Walker Magazine

FALL HOME STYLES

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Established October 2012

GENERAL MANAGER Michael Keeton

EDITOR Nicole Smith

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Jake Aaron

LAYOUT DESIGN Jennifer McCaskill

CONTRIBUTORS Ed Howell, Ron Harris, Mackenzie Hamilton, Johnathan Bentley

ADVERTISING Brenda Anthony, Stacy Daniel, Josh Pruitt

Walker Magazine is a publication of and distributed seasonally by the Daily Mountain Eagle, a division of Paxton Media Group.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored for retrieval by any means without written consent from the publisher. Walker Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited materials and the publisher accepts no responsibility for the contents or accuracy of claims in any advertisement in any issue.

Walker Magazine is not responsible for errors, omissions or changes in information.

The opinions of contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine and its publisher.

Our mission is to promote Walker County and to showcase its many attributes as a quality place in which to live, to work and to play. We welcome ideas and suggestions for future editions of the magazine. Just send us a brief note via email. © 2023 Daily Mountain Eagle WALKER MAGAZINE P.O. Box 1469 Jasper, AL 35502 (205) 221-2840 email: walkermagazine@mountaineagle.com

Staff f ff

From the

It's pumpkin spice season and the annual countdown to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Our fall issue brings a great variety of stories from people who have found great success in various lines of work.

Local photographer and veteran Randy Fielding is fea­ tured on our cover — perhaps the only time we may get permission from him to shine a light on his many talents.

Fielding tells of his years in the U.S. Coast Guard and how he has found joy in retirement by capturing many moments at our area high schools.

We also share the story of Faith Sims in this issue. The standout pitcher who once lit up the field in Cordova is now a collegiate­level pitching coach and she has dreams to one day take her talent to even greater heights.

Walker County resident Bill Kinzalow's story is one you may not have heard, but he has an intriguing background as a songwriter who has rubbed elbows with many country music stars. He also dedicated an album to coal miners.

Readers will also be taken to Montgomery to hear from Walker County native Rob Green who has worked as direc­ tor of communications and external affairs for Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter. He has now moved into another leadership role with the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Custom Shirts & Signs in Jasper is featured as our Busi­ ness Spotlight. Many people watched the transformation of a home along Alabama Avenue which is the new location for the business.

We wish you all a blessed holiday season and look for­ ward to bringing you another issue this winter.

– Nicole Smith, Editor

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HEALTH & REHABILITATION

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Inside

What’s What’s

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A VIVID LIFE

Veteran Randy Fielding

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36 Hooke k d! ke

Get Get

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STARS ARE ORDINARY PEOPLE

Bill Kinzalow

THE MAN WITH MONTGOMERY’S MESSAGE

Rob Green

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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Custom Shirts & Signs

For your entertainment we have placed this fishing hook (actual size) within the pages of Walker Magazine.

This will be a permanent feature for our readers.

We hope you enjoy searching for the fishing hook in each issue.

HINT: T T:

Invert this page to reveal the page number.

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PITCHER PERFECT

Faith Sims

Find the hook hiding on Page 14.

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A PUBLICATION OF THE DAILY MOUNTAIN EAGLE FALL 2023

10 ON THE COVER Randy Fielding poses with one of the cameras he uses to capture memories for local families

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A vivid life Veteran Randy Fielding talks of photography, time serving country

Story by Nicole Smith Photography by Nicole Smith and Special to the Eagle

Randy Fielding is a bit of a local celebrity, at least on school cam­ puses.

Fielding, typically with a large Nikon camera in tow and an unas­ suming demeanor, can walk into most any high school in the county and hear his name called. The kids automatically start smiling, waving and posing for pictures, as if on cue.

"Somebody said, 'Who are you?'"

Fielding recalls someone asking him on one of his many trips to an area school. "I said, 'I'm nobody.'"

But to the people Fielding photo­ graphs and snaps those cherished memories of, he is somebody — some­ one greatly loved and appreciated.

Fielding hesitantly agreed to be interviewed for Walker Magazine and to share his story that many have probably never heard, but he wanted to make one thing clear.

"I don't want people to say, 'This is about Randy.' No, this is about

the kids. It's always about the kids," he said.

It took some time, however, be­ fore Fielding would spend his days dedicating his time to the kids. He first served his country.

Fielding is a native of Cordova and decided to join the military (Coast Guard) on Nov. 19, 1973, at 17 years old. He spent three months at boot camp in California and his first duty station was in Hawaii while he awaited further assignment.

"I was the last one of us to get on the plane and I couldn't find a seat.

They were all taken. The stewardess came up to me and said, 'You can come up here and sit in first class.'

The other guys were mad at me," Randy recalled with a laugh.

He spent two weeks in the beauty that is Hawaii and was then sent to a place he could have never imagined, Johnston Atoll.

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"It wasn't even on the map," he said. All he was told was, "Anything you need to know about Johnston Atoll, they'll tell you when you get there."

The island of Johnston Atoll was 800 miles west of Hawaii, and Field­ ing arrived in total darkness. He would later learn the island was a nu­ clear missile site.

"You could throw a rock in any di­ rection and hit water. This place is in the middle of nowhere," he said.

There was a large missile on the is­ land at the time, but Fielding and others in the Coast Guard were not allowed to see it or even know it was there for some time. Fielding said

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Johnston Atoll was the only place at that time where nuclear missiles could be tested.

"To go from my island to the big is­ land, we had to walk past that (where a missile was)," he said. "The Air Force made us turn and walk with our backs to that as we walked past it. ... It was top secret."

Fielding and others finally got to see the missile one day, which was one of many times he would have a camera in his hand to mark the occa­ sion. The first professional camera Fielding would own he bought while at Johnston Atoll.

The missiles may have been a spec­ tacle, but they were more of a hazard.

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Fielding said three had detonated on the island, causing plutonium to con­ taminate the site.

"The island was radiated with plu­ tonium," he said. "It has a half­life of 40,000 years. I was out there in '74, '75. This happened in '65."

If the plutonium hazard wasn't enough, Fielding later learned 38,000 55 gallon drums of Agent Orange were stockpiled there.

"The year that I was there, they es­ timated 54,000 pounds of this stuff leached out of those cans into the water table, into the ground, and they tested the water. It was contaminated, and we were contaminated, but they wouldn't tell us," Fielding said.

He was at Johnston Atoll for six months when he got a call to go to an area hospital where he was instructed to give urine samples to test for radia­ tion. To this day, he has never been told the results.

Fielding's job at Johnston Atoll was to transmit electronic signals for loca­ tion purposes. It would pave the way for his vast knowledge of technology and electronics.

"The Coast Guard was the only en­ tity in the entire world that broadcast navigational signals," he said.

Fielding was then transferred to Texas for what would be the first of many assignments. He worked as a radio man in Texas for three months then was off to Memphis, Tennessee, to work on a riverboat on the Missis­ sippi River on a United States Coast Guard Cutter.

"Hardest work I've ever done in my life," he said of the two year assign­ ment.

He then received a promotion and was transferred to Clearwater, Flor­ ida, to do drug patrols and search and rescue.

"When I was there, we weren't allowed to carry our weapons on us, because they told us weapons were for military use and doing drug patrols was civilian use, so we made our first several busts and we didn't even have weapons, but people didn't know that," Fielding said. "It took another 10 years for the Coast Guard to ad­ just that."

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Later he was off to another assign­ ment in Rockland, Maine, which he said was "very cold", as he was as­ signed to break ice so that ships could get in and out.

Next, Fielding was sent to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to go on another cutter and do drug patrols in the Caribbean. He would later get injured and was sent to Miami to heal, where he would be for the next two years.

During his time in Miami, Fielding was part of a team that did drug patrols — and they were really good at it, perhaps too good.

"I had been on the boat about a year, year and a half, and nor­ mally we leave on Thursday even­ ing and stay gone a week to 10 days. As we were getting ready to leave, we got a call from a com­ munication center telling us to hold tight, not go anywhere. We had vis­ itors coming. That never happened before. These two guys show up in black suits, white shirts and ties," he said.

Fielding, only 22 years old at the time, learned the intimidating men were CIA agents and they had classi­ fied information to share.

"They said, 'This boat has been so successful in taking so much drugs off the network that Pablo Escobar (a Columbian drug lord) is a little ticked off at you guys, and he has placed a contract out on all of you. The people that work for him know who you are by name, they know what you drive, they know where you live, they know all your family members,'" Fielding re­ called.

He said nothing ever came of the threat, but it was definitely one of the more memorable moments from his time in the service.

Fielding's time in Miami was thril­ ling and life­changing in another way he didn't see coming.

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"When I was in Miami, I was in charge of the barracks. ... My job was to make sure I gave them (the new re­ cruits) a place to sleep at night, and the ones that didn't have a permanent place within base Miami, they would work for me until they found out where they were going," he said.

Fielding asked one of the new female recruits to paint his office one day in 1979.

"I came back a couple of hours later," he said, describ­ ing a glass window that gave a view to the inside of his office. "You could see the back wall, and I looked up there and I go, 'What the hell is that?' She goes, 'You can't read?' ... She had painted the word 'hick' in tall letters. I said, 'You take your happy lit­ tle a­­ back down to that paint locker, you get some paint, and you fix that.'"

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There was a problem, however.

They didn't have any more paint. It had to be ordered and may take a month to arrive.

"I was stuck in that office with those huge letters of 'hick' over my head," Fielding said. "So, I married her."

Fielding and his wife, Nelly, married in late 1980 and they welcomed their son, Christopher, in December 1981.

Nelly Fielding did welding and car­ pentry and served in the military for four years.

Once Fielding's time in Miami was up he went to Puerto Rico and did environmental protection. He would help clean up leaked fuel on the water, for instance, and investigate how spills happened. Next, he was on to New Jersey to be a company commander and boot camp drill in­ structor for two years.

"The two years I was there, my company never lost a competi­ tion," he said.

Fielding went back to Texas after those two years were up and was second in command of a drug unit where he would go out at night on boats to do drug patrols.

He got another promotion three years later and went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was an officer in charge of Coast Guard recruiting for Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.

Fielding would retire three years later after serving 20 years and six months in the Coast Guard. He was 38 years old.

"I was in the Coast Guard several years and I've done a lot of dangerous things — I mean a lot," he said.

"Boarding ships in the ocean. Basi­ cally, we were modern day pirates.

We would go out to sea. We would identify a boat that met a drug smug­ gling type scenario. We would launch our small boat. We would go over and board them, take it by force, inspect the boat, and if they had drugs, we would seize them."

Fielding would later learn he had post traumatic stress disorder from the things he had experienced and re­

ceived 70 percent disability.

"I didn't think anything was wrong with me, but I talked to a psychiatrist and talked about all the things I had done, seen and been involved in," he said.

It took him 20 years to get 100 percent disability.

Fielding added, "I had a lot of trou­ ble with PTSD early on. The military is a structured system, and it's very strict. I didn't think I had anything wrong, but when you get out in the civilian world where there's no struc­ ture and you have people who think they can walk in front of you in line ...

I had a tendency to want to grab them by the neck and say, 'You're not getting in front of me.' I had trouble with that for a while."

In addition to PTSD, the effects of Fielding's time at Johnston Atoll will always be with him. He now has Par­ kinson's disease due to the Agent Or­

ange exposure, which makes eating and writing difficult. Thankfully, he is still able to do photography and vide­ ography, as Fielding says that the dis­ ease mainly impacts his light muscle control.

Despite some struggles, Fielding has lived a full life since his retirement from the Coast Guard. He went to college for electrical engineering and spent some time working for an elec­ trical business. He was once even a satellite television installer.

His longest work outside of the mil­ itary was with the Walker County Sheriff's Office, where he served 10 years, starting in 2000. Fielding was a deputy in charge of Bingo for a time.

"My job was to go around and count the machines and tell them how much money they had to pay the county — and make sure they paid it," he said. "I really liked that job, but this is a rough county. I never lost a fight."

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Fielding was busy taking pictures when he wasn't at work — first vol­ unteering with the Quarterback Club in Cordova. Later on, his wife was teaching Spanish at Oakman High and the school's principal asked if Fielding could take some pictures of events at Oakman. Ten years later, he is still capturing moments at the school and at other schools around the county.

Photography has been a lifelong in­ terest of Fielding's that he is passion­ ate and knowledgeable about.

"I got interested in photography when I was in the fifth grade," he said.

"Someone gave me a little plastic camera. You couldn't do much with it, but it worked, and I've just been inter­ ested ever since."

Fielding loves capturing moments and the skill of taking photographs.

"When I was in Louisville, I took college classes on photography to know a little bit more about what I was doing," he said.

He has always educated himself on the newest technology and recalled when digital cameras were first com­ ing out. He was sent to Los Angeles for the Olympics to be a member of the presidential security task force at that time.

"The picture quality was so bad, the only thing they could use it for was to take photos and transfer them to New York where they could use them in newspaper because the quality didn't have to be that good," he said.

Of course, technology advanced over the years and Fielding now uses Nikon DSLR (digital single­lens reflex) cameras for his sports and events photography. He is often seen at high school sporting events and other community activities where he has captured thousands of photos over the years. He also does some video work, such as filming a news program that students at Oakman Middle School anchor.

Fielding doesn't do the coverage for money. He isn't paid. He's not assigned to go to various places.

He just does it because he loves it, and he appreciates the joy his photographs bring to parents and their children.

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"Last year, doing the high school football playoffs in Florence and An­ niston, I spent over $1,000 in motels and feeding myself, paying for tickets to get in. My military time allows me to do this, and I enjoy doing it. I love being around these kids," he said.

Fielding receives hundreds of com­ ments and likes on Facebook for the photographs he takes. People anx­ iously wait by their phones or com­ puters to see what memories have been captured, and many of his pho­ tos are printed out to put into scrap­ books or frames. Several are even displayed along the hallways of area schools or placed on banners. Others have been published in the Daily Mountain Eagle for people to clip and

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"I want to do this until I just can't do it anymore...” save in boxes or albums filled with special memories.

"It's heartwarming. It makes me feel good," Fielding said. "When I see the parents make comments like that, to me, that's what I want. I want them to appreciate it for themselves. The other day we were doing a thing with the football program and the coach said, 'We're going to do a segment about you,' and I said, 'No, we're not.' I said, 'We're not going to make this about me. This is about the people we focus on — them, the kids, their parents.'"

Outside of photography, Fielding is involved with the local American Le­ gion, for which his wife is vice com­ mander. He also enjoys documenting

the stories of local veterans, and he is responsible for many of the veterans' photos displayed annually at Walmart in Jasper.

Fielding isn't ready to retire but when he does he will have, without a doubt, left a legacy in his service to the country and the community.

For now, he has more work to do.

"I want to do this until I just can't do it anymore, because it's what keeps me going," he said. "I might look like I'm healthy, but my ankles are worn out, my knees are worn out, my hips are worn out and my back — holding that camera up. I'm not going to let that stop me. I just love seeing the smiles on these kids' faces, the parents."

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Kiwanis Celebrates 100 Jasper High School / August 14

Kiwanis Club of Jasper's 100th­anniversary celebration dinner was held on Monday, Aug. 14. The event, which included current and past Kiwanis members, highlighted the organization’s long history of service in the city. // Daily Mountain Eagle photos by Ron Harris //

Snapshots

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Stars

are ordinary

people

Bill Kinzalow recounts his 22­year songwriting career Story by Mackenzie Hamilton Photography by Mackenzie Hamilton and Special to the Eagle

Retired coal miner Bill Kinzalow started writing songs 22 years ago and his career led him to work with many fa­ mous artists.

Kinzalow, a Jefferson County native who now lives in Walker County, first decided that he wanted to write songs in 2001.

He had been listening to a country radio station on his day off from Jim Walter Resources, Inc., a mine in Brook­ wood, Alabama, when yet another bad song came over the airwaves.

“There were a few good ones but a lot of bad songs (at the time), and I said, ‘Well, I don't like those songs that much.

I can write one better than that or just as good,’” Kinzalow said.

So, that is just what Kinzalow did.

After a few months of hard work, he completed his first song, “Peach Picking Fever.”

“It just kind of popped in my head, and I liked it better than a lot of songs that were in Nashville at the time,” Kin­

zalow said. “Then I won a trip to Fan Fair and … met a record producer.”

The record producer was Melvyn “Mel” Shaw, a Canadian music producer known for his work with The Stam­ peders and other famous artists such as Justine Stewart.

“I sang (my song) for Mel and Fran (Shaw’s wife) … and he was impressed by it and wanted me to write songs for him and record for him,” Kinzalow said.

He added that Shaw even helped him get a copyright for the song from the Li­ brary of Congress.

After that night, Kinzalow and Shaw became lifelong friends. Their friendship set Kinzalow on a path to meet many fa­ mous artists and songwriters, including Marty Stuart, Ken Mellons, Little Jimmy Dickens and Porter Wagoner.

“Porter Wagoner really impressed me more than anybody,” Kinzalow said. “I couldn’t believe I was meeting him be­ cause he had been one of my biggest stars my whole life.”

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Top left, Bill Kinzalow meeting Billy "The Tall Texan" Walker, a famous American guitarist and country singer.

Top right, Melvyn "Mel" Shaw, the music producer for The Stampeders and Bill Kinzalow's best friend.

Bottom Left, Bill Kinzalow is pictured meeting his American country music idol Porter Wagoner at the Grand Ole Opry.

Bottom right, Mel Shaw and Bill Kinzalow, left and center, pose with famous photographer Dan Hellen.

The official underground pass for Bill Kinzalow's first CD release party held underground at Jim Walter mine in Brookwood, Alabama.

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Jim Walter Resources, Inc. in Brookwood, Alabama, where Mel Shaw held Bill Kinzalow's first CD release party in 2005.

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Above, Bill Kinzalow meeting American country music singer and songwriter Little Jimmy Dickens for the first time.

Shaw also helped Kinzalow set up recording sessions with Robbie Wittkowski, Little Jimmy Dickens’ tour manager, and placed him to work with artists such as Stu Phillips, Jeannie Seely, Dick Damron and George Hamilton IV. “Most of these stars are just like ordi­ nary people,” Kinzalow said. “They just talk to you like they’re talking to one of their best friends.”

The artists helped Kinzalow work on new music material, and by June 2005, Kinzalow completed enough songs to produce his first album, “Legends & Stories of Mining & the Old West.”

Shaw and Kinzalow held an under­ ground release party for the album at Jim Walter.

Including Kinzalow’s original song, the album had around ten tracks. The songs on it mostly centered around real­world events, including Henry “Billy the Kid” McCarty and Hurricane Ivan.

“Hurricane Ivan was hitting Alabama (and) I was having to get up and go to work … it was payday at the mines,” Kin­ zalow said. “I wrote it (the song) that day when I got home from work. Then (on) Sunday, I rode up to Nashville and recorded it.”

He added, “He (Mel) was pumping his fist in the air because he was excited.

The music had 12 string guitars playing … and the storm sounds to it.”

The album also featured the song, “Dancing Miners of the Bluegrass Mines,” which tells the fictional story of a man entering an abandoned mine and seeing the ghosts of several miners who had died there 10 years prior.

Kinzalow continued to write songs in his free time, even helping Shaw com­ plete an album entitled “America’s Coal Miners” in 2003. He retired from Jim Walter in 2016 and became a full­time songwriter.

However, none of his new songs or albums have been recorded yet.

“When I retired, he (Shaw) was mov­

ing to Canada, so I didn’t get to work with him as much,” he said. “(I) didn’t get to talk to him too much since he went up there, and he ended up having de­ mentia.”

Shaw then passed away on Jan. 19, 2022.

“I missed him. Mel was a good man.

He didn’t flirt around on his wife, and he even worked in soup kitchens feeding the homeless … but I still write songs,” Kinzalow said.

“I’m hoping to do it (record a new album) in the next month,” he added, saying it has been hard to find a new producer to work with. “I talked to Larry Merritt … and he referred me to John Heinrich. I’ve talked to him a couple of times. It’s Ronnie Milsap who he plays for, and I just got to make an appoint­ ment and get up there.”

He has also continued to work with other famous artists to complete his songs such as, “Gold is Where I Find It.” Chip Davis, “one of the top back­ ground singers in Nashville”, according to Kinzalow, sang the backup vocals for the song while Don Helms played the steel guitar.

“I want to keep writing and recording songs that make people smile and bring joy to people,” Kinzalow said.

He also hopes his songs, once pub­ lished, can help him raise funds to help people with Down syndrome.

“My aunt had Down syndrome … so I just kind of wanted to help, maybe buy a ranch or a petting farm, just something to help people with Down syndrome,” Kinzalow said. “That’s one thing I’m going to concentrate on when I go to Nashville and record.”

“I also want to do a star walk of fame here in Walker County (featuring) Tallu­ lah Bankhead, Polly Holliday, George Lindsey, Taylor Hicks, Butterbean (Eric Esch) and the Mr. Haney (actor) on Green Acres Pat Buttram,” he added.

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Your Story Starts Here!

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Night of Bands

Kiro-Gambrell Field - Jasper / September 19 High school marching bands from across Jasper and Walker County showed off all their hard work at the Walker County Night of Bands on Tuesday, Sept. 19. // Daily Mountain Eagle photos by Ron Harris //

Snapshots

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Pitcher perfect Record­setting Sims never too far from the field

Story by Johnathan Bentley Photography by Johnathan Bentley and Special to the Eagle

Faith Sims set records — a lot of them in fact.

A quick search on the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s softball records shows that the former Cor­ dova star pitcher is listed a staggering 17 times.

If there is a category for pitchers, she’s in it — wins in a season, innings pitched in a season, strikeouts in a game, strikeouts in a season, ERA in a season, shutouts in a season, no­ hitters in a season and perfect games in a season. She’s in most categories multiple times.

“I pitched every inning of my high school career except for maybe three weeks when I had knee surgery in my sophomore year. I got used to it,” Sims, 27, said. “In my senior year, Cor­

dova made the state tournament for the first time in fast­pitch.”

One high school game stood out.

“There was this one game my soph­ omore year — I know it’s actually in the record books. It was between us and Holly Pond. The game went 18 in­ nings and it actually ended in a 1­1 tie. I think I had 30 strikeouts in that game and the other pitcher had 28.

Nobody could score. It was crazy,” Sims said.

Then there was her college career, which saw more records fall.

While at Jacksonville State, she set records for no­hitters and saves in a season. She also holds marks for ap­ pearances in a season and the best winning percentage in a season after finishing 23­5 in 2019.

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“It’s very rewarding handing your knowledge down to the kids...”

At JSU, she was a four­time Ohio Valley Conference player.

“That was a long time ago,” Sims said, remembering her pitching career.

Now Sims, 27, is settling into a ca­ reer as a softball coach.

She started out as an assistant at UAB before spending the last two seasons at her alma mater, as the pitching coach under Brandon Milli­ can. The team won 43 games last season, advancing to the regional tournament.

Making the move to coaching was an easy decision for Sims, who still loves the game.

“I started playing (softball) when I was around 6. I’ve always been around it. I felt like if I was coaching I would still be a part of it,” Sims said.

“It’s very rewarding handing your

knowledge down to the kids. I enjoy coaching, but it's definitely different than playing. You don’t get that same feeling. I’m into the competition.

That’s what I miss the most.”

In August she got a new opportu­ nity, joining the coaching staff at the University of Montevallo. She will serve as the Lady Falcons’ pitching coach.

“This is an offer I couldn’t pass up. I actually wanted to go back to the col­ lege level. At that level you get a dif­ ferent type of commitment from the girls in the program,” Sims said. “I love it. I don’t have to be in a classroom. I just stick with softball every day.”

Montevallo could use Sims’ help.

The team finished 19­24 last season, but pitching was the problem as the Lady Falcons gave up nearly eight

runs a game.

“We are building for sure,” she said.

She admits her long­term plan is to lead her own team.

“Eventually I would like to be a head coach down the line. Not any­ time soon. I want to get my feet wet right now,” she added.

Camaraderie and competition — that’s the two aspects she loves most about softball.

“You build relationships. When you are part of a team, you have a family for life. My college teammates — we still talk. I know I can count on them for anything even though we don’t see each other all the time,“ Sims said.

“And I loved getting out there to com­ pete. There’s nothing else like it.”

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Track and Field Day

Kiro-Gambrell Field - Jasper / October 10 The Kiwanis Club of Jasper hosted its annual Kiwanis Track and Field Day for special needs students throughout Walker County on Tuesday, Oct. 10. The annual event brings together hundreds of children each year. // Daily Mountain Eagle photos by Ron Harris //

Snapshots

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The man with

Montgomery's message Rob Green at 27 had a leading role in explaining activities of Ledbetter, Alabama House Story by Ed Howell Photography by Ed Howell and Special to the Eagle

The interest in politics came early for Jasper native Rob Green, serving as a House page during a special session of the Alabama Legislature in Montgom­ ery, where he got to meet then­Gov. Bob Riley.

"My Dad was there and everything. It was kind of one of those moments where you are like, 'This is really cool.

There's a lot of stuff happening. They're moving and shaking. So that was kind of my initial experience in that," he said.

"And I've always kind of been a media junkie. I love media and reading about politics. It just kind of spurred from there."

Green, 27, has recently been serving as the director of communications and external affairs for the office of Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter. He has been spokesman for the head of the Alabama House of Representatives at a time when Republican­dominated legislatures in Alabama and elsewhere are productive and having a major surge

of influence. Moreover, Green is part of a growing impact from Walker County on state government.

Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R­Jasper, a family friend for years, said Green has made the most of his oppor­ tunities. Reed notes his staff works closely with Green in joint communica­ tions. He sees Green four or five times a week, noticing a calm, professional demeanor that has served well in the chaos of Montgomery.

"I could not be prouder of Rob," Reed said. "He will have all kinds of con­ tinued options because he has shown himself to be very diligent and very ca­ pable."

"Rob Green is an influential figure in Alabama politics, making a significant impact on the trajectory of our state," state freshman Rep. Matt Woods, R­ Jasper, said. "His expertise and insight­ ful guidance have been invaluable, and I'm grateful to have a homegrown talent like him shaping the future of Alabama."

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Rob Green stands outside the office of U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt when he was an intern for the congressman.

Green was born on Jan. 18, 1996, to Del and Robin Green of Jasper. Del Green is known as the "Green" in Kil­ gore­Green Funeral Home, which he still helps to manage. (He once served as county coroner.) His mother has taught second grade at Memorial Park Elemen­ tary School for 23 years. A younger brother, Russ, lives in Huntsville.

Some of the younger Green's growing up years were at the funeral home ­ especially during the summer when he would be called to move flowers or wash hearses or vans, for about $10 a task. However, he was more comfort­ able playing tennis at Walker High School (now Jasper High School), gradu­ ating in 2014. Four years later he got degrees from Birmingham­Southern College in political science and govern­ ment.

"I'm very moderate," Green said.

"There is a difference in politics and governance. And good governance is

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Above, Rob Green is seen at the U.S. Capitol overlooking the Mall in Washington. Joining him are his parents, Dell & Robin Green, and his younger brother, Russ Green.

something that is hard to come by in this era. We pass a lot of bipartisan legislation. Specifically, this past session (in 2023), we passed the overtime tax reduction and that was sponsored by the minority leader. That was a good bill; that was a good piece of legislation.

"It is just based on the issues and the topics. I tend to lean conservative just because I'm all for tax cuts. And also, whatever happened to the days of your core Reagan­era conservative politics?

You know, tax cuts, cut red tape, cut bu­ reaucracy, keep government out of people's lives."

Asked if more people would like to be moderate but get caught up in today's politics, Green said it is easy to do that, particularly in Washington.

"For a lot of voters, that stuff plays. It is totally in play for them. I think after Trump's term, it was very different as far as your key principles for conservative politics. I think it really changed. Specifi­

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cally in Montgomery, we're kind of re­ conditioning to get back to that govern­ ance standard," he said.

Green noted many legislators actually get along quite well across the aisle. He pointed to Minority Leader Anthony Daniels as a good friend of Ledbetter and of Green.

"He'll stop by the office and in the of­ fice we'll talk and catch up. It is not nec­ essarily like, 'You're doing this or you're doing that.' It's like, 'How's your kids?

How's your family? What's in the pipe­ line? Are you traveling? What's going on?' Just stuff like that. It is like friend­ ship to an extent that you just don't see in a lot of places," he said.

Green said one of Ledbetter's key principles is that an issue can be talked about and that the members can agree in the end to disagree.

"But we're not going to blast you for it. We're not going to put you in the media and accuse you of anything.

Rob Green, far right, the former communications director for House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, is seen at a Yellowhammer News event. Also seen are, from left, Steve Raby, principal, Direct Communications in Huntsville and the late Sen. Howell Heflin’s former chief of staff; former House Speaker Mac McCutcheon; Scott Stone, principal, Strategic Impact; and Dalton Dismukes, principal, Strategy Management.

We're just on different sides of an issue, and that's OK. We can be," Green said.

Before graduating from college, Green served a couple of internships, the first being in the appointments office in the administration of Gov. Robert Bentley, arranged for by Reed in 2016.

"They take you all over the city and you meet all kinds of people," he said.

"We had a roundtable discussion with Brian Stevenson," the founder and ex­ ecutive director of the Equal Justice Ini­ tiative and the author of "Just Mercy," which was made into a movie. "That is stuff you can't just do any other time of your life. That and going to see the Su­ preme Court try cases and stuff like that ­ they show you all aspects of every­ thing."

In 2017 he interned for U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt in Washington.

"I'm a big fan of the congressman," he said. "He's a good guy. It was a very beneficial experience working with him.

And he gets a lot of stuff done for the district, too ­ a lot of stuff, and stuff that people don't even recognize."

Green learned the scale of the work in Washington is much larger in scale, with more people and activities.

"I mean, the process is totally differ­ ent. It really is. You don't vote nearly as much. We pass a ton of bills in Mont­ gomery in a four­month window." He also said there is not nearly as much bi­ partisan coordination, as the focus is on maintaining the majority and making sure you have the votes to have a speaker or control a chamber.

"It's just all partisan, really," he said, noting members are limited in how so­ cial they are with each other. "You don't see other members stopping by and saying, 'How are you doing?'"

He said congressional staffing is much better than in Montgomery, where only leadership offices have true staff and of­ fice space. A legislator's office "is pretty

much the size of a shoe box," he said.

"Usually there are eight to 10 reps (Alabama House members) that get a clerk, pretty much an assistant. So there is nobody really that they have to go to ­ so they call us. We deal with them all the time on all kinds of issues they have going on. If it is media­related, obviously they will call me. Anything else they call someone else." They will also call Legis­ lative Research Services (LRS) for bill drafting and budget details, as well as the cabinet departments.

"But you have to do your own work in Montgomery if you are going to pass something," he said.

Green knew leaving college he wanted to work somehow in the politi­ cal system. A college contact linked him to a consultant who ran campaigns and had the House Republican Caucus in Montgomery as a client. This led to Green's first involvement in campaign work, for Scott Stone and Co. in 2018.

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That, in turn, led to him meeting Mac McCutcheon, who was speaker from 2016­22, and Ledbetter, a former Rains­ ville mayor who was majority leader at the time. After a two­month stint help­ ing with the gubernatorial inauguration, he went to work in 2019 as a policy ana­ lyst in McCutcheon's office.

"You read a bunch of legislation, all day, every day," he said, noting up to 1,200 bills are filed each session. He would read more urgent legislation and also work with LRS to advise the speaker on what the bill does, including last­mi­ nute amendments before passage.

"It was grunt work. There are a lot of things written in bills people don't even catch. One word can change everything in the bill, even down to 'may' or 'shall.'

You should see the attorneys fight on the floor over those two words because one implies one thing and the other implies something else."

Green left his state job to start a pri­ vate consulting firm, G3 Strategy, LLC, in January 2022. His main client was the House Republican Caucus, with an eye on the elections. He would deal with fi­ nancing, fundraising, PACs, looking at potential candidates and meeting stake­ holders across Alabama. He also man­ aged some races on the side, such as a state school board race in Gadsden and an ad valorem referendum in Prattville.

"At the end of the day we brought in $6.5 million to the Statehouse alone, which was a record for Republican House candidates, he said.

With McCutcheon's retirement from the seat, a competitive race for speaker was held.

"I had worked with the majority leader, Ledbetter, for a while and had become close with him, and was trying to pro­ mote him as much as I could to get him across the finish line. Luckily, it worked out for him and he got elected speaker at the caucus election right after the General Election," Green said.

Ledbetter reached out to Green at the end of 2022 to put together a staff.

Green was then hired to serve in his office.

"I pretty much manage all political media, external relations, anything along those lines," he said. "Everything out of the internal workings of the office, that is under my umbrella.

"Pretty much what you have to do every day is read a lot of news and see what is being reported. If there is an open lane for you to comment or do something to control a certain narrative, then that is what you need to do," he said.

He deals with all types of media, in­ cluding broadcasting, print and web jour­ nalists from across the state and the nation. "Luckily, we have a good press corp in Montgomery, so they are always good to work with," he said. Some are with conservative or liberal views, along with some mainstream entities.

However, he talks to all of them to keep a positive narrative each chance he gets.

"If they're calling me and trying to spin something against us, I'll try to insert myself and try to spin it back ­ just do what I can. But I talk to all of them, all day, every day because they want to know what is going on," he said. "They've got to have something to write about."

About 80 percent of the media he works with are digital platforms and even TV stations put out digital stories.

As for audience and publicity, TV is still the prime way to reach people, he said.

"You can go on Fox 6 on the 9 o'clock hour and do a five­minute segment in the studio and get 60,000 people watching you. And you just can't get that traction with digital publications. It's very difficult to do," he said.

He also works with legislators, prima­ rily with leadership such as the speaker and chairmen. Being picked by Ledbetter was fortunate. In May 2023, Yello­ whammer News said Ledbetter was the fourth most powerful and influential po­ litical figure in the state ­ behind Reed, who was third. (Gov. Kay Ivey was first

and Zeke Smith of Alabama Power was second.)

Yellowhammer said Ledbetter was ex­ pected to do well, even with one­third of the House being freshmen. However, it said Ledbetter shattered expectations and cultivated trust through a quiet strength.

"Through a reinvention of the commit­ tee process and empowerment of his chairmen, the House has democratized decisions to the benefit of its members and their districts. He’s putting his reps out front to lead on the substance they bring," Yellowhammer wrote. "We sus­ pect the more people who meet Led­ better, the more his influence stands to grow."

Green described Ledbetter, 62, as "very effective" and happens to be a good businessman. While understanding political dynamics quite well, Green said Ledbetter takes the approach of the business mindset 90 percent of the time ­ an approach Green thinks has been ef­ fective.

"I think this past session was one of the best this state has seen: Historic tax cuts, $300 million on the grocery tax ­ cut that in half," he said. "We're making good steps with governance and getting away from the social issues as much be­ cause they don't really move the needle in the state.

"Regardless of whether they think they are important or not, it is not like going to the grocery store and not having the pay this much extra. When you look at polls, the top issues are still the econ­ omy and inflation, prices, wages. People still care about that the most."

Green said Ledbetter is respected for being no­nonsense but is easy to work with.

"He will hear you out on everything, but he'll tell you what he is going to do at the end of the meeting, whether it is what you wanted him to do or not,” he said. However, he said all the activity is to keep legislative sessions moving for­ ward and on track.

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Rob Green, the former communications director for House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, speaks early in 2023 to the Walker County Republican Party in Jasper.

As far as media relations, "I would say he gets the media about as good as anybody I've seen. He's a former news­ paper guy, once owning two small newspapers in DeKalb County." Not only does he understand newspapers, "but he also knows how to make a headline if he wants to make a headline.

There is stuff I don't even catch, and he will text me out of the blue and say, 'Put something together out on this.'"

Green is proud that while Ledbetter started with hardly any media profile, in four months the speaker was getting about 3.5 million views across all the platforms. "The publicity value is over $2 million on that, in less than four months," he said.

For his part, Ledbetter said he appre­ ciates Green's work.

"He does an outstanding job," Led­ better said. "I'm very blessed to have him in our office and the work he does is insurmountable when it comes to

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Above right, House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter can be seen with state Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper. Yellowhammer News this year ranked Reed as the third most powerful and influential political person in the state, and Ledbetter the fourth highest. Rob Green worked closely with both of them.

being able to put the information that's gathered at the statehouse and what we do out to the public. From his role as coms director, he has really grown into it tremendously and does a really good job.

"He's one of those guys who has got the personality that he's able to talk and meet with the media and they respect him, and they know he is going to be forthcoming and truthful. And they trust him. I think that is so important in his role, and he has handled it ex­ tremely well. I'm very proud of the role he has taken and the leadership he has shown."

Once underway, the sessions are a beehive of activity, with legislators, lob­ byists, aides, visitors and others clog­ ging the hallways, with discussions in different directions. Green says his days will start early and end late.

"People are coming by constantly.

You're always on the phone. Something

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is always going on ­ all over town. It's not just in the (Statehouse)," he said.

"You'll be walking down the hall, and someone will grab you, and you'll be in a meeting for 20 minutes and then go somewhere else. People are all over the stuff trying to get their stuff done, be­ cause you're in a time crunch. You've only got four months to do it."

He noted the Senate is on another floor, with the same activity. "There is a lot of running up and down the stair­ case" between the House and Senate, he said. "There is a main stairwell in the middle of the building, and that thing is packed."

Green noted he thinks officials may be close to signing final documents to replace the Statehouse with a new nearby facility.

"It's needed," he said. "It's a disservice to the public. There is no technology capability. We can only livestream from the House floor, the Senate floor and

Gov. Kay Ivey joins a group of staff members from the Speaker's Office on the floor of the House. They include, from left, Chief of Staff Mark Tuggle; Executive Assistant Maggie Harmon; Legislative

four committee rooms. It just doesn't do anybody any good because the public doesn't have any access online or even in the building, as the committee rooms are small. It's not a very accessible building for stuff like that."

He has found Reed very accessible ­ and helpful.

"He has been a good mentor and someone to go to if you have ques­ tions." He said Reed is professional, shows leadership abilities and has good relationships with members, knowing what he will say when he goes into a meeting.

"Also, he is just a good Christian family man," he said. "I think people really respect that, and I mean, he shows that every single day." He went on to say Reed has "tact and gravitas," able to convince some members to quickly end filibusters with a quick word at the podium.

Green has hit it off with Woods, say­

Services Specialist Holley Knowles; Ivey; Andrew Westcott, general counsel and director of policy for the speaker; Green; and House Liaison Sarah Griffin.

ing he understands the political scene.

"He's a team player. He's not there to do anything for himself," he said. "He's trying to work for his district. He's try­ ing to help us where he can. He is the only freshman on the Rules (Committee) for a reason, he is very level­headed. I think if he stuck it out in the House, he would stand to be a chairman the next quadrennium. District 13 is very well served by him."

As for state Rep. Tim Wadsworth, R­ Arley, he said the attorney understands the fine print of many issues, which is needed. "Tim is effective. Tim is a good legislator, no question," he said, adding it is admirable how he tries to look after smaller towns in his district, which he said is needed for helping them.

Green said former state Rep. Connie Rowe has worked well in Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth's office as an aide and seems to be enjoying her role there.

"I think their personalities really

mesh," he said. "She knows the system inside and out. She knows the players and how to deal with them. She's not afraid of anybody." If Ainsworth were to run and win as governor in 2026, he feels Rowe would have a good chance to run an agency or department.

Green said the power structure from the county in Montgomery is more low­ key and under the radar. "But a lot of stuff gets done for Walker County, more than people realize," he said.

As for whether future state politics becomes contentious, he said the area "is the South for a reason. Everyone is friendly."

While he said both parties will have their ideals, "I don't think you will see it get to the point where you're calling people names or trying to impeach people or file lawsuits against people. I don't think we'll get to that point. I think the culture is much more collegial around here and in Montgomery, too."

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Below, Rob Green, the former communications director for House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, watches from the left of the podium as the House debated about congressional redistricting in 2023.

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Asked if this is a golden era for Re­ publicans in Alabama, Green said as long as the party "doesn't get too car­ ried away on certain issues, they can be as successful as they want to be for as long as they want to be. But you can get dug in on key social issues and lose on those issues because then everyone is watching. And when you didn't get it passed or do what you said you were going to do, then obviously people get upset about that if they are hardcore Republican voters. I think they just need to, specifically the party, need to allow the Legislature to do what they are elected to do, which is to govern."

Green said friends, family and men­ tors he met in Walker County helped to ultimately shape him growing up.

"It's a tight­knit community, and ev­ eryone in it is good people," he said, adding he learned "the value of forming key relationships and genuine friend­

ships — and how to develop those rela­ tionships and friendships into some­ thing greater," he said. "Knowing trustworthy people that you can call on for anything, and have your best inter­ est in mind, is something I've carried with me throughout my professional ca­ reer.

"I'm always looking for ways to help improve Walker County, whether that be economic development, working to create more job opportunities, or assist­ ing folks with resources across the state that may be limited in Walker County. I want Walker County to be stronger than ever and a place anyone would be lucky to call home. We're on the cusp of transforming Walker County for genera­ tions to come, and I'm proud to call Jasper my home."

Green has some transforming changes in his own home. He is set to be married on May 18, 2024, to Made­

line Roth from Montgomery. She han­ dles events and membership for the Al­ abama Realtors Association.

He said Roth is "smart ­ has a good head on her shoulders. Definitely some­ one you want to settle down with. I am looking forward to coming home every day and seeing her. She is my friend and support."

Moreover, his days in Ledbetter's of­ fice are coming to an end, thanks to a decision in September. By mid­October he was expected to start work at the Alabama Department of Public Health as director of legislative and external af­ fairs, to work on legislative and com­ munication needs. He noted he will be working with doctors, hospitals, phar­ maceuticals, and bioscience and tech firms as they make industry advances in Alabama.

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Spotlight

Business

Story and Photography by Mackenzie Hamilton

Custom Shirts & Signs

MOTHER-DAUGHTER DUO Lynn Aaron and MaLeigh Robertson moved their Jasper business, Custom Shirts & Signs, to a new location after 12 years.

“We love it (the new location). We bought it in May, gutted it, and have made it our own,” Robertson said.

“We've kept a lot of the original features because the house was built in the ‘40s, so it still has the charm of an older house, but looks a little more modern.”

Custom Shirts & Signs was first lo­ cated in the heart of downtown Jasper, where it had been for the past 22 years.

However, they moved after their land­ lord put their building up for sale.

Their business now resides a little further out of downtown in a big, white house on the hill almost right across the street from the police station, located at 1505 Alabama Ave. According to Rob­ ertson, the new location has better ac­

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commodated the growing number of customers visiting their business.

“We have a lot more room … with lots more parking,” Robertson said. “We make (more) shirts, signs, embroidery, business cards, banners, and any kind of marketing."

The new location has also allowed Robertson and Aaron to try new custom designs and broaden their inventory.

“We're always trying new things,” Rob­ ertson said. “We make tons of grab­and­ go kinds of prints, boutique stuff, (items for) animals, bags, and all kinds of fun things.”

“You can (also) come in and sort through the things that we already have pre­made (or) … we can do anything cus­ tom,” she added. “And then, we can press it while you wait.”

All items sold at Custom Shirts & Signs can be found online on the store's

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Facebook page and website at custom­ shirtsjasper.com. Customers can also call in orders to the store at 205­387­7117.

However, some things will never change at the women­owned business.

Hugo, Robertson’s 13­year­old schnauzer terrier mix, is the store’s offi­ cial mascot and will continue to be at the store Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during store hours.

“He's very upset when it is Saturday,” Robertson said. “He knows when it is Saturday, and he's very upset that he doesn't go to work.”

“We are still downtown (and a) part of the Main Street downtown businesses, just in a new, bigger location,” she added. “We have been in business for 12 years … and we still get to see all of our friends and meet new people com­ ing into the store to browse every day.

We’re loving it.”

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Honda of Jasper

“Where the dealer makes the difference!”

Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 7:00 pm | Saturday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm | (205) 385-0100 Service Department: Monday – Friday 7:30 am – 6:00 pm | Saturday 7:30 am – 2:00 pm www.hondaofjasper.com

Hyundai of Jasper

Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 7:00 pm | Saturday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm | (205) 385-0100 Service Department: Monday – Friday 7:30 am – 6:00 pm | (205) 282-4427 www.hyundaiofjasper.com