2018 Progress

Progress

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, and Mayor David Grissom

A Great Place to Live, Work & Raise a family.

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PROGRESS 2018

GREAT JOBS FOR GREAT PEOPLE Being the largest employer if Franklin County, we feel obligated to offer "Great jobs for Great people." This is not just a slogan but also a reality. Our Plant is the source of employment for Franklin County residents. Currently 64% of Pilgrim's employees live here in Franklin County. Pilgrim's is a strong source of employment for our contract growers as well. Pilgrim's partners with local poultry growers, and in 2017 alone the payout to growers was $35,639,967. In 2017 Pilgrim's employees earned more then $39 million. These Pilgrim's employees and growers, in turn, support the local businesses by spending their dollars in Franklin County.

In terms of providing the county with revenue for utilities, Pilgrim's paid over $8 million. Pilgrim's also contributed more then $10 million in taxes and benefits for 2017.

PILGRIM'S has been an integral part of Franklin County's PROGRESS since 2007!

PROUD TO BE PART OF THR PROGRESS OF PRANKLIN COUNTY

2045 HWY 244, RUSSELLVILLE, AL

256-332-8900 PROGRESS 2018

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Progress 2018 Family Traditions When it comes to the cornerstone of our communities, the foundation upon which we are built, the very fabric of who we are as a people, we have to talk about our families.

Family was the first concept I learned in social studies way back in elementary school. At that basic level, you learn a family is mom, dad and the kids – but we know that’s not the only definition. Family is so much more.

That’s a core truth in Franklin County. Around here, family is everything. You mention someone’s name, and the first thing you’re likely to hear is, “Oh, so-and-so’s daughter?” You introduce yourself to someone new, and the first response might be, “Now, are you related to (fill in the blank)?” Identity is not just who you are. It’s who you are related to. It’s who your family is.

In Franklin County, family runs deep. Many of our friends and neighbors are third, fourth, fifth generation Franklin County residents – or even further back. It’s a beautiful heritage that paints a picture of this truth: Franklin is family.

Our annual Progress edition is one of our favorite publications of the year. In it we focus on the bedrock aspects of Franklin County, those things that have made it what it is and that will drive what it becomes in the future. We believe our families are crucial to that future.

In these pages we introduce 11 Franklin families. They are all featured because they represent what it means to be family – whether that’s enjoying Sunday dinners together, leaning on each other through the troubles of life or just knowing that no matter how busy things get, and how many different directions everyone is headed, family is always there to come home to.

They also show us that family isn’t bound by the basic “mom, dad and the kids” concept. Family is grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. It’s the people we love, and the people who love us. Family transcends blood, and it transcends the four walls of a home.

Family is all of us together.

We’re thankful to be part of yours and that all of you are part of ours.

Table of Contents 5 The Duncan family 9 The Mays family 12 The Smith family 16 The Plott family 20 The Willingham family 24 The Gilbert family 28 The Jackson family 32 The Moomaw family 36 The Keeton family 38 The Hong family 40 The Grimes family

Alison James Managing Editor

P.O. Box 1088 14131 Hwy 43 Russellville, AL 35653 256-332-1881 fax: 256-332-1883 www.franklincountytimes.com 4

Managing Editor Alison James Staff Writer Lauren Wester Marketing Consultants Peggy Hyde and Amarent Sparks

Customer Service Sommer Morris PROGRESS 2018

The Duncan family’s favorite thing is just to be together.

FAMILY IS EVERYTHING The Duncan family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

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or the Duncans, it’s easy to define what family means. Anna Duncan summed it up: “Family is everything.”

“Family is the most important thing in the world to me,” Anna said. “We have an extremely close family. That’s the way our family has always worked.”

Anna and husband Jaylon started as friends at Phil Campbell High School in 1996. “We had a group of friends that were all together all the time, and conveniently one Friday night, we just didn’t invite anyone else to go with us,” Anna said. They hit the Kentucky Fried Chicken and “rode the strip” in downtown Russellville, listening to the radio.

“We have been together ever since.”

Jaylon proposed at senior prom, in the midst of all their classmates. “‘Wonderful Tonight’ was playing. It was very dramatic,” Anna said. She was prom queen; he was prom king.

Following graduation, Anna attended Northwest-Shoals Community College, and Jaylon went to Bevill State Community College. They married during their first year of college, March 20, 1999, at New Bethlehem church – her grandparents’ church, located just down the road from the Duncans’ home on “Oliver Hill” in East Franklin. “It was important to us to get married somewhere that meant something to the family,” Anna explained.

The Duncans have two daughters: Emma, 14, is a freshman at Phil Campbell High School, and March, 9, is a thirdgrader at Phil Campbell Elementary.

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Anna and Jaylon Duncan have two daughters, Emma and March.

Emma is active in FBLA and Junior National Honors Society, and science is her favorite subject. She also enjoys drawing – especially birds. March plays basketball and piano.

For Jaylon, a 15-year career in the poultry industry led him to Mar-Jac Poultry. In his role as a shift manager, he oversees all plant operations, including managing 12 supervisors and two superintendents.

Anna is a community development manager with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. She began with ACS in 2014 after raising her daughters and helping work the family farm for several years.

“We decided to close the dairy, and both the kids were in school. Since I had been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, I decided to go back to work,” Anna said. She coordinates Relay for Life and related activities for Franklin County, as well as Colbert, Lauderdale, Marion and Fayette counties.

Anna described the concept of family as “the very foundation of our life.” It’s a deeply-instilled value for her and one she and Jaylon are passing on to their daughters.

“I just like doing everything together, whether it’s me, Mom and March; or me, Dad and March; or all four of us together,” Emma said. “It’s the people who love you the most.”

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“W

e spend a lot of time together. We’re not very exciting people, but our most favorite thing to do is just to be together.” ~ Anna Duncan

Emma, 14, and March, 9, are students at Phil Campbell, their parents’ alma mater.

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The Duncans enjoy trips to Chattanooga to go rock climbing and visit Cupcake Kitchen. Closer to home, they love fishing at Mon Dye and deer hunting. The family also works together on Anna’s parents farm, which is just down the road on Oliver Hill.

Much of their family togetherness includes Anna’s sister, Emily Mays, and her daughter Lola, as well as Anna and Emily’s parents, Joyce and Gary Oliver.

“We do everything together.

We eat supper together basically every night of the week; we have Sunday lunch at my parents’ house every Sunday; and we go to church together. If we’re going out to eat, if we’re going on a trip, we’re together,” Anna said.

“One of the best days of my life was when Emily moved back to Russellville, and when she and Lola moved back home on the hill, it was just like she had never been away. Now instead of having to drive four hours to see her, she’s just right down the road.

“We spend a lot of time together. We’re not very exciting people, but our most favorite thing to do is just to be together.”

Gary and Joyce met in Haleyville and married in 1977.

Anna said she and Jaylon strive to carry on their example of love, grace and kindness and keep family as a priority.

Christmas provides plenty of opportunity for family traditions, from making reindeer food and cookies for Santa, to watching holiday classic movies, to choosing a tree from a nearby Christmas tree farm, to reading the story of Christ’s birth from the Bible. New Year’s Eve at home is another tradition, with party hats, card games and plenty of good food.

“They aren’t exciting things, our traditions,” Anna said, “but they are important because we’re together.”

TOP LEFT: March enjoys a variety of hobbies, including basketball.

TOP RIGHT: Emma, a ninth-grader, is active in FBLA and Junior National Honors Society at Phil Campbell.

LEFT: The Duncan family treasures spending time with Anna’s sister and her daughter, Emily and Lola Mays, and Anna and Emily’s parents, Joyce and Gary Oliver. Whether it’s working the family farm, enjoying Sunday dinner or just sitting on the front porch, the East Franklin family prioritizes time spent together.

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The Mays family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

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hen Emily Mays graduated from Phil Campbell High School, married and moved away from Franklin County in 2000, she never planned to return to the family home place in Northwest Alabama. But now, she and daughter Lola, 9, are well-settled on “Oliver Hill” in East Franklin – just down the road from her parents, Joyce and Gary Oliver, and her sister Anna Duncan’s family.

“Family means love and togetherness,” said Mays. “Even if you’re not with them, you’re with them. They are the first ones you want to go tell good news or the ones you want to get to when you have bad news. It’s about love for each other, unconditionally, and togetherness.”

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That togetherness became a little easier when Mays returned home. She first moved to Starkville, Miss., in 2000 and then to Auburn in 2005, where daughter Lola was born and Mays began her career in finance. The family moved back to Franklin County in 2009 – even though it wasn’t a goal on radar, in the beginning. “We had no intentions of coming home,” Mays said. Jobs opened in Franklin at the right time, and it seemed like the best thing for their family. “Everything worked out perfectly.”

After Mays’ divorce in 2012, she and Lola moved to East Franklin – to a house that happened to be for sale on Oliver Hill. “We walked by this house, and Anna said, ‘Why don’t you live there?’ It was God’s timing, and it just worked out perfectly.”

Lola, a fourth-grader at Phil Campbell Elementary, loves that her family is “just the girls.” The mommy-daughter pair makes plenty of time for fun together. Lola’s favorites include activities at home, like baking and cooking. The two will often cook together with Duncans and Olivers, firing up the grill whenever possible.

“We make a lot of stuff,” Mays said.

“I like to cook Italian, and the girls like when I do a pot of beans and cornbread.”

Lola said she also enjoys shopping and eating out – Rigatoni’s in 10

“W

e say, ‘What will our girls remember?’ because all of our childhood memories are so fond and wonderful.

Even though we worked a lot because we were always working on the farm, everything is warm and fuzzy. Everything is a good memory for us.” ~ Emily Mays

Florence is a favorite after piano recitals – as well as playing basketball and taking art classes.

Family dinners aren’t the only times spent with the Duncans and Olivers. The eight are often together.

“We like to help Daddy (Gary Oliver) on the farm – that’s a lot of what Lola and I will do on Saturdays and Sundays,” Mays said. “He’ll save his cattle work until I’m home, and it’s a good avenue to do something outside with him.” Watching Lola and the cousins interact with farm life is a fun pastime for Mays. “I remember the first time she got cow manure on her shoes,” Mays said with a laugh.

“I had to come home and wash shoes – whereas we grew up with that as a part of life.”

There’s plenty of cousin fun to be had, with March Duncan regularly spending weekend nights with the Mays ladies. “We keep a twin bed in

Lola’s room for March,” Mays said.

“If Anna has plans or events – a lot of her events are at night – I keep her girls, and when I work late, she keeps Lola.”

Lola and her grandfather share another hobby – posting photos online with social media. “He had gotten into taking pictures with his flip phone,” Mays said. “I started him an Instagram account, and he got on Facebook for the first time. He loves to take these awesome photos, so we got him an iPhone. So that’s something we all participate in – Dad’s Instagram.”

“He climbed on top of a truck to take a picture,” Lola said. “He really gets into it.”

“And since social media is primarily what I do as a job, it’s fun to see them really get into it and their take on how they see things,” Mays added.

Mays works in Red Bay as vice

president/senior marketing director at Community Spirit Bank and is a member of the board of directors for the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce. She can often be found at community events, like Red Bay Founders Day, the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Watermelon Festival and the county Relay for Life. Between her sister’s job with the American Cancer Society and her own role as a face of Community Spirit Bank, both their families find plenty of opportunities to interact with the community.

“Our kids have really gotten to learn a lot about citizenship and being good helpers,” Mays said. “We’ve gotten to use that as an opportunity to encourage them about why it’s important for our communities to have things like the Watermelon Festival … They get to see the work that goes into having something like this.”

PROGRESS 2018

Mays puts a high value on the great qualities of Franklin County, a place she finds safe and welcoming, where everyone waves at everyone else – whether they know each other or not.

“I love the feeling of local love,” Mays said. “Everybody gets out and supports what’s here. I didn’t know how much I appreciated that hometown feeling – feeling like you belong – until I lived away and I came back.”

Family traditions include Sunday lunch at the Olivers’ every week.

“We sit on the porch in the rocking chairs after lunch and talk about life – and now we look at our Instagrams together,” Mays said.

Like for many families, the holiday season is also abundant with traditions. One annual Christmas tradition is getting a live tree from a local farm. “We usually go the Saturday

after Thanksgiving when they open,” Mays said. The holiday season for the Mays and the Duncans is filled with making memories with their girls – even after Christmas is over, when the family enjoys going out for Chinese food together to wrap up the festivities.

“I think the holidays really bring out that sentiment, that desire for those warm feelings. We say, ‘What will our girls remember?’ because all of our childhood memories are so fond and wonderful,” Mays said. “Even though we worked a lot because we were always working on the farm, everything is warm and fuzzy. Everything is a good memory for us.”

“I think that’s what family is,” Mays added. “Whether it’s the two of your or four of you or all eight of us together … Joys are doubled and sorrows are halved with each other.”

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The Smith family includes (left to right) parents Heather and Clint, son Zeth and daughters Lora, Teresa, Sam and Allie.

Sam is married to Jabbar Franklin, and they have one son, Bentley.

FOSTERING LOVE The Smith family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

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hen Clint and Heather Smith married, they both wanted a big family with at least four children. But after their first daughter Samantha was born, efforts to have more children were never successful – until they decided to add to their family another way.

In 2011 the Smiths sold the 1,100-square-foot house they had been living in for 16 years and upgraded to a much larger home, but with their daughter graduating high school and planning to go to college in Tuscaloosa, Heather began to think about how empty that big house would be.

“I said, why don’t we do foster care?” Heather said. She and Clint began to discuss the idea, and after more than a year of talking and praying, Heather was overcome by the conviction that they were meant to share all the space and all the love they had to give. “It was like God just spoke to me 12

and said, ‘I’m not going to put this on your heart if it’s not what you’re meant to do.’”

For Clint, the moment he became convinced was during an event at church, an outreach program for families in need.

“We had a dinner at church for the Angel Tree children, the less fortunate,” Clint said. “We fed 200 people that night. We had a lot of kids that came through, and grandmothers were telling us that this was all the Christmas they were going to get.

One kid, all he wanted was a football. We had like 12 footballs, and we gave him one, and he was just so happy.” Seeing those children in need opened Clint’s eyes and tugged at his heart. “You realize there is a need in this town, in this county, for people to take care of these kids. These kids are the future.”

In 2013, Sam was a senior in high school, and the three of them began the required classes to become a certified foster family.

“I had mixed emotions about it. I was excited,

but I had been an only child for 18 years,” Sam said.

But as they continued the certification process, Sam said her excitement grew and her reservations shrank.

The Smiths finished their classes on a Monday and brought home their first foster placement – Allie, Zeth and Teresa – Friday of the same week.

“I was the first one to get to meet the three of them,” Sam said. “Allie was 9, and I walked in the playroom at DHR, and the first thing she said the me, like a little mother, was ‘Hi, my name is Allie.

You must be our new older foster sister.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I am. I’m Samantha.’ And she said, ‘You do know that you’re our sixth foster home, correct? …

If you’re not planning to adopt us, then you don’t need to take us home.’ I knew then that she was never going anywhere.”

The three were available for adoption through the foster care system, but adoption wasn’t in the cards for the Smiths, to begin with. “My daughter was 18, and I thought, ‘What if I have a grandchild PROGRESS 2018

in a few years?’” Heather said. “I want to be able to be the grandmother I want to be.” But after a few more nights and mornings in sincere, searching prayer, God answered her: “You wanted four children. You will have your four children.” So March 29, 2013, the Smiths brought Allie, Zeth and Teresa home.

Sept. 29, 2014, the adoption was official.

The Smiths were destined, however, to add one more sibling to the mix.

When Allie, Zeth and Teresa’s birth mother, Brianna, was expecting her fourth child, she called Heather to see if the Smiths would adopt baby Lora, too. “She has no support system, no family to help her, nothing. She felt like it was better for her children to be adopted by a family that could give them a better life than she ever could,” Heather said. “We stay in contact with Brianna.

We have a good relationship with her. She comes for Christmas, and she comes for all the birthdays.”

Heather was on the fence at first, however, unsure about adding one more child – especially since she and Clint were getting older. Clint was on board more quickly: “What’s one more kid?” Sam urged her parents to adopt Lora too, to keep the four siblings together, and so they finally brought home another Smith.

Even with a family of seven – Clint and Heather, Sam (23), Allie (14), Zeth (12), Teresa (9) and Lora (2) – plus Sam’s husband Jabbar Franklin and their son Bentley, the Smiths found there was still room in their hearts and their home for more children. So the family has continued fostering. Heather said it was at Allie, Zeth and Teresa’s urging that they decided to continue. “I like having a bunch of kids in our house. It’s crazy, but it’s fun,” said Allie. Zeth added, “And I needed a brother.”

Children have come and gone over the years. Bella (5), Tyler (7) and Brittany (13) came to the Smiths as foster placements in May 2017.

All the school-age children are students at Phil Campbell, and they are all involved in something. Zeth and Tyler play youth football, which Clint helps coach. Brittany and Allie are on the dance line at PCHS. Teresa and Zeth are interested in youth basketball.

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Clint and Heather always wanted a big family. They got their wish with one biological daughter, four adopted children and many other children they have loved through the foster care system.

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“We usually say we’re running on Jesus and crazy,” Heather said.

The whole family is active at Gravel Hill Baptist Church. “My husband and I vowed, when we started foster care: We will always take our children to church,” Heather said.

Clint teaches Sunday School, and Heather teaches children’s church once a month.

“The second thing we vowed was, we will always sit around the dinner table every night to eat supper. Every night,” Heather said. “No devices, no electronics, no TV, no nothing.”

Their family enjoys togetherness when they aren’t all headed in different directions: playing kickball in the front yard, watching movies or TV or going out to eat – Logan’s Roadhouse is the family favorite.

When they think about family, the Smiths see it as a blessing they are determined to share.

“I have always had my family. Even our extended family, we have always been so close. When Allie, Zeth and Teresa came to live with us … You could tell they just needed somebody to love them,” said Sam. “It made me realize how lucky I was to not ever have to go through that. I’ve always been so loved and so cared for and gotten everything that I want, whereas some kids don’t have anything.” Now she said she feels like her younger siblings have been part of the family her whole life – and she has been motivated to go into social work as a profession.

“F

amily is when you have people around you who love you more than you could ever love yourself.” ~ Allie Smith

Zeth (12), Teresa (9), Lora (2), Sam (23) and Allie (14) have formed a loving sibling relationship since coming into each other’s lives.

Sam’s son Bentley has now joined the chaotic fun.

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Clint, Heather and Sam urge others to become foster families to help children in need, after their own experience helping children – and their mothers – in the community.

“I went into foster care to love on children until they can return home,” Heather said. “I believe 100 percent that a child should always be with their parents if at all possible.” Clint and Sam said Heather almost fosters the mothers too, helping and encouraging them as they work within the system to get their children back, even providing financial support – and even continuing to support the families after the children return home, connecting with them in compassion on a personal level. She keeps PROGRESS 2018

in touch with all of her children.

The Smiths encouraged prospective foster parents to have open minds, open hearts – and to do it for the children. They commended Franklin County Department of Human Resources for having Franklin children’s best interests at heart.

At the end of the day, the Smiths agreed, family isn’t about being connected by blood. Instead, as Allie put it, “Family is when you have people around you who love you more than you could ever love yourself.”

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PLOTTING ROOTS The Plott family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

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he Plott family is deeply rooted in Franklin County and continuing through Sheryl and Hugh Plott and their daughters Kylee and Chloe.

Sheryl, Hugh and their daughters live on the Plott family home place. In 2002 they built their house on the site where Hugh’s great-grandparents once lived, and their 80-acre farm adjoins the farm belonging to Hugh’s parents, Larry and Pam. Sheryl and Hugh’s story begins in 1996, when they first met at McFarland Park for the Fourth of July fireworks. Their first date was at Applebee’s in Decatur – at a table Hugh strategically selected near a “Wizard of Oz” poster, one of her favorite movies.

“The next morning when I woke up, he had put the original soundtrack under my windshield wipers, and at that point I was sold,” Sheryl said. They dated five months before he proposed, and they married the following May.

The Plott women have developed a strong bond through leaning on each other during Hugh’s deployments.

“T

hey are always there, no matter what.

Sometimes you forget and you put your family aside for friends or relationships, but when they are gone, you still have your family, and you remember they are always there, and they always were.” ~ Kylee Plott

In her free time, learning new songs on the piano is one of Chloe’s favorite activities.

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Hugh, a Phil Campbell graduate, was in the Army National Guard and was serving in one-weekend-per-month rotations. When oldest daughter Chloe turned 1, he took a full-time position at the Russellville Armory. “Since then he has always been full time,” Sheryl said.

A Russellville High School graduate, Sheryl is assistant director of community corrections in the Franklin County Courthouse, supervising state inmates. She started 16 years ago as office manager before advancing to case manager and then assistant director. Before that, she was a senior lending assistant for Colonial BancGroup.

The Plott family isn’t always together on the family cattle farm east of Russellville. Sgt. 1st Class Larry Hugh Plott Jr. began his third deployment in July 2017 and is slated to remain stationed overseas until June 2018.

“Most days we do OK. I think we just stay busy so we don’t have to think about it too much,” Sheryl said. “He does get to call quite a bit, so hearing his voice helps. Usually we don’t go more than a couple of days without hearing from him, so that’s a reassurance.”

Sheryl said Kylee and Chloe, who are in ninth and 12th grades respectively at Russellville High School, deal with their father’s absences with bravery and resilience.

“Parenting alone, especially two teenage girls who don’t always get along nicely – those days are hard,” Sheryl said. “For the most part, I feel like we’ve done this so much that we just know how things go. They know Dad is gone but he is coming back, and Mom’s got this.”

Both Plott girls are active in artistic pursuits. Kylee sings in the church choir and is an avid vocalist in the school system. In her free time, Chloe most enjoys working on a sketch or painting – Van Gogh is her favorite artist, and she even created her own mural of “Starry Night” – or else learning new songs on the piano. “She amazes me. She can hear a song on the radio and go and starting picking at the piano, and in just a few minutes she can play it,” Sheryl said.

Both girls have also been involved as cheerleaders for Russellville. Chloe cheered her freshman and sophomore years and inspired school spirit as Champ her junior year, but she has taken her senior year off from cheerleading to allow more time for studying and preparing for college. Kylee is part of the JV squad, which this year is entirely made up freshmen girls she has been friends with all her life.

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LEFT: Kylie, Sheryl and Chloe enjoy spending time together in their kitchen, working on crafts or trying out different recipes. RIGHT: Sgt. 1st Class Hugh Plott is currently serving overseas.

Craft nights are a popular family activity, especially when the girls are getting through on their own while Hugh is deployed. “When Hugh’s gone, we have to get a little more creative, or we wind up isolating because we’re all so sad,” Sheryl said. “We make messes in the kitchen, we cook, we sing, we do crafts.

We’re a Type B family: we don’t have a typical anything. This week we might be crafty; next week we might be quiet.”

When Hugh is home and the four of them are together, “we do a lot of traveling,” Sheryl said. The family has been all over the nation. “We only lack the New England states, and Hugh said when he gets back, we’re going to hit those, and we should have all 50.” Sheryl said she loved Colorado and Santa Fe, N.M., while Hugh’s favorites were Yosemite and Alaska.

They also enjoy hiking and camping together.

Togetherness is a quality that is prioritized in their family. “I don’t feel like there are many people who put as much value on the family unit as they probably used to, so to me it’s really important,” Sheryl said. “Hugh’s family – they are close. They’re all here. They are all so loving and so helpful. I’m not saying my family is not, but I didn’t grow up in quite that same way, so marrying into the family, I have found out how important that closeness is.”

She said she tries to instill closeness in her daughters, and it’s a lesson that is taking hold.

“They are always there, no matter what,” said Kylee. “Sometimes you forget, and you put your family aside for friends or relationships, but when they are gone, you still have your family. You remember they are always there, and they always were.”

18

Family traditions have included annual Labor Day camping trips and post-Christmas trips to Gatlinburg, Tenn. The day after Thanksgiving is dedicated to a Christmas pajama party, complete with Christmas music and hot cocoa, to break out all the holiday decorations. The Plotts are also united by their involvement with Russellville First Baptist Church, where the girls are active in the youth group and Hugh and Sheryl lead the Sunday morning college class. Sheryl also leads the Wednesday night women’s ministry.

“Our faith is really what carries us through,” she said.

With Hugh and Sheryl both born and raised in Franklin, they love and value their community.

“I like the small-town feel. I love that it’s not big and bustling,” said Sheryl.

But she also appreciates that the county is growing, especially in greater diversity. “When you have grown up here forever and it’s always been the same, it’s kind of neat to see that we’re going to get that change, but it’s still not going to take the heart of it away.”

The family loves Monchis and 43 Grill in Russellville, and their latest project is to figure out how to get Rancho Viejo chips and salsa overseas to Hugh. But although the Plott women will visit local attractions like Russellville restaurants, Red Bay Water Park or Dismals Canyon, for the most part they like to stay close to home when Hugh is gone.

“It’s so peaceful and quiet,” said Sheryl in describing their home – a place where they can sit on the porch and watch the sun go down as the cows graze in the pasture. “It’s really a pretty place.

I know we’re in a rural area, but there’s not many counties that to me are as pretty as Franklin County.”

ABOVE: Kylie and Chloe attend Russellville High School. BELOW: The Plotts love to travel. Memorable trips include a fun family cruise. They hope soon to visit the New England states.

PROGRESS 2018

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The Willingham family is tightly knit, within their family and in the greater Belgreen community as a whole.

PIECING IT ALL TOGETHER The Willingham family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

K

im and Junior Willingham have a perspective on family that transcends the concept of mom, dad and the kids.

“Family is not just inside the walls of a house. It consists of a community, webbed together, that takes care of everybody,” Kim said. It’s a truth they have personally experienced.

Junior was raised on the family farm in Belgreen, and Kim grew 20

up just down the road in Burnout.

Mutual friends set them up, and they have been married 22 years.

The Willinghams’ oldest children are 16-year-old twins, Trey and Emma Grace. Their family grew by four when the Willinghams adopted Felicia, 14, Natalie, 11, and Miguel, 10, and brought David, 15, into their family in summer 2017, after a couple years of fostering.

It was during that fostering and adoption process that “the community rallied around us – the Belgreen school, the Belgreen community as a

whole,” Kim said. Furniture, clothes, food, Christmas presents were all contributed by their Belgreen family to help their adoption and transition go smoothly.

The family is well established in the community. Junior Willingham has been driving a school bus for Belgreen High School for 33 years – an occupation he began when he himself was still a student at BHS, as a career path that meshed well with being able to farm at the same time. Kim is a custodian at Belgreen, a job she began 11

years ago when her children started kindergarten. The two both love being around children.

In addition to driving a bus, Junior stays busy with the school as Booster Club president, running the concession stand and helping guide Belgreen programs – which he said wouldn’t be possible without the help of his fellow officers: vice president Tony Barber, secretary Nancy Terrell and treasurer Mary Jo Bryant. Junior also helps with the fishing team at Belgreen, and he is on the board of directors for PROGRESS 2018

Proud to be part of the Progress of Franklin County • Helping Revitalize Downtown Russellville • Creating Jobs & Economic Growth • Committed to Industrial Development

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21

the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association and Northwest Alabama Livestock.

The Willinghams have 600-plus acres of farmland with 140-head of cattle. When they aren’t running the farm, the family is always on-the-go with ballgames and other athletic events.

Trey, a junior, is most involved with the fishing team, with which he has participated for the past three or four years. It’s a pastime that takes him to more than a dozen tournaments annually. He also enjoys deer hunting. Following graduation, he aims to work at Tiffin Motorhomes.

Emma Grace, also a junior, has been active in basketball since second grade. “I love being on the floor and diving after everything,” she said.

“That’s what everybody knows me for. My coach tells everybody I do the dirty work. I love being aggressive; I love to hustle.” She also plays softball, runs track and cross country and is active in HOSA, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and History Club. She aims to pursue a career in physical therapy. Outside of school, she loves photography, riding horses and helping on the farm.

David is a sophomore. He also plays basketball, and he is an alternate on the fishing team. He said he enjoys working the farm with Trey, Miguel and Junior.

Felicia is in eighth grade. She plays softball and basketball and runs cross country and track. She is in the History and 4H clubs and also likes to draw. She wants to be a nurse when she grows up.

Natalie, a sixth-grader, plays youth basketball and softball. Science is her favorite subject.

Miguel is in the fourth grade, and he also plays basketball.

If the Willinghams aren’t at someone’s game or competition, they are probably getting together with extended family, who all live nearby, or hosting a gathering in their home.

They love having friends and family over. “We had 50 people here doing New Year’s Eve. We had the bar full of food, and we played cards and had a blast,” Kim said. Cousins are often around – their house is the family hangout spot – and Sunday morning before church at the Posey church of Christ, the Willinghams join their extended family, about 20

ABOVE: Miguel, David, Trey, Emma Grace, Felicia and Natalie have learned their family fits together like pieces of a puzzle. RIGHT: The Willingham girls are Emma Grace, Felicia and Natalie.

22

PROGRESS 2018

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Junior and Kim Willingham have been married 22 years.

They both work at Belgreen High School.

Twins Trey and Emma Grace are the oldest of the Willingham children. The boys â&#x20AC;&#x201C; David, Miguel and Trey â&#x20AC;&#x201C; enjoy helping Junior on the farm. Junior has driven a bus for Belgreen since he was a student there himself.

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Kimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother Nancy Akers is also a rock in their life, always available to help with taking care of the children whenever she is needed.

Another important person in their life was Brian Wood, who passed away in April 2017. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We all called him Woody,â&#x20AC;? Junior said. Woody is remembered as someone who would do anything for anyPROGRESS 2018

one. Kim called him â&#x20AC;&#x153;the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right-hand man.â&#x20AC;?

Whether they are working the farm, cheering each other on at a basketball game or enjoying a meal together at home, the Willinghams are often together and always supporting each other. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Without family, you wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have anything.

They are the core of your life,â&#x20AC;? Kim said. Junior agreed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are the people you can lean against and the people who lean against you.â&#x20AC;?

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Lucas and Kelly Gilbert and their daughters Addie and Ella live surrounded by family in Frog Pond.

SIMPLE THINGS ARE BEST The Gilbert family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

N

ear the end of a gravel road in quiet Frog Pond, the Gilbert family relishes their peaceful slice of Franklin County.

Lucas and Kelly Gilbert are both from the area.

He grew up on the family farm, adjacent to the farm he and Kelly purchased and have made their own.

They are both teachers in the Franklin County School system, from which they both graduated.

Kelly is a Belgreen graduate who teaches physical education at Tharptown Elementary. She also helps coach girls basketball. Lucas is an alum of Phil Campbell, where he now teaches biology and physical science and coaches, and he is also a Frog Pond firefighter.

“I like the kids. Being a P.E. teacher, it’s always their favorite part of the day,” Kelly said. “You do it for the kids. I think that is the only reason anybody would do it: because you care about the kids and want to make a difference in their lives.” She also values the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. workday, with summers off, which allows her to spend more time with her own children.

The schedule works particularly well for the Gilberts since they are both teachers in the same school system – they get to enjoy the same vacation days. “It works well for having a farm too, having summers off to do hay and fertilizer and spray fields,” Lucas added. They have 80-85 head of cattle, plus a continuing cycle of calves. The farm also boasts a growing orchard of fruit trees.

Lucas and Kelly have two daughters, Addie and Ella, who make the sixth generation on the Gilbert farm.

Farming, Lucas said, is “not for everybody.”

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into it and patience you have to have,” he said. Farming is a family heritage; he grew up helping his grandfather and eventually took over. “We all enjoy being outside, and I enjoy messing with animals and looking after them. It’s a lot of hard work, but it does pay off. It’s nice when you see things working out.”

Their 220 acres provide plenty of space to relax and have fun. The family is frequently to be found enjoying the outdoors: gardening, playing in the 24

PROGRESS 2018

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PROGRESS 2018

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Addie, 6, and Ella, 3, love roaming their rural home, whether it’s to play on hay bales, catch frogs or help their daddy check on the cows. They love all things girly, even though they are also country girls through and through.

creek, checking on the fruit trees or caring for the cattle. “In the warmer months we stay outside until dark or after dark,” Lucas said. The girls will accompany him in the UTV to keep an eye on everything. “We always make a pass through the cows every day and make sure everything is OK.” His parents, aunt and grandparents are all nearby, so they will also often

New Mar-Jac Hatchery in Phil Campbell Industrial Park

ride through the pasture to go visit with family.

“We enjoy a slower-paced lifestyle,” Kelly said. “We like the quiet, and it’s pretty out here, especially in the spring and summer. We spend all our time outdoors.”

In addition to playing outside, Addie, 6, and Ella, 3, love baby dolls, dress-up, princesses and coloring.

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Crafts are a favorite activity at their grandmother’s house, where the girls enjoy spending the night.

“We’re thankful to both have good strong families,” Lucas said. “I can’t ever see myself leaving and moving an hour or two away from everybody … We would miss our extended family.”

The whole family eats lunch at his mother’s house every Sunday – a tradition they have kept up weekly, nearly without fail, since Lucas and Kelly married 10 years ago.

The Gilberts attend nearby Quinn Memorial church of Christ. Aside from being outdoors, they also enjoy spending time together going to high school football games.

Among the four of them, family provides the people with whom they share the strongest bonds.

“You come home every night and do things together, and you grow and change and go through things together,” Lucas said. “There’s good times and bad times and hard times, and when you go through all those things with each other, you develop a history. We’ve been through things together we haven’t been through with anyone else. That makes you grow stronger.”

They prioritize family meals around the dinner table and storytime and prayer together before bed.

“Lifestyles nowadays are so busy that you really have to make time,” Kelly said. “The simple things are the best things – just spending time together and making time for each other.”

“L

ifestyles nowadays are so busy that you really have to make time.

The simple things are the best things – just spending time together and making time for each other.” ~ Kelly Gilbert

The Gilberts’ favorite place is at home in Frog Pond, where they enjoy the quieter, slower pace of life.

26

PROGRESS 2018

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The Jackson family includes parents Hannah and Rhett and their children: Mary-Elizabeth Moore, Kyser Jackson, Coby Jackson, Sam Moore, Jean-Marie Moore and Nate Moore.

STRONG FOUNDATION The Jackson family The eight of them rely on each other for support throughout life’s challenges. ed Bay’s Rhett and Hannah Jackson “It’s important to have a strong foundation, a got to know each other because of bedrock to stand on, and that’s what family is,” their children, meeting at places like Mary-Elizabeth said. Hannah added, “We’re dediChuck E. Cheese and Bay Tree Park cated to each other, when it comes down to it … and and connecting during milestones like kindergar- we’ve all needed a lot of support.” ten registration. They married in 2011 in the Great Rhett and Hannah were both born and raised in Smoky Mountains, surrounded by their children: Red Bay. He works at the Gates Corporation in Red Mary-Elizabeth Moore, 18, Kyser Jackson, 15, Coby Bay, and she operates an in-home daycare.

Jackson, 14, Sam Moore, 14, Jean-Marie Moore, 12, When it comes to their children’s activities, each and Nate Moore, 11. has his or her own story to tell:

Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

R

28

Nate is a sixth-grader at Red Bay, and he enjoys basketball and video games. A favorite hobby is meteorology. He said when he grows up, he’d like to pursue an HVAC certification.

Seventh-grader Jean-Marie plays the flute in the marching band. She’s also on the Scholars Bowl team, and her favorite classroom subjects are civics and family and consumer sciences. When she grows up, she said she wants to be a nurse. She loves shopping and enjoys her pet rabbit.

Sam is an eighth-grader at Red Bay. His interests range from animals, especially poultry, to gardening PROGRESS 2018

Mike Shewbart Board member District 5 Working for a Brighter Future to our County by Helping Improve Education for Our Children.

Franklin County locations: Belgreen, Red Bay, & Russellville High Schools, East Franklin Jr. High School & Phil Campbell High School, downtown Russellville on Coffee St. and behind the A.W. Todd Center.

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PROGRESS 2018

29

and cooking. “I grow cucumber, zucchini, radishes, squash, peppers, beets, corn and greens,” Sam said.

“This will be my second year to have a garden. My grandfather gardened, and I would go over there to help him out, and I’ve always liked having a little garden in the backyard.” In the kitchen, “he looks up recipes he wants to try and tries them out on us,” Hannah said. “He’s a fantastic cook.” He is also involved in FFA. His career aim is electrician.

Coby is also an eighth-grader at Red Bay. He enjoys basketball and hunting and has plans to enter the medical field one day. Kyser is a freshman at RBHS. He plays basketball and aims to go into the medical field or perhaps work as an athletic trainer.

Mary-Elizabeth is a senior at Red Bay High School.

She is active in FFA (secretary), Leo Club and Franklin County 4-H. She is president of the emerging RBHS drama club, and the performing arts are where her heart truly lies. She has plans to attend Itawamba Community College following high school graduation and hopes to one day become a dramatic arts teacher.

Mary-Elizabeth has put her drama talents to work as an actress with the Bay Tree Council for the Performing Arts. She is preparing for her 13th show at the Weatherford Center.

She has a number of other hobbies and interests, including painting, drawing, reading, singing in the choir at First United Methodist Church and horse racing, which she loves to watch and research.

She was also a participant in the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Junior Leadership program in her junior year.

Mary-Elizabeth is the most passionate participant in the BTCPA, but almost every member of the Jackson/Moore family has enjoyed a moment in the spotlight. Rhett has performed in six shows, and

“I

t’s important to have a strong foundation, a bedrock to stand on, and that’s what family is.” ~ Mary-Elizabeth Moore

Rhett and Hannah Jackson married in 2011, becoming a family of eight. Mary-Elizabeth and Jean-Marie are the only girls, and Coby, Sam, Nate and Kyser round out the family.

30

PROGRESS 2018

Elected to Serve Dedicated to Excellence

ABOVE: Rhett and Hannah said their family makes fun of each other but behind the teasing, they are all loving and caring. BELOW: Nearly every member of the family has participated in at least one production by the Bay Tree Council for the Performing Arts at the Weatherford Center in Red Bay.

David Hester, Rayburn Massey, Probate Judge Barry Moore, Jason Miller and Chris Wallace

Franklin County Commission Hannah has performed in five. Coby and Sam have been in one each, and Jean-Marie and Nate have been in three and two respectively.

“When Mary-Elizabeth was younger, I did it to be with her,” Rhett said.

Mary-Elizabeth said he is a really good character actor. “They appreciate him,” she said. “They have recruited him specifically for certain parts.”

Hannah said she loves seeing what the BTCPA has done for MaryElizabeth. “I’m just so appreciative that it’s here for her because it’s given her an outlet she would not have otherwise had,” Hannah said.

“She literally comes alive when it’s play season. It just lights up her face … It means so much to me because of what it’s done for her.”

The family also embraces the performing arts in their church. Each year they perform scenes from the story of Christ’s birth in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Christmas Eve, during come-and-go communion, they present a live nativity.

“That has become really special to the church members,” Hannah said.

“I have a Mary, Joseph, wise men, shepherds and an angel, so it works PROGRESS 2018

out really well – and I’m the coordinator.” They also performed a stick drama on Easter a few years ago.

Church is an important part of their family life. In addition to the seasonal performances, the family has taken on the Christmas Bazaar – Hannah and Jean-Marie are revitalizing this church tradition – and Hannah serves as the nursery director.

Their family is characterized, they all agreed, by plenty of good-natured teasing.

“You have to take everything as a joke,” Kyser said. When push comes to shove, however, “when something happens, we’ve got everybody’s back.”

Jean-Marie agreed, “Even though we make fun of each other, we still support each other through all of it.”

Hannah said although plenty of arguing and picking is to be expected among six children, she has also witness her children stand up for each other, without fail. “When it comes down to it, they will go to the mat for each other,” she said. “They protect each other, and while they act like they can’t stand each other sometimes, I’ve seen it: They love each other.”

31

Michael Moomaw, center, has three children. Kyle (second from left) and his girlfriend Sara (left) have the first grandchild, Tucker. Ashley and Braden complete the family.

CLOSENESS AND CARING The Moomaw family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

Michael Moomaw’s view of family and parenthood is one that is likely shared by many. “I couldn’t have asked for God to give me three children any better than the ones he gave me,” he said. “Being a parent is not an easy thing, but it’s a blessing to be one.”

Moomaw has handled town maintenance and utilities for the Town of Vina for 26 years, giving him an “extended family” that spans the entire town. “The main thing I enjoy about this job is helping people I have grown up around,” he said. “It’s just a good feeling to know you can help people when they call on you.” He is also a familiar face in the Vina Fire Department; he was asked to join the 32

VFD in 1992 and was eventually urged to take the role of fire chief. “My greatest joy is when they bring the little kids from the school, and we get to show them the fire department,” he said. “We take them back to school on the truck, and we’ll run the lights and sirens. It tickles me to see their expressions.”

But among the children he cares for are his own: 28-year-old Kyle, his stepson, is “a great young man, and I call him my son.” Ashley, 21, is his only daughter. Kyle and Ashley are both graduates of Vina High School, and Michael’s youngest, Braden, is a sophomore at Vina.

“I like that no matter what – if we’ve disagreed on something or we’re in an argument – family does come first,” said Ashley. “I love that we care about

each other, and we care about others, too.”

That care for others was instilled by seeing their father’s example, both as a town employee and as the fire chief.

“His passion is to make sure everyone he knows is OK,” Ashley said. “He cares. He has always cared about kids and people who are less fortunate.

When I was younger, it always made me jealous because that’s ‘my’ Daddy.

But he’s helped a lot of kids, and they have had a better life because of him.”

Ashley is employed at IHP, primarily working in cabinet assembly but also handling a wide assortment of other tasks. She intends to enroll at Northwest-Shoals Community College next year to pursue an EMT/ paramedic degree and potentially continue into the nursing program.

Kyle drives a truck across the Southeast region, but he is home every other night and most weekends to be with his girlfriend Sara and their infant son Tucker – Michael’s first grandchild. Kyle formerly served in the Army Reserves, deploying to Afghanistan for 13 months, and now serves as a firefighter at Vina. He, Michael and Ashley also serve the community on the rescue squad.

“I’ve got everything I ever wanted and all because of him,” Kyle said. “I didn’t really have a dad growing up, and when he met my mom, he came into my life. At first it was horrible.

We never saw eye-to-eye … but once you finally grow up, you get to realizing, it was all done for a purpose.

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Athletics play a central role in Moomaw family togetherness. Michael began coaching when Kyle was in Little League baseball and football, and he went on to coach Ashley in softball and Braden in basketball, football and baseball youth leagues.

Kyle and Michael used to play church league softball together â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and Kyle plays summer softball all over the state. Michael has made it a point to take his children to collegiate athletic events and accompany them to their state tournaments.

Braden plays baseball, football and basketball at Vina and also runs track. He aims to attend PROGRESS 2018

Auburn University, where he hopes to play on the Auburn football team.

Family time can be hard to come by, with everyone so busy, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something they all treasure when they can make it happen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We enjoy eating and fellowshipping,â&#x20AC;? Michael said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now that Kyle and Sara have blessed us with Tucker, it makes it even more special to get together.â&#x20AC;? Watching ballgames on TV is another fun family pastime.

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eing a parent is not an easy thing, but it’s a blessing to be one.” ~ Michael Moomaw

ABOVE: The family prioritizes being together, making their best effort to see each other at least once a week, despite their busy lives. LEFT: Tucker is the newest addition to the Moomaw family. BELOW: Kyle and Michael both serve in the Vina Fire Department, and Ashley previously served as well. Kyle, Ashley and Michael are also on the Vina Rescue Squad; Kyle and Ashley are chaplains.

tive on the Franklin County Development Authority board; and president of the Franklin County Fire and Rescue Squad.

“I have a vision for our town to grow, for industry to move in and bring jobs so our children don’t have to move off to Nashville or Birmingham or Atlanta,” Michael said. His vision also includes a potential future in politics – whether at the municipal, county or state level, with an eye toward increased involvement in the community he loves.

“I’m remodeling a house that both my grandmas lived in; that’s pretty special for me. I go to a church that is full of people who love and care and pray for you, and I live in a community where I have more mommas and daddies and grandmas than you can count on your hands,” Michael said. “It’s just that closeness that you have.”

34

PROGRESS 2018

Addressing today's challenges AND building for tomorrow.

Building for a better tomorrow starts in the home.

Franklin County is a great place to live, work, and play. While there are many special treasures in the county, one of the greatest can be found in the home.

Home is where children learn the history of their family and community. Home is where manners and respect are taught. Home is where a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future can be built. Together, we can build for tomorrow by continuing to better the quality of life for the children in our communities.

With integrity and conservative values, I am honored to serve the people of Franklin County.

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The Keeton family – Hal and Shala and their children, Holly and Casey – get to spend nearly every day together through their work in the family business, Big Star.

BOUND BY BUSINESS The Keeton family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

F

or many families, making time to see each other can be a challenge, made complicated by everyone’s busy schedules. For the Keeton family of Red Bay, family time is almost a daily occurrence, as Hal, wife Shala, daughter Holly and son Casey all work together in the family business.

Hal and Shala Keeton purchased the Big Star in Red Bay from Hal’s father Hoyt in 1997. Hal’s grandfather, Lonzo, began the family tradition in the grocery business in downtown Red Bay. Hal remembers stories about Hoyt delivering groceries when he was 12 years old, working for Lonzo. It’s a family legacy Hal is proud to continue.

“Of course, the grocery business has changed a lot since then,” Hal said. “They had two deliveries a day, delivering to people in town. And at that time they had live chickens in the back of the store, in a coop. The lady would order a chicken, and she would get a live chicken, the head poked through a paper sack and its feet tied up with a rope. They would set it on the front porch as they entered the house to deliver the lady’s groceries. Most of the time he got the enjoyment to wring the chicken’s neck on his way back out.”

Hoyt later became president of Keeton Oil and Southern Grocers – Hal remembers his childhood accompanying his father to check on the family convenience stores – and Hoyt bought the Red Bay Big Star in 1989.

36

Hal and Shala spend much of their time working Big Star operations, but they also enjoy family time, especially beach vacations and holiday get-togethers.

Hal first met Shala in Belmont in the early 1980s.

It was love at first sight, but the two dated for five years before marrying in 1986. In the early years of marriage, they both worked in Keeton Oil, but it’s been all about the grocery business since 1997, when they bought the Red Bay Big Star from Hoyt.

They added the Russellville location in 2016. “My family has been in the grocery business in Franklin

County for four generations,” Hal said.

They have two children: Casey, who is now 27, and Holly, 24.

“I think we were very blessed growing up,” Holly said. “We grew up in a great family. I have never seen my parents argue, and a lot of people don’t have that. They were always doing fun things with us.” Casey added, “They never missed any of our sporting events.”

Casey was always involved in athletics growing up, including football and golf. Holly was a dedicated cheerleader and was named Homecoming Queen.

One particular expression of family devotion stands out in Holly’s mind, from her eighth-grade year when she was named to the Homecoming Court. “My mother had just found out she had breast cancer,” Holly said. “They wanted to do her surgery the following Friday, the night of homecoming. I wanted her to go ahead and have surgery that day, but she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t miss that ballgame.”

Both Keeton children worked in the store growing up, whether it was weekends, summers or afternoons after school. Casey came on full time in 2009 following his high school graduation from Red Bay. Holly started full time in April 2017 after attending the Paul Mitchell The School in Huntsville and running her own salon in Red Bay for a few years.

“I always enjoyed it when I worked here during high school, but I always thought I would be interested in hair, too,” Holly said. Although she enjoyed PROGRESS 2018

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Employee Appreciation Hal and Shala have been married for more than 30 years. Their children have both joined the family business, continuing a Keeton legacy into the fourth generation. the salon, she ultimately decided to return to Big Star. “I just missed being in the family business.”

Family togetherness is easy to come by. Each family member steps up and is all in for the business, whatever needs to be done at the store – whether it’s covering for an employee who called in sick, managing business operations or helping make chocolate covered strawberries in the bakery. “We all pitch in,” said Shala. She is formally the company secretary, although she fills a variety of roles. Hal is company president. Holly is store manager in Red Bay, and Casey is store manager in Russellville.

“I just like interacting with the customers – talking to them, joking with them,” Casey said. “It’s just something I really enjoy.”

Outside of Big Star, going to church together at the First United Methodist Church has always been a family priority. Family beach vacations – to Orange

Beach or Destin – are a tradition the Keetons continue even now, when they can get away from the grocery business long enough to make it happen.

Hal and Shala are both active in the Alabama Emmaus Community, and Shala is a member of the board of directors for the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.

Holly and husband Blake Bullen, who is safety manager for Sunshine Mills’ corporate office, have a 3-yearold son, Keeton. “He’s my world,” Holly said. “He’s sweet and loving, but he can be rowdy, too.” Balls and monster trucks are his toys of choice, and he loves visiting “ShaSha and PawPaw’s” house.

Hal said he always hoped his children would want to be a part of the family legacy in the grocery business.

“I wanted them to, but I wanted them to make sure it was what they wanted to do,” Hal said. “If you’re not happy with what you’re doing, it’s not going to be a very good thing.”

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37

Since early 2017, Yohan and his family have been working with the First United Methodist Church in Red Bay.

FAITH IN FOCUS The Hong family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

A

United Methodist Church appointment brought Yohan Hong and his family to Red Bay from Madison, and for the past seven months the family has been soaking up the Franklin County/ Northwest Alabama area.

Yohan is filling in as a temporary assignment for FUMC minister Mitch Nethery, who is deployed.

“We had never heard of Red Bay,” Yohan said.

“But we were missionaries in the field, so in the spirit of being a missionary, we are ready to go wherever God will lead us to go.”

He and his wife Jenny You – Korean women do not take the last name of their husbands – were both born and raised in Korea. They married in 2007, and they have one daughter, Esther, 7. They were missionaries in the Philippines when Esther was born, but she has lived her whole life, since she was 4 months old, in America and is bilingual. “She is experiencing Korean and American culture,” Jenny said. Cultural identity has sometimes been a challenge to the seven-year-old. “In kindergarten and first grade, she had a little bit of a difficult time articulating both languages,” Jenny said. “She felt stressed about that. But then a Korean girl came to her school from Korea, because her father was in the military, and she couldn’t speak any English at all. The teacher could not communicate with her.

So the teacher asked Esther to translate, so she translated, and because of her they could communicate very well. Since then, she has been proud of speaking both languages.”

They have tried to adapt the best of both cultures, Korean and American, into their family life, Jenny said. They play American board games together, like Monopoly and Guess Who, and Esther is exposed to plenty of American culture at school, but many of their values and manners reflect Korean culture, such as highly respectful regard for the elderly. Jenny also tries to cook dishes from both cultures – pizza is one of Esther’s favorites, but their dinner table might also feature kimchi, pierogi, Korean barbecue or bimbimbap.

38

PROGRESS 2018

“We are a hybrid between two different cultures,” Yohan said. “Jenny and I are different from ‘authentic’ Koreans, living in Korea, and of course we are not traditional Americans. We are living in between.” It’s a challenge, Yohan said, faced by many Korean immigrants. “We are truly open to embrace American culture.”

Prior to serving in Madison, where the couple was charged with helping restore a Korean church in connection with Asbury United Methodist, they lived in Kentucky for four years while Yohan worked on his PhD at Asbury Theological Seminary. Yohan is now completing his dissertation, which consumes a good bit of his free time, and while Esther is at school, Jenny is also working on her theological degree online through the Asbury seminary. Jenny said Esther likes that all three of them are students.

When the family has free time to spend together, they will watch Korean television, visit museums and parks, watch high school sports, go for walks or attend community events. Jenny loves to visit the farmers market, and Esther enjoys the Red Bay Fun Park.

Yohan and Esther will ride bikes, dance, sing and play – “whatever she wants,” Yohan said. A favorite family trip is to Atlanta, where Jenny can buy all the specialty ingredients she wants at a thriving Korean market.

Yohan and Jenny both love to learn. “Before Esther was born, we would have plenty of time to do things together. We would go to a coffee shop and read a book and have a conversation or discussion on the topic,” Jenny said. Theological topics were the usual subjects of choice. Yohan also enjoys hiking. One of Esther’s favorite activities is gymnastics. “She wants to be in the Olympics and win a gold medal,” Yohan said. “She practices every day,” Jenny added.

Their focus is to bring the good news to the church and the community and to love people of other cultures. Even when that mission takes them to new and unfamiliar places, “it’s not scary. It’s exciting,” Jenny said.

Faith is an important part of the family’s heritage. Yohan’s great-grandfather was one of the earliest Koreans to convert to Christianity.

“He was evangelized by one of the American missionaries, so that kind of spiritual tradition has been handed down to my generation,” Yohan said. “I grew up listening to missionary stories in my childhood, and I feel like I am indebted by the American missionaries and American churches, so I have to pay that back to American churches.

That is one of many reasons I wanted to serve in English-speaking settings.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The family is focused on bringing the “Good News” to the world, wherever God leads. Esther, 7, has enjoyed making new friends at church and at Red Bay Elementary. Yohan and Jenny, and their daughter Esther, will continue living and working for a few more months with the First United Methodist Church.

PROGRESS 2018

39

LOVE IN ACTION The Grimes family Story and photos by ALISON JAMES

W

hen Heath Grimes thinks about his family, he has a team mentality.

“It’s teamwork, understanding and communication,” he said.

“When I think about our hectic schedules and the way we do things, it’s a team effort.”

The Grimes team includes Heath, Amy and their three daughters, Leah, Halle and Erin. The family moved to Russellville in 2015 when Heath was hired as superintendent of Russellville City Schools.

Amy and Heath both graduated from Lawrence County High School. “We were friends first. We had French class together, and I sat in front of her,” Heath said. He later proposed in that French class – in French – and they married in 2001.

The family’s busy schedules often send them in different directions. Heath has numerous responsibilities as RCS superintendent, his latest job in a career that has included teacher, assistant principal, coach and superintendent of Lawrence County Schools. Amy tallied 17 years as a computer programmer in the healthcare field, and she is now going back to school to earn an education degree. Leah, 14, is active in dance and volleyball; Halle, 11, also dances and plays volleyball, in addition to playing tennis; and Erin, 8, is in gymnastics and softball.

Leah and Halle dance at a studio in Moulton, where the Grimes family lived before Heath took the superintendent position. In addition to their mother’s encouragement, another motivation was that many of their friends were dancing there. “It was a great social atmosphere, along with the culture, art and talent,” Heath said. Amy added, “I just love the arts. I like music and musicals and dance, so I just wanted them to have that experience.”

Heath and Amy Grimes have three daughters: Leah, Halle and Erin.

40

PROGRESS 2018

“M

y song for my kids – my own, plus all who I have taught and coached – is ‘I hope you dance.’ I want my kids to enjoy life, even if it means some pain along the way. Sitting on the side shouldn’t be an option.” ~ Heath Grimes

Heath said with everything the family has going on, strong communication is crucial to making all the pieces fit together. He and Amy will tag team to be sure at least one of them is there for every recital, every performance, every game.

“Busy is good,” Heath said. “I’m a task-oriented person, so if I’m running the girls around, and I have to get them here or there, and we need to be in four places at two different times – that’s a challenge, and that busy-ness I enjoy.”

Amy, on the other hand, likes things to line up and be organized. Their differences, she said, balance each other out. “Most relationships are like that. You have one who offsets the other,” Amy said. “He gets me out there doing things I wouldn’t normally do because I am so reserved, and at the same time, I rein him a little bit. We offset one another well.”

Although their respective careers and hobbies keep them all busy, they still make time for family activities. Game night, featuring favorites like Yahtzee, The Game of Life and Headbanz, is one thing they all enjoy, and movie or TV nights together are also popular. Heath will take the girls to the lake or the swimming pool, and Amy and the girls will take time to enjoy local attractions or sightseeing wherever they go for dance competitions.

Family trips are another favorite. Orange Beach is a frequent destination; the family has attended Alabama and LSU games together; and Chicago and Washington, D.C., trips are among favorite memories for the Grimes girls.

PROGRESS 2018

“It’s hard for all five of us to do something that we all enjoy and where our schedules aren’t conflicting,” Heath said.

In Russellville, Rancho Viejo, 43 Grill and Tokyo are among the family’s favorite spots to dine out.

Their favorite place to go, however, is to local high school sporting events and activities.

“We love Friday night ballgames. We go as a family to every football game,” Heath said.

They also attend most home basketball games together.

The family is active at Russellville First United Methodist, and Heath and Amy said their faith is a cornerstone of who they are as a family.

“Amy and I have a responsibility to teach our children right from wrong, and our faith is very important to us,” Heath said. “In our faith, we are taught to love God and love people. That is very important to me. I want my girls to learn to love people … I want to teach my kids to give to the poor, feed the hungry and help those in need.” Heath said he and Amy try to make it a point to speak to their daughters about the Golden Rule, “but I hope I do a better job of showing them than telling them.

That is my goal anyway. I want them to be a friend to others.”

Sundays are a time for family as well as faith.

They go to Heath’s mother’s house for Sunday lunch every week, joined by Heath’s siblings and all of their children, plus their children’s children.

“We’re talking 30 or 40 people, every Sunday,” Heath said – cousins, grandchildren, nieces and

nephews, aunts and uncles, all gathered around the table for a family meal. “If you don’t go, you get in trouble,” Heath joked. “It’s on the calendar, and it has been since I was born. There is no coordinating because nothing else gets scheduled on Sundays.”

It’s an important tradition they cherish. “Mom’s 80, and I don’t know what happens when something happens with her, but while Mom’s alive, we will be going to Sunday dinner.”

Heath said he will always encourage his daughters to pour their hearts into what they care about, whether it’s volleyball or gymnastics or Sunday lunch.

“My song for my kids – my own, plus all who I have taught and coached – is ‘I hope you dance,’” Heath said. “I want my kids to enjoy life, even if it means some pain along the way. Sitting on the side shouldn’t be an option.”

And when they all need a pause in the breakneck speed of the everyday, family will always be there to help them through.

“When you have a lot going on in life,” Amy said, “it’s just nice to have a group of people you can come home to.”

ABOVE LEFT: With Heath’s role as superintendent plus three girls in Russellville City Schools, the Grimes family is active in RCS life and can often be found at a sporting event or other school activity. ABOVE RIGHT: Leah, Halle and Erin participate in a variety of recreational avenues, including dance, volleyball, tennis and piano.

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