2017 September/October Franklin Living

September/October 2017 Vol. 7 Issue No. 5

Monthly music Songs for students Studio tunes

Contact Russellville City Hall at 256-332-6060

304 Jackson Ave. N Russellville, AL

Russellville City Councilmen David Palmer, William Nale, Arthur Elliott, Jamie Harris, Gary Cummings, & Mayor David Grissom

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Facing the music RCS’ Emily Rush develops young songsters

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A good time and a song KGB continues to Rock the Roxy every month

14 Cooking with Sam Make one of these yummy treats

18 Studio sound Red Bay duo works solo album production

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Faces of Franklin County What’s Hot Classifieds Faces of Franklin County Looking Back Parting Shot

FROM THE MANAGER

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usic plays such an important part in our lives. Music can help us relax, and it can also help get us pumped up – it just depends on the situation. Think about it: what big movie scene ever happens without background music to help guide the way we feel FCNI General Manager Nicole Pell with her through any exciting husband, Hans. or emotional scene?

I think music is one of those pieces of life that we take for granted. We have easy access to it – we can pretty much listen to whatever type we like at any given moment. Maybe that accessibility makes us less appreciative sometimes.

In this issue of Franklin Living we wanted to celebrate some of our local musicians.

Some of us make music, and some of us appreciate it.

Better still, some of us teach it – like Emily Rush, teaching the next generation about music and passing on her love for it.

The Kerry Gilbert Band is providing a great service to the community by offering affordable live music monthly while helping the Franklin County Arts and Humanities Council.

This is GREAT music, every month, with exceptional guest singers. What more can you ask for?

We also share the story of Red Bay’s Chris Wright and T.W., whose passion for music led to creating a home-based studio here in Franklin County, where they are producing Wright’s solo album.

Whether you are a great singer or musician, shower singer or you can’t carry a tune in a bucket, I think we can all agree that we do enjoy listening to music. So please sit down, read about these great musicians in Franklin County and let your theme song play in the background.

ON THE COVER: Every month, Rockin’ at the Roxy brings together the KGB and a special guest performer for a family-friendly show on the Historic Roxy Theatre stage. September’s guests were James LeBlanc and Angela Hacker. To find out more about the monthly show, turn to page 14.

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Photography ALISON JAMES 5

FACES OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Whether it’s for the games and prizes, the handcrafted merchandise, the live music or the yummy treats – including free wedges of juicy watermelon – the people come out in droves for Franklin County Chamber of Commerce’s Watermelon Festival each August.

Photos by ALISON JAMES

DeWyatt, Addie, Ella and Karen Gilbert

Michael Cummings and Hannah Bendall

Joyce and Billy Moore

Diane Ozbirn and Grace and Lisa Mason

Brian Kilpatrick, Kona Ice

Kara Barton, Reyna Wingo and Sydney Medley

Jessica Montgomery and Macy and Heather Hall

Jacob Witcher and Stefany Gilleland

Linda Murray and Cameron Peters

Yashica Nelson and EJ King

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Facing the music RCS’ Emily Rush develops young songsters

Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

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ussellville City Schools choir director Emily Rush has loved music her whole life: “from ever since I can remember – from the time I was old enough to sing and dance.”

Rush’s Grandfather Hurst was a music-lover, and she has clear memories of him singing hymns in church. She also remembers her own musical endeavors when visiting her grandparents’ house – the house she now lives in with her own family.

“We would sing and dance and put on shows on his picnic table, so I guess that’s where I got my start,” Rush said. “The piano I grew up listening to them play is in that house with me.”

She began piano lessons in kindergarten and voice lessons in first grade – private lessons that continued throughout her grade school years and into college. A graduate of Belgreen High School – where her parents Billy and Patsy Hurst met and from which they both retired – Rush enrolled in the private Christian Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn.

Despite her love for music, however, majoring in it was far from a foregone conclusion.

“I always had it in the back of my mind that I might go into some form of education,” said Rush, who was influenced by her parents’ teaching careers as well as her parents’ many friends who were also teachers. Teaching music, though, was up for debate. “I loved science, and I was fortunate to have a really great science teacher in high school. I debated between pre-med optometry and music.”

She had to make a choice about music, in one respect, right off the bat. “I auditioned for chorus, and I also tried out for cheerleader. I did make cheerleader, but you cannot do both,” Rush said. “I had to decide if I loved music more or cheerleading more, right then, and I chose to go the chorus route” – a choice, she added, that “has been one of the best decisions I have made in my life.”

Emily Rush has taught music in Russellville City Schools since 2009.

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FRRANKLIN ANKKLLIIN AN N LIV IVING VIIN NG NG

Rush works with students on their Halloween show, setting music on the backburner for a class period to work choreography.

FRAN RRANKLIN AAN NKKLLLIIN NKL IN LIIV IVING VIN ING

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“I think we created a bigger monster than Patrice and I ever dreamed of.” ~Emily Rush

Rush spends the work week inspiring young minds to share her own love of music and performance.

Bringing big, dazzling, intricate shows to the stage has become a staple for RCS’ performing arts program.

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So she joined the Acapella Singers, and after a challenging biology class and some well-timed encouragement from the professor of her music sight-reading course, Rush decided to fully commit to a music education path.

She met the man who would become her husband, Brad, in chorus at FHU, and they married after she graduated in 2005. His management career transfers landed them for short stints in Arkansas and Mississippi before she took a middle school teaching position that moved them to Memphis, Tenn. “I taught there for three years, sixth through eighth grade music and concert choir,” Rush said. “I loved those kids. There’s a few of them who I still know where they are and what they are doing. There’s one who I really think will be the president someday.”

Rush’s desire to come back home to Franklin County was growing, and the couple decided to make the move. Her first job after relocating to Sweet Home Alabama was as a Pre-K special education teacher in Haleyville Elementary, before the position in Russellville Middle School became available in Fall 2009. “I missed the middle school kids, and I missed teaching music, so I was pretty quick to take this job. Frankie Hammock called me up, and my life has been different ever since.”

Hammock, Rush said, shared his excitement at a chance to really grow the performing arts program in RCS, through the combined efforts of Rush and a new drama teacher he was bringing on board, Patrice Smith. “He’d say, ‘Y’all are going to create a monster together,’” Rush said. “Patrice and I met at in-service, and we hit it off. We went for it that first year, and here we are. We keep thinking it can’t get any bigger, and yet it keeps getting bigger. I guess we just love it so much that we keep going for it.”

Since she came on with RCS, the system has added a sixth-grade program, continuously upped the ante on spring musicals, expanded the annual show schedule in terms of quantity as well as technical difficulty and created an Advanced Chorus class – not to mention Rush’s latest pet project, an extracurricular acapella group. “That’s something I just enjoyed, and I said, ‘I wonder if maybe I could get some

FRANKLIN LIVING

Rush has played and sung from a young age, beginning private piano lessons in kindergarten and voice training in first grade.

The Rushes now live in the house that once belonged to her grandparents.

Rush’s family includes husband Brad and daughters Layla, 6, and Lindsay, 2.

FRANKLIN LIVING

Rush’s daughters have inherited her love and aptitude for music – sometimes they even get to “tickle the ivories” of the heirloom piano that once belonged to Rush’s grandparents.

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kids to do that,’” Rush said. Her acapella student group is growing, having worked multiple pieces all summer, and will take on several performance opportunities this semester.

“I think we created a bigger monster than Patrice and I ever dreamed of,” Rush said. “I think maybe Frankie Hammock saw it. Maybe he knew.”

Rush said she sees music as an expression of who she is.

“I love good music that gives me some chill bumps,” Rush said. “It triggers so many senses and memories …

It connects people, and I think it’s such a big thing in our community. I’m sure if it wasn’t, maybe I wouldn’t be where I am – because somebody found it important enough to let someone come in and give private lessons and have a music teacher on staff in a K-12 tiny school.”

The Rushes have two daughters: Layla, 6, and Lindsay, 2. Brad is IT manager at G&G Steel. The family attends North Highlands church of Christ.

Developing an acapella singing group at Russellville High School is a new endeavor.

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FRANKLIN LIVING

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A good time and a song

KGB continues to Rock the Roxy every month Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

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or a two-hour live show bringing different bands and vocalists together every month, Franklin County must look no further than Rockin’ at the Roxy.

It was in 2008 or 2009 that the Kerry Gilbert Band first began renting the Historic Roxy Theatre as a space to put a wholesome, family-friendly monthly show on stage – but the performance nearly met a premature end. In late 2009, costs were outstripping revenue, and the band was ready to discontinue the show.

Gilbert said that was when he partnered with the Franklin County Arts and Humanities Council to explore continuing the show at the Roxy, with

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no rental fee, in exchange for a share of the show’s proceeds to support the continued restoration efforts at the historic theatre.

“In January 2010 we started there on behalf of the arts council,” said Gilbert. “I thought it would be a great chance for us. We could continue doing the show, and it’s a great venue for the area.” And thus continued what is now tallying as a nine-year run and counting.

More than 100 shows later, Rockin’ at the Roxy still welcomes music-lovers the second Saturday of every month for a show that never ceases bringing variety to the stage. How can a band that performs every month consistently bring a fresh sound? Why, by inviting a special guest singer or group.

FRANKLIN LIVING

Rockin’ at the Roxy unites the Kerry Gilbert Band a special guest performer onstage at the Historic Roxy Theatre the second Saturday of every month.

FRANKLIN LIVING

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Gilbert flips through his compilation of printouts of previous show posters, a chronological record of all the past guest performers to take the stage for Rockin’ at the Roxy.

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Although some KGB guests are seasoned performers, Gilbert said he particularly enjoys promoting young and blooming talents – like the Secret Sisters in July 2010. “We were the first to host them onstage at the very beginning of their career,” Gilbert said. “I fell in love with their music and them personally right off the bat.” He wasn’t the only one.

Gilbert said the Sisters were such a hit in July that he invited them again for the August show – and sold out the house.

Jackson Nance has been another multiappearance performer for the Rockin’ shows.

“Kerry was a big help for me getting to establish a presence,” said Nance, who is now a singersongwriter in Nashville. “The Roxy was one of the first places I played down there.” He praised the historic theatre’s vintage feel and great acoustics.

“I played there from the time I was 13 years old to now, and it’s really been a vital part of my growth as a musician.”

For the KGB and their guest performers, a key component of this show is, of course, the venue, which through combined efforts falls into the Americana Music Triangle. Gilbert expressed

his thankfulness for the mutually-beneficial partnership with the FCAHC for use of the Roxy.

“I take it very seriously, and it’s close to my heart,” Gilbert said. “I grew up in that theatre as a child. My dad took me to my first movie there, to see ‘Gone With the Wind.’ Further back than that, my family has deep roots at the Roxy: my dad, in 1955, first met my mother there on a blind date. So that has a special place for me in my heart and has special meaning for me.”

Matt Prater, who has also performed a couple of times as part of the Roxy show, said he enjoys the KGB performances because of the high caliber musicians who take the stage. They have a great crowd that comes, and they just seem to really do a good job,” Prater said. “I think (live performances are) something our culture should value a lot more in the small towns. You don’t have to go to Nashville – they are putting it on right there in Russellville.”

Special guests notwithstanding, the KGB provides the note of consistency on-stage each month: Hugh Banks on guitar and banjo, Mitch Curtis on bass guitar, Randy Kimbrough on drums, Shane Goodson on keyboard, Gilbert on guitar and Alyssa Ashley on congas and other percussion – “and we all sing,” Gilbert added.

For upcoming shows, October will feature Konner Bendall and Charlton James, and repeat guest NMBR11 will perform in November.

Sponsors help make the show financially viable for Gilbert, like Wanda Kilpatrick of Realty South. “It’s just a good family show. It’s just good people in the band (providing) good clean entertainment, and it goes toward a really good cause,” said Kilpatrick, who is in her third year of sponsorship. “The Roxy is a really nice venue, and I think it brings a lot to the town of Russellville.” She herself enjoys taking in the monthly performances. “I try to attend all of them,” she said. “I always try to put everything else on hold and make that show. It’s just good clean entertainment, familyoriented. It’s just a good audience, and the show is always very entertaining.”

Of course, in addition to sponsors, a large portion of support comes from the Franklin County Arts and Humanities Council, which hosts the show as a way to offer regular entertainment to the community as well as obtain some funding for the continued revitalization of the historic theatre – a venue, council president Susie Malone said, that they love highlighting in the community.

“We wanted to have something to offer to the community at least once a month,” Malone explained. “This has been a very successful run.

We’ve had some really outstanding guests, (and it’s) given the Roxy a consistent program to have each month.”

Cheri McCain and Judy Horton serve as secretary and treasurer of the council, respectively, and other council members include Chase Sparks, Wanda Myrick, Danny Joe Stowe, Brenda Oliver, Tom Senter, Ann McDermitt and Debbie Nale.

“It’s been a wonderful agreement between the arts council and Kerry,” Malone said. “We hope to continue on with this in addition to many other things.”

FRANKLIN LIVING

A lot of attendance, Malone added, is people from out of town, bringing tourist revenue to Franklin County; however, “it’s not about making a profit. We want to bring good entertainment into our community, keep the doors open, and the main thing we want to do is cover our costs.”

For Gilbert, ensuring Rockin’ at the Roxy provides a wholesome show for the whole family is a crucial aspect. “We’re very careful about how we present ourselves and what song lyrics we use,” Gilbert said. And getting the whole family out to enjoy live musical entertainment is a constant goal – albeit sometimes an uphill battle. “Now we’ve got entertainment opportunities at our fingertips. You don’t even have to leave your house,” Gilbert said.

“You’ve got your iPads or your cellphone – you can order a movie and never leave your home.”

Gilbert said, however, people should still value the live show – and many do. “Any time people can hear a live music production, you get the full (experience). No commercials, no ‘take two,’” he pointed out. “Live musical entertainment is something not everyone gets the opportunity to see.”

Nance agreed. “It’s good to hear a record or whatever, but I think it’s cool seeing something live because you hear the motive behind the writing and you get to experience with them and hear it directly from them. I feel like you can connect to it and get into it a little bit more.”

Gilbert added, “And I think people like to see you mess up and laugh with you about it. And that’s what we like to do. It’s a very lighthearted crowd … They like that sense of reality. You get everything. It’s not polished. It’s not fake.”

It’s just genuine, family-oriented music.

Hundreds of shows have entertained the masses at the Historic Roxy Theatre for Rockin’ at the Roxy.

FRANKLIN LIVING

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FOOD

Cooking with Sam Recipes by SAM WARF

2 cups Cool Whip Topping: 2 cups boiling water 6 oz. strawberry Jell-O 1 lb. strawberries, sliced

Combine the cream cheese and Cool Whip for the filling; spoon over and smooth Crust: into the cooled crust.

2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels (snack size Lay sliced strawberries over cream works well) cheese mixture. Prepare Jell-O according 1/2 cup sugar to package directions; allow to cool but not Stick of butter, melted Mix together crust ingredients and press set. Pour cooled Jell-O over strawberries Filling: in a 9x12 oven dish. Bake 10 minutes at 350 and chill. Can be made up to three days 8 oz. cream cheese degrees. ahead of time.

Pretzel Salad

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FRANKLIN LIVING

Aloha Cheese Ball First layer: 8 oz. cream cheese 1/2 cup diced ham, cooked 4 tbsp. blue cheese, crumbled 1 3/4 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained 1/2 cup chopped pecans 3 tablespoons candied ginger, chopped Second Layer: 3 oz. cream cheese 1/4 cup milk 2 cups shredded sharp cheese 6 slices crisp bacon, crumbled 1 tsp. grated onion Tabasco, to taste Garnish: Coconut Pecan halves Combine ingredients for first layer and spoon into a 1 quart chilled mold. Combine second layer ingredients and spread on first layer. Chill overnight.

Unmold and garnish with coconut and pecan halves.

Artichoke Dip 1 cup mayo 1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped 8 oz. cream cheese 1/4 cup green onions 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms 1/2 tsp. black pepper 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/2 tsp. minced garlic Grated cheese (Swiss, or preferred cheese) Mix all together except the cheese and bake for 15 minutes in 435-degree oven. Top with grated cheese.

Burrito Pie

lumps, about five minutes. Add garlic and onion and cook until beef is no longer pink.

Stir in beans, taco sauce, tomatoes, chili pepper 2 lbs. ground beef and olives. Reduce heat and simmer on low until 1 cup onion, chopped slightly thickened with no excess liquid, about 302 tsp. minced garlic 40 minutes.

16 oz. taco sauce Next spread a thin layer of meat mixture on 10 oz. diced tomatoes with green chiles the bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Cover with 4 oz. diced green chile peppers, drained three tortillas and spread meat mixture over top 2 1/4 oz. can black olives, drained with 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat three more times, 8-inch tortillas ending with remaining meat mixture and cheese.

2 cups shredded Colby cheese, about 8 oz.

Chopped green onion and tomato, for garnish Bake until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, around 25-30 minutes.

Garnish with chopped green onion and Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking up tomato.

Taco Dip 16 oz. cream cheese 1 pkg. taco seasoning 16 oz. sour cream 1/2 cup black olives 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1 cup chopped tomatoes 1 cup finely chopped lettuce 1/8 cup chopped jalapeno peppers 16 oz. chunky salsa Tortilla chips

tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and olives, ending with a layer of the cream cheese mixture.

Mix cream cheese, sour cream and taco Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top, chill seasoning. Layer this mixture with the salsa, and serve with tortilla chips.

Mexican Bean Dip 15 1/2 oz. can mashed refried beans 10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes with chiles 1/4 lb. Velveeta cheese, grated 1 tsp. cumin 1/4 tsp. chili powder (optional) Tortilla chips or corn chips Heat beans, tomatoes and cheese in double boiler. Add cumin and cook slowly, about 30 minutes or until smooth. Add chili powder for a more fiery dip. Serve in a chafing dish with tortillas chips or corn chips.

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Studio sound Red Bay duo works solo album production Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

W

hen music-lovers think about music history in Alabama, they likely think of FAME Studios and the Hit Recording Capital of the World. But there’s a little piece of Muscle Shoals history in Franklin County, tucked into a home studio in Red Bay, where studio owners Chris Wright and T.W. Malone are deep into production on Wright’s solo album.

Wright, a Red Bay self-employed motorhome repair technician by day, is also a passionate musician. He spends most of his free time in the 400-squarefoot studio at the end of his driveway.

He and Malone began to outfit the space when Wright purchased the property – which belonged to Malone’s mother – last year. About three months – “a lot of hours and a lot of equipment,” Wright said – was sufficient to insulate and soundproof the outbuilding.

Wright, 43, and Malone, 58, first connected through a mutual acquaintance, Paul Winchester.

Winchester regularly assisted with the Red Bay FFA String Band, of which Wright was a member, and often solicited Malone’s help. When Wright graduated from Red Bay, Malone had been in different bands for years; he was at that time part of a group that would often rotate people in and out or “plug people in” to fill any needed hole from gig to gig. Wright became one of those fill-ins.

Malone moved back to Red Bay two years ago and reconnected with Wright.

That’s when they began an in-depth project to produce Wright’s solo album.

Between the two of them, the country album will be produced completely in house from start to finish – from

Chris Wright has been a musician since a young age, when he first picked up a guitar at 13 or 14.

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FRANKLIN LIVING

Wright and T.W. Malone are working to create Wright’s solo album at their home studio in Red Bay.

songwriting, to recording and mixing, to copyrighting, to marketing.

They both have a vision beyond producing just one album.

Building on the success of that album, Wright and Malone said they hope to grow the studio and offer their services as a musician and a music producer to others who want to create professional projects.

For Malone, a quality engineer in Muscle Shoals, music production is a potential post-retirement career plan, once he and Wright build a solid reputation and bank of experience through the creation of this first solo album.

“I’d really like to do something that makes me happy, whether I make a lot of money or not,” Malone said. Although he has over the years been a musician himself, “what I would like to do is be more on the engineering side and post-production. It just fits me at this point in my life.”

People don’t often think about the sound engineer behind the music – but Malone isn’t bothered by that. He said that’s the way it should be. “That’s a good thing. That means you did it right,” he explained. “The trick is to make it sound like it’s not recorded.”

Nearly every Saturday is consumed with album work in studio, not to mention the countless hours Wright spends working the music on his own and Malone spends mixing at home. But album work isn’t the only time the studio sees action. Leading up to mid-September, for example Wright was working with a five-member group, the Miss Bammer Jammers, to bring a 70s rock set to the Founders Day Festival.

For him, spending time in the studio is a passion, the way another person might spend time on the golf course or in a tree stand. “It’s just fun. It’s just a high,” Wright said.

The home studio’s walls are blanketed in red carpet and ornamented thickly with music memorabilia, from posters and news clippings to music-themed art pieces. The crown jewel of the collection, however,

FRANKLIN LIVING

23

is an old, battered sign that hangs high on the wall adjacent to the soundboard.

Wright came across the old sign in a friend’s barn and negotiated to acquire the sign as part of a trade deal. The relic has clearly seen better days, and a portion of it is missing, but it’s clear to make out the message, even with the missing bits: “Welcome to City of Muscle Shoals, Hit Recording Capital of the World.”

“There’s a little corner gone, but that’s just rock ‘n’ roll history,” Wright said.

He’s had a number of people come to have their photo made with sign. He’s had several offers to take it off his hands as well.

“Muscle Shoals Sound said, ‘Please let us have it. Please let us have it back.’ I said, ‘I just can’t.’” But he did the next best thing, making them a replica with his painting expertise. The replica now welcomes all to the Shoals, while the original keeps its place of honor in Red Bay. Their recording space now is “just a little home studio that works,” Wright said, but they see opportunities for expansion. “Later, if it gets a little bigger, we have a little building in town that we might convert into a more professional studio.”

“There’s a lot of talent in Red Bay and this area. It’s unbelievable,” Wright added. “Red Bay doesn’t get any credit.”

Wright is married to Leslie, and they have two children: Lily, 14, and Max, 8, who are both Red Bay students. Malone is married to Donna, and they have one adult son, T.J. With professional equipment, Malone and Wright are eager to produce an album that will illustrate everything they can offer as part of the recording industry.

Among music memorabilia in the Red Bay studio is a historic Shoals sign (right), of which Wright created a replica that now welcomes visitors to the music city (below).

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FRANKLIN LIVING

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25

FACES OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Rockin’ at the Roxy’s monthly show brought hundreds out to enjoy the smooth sounds of the Kerry Gilbert Band and September’s special guests, James LeBlanc and Angela Hacker.

Photos by ALISON JAMES

Carl Naylor and Frances Fretwell

Alva Seal and Betty Holland

Maliah McCullar and Mary Thompson

Jimmy and Lori Keplinger

Bill and Beverly Thorpe

Lynlie Cottrell and Megan Hovater

Cynthia Roberts and Fran Wood

James and Donna LeMay

Geral Baker and Howard Bragwell

Melody and Captain Ron LeBlanc

Charles and Elizabeth Bell

Kerry Gilbert, Blanche Curtis and H.L. Ford

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FRANKLIN LIVING

FACES OF FRANKLIN COUNTY

Joan and Rachel Powers and W.C. Hill

Margo and Tom McDonald and Patti Boatwright

Jane and Martha Carpenter and Grazia Milstead

Albert and Jackie Parker and Jerrye Thomas

Ricky and Mildred Richardson

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LOOKING BACK

Looking back photos courtesy of the Franklin County Archives

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FRANKLIN LIVING

LOOKING BACK

Looking back photos courtesy of the Franklin County Archives

FRANKLIN LIVING

29

PARTING SHOT

“The true beauty of music is that it connects people. It carries a message, and we, the musicians, are the messengers.” ~Roy Ayers

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FRANKLIN LIVING

TifÀn Motor Homes

105 Second Street NW • Red Bay, AL 256-356-8661 When Wayne Williams first started at Tiffin Motorhomes 26 years ago, the opportunity came about because someone he knew from church asked him if he was interested.

“When I came to work at Tiffin it was all by word of mouth. They really weren’t taking applications or anything like that,” Williams said.

He began his Tiffin career on the line, tackling various responsibilities like wiring units. After stops as an inspector and then an inspector supervisor, in March Williams advanced to service center manager for TMH. “I deal with customers, I deal with odd and ends, work with dealers on warranty issues – a little bit of everything,” he said.

His workday begins at 6 a.m., when he starts the day off right by checking to see what issues need to be handled immediately. He coordinates with floor foreman D-Ray Hester to outline priorities for the day, and then it’s down to Williams to manage the steady flow of tasks and issues that crop up as the day progresses.

About 50 phone techs, Williams explained, handle incoming customer service calls, and “if they can’t handle one of the customer issues, they come to me.”

Williams prizes Tiffin Motorhomes’ commitment to fairness, a commitment he shares and lives out in all his dealings.

“I think that’s what a person needs to be, is fair. You want to treat the

Wayne Williams customers right but treat the Tiffins right also,” Williams said. That’s a sentiment that goes both ways at Tiffin. “Bob’s a good man and wants to do right. Bob and his family are good people, and they treat you the right way.”

Company growth since 1990 amazes Williams, who has met customers at TMH from across the United States and even overseas. “They all come to Red Bay to have their motorhomes worked on.”

The best part of his job, he said, is the amazing people he works with.

“You want honest people around you,” he said. “When you have good people around you, you don’t have to worry about them. Good people will do their job without having to be told to.”

Williams, a Belgreen graduate, and his wife Stacy live in Belgreen and have two daughters: Kayla and husband Trent Brannon, who live in Russellville, and Brooke, a University of North Alabama student. In his free time he enjoys hunting and fishing.

He attends Eastside church of Christ in Russellville.

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