Madison Living Magazine - October 2023

MADISON LIVING THE GUIDE • AROUND TOWN • SHOPPING • OUT & ABOUT • SCHOOLS • DOWNTOWN

October 2023 madisonlivingmagazine.com

Dynamic Duo

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MADISON LIVING

Custom Closets, Garage Cabinets, Home Offices, Pantries, Laundries and Hobby Rooms

Sharing the stories that make Madison home!

EDITOR John Few CONTRIBUTORS Bob Labbe Gregg Parker Erin Coggins Joshua Berry Maria Rakoczy Lee Marshall John Peck Mary Lynne Wright Brandy Booth Kassidy Wilkins MARKETING Donna Counts GENERAL MANAGER French Salter

CONTACT US Madison Living Magazine The Madison Record 7734 Madison Blvd. Suite 115 Huntsville, AL 35806 madisonlivingmagazine.com For story ideas, call John Few at 256-763-1150 or email john@themadisonrecord.com.

To advertise, call Donna Counts at 256-714-7152.

Madison Living is published monthly by Tennessee Valley Media, Inc. A one-year subscription to Madison Living is $30.79 for 12 issues per year. Single copies are available at select locations throughout the Madison area. To subscribe, call 256-772-6677.

Copyright 2023

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THE GUIDE

Trash Pandas Fall Festival • October 28 • Toyota Field in Madison •www.trashpandasbaseball.com The Rocket City Trash Pandas will be hosting a Fall Festival at Toyota Field, presented by Metro Diner. Trick-or-treating on the Bill Penney Toyota Concourse and the Toyota Outfield Experience will take place from 5-7 p.m. with a screening of The Haunted Mansion (2023) to follow on the videoboard at 7:15 p.m. Lifted Trucks and Ride Now will be on hand with over 30 vehicles on display and candy for the trick-or-treating the event from 5-7. Guests are encouraged to wear costumes.

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Madison Living 7

THE GUIDE

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Toyota Field Fall Concerts • Toyota Field in Madison Six Nationally Touring Bands will headline six nights of concerts at Toyota Field in the Bill Penney Toyota Plaza this month. All tickets are general admission. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for each event.

Tickets can be purchased at trashpandasbaseball.com/events.

Thursday, October 5 Drake Milligan

Thursday, October 12 Warrant

Friday October 6 Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience

Friday, October 13 John Anderson Unplugged

Saturday, October 7 Saving Abel

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THE GUIDE

Upcoming concerts and events at The Orion Amphitheater • MidCity District in Huntsville • theorionhuntsville.com Check out the many concerts and events scheduled for this month at the Orion Amphitheater. Go to their website for more details.

October 7 Maxwell with Musiq Soulchild

October 11 Willie Nelson with The Avett Brothers, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, and Particle Kid

October 27 Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit with Margo Price and Billy Allen and The Pollies

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THE GUIDE

Upcoming concerts and events at the Von Braun Center • Downtown Huntsville • www.vonbrauncenter.com Check out the many concerts and events scheduled for this month at the Von Braun Center. Go to their website for more details.

The Rocket City Blues Festival October 13 Mark C. Smith Concert Hall

Paul Cauthen October 14, Mars Music Hall

Wheel of Fortune Live!

October 17 Mark C. Smith Concert Hall

Larry Fleet October 13 Mars Music Hall

Gaither Vocal Band October 14 Mark C. Smith Concert Hall

Henry Rollins: Good To See You October 15 Mars Music Hall

Huntsville Symphony Orchestra “The Music of Rocky Horror” October 20 Mark C. Smith Concert Hall

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THE GUIDE

A Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis • October 24 .at 7 p.m. • Von Braun Center • www.vonbrauncenter.com The night will be filled with many of Randy’s twenty-three global # 1 hits being performed live by some of his musical ‘Heroes and Friends’ in a once-in-a-lifetime event. A portion of the proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Randy Travis Foundation. The foundation is focused on stroke and aphasia awareness and supporting music education in schools.

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THE GUIDE

Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament • October 26 • Sunset Landing Golf Course • madisonalchamber.com,

A new event for the city will give a recreational outing to participants while raising funds for student scholarships. The inaugural Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament on Oct. 26 at Sunset Landing Golf Course will have a tee-off time of 8 a.m. and will conclude at 2 p.m. Madison Chamber of Commerce is presenting this event. The team that claims the highest score will receive an award. To register, visit madisonalchamber.com, and click “Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament” in the “Upcoming Event” scroll. On the new window, click “Register.”

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THE GUIDE

Annual Antique & Classic Car, Truck, & Motorcycle Show

October 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Orion Amphitheater • Free theorionhuntsville.com

Some of the most unique and legendary cars will be on display when the North Alabama Region (NAR) of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) brings its’ regional show to The Orion Amphitheater. The show kicks off at 9 a.m. with vehicles on display throughout the Amphitheater and into the South Parking Lot. Spectators can groove to the tunes of a DJ, enjoy delicious entrees from various food trucks, and participate in other games and entertainment scattered throughout the venue.

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THE GUIDE

Scarecrow Trail Festival • September- October. • Huntsville Botanical Garden • hsvbg.org Bring the family out to see the Scarecrow Trail this month, as the sometimes funny, sometimes scary and always exciting Scarecrows once again fill the Garden. Navigate through the sorghum maze, Haunted Hangouts, the Pumpkin Patch, enjoy weekend hayrides and be amazed by unique scarecrows and hay bale art sculptures placed throughout the Garden!

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THE GUIDE LIVING UPLAND PARK

Visit us for a tour, and ask us about our fall specials!

Discover the perfect place for you or your loved one to call home at Vitality Living Upland Park! Come explore our beautiful senior living community and take advantage of our exclusive fall specials. Experience the warm, welcoming atmosphere of Vitality Living Upland Park, and see why so many seniors love calling us home.

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Located at 1088 Hughes Road, next to Trinity Baptist Church, Madison City Farmers Market is a producer-only farmers market founded in 2007. Vendors provide a wide selection of the freshest local veggies, fruits, cheese, eggs, meats, milk, herbs, honey, jams, relishes, home-baked goods, plants and flowers. Come see creations from local artisans including handmade cards, soaps, lotions, candles, wood crafts, sewn items and other handmade products.

When people with extraordinary talent and passion are given the technology, the facilities, and the support, they achieve great things. The discoveries taking place today will help shape the future of treatments and lead to cures – benefitting not only our patients and families, but people across the country and around the world for years to come.

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THE GUIDE

Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment Outdoor Market Every Saturday • 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Midcity Market • Every Sunday • Noon to 4 p.m.

The Camp at MidCity in Huntsville

Join Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment every Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., from through October 21 for their Outdoor Market. Vendors from all over the area will present their finest products, whether made-by-hand, second-hand or made by the earth. Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment will host this event throughout the grounds providing patrons, pickers, and art lovers with an open air shopping experience. Go to www.lowemill.art/outdoor-market.

Each Sunday MidCity hosts a wide range of vendors, from food to goodies. The Market will be held each week from 12-4 p.m. It is located at The Camp, 5909 University Drive in Huntsville. For your ears, “The Camp Counselors” are on stage at The Camp every Sunday providing great live music. All products are grown, created, baked, or produced within 150 miles of the Market at MidCity. Go to www.explorethecamp. com/market for vendor list.

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THE GUIDE

Gaither Vocal Band • October 14 at 6 p.m. • Von Braun Center • vonbrauncenter.com Riding high on the heels of a very successful Spring Tour, legendary singer/songwriter Bill Gaither will take the Brighter The Light Tour to Huntsville. Gaither, a multiple Grammy and Dove award winner, has been a musical trailblazer. Taking the stage with Gaither and the Gaither Vocal Band, featuring Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb, Todd Suttles and Reggie Smith, will be popular female vocalist, Ladye Love Smith and talented male vocalist, Gene McDonald, as well as Gaither’s musical entourage, comprised of Kevin Williams, Matthew Holt and Michael Rowsey.

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THE GUIDE

Venardos Circus • October 19-29 • MidCity District in Huntsville • VenardosCircus.com Back by popular demand the fabulous Venardos Circus (veh-NARR-dos), a Broadway-style animal-free circus, is returning to Huntsville. The show will be held at MidCity Plaza with its all-new “Let’s Build a Dream” Tour from October 19 - 29. This season the wondrous Venardos Circus cast will take audiences on a journey under the big top as it unveils a fresh, magical, and all-new experience for fans. The show features an original score, amazing performers, stunning lighting, and dazzling costumes.

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Nashville-based Alyssa Palmer thrilled the audience at the Railyard Barbeque Brawl in 2021. She is back this year as part of the lineup for this year’s music festival. Joining her will be The Jimmy Henderson Blues Band and another Nashville-based entertainer, Andy Beckey.

RAILYARD BARBEQUE BRAWL The annual BBQ and music festival will be held in downtown Madison Oct 28

R

STORY BY MARIA RAKOCZY

Railyard Barbeque Brawl and Music Fest will descend on Downtown Madison with a Kansas City style barbecue competition on Saturday, October 28, for the third year in a row. The competition and music festival is quickly becoming a Madison tradition and will once again take over the open field on Martin St. The Railyard Barbecue Barbeque Brawl features an official Kansas City Barbecue Society cook-off with both professional and amateur tiers. The festivities for competitors begin on Thursday, October 26 while the festival fun for the public runs from 11 am to 10:30 pm on October 28. The public can purchase tickets for $20 plus fees which includes barbecue from one of four BBQ Tents, a great atmosphere will free smells from fifty cooking

26 Madison Living

teams, and sweet sounds from musical acts.

Attendees can devour their barbecue while taking in the music from the Jimmy Henderson Blues Band, Andy Beckey, and Alyssa Palmer. Fun for the whole family is available too with kid-friendly activities aplenty.

The Jimmy Henderson Blues Band is a local favorite, often playing at Champy’s Fried Chicken of Madison.

This group plays blues/rock originals and well-known covers.

Nashville-based Andy Beckey growls out some gutbucket blues and a psycho-billy barrage coming from his guitar that belies his love of the Reverend Horton Heat.

He will certainly entertain you with his twisted sense of humor. His debut album, ‘Ten Feet Tall and Bullet-

The real star of the festival is the mouth-watering barbeque. Teams will compete in the Kansas City Barbeque Society competition.

Jimmy Henderson

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ALYSSA PALMER

Madison Living 27

proof’, is out on streaming platforms.

Another Nashville-based musician, Alyssa Palmer began writing songs at age 12 and has been captivating audiences ever since. With a powerful voice and thoughtful lyrics, the Michigan native delivers a sound that incorporates elements of country, rock blues. It is her authenticity and passion for connecting with her listeners that pours from every line of her songs.

Eugene Jung, the owner of Champy’s Fried Chicken of Madison, looks forward to bringing the event to Downtown Madison once again with the help of fellow organizers and sponsors Chuckwagon BBQ, Old Black bear, Southernscape Landscaping, and Johnson Pools & Spa. “We are a small group of business owners who really wanted to create something fun for the city of Madison to call their own revolving around some of the best BBQ you will find in the country. Going into our 3rd year and more excited than ever,” said Jung.

Visit railyardbbqfest.com to purchase tickets and register for the competition, and follow @railyardbbqfest on Facebook for further updates.

The Railyard Barbeque Brawl will have plenty of fun for everyone.

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Madison Living 29

ROUND TOP FOLK FESTIVAL Burritt on the Mountain to host the third annual event on Nov. 4-5 celebrating traditional art and music

B

STORY BY JOHN FEW

Burritt on the Mountain and the Burritt Folk School are planning the third annual Round Top Folk Festival.

Named for the mountain on which Burritt sits, the festival will feature traditional art and music, Nov. 4-5.

Festival organizers say dozens of local demonstrators, artisans, musicians, and more will be participating this year with unique items for sale, as well as special demonstrations representing traditional art and culture of north Alabama.

On Friday, Nov. 3, st 6 p.m., a special kickoff concert on the scenic Baron Bluff will feature the bluegrass music of Western Montana living in Nashville, Tennessee, TopHouse. Created in 2015, TopHouse is a Montana-raised Americana/folk band made up of Jesse Davis, Joe Lar-

30 Madison Living

son, Will Cook, and Andy LaFave.

On Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 5, from noon to 4 p.m., a wide selection of traditional musicians will play throughout the Historic Park and local demonstrators and artisans will share their crafts and skills through demonstrations with items for sale. These skills, all taught at the Burritt Folk School, preserve the traditional arts of our ancestors in the Cumberland Plateau region.

Local musicians will be performing at the Bendickson Family Pavilion and Historic Park throughout the day.

Visitors are encouraged to enjoy lunch from the variety of food and drink options available during the festival for purchase throughout the day.

“Burritt has long been a place to enjoy the outdoors for both recreation and history. We preserve traditional arts, skills and handicrafts and offer opportunities for guests to experience the way things once were done. The Round Top Folk Festival is an expansion of our Folklife Festival and has combined the incredibly important traditional arts with something Burritt does remarkably well…concerts! This fits seamlessly into our mission to enhance lives and build community through educational, artistic, and recreational experiences while preserving our heritage, land, and historic structures,” said Leslie Ecklund, Burritt CEO. Tickets can be purchased at burrittonthemountain.com. All concert goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets.

“This is a great opportunity to enjoy the mountain air and visit with some of our Folk School instructors as they demonstrate their crafts. Our studio and workshops spaces will be open as well as the historic buildings throughout the park. I invite people to come see for themselves and be a part of our creative community,” said Jana Parris, Folk School Program Manager.

To view the full list of artist vendors, demonstrators and local musicians, visit burrittonthemountain.com for up to date listings.

Top House will kick things off with a special concert Friday, Nov. 3 563885-1

Madison Living 31

HUNTSVILLE BALLET The Huntsville Ballet Company will kick off their 60th season with the Unplugged series offering, Amore

A

STORY BY JOHN FEW

A new season is underway for Huntsville Ballet Company (HBC) with three major productions and a new intimate series on the schedule.

HBC uses the power of dance to inspire and nurture the art of classical ballet through educational excellence, artistic achievement and outreach. The tone of each production varies to fulfill the audiences’ diverse tastes.

Huntsville Ballet opens its 60th season with the much-anticipated return to the stage of Artistic Director, Phillip Otto’s original ballet, Amore on Oct. 27-29 for the HBC’s Unplugged series.

In 2019, Otto commissioned local composer Jackson Love to create the score for the now acclaimed ballet whose individual movements; diamonds, blue topaz, gold, and pearls symbolize love. This ballet was inspired by the exquisite work of Huntsville’s own renowned jewelry artist, Dr. Kathy Chan. Dr. Chan created the award-winning Amore necklace in 1986 using 197 carats of blue topaz pierced with an arrow of diamonds.

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Each performance will conclude with what has become an audience favorite, the opportunity to meet and ask questions of the dancers and directors.

The performances will be held at the Dream Theater, 3401 Holmes Ave NW. They are scheduled for Friday, Oct 27, at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct 29, at 3 p.m.

The Nutcracker Later this year, HBC’s 55th annual production, “The Nutcracker” will include special guests from Huntsville Symphony Orchestra. In this enduring Huntsville tradition, Clara’s enchanting story comes to life at the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall with masterful choreography, enchanting scenic designs, brilliant lighting and stunning costumes.

This time-honored event has become an enduring part of the holiday season. Tchaikovsky’s iconic score comes to life with Clara and her Prince, the magical growing Christmas tree, a blizzard of white snowflakes, dancing flowers, and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

“The Nutcracker” will be performed Dec. 8-10.

All student performers are registered HBC students.

Dancers Choice After the beginning of the new year, HBC will present “Dancers Choice” in February. This gives HBC members the opportunity to choreograph and perform in genres of their choice. Organizers say performing in a smaller, more intimate setting of the HBC studio has proven to create a truly interactive and educational experience allowing for conversation between the audience and the dancers and directors. It will be offered Feb. 23-25.

Swan Lake Act II To round out the season, the Huntsville Ballet Company takes the stage of the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall in April with the spellbinding second act of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

One of the most iconic ballets of all time, Swan Lake entwines love, magic, and tragedy to tell the story of Prince Siegfried and Princess Odette, the swan maiden who has fallen under the enchantment of the evil Baron Von Rothbart. Only a vow of true love can break the spell. It will be performed April 19-21.

For more information, visit huntsvilleballet.org.

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THE JUNGLE BOOK Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater and Academy to kick off new season this month with this children’s classic

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Get ready for a season filled with excitement and adventure on the stage. Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater & Academy (FPCTA) announced its 63rd season recently. Beginning this month, the new season will be filled with original adaptations and plays written by Alabama authors.

The Jungle Book FPCTA kicks off the all-new season with Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” adapted by Josh Mitchell. This is an original adaptation of the most famous short stories in a collection published by Rudyard Kipling in the 1890s-the Mowgli Adventures. This script is faithful to three of the short stories, so it includes elements that will be new to those only familiar with the Disney versions. Still, it has

all the usual characters--Mowgli; Baloo, the bear; Bagheera, the panther; Kaa, the python; and of course, Mowgli’s nemesis, Shere Khan, the Bengal tiger.

Deep in the mysterious Jungle lives Mowgli, a curious young boy raised by wolves. When the mighty roar of a fearsome tiger forces Mowgli to leave the only home he’s ever known, the young boy sets off on a journey where he meets an array of jungle creatures. Mowgli must rely on the guidance of his new friends, a pragmatic panther, and a big brother bear as he learns valuable life lessons through selfdiscovery, brave adventures, and the rules of the jungle.

“The Jungle Book” will be presented October 20-22 and 27-29 at the Von Braun Center Playhouse in Downtown Huntsville.

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Other productions include: A Christmas Carol December 1-3 and 7-10 Following this wild adventure, FPCTA presents a new adaptation of the Huntsville holiday staple, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” -- adapted and directed by Cherie Evans.

Huntsville’s most beloved family holiday tradition returns to the Fantasy Playhouse stage for the 33rd year this December. Take a trip in time through the past, present, and future with the miserly Mr. Scrooge, three Christmas Spirits, and all the whimsical characters of London town. With more theater magic than ever before, this Charles Dickens classic will delight all ages as an inspiration to keep Christmas in our hearts all year long.

Rapunzel and the Beanstalk February 22-25, 2024 In February, Fantasy Playhouse travels back to Nysland Wood for the next fairytale installment by Stephen Tyler Davis, “Rapunzel and the Beanstalk”. Davis serves as the artistic director for FPCTA. Rapunzel and Jack have always lived on the same cobblestone street but never knew it! Between them sits the rundown cottage of the worst witch in Nysland- Willy Nilly Walliwort. She trips over her broomstick and always leaves her hat behind. Her spells come out wrong and her potions are just plain pitiful.

When Willy Nilly tries to make new friends, she invites her neighbors over for her delicious magic beans! But if she fumbles the recipe, she might end up with a beanstalk she didn’t bargain for...and are those beautiful locks of vines growing from Rapunzel’s head? Climb on up for this adventure to giant places about friendship, trying your best, second chances, and the power of positivity.

Space Monkeys! The Adventures of Baker & Able May 16-19, 2024 Rounding out their season, FPCTA launches a new play about the two infamous primates of Alabama history that led the space race in 1959. “Space Monkeys! The Adventures of Baker & Able” will have its world premiere in partnership with the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in May 2024.

3...2...1...Blastoff! It’s 1959 in Huntsville, Alabama and the space race is on! Scientists around the world were depending on all sorts of creatures to discover the great beyond. But in America, two brave monkeys led the charge for space exploration- Baker and Able! Buckle up and hold on tight as these two courageous creatures take us on an adventure through their imagination, deciphering data and preparing their human astronauts for a discovery of galactic magnitude.

A story of friendship, sacrifice, and dreaming big, this world premiere play will inspire all ages through a special Alabama story set at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

For more information, visit www.FantasyPlayhouse.org.

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MADISON WITCHES RIDE Madison Witches Ride, Roll & Stroll to conjure four hours of hocus-pocus

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STORY BY GREGG PARKER

Ushering in Halloween vibes, the second annual Madison Witches Ride, Roll & Stroll promises a treat (no tricks!) for children of Madison, pets on parade and even some Flying Monkeys.

“This premiere event brings together members of the community for a great cause. Organized by Madison Visionary Partners or MVP to benefit the Madison Splash Pad fund, there has never been a better way to showcase your Halloween spirit,” MVP Executive Director Melanie Thornton said.

“The splash pad is in the very early stages of planning by the city, and proper approvals need to take place before a timeline can be established. We are committed to working with the city to make this project a reality,” Thornton said.

Madison witches will fly off on their brooms (or bi-

36 Madison Living

cycles as improvised transportation) for their one-mile route, starting at Journey Middle School at 217 Celtic Drive for sign-in at the south parking lot by the gym on Oct. 22 from 2 to 2:45 p.m.

Witches will line up for their parade from 2:45 to 3 p.m. Then, they’ll take flight (hmmm . . . walk or ride) for their destination at Home Place Park, 130 Shorter St., east of Madison City Schools Stadium. The witches will throw candy to children along the route.

From 4 to 6 p.m., the Black Cat Block Party will entertain the crowd with children’s games and activities, music and concessions. The witches encourage anyone to dress up in costume (after all, Halloween will be only nine days away).

The Barks & Boos Pet Parade will start at 4:30 p.m.

Registration fee is $25.

At 5:30 p.m., the devilish dogs will receive their awards for “Best Costume Overall,” “Best Group Costume,” “Best Cackle” and “Best Pet Costume.”

The Witches Ride activities will end at 6 p.m.

Individuals can sign up as a Flying Monkey, a route volunteer that assists the witches for setup, safety along the parade route and refills of candy. To volunteer, visit mvpmadison.org/madison-witches-ride and click the link after “Frequently Asked Questions.”

Flying Monkeys who need official receipts for volunteer hours will receive email after the event.

To register, witches should visit mvpmadison.org/ madison-witches-ride, and click “Witches Ride Registration.” Registration will close at midnight on Oct. 20.

Registration fee is $50 through Oct. 9. Fee for late registration is $65 on Oct. 10-20.

Witches do melt when they get wet (remember “The Wizard of Oz?”), so a rain date is set for Oct. 29. Organizers will post weather updates with social media and email. No refunds will be issued in event of rain; all registration fees will be considered a donation for the splash pad.

For more information, visit mvpmadison.org/madison-witches-ride.

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BROADWAY THEATRE LEAGUE Broadway Theatre League kicks off new season this month with “Johnny Cash - The Official Experience” and “Come From Away”

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Broadway Theatre League will kick off the shows for its 2023-2024 season this month. Laughs, finger snaps and even hope will interlace the spectrum of performances.

The upcoming slate offers six straight-from-NYC productions, along with four season specials.

This month, Broadway Theater League will present the musical “Come From Away”, Oct. 27-29. Before that, they will offer the special, “Johnny Cash – The Official Concert Experience” on Oct. 18 at the Mark C. Smith Auditorium at the VBC. “Johnny Cash – The Official Concert Experience” brings songs and stories from the ‘Man in Black’ to the stage in a way that audiences haven’t seen or heard before. With video of Johnny from episodes of The Johnny Cash TV Show projected on a screen above the stage, a live band and singers will accompany him in perfect sync.

According to the Broadway Theatre league, this concert experience will showcase iconic performances from the TV show and highlight the spirit of the legend by revisiting some of his memorable words and anecdotes. Cash

38 Madison Living

Casual Dining will perform some of his biggest hits, including “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Ring of Fire,” and “I Walk the Line,” and share stories of people he met along the way whose causes he championed – the working man from all walks of life. Plus, onstage male and female singers will split vocal duties performing their own takes on Cash hits.

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Come From Away Oct. 27-29 This “Best Musical” winner reveals the true story of 7,000 passengers stranded after 9/11 attacks and the Newfoundland hamlet that welcomed them. Anxiety at first transformed into trust and friendships. This New York Times Critics’ Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.

Don’t miss this breathtaking new musical written

by Tony Award nominees Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and helmed by this year’s Tony Award-winning Best Director, Christopher Ashely. Newsweek cheers, “It takes you to a place you never want to leave!”

Mean Girls Dec. 15-17 The musical is the (wild)child creation of Tina Fey, composer Jeff Richmond, lyricist Nell Benjamin and director Casey Nicholaw.

Teenager Cady Heron had lived in an African settlement but that environment was much less hostile than her new home in suburban Illinois. At her new high school, Cady falls in/out of favor with brutal mean girls, led by vicious Regina George.

To Kill a Mockingbird Jan. 12-14, 2024 Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin adapted this version of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

“60 Minutes” lauded “To Kill a Mockingbird” as “the most successful American play in Broadway history.”

NPR said Lee’s work and on-stage presentation is “one of the greatest plays in history.”

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Beetlejuice – The Musical Nov. 28 - Dec. 3 A ghost like none other, “Beetlejuice” is based on Tim Burton’s genre-smashing movie. Lydia Deetz, an unusual teenager, whose life morphs when she meets a couple, who just died, and a bizarre Netherworld demon/comic/deceased guy.

Madison Living 39

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Jesus Christ Superstar March 15-17, 2024 Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic anthems and ballads in “Jesus Christ Superstar” are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. For BTL, a new version will grace the stage.

The show depicts Jesus’ final weeks from Judas’ perspective. This version of “Jesus Christ Superstar” pays homage to “Billboard’s” 1971 “Album of the Year,” yet creates a modern feel.

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Pretty Woman: The Musical May 10-12, 2024 Based on the cherished rom-com film, the musical shows that a prince can rescue the beautiful maiden.

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EVENTS

INSIDE THE ROTARY CLUB The people behind the Dead Parrot’s Society Bash STORY BY MARIA RAKOCZY

Madison Living 41

Rotarians with the Rotary Club of Madison and Bob Jones Interact students teamed up to fill backpacks with school supplies for Madison City Schools’ kids in need, just in time for the Rotary Club’s spine-tingling Dead Parrots Society Bash on Oct. 28. The Rotary Club hosts the event as its major fundraiser to continue its ‘service-over-self’ commitment to provide charitable services both locally and internationally. The bash on Oct. 28 will welcome guests from 6 to 11 p.m. at the venue, NOW Soccer Academy at 147 Westchester Drive, Bldg. E in Madison. Tickets are available from eventbrite.com,

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The Dead Parrot’s Society may not be real but the Rotary Club that puts on the Dead Parrot’s Society Bash every year is very real, and it’s filled with hard-working and community-minded individuals who are driving forces behind projects that strive to improve the quality of life around Madison.

The organization is the local chapter of the national and international Rotary Club organization that was founded in 1905 to improve communities through charitable initiatives. Founded in 1999, the Madison chapter has been active for over twenty years and in that time has supported countless city improvement projects from supplying Thanksgiving Day meals to Madison students and veterans to fundraising for municipal projects, such as Kids’ Kingdom Park and Home Place Park renovations. The club has a special emphasis on youth outreach that includes a KTECH scholarship, Interact Clubs at both James Clemens and Bob Jones High Schools, and the annual Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.

Melissa Gibson, co-chair of the Dead Parrots Society Bash, credits the Rotary Club’s Youth Director, Fire Chief David Bailey, for the chapter’s thriving focus on uplifting

42 Madison Living

the youth of Madison.

“Our youth director, Chief Bailey, he just has such a passion for youth,” Gibson said. “He just exudes all that, just loves young people and pouring into them, and he’s really taken a lot of time to meet with the schools and find out exactly where their needs are. So, this year we want to really focus a lot of our funds to go to those kids that need some extra help.”

People like Chief Bailey make the Rotary Club’s initiatives successful and enriching for the Madison and North Alabama communities.

“Everyone has to pitch in in volunteer organizations,” Tom Florence, the co-chair along with Gibson for the Dead Parrots Society Bash, said. “Rotary is full of people with past careers, a lot of time and talent, and it’s a pretty great group to interact with. Everyone at Rotary has a lot of leadership capacity on their own, and when we pull a large group of people like that together, it’s pretty easy to make things happen.”

Florence himself has been a member for five years and participates heavily in the club’s youth outreach programs, monarch butterfly habitat maintenance, various

Rotary members help with a variety of projects helping people in the Madison area. One example, each year they put together Thanksgiving Day Baskets for local families

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“ad hoc” projects around town, and is a past chair of the annual fundraising event and was invited to return to the reins for the Dead Parrots Society Bash for 2023.

“I was actually selected, I suppose. Sometimes you volunteer and sometimes you’re volunteered and this year I was volunteered,” Florence joked. “I was the chair a couple of years ago so I have a lot of experience with the event. Certainly, I was happy to step in and help Melissa wherever I could.”

The Dead Parrots Society Halloween Bash is the biggest event for the club every year. For the planning committee and chairs, it’s a nearly year-round commitment.

“We typically choose the leadership for the following year within a month of the event. We’ll get together and have a meeting of all the past chairs of the event and sort of have a conclave and choose, or actually invite, who we think would make a good chair for the event. They have eleven months to pull the event together. Usually, the planning starts in earnest about six months ahead of time. That’s how long it takes to pull it together,” Florence explained.

The chairs, with the help of other committee members, are tasked with working out the details of the venue, entertainment, format, coordination with the city, and more.

“We always have to coordinate with the city. They help us out with quite a few things. We have HEMSI on standby. We have to arrange parking for a large number of people. So, there’s a lot of coordination with different people like the venue owner, any food vendors,” Florence said. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck event for the cub every year. The planning requires the committee chairs, and there are probably about fifteen to twenty people involved in the planning phase, but during the execution, when we have to just stand up the venue and prepare it and then work the event and take it down afterward, that is definitely all hands on deck.”

Gibson added, “We have 10 members on the planning committee. Each member is over a specific area of the event. Although there are 10 members on the planning committee, this is an all-hands-on event.

All our members come together to pull it this off.

The committee chairs all build a team to ensure everything in their specific area is completed.”

Florence and Gibson may be leading the charge, but all Rotary members certainly pitch in any way they can. Sponsorships are especially where other members get involved in partnering with local business owners to acquire vital supporting sponsors for

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the event.

According to Florence, “It’s still organic. We don’t outsource our fundraising. So, it’s really dependent on members reaching out to the people they do business with in the community, the people they know, and work with them to bring in the sponsorship contributions.”

Sponsors make the fundraising aspect of the event possible because the bash is not only a fun party but is also responsible for raising the funds for the club’s charitable and community outreach initiatives. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the event benefit all the club’s charitable initiatives.

“The sponsors are crucial in making our event a success. Their donations to our foundation is very important for the success of our projects, but also their attendance and them sharing the event with their employees, friends, and family make our event successful. We want the event to be fun for everyone, especially our sponsors,” Gibson said.

The event has been a Madison Rotary Club tradition for many years but recently shifted gears into a Halloween costume party. After the pandemic forced a hiatus of their annual fundraising event, originally called the Parrots of Caribbean, the club went back to the drawing board.

“We’ve evolved the event since its past,” Florence recalled. “During COVID we decided that we really wanted to redesign the event, change it to a Halloween event, and ever since then, we have organized it as a Halloween costume party. It is evolving somewhat as we look for a winning formula for the event.”

This year, Gibson, Florence, and the rest of the committee are putting a twist on the event with music from a live band, JUICE, and food trucks on site.

“We’ve tried to do it in an evolutionary fashion every year, not to make a large break year to year, but to try to evolve it and understand how we might make it better, make it more appealing to the people of Madison and the crowd we expect to get together,” Florence explained.

There will also be a bar with specialty cocktails, a costume contest, a silent auction, and a haunted house section all in an indoor venue this year. The party will take place on Saturday, October 28 at NOW Soccer Academy.

Tickets for the bash are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Visit parrots.madisonal.rotary.org for more.

AUTHOR

HARRY HOBBS

A Flawed Man’s Plans in God’s Hands STORY BY ERIN COGGINS PHOTOS BY JOSHUA BERRY

Madison Living 45

Dr. Harry Hobbs with his wife Erica receiving the AUSA Volunteer Family of the Year Award in 2018.

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Those in the community may recognize Dr. Harry Hobbs as a soldier, a spokesperson for the Huntsville Police Department, a professor and dean, the founder of Community Awareness for Youth (CAFY) and presently as the Vice President of Employee Engagement at Huntsville Utilities.

But what they do not know is that Hobbs lifted himself out of the fire to become the man he is today.

Or at least until they read Harry’s new book.

Harry, along with his wife Erica, recently published his first book titled “A Flawed Man’s Plans in God’s Hands”.

Released on July 7, and currently sold on Amazon, the book is nearing 100 sales.

The book details Harry’s journey through life along with three brushes with fire, which he says has anchored him his entire life.

“I had a traumatic event as a child that resulted in being scalded on my back. That was my first encounter with fire,” Harry said. “I also had a traumatic experience in the military that resulted in third-degree burns on my face.

And our house burnt down when I was a child. So, these

46 Madison Living

three events have anchored me in life a little bit.”

The book, which begins with Harry’s experience of growing up biracial in Kentucky during the ‘60s, was not intended to be a tell-all book. In fact, Harry initially wanted to write a book on how to make it in corporate America.

“My idea was to write a book on how to get two doctorate degrees. How do you become excellent?” Harry said.

But his wife had another idea. Erica awoke about two years ago detailing a dream she had of Harry writing a book about his life.

“She said she had a vision from God. She said we were going to write this book. I would not have been able to write this book without my wife,” Harry said. “I never thought I would write a tell-all, but I guess I did. I had to worry about some fallout because even people and members of my family may not have wanted their stories told, but they are part of my story. This is my story.”

Harry’s story is full of decisions, but the first decision addressed in the book was not one of his. Born out of wedlock to a black mom and white dad, Harry’s aunt and

Madison Living 47

grandmother made the decision to raise him. He was the only biracial child in a five-mile radius and experienced racism from both sides.

“Initially, I was the African American kid that they wanted to beat up because I looked like the enemy. People would bully me,” Harry said. “There were instances where I was told I was on the wrong bus. I have memories of being with my grandfather, a very dark African American man, at a store in Barton when the police were called because he was with a white kid. I can’t tell you how many times my family would go shopping and I would become a problem. I felt guilty about that. You know, causing issues everywhere I went. This was until I could figure out and understand that America was in the middle of trying to find their identity on this.”

To get out of poverty, Harry made the decision to join the U.S. Army at the age of 17. He was enlisted for 10 years and an officer for 20 years. His last assignment was the ordnance proponent chief in charge of all ordnance proponent training.

“I had my ups and downs in the military. I repeated the sins of the father and had a child out of wedlock,” Harry

48 Madison Living

said. “I had never revealed this before until writing this book.”

It was while serving overseas that Harry met Erica. During his first assignment overseas while working as an offduty bouncer at a club, Harry carded Erica as her sister accompanied her to the entrance of the club.

“I was 19 years old, and she was 16 years old. I told her sister that night as I let her in the club that I would protect her. And I have been protecting her ever since,” Harry said. “Her father, retired military, tried to run me away, and rightfully so. I just kept trying to win the family over.”

The couple have been married for 43 years. Harry said they had their ups and downs as a young couple in Germany. They had a child early. One of the commonalities that kept them grounded was being multiracial. Erica is African American, Native American and Asian. Their stories are a big part of the book.

“People may look at her and say she’s African American and I’m white, but in reality, I was more African American than her because I grew up more in the culture. She grew up in a more diverse culture, traveling around in a military family,” Harry said. “We always thought that was pretty

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Harry says the book title came naturally because he is–a flawed man with a plan.

“The flawed man’s plans are in God’s hands. It was only by the grace of God, you know, that I would take myself forward and then two steps back,” Harry said. “I was trying to overcome the carnal man, overcome the abandoned, you know. I was an abandoned kid living in poverty in between races, identity crisis and trying to figure out how to navigate it.”

One way Harry navigated his life was being ambitious, taking advantage of every opportunity that came his way, including obtaining two doctorate degrees–one in human resource management and the other in business administration.

“I didn’t want to leave any doubt of my credentials. I didn’t want to leave anything on the table,” Harry said.

“In the military, I attended every school I could because I wanted to give myself every opportunity to be able to have the knowledge to help other people.”

To pay it forward, he has mentored thousands of

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young people to go to the military academy, college, job market and military. He worked as the JROTC instructor at Columbia High School and currently serves on Gov. Kay Ivey’s board on the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act. He also has a diversity equity inclusion certificate from Cornell University.

“I want to be the bridge, whether it’s race, whatever the divide is, whether it’s education, whether it’s the have or have nots. I’ve been there. I’ve lived it,” Harry said. “I know what it feels like to be a statistic and not heard. I’ve seen things within my own family that could not break that cycle. And I’ve been through third-world countries. I’ve seen things and I know how precious life is.”

He does not brag about his accomplishments, instead, he uses them as a way to heal and pay it forward.

“I think I am (ambitious) because I wasn’t supposed to be here, and because of that, I will always owe a debt to society and to the community I live in,” Harry said. “I’ve always tried to honor the decision my grandmother and aunt made by not aborting me, by not giving me away to a home. And then I have a little survivor guilt from the war as well. I got the opportunities that most people could only dream about. And so, I always want to honor that by giving my best effort.”

Harry admits that the stories he shares in the book are not typical dinner conversation topics.

Along with the personal stories about his family, he shares his past of dabbling in drugs and street life.

He calls it a book of forgiveness, redemption, restitution and success.

“Sometimes in life, you make the same mistake a couple of times before you understand how to break away from that mindset and peer pressure,” Harry said. “There is a way to succeed in America.

And if people feel that they’ve made mistakes, they can recover. Success is different for different people, and they are worth something even if you have gotten here by accident.”

Add love to the list of words Harry uses to describe his book. “Love can be forever. I believe in love. I believe in the American dream. It’s messy.

It’s dirty. Marriage is hard,” Harry said. “But I believe in it, and I believe in Jesus. And I’m not ashamed of it. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.”

SPORTS

DYNAMIC DUO

Mother-daughter powerlifters hold state and national records STORY BY BOB LABBE PHOTOS BY JOSHUA BERRY

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Having enormous strength, as well as the mental capacity to push one’s body to levels that may be seen by some as super-human, usually places a label of almost being a superhero upon anyone who possesses those incredible credentials. For Amanda Andrews and her daughter Jianna, their prowess in the sport of powerlifting has been nothing short of magical and easily presents them with the title of “Dynamic Duo.” Currently, Amanda holds the Alabama state records in her four lifting events while Jianna also holds Alabama state marks in her four lifts along with American and National records. Their achievements have caught the attention of the powerlifting community by storm as the “Dynamic Duo” continues to prove anyone can excel in sports if they just put both their bodies and minds into the sport with a passionate flair.

“I know my mental strength is on another level as I feel I push myself to make the lifts,” said the 12-year-old Jianna who attends Athens Renaissance virtual public school as a seventh-grade student.

Amanda added, “Jia pushes me to be my best as it’s cool of the dynamics between us. She pushes me more

than I thought she could. During competition with her, I find how to ‘zone in’ like she does as she teaches me a lot. We have prayed together for help to find a different kind of strength.”

The astonishing results the duo has posted in local, state and national meets are even more staggering when you factor in the knowledge that both are virtually beginners in the sport. The 39-year-old Amanda has been lifting for two years while Jia joined in the fun last year as both quickly began to develop the success of their hard work and dedication under the guidance of their coach Ryan Kuhlmann at Awakening Strength Gym located on Highway 72 in Madison.

For Amanda, powerlifting was a major change in her life as she began athletics playing T-ball with boys at age 5 and soon turned to softball and cheerleading through high school. She opted not to play softball in college but instead got married 19 years ago to Jason as the two of them have three children. Along with Jianna, they also have a 16-year-old daughter and an 18-yearold son. Powerlifting has been more of a power-lifting change in her overall mental health.

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“The sport has helped me tremendously as I’m more patient than I was before,” said Amanda, who at 5-foot-7, 176 pounds participates in the submasters division competition of the WRPF Federation. “It has given me patience with myself and that has helped me be a better mother and wife. With Jianna, there are times I need to be a co-athlete and not just be a mother. I’ve had to learn how to do that. I used to get down on myself when I couldn’t make a lift, but now I pay attention to how I handle that situation because I know Jianna is watching me.”

“Having my mom in the sport is great as she’s incredibly supportive, always there when I hit a big lift,” said Jianna. “She’s beside me and cheers me on. I see she’s very strong. I, too, get upset when she doesn’t succeed in a lift, but I’m there, supportive of what she’s doing.”

Amanda, once a registered LPN, said through the years she found she was losing her identity and came to a point where she wanted to be who she was and not just a mother and wife. She began attempts to push herself to find what she really wanted to do. She added, “I had done personal trainers, fad diets and even workout videos, but I just didn’t stick with it. I gained weight so I got into Crossfit and soon I lost 30 pounds and got stronger. I had a friend who was good at powerlifting and I used to watch her, so I decided in the Spring of 2021 to follow her lead and got into powerlifting. The next thing I knew I was investing into eating correctly and being healthy and that tapped back into the athlete energy I once had.”

Amanda’s Alabama state marks include 303.1 pounds (squat), 181.9 pounds (bench press), 358.3 pounds (deadlift) and 843.3 pounds (total).

Jianna is looked at as being small (4-foot-11, 87-pounds), but mighty, and earned the nickname “Stargirl” bestowed upon her by Kuhlmann. She has posted her best results in her lifts of squat (182 pounds), dead lift (226 pounds), bench press (88 pounds), and total (496.12 pounds), all of which are Alabama state records. She participated in her first lifting competition almost a year ago and completely fell in love with the sport and has dedicated much of her time perfecting her techniques and getting stronger every day.

She competed in the USAPL Youth Nationals in early August in Scottsdale, Ar. where she set a new American record in the squat and tied the National record in the total. Her marks in lifting are enough to rank her tied for fifth in the world among young lifters ages 5-13 and is just 42 points away from being No. 1 in the world. Making the perfect lift is an

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incredible feeling, as Jianna said, “It feels great. At the Nationals in the squat when I set a new record, I had a big smile on my face and I immediately looked at my mom and saw she was as excited as I was. There are a lot of inspirations that push me, one of which is my great grandfather as he told me never to give up. It’s always in you. So, I want this really bad and I push myself to make the lifts.”

When Amanda first started in competition she was nervous trying to lift in front of others and she had to mentally find a sort of alter-ego to get her mind in tune with her body. Like most mothers, Amanda is always thinking of Jianna first and foremost when it comes to powerlifting. “I’ve told her she has a natural talent for the sport. I also know we both love the challenge like no other,” added Amanda.

At the recent State Meet, a college powerlifting coach saw Jianna in action and approached Jason and Amanda about seeing Jianna making great lifts. The coach said he had a scholarship awaiting her when it was time to do so. In the meantime, Stargirl is busy prepping for the next National Meet to be held in Greenville, S.C. in early 2024. Her love for the sport is a long way from travel softball she partakes in as a pitcher and second baseman for the 12U Remix. “We told her she could do both sports,” added Jason.

Amanda said she and Jianna love their workout location as everyone there is very supportive of one another and she feels the lifting community is unlike any other sport she’s been a part of. Working toward competition events is where most of the work occurs for any powerlifter spending countless hours working on techniques and assuring of a perfect lift.

“Most people don’t see you working out, the many hours of hard work just to get to meet day,” said Amanda. “All of that grind you put in is absolutely exhausting as there is a different type of energy you have on lift day. That’s the part of the sport that keeps you pushing forward. You have to mentally push yourself.”

Jianna will be competing in a meet at Awakening Strength in late October while Amanda will face her competition in a meet in early November in the River City of Decatur.

When this mother-daughter duo takes to the daily workouts you see the vigorous efforts, the energy that is exhibited to push toward success and the sacrifices it takes to make a distinguished “Dynamic Duo.”

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....................... AROUND TOWN .......................

Generous donation enables Kids to Love to expand warehouse facilities

...

Lee Marshall

Founder / CEO Kids to Love Foundation Kidstolove.org

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The Kids to Love Center located right here in Madison is the heartbeat of our service to children in foster care. The Center houses our Child Placing Agency, our KTECH classrooms, and our warehouse, a 10,000 square foot space brimming with new clothes, shoes, toys, school supplies and just about anything else a child may need when they come into care.

The warehouse is probably the most familiar piece to many of you; chances are you’ve been there to help fill backpacks with school supplies or fill Christmas wish lists. Our service has increased so much since we cut the ribbon on the Kids to Love Center in 2015, that it’s necessary for us to build more space.

A generous gift from Matt and Courtney Curtis of Matt Curtis Real Estate will allow

us to add new, dedicated warehouse space adjacent to the Smith Family Wellness Center, Home of the Grant Hill Trauma Team.

To honor the Curtis’ $250,000 gift, we have renamed our current warehouse the Curtis Cares Center, and our new facilities will bear the same name.

Matt and Courtney have long supported the life-changing work our team carries out each day. We are grateful that they see the vision of what we do and the value of the children we serve.

We’ll be sure to take you along as the new space comes to life. In the meantime, if you want to volunteer at the Curtis Cares Center, check out our website. Christmastime is almost here! Kidstolove.org

PEOPLE

RODNEY SMITH JR.

Mowing lawns and making a difference STORY BY MARIA RAKOCZY PHOTOS BY JOSHUA BERRY

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Rodney Smith Jr. has been changing lives by mowing lawns since 2015. Today, he oversees an organization responsible for mowing thousands of lawns, but that organization all started with just one lawn in Huntsville, Alabama.

“Back in 2015, I was in school at the time at Alabama A&M University, and I was leaving school one day, and I came across an elderly man outside mowing his lawn, and it looked like he was struggling. So, I pulled over and helped him out,” Smith recalled.

“That night I just decided I would start mowing free lawns for the elderly, disabled, single parents, and veterans right here in Huntsville, Alabama,” Smith continued.

That first lawn opened Smith’s eyes to the many others needing assistance caring for their lawns. He then challenged himself to mow forty lawns by the end of the year. Forty lawns, however, soon turned into one hundred, and one hundred turned into an organization that has mowed thousands of lawns.

“At first, my goal was to mow forty lawns by the end of

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winter because I was in school so I thought I could mow forty lawns in between classes, but I mowed forty lawns so quick that I moved my goal to one hundred. A month and a half later, I reached my hundredth lawn. That’s when the idea of Raising Men and now Raising Women Lawn Care Service came about,” Rodney explained.

While Raising Men Lawn Care still has its roots in North Alabama, it has made national headlines and its impact has spread far beyond the Huntsville-Madison area.

“I still mow lawns for the elderly, disabled, single parents, and veterans, but now I also do kids ages eight to seventeen and children that want to be giving back to their community, and it just started like that. Then, we just started with kids locally, here in Huntsville, and eventually we went viral in 2016 on the internet,” Smith remembered.

Raising Men Lawn Care branched out nationally with its 50 Yard Challenge soon after its viral success starting with two families in Kansas and Ohio. Then in 2017 and 2018, it added Raising Women to its outreach to

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Last month Rodney Smith Jr. embarked on a 50-state tour bringing awareness to the contributions made by local police, fire and medical first responders across the nation.

include the young girls interested in participating.

As of today, nearly 5,000 kids have participated in the program from all 50 states and 8 countries and more than 20,0000 yards have been mowed.

As the organization’s signature program, the 50 Yard Challenge sets a goal for young kids to mow 50 lawns for free for those in need. As a reward for their hard work and service upon completing the challenge, participants are presented with a new mower, leaf blower, and weed eater.

Smith has also implemented a tier system that he likens to the karate system of belts. The system gives kids incremental goals to work towards, and for every ten lawns mowed, they receive a new Raising Men or Raising Women t-shirt in a different color, until they reach a total of fifty, when they accomplish their goal and receive a black t-shirt.

For those seeking a special challenge or looking to continue the program after completing the 50 Yard Challenge, Raising Men Lawn Care has crafted several special edition challenges, such as, the 100 Yard Challenge, Teachers Edition, Fallen Heroes Edition, and Postal Service Edition.

The challenge ultimately serves a dual purpose of serving the community while building character

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and a sense of generosity in the next generations.

“The goal is just to teach them the importance of giving back to the community and helping out the elderly, disabled, especially the veterans. The veterans are men and women who have served this country. So, I think it’s only right that we give back to them and all we are giving back is free lawn care.

So, we take care of the elderly, disabled, single parents, but most importantly, we’ve got to tend to our veterans and serve them for serving this country,” Smith says.

Smith leads Raising Men and Women Lawn Care from behind a mower himself. He has travelled the country hosting Bubble Mower Days for schoolchildren and in 2019, visited all fifty states for his Mowing with Cops program that invited police officers to join the community in providing free lawn care. Smith’s social media documents the lawns he mows and the people he serves as he continues his lifelong mission of helping those in need and sets an example for the up and coming generations.

Raising Men and Women Lawn Care thrives off of the generosity of hundreds of thousands from across the globe. To learn more about the organization and how to participate visit weareraisingmen. com.

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....................... Madison City Schools .......................

Madison’s new PreK center nearing competition, continuing the tradition of the West Madison campus

T

John Peck

Madison City Schools Public Relations Manager

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The closed West Madison Elementary School will spring back to life this fall.

The $7.3 million renovation of WMES into a PreK Center was wrapping up completion for a possible move-in later this month.

New floors, ceilings, restrooms, cafeteria and classroom makeovers, technology, furnishings and more will greet students/staff when they relocate from the Madison City First Class PreK Center next to Rainbow Elementary on Nance Road.

Moving the PreK to the former WMES campus will greatly increase the district’s PreK capacity as MCS seeks additional classroom units from the state.

“The West Madison building has been closed since we opened Midtown Elementa-

ry for the 2021 school year,” said Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols. “We all know how important PreK is and that it gets kids off to a great start and makes them prepared for kindergarten. I can’t think of a better place to start that foundation with our kids than at West Madison which has such historic ties to Madison.”

West Madison Elementary opened in 1953 and was one of only two formerly segregated African-American only schools still in operation as a school North of Birmingham. Integration followed and the beloved school continued to operate until the opening of Midtown Elementary in Aug. 2021.

West Madison Elementary was originally on Pension Row in Madison from 1920-1940

....................... Madison City Schools .......................

John Jones, chief operations officer for MCS; Nichole Phillips, MCS PreK administrator Melissa Mims, and MCS coordinator of elementary instruction. They are in the renovated cafeteria area of the new West Madison PreK. Work continues on the finishing touches as the classroom furniture is add (below). One of the classroom and an ariel view of the campus’ courtyard is pictured on age 68.

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....................... Madison City Schools .......................

when ravaged by fire. State regulations at the time prevented it from being rebuilt on site, which led WMES to its current location on Wall Triana Highway in Madison.

The school has contributed greatly to the Madison City Schools district. Since the school system was created in 1998, it has had multiple grade configurations: K-8, K-6, K-2, K-5 and possibly others.

Once plans began circulating to transform WMES into a district wide PreK Center, citizens and historians expressed a strong desire to keep the name attached to the site. The “Wildcats” mascot name switched to Midtown, but the PreK Center name will now be known as West Madison PreK. The current Madison City Schools 1st Class PreK Center at 74 Nance Road opened in August 2014.

It currently houses nine classrooms of 18 students each with oversight over three additional classrooms at Rainbow Elementary next door. The program originated at Mill Creek Elementary in 2010 and relocated after MCS purchased the Nance Road facility from the seller of a private preschool.

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70 Madison Living

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FOOD&DRINK

TOM BROWN’S Great People | Great Food STORY BY MARIA RAKOCZY

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If you haven’t heard of Tom Brown’s Restaurant, you may be one of the few. The wildly popular restaurant has taken Madison and all of North Alabama by storm for the last three years, and Tom Brown’s has certainly stolen the hearts of North Alabamians for good reason. A meal there is not just food on a plate. It is an experience, an experience that feels like a homecoming, like a family meal on a Sunday, like a special occasion in of itself that you mark on your calendar and wait for with anticipation for months ahead of time. That experience is exactly what makes Tom Brown’s stand out from other restaurants altogether.

“I think it’s a really unique brand in the fact that it’s experience-based,” Whitney Pritchett, Marketing Coordinator for Tom Brown’s explained.

An array of factors mixed perfectly together are responsible for the signature Tom Brown’s experience, but the real driving forces behind it are the people of Tom Brown’s. Tom and Ashley Brown are the fearless leaders of the Tom Brown family. They have led

the restaurant through thick and thin from opening the Madison location during a pandemic to supply chain issues and schedule setbacks when opening the Huntsville location just this past July. They hold their staff to high standards and themselves to even higher ones and at the end of the day call everyone family.

They work hard to care for their guests and make their restaurants fun places to dine.

Consistency is key to the relationships the Browns build with their guests. That’s why they put all of their staff through a special training program designed by Tom Brown, himself, based on his experience in real estate and then train their managers to an especially high degree of service.

“Training service is exactly the same. Whether you come here or go there, you’re going to get the same service,” Brown said. “Management, Tom’s training policy on that is very intense. It’s a long, long process.

It’s crucial that, in our eyes, that our guests know that we always have someone on the floor to fix an issue.

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Tom Brown’s new location in South Huntsville opened this summer.

Tom Brown’s Madison location has been met with rave reviews since opening in 2020.

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We don’t want you to get home at midnight and pound on a computer. We want to fix it before you leave. That is very, very important that our management touches every table. We like for them to touch, one welcoming them here and then, making a stop in mid or finishing their entrees to just get feedback and that really gives the guest the opportunity to one, speak up or to rave.”

The Browns welcome and encourage guest feedback as part of their desire to build positive relationships with guests and provide high-quality customer service.

Their managers are trained to seek feedback from every table at the end of guests’ meals to stay aware of areas needing improvement and areas that are excelling.

Even in their busiest time, the Browns still make space to give back to the people that support them in a special way. Their annual 12 Days of Christmas special gifts guests who dine in the first twelve days of December a certificate for either an entrée, a dessert, or appetizer to be redeemed in the new year. As Brown described it, it’s “your gift from me and Tom for Christmas”.

The development of quality relationships extends even beyond guests to the business owners who supply the high-quality ingredients for the restaurants’ impeccable dishes because as Pritchett stated, “Food is number one.”

“As Tom Brown’s as a whole, when we built out the

brand, it was very elevated. It was elegant. It was sexy.

It is somewhere where you step into where you’re transported into another world, but also the food is so important and is a major part of Tom Brown’s as a whole,” she said. “It’s Tom’s heart. It’s his love and then Ashley’s design plays in and just makes this beautiful experience.”

The sourcing of the ingredients is crucial to achieving the level of quality and consistency, for which, they strive.

“Quality of food is exactly the same. If we run a special here, we run a special there,” Brown said of their commitment to consistency to their menu across their two locations.

After diving into research and experiencing some trial and error, the Browns intentionally selected a family-owned and trusted farm to supply consistent quality meat for their popular ribeye steaks, filet mignons, and more. The seafood for dishes like their scallops and redfish too is all intentionally sourced from a local fisher and a local market.

“We really did some digging on our meats, and what’s cool about our meat is all of our meat comes from the same exact farm. So, it’s the same exact vendor, exclusive to us in North Alabama. They’re not going to sell to anyone else in North Alabama, or in Alabama period, and so, every cow’s fed exactly the same. Everything

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is exactly the same. So, it’s consistent across the board,” Brown explained.

She says that their partnership with small businesses has been mutually fruitful and incredibly constructive for building a sense of community.

“That’s been great to know that we can help another small business,” Brown remarked on the impact of banding together with other small businesses.

It all serves as a reminder of the humanity of small businesses. Tom Brown’s may be known for its good food, but it should also be known for its good people.

Pritchett summed up the very human inspiration behind the restaurant’s origin and that continues to fuel it today, “As a family we always eat. We bond over Tom’s cooking. We bond at the dining table where my mom has her beautiful décor. What we enjoy, food and family and a beautiful environment, we’re bringing that to you, and you can always enjoy the beautiful scenery and experience and the food, but it’s coming from a place of love, and it was born out of us making memories as a family.”

As Brown also shared, “I don’t want [guests] to look at us as a restaurant. I want them to see that we’re real people”.

Tom Brown’s Restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

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SCHOOLS

SKY’S THE LIMIT James Clemens welcomes fighter jet mascot STORY BY MARIA RAKOCZY

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“Where opportunity meets inspiration” The phrase is the motto of Madison’s James Clemens High School, the home of the jets, and recently, the James Clemens Jets welcomed a new addition that is looking to bring more inspiration to the high school’s plentiful opportunities.

This new addition, a silver and powder blue TF-9J Cougar, forces students, faculty, staff, and really any onlooker to raise their eyes toward the sky. The fighter jet, painted in the school’s signature colors and bearing the school’s logo on the tail, brings the school’s mascot to life. Installed in a majestic takeoff position with the nose pointed to the sky, the TF-9J Cougar acts as a very visible and prominent reminder of the excellence the school and its students strive to achieve.

As Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols remarked at the September 14 dedication that followed the homecoming parade, “It sends the message to our students here that they can fly, that they can be whatever they need to be, that they can soar in their life and in their future”.

The specific aircraft chosen for the installation is no ordinary aircraft either. The TF-9J Cougar has a storied history as a retired navy fighter jet and Grumman aircraft that was

used by the Blue Angels and as a flight trainer and has over four thousand flying hours, and though the exact plane on display did not see combat, many of its fellow TF-9Js were used in the Vietnam War by the Marine Corps. The jet on display was previously housed at the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum in Huntsville until 2014 when the National Naval Aviation Museum transferred care of the aircraft on permanent loan to the Madison Board of Education.

The transfer came just as James Clemens High School was becoming a reality and its mascot of the jets was decided upon. The lead restoration specialist on the project, Randy Beavers, a former Blackhawk crew chief and mechanic with an airframe and powerplant mechanic license, had already expressed interest in restoring the jet, which had fallen into disrepair, but hit an obstacle by the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum’s lack of funds for the project. Then, James Clemens entered the picture in 2014 and with the help and interest of the community, got the project off the ground.

Madison City Board of Education president Tim Holtcamp said of the project’s long road at the dedication, “It’s an evening that’s been ten years in the making.”

Indeed, James Clemens principal Dr. Donaldson similarly commented at the dedication, “This project is a long

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one. It spanned the life of school.”

Restoration was, in fact, a nine year process that included countless hours of Beavers’ and James Clemens’ students’ time along with the indispensable material and financial support of the local American Legion chapter and local companies, the Highland Group, Nola VanPeursem Architects, Northrop Grumman, which supplied a generous grant, and PPG Aerospace, which supplied all the primer and paint used on the jet.

“PPG Aerospace did not hesitate. ‘One plane? Not a problem. Tell us what color you need, Randy’”, said Beavers. “They were fantastic.”

Beavers worked especially closely throughout restoration with Nola VanPeursem Architects and the Highland Group to precisely plan the positioning and location of the jet in front of the school. He recounted not only their willingness, but unbridled enthusiasm to contribute to the project.

One interaction, in particular during the project, with Frank Nola of Nola VanPeursem Architects sticks out in his mind. “I walk into Frank’s office downtown, and I’m looking around at all these multi-million dollar buildings that they’ve developed, and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this guy’s established. He’s got a good business. He’s made a good name for himself in town.’ He looks at me and he says, ‘You know why I took this project? It’s just a frickin’ cool project.

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I mean I do buildings all day long and to do an airplane?’

He said, ‘That is why I took this. This is just an absolutely cool thing. I will never get to do this again,’” Beavers recalled.

The Highland Group readily jumped on board with the project, as well, while already working with James Clemens on the construction of an indoor athletics practice facility.

Members of the Highland Group crafted the stilted base for the aircraft and performed the lifting of the jet and welded it into place at the installation on September 5.

“It was awesome seeing it lifted up,” Beavers said. “The Highland Group, the construction company that built the pedestal and handled the hoisting, I can’t say [anything] good enough about those guys. They have just been aces on helping out with everything, wonderful group to work with.”

Beavers, who led restoration efforts for nearly a decade and spent an estimated three thousand hours on the project, further described the installation, “I felt like I was sending a child off to college!”

As the lead technician, Beavers performed a lot of the heavy lifting in refurbishing the aircraft while taking groups of James Clemens JROTC and shop students under his wing to help. He certainly was not the only force behind the project, however, “This wasn’t done in a vacuum,” he said. “Everybody has

been behind it.”

In addition to Beavers and the supporting companies, the jet took the collaboration of two school principals, the Madison City Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols and his predecessor, and two JROTC program directors, Colonel Courtney Taylor, who was instrumental in the school acquiring the jet, and Major Rezell Linen.

Several school district staff including Lee Shaw, a host of city, county, and state officials, the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, and many more also played large parts in making the project a reality.

“When they heard it’s for the school, everybody chipped in, which truly is a testament to the community around here. It’s just been amazing the response to this,” Beavers marveled.

“The entire community - students, parents, faculty, boosters - is excited to see this project become a reality,” said Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols. “Having a fighter jet displayed as the centerpiece of campus not only speaks to the spirit of the James Clemens Jets but to the rich military and defense history that so permeates this area.”

Because of the massive community support of the project, the jet now stands as a permanent reminder that the sky’s the limit at James Clemens High School.

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OUT&ABOUT

OKTOBERFEST - Six-year-old twins Michael and Mitchell Clark had a blast at the annual Oktoberfest at Redstone Arsenal last month. The festival attracts thousands of people each year. Some attend for the Ferris wheel and other carnival rides, others for the live entertainment and authentic German cuisine. This year saw huge crowds. Proceeds from the Oktoberfest are returned to the Redstone community in the form of improvements to Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities and recreational offerings. Check out these fun photos from the weekend-long festival. Photos by Cristie Clark of Captured by Cristie Media Co.

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Photo of Madison’s beautiful downtown wins state contest

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Madison’s beautiful and historic downtown received statewide recognition last week when the Alabama Big 10 Mayors announced the winners of their 2023 city life photo competition. Taking the top prize is local photographer Cristie Clark’s photo showing a train making its way through the scenic downtown. The contest was open for residents of Alabama’s 10 largest cities to submit photos of their cities in an attempt to win and display what makes their city unique.

“I love Madison and love to show our city off,” said Clark, who is opening a studio downtown. “It was very exciting to win.

I hope it helps show others throughout the state what a beautiful city we have.”

Other winners were picked from each of the 10 cities. LaToya Kendrick of Madison won for her photo of a Madison sunset, and Mike Matthews of Huntsville won for a photo of Big Spring Park.

Winners of the competition were selected based on the number of likes each photo submission received on the Alabama Big 10 Mayors’ Facebook page. The photo with the most likes overall won the statewide competition – along with a $500 Visa gift card – while the photos with the most likes in each city won the city-specific competitions.

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Cristie Clark

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GET BACK TO WHAT YOU LOVE When it comes to life, don’t let your back or neck get in the way. Get back to doing the things you love to do.

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The Spine & Neuro team from Huntsville Hospital is the most experienced in the area and they have been improving lives in North Alabama for more than 50 years.

Whether your favorite fishing hole is on Wilson Lake in the Shoals, Flint Creek or Lake Guntersville, Spine & Neuro is nearby to get you back to your best.

spiineand dneuro.org 88 Madison Living