate degree in Biology at West Alabama in 1990. That same summer, while preparing for graduate school at Alabama A&M University, she started looking for a job that would fit with her busy academic schedule.

That’s when she landed with the Huntsville Times. Dr. Sims’ first job in North Alabama saw her working as a copy carrier for the Times. During the week, she would get to work every day at 4:30 AM and would work until just after lunch.

Dr. Sims recalled how the balance between work and school was difficult, but it was made a little easier with Huntsville’s very unique community focus.

“The fact that I was able to get this position and start to meet people in Huntsville was really important. What I did not understand was that these things come full circle. It was a great example for me on how this community comes together to work. I still see

so many people that I first met when I moved to Huntsville impacting their communities today.

“At the time, I did not understand this, but a lot of the characteristics instilled in me from back home in Canton, such as my hard work ethic and my focus on community support, really worked well at the Huntsville Times. That’s what we were about; we worked hard and we worked to show people how amazing the community in Huntsville was. It was this early experience, and the connections that I made, that really set me on the path that helped me become president at Drake State,” added Dr. Sims.

It was from this foundational experience, combined with her upbringing around her family and faith, that would set the tone for her eventu-

al role as President of Drake State. Her tenure began on December 01, 2018 and has since marked a path of success and positive impact for hundreds of families in North Alabama.

Dr. Sims sat down to talk about the Drake State story and to answer a few important questions about her past experiences and future plans with Drake State.

What has been the biggest challenge to success? Has this challenge made your career choice worth it?

Challenges change, which is hard in itself, but for me it is finding a balance. Sometimes I wish that I had a clone so I could do as much as possible. But maybe that’s my biggest challenge is finding balance. This is a bigger city and it is a growing city, and leading a growing institution in a growing city is super hard. You can easily get caught up in all the events, plans, and meetings. I like to say that it always feels like you are in a “full court press” each and every day.

There is also the challenge of being the only female president in this space. Sometimes, because it takes so much, it is hard to stay motivated. It would be easier, maybe, if there was someone else in a similar position that I could look towards. But when you think about it, that is the reward of this chal-

Development Key to Drake State’s Story

Photos by Steve Babin

lenge. I can help be that example and that motivator for someone in another field or in the future.

What are your current goals? How do these affect future plans at Drake State?

At Drake State, our goal is to train and educate students so that they can better participate in the workforce of North Alabama. I also really want to get underrepresented students involved as well. Right now, our biggest goal is meet the facility needs here on campus. We need to renovate and add to our campus, not necessarily to attract students to campus either, but because we are simply doing so well with recruitment and retention.

Right now, we are renovating the Library and the Nursing facility on campus, which are slated to be finished by late 2024. We also just had our groundbreaking on a new Advanced Manufacturing center, which cost around $30M. So, our goal is to continue to try to improve the campus in order to train our students.

How has your time as President of Drake State differed from the legacy of those who came before you? What has changed over time?

I think that we have re-evaluated our goals that combine student success with the economic development of our community. When I started, we really redefined the value proposition here at Drake State. We increased our standard of training for our students, which are the future workers in the community that are helping fill the needs of our local economy. That’s our credibility directly on the line if that standard is not high.

That’s not to say that my predecessors did not have these goals in mind. We are just bringing these goals much more clearly to the front and making our intentions known well to our community.

What is Drake State’s key strategy for student retention?

Renovations to the campus are key. Everywhere you look in Hunts-

ville, different institutions are opening up new facilities and are doing a spectacular job at attracting students using new amenities, and we are certainly a part of that. Just take a walk on campus and see for yourself.

Another huge part is, again, the value proposition that we have here. We have an extremely high employment rate after graduation, and all of our programs are geared towards helping students get real work experience during the first year here on campus. We have helped fast track the time it takes a student to get their degree. Around 98% of incoming students are placed into a prospective career and immediately start training. We are actively tearing down barriers between students and future careers, and we are specifically focusing on building careers that are popular in terms of hiring.

We are meeting people where they are and asking what they need to succeed. This applies both to the community and to our students.

What are some of the more impactful programs that started under your tenure at Drake State?

Back in 2021, Drake State became the first and only Historically Black Community College (HBCU) in the nation to host the Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP). The Cooperative Agreement Notice between Drake State and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight center established a multi-year grant with the goal of increasing the number of racial and ethnic minorities and women in STEM-based careers.

We also recently launched a partnership with Huntsville Hospital to establish the Nursing LPN Launch program at the College. The brand new program, which actually saw its first graduation recently, offers aspiring students the chance to become Licensed Practical Nurses and provides a potential transition to an immediate career with the Huntsville Hospital Health System.

What is the best part of the job?

The students and their stories. It is creating those success stories for our students. For example, on July 2oth we had students present their research at the USSRC for Moon Day. They did such a great job, and to see that and to hear our students’ proudly present their research gave me such a sense of pride. Nobody tells the story of Drake State better than our students, truly.

What is the key take-away of the Drake State story under your leadership?

We trust the process here at Drake State because the process is helping everyone involved. We help the students find a career that is both successful and necessary for our com-

munity. In turn, this means that Drake State has a direct hand in the economic and workforce development of North Alabama.

It’s also important to note that we are seriously focused on helping increase the participation rate in Alabama. While our unemployment rate remains relatively low, our participation rate in the economy is low and this number often has a direct correlation with underrepresented populations. Many people believe that it is a lack of talent, but at Drake State we disagree. It is a lack of access to education that helps train and nurture that talent. If there is one thing that every student at Drake State can tell you, it is that we nurture talent that is already there. w

Congressman Strong Talks Values, Recent Success at 2023 Washington Update

On August 16 at 12 p.m., Congressman Dale Strong, representative of the fifth congressional district, spoke at a Washington Update Luncheon at the VBC. Among the topics discussed were his work, the Biden Administration, national security and conservative Christian values.

In a video preceding his speech, Strong said, “When I first got to DC, I knew what priorities I was bringing with me: bolstering national security, supporting the local economy and upholding conservative, Christian values.

“Whether in DC or in the district, people are my priority with the Republican House majority,” Strong said. “The House of Representatives is working to stop the Biden Administration from wrecking our economy. In my first eight months in Washington, I have voted to curb wasteful government spending, repeal Biden’s regulatory agenda and rebuild America’s energy independence, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Acknowledging Huntsville and Madison County’s renown for being home to Redstone Arsenal, Strong discussed his role on the Armed Services Committee through the National Defense Authorization Act.

“This year, the NDAA process was tough, but I fought for our community,” Strong said.

According to Strong, over 50% of his initial submissions were accepted outright. Seventy five percent of submissions in his 32-mark-up amendment were adopted.

After those submissions were adopted, Strong was invited to be in the House Lead for the FINISH IT Act, which would require the DoD to “deploy or transfer a huge Southern border wall material to state governments who will use them for wall construction.” The FINISH IT Act has passed both the Senate and the House meaning that it will make it to the White House.

Focusing on the border wall issue, Strong said that during his visit to the United States/Mexico border he saw many attempting to cross the border without documentation as well as a

large drug shipment, which was confiscated.

“I learned people coming across the border were from places like Iran and China that are our enemies, and they hate America,” Strong went on to claim.

“As I continued to ask questions about this threat, I discovered that China and entities controlled by the Chinese Communist Party own or lease more than 308,000 acres of land across America. To be honest, I was shocked by how much; we have already found several cases where this land is close or adjacent to military installations and sensitive facilities,” said Strong in regards to what he dubbed “the rising threat of China.”

Strong expressed seeing that property as a threat to the United States’ military and food supply. He has since introduced legislation to prohibit the Chinese Government from owning land in the United States, which has 32 cosigners.

Strong finished his speech in touting future goals and success for Rocket City.

“Our nation has some big challenges we must face, but I do believe that with your help and guidance from our Lord and Savior, it will be without reservation that I say this: ‘North Alabama and the Rocket City’s finest days are still ahead.’ It is an honor to serve as your United States congressman. Thank you.”

This is Strong’s first term in Congress. So far, he has had appointments with the Armed Services Committee, the Homeland Security Committee

and the Cyber Space and Technology Committee. Strong was first elected to the county commission in 1996, at that time being the youngest elected county commissioner in the State of Alabama at age 27. He has strong ties to Madison County as he graduated from Sparkman High School in 1988, with family roots stretching

By: Laura Boehringer /

Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce

several generations.

Other guests seated at the event’s head table with Strong were Gary Bradley, Pastor of the Mayfair Church of Christ; Paul Finley, Madison Mayor; Mac McCutchen, Chairman of the Madison County Commission; Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle; James Lack, co-chair of the Chamber’s National Government Committee; Ronnie Chronister the Chamber’s vice chair for Government Affairs; David Cook, the Chamber’s Chair of the National Government Committee and Sameer Singhal, president and CEO of CFD Research, which was the event’s presenting sponsor.

Local leaders including members of the Alabama State Legislature, Madison County Commission, Huntsville City Council, Madison City Council and Madison County School Board were also in attendance. w

Photo courtesy of

New Hampton Cove Social Hub Adds Unique Destination to North Alabama

Planes, trains and automobiles. Or rather, plane parts, a train car and a double-decker bus.

These are all part of the unique Hampton Cove gathering place “The Grid,” created by Russ Dunford in 2019.

The latest addition is a bright red, double decker bus, which Dunford has turned into a double decker coffee shop.

That’s right, a bloody red British double decker bus from across the pond. The 1961 Routemaster bus arrived in Alabama last year, and will soon welcome patrons to experience a taste of British culture while they savor the taste of their cappuccino. The coffee business will be managed by Crystal Hogan, owner and operator of Park & Perk Coffee

Dunford said all the kids in the area call his latest project “The Harry Potter Bus.”

“Long story short,” said Dunford, “my cousin up in North Carolina said, ‘Russ, you ought to put a double-decker coffee bus (at The Grid).’ I said, ‘That ought to be easy, not a problem.’”

To hear Dunford tell it, it really was pretty easy.

“I get on the Internet, like people do, and I start looking. I find this guy named Carl up in South Dakota. I call, and I get a hold of the guy. I say, ‘Carl, I see you got a double-decker bus and you’ve been in the coffee business.’

“He said, ‘You need to talk to Jerry in Utah.’ So I called Jerry in Utah. Jerry answered the phone and he said, ‘We gotta talk to Bob in England.’ So we called Bob in England. Bob says, ‘I think I’ve got something that will help.’ He says, in fact, it’s already been partially converted into a coffee shop.”

So Dunford bought the bus and had it shipped to the U.S., to Savannah, Ga., where Jerry from Utah picked it up and drove it to its new home in Hampton Cove. Dunford has spent the last year getting it ready for business.

Dunford started The Grid as a place for food trucks to set up during COVID, as a way to pull the community together. He collaborated on the idea with longtime Cove resident Brad Garland and the community organization Cove Monkey. Garland is one of the organizers of Cove Monkey, a group of residents who help spread news and events for the good of the community.

“The Cove Monkey had a good connection with people who lived out there,”

Garland explained, “and Russ had a space, so we collaborated to put on some good events with the food trucks and ‘Grub at the Grid.’”

Named after grid paper used by the many engineers in the Huntsville area, The Grid continues to be a gathering place for the Hampton Cove and Owens Cross Roads community. Passers-by can visit the pop-up farmers’ market, Nacho’s Mexican food truck and Rocket City Shaved Ice. Under construction also is a pole barn with a stage for live music.

By day, Dunford is a data analyst for the Defense Acquisition University. Running The Grid is something he does to keep himself busy; he calls it his therapy away from his computer, using hammers, shovels and dirt to build and create a gathering place for his community. With his two daughters in college pursuing their careers, Dunford said he didn’t like being idle.

“I like to build stuff,” Dunford said. “My daughters are in school, and I tell people all the time the best job I ever had in my life is being a dad. I miss it. When the girls left for college, I was go-

ing to build a car wash and piece together these three different lots for traffic flow. People could drive through, so it’s accessible from 431 all the way through to Taylor Road.”

The car wash didn’t work out, but The Grid has been well received by the community.

“The Grid theme kind of evolved into things that go,” Dunford explained.

Dunford acquired two jet engine cowlings, which he may convert into a unique winter heater, and a train car that he’s working with the City of Huntsville to convert into a shaved ice venue or restaurant. He plans to add a bright red British phone booth, which matches the bus, as the place where coffee-seekers place their drive thru orders.

“I love to teach, and you bring kids here, and there’s a whole lesson you can talk about with the bus. The kids get to touch and see engineering. You’d think that bus would turn over very easily. Believe it or not, that bloody bus can go to almost 38 degrees before it’ll tip over. It defies engineering principles.

“You can teach a lesson on the train

By: Heather Price

car about engineering,” Dunford continued. “Each of those sets of wheels weighs about 14 tons, so that’s about 28 tons, and the car itself weighs right at about 40 tons. It’s a pretty heavy chunk of steel. What’s amazing about that is, it was built in the 1930s. Nobody had an iPhone, nobody had an iPad, nobody had autocad. All they had was brute force and fire, and they figured out how to make those things.”

The Grid is not Dunford’s first nor only side venture. He and his two daughters have a patent for a baseball training device for kids. They also founded the cardboard toy brand Just the Box, which makes children’s toys out of cardboard, which teach engineering principles, and the trio has published several children’s books written by Dunford’s daughters when they were children. Dunford is also a math instructor for the Mathnasium learning center and runs a scholarship program that sends kids from his home state of West Virginia to Space Camp in Huntsville.

“Albert Einstein said, ‘If you have to choose between intelligence and imagination, take imagination.’ Because think about it, all that stuff on Star Trek, none of that worked. It was a hundred percent fiction. You know how they determined to make the tablet computer? Supposedly, as the story goes, Apple computer was asking folks, what’s one cool thing that you’d really like to have from Star Trek, and they said, we’d really like to have that tablet computer, because you could walk around, you could have it right there. And if you’re in a hospital today, that is the digital notebook of everybody on the medical staff.

“So you sit a kid down and you start letting them read or sitting in the train car, or you read a book about Thomas the Train or something and the wheels just start turning, and you never know what seed you’re planting and what they’re going to become. But we do know what will happen if you don’t educate. I am forever grateful for teachers. Without them we will fail as a nation. I can think of no other career that has such an impact.”

Currently, Dunford is still working on The Grid, but patrons can visit today for coffee or to grab a taco at Nacho’s. On Saturday’s, The Grid is open as a farmers market. Suffice to say, there is plenty to keep Huntsville entertained as Dunford continues to add to the project daily. w

/ Photos by Gus Wintzell

Talking Coffee, Passion, and Small Business with Honest Coffee Roasters

Christy Wimberly may own and operate a coffee establishment, but she’s quick to share that her passion isn’t the java. Her passion is the people.

In fact, she didn’t drink coffee at all until she opened Honest Coffee Roasters in 2017 in downtown Huntsville.

“I was like, if I’m going to do this, I’ve got to learn coffee. So I went and immersed myself with this guy named Brad in Franklin (Tenn.) who was a coffee genius.”

Wimberly is a Nashville, Tenn., native, who has called Huntsville home since 1999, putting down roots and raising two daughters here. She brought the Honest Coffee Roasters brand to Huntsville from Franklin, Tenn., where Honest Coffee Roasters began in 2014. In May 2017 Wimberly opened in downtown Huntsville on the corner of CIinton Ave. and Washington St., with about 1,800 square feet and two main menu items: coffee and acai bowls.

The immediate popularity of the downtown Huntsville coffee spot led to quick expansion of the space and the menu. In October 2017 Wimberly nearly doubled the size of her shop with an additional 1,700 square feet by taking over the suite next door. She expanded the menu also by collaborating with local restaurants including Mason Dixon Bakery, Piper & Leaf Tea Co., Little Dipper Bakery and Canadian Bakin, to name a few.

“In 2017, there was not much of a presence of food downtown so we created a food menu that has grown over time based on need and demand, and we’ve always kept it fluid,” Wimberly said. “We watch what sells well, and we’ve got the freedom to try new things and put new things on the menu. Lunch has really grown over the years as people started to think of us as an easy place to grab a quick panini or a simple lunch if you don’t have time for a sit down lunch.”

Wimberly contributes the success and growth of Honest Coffee Roasters to the welcoming vibe that she and her team have worked deliberately to create.

“I’m a people person. I love people. And I instill that in my team, that we’re not just a restaurant, and people have a choice on where they can go,” Wimberly shared. “I’ve watched our Google reviews over the years, and we always

get really nice reviews on our coffee and we get nice reviews on our food but, we always get outstanding reviews on our service. ‘The people are so friendly, they were so nice, they were so helpful,’ and I think people just like somewhere they can go that it’s fun and friendly.

“We’re not your typical coffee shop that’s quiet and subdued. You never know if it’ll be loud, if it’ll be rowdy. I think Huntsville came in very excited for us to be here, and we just kind of match the energy.”

Her success in downtown Huntsville led her to open a second Honest Coffee Roasters location in October

2022 in downtown Madison. “So much of our growth has been relational that I was hesitant at first because I live in Huntsville and so many of the partnerships happen at (the grocery store) or in conversations at the gym, and I don’t live in Madison. So we looked at it and finally just decided to take a risk, and I’m so glad we did.”

So glad in fact that Wimberly opened an original concept restaurant next door to the Madison coffee location, the Chillabay Dessert Bar. It’s an ice cream shop specializing in milkshakes, ice cream floats, and homemade ice cream sandwiches featuring cookies

By: Heather Price /

Photos by Heather Price

from Little Dipper Bakery.

One of the things Wimberly said she is most proud of is providing the community with a consistent Honest Coffee Roasters experience, every cup, every day.

“Consistency is what makes you successful,” Wimberley explained. “We try to pay attention to the details. We try to make sure that your coffee is perfectly made, and we try to make sure that your food is made perfect. We want to get it to you quickly, and we want to give it to you with a smile, and we want to do that over and over and over. So if you come in on a Tuesday and Haley’s here you get the same experience you have if you come in on Thursday and Lily’s here.”

The most challenging part of operating three restaurants - two of which have been open less than one year - is balancing her time between each establishment and her relationship with each of her store managers.

“I feel like I’ve got three kids right now. I’ve got a firstborn that gets firstborn attention, which is Caleb Setzer in Huntsville. And then I’ve got a middle child, which is Marisa Gossage in Madison. She is independent and she is phenomenal, and I feel like she doesn’t get as much time just because she’s the forgotten middle child. Then Chillabay is the baby. I’ve got a first time manager Gabriella Shideler there who is phenomenal and is a sponge for business knowledge. I feel like I end up spending more time with my oldest and my youngest and my middle child is just doing very, very well on her own.”

Wimberly’s husband, Corey Wimberly, came to work for her in 2022. He’s helped take the business to the next level, adding systems that manage inventory and pricing, and taking over the books. “That has been one of the most efficient things we have done,” Wimberly said about some of the systems Corey initialized. “There are some things on my menu that I never would have thought would be priced where they are, but I know the margins, and I know what I’m paying for the raw products. The menu builder gives me that confidence that I’m not overcharging or undercharging.

“He’s taken a lot of the paperwork away from me and given me back time to talk to my customers, talk to my team, and do the people part that I love.” w

Christy Wimberly, owner of Honest Coffee Roasters

Home Field Advantage at Toyota Field Proves Strong as Mayor Finley Excites at Second Annual Celebrate Madison

Madison, Alabama continues to make headlines for its remarkable growth and vision that nurtures a thriving business ecosystem with a flourishing community. On Thursday, August 17, the city held the 2nd annual Celebrate Madison event at Toyota Field. The event, presented by Meta and organized by the Madison Chamber of Commerce, exemplified these values by showcasing the city’s commitment to economic development and the well-being of its residents and their communities.

As the namesake implies, the night was a celebration and granted a platform for the business community to strengthen its bonds with residents while showcasing the potential that Madison holds for business growth.

At the heart of the celebration was Madison Mayor Paul Finley’s State of the City address, a carefully crafted presentation that didn’t just stop with statistics. Finley’s address was not just a reflection of Madison’s past and present achievements but a visionary projection of the city’s future. His words spoke truth to Madison’s ambitious economic growth objectives.

Finley’s popularity within his city was evident from the cheers raining down from the stands that are usually reserved for Trash Panda homeruns. Thanks to major transfor-

By: Noah Logan / Photos by Steve Babin

mative projects like 565 and County Line, Zierdt Road, and Old Madison Pike, Madison’s status has been locked in as a destination of choice for both businesses and residents. Mayor Finley emphasized, “We’re never going to be in a position right now where we can just sit still and hope that it stops. It’s going to continue because we’re on the map for people to come here. Great jobs, great community.”

Lindsey Knupp, Executive Vice President of the Rocket City Trash Pandas,

also expressed her enthusiasm for community collaboration before the event started, stating, “The support from the local community has been incredible for years, and we look forward to bringing everyone together at Toyota Field for this special event.”

City officials also made sure to honor veterans and military families, which was a crucial part of the celebration that saw two awards handed out through the night. The Active Duty Family of the Year award honored Colonel Stacey Harring and her family. Col. Harring’s has been dedicated to helping serve the Children and Veterans in Madison ever since arriving six years ago.

She has served in leadership positions at Madison American Legion Post 229, volunteered with the local Girl Scout troop, and currently serves as a mobilized Reservist at Army Materiel Command on Redstone Arsenal. Col. Harring’s unwavering commitment to instilling patriotism in the youth remains an inspiration.

Col. Harring expressed her gratitude, stating, “Well, it’s a great city, we love Madison as civilians and also as part of the military in this community. We do a lot for it, and it does a lot for us, so it’s an honor to be recognized today.”

It wasn’t 100% celebrating throughout the night though. The de-

Pictured left to right: Joe Newberry, Wes Kelley, Steve and Alice Lesssman, Mayor Paul Finley, Michelle Epling

Madison Mayor Paul Finley speaking at Celebrate Madison event

GOVERNMENT

cision regarding Space Command and the recent decision to select Colorado as the agency’s permanent home was met with resilience from leadership and those in the crowd. Mayor Finley commented on the subject.

“We’re ready for it if it comes, we

think they made a mistake by not coming. Hopefully, they’ll change that, but whether they do or they don’t, this community will absolutely continue to solve problems and be the place everybody wants to move,” said Mayor Finley. w

Pictured above: The Tamas Family and the Harring Family with LTG Mohen and Steve and Alice Lessmann. Military awards were handed out during the event, which included the Active Duty Family of the Year award given to Colonel Stacy Harring

Huntsville Business Rebrands, Offers Unique and Revamped Customer Experience to North Alabama

Over the past few months, Huntsville’s Washlab Auto Spa has undergone some significant changes.

Previously known as On the Spot, the newly rebranded Washlab totes new amenities, a rejuvenated customer service experience, and a higher quality full car detailing service than ever before.

According to Tyler Button, Washlab’s Director of Branding and Marketing, the entire customer service structure was rebranded a few months ago in an important business transition.

“We had a great foundation to build on, that customers really enjoyed, but we noticed that there were a variety of changes that needed to be made in order to make the customer experience and community reception better,” said Button.

Among these changes included an overhaul of the chemicals used in washing, which places Washlab above and beyond the industry standard, and an increased focus on staff training and customer interaction. Button, whose professional background includes past experiences with the likes of Hugo Boss and Ford Motor Company, said

that the most important concept that he learned from prior professional experiences was training staff to provide the best customer experience possible.

“Besides amenities, what really makes or breaks us here is the level of training that we have. We overhauled it entirely, and have a truly intensive training that helps us produce a top-notch customer experience in North Alabama. Yes, we might seem like a car wash facility to many people, but we are much more than that. We are a place to come and relax, and to be greeted by friendly faces,” said Button.

Button described the experience at Washlab as 100% inclusive to customer needs. When patrons arrive, they park underneath a shaded valet parking area and are greeted from the comfort of their cars by an attendee. With an iPad in hand, the Washlab employee checks in with the customer and, after discussing the services needed for the day, escorts the customer to the lounge

area inside. From there, they can watch their car work through the belt from the inside viewing area in the lounge or take part in the variety of new amenities offered by Washlab.

Washlab still features a snack and non-alcoholic beverage bar, 20 large 4k televisions, and fresh fair trade coffee. However, additional amenities add to the overall customer experience moving forward.

New changes include a new kid lounge area, providing a truly family-friendly experience, and a 400 square foot space for an in-house barber service provided by the Signature Barber Shop.

“Name a place you can think of where you can snag fresh coffee, drop off the kids at the family-friendly lounge space, and snag a quality haircut, all while your car is being

By: Gus Wintzell

cleaned or detailed,” said Button.

However, the most important change for the business comes in the services offered.

“We have always been a full service detail facility, but past customers really thought of us as just a car cleaning service. This has certainly been a large part of who we are, but we offer so much more,” said Button.

Washlab’s full detail service includes everything from hot water extracting, window tinting, decontamination, interior and exterior cleaning, and much more. The business still operates the $7 million assembly-style conveyor belt that runs over 220 feet in length. With this belt, the business can detail and clean around 300 cars a day, with an average wash time of 15 minutes, which gives patrons plenty of time to relax and take part in the various amenities offered.

Washlab Auto Spa is open Monday through Friday from 7AM to 6PM, Saturday from 7AM to 5PM, and Sunday from 8AM to 5PM. Washlab is located at 6555 University Drive NW, Huntsville, AL. For more information and a full list of services, please visit washlab.io. w

/ Photos courtesy of Tyler Button, Washlab

July Monthly Report Shows Prices Dip Amid Inventory Boost

By: Marie Johnson

The Huntsville Area Association of Realtors has released its monthly report for the month of July 2023.

The average sale price of a singlefamily home in Madison County took a slight dip compared to July the year previous; where it had stood at $391K in 2022, in 2023 the average sale price was down to $390K.

Efforts to control inflation, as well as the addition of more units to the inventory on the market, can explain this slight dip. The number of homes on the market hit 1612 in July of this year, four hundred more than the previous year’s number of only 1273.

The average amount of days spent on market has more than doubled over that period as well; where homes were only spending a mere 11 days on the market the previous year, homes spent an average of 26 days listed this July.

This slowdown has affected the amount of total sales made per month as well. July the year previous saw a total of 802 homes sold in Madison

County, while this year, that number decreased to 606.

Despite the dip in prices, home affordability remains a national issue. ATTOM’s Q2 Home Affordability Report shows that 98% of single-family homes were less affordable than their historical average for Q2 2023. Housing prices continue to rise nationwide, but equally important is the impact of wage stagnation on the housing market. Nationally, the average homeowner has to spend 33% of their annual income on the expenses of homeownership, the highest level since 2007.

These issues are somewhat ameliorated in our local real estate market by the prevalence of high-powering jobs supporting the national defense industry, which have continued to attract more and more people to come live and work in the Huntsville and Madison County area.

Keep reading the Huntsville Business Journal for continued updates on real estate market conditions. w

Toyota USA Foundations

Announces $6.7 Million in Grants with Jemison and Lee High Schools as Primary Focus

At a press conference on August 10 at Mae Jemison High School, the Toyota USA Foundation announced a donation of up to $6.7 million over the next five years to prepare Huntsville City Schools’ students for future careers in STEM fields such as science, technology, engineering and math.

The collaboration is part of Toyota’s Driving Possibilities, which is launching in Huntsville as the program’s fifth site. The initiative is based on more than 60 years of active support in Toyota communities across the U.S. and builds off the model previously launched in West Dallas.

“We’ve been working with leaders from Huntsville City Schools for over a year to bring this moment today,” said Jason Puckett, president of Toyota Alabama. “Every community is unique and that’s why we’ve been very intentional about spending the last year working with school leaders, community organizations and many others to identify areas of need and develop a solid pathway to success.”

Around $2.9 million of the total grant will be available in the program’s first year while the rest will roll out in recurring payments over the next 4 years. The donation is unique in that Driving Possibilities has selected Mae Jemison High School and Lee High School as their primary focus as opposed to spreading the funds across the area.

Alabama’s Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth was in attendance for the press conference to show his support for the Driving Possibilities initiative.

“This is a huge testament to the fact that [Toyota USA Foundation] loves our community, they believe in our children and want to make sure they are developed for the future,” Ainsworth said. “Toyota understands the importance of training and preparing our students to fill high-tech, 21st Century jobs by the time they graduate. “

This announcement will support

a new industrial tech program at the recently announced Huntsville City Schools Career Tech Center. The program will aim to create a direct pathway for students into high-demand manufacturing careers. The Driving Possibilities initiative is also funding new teacher coaches, training and mentorship at select schools in partnership with the New Teacher Center.

Driving Possibilities focuses on PreK-12 education and builds on existing programs across the country. The long-term initiative’s aim is to close educational gaps for students through innovative, hands-on STEM programming while addressing the essential needs of students and families.

“Toyota understands the importance of training and preparing our students to fill high-tech, 21st Century jobs by the time they graduate,” said Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth. “Alabama consistently ranks among the nation’s leaders in economic development and industrial recruitment, and thanks to generous corporate partners like Toyota, we have the tools necessary to maintain that top ranking for many years to come.”

The Toyota USA Foundation announced Driving Possibilities in 2022 as a $110 million national, career readiness and community engagement initiative. The initiative was launched to prepare youth for the careers of tomorrow. The program is the largest and most comprehensive in Toyota’s history and is funded by Toyota USA Foundation, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) and Toyota Financial Services. w

a partnership that will allow the two companies to make use of quantum computing to generate missile defense scenarios with a demonstration of an unclassified defense scenario generated using DecisionOne.

D-Wave, a commercial quantum computer and supplier Davidson Technologies announced that the companies entered into a multi-year reseller agreement in January. The agreement allows Davidson to resell D-Wave’s products and services. They are also collaborating to create classified quantum-hybrid applications for national defense programs like the one showcased, called DecisionOne.

D-wave CEO, Dr. Alan Baratz clarified that although standard computers can do an excellent job of creating realistic scenarios as well, they sometimes “choke” in ways quantum computers wouldn’t. Baratz said that in a worst case scenario, if a standard computer “chokes” having a quantum computer available would ensure an accurate result because even a few seconds of delay could prove disastrous.

During the DecisionOne demonstration, Davidson COO Dale Moore set a very simple scenario to show attendees how the software worked. The scenario was set with a small number of threats and interceptors without degradation of performance, showing two possible defense scenarios for a hypothetical sea-based threat in Honolulu.

“We are reaching out to D-Wave Hybrid Solver quantum computer real-time right now to optimize the solution to this problem. So what you’re going to see is an optimization of the weapon to target assignment,” Moore said. “There were probably four or five thousand different options from a solution perspective; we got to the optimized solution very, very quickly.”

calculating outcomes.

“If you come to the right course of action faster, that gives you more battle space to engage the enemy attacks coming against our forces or our country. So it’s a complex problem if you need an answer quickly, and there are lots of potential outcomes. They’ll set 64 million in that one scenario. Those are all potential outcomes. How do you figure out which one you pursue? And so necking it down to find the optimal solution quickly is the advantage of quantum computing over standard high performance computing today,” said Holly.

Davidson Technologies and DWave plan to continue partnering to develop practical hybrid applications using quantum computing. w

Davidson and D-Wave Bring Quantum Computing to Missile Defense Scenarios

During the busy schedule at the 2023 SMD Symposium, Davidson Technologies and D-Wave announced

“All the news media and everything says quantum computing is in the future quantum computing using their technology is here today, said John Holly, CEO and President of Davidson Technologies, in reference to D-Wave.

Holly explained that the benefit of using quantum computing in generating those scenarios is its speed in

Two Huntsville Lawyers Named Among 2024 Best Lawyers in America

The Best Lawyers in America© released their 2024 edition last week, which included Huntsville-based Tommy and Bart Siniard of Siniard Law. Senior partner Tommy Siniard has received the distinction for 28 consecutive years. Joining his father for the first time in the rankings is partner Bart Siniard.

Tommy Siniard’s recognition in the 2024 edition continues the longest streak of any Huntsville personal injury lawyer. Bart Siniard’s inclusion came in his first year of eligibility in his tenth year of legal practice. They make one of the few father-son pairs to be selected in the same year in the history of the prestigious organization.

The Best Lawyers in America© was first published in 1983. Best Lawyers’ purpose is to recognize top legal talent through a meticulous and objective process. The organization

makes its selections entirely through a peer-review process.

“Our process is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area,” according to Best Lawyers.

The Best Lawyers in America© employs a survey method where other top attorneys evaluate their peers in regards to legal competence, trial skills, and professional reputation. The recognition cannot be purchased.

The Best Lawyers in America© has selected Tommy Siniard for inclusion every year since 1995. Now in his 28th straight year of being included, Tommy holds the longest streak of any Huntsville personal injury lawyer. The next closest is 16. In addition, it is the fourth longest streak of any personal injury attorney in the entire state of Alabama.

“I am humbled to be recognized for the 28th year in a row. I’ve worked hard my entire career to establish a reputation as a fighter for injured people. I’m always honored to receive this recognition because it reminds me that my peers respect me and my reputation,” said Tommy.

Tommy’s inclusion was for the practice areas of personal injury litigation, medical malpractice, and workers’ compensation. He has recovered in excess of $150,000,000 in compensation for his clients during his career.

The Best Lawyers in America© selected Bart Siniard for the first time in its 2024 edition. The organization only selects attorneys who have been in practice for at least ten years. Since Bart began practicing law in the year 2013, his selection in this year’s edition was especially important because he received the honor in his first year of eligibility. Bart’s inclusion was for the practice areas of personal injury litigation and medical malpractice.

“I am thrilled about this recognition. I’ve seen my father’s Best Lawyer plaques in his office since I was in elementary school. To hang one on my office wall gives me the greatest sense of professional satisfaction,” said Bart.

To check out the full list, please visit www.bestlawyers.com. For more

information, please visit siniardlaw. com. w

Bank Independent Hires

New Community Engagement Representative

Bank Independent announced that Ashlyn Biggers has joined the team as the Community Engagement Representative for Huntsville and Madison County.

Biggers joins Bank Independent after spending the past year co-founding The Vessel, a ceramics studio and curated space for art education, community and retail shopping. Before launching The Vessel, she spent three years at Holtz Leather Company where she served as a Production Manager, Marketing Associate and a Project and Design Manager.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve and strengthen the Huntsville and Madison communities alongside Bank Independent,” Biggers said. “I aim to embody our mission to make a positive difference in people’s lives and support our efforts to build meaningful, lasting relationships within our community.”

Biggers is a 2017 graduate of East Carolina University where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art with a Concentration in Ceramics.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ashlyn to our team,” Bank Independent Community Engagement Leader, Hallie Mauldin said. “Her enthusiasm and dedication to her work make her a perfect fit for our team and our culture. She will play a vital role in strengthening our relationship with the community and will work closely with local organizations to identify areas where we can make a positive difference. We are confident that she will represent Bank Independent well in Madison County by serving a community we care so much about.” w