Mobile Bay Magazine - January 2017

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FEATURES SMALL-BUSINESS OWNER CARLISHA HARTZOG SHARES HER PERSONAL STYLE IN HER MICROSHOP, URBANE, AT THE EXCHANGE 202 IN DOWNTOWN MOBILE. PHOTO BY TODD DOUGLAS.

JANUARY 2017

38

VOLUME XXXIII / ISSUE 1

38 Small is the New Big From charming tiny homes to chic microshops and diminutive, yet delicious, veggies, some of the biggest new trends and successes are coming in small packages.

46 40 Under Forty Congratulations to the new class of 40 Under Forty!

With artists and designers and chefs and motivational speakers, among many other impressive achievers, these men and women have applied their talents and skills to improving our great city.

ON OUR COVER

Mobile native and McGill-Toolen graduate Reggie Washington has teamed up with two other Atlanta food scene standouts to open the new Downtown restaurant Southern National this spring.

PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN

 Do you know a candidate who should be honored as a 40 Under Forty?

Follow us on Facebook, and look for nomination application details for next year’s class in midsummer. january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 5

DEPARTMENTS JANUARY 2017

VOLUME XXXIII / ISSUE 1

16

28

LEFT With flirty cocktails and period costumes, this 1920s-themed birthday bash would have made Gatsby proud. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU RIGHT Southern National will be the newest upscale restaurant to join the Dauphin Street scene. Inventive punches will be menu staples. PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN

9 Editor’s Note 9 On the Web 10 Reaction 12 Odds & Ends 14 Gumbo 10 Commandments of Bay Living Thou shalt follow these rules to go along and get along.

16 Gumbo The Roaring 50s

A birthday celebration for the ages means a good time for all.

20 Elemental A Cypress to Impress With centuries of history, these Southern trees have stories to tell.

23 Amazing Life William Oppenheimer The lifelong music enthusiast shares memories of fun and funk.

28 Bay Tables You Gotta Get Cocky with It

A new, upscale dining experience, featuring inventive Southern and global dishes, makes its way to the Port City.

34 Tastings FOY Superfoods 74 Bay Boy Dove Hunting In the interim between deer seasons, Watt Key braves dove hunts.

76 Ask McGehee Who is the man commemorated by the plaque in Fearnway’s park?

A young Navy recruit traveled to Mexico amidst border skirmishes and did his hometown proud.

78 In Living Color Welcome to Oz Step back in time and view historical photos of Mobile in a whole new way in MB’s new photo series.

OUT & ABOUT

68 Highlights 70 On Stage & Exhibits 72 Mardi Gras

 A 2012 International Food Information Council Foundation survey showed that 52 percent of Americans believe doing their taxes is easier than learning how to eat healthy. Make healthful eating a breeze at FOY Superfoods, in Downtown Mobile. Read more in Tastings, page 34.

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Mobile Bay o VOLUME XXXIII

N 1

JANUARY 2017

PUBLISHER T. J. Potts

ASSISTANT PUBLISHER

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

COPY EDITOR

STAFF WRITER

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

ART DIRECTOR

WEB PRODUCER

M ARKETING COORDINATOR

Stephen Potts Judy Culbreth Lawren Largue Breck Pappas Chelsea Adams Marie Katz Laurie Kilpatrick Abby Parrott Maggie Lacey

ADVERTISING

SALES MANAGER

Joseph A. Hyland

Adelaide Smith McAleer

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

ADMINISTRATION CIRCULATION Anita Miller ACCOUNTING Jody Chandler

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Mallory Boykin, Emmett Burnett, Meg McCrummen Fowler, Roy Hoffman, Watt Key, Tom McGehee CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Matthew Coughlin, Beau Dodd, Todd Douglas, Elizabeth Gelineau, Jon Hauge, Chad Riley ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES

3729 Cottage Hill Road, Suite H Mobile, AL 36609-6500 251-473-6269 Subscription rate is $21.95 per year.

Subscription inquiries and all remittances should be sent to: Mobile Bay P.O. Box 923773 Norcross, GA 30010-3773 1-855-357-3137 MOVING? Please note: U.S. Postal Service will not forward magazines mailed through their bulk mail unit.

Please send old label along with your new address four to six weeks prior to moving.

Mobile Bay is published 12 times per year for the Gulf Coast area. All contents © 2017 by PMT Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Comments written in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the ownership or the management of Mobile Bay. This magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. All submissions will be edited for length, clarity and style.

PUBLISHED BY PMT PUBLISHING INC .

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Celebrating 40

WHAT’S ONLINE

Get even more local coverage this month on mobilebaymag.com.

Here’s what’s new!

Meet the Winners Visit us online for extended interviews with the young leaders featured in this year’s 40 Under Forty on page 46.

Gatsby Gallery PHOTOS BY CHAD RILEY

Go online for more Gatsby fun with our full gallery of pictures from the Winstons’ amazing 50th birthday party on page 16.

Y

Jamming with the King of Blues

ear after year, Mobile Bay’s 40 Under Forty recipients continue to impress. In fact, there are so many incredible young people funneling into the city that it continues to be a tough task to narrow down the group to this exclusive list.

This year alone, we received more than 250 applications for worthy candidates.

As Mayor Sandy Stimpson acknowledged, Mobile Bay’s 2016 class of movers and shakers continues to uphold the tradition of excellence and commitment to bettering the Bay area.

In December, MB’s new marketing coordinator (and a 2012 40 Under Forty) Maggie Lacey spearheaded an intimate farm-to-table dinner at the newly renovated historic venue, The Steeple on St. Francis Street, in honor of the recipients. A handful of this year’s 40 also generously contributed their talents for the event. Florist and artist Julia Greer Fobes helped set the scene with breathtaking arrangements

and decor. Executive director of the space and honoree Mary-Lacey Rogers Zeiders wowed the audience with her operatic vocal performance, while motivational speaker Brandon Maye gave a heartfelt and rousing address to encourage the winners to reach higher despite inevitable setbacks and challenges ahead. Photographer and St. Paul’s School marketing director Chad Riley stepped up to shoot images at the event, and Kari Kirk Benson, the entrepreneur behind Frios Gourmet Pops, offered up dessert in delicious frozen form. The Noble South created a delectable family-style meal.

To meet the class, flip over to page 46.

(Special thanks to The Exchange 202 for allowing us to take over their spaces for the photo shoots.) Visit mobilebaymag. com this month to see more photos from the event. Do you know an incredible young person we should consider for next year’s class? Keep an eye out for nomination applications this summer.

Lawren Wood Largue EXECUTIVE EDITOR, lawren@pmtpublishing.com

 This month marks the inaugural edition of our new series, In Living Color, page 78. Digital

In Amazing Life, page 23, pianist William Oppenheimer recalls a pivotal moment in college when he played with the legendary B.B. King. Find links to the video footage this month on our Facebook page.

Keep That Resolution If you’re anything like us, you probably made a New Year’s resolution to eat better. We’ve compiled some of our favorite recipes so you can start 2017 on a healthy (and tasty!) note.

Share Your Story Did he pop the question over the holidays? Go online to share your proposal story with us, and we’ll feature your engagement announcement on our website — for free!

Party Pics Share your event with us! Go online to fill out the Party Pics registration form and submit your event photos to be featured in a gallery on the Web.

artists have taken hours upon hours to research and colorize local vintage images.

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 9

DOROTHY MIMS, HEAD CHEF AT MAMA LOU’S. PHOTO BY TODD DOUGLAS

REACTION

CHICKEN CRAZY On November’s “The Lower Alabama Fried Chicken Trail” Some new and some old ones to try!

Cluck, cluck!

- Sally McGee Champy’s should be on this list to make it legit.

- Zack Smith Champy’s didn’t make the list because it’s in a different league. I need some Champy’s!

- Anthony Baskel Harville Editor’s note: Although undoubtedly delicious, we decided to leave Daphne’s Champy’s Chicken off of our fried chicken trail since it is a chain restaurant with five locations across the South. The original Champy’s Chicken is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

WHAT HAPPENED? On November’s “Cheap Eats” You mention hot dogs and FAIL to mention Al’s Hot Dogs & Other Fine Foods on Airport at University in West Mobile? What happened? The food is inexpensive but exceptional. Best hot dogs and toppings in town.

- Stephen Simpson 10 mobilebaymag.com | january 2017

KEEPING THEIR MEMORIES ALIVE On December’s “Operation Ivory Soap” The Ecor Rouge Chapter of the DAR appreciates your coverage of Pearl Harbor Day, December 7. Your readers may want to know that the William F. Green State Veterans Home, in Bay Minette, cares for 43 servicemen from World War II. In honor of these men and to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, six local DAR chapters — Ecor Rouge, d’Iberville, Needham Bryan, Tristan de Luna, Zachariah Godbold and Mobile — united to help purchase sturdy, wheelchair-accessible outdoor furniture so these vets can enjoy time outdooors. The Sunshine for Patriots project is a bright ray of hope on a day, in President Roosevelt’s words, “that will live in infamy.” Again, thank you for remembering those who have done so much for our country.

- Maura Daniell Ecor Rouge Chapter, DAR

JIMMY BUFFETT BUFF On December’s “The Chiquimula” Great story about the Chiquimula, but Jimmy Buffett never indicated he sailed on it, just his grandfather and father. He claims his father celebrated his first birthday on board in Havana harbor in 1921 which could actually be correct if his grandfather was not captain but an officer (check page 130 in “A Pirate Looks at 50”). At any rate, he wrote a moving song about it — probably one of his best set of lyrics though the song was too serious for a lot of airplay. A great tribute to his dad.

- Charlie Baucom

GETTING TO KNOW YOU Do you have an idea for a story?

Share your thoughts and reactions to the issue with us.

EMAIL lawren@pmtpublishing.com MAIL P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660 WEB mobilebaymag.com

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 11

text by CHELSEA WALLACE ADAMS

STUDIES SHOW

DOWNSIZING FOR GOOD 40 UNDER FORTY HONOREES

40% 60%

MOBILE BAY AREA NATIVES TRANSPLANTS

38% 62%

FEMALE MALE

43% 19

are Leadership Mobile and Baldwin County graduates or current participants.

The number of class members who either don’t believe they look like their celebrity doppelganger, don’t have one or had a computer choose for them. (Plus, five had to Google the word “doppelganger.”)

53% 62

list a food indulgence as their favorite guilty pleasure.

The number of charitable organizations the honorees actively support or volunteer their time with.

Get the rest of the scoop on this year’s young leaders on page 46.

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If HGTV’s lineup is any indication, tiny homes are the next big thing. Along with benefits such as travel mobility, fewer expenses and — let’s face it — the cute factor, cutting down on your square footage can help the environment. In his book “The Small House Book,” Jay Shafer measured the carbon emissions of an 89-square-foot dwelling to be 900 annual pounds of carbon. This is a 77 percent decrease from the average American annual carbon production of 28.5 tons, according to a 2014 research paper from the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University.

So the next time you’re looking to make a big change, consider going small!

One Mobile businessman and member of the 2016 class of 40 Under Forty, Peyton Harvill, recently completed his first tiny home project. Read all about this humble abode and other small businesses beginning on page 38.

PHOTO BY TODD DOUGLAS

BY THE NUMBERS

SOUTHERN RITES

FOR THE RECORD Nostalgia for listening to records is booming. In fact, since 2005, vinyl sales have been steadily growing, with more than 12 million sold in 2015. You can thank Waldo Semon, an Alabama inventor, for popularizing the use of polyvinyl chloride (or PVC) in 1926.

Semon’s experimentation made record albums possible by exploring how different additives affected the heretofore unyielding plastic, which made the material more flexible. It became a widespread commercial success (as you may have heard).

However you listen to it, music is an integral part of our culture. Meet lifelong music creator William Oppenheimer in Amazing Life, page 23.

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

JANUARY 31, 1902 Raucous actress and stage performer Tallulah Bankhead is born in Huntsville.

Her fame grew throughout the 1920s and ’30s as she performed in London, Hollywood and New York. The Bankhead Tunnel in Mobile is named after her grandfather, John Hollis Bankhead.

On page 16, take a gander at one Mobile couple’s 1920s-themed birthday bash.

WORD UP

WORD UP

de • cid • u • ous /dih-SIJ-oo-us/ adj.) A tree that sheds all of its leaves each year; annual shedding when fully mature Did you know bald cypress trees are deciduous? Learn more about the local conifer in Elemental, page 20.

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GUMBO

10 Commandments of Bay Living Life on the Bay is certainly a breeze, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few rules. text by EMMETT BURNETT • illustration by LAURIE KILPATRICK

W

e are a laid-back bunch on the Bay. It’s part of our charm. But there’s a difference between laid-back and flat out horizontal. There are rules that must be followed. Actually, we have commandments, 10 of them.

And here they are, with apologies to Moses. For it is written ...

Raphael Semmes gazing toward the sea, perhaps looking for ships, which he will never find. His back is turned to the river. Our iconic statue is made of bronze so as not to be taken for granite.

Admiral Raphael Semmes died from eating bad shrimp. Coincidentally, his statue has turned bright green, perhaps just like he did after that rancid dinner.

1. Thou shalt learn to pronounce the city we love.

3. Remember thine squirrels, and feed with caution.

A mobile, pronounced “mo-bul,” is a whimsical contraption suspended over an infant’s crib with Winnie the Pooh characters tethered from strings and accompanied by lullaby music.

Being mobile, pronounced the same as aforementioned, is a state of movement, as in, “After using my toe to tease the blue crab, I became mobile.”

Know your syllables! “Mo–BEE-el,” is the Port City. The emphasis is on the “Beeel,” not the Mo. So there ya go.

2. Thou shalt have no graven images before the Admiral Semmes statue.

Mobile’s most famous statue stands proudly at the mouth of Government Street’s Bankhead Tunnel. The depiction shows Confederate Navy hero Admiral 14 mobilebaymag.com | january 2017

Here’s a Bienville Square magic trick: Sit on a park bench and toss a peanut to a lone squirrel. Close your eyes, count to 10 and open. Then there will be three squirrels. Close and open your eyes again.

Then there will be a dozen rowdy rodents, ready to rumble. Do not close your eyes again. Leave the peanuts. Take refuge.

4. Honor thy big ship with thine presence.

The Carnival cruise ship, Fantasy, and the GulfQuest Maritime Museum are almost side-by-side and look alike. To avoid confusion, use the two-day rule: If after boarding the Fantasy, two days have passed, and you still see Mobile, it is not the Fantasy. If you enter GulfQuest, two days have passed and you see Mexico, it is not GulfQuest.

5. Honor thy Mardi Gras and not that of New Orleans.

Oh sure, the Big Easy’s celebration is bigger — but not better. Crescent City revelers receive more national publicity.

They’re also famous for streets named with 24 consonants and no vowels, below sea-level cemeteries where pallbearers wear SCUBA gear and native inhabitants who suck the brains from crustaceans.

Mardi Gras originated in Mobile.

Beautiful floats parade before crowds with outstretched arms, and maskers toss delicious MoonPies. New Orleans’ maskers on the other hand, well, maybe they toss decapitated crustaceans.

6. Thou shalt not bear false witness about a jubilee.

Jubilee is a rare phenomenon where masses of fish literally flop on beaches, offering free seafood for the taking.

Those who happen to experience the aquatic miracle often embellish their fishy stories, just for the halibut.

I’m sorry, but from the midnight tides of Point Clear, you did not scoop Jubilee tuna, Alaskan salmon or GPS-impaired New England lobsters. So stop it.

Lobsters are from Maine, and they do not adorn their pinchers with Costco duct tape. Nice try, Captain Ahab.

7. Make a joyful noise in thine tunnels.

No one knows why we blow automobile horns while driving below the Mobile River. Submarines run silent and deep.

They never go beep-beep, but we do. We don’t try to explain: We just do it.

Traveling in the tunnels while tooting horns is perfectly acceptable, but driving through the underwater thoroughfare and impishly pointing at its ceiling while shouting “Leak! There she blows!” is not.

8. Thou shalt not fake the “Sandy Shake.”

In 2013, social media ignited with the “Sandy Shake.” In a 30,000-hit video on YouTube, in what appears to be a strategy session, Mobile mayoral candidate Sandy Stimpson broke into a rendition of the Harlem Shake. Staffers joined in, with gyrations not seen since Hormel introduced 12-Alarm Chili. Many tried emulating the Sandy Shake. None were successful. Six months later, Stimpson was elected. To date, he has not appeared on “Dancing with the Stars,” nor have any Mobile city councilmembers, who were unavailable for comment.

9. Thou shalt not covet thine neighbor’s team.

Badgers, Rams, Jaguars, Tigers or Elephants, our college team mascots have one commonality: They are all animals not native to our state. Most are not even native to America.

Similarly, when the Iron Bowl ends, regardless of the outcome, let there be peace on earth, and let the elephant lie down with the tiger. But until then — Roll Tide, baby!

10. Remember thy sunscreen, and keep it handy.

A Psalm to the Sunburned: On Gulf Shores beaches a stranger did play, On a clear and hot, July summer’s day.

When behold, his skin took a reddish hue, Then baked, nay cooked, like barbecue.

“What sorcery is this?” the Yankee did cry, As he fell victim to rays from Baldwin skies.

Woe unto thee, with skin parching unreal.

For ye learned the hard way, thou shalt surely peel. MB january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 15

GUMBO

The Roaring 50s In honor of their own 50th birthdays, Fairhope couple Suzie and Stephen Winston threw their friends a luxurious party for the ages. text by BRECK PAPPAS • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

ABOVE Suzie and Stephen Winston chose a 1920s theme for their 50th birthday celebration for several reasons. “It’s an era you can do so much with,” Suzie explains. “And both men and women really enjoy it.” The car, a 1929 Ford Roadster, was provided by a private collector in Mobile.

OPPOSITE Professional dancers urged partygoers to the dance floor with scandalous flapper routines.

T

he town of Fairhope is abuzz in the aftermath of a local birthday party that would have made Jay Gatsby proud. “But I’m not sure if I had more fun going to the party or planning it,” Fairhope decorator Suzie Winston admits.

In celebration of their 50th birthdays, Suzie and her husband, Stephen, a family practice doctor, took friends and family back in time to the age of Prohibition, flapper girls and luxury. The night began at Fairhope’s Tongue and Groove Drinkery (of which Stephen is a co-owner) where guests were required to provide a password. Once granted access by a gruff Brooklyn bouncer, partygoers were immediately greeted with Champagne and delicious specialty cocktails

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with names such as the Hemingway or the Aviation. Without warning, a self-proclaimed Prohibition officer raided the party and escorted its guests onto a trolley for transport to a secret location. Rather than face jail time, guests were taken to a private mansion in Point Clear, complete with a third floor circular bar with a view of Mobile Bay, professional dancers performing flapper routines, cigar girls, a red 1929 Ford Roadster and lavish food from Classic City Catering in Pensacola.

“People told me they hadn’t danced that hard in 10 or 20 years,” Suzie says of the feedback received since the party.

“We had so much fun, I’m not sure we can wait until our 60th birthdays. This may become a yearly event!” MB

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Hemingway MAKES 1 COCKTAIL 1 1/4 ounces Cruzan rum 1 ounce Maraschino Luxardo 1 ounce fresh lime juice 1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice Bordeaux cherry, if desired

1. In a martini shaker, combine the first 4 ingredients. Shake with ice for 10 - 15 seconds, then strain into coup glass.

2. Garnish with cherry, if desired.

Aviation MAKES 1 COCKTAIL 2 ounces Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin 1 ounce Maraschino Luxardo 1 ounce Creme de Violette 1 ounce fresh lime juice 1 dash Fee Brothers Rhubarb Bitters orange twist, if desired Bordeaux cherry, if desired

1. In a martini shaker, combine the first 5 ingredients. Shake with ice for 10 - 15 seconds, then strain into a coup glass.

2. Garnish with orange twist and a cherry, if desired.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Cigar girls wandered the party passing out smokes and luring guests back to the full cigar bar. An intimidating bouncer with a Brooklyn accent guarded the “speakeasy” entrance. Men enjoyed cigars and brandy under the stars.

Guests mingled and admired each other’s costumes while sipping Prohibition-style cocktails. Even the couple’s dog, Petunia, got in on the action, dressing up as Petey from “The Little Rascals.”

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ELEMENTAL

A Cypress to Impress text by BRECK PAPPAS

W

ithout even knowing its history, there is something prehistoric about a cypress tree, its stretched gray skin rising out of the water like the foot of some ancient elephant. Perhaps the greatest trait

of a cypress swamp is its inaccessibility, a characteristic that allows a swamp-wanderer to think, “How many thousands of years has this view remained the same?”

Like the fish that have settled among the tree’s woody knees, so have we

placed ourselves in the land of the cypress. Up in the Delta lives a cypress tree nearly as old as our country, and 10 miles offshore is a forest older than our coastline. For being so old, however, there’s still plenty of mystery surrounding the bald cypress.

THE TREE’S KNEES

TOUPEE ALERT

The greatest mystery of the bald cypress anatomy centers around its knobby wooden knees. It was once believed that the pointed stumps protruding above its root system helped the tree access oxygen, but there is little evidence to support this theory. Others think the knees give the tree some much-needed stability in soggy swamps, but the official answer is that researchers still aren’t sure what purpose they serve. Cue the creepy swamp music …

The bald cypress tree (Taxodium distichum) is the trademark tree of Southern swamps. The species is native to humid climates that get a lot of rain, and they usually grow along rich, silty rivers. Unlike most trees in the family Cupressaceae, the bald cypress is a deciduous conifer, meaning that it loses its foliage in the winter months — in case you were wondering about the whole “bald” thing.

BIG, FRIENDLY GIANTS Bald cypress trees don’t live life in the fast lane, but they make up for their slow growth rates by living very long lives. The result? Cypresses that are very tall and very old. The tallest specimen known is 145 feet tall while the oldest is more than 1,620 years young. If all this sounds familiar, it should: The bald cypress is in the same family as the redwood.

A ROT TO THINK ABOUT Not surprisingly, the wood of a bald cypress is known for its water resistance and is often used accordingly (e.g. housing shingles). Cypress wood is also known as “wood eternal” because of its imperviousness to rot; even prehistoric samples of cypress have occasionally been deemed usable!

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THE LAND OF THE CYPRESS ◗ Southwest Alabama was once a land of towering forests. Ancient trees, comparable to the redwoods of the West Coast, once stood sentinel along the swampy banks of the Delta — and the bald cypress ruled them all.

Predictably, logging got the best of these forests as our lands were settled, as evidenced today by the enormous stumps still to be found by those who know where to look. ◗ With a whopping 27-foot circumference, the largest cypress in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta is the state’s second largest tree overall. It’s estimated to be between 200 and 300 years old, raising questions about why this tree escaped logging while so many other monster cypresses in the area met the axe. Some point to the evidence of frequent lightning strikes, its hollowness and its isolation as reasons why the tree would have been undesirable to loggers. ◗ In 2012, local conservationist Ben Raines discovered an ancient forest of bald cypress trees 10 miles off the Alabama coast. (Avid fishermen had long suspected a natural reason for the heightened presence of wildlife there.) Under about 60 feet of water, the primeval trees had been blanketed by ocean sediment and preserved in an oxygen-free environment for more than 50,000 years before being uncovered by some significant storm event, likely Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The cypress wood is so well preserved that, when cut, it reportedly still smells like fresh cypress sap. Researchers speculate that the trees’ growth rings contain thousands of years of climate history for our region, a valuable glimpse into a period of time known as the Wisconsin Glacial period. Unfortunately, the newly exposed forest likely only has a few years to be studied before wood-burrowing marine creatures devour the ancient trees. MB

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AMAZING LIFE

William Oppenheimer A piano man at heart reconnects with his old college band and the sounds of his generation. text by ROY HOFFMAN photos by TODD DOUGLAS

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 23

A

t 4:30 a.m., while the town is sleeping, a Mobile businessman and grandfather is already up, music on his mind. Making his way to an electronic keyboard, he begins to play, a two-hour ritual moving from the prayerful to the lyrical to good ol’ rock ’n’ roll.

“Music,” says William Oppenheimer, whose dawn recital includes Bach, Scott Joplin and The Grateful Dead, “is rejuvenating.” It’s an experience, as he describes it, akin to a fountain of youth.

At 63, Oppenheimer is drinking deeply of that fountain. As a software developer, civic leader and family man, he would have plenty to keep him busy without adding “musician” to his vita. Even so, his seventh decade finds him renewing the love he first found as a teenager: playing piano. He is a keyboardist with two Mobile-based bands and recently reunited with his college band from Yale, Diamond Reo — now Diamond Reo 75, named for the class of ’75 — to cut their first album.

Available on iTunes, “Back on the Truck” is a compilation of four songs written by band members, including Oppenheimer’s creation, “Tell Me About the Time,” the soulful ballad of a man reminiscing with his dying father about their cherished outings hunting and fishing. As a sportsman (when not rising before daylight to play piano, he does so to hunt turkeys), Oppenheimer combines his love of family and the Alabama outdoors in the song where son and dad remember when “the dogwood trees were blooming fine / We laughed our way back through the pines / And grilled a steak and drank some wine.”

The five members of Diamond Reo 75, scattered around the country, recently came together for a weekend of practice at Ono Island. And with this group, there is something more.

“Renewed friendship is almost better than the original,” Oppenheimer reflects. The members of Diamond Reo 75 may have lost touch with each other from their undergrad days at Yale, but now, in their early 60s, they are happily connected again.

“There are the memories of the original,” he says of their college band and friendships, “and now the surprise of the new.”

In addition to Diamond Reo 75, he performs with Glenn Normand’s Grand Band at Mobile gigs such as the Mardi Gras King’s Supper. Then there’s his own Rat Pack-era group, The Bay Rat Cannolis, locally performing standards by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin among other 1950s swingers.

Music is his passion, if not his livelihood. So far, “Diamond Reo 75 has made dozens of dollars from our album,” he jokes in characteristic low-key humor.

All in a Day’s Work

Alone at his keyboard for his dawn sessions, Oppenheimer includes a song composed by another Diamond Reo 75 band member, guitarist and lead singer Tommy Bourgeois.

His tune, “For Honor’s Sake,” begins: “Springtime down in Mobile, magnolia filled the air / I fell in love five times a day …”

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Before long, the sun is up, and Oppenheimer heads to the office at the University of South Alabama’s Technology and Research Park. He is president of Enveloc Inc., a data backup and storage provider.

“A lot of software geeks are musicians,” he observes.

He likens the writing of software code — filled with nuances and creativity — to composing music. “The Greeks taught music and math together. They have a lot in common.”

Music, indeed, threads itself through his workday.He gets an email from Glenn Normand with the lineup of songs for an upcoming dance and makes sure he has the chord progressions. He reaches out to the Diamond Reo 75 members about their next reunion and receives word that another classmate, a documentarian, hopes to make a film about their musical friendship. He checks his calendar for his community service gigs with Bay Rat Cannolis at Somerby Senior Living and Westminster Retirement Village.

Then, he is off to perform for the evening at Abba Mediterranean Cafe, tickling the ivories with renditions of Sinatra standards as Billy Curtright, who also sings for Bay Ray Cannolis, does the crooning.

ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT While William Oppenheimer was a student at Yale University, the legendary Mississippi Delta bluesman B.B. King gave

a guest lecture to his American Studies class. During the talk, Oppenheimer was called up on stage to accompany the artist. Today, he vividly recalls that overwhelming and magical moment. Visit mobilebaymag.com this month for links to the archival videos. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DR. WILLIAM R. FERRIS AND THE WILLIAM R. FERRIS COLLECTION, WILSON LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA.

“After his lecture, he asked me to come backstage and spoke to me privately. He complimented my playing and said he hoped I would continue musical pursuits. B.B. was very kind and encouraging.”

From Boy to King

Growing up in Mobile, Oppenheimer did not touch a keyboard. Heading north to prep school in the ninth grade, he began to have a hankering to do so. During high school at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, he was captivated by the music of the late 1960s, especially The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” The Turtles’ “Happy Together” and “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” by the Swingin’ Medallions.

Oppenheimer’s mathematical mind helped his growing sense of music as he taught himself to play using dorm pianos and even an organ at the chapel, picking out songs such as “Light My Fire” to practice his hand. These forays were “exercises,” he recalls, more than musicianship.

“Then I heard The Band’s ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.’ I could play that, I thought, and how cool to do so with a band.”

As a freshman at Yale, he joined his first group, Moonshine, that played the college circuit, including Vassar, Smith and Mount Holyoke. “All the girls’ schools,” he says. “It was heaven.” Moonshine’s drummer was Paul Baumgartel, who hooked the two of them up with guitarist and singer

Tim Kalliches, who would go on to be a sound technician for Frank Sinatra. Kalliches started Diamond Reo. The band’s name came about by serendipity. Chris Kee, the bass player — who would go on to one day open for the legendary Jerry Garcia — saw a garbage truck go by with the company name Diamond Reo trucks on the side, and the name just clicked.

Oppenheimer deepened his love of music, studying music theory in college and, summers back home, performing at Stein & Still, a former restaurant-bar in Mobile. He was still untutored on the piano but had legendary inspiration.

During his senior year at Yale, William R. Ferris, Southern folklorist and American Studies professor, invited B.B. King to conduct a seminar.

“B.B. walked onto the stage,” Oppenheimer remembers, “and after talking about the blues for several minutes said, ‘Do y’all have a pianist in the house?’ I thought he just wanted a show of hands, so I raised mine.”

King told Oppenheimer, “Come on up here.”

“Was I exceedingly nervous?” he says, recalling how he took his place at the piano on stage. “Oh, yeah.”

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 25

A few minutes later, the young selftaught pianist was accompanying King and his famous guitar, named Lucille, in “simple 12-bar blues.”

But there was more.

“B.B. said, ‘Now listen what happens when you put something in it.’ He nodded to me, and I did what he suggested.” Then they played King’s classic, “The Thrill is Gone.”

“I finally caught on.”

King then asked Oppenheimer to accompany him at another presentation on campus.

And he spoke what were golden words to any young musician’s ear: “After his lecture, he asked me to come backstage and spoke to me privately. He complimented my playing and said he hoped I would continue musical pursuits.

B.B. was very kind and encouraging.”

The Encore

Oppenheimer thought of making a career of music, but he decided to return south and go into the family export business, eventually diversifying into the software firm. He married a Mobile resident, Nancy de Juan, and they had two children: Nancy (now Nancy Wood), a pediatrician in Mobile, and Harris, a Mobile attorney. Then, grandchildren came along.

His family and friends often show up at his performances and are special guests at the last day of Diamond Reo 75’s practice weekend on Ono Island.

For singer Tommy Bourgeois, who makes his home in Los Angeles where he’s senior vice president of program

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ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT Members of Oppenheimer’s college band, Diamond Reo 75, Tim Kalliches, Oppenheimer, Tommy Bourgeois, Paul Baumgartel, Chris Kee, reconnect in music and friendship. Visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/diamondreo75.

Their album is now available on iTunes.

practices for CBS, the South is a familiar presence. His song on “Back on the Truck,” inspired by Chuck Berry, references Mobile and hometown New Orleans. He and Oppenheimer, he says, have “brought musical perspectives and traditions from the Deep South” into a band whose other members hail from the Northeast. For drummer Baumgartel, who resides in Connecticut and is a technical sales consultant with Oracle, trips to visit Oppenheimer have introduced him to “a beautiful city with gracious, welcoming people.”

Adds Baumgartel, “We all love to play, but we love being together even more.”

With the sun bright on coastal waters, Diamond Reo 75 cranks up the sound, a group of 20-year-olds again at the Ono Island house pulsing with The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and the band’s own compositions.

At the electric piano, Oppenheimer is deep into song. MB Roy Hoffman, who lives in Fairhope, is the author, among other works, of “Alabama Afternoons: Profiles and Conversations,” and the novels “Chicken Dreaming Corn” and “Come Landfall.” royhoffmanwriter.com

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BAY TABLES

You Gotta Get Cocky with It Award-winning chefs vow to make Mobile a food destination. text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN

H

artsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport could be called the gateway between Mobile and the rest of the world. If Mobilians want to travel pretty much anywhere on Earth by air, they have to pass through it. That journey was made a good deal more palatable eight years ago with the opening of the fine dining establishment One Flew South. At the time, onlookers thought the owners were crazy to try upscale in an airport, a realm reserved for Chili’s, Popeyes and the occasional sports bar. It had never been done before.

But skeptics were quickly proven wrong as the accolades mounted up and James Beard Award nominations came in for the small restaurant in terminal E of the world’s busiest airport. Hartsfield became a destination unto itself as people began to purposely book long layovers so they could grab a good meal, and executives chose it as a place to hold high-level, fly-in meetings.

Coming Home

Fast forward a few years, and the team and talent behind One Flew South were en route to New Orleans for a food festival when they made their own layover in Mobile. Chef Duane Nutter and beverage director Tiffanie Barriere were treated to a taste of restaurateur Reggie Washington’s hometown. Reggie’s family owns and operates a nursery in Theodore, but after graduating from McGillToolen, he pursued his career on the West Coast and later in Atlanta. Duane and Tiffanie marveled at the culture and feel of Mobile and wondered why the restaurant scene hadn’t exploded as it had in New Orleans, Charleston

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or Savannah. For several years the trio tossed around the idea of opening a place here with the goal of filling a gastronomic void and, in turn, making Mobile a foodie destination of its own.

That big idea is finally becoming a reality. The team has left Hartsfield behind to focus on Southern National, whose doors open early spring 2017 at 360 Dauphin St. in the heart of Downtown. The restaurant will be a modern American bistro with Southern direction and global inspirations. Reggie, Duane and Tiffanie were all born in the Deep South but have traveled, lived and worked all over the world, so Southern National is a natural melding of their life experiences. While the menu may include dishes we have all tried before (pimento cheese, short ribs and pork belly, as well as Gulf seafood), they plan to take the restaurant experience to a whole new level for Mobile.

“You gotta get cocky with it,” says Reggie. “We want to blow people away. Mobilians have refined palates; they travel and know good food. We’re going to give it to them right here at home.”

Great Expectations

It’s not just the food that is going to be impressive. They plan to cook with a purpose and foster a “culture of people” centered on customer service, not just good eats. This philosophy is obvious at first interaction with Reggie; it seems he has already met half of Mobile since setting out plans for Southern National and counts them as friends, recounting their stories and connections with a jovial smile. The team is having fun, and they want their guests to feel that.

Restaurateur Reggie Washington, left, and chef Duane Nutter, along with beverage director Tiffanie Barriere, will offer up an impressive menu and upscale culinary experience at their new Mobile venture, Southern National.

november october 2016 | mobilebaymag.com 29

If Reggie is the organizer and planner of big dreams, Duane is the comedian with the creative touch. The accomplished chef is a bona fide standup comic. At the same time, he has been described as a “walking encyclopedia of food,” and certainly knows how to elevate traditional Southern dishes by focusing on ingredients and, at times, unusual pairings. Who knew the humble kielbasa could sing with the right zing of kimchee and fresh mustard greens? Or that short ribs could be close to godliness when braised with fermented soybean teriyaki aged in Woodford Reserve barrels? He brings with him his relationships with craftsmen and small purveyors of fine ingredients, touches that make all the difference in the nuance of a dish. The team looks forward to forging new relationships, as well, with those along Mobile Bay who produce fine ingredients that can be incorporated into the Southern National menu. To that end, Reggie, who has been called “Reg the Veg” in the past for his love of seasonal produce, has turned a small patch of land at his family nursery into the kitchen garden, which

will provide Chef Duane with wintertime greens, spring strawberries, herbs and more year round.

Rounding out the trio, Tiffanie brings the epitome of service to the bar, which is as large as the restaurant. Both spaces were designed by Atlanta-based Smith Hanes Studio with a “hometown homegrown feel, but nice enough to be considered your downtown clubhouse.” The team hopes the bar will become a gathering spot for customers to share in a truly distinctive environment. In addition to traditional cocktails, vintage crystal punch bowls will serve a variety of fruity, complex punches, created tableside, that foster conversation and conviviality. (The honeysuckle vodka punch with pear and star anise is a must!)

“Just wait,” says Chef Duane. “Big things are happening in Mobile, and we’re going to be part of it.” A food and wine festival is in the plans, as well as tasting dinners with renowned chefs and events with winemakers. No more traveling out of town for an Instagram-worthy dining experience. You can plan your layover a little closer to home. MB

Honeysuckle Spiced Pear Cocktail MAKES 1 COCKTAIL

This warm and fruity punch is perfect for a festive crowd.

2 ounces honeysuckle vodka (such as Cathead brand) 1 ounce Honeysuckle Spiced Pear syrup (see below) 1/2 ounce cranberry juice 1/2 ounce orange juice splash of ginger ale

1. In a martini shaker, combine all ingredients. Shake well and serve over ice.

Honeysuckle Spiced Pear Syrup MAKES 2 CUPS 1 1 2 1 3 1

cup sugar 1/2 cups water star anise cinnamon stick cloves pear, peeled, core removed and roughly chopped

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine sugar, water, spices and pear. Bring mixture to a boil; simmer until pears are tender, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove from heat. Let steep for 20 - 25 minutes. Allow to cool.

3. Remove large spices from saucepan and discard. Pour syrup pear mixture in a blender and blend until smooth.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

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Classic Pimento Cheese

SERVES 4 - 6

Pimento cheese is a staple in any Southern kitchen. Some are savory, some sweet, and it can be eaten on just about anything you want. At Southern National, the chefs will serve it on a platter with turmeric pickled cauliflower and okra, shaved radish, sliced summer sausage, lavash, flatbread and breadsticks.

1 cup sharp white cheddar, freshly grated 1 cup sharp yellow cheddar, freshly grated 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup Duke’s mayonnaise 1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, sliced* Turmeric Pickled Cauliflower and Okra (see right) flatbread, for serving crackers, for serving

1. In the bowl of a food processor, add grated cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne powder, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise and red bell pepper. On pulse control, mix until well combined.

2. Serve chilled with Turmeric Pickled Cauliflower and Okra, summer sausage, and flatbread or crackers for dipping. Leftovers may be refrigerated in covered container for up to one week. * If you do not want to roast your own pepper, a small jar of sliced pimentos, well drained, will work.

Turmeric Pickled Cauliflower and Okra SERVES 4 - 6

These delightfully sharp veggies serve well alone or with crackers and Classic Pimento Cheese. These can also be prepared using traditional canning and pickling methods.

1 head cauliflower, washed and cut into florets 1/4 pound fresh okra 4 cups water 4 cups rice wine vinegar 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 2 tablespoons pickling spice

1. Wash cauliflower, drain well and cut into florets.

Place in large glass mixing bowl with washed okra.

Set aside.

2. In large saucepot, combine the water, rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt, turmeric and pickling spice. Bring to a rapid boil.

3. Once brine is boiling, pour over cauliflower florets and cover with plate to keep florets submerged in the liquid. Allow liquid to cool.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

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Kentuckyaki Braised Short Ribs SERVES APPROXIMATELY 8 - 10

These melt-in-your-mouth ribs are worth every bit of the effort. To plate it Southern National style, layer ribs over Miso Butternut Squash Puree (see opposite) and top with Brussels sprout leaves tossed in kimchee and the reduction sauce.

6 pounds short ribs 3 tablespoons Five Spice powder 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2 tablespoons black pepper 1/2 cup fennel seeds, ground 3 tablespoons coriander, ground 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes 1/2 cup vegetable oil, divided 5 peeled onions, chopped 4 fennel bulbs, chopped 1 cup peeled, rough-cut ginger 5 carrots, chopped salt, to taste pepper, to taste 2 bottles red wine 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 gallon orange juice 1 pint Kentuckyaki sauce* (available at bourbonbarrelfoods.com) 1 gallon veal stock (Ask your butcher for a stock recommendation.)

3 quarts chicken stock Miso Butternut Squash Puree (see opposite) Kimchee Base (see opposite) Brussels sprout leaves, blanched

1. Trim off any excess fat from the short ribs.

2. In a large bowl, combine Five Spice powder, garlic powder, black pepper, fennel seed, coriander and pepper flakes to make a dry rub. Coat each of the ribs with oil, then rub each of the ribs on each side with the dry rub.

Place in a pan, cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight.

3. When ready to cook the ribs, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

4. Pat the ribs dry but make sure not to rub off the spices. In a large rondo over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of oil.

Place meat in pan and brown on both sides, about 3 minutes on each side.

5. Place ribs on sheet pan and set aside, discarding most of the remaining fat in the rondo pan.

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6. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and return the rondo pan back to medium heat.

Add onions, fennel, ginger and carrots.

Then lightly season with salt and black pepper, stirring occasionally until onions are lightly brown and soft.

7. Add the red wine and reduce by half, then add the brown sugar, orange juice, Kentuckyaki sauce, veal stock and chicken stock.

8. Bring to a boil and place the short ribs back in the rondo, cover with foil and place in the oven.

9. Cook until meat is fork tender, about 4 hours. Remove meat and simmer remaining liquid over medium heat until reduced by half, about 20 minutes.

10. Toss blanched Brussels sprout leaves in Kimchee Base. Plate ribs over Miso Butternut Squash Puree. Top with Brussels sprouts, and drizzle reduced braising liquid over top. * Kentuckyaki may be replaced with any gourmet teriyaki sauce.

Miso Butternut Squash Puree

Kimchee Base

MAKES 2 CUPS 3 pounds butternut squash, peeled and chopped 1 onion, chopped 2 bay leaves 3 tablespoons ginger, peeled and chopped 1 quart cream (if not enough to cover, add a little water) 1 tablespoon sesame oil 3 tablespoons miso paste salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons canola/olive oil 4 ounces finely chopped peeled ginger 3 ounces finely chopped garlic 3 ounces finely chopped shallots 2 ounces sugar 2 bunches green onion, finely chopped with white and green parts 1 teaspoon chili red pepper flakes 4 ounces fish sauce 4 ounces Sriracha 1 1/2 ounces sesame oil 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper

1. In a large pot, add squash, onion, bay leaves, ginger and cream. Let simmer until squash is tender. Remove bay leaves.

2. Place the cooked squash, ginger, onion and sesame oil in the blender and add just enough additional cream to make the blender blades spin.

3. While the mixture is pureeing, add the miso paste. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

1. In a large saucepot on medium high heat, add the oil.

2. Just before the smoking point (about 3 minutes), add ginger, garlic, shallots, sugar, green onion and red pepper flakes.

3. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Transfer to a large bowl.

4. Add fish sauce, Sriracha, sesame oil and salt and pepper to mixture.

MAKES 1 CUP

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TASTINGS

FOY SUPERFOODS

text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

J

ust in time for a new year and healthful resolutions, FOY Superfoods has opened in Downtown Mobile offering the food you need for a fresh start. FOY, which stands for Fountain of Youth, serves breakfast and lunch, sells nutritious meals to go, acts as a pickup spot for meal subscribers and operates as South Alabama’s first cold-pressed juice bar.

Though juice bars like FOY are few and far between in our area, they have become a fun and integral part of wellness regimens across the country. Cold pressing preserves the vitamins and nutrients in fresh fruits and veggies, as they are squeezed very slowly under pressure without applying any heat. What results is a raw, unpasteurized product that takes more than eight hours to produce. FOY presents their juices in shots, single servings or as a fully customizable juice cleanse program.

As for the breakfast and lunch options, the majority are paleo-friendly, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and full of delicious superfood ingredients that your body will love.

The meals are filling and satisfying, with options to add chicken or steak, heart-healthy avocado, quinoa, and nuts and seeds to a variety of rice bowls and salads. Avocado toast, soups, smoothies, acai bowls, energy snacks and gluten-free cookies round out FOY’s offerings.

Downtown workers can pop into the bright Bienville Square storefront for a cup of Carpe Diem coffee, a green juice and some nutty protein power pancakes to get their days started. Lunch is the cafe’s busiest time of day, but folks continue to roll in and out all afternoon for pick-me-up snacks or to grab a wholesome prepackaged take-home dinner for under $10.

FOY is the sister store to Balance, a nutritionist-approved cafe and subscription meal service based on Airport Boulevard at the Loop, that has been helping Mobilians eat healthier for the last three years. Husband-and-wife owners Liz Garza and John Smith launched their business after adopting a paleo diet and seeing a dramatic improvement in John’s diabetes. They have slowly been growing their business and a devoted following ever since. Liz says the

couple is excited to now offer a dine-in option for Mobilians looking for something quick, affordable and nutritious. The Downtown location has foot traffic, but many customers hear about FOY through word-of-mouth and social media.

“People are passionate about eating well and feeling good,” she says, “and they want to share it with everyone they know!”

If your 2017 New Year’s resolutions include improving your health, make it easy on yourself and join the FOY movement. Leave behind the gluttony of the holidays one power bowl at a time! MB

 119 Dauphin St. • 307-8997 • foysuperfoods.com • Average entree price: $6.95 • 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. M – F; 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sa 34 mobilebaymag.com | january 2017

“People are passionate about eating well

and feeling good, and they want to share it with everyone they know!”

ON THE MENU DETOX SUPER BOWL A bed of chopped romaine or brown rice is topped with crunchy carrots, shredded raw beets, chickpeas, sliced almonds, Craisins and a ginger vinaigrette dressing. Add your choice of protein, and it makes a filling superfood lunch bowl!

POWER PANCAKES Hearty and nutty pancakes, opposite, made with almond flour and flaxseed, are topped with pure maple syrup or fresh fruit and honey. The pancakes also freeze well, if you want them to-go. Reheat in the toaster for a quick paleo breakfast at home.

AVOCADO TOAST Avocado toast has taken foodies by storm nationwide, and it’s finally making appearances on Mobile menus. The FOY version features toasty brioche bread from Warehouse Bakery in Fairhope topped with creamy avocado, a squeeze of fresh lemon, sea salt and chili flake. Additional toppings can be added to suit your diet and preference.

GRACK Granola without the grains, this addictive all nut and seed crunchy conglomeration makes a delicious Greek yogurt parfait or a perfect snack straight out of the bag.

It is made with organic pumpkin, sunflower and chia seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes and raw honey for a protein-packed paleo treat.

FOY’S DETOX SUPER BOWL WITH GINGER DRESSING

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IS THE NEW text by MEG MCCRUMMEN FOWLER photos by TODD DOUGLAS

BIG

Tiny houses, miniature vegetables and microshops have been giving new life to the old mantra, “Less is more.� Taken together, the delightfully diminutive products, companies and spaces described here suggest more than a passing trend for all things small. From personalized service, to concentrated flavor, to dramatic vistas, to elegant simplicity, these small experiences are bringing big things to life in the Bay area.

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BIG LIVING

P

eyton Harvill of PH Building and Design is giving new meaning to downsizing. He and his family have built a teensy, tiny house — just 144 square feet, plus an 8-by-8 foot loft that fits a queen-sized bed. This little house is surprisingly large on amenities though. It includes a full bathroom, full kitchen, propane range, tankless water heater and HVAC. “That’s what intrigued me,” Peyton says, “the challenge of getting everything in such a small little box.” Without plans or guidelines to reference, it was a matter of figuring it out as he went. Now, he is looking for someone who wants to make this tiny house their new home.

For Peyton, the ideal owner of a tiny home is probably a young person, who is perhaps someone looking for flexibility or considering a move. He

understands the attraction: “You’re not tying yourself down to a big mortgage, and you have the freedom of packing up and moving to another piece of property in the same town, a state over, or a country away.” This tiny house would also be ideal for a hunting camp or as a rental property on the water, he notes. Wherever the tiny house goes, Peyton imagines a big deck should be attached to extend the living space.

As a builder, Peyton notes that homeowners are tending to gravitate toward houses with a little less square footage. “People are using space a little more wisely,” he explains, pointing out that formal dining rooms are often the first room to go. “So many people have a dining room, and most admit they don’t use it.”

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 39

BIG STYLE

F

or branding consultant and boutique owner Carlisha Hartzog, a 130-square-foot shop is enough space to give her online fashion retail business a physical presence. Her microshop, Urbane, located inside The Exchange 202 on Government Street, is a showroom for a curated collection of leather goods and ready-to-wear women’s clothing. And, it’s a place for customers to get a shopping experience that’s tailored to them.

At any time, Urbane typically carries five to six clothing lines. Although she includes some foundational pieces, Carlisha, right, says, “most have something different: maybe exaggerated shoulders, or a maxi skirt with a dramatic slit and shorts underneath. Not too trendy, but definitely innovative.”

Her hours are on the small side, too, because she specializes in individualized, appointment-based consultations. With so much personal attention, clients get a customized experience.

“An appointment starts with a conversation about what they need and what fits, how they move within their lifestyle,” Carlisha explains. “If I hear that several people are interested in a particular product, then I make it a point to source that item.” She hopes the shopping experience is as luxurious as the pieces she sells: The space is filled with the smell of fresh flowers, and there’s a pretty cake dome that’s always filled with sweet treats for her clients.

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The flexible hours and small space mean the shop is “like a semipermanent pop-up,” Carlisha adds. She is considering opening and closing the shop seasonally, as this sort of retail tends to slow as locals head out on vacation in the summer months. “We’ll stay open through Mardi Gras, and then perhaps reopen next fall.” Owning a microshop allows her the flexibility to do just that.

BIG MOVEMENT

M

obile Pedicabs now provides the best little way to scoot around Downtown. It is also the newest business venture of Preston Griffith, of the wellknown Griffith’s Shell on Government Street.

“I had ridden in pedicabs in New Orleans, New York — even Istanbul, Turkey. Every ride was a cool experience,” says Preston, below. He wondered if it would work in Mobile, he remembers, “but I never thought I’d be the one doing it.” Best of all, the ride is free. “That’s right — no charge! However, the pedalers do appreciate their tips.”

With three wheels and seats for two, pedicabs are ideal for short trips and for taking in the sights. Griffith sees his bike-powered vehicles as an integral part of Mobile’s thriving entertainment scene: “You get in a traditional cab to go home,” Griffith explains, “but on a pedicab, you’re in the open air,

and the atmosphere is great. There are all the balconies. The music is playing on Dauphin Street. And you’re not going too fast, so there’s time to enjoy it. Lots of people just want to ride around for a bit.”

The small scale offers a personal expedition and friendly service. Riders tend to ask a lot of questions, and Griffith says the pedalers are ready with answers. “One of the pedalers, a history major, recently helped some Australians who had been on a cruise ship that had sailed from Canada,” recalls Griffith. “The passengers were very inquisitive about the French connection in Mobile, and he was able to tell them all about it.” These “city guides” are also a great resource for restaurant recommendations. They wait for customers all over Downtown but can be frequently spotted outside Moe’s Original Bar B Que, Five or near Cathedral Square.

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BIG VISION

S

ince 1960, SeeCoast Manufacturing has been making little lenses that offer amazing glimpses of the big world.

This Fairhope company produces those quintessential viewers that magnify scenic landscapes all over the Southeast.

Selecting an instrument depends on the type of view desired. “Binoculars give a wide panoramic view that make them suitable for a place like Vulcan,” explains Sarah Lacey, director of marketing, referring to a viewer installed at the Birmingham landmark. A telescope, on the other hand, magnifies 20 times — twice as much as binoculars — but has a smaller field of view; that makes them ideal for something like a bird trail. And how far do they allow someone to see?

Well, that depends on your eyesight. “Distance is limited only by human vision,” Lacey says.

SeeCoast Manufacturing is proud that their viewers run on strictly mechanical operations.

Here’s how it works: You push in the coin shoot, which switches a lever that both starts the timer and opens the shutter. The user then has between a minute and a half and two full minutes of viewing time; the slight variation in time is a normal part of the mechanical operation. For just two quarters, this little machine makes visible the invisible, letting viewers see and know a bit more of the wide world around them.

BIG LOVE

A

long the back roads of Wilmer, Alabama, Pat and Frank Foster cultivate the sweetest “neighbors” you will ever meet at their business Impressible Minis. At less than 34 inches tall, their miniature horses would steal anyone’s heart. The Fosters have been raising miniature horses since 1982, and they are proud of the awards their 75 animals have won. “Nearly all the stallions are world champions or world champion producers,” Pat explains.

Miniature horses are perhaps most noted for their temperament. As she explains this, Pat’s adoration of her horses is evident in her voice. “They are so very affectionate and gentle,” she enthuses. “A big horse loves you because you feed it. A miniature horse just loves being with you.” Their intelligence and sweet nature make them a perfect companion for children. “I love them,” Pat says. “But then, I’ve never known anyone who doesn’t!”

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BIG FLAVOR

I

f you’re eating at a local restaurant and find a plate full of regionally-sourced vegetables, there is a good chance they came from Local Appetite, a 3.5-acre microfarm in Silverhill. “At any one time, we’re growing 20 to 30 crops on that small space,” says co-owner Will Mastin. Their wide variety of vegetables allows them to meet the needs of local chefs; one restaurant particularly likes Jerusalem artichokes, an unusual crop that these farmers grow just for them.

The size of the farm isn’t the only petite part of Local Appetite. Their miniature vegetables are a favorite with Bay area chefs, not least because they present well on a plate. Baby squash are especially popular, Will explains. “We pick them small, when they’re really tender with hardly any seeds. But they look like fully grown squash.”

Most amazing of all, these bite-sized beauties pack a big punch. “The flavor can become really concentrated in the smaller varieties,” Will adds. “That’s especially true of the lunchbox peppers.” He’s referring to a sweet snacking pepper that’s just about two inches long. Miniature tomatoes are another favorite; a one-pound carton features a beautiful range of reds, yellows, even purple picks.

Individuals can also enjoy their veggies, miniature and otherwise, through a “local bag” subscription service. A monthlong subscription buys four bags brimming with farm-fresh produce, delivered right to your door. Thus far, home deliveries have only been available in Baldwin County, but Will expects to expand to Downtown and Midtown Mobile at the first of this year.

Learn more at facebook.com/localappetitegrowers.com. MB

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“I am overjoyed when my students feel confident in handling different situations on their own.”

— Blair Schoenvogel

“Being able to practice civil rights law has been a dream come true.”

— Suntrease Williams-Maynard

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This year’s young leaders have professional savvy, big hearts and lots to say — so listen up. Our future’s looking bright.

“It’s unusual to find people so passionate about their job, but people in the NICU at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital love working there. Our unit is really special.”

— Margie Friedman

produced by CHELSEA ADAMS AND BRECK PAPPAS photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN location THE EXCHANGE 202

“It’s not the punch of life that defines a man but the response. Rock bottom has created more successful individuals than the top.”

— Brandon Maye

KARI KIRK BENSON, PHARM D., 39 Owner, Frios Gourmet Pops / Pharmacist, University of South Alabama Medical Center and Mitchell Cancer Institute

RILEY BRENES, 29 Artist / Detention Officer, Strickland Youth Center

As both a practicing pharmacist and the owner of a favorite local popsicle business, Kari has become the Bay area’s go-to source for a cure.

Three months after discovering Frios Gourmet Pops at the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival, Kari successfully expanded the Gadsden-made product to the Gulf Coast, and the rest is icy, delicious history.

Alongside her continuing work as a pharmacist, Kari is also a charter member of the women’s entrepreneurial group “She Started It.”

Time and time again, Riley has proven himself to be a source of innovation, vision and leadership throughout the city of Mobile.

Through undertakings such as the 401 Dauphin St. Project, the Fry Building Project and ChARTing New Directions, Riley has supported local artists while raising funds for tornado relief, an overseas orphanage and programs benefiting inner city youth. He’s also wholly devoted to his work at the Strickland Youth Center and the challenging but rewarding task of influencing the lives of Mobile’s youth.

✦ ALMA MATER Auburn University ✦ HOMETOWN Selma, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

✦ ALMA MATER University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

James; Morgan Claire (9); Paige James (8)

Bethany Miller; Odessa Elista (2)

✦ GUILTY PLEASURE

The Candy Bar Frios Pop! It’s really hard to resist. ✦ IF I WERE MAYOR OF MOBILE, I WOULD … Do everything I

could to facilitate small business growth and expansion. ✦ WHY IS “SHE STARTED IT” SO IMPORTANT?

The members support one another. We also learn a lot from each other — about everything from taxes and marketing to hiring and firing. We’ve discussed it all at our monthly meetings.

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✦ HIDDEN TALENTS I try not to hide them. ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED

“Don’t worry about what others are doing — just work hard,” from my dad, David Brenes. ✦ WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ASHES AND SACK CLOTH? Sack cloth and ashes are

a representation of repentance and mourning … I find myself in mourning because our youth detention centers hold the future leaders of our community who have yet to learn their capacity.

JOHN P. BROWNING, 39 Partner, Burr & Forman LLP

John has received many accolades over the years, from being named an Alabama Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2010 to participating in the TIPS Leadership Academy in 2015. Besides his legal work, John makes it a point to stay active in his community. He has served on boards for the Mobile Public Library, Mobile Downtown Alliance and the YMCA of South Alabama, for which he received the 2015 Volunteer of the Year award. ✦ ALMA MATER B.A., Troy

University; J.D., Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law ✦ HOMETOWN

Montgomery, Ala. ✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH

West Indies Salad ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED

Never burn a bridge. ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE

Anything that combines chocolate and peanut butter ✦ CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER

Barrett Jones, former UA center ✦ WHAT IS YOUR MAIN GOAL IN VOLUNTEERING AND COMMUNITY SERVICE?

I believe we have a Christian duty to serve others with the talents we have been given by God. When we serve, we are giving back a little bit of ourselves to the organization to make it a better place just for having been a part of it.

ANDREW E. BYRD, MBA, PH.D., 37 Director of the Office of Commercialization and Industry Collaboration, University of South Alabama

Building partnerships is what Andrew does best. He’s worked with the University of South Alabama for more than 15 years, where he strives to discover intellectual and technological talent and, by helping develop and commercialize, keep that talent in Mobile. He works closely with local tech startups, including Innovation PortAL, to bring more companies to success here in the Port City. Andrew has had a hand in a total of six USA-affiliated high-tech startups.

The South Alabama grad also volunteers with United Way and the American Heart Association. ✦ ALMA MATER B.S., MBA, Ph.D. University of

South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ CHILDREN

Brooks (10), Olivia Rose (9) ✦ FIRST JOB Bagging horse and cow feed at a store in West Mobile ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED

From my dad: “Go out today and make it a great day!” ✦ WHAT IS THE KEY TO NETWORKING?

Being genuine in your relationships. It’s a rare but important quality and should be respected and appreciated.

HOLLY CARTER, 39

JOSHUA COGSWELL, 36

Vice President Commercial Banking, Regions Bank

Director of University Development, University of South Alabama

As a consistent top 10 percent performer in her company for more than a decade, Holly knows what it takes to succeed. The University of Florida grad optimizes cash flow for South Alabama clients and was recently selected to participate in the Certified Treasury Professional program. Holly is a 2006 graduate of Leadership Mobile and dedicates her spare time to volunteering with the Upward Youth Sports Program, as well as working with Mobile United, the United Way Women’s Initiative and the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce.

In his first year working at the University of South Alabama, Joshua increased year-over-year fundraising by 44 percent, a remarkable feat that has continued to grow in the three years since. Earlier in his career, he helmed a $10 million fundraising effort for the MIND Alzheimer’s Research Center at University of Mississippi Medical Center, and since joining USA, he has added $12 million to the school’s endowed scholarships. Joshua is an Emerging Leader for the United Way of Southeast Alabama and a graduate of the Alabama Leadership Institute.

✦ ALMA MATER University of Florida ✦ HOMETOWN DeFuniak Springs, Fla. ✦ CHILDREN Ava (9) ✦ FIRST JOB Project Analyst,

SouthTrust Bank ✦ HIDDEN TALENTS Ping pong ✦ FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB Helping local busi-

ness owners ✦ WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A TOP 10 PERCENT PERFORMER? You must be a team player,

self-aware, a great listener and have the ability to influence. I have been successful in sales over the past 14 years by not focusing on selling. Instead, I have focused on getting to know my clients, understanding their business and being a trusted partner.

✦ ALMA MATER

B.A., Harvard University; M.S., Columbia University ✦ HOMETOWN Cape Coral, Fla. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Erin; Kaylin (11), Owen (4) ✦ HOBBIES When I am not working on a degree, I enjoy running, playing soccer and reading. ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED A former boss

told me, “Come to me with solutions, not with problems.” ✦ HOW DO YOU INSPIRE YOUR TEAM TO SUCCEED? In my

career, I have found the best way to learn and grow is by doing. My job is to bring together talented people and let them do their jobs, while hopefully providing guidance and wisdom along the way. january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 49

ASHLEY MCLEOD DUKES, 33 Cofounder and President, Midtown Mobile Movement

With vision and prowess, Ashley helms the Midtown Mobile Movement, an organization she helped create to promote walkability and community connectedness in the area. She spearheaded a plan for enlivening Old Shell Road and the surrounding areas with a new coffee shop (in the works!) and better infrastructure, among other improvements. In 2014, Ashley helped bring Mobile Streets Alive to fruition, and she continues to spearhead community efforts in Midtown and beyond. ✦ ALMA MATER

University of Mississippi ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE Witt ✦ FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB I am constantly meet-

ing new people and learning from them by seeing the world from their perspectives. ✦ HIGH SCHOOL SUPERLATIVE

Best smile ✦ WHAT IS THE BIGGEST STEP TO BE TAKEN TO REACH YOUR GOALS OF IMPROVED COMMUNITY CONNECTEDNESS?

Safe, complete streets for people, bikes and cars will create the biggest impact in connecting the Midtown community, and thanks to our city council and mayor, steps are being taken to focus on improving our city’s infrastructure.

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NATHAN W. EMMOREY, 36 Chief Municipal Court Administrator, City of Mobile / Judge Advocate, Alabama Army National Guard

Appointed Mobile’s chief municipal court administrator in 2014, Nathan has worked to transform a struggling justice system. A statement from Mayor Stimpson’s office declared that under Nathan’s leadership, “the court has sought to transform citizens’ experience with a justice system that is efficient, effective and punishes crime, not penalizing poverty.” He has worked as a foreign claims commissioner in Afghanistan and, in 2017, will be deployed to the Arabian Gulf region for 6 months. ✦ ALMA MATER

B.B.A., Grand Valley State University; J.D., Ave Maria School of Law; MBA (projected 2018), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ✦ HOMETOWN

Grew up in Gaylord, Michigan, but Mobile is my home. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN Brittani Anne; Nash Wayne (2) ✦ TELL US ABOUT YOUR DEPLOYMENT LATER THIS YEAR. I will be the command

judge advocate (lawyer) for Joint Special Operations Task Force (Arabian Peninsula), providing full-spectrum legal services to the commander, including operational law, administrative law, contract law and criminal law.

JULIA GREER FOBES, 31

MARGIE FRIEDMAN, RN, BSN, MSN, 36

Designer, Julia Greer Fobes: Fashion, Art & Flowers

NICU Nurse, USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital

With a flair for florals and artistic design, Julia is well on her way to becoming a Mobile institution. Her new solo venture also specializes in creating and embellishing Mardi Gras robes, trains and costumes, which, for Mobilians, is a job not entrusted to just any designer. She cut her teeth working at Zimlich Brothers, and now her floral work has been showcased in the annual Festival of Flowers. Building multiple businesses from the ground up, Fobes possesses a knack for leadership and creativity that is unparalleled.

For almost five years, Margie has worked in the neonatal intensive care unit, which cares for more than 80 babies a day, every day of the year. Apart from her innate ability to guide and encourage parents through their toughest days, Margie demonstrated a natural skill for fundraising by leading a successful $750,000 campaign to renovate the NICU. This past summer, the McDonald’s Corporation recognized her as one of 24 national Ronald McDonald Hometown Heroes.

✦ ALMA MATER University of Mississippi ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE Gray ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE

B.A., Auburn University; B.S.N., M.S.N., University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala.

Netflix and Yuengling — enjoyed together or separately ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED “It’s nice to be smart,

but it’s much smarter to be nice!”

I learned this from my dad, who learned it from his dad, who learned it from his dad. ✦ WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS? I really love all the

stages of the design process. The best is any job where I know I am giving customers exactly what they want, but they are easygoing enough that I can use my artistic license and push it a lot further.

✦ ALMA MATER

✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Josh; Jack (14), Brooks (11), Sam (5), William (1) ✦ CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER

I don’t really have a celebrity doppelganger, but I do have an identical twin sister named Valli Rodning. ✦ HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO PURSUE NEONATAL CARE?

My oldest son, Jack, had to be transported to Children’s and Women’s Hospital to the NICU a few days after birth and was there for three weeks. It was terrifying but also amazing, so I decided that I wanted to go back to school to become a NICU nurse. january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 51

TODD GREER, 35 Chief Catalyst, Exchange 202

As a cofounder of Mobile’s first collaborative workspace, Todd is truly a pioneer of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that’s taking hold in the city.

After working as a full-time minister in Michigan and Virginia for a total of nine years, he decided to turn his attention toward providing individuals and businesses with the tools necessary to network and grow. Todd also serves as the executive editor of Nonprofit Performance Magazine and is a board member for the local innovation center, Innovation PortAL. ✦ ALMA MATER B.A., Defiance

College; Ph.D., Regent University ✦ HOMETOWN Monroe, Mich. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN Chelsea;

Cecelia (7), Baby Greer (due January 2017) ✦ FIRST JOB Paperboy ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE Books! ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED “Be ye an

opener of doors,” a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, passed along by Frances Hesselbein ✦ IS MOBILE AHEAD OR BEHIND THE CO-WORKING TREND?

At present, we find Mobile simultaneously ahead of and behind the trend. Many communities jumped into co-working before Mobile, but from a population density perspective we probably have more spaces, per person, than cities much larger than us.

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ADAM J. HANDWERGER, M.D., 39

JUSTIN HARDEE, 34

Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon, The Orthopaedic Group

Industrial Civil Team Leader, Thompson Engineering Inc.

Sticks and stones may break bones, but Adam has got them covered. An accomplished orthopaedic surgeon, Adam has spent his career treating some of the most difficult pediatric cases on the Gulf Coast. In 2011, he joined the Pediatric Orthopaedic Fellowship Program in Atlanta, Georgia, and became one of only two such trained physicians in the Gulf Coast area. When he’s not in the operating room, he’s helping to make it a more effective space through procedural change.

Justin has spent a decade working on projects as the head of civil engineering design, with his efforts contributing $2 million in revenue. He leads technicians, designers and engineers to work together seamlessly for a common goal. A 2006 graduate of the University of South Alabama, Justin attended the Thompson Academy in 2011, where he strengthened his leadership and mentoring skills.

He also serves as a mentor in Metro Ministries and has worked with students from Moss Point to encourage their interest in STEM fields.

✦ ALMA MATER

University of Georgia; University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

✦ ALMA MATER University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Camilla; Elizabeth (6), Amelia (4)

Kim; George Mason (due April 2017)

✦ CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER

✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH Raw oysters ✦ CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER

Adam Samberg (“Saturday Night Live,” “Brooklyn Nine Nine”) ✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH

It’s a dead heat between burgers at Callaghan’s and Butch Cassidy’s ✦ HOW IS TREATING CHILDREN DIFFERENT THAN ADULTS?

I found that I enjoyed taking care of kids a lot, and it was very rewarding seeing them get better.

I know that when I treat an infant or toddler, it can have a profound effect that may not make itself apparent for years to come. I enjoy that challenge.

I’ve always fancied myself a young Lyle Lovett. ✦ WHEN A PROJECT ISN’T GOING AS IT SHOULD, HOW DO YOU TURN IT AROUND?

Like a wrong turn, the longer you wait to address the issue, the more effort the correction will require. Respond immediately, over-communicate and have a mentor you can rely on for guidance. Embrace the struggle; you’ll be better off for it.

PEYTON HARVILL, 39 Residential Contractor, PH Building & Design

Peyton has been in the construction business for the past 15 years, but it was only two years ago that he formed PH Building & Design to meet the demand of clients focused on building high-end, customdesigned homes. In tandem with his wife, Perry, Peyton has developed more than 60 custom homes around Spring Hill and Midtown. A proud father of three, he has also coached his children in baseball, basketball and football. ✦ ALMA MATER Auburn University ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Perry; Julia (11), Haas (9), Henry (5) ✦ FIRST JOB Working on a concrete crew when

I was 14. We dug the footings for LeFlore High School. ✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH

Anything from Delish Bakery & Eatery on Upham! I hit that place at least once a week. ✦ WHAT’S BETTER, GETTING A NEW PROJECT OR DRIVING PAST A COMPLETED ONE?

Definitely driving by one of my finished projects! It’s gratifying seeing the end product and knowing all the hard work that went into providing a family with their new home.

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WILL ISRAEL, 36 Product Manager, The SSI Group Inc.

Upon being hired in 2012 as a product manager for the SSI Group, Will quickly produced results. In 2014, he was recognized with the “Impact Award” for his assistance to the sales group, and revenues have sextupled for the primary product set he manages. Will has recently been placed in charge of the entire financial and performance management portfolio.

Coworkers describe him as a strategic planner who successfully works from the macro to the micro. ✦ ALMA MATER Hampden-Sydney College ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN Katie;

First baby on the way! ✦ AS A CHILD, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? MacGyver ✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH

Rosmarino Pizza from Red or White ✦ HOBBIES Flying drones (his

photography has been featured in MB) and traveling ✦ FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB Solving complex

problems in unique ways. ✦ EVER HAD A SPECTACULAR DRONE CRASH? My dad crashed

it straight into some azalea bushes at pretty close to top speed. As he handed the controller back, he said, “Maybe you shouldn’t buy such expensive toys.” We disagreed on what the lesson was there.

STEVEN A. KAHN, M.D., 36 Burn and Trauma Surgeon / Director, Arnold Luterman Regional, USA Medical Center

One of the youngest burn center directors in America, Steven is known nationally for his research related to firefighter safety, resuscitation of burn patients and the use of artificial skin. When he became director of the USA Regional Burn Center, he rebuilt the care team, reeducated existing staff on modern burn care and updated care protocols, resulting in better patient outcomes. Under his leadership, the center was recognized as having the country’s second best survival rate in the first quarter of 2015. ✦ ALMA MATER University of Tennessee ✦ HOMETOWN Knoxville, Tenn. ✦ CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER

When I was younger and in better shape, people said I looked like Mark Wahlberg or Mario Lopez.

Now, if I keep exercising at my current rate, it’ll soon be Jonah Hill. ✦ HIDDEN TALENTS Incredibly high tolerance for spicy food ✦ WHAT’S THE SECRET TO THE CENTER’S SUCCESS?

We always ask the question, “How can we do things better and more efficiently?” In general, the healthcare field is very resistant to change, but I am fortunate enough to have a very skilled multidisciplinary burn team that embraces process improvement.

TYLER KERNS, 33 Dean of Students, St. Paul’s Episcopal School / Head Age Group Coach, City of Mobile Swim Association

A St. Paul’s graduate himself, Tyler returned to his alma mater where he now serves as the head coach of the swim and dive team in addition to his role as dean of students. He was recently named the 2015 State Coach of the Year for Girls’ Swimming and Diving, an accomplishment that reflects Tyler’s leadership and coaching excellence. He also donates his time organizing swim lessons for the children of St. Mary’s Home and coordinating the Special Olympics Program at St. Paul’s. ✦ ALMA MATER University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Grand Bay, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Amanda; Kennedy (6), Colton (19 months) ✦ CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER

People say I have two: Rory McIlroy or Fred Savage from the Wonder Years. ✦ WHAT LESSONS CAN KIDS LEARN THROUGH SWIMMING?

Swimming provides an excellent platform to teach so many lessons.

Water serves as an equalizer, where size and strength can help but effort can overcome. Success in swimming — and life — is cumulative; it is achieved stroke by stroke, mistake by mistake, small victory by small victory. january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 55

KENNY KING, 35

KIM PROCTOR LAWKIS, MPA, 28

Athletic Director / Head Football Coach, Daphne High School

Nutrition Programs Director, Feeding the Gulf Coast

After four years of playing defensive end for the University of Alabama and five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, Kenny has strapped up on football fields across America. However, as the head football coach at Daphne High School, perhaps Kenny is back on the field that means the most to him. In recognition of the role football has played in his life, Kenny has been on a mission to use the sport as a tool for growth and has created a handful of charities aimed at developing young athletes and scholars.

As the youngest program director in the history of Feeding the Gulf Coast (formerly the Bay Area Food Bank), Kim is responsible for all nutrition programs for children in the bank’s service area, stretching across Alabama, Florida and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Her duties include managing program staff and a budget in excess of $1.5 million. Under Kim’s leadership, the food bank has established new programs and doubled participation in existing child feeding programs.

✦ ALMA MATER The University of Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Daphne ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

✦ ALMA MATER University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Scottsboro, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE Nick ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE

Strelitzia; Kenneth (7), Kennedy (6), Ransom (5) ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED There comes

a time in life where you have to step out on faith and hard work to make your dreams happen. ✦ HIDDEN TALENTS I am an awesome drummer! ✦ WHAT’S IT LIKE TO RETURN TO DAPHNE?

When I was a kid, my hometown, my teachers and my coaches invested in me and provided me with the opportunities to help me become successful. Now, I have the opportunity to do the same for the kids in my hometown, which is a joy that can’t be put into words.

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BRANDON L. MAYE, 27 CEO / Owner, Brandon Maye Inspirations and Brandon Maye Enterprises

A game-changing injury formed Brandon’s future after he had spent years dreaming of becoming an NFL legend. Initially devastated, he penned a book, “Diamond in the Rough,” which led the way to his creation of the Brandon Maye Foundation. The organization helps troubled youth get on the path to college and reflects Brandon’s own education that supported him beyond his athletic aspirations. He now travels around the country giving motivational speeches about achieving greatness. ✦ ALMA MATER Clemson University; Mississippi

✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH

State University ✦ HOMETOWN Prichard, Ala. ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE Driving all the way to the casino in Biloxi, only for snow crabs

Felix’s Crab Stack

✦ IF I WERE MAYOR, I WOULD...

A glass of Balvenie Scotch and a Monte Cristo cigar!

✦ PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT The community partner-

ships our nutrition team has built to increase access to healthful meals for children during the summer.

Since 2014, we’ve added 103 new feeding sites and reached an additional 4,500 children, bringing our total to 215 feeding sites reaching over 12,500 children. Our summer feeding program is a national model for how to reach children in urban and rural areas. It’s an amazing thing to be a part of and lead!

Build an academic institution in the heart of Mobile to aid youth in long-term academic success. ✦ WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “ACTIVATE YOUR DESPERATION”?

It’s your daily approach on life.

Desperation is a form of focus in the right direction with positive things, striving toward your goals and dreams. What would your life look like if you gave 110 percent?

All people exist but few live. Desperation allows you to see what your life looks like going “all in.”

ASHLEY MCKEITHAN, 33 Human Resources Leader, Hargove Engineers + Constructors

With seven years of experience in team building, leadership development and human resource management under her belt, Ashley is all about working together for a common cause. As an HR leader with Hargrove, she had a huge hand in launching project manager certification programs for the company, and she also heavily supports the Women of Hargrove Embracing and Engaging in Leadership (WHEEL) initiative. The St. Paul’s, UA and USA graduate has also served on the Penelope House board and as a United Way coordinator. ✦ ALMA MATER

B.A., University of Alabama; MBA, University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Lee; Mary Tanner (5), Riley (1) ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE

Watching “Dateline” ✦ IF I WERE MAYOR, I WOULD...

Do my best to improve the public school education system in Mobile County. ✦ WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE AS A LEADER?

Constantly adapting my leadership style to cater to a diverse group of people that have different learning styles and different skill levels. I overcome this by spending time with my team, doing team-building activities and understanding each teammate’s role. january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 57

M. STEPHEN MCNAIR, PH.D., 35

BRIAN MUNGER, 38

Owner and Senior Consultant, McNair Historic Preservation Inc.

Personal Insurance Advisor, Thames Batre Insurance

In 2015, Stephen started McNair Historic Preservation, Mobile’s only consulting firm that assists clients with historic tax credit projects. In this short period of time, the business has already made an impressive impact on the local economy, most notably through its assistance with the rebirth of St. Louis Street in Downtown Mobile.

The firm also serves clients across the country as far north as Boston.

As a registered lobbyist, Stephen spends a lot of time in Montgomery fighting for the renewal of the state historic tax credit.

Brian’s strength lies in his leadership.

As a featured speaker for the Gulf Coast Estate Planning Council, he led Thames Batre into the top 50 agencies in the country for Cincinnati Insurance Company. In his spare time, Brian acts as a league organizer at Westside Baseball Park and as sponsorship coordinator for Bo Bikes Bama. In 2011, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation honored him as one of the Bay Area Finest, which recognizes top young professionals in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

✦ ALMA MATER

Deborah; Zackary (11), Mallory (6)

University of Alabama; Masters, Tulane University; Ph.D., University of Edinburgh ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile ✦ SPOUSE Lila ✦ FIRST JOB Stockroom and deliveries for Mobile Popcorn ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE Reading the comments at the bottom of AL.com articles

✦ WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? A high

✦ WHAT AREA OF MOBILE NEEDS THE MOST IMMEDIATE ATTENTION IN TERMS OF HISTORIC RENOVATION?

Commercial and residential structures downtown. Neglectful property owners by the dozens are allowing some of Mobile’s most historic assets to decay and disappear.

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✦ HOMETOWN Mobile ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

school basketball or baseball coach ✦ HIGH SCHOOL SUPERLATIVE

None, but I think I was robbed of class clown. ✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH

Beef Brisket from The Meat Boss ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED Never take a “no”

from someone who doesn’t have the authority to give you a “yes.” ✦ WHAT ARE SOME MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT YOUR FIELD?

The most common misconception I hear from clients is that I’m in sales. While I think we are all in sales, I see myself more as their trusted advisor to help avoid, mitigate and transfer risk.

NAME HERE, AGE NIKKI GOES NICHOLSON, 33 Special Events Coordinator / Constituent Services Representative, U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Bradley Byrne AL01

Nikki has worked with the U.S. House of Representatives under Congressman Bradley Byrne for two and a half years, planning events hosted by the Congressman and acting as a liaison between his constituents and all federal agencies. Her previous healthcare experience, having worked in nursing services for eight years, is a huge asset in her new role working with local healthcare facilities and minimizing the challenges they face. In 2013, Nikki also chaired the Young Republican National Convention in Mobile. ✦ ALMA MATER University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Grand Bay / Mobile ✦ CHILDREN My adorable weenie

dog, Atticus Finch (3 1/2 years old) ✦ FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB Getting to help peo-

ple, especially our veterans. Also, I get to go on cool “field trips” with the Congressman. ✦ WHY THE CHANGE FROM HEALTH TO PUBLIC SERVICE?

The opportunity fell in my lap, and I could not be happier. When Congressman Byrne decided to run, I was the first person he hired on the campaign because of my many years of dabbling in politics on the side.

AISHWARYA PRAKASH, PH.D., 32 Assistant Professor of Oncologic Sciences, Mitchell Cancer Institute

Aishwarya joined the team at MCI in 2016, and she’s already contributed heavily to the research center.

She won the Math World Honor for Young Mathematicians in India in 1999 at the age of 16. From there, she’s received several awards and grants for her genome and cancer research, including the Norman and Bernice Harris Award and an R00 research grant from the National Institutes of Health. This spring, she will also be working with St. Luke’s Episcopal School students in biomedical sciences. ✦ ALMA MATER B.S. University of

Nebraska at Omaha; Ph.D. Univer- sity of Nebraska Medical Center ✦ HOMETOWN Bangalore, India ✦ HIDDEN TALENTS I love to paint, but only when I’m inspired by something or someone. ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED? If you’re

not having fun, you’re doing something wrong! ✦ WHY DO YOU CHOOSE TO WORK WITH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS?

It is very important to educate kids about the benefits, rewards and frustrations that come with scientific research. I like getting kids engaged and hooked on science by showing them the various ways we can make a difference as scientists. january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 59

CHAD RILEY, 32 Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, St. Paul’s Episcopal School

Capturing the perfect moment is Chad’s passion. As a popular area photographer and photography instructor at St. Paul’s, he puts his skills with a lens to good use through community involvement.

His philanthropic brainchild, HELP PORTRAIT, allows him to spend a day around the holidays producing high caliber family photos for less fortunate families. He is also involved with Weekend Ministry at Taylor Park, where he interacts with the children and photographs the event. In 2015, he was voted the Best Wedding Photographer in the Mobile Nappie Awards. ✦ ALMA MATER University of Mississippi ✦ HOMETOWN Kosciusko, Miss. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Cameron; Nora (2) ✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH

Eggs Cathedral at Spot of Tea ✦ WHEN DO YOU KNOW YOU’VE CAPTURED THE PERFECT SHOT? When the

moment really matters to people in the picture. One of my favorite pictures taken of me is of my grandfather and me when I was little. It was shot on film, it’s underexposed and it’s out of focus.

Every technical aspect of the picture is imperfect, but it’s a moment that means something to me.

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BRADLEY SANDERS, 39 Attorney, Phelps Dunbar LLP

Named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers, Bradley has a reputation for winning. In the last six years alone, he’s successfully won $20 million on behalf of his clients in his work as a real estate, corporate and business lawyer. He is also a 2014 graduate of Leadership Mobile. In his spare time, Bradley works with the Mobile Greenway Initiative, serving as cochairman of the Langan Municipal Park subcommittee, where he singlehandedly developed a five-year master plan to rejuvenate the beloved park. ✦ ALMA MATER

Millsaps College; University of Mississippi ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED If it’s impor-

tant, you’ll find a way. If it’s not important, you’ll find an excuse. ✦ IF I WERE MAYOR, I WOULD...

Promote and urge the City Council to invest in curbside recycling for the City of Mobile. ✦ HOBBIES Traveling, water sports, walking ✦ WHAT IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION?

The primary keys to successful negotiation, whether in a legal setting or writing a grant, are to appreciate and understand the objectives, be prepared with facts and information to support your position, and make points accurately and succinctly.

BLAIR DANLEY SCHOENVOGEL, 38

LAUREN CRONENBERG SELF, M.D., 37

Lower School Counselor, UMS-Wright Preparatory School

OB/GYN, Azalea City Physicians for Women

For Blair, inspiring Mobile’s children is all in a day’s work. She taught first grade for 10 years before moving into the counselor’s office at her alma mater of UMS-Wright in 2013. From there, her focus has been on helping students with character building and decision making. Her “Wright Way” initiative helps young children learn to navigate the speed bumps of life. Through understanding and compassion, Blair shows students what respect and determination truly are.

With an interest in high-risk obstetrics and a passion for delivering babies, Lauren has been a comforting presence for countless patients on the most exciting days of their lives. Patients describe Lauren’s sheer devotion to their needs and her willingness to drop everything at any time of day to be by their side.

She also hosts a free seminar twice a year called “For Girls Only,” to educate young ladies between ages 8 and 14 on puberty and safe sex.

✦ ALMA MATER

Birmingham-Southern College ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Charles; Mac (7), Henri (4) ✦ FIRST JOB Summer camp counselor at Camp Mac in Munford, Alabama ✦ CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER

I’ve been told Kirsten Dunst. I don’t think so. ✦ WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT AS A COUNSELOR AND EDUCATOR?

Seeing a child work through the stages of a problem, solve the problem and then retain that knowledge for struggles that may arise in the future. I am overjoyed when my students feel confident in handling different situations on their own.

✦ ALMA MATER University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Adam; John Greyson (6), Fielder (4), Amelia (1) ✦ IF I WERE MAYOR OF MOBILE, I WOULD ... Pave over

unused railroad tracks to create biking and walking trails for the city (Rails-to-Trails). ✦ FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB

I get to deliver babies! ✦ WHAT’S THE TRICK TO BALANCING WORK WITH RAISING CHILDREN? The trick is hav-

ing a lot of help. I have a wonderful husband who is very supportive of my schedule and so helpful with the daily grind of dinner, homework, baths and bedtime. I also have a dependable nanny who helps during the day. january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 61

CHRIS SHERRILL, 39

DAVID SHUFORD, CET, CFPS, 39

Executive Chef / Managing Partner, Flora-Bama Yacht Club

Project Manager, Firetrol Protection Systems

When he’s not serving up delicious dishes, Chris shares coastal cuisine with the world. He represented Alabama in the Taste of the Gulf competition in 2012, where he cooked for American Olympic athletes in London. Three years later, he took home third place in the seafood division at the World Food Championships. He also helped form the NUISANCE Group, which raises awareness about seafood sustainability, and he was recently named a finalist for the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance’s Spirit Award.

David has spent nearly two decades in the fire prevention technology industry. His breadth of experience has landed him among the top 10 sales professionals in the country within Firetrol for several years, and he was recognized in the top three in 2013 and 2015. David also serves on the board of the Gulf Coast chapter of Society of Fire Protection Engineers and has received the elite Certified Fire Protection Specialist designation from the National Fire Protection Association.

✦ ALMA MATER Johnson &

Wales University ✦ HOMETOWN Eufaula, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN Jenny; Alex (18), Taylor (16), Hannah (15), Sadie (8) ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE Captain D’s or Chef Boyardee Ravioli ✦ WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?

A professional fisherman or a chef. ✦ WHAT IS YOUR FONDEST MEMORY WITH FOOD?

Cooking gumbo with my grandparents when I was a young child.

I still have that privilege today!

I also cooked for the family of “Duck Dynasty.” I was so worried Mrs. Kay was going to be upset.

She hugged me and kissed me and thanked me a million times that I cooked and she didn’t have to!

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✦ HOMETOWN Baton Rouge, La. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN Sydnie;

Olivia (15), Taylor (13), Jack (2) ✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH

Fried grouper at Queen G’s ✦ HOBBIES Cooking, failed attempts at gardening ✦ WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?

An architect ✦ FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB I really enjoy my

customers, coworkers and colleagues in the industry. I even like most of my competitors. ✦ WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST PRIDE IN YOUR WORK? I work in an industry that focuses

on safety. When I complete a project there is a rewarding sense to know that the building is safer for occupants than it was before.

APRIL D. SMITH, 37 Partner, Adams and Reese LLP

In 2016, April was made a partner of Adams and Reese firm, and she continues to make a name for herself in the industry. For each of the last four years, the Leadership Mobile graduate has been selected as an Alabama Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Outside of her legal work, April passionately participates in the Downtown Mobile Alliance’s Development and Awards committees, in addition to volunteering with Mobile United and the South Alabama Volunteer Lawyers Wills for Heroes program. ✦ ALMA MATER University

of South Alabama; University of Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Bryan; Marissa (6), Grayson (3) ✦ IF I WERE MAYOR, I WOULD...

Explore development of the waterfront for better pedestrian use ✦ HIDDEN TALENTS

Stopping traffic — I have a tendency to walk out in the road without looking, and people have, up to this point, always stopped. ✦ WHAT DOES THE IDEA OF “CLIENT-CENTERED CULTURE” MEAN TO YOU?

Partnering with your clients and providing a high level of service that accomplishes their ongoing goals and contributes to the success of their business. I always let this standard guide the services I provide my clients.

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 63

KATIE P. SMITH, 36 Associate Managing Director, Oakworth Capital Bank

Katie is one of the most sought-after financial planning executives in the Bay area, specializing in probate, estate and investment management for individuals, families and charitable foundations. Her passion for advising clients in a hands-on fashion sets her apart in the financial industry.

In 2015, Katie was an integral part in the opening of the Oakworth Capital office in Mobile. She and her family are active members of St. James Episcopal Church in Fairhope. ✦ ALMA MATER Auburn University; University of

Alabama School of Law ✦ HOMETOWN Meridian, Miss. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Brad; Forrest (9), Marion (3) ✦ FAVORITE MOBILE DISH

Flaming oysters at the Bluegill.

The dish is great on its own, but when it’s served at a table on the back deck of the Bluegill with good music playing, that takes it to the top of the list for me. ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED 1) Don’t forget

where you came from. 2) Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. ✦ HOW DO YOU HOPE A CLIENT DESCRIBES THEIR EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH YOU?

Honest advice that helps bring peace of mind. And hopefully they say it’s fun!

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TRICE STABLER, 37 Shareholder, Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C.

Despite being the youngest shareholder in Maynard, Cooper & Gale’s Mobile office, Trice is among the firm’s most dependable assets.

Considered a rising star within the office, he’s been involved in numerous significant business transactions throughout the Southeast, including high-profile mergers and acquisitions. Trice also volunteers a significant amount of his time to the South Alabama Volunteer Lawyers Program assisting the less fortunate with legal needs on a pro bono basis. ✦ ALMA MATER

B.S., University of Alabama; J.D., Cumberland School of Law ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN Anne; Mitch (6), Frances (3), Mae (10 months) ✦ FIRST JOB Dockhand at a marina in Orange Beach ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED Try your hardest.

There’s no substitute for hard work. ✦ FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB Most every client and

every project is different. Being a lawyer may not be the most exciting job in the world, but it’s hard to get bored.

MARCUS TAN, MBBS, FACS, 39 Surgical Oncologist and Program Leader Liver-Biliary-Pancreas Cancer Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute

An Australian-born surgeon, Marcus is like a cancer team quarterback at Mitchell Cancer Institute. Every Monday morning, Marcus co-moderates a panel of surgeons, medical oncologists and nurses at MCI to discuss key cancer cases in an effort to sustain a multidisciplinary program. As one of only two board-certified cancer surgeons in the Mobile area, Marcus approaches the fight against cancer as his life’s mission.

In 2015 and 2016, he was awarded the Scarlet Sash Award from the USA College of Medicine for his contribution to medical education. ✦ ALMA MATER

BSc and MBBS, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia ✦ HOMETOWN Sydney, Australia ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN Susan; Audrey (6), Ellie (3) ✦ FIRST JOB High school tennis umpire ✦ IF I WERE MAYOR OF MOBILE, I WOULD ...

Develop a city-wide waste recy-

cling service ✦ WHAT’S SOMETHING MOST

✦ CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER

PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE MITCHELL CANCER INSTITUTE? We’ve become

Someone once told me I resembled Drew Brees. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s my athletic ability.

a high volume center not just for pancreatic surgery, but also for liver and melanoma surgery.

DOUG THOMAS, 37 Vice President / Senior Commercial Banker, First Community Bank

In his 15 years in the industry, Doug has been named a top producer in the company for several quarters. In fact, he once set a production record for the entire bank, and he reached 111 percent of his 2016 goals by the third quarter. Additionally, Doug has been named to the 2017 class of Leadership Baldwin County. He has served on the board of the Daphne Bounds YMCA, participated in the Red Cross Heroes program and the Alabama Wildlife Federation. ✦ ALMA MATER Auburn University ✦ HOMETOWN Daphne, Ala. ✦ FIRST JOB Servicing postage

meters for Quality Printing ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED You cannot

condition generosity — try to do the right thing for the right reason, regardless of the outcome. ✦ CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER Someone confused me for Patton Oswalt at dinner, and I did have to Google him to find out who he was. ✦ WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO GAIN FROM LEADERSHIP BALDWIN COUNTY THIS YEAR? Networking and meeting

people and learning more about Baldwin County. I’ve lived in Baldwin County for 14 years and thought I had a good grasp of what goes on, but I wanted to learn more. january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 65

BRENTON VANCE, 29 Clinical Supervisor / Therapist, Lifelines Counseling Services

From Mobile to Africa, Brenton devotes himself to making an impact on others’ lives. The University of Mobile and USA grad leads a unit of therapists in working with about 150 children and their families, and he has provided crisis counseling to families affected by the oil spill. Brenton and his wife have also taken part in a number of mission trips, including one to Timbuktu to build homes, maintain a medical clinic, teach basic hygiene and more. ✦ ALMA MATER

B.A., University of Mobile; M.S., University of South Alabama ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE Haleigh ✦ FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB

Helping kids recover from trauma and seeing lives restored ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE

Binge watching “Parks and Recreation” and “The Office” on Netflix ✦ HIGH SCHOOL SUPERLATIVE

Most likely to travel the world ✦ HOW DO YOU FORM A TRUE BOND OF TRUST WITH OTHERS? I believe the most impor-

tant factor is to show them that you truly care about them and are genuinely interested in what they have to say. People are more trusting when they know that you are there to help them and are truly invested in their lives.

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SUNTREASE WILLIAMS-MAYNARD, 33 Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Alabama

As an assistant United States attorney, Suntrease has prosecuted thousands of cases involving immigration, drug trafficking, child exploitation, bulk cash smuggling, violent crimes and more. She also serves as a captain in the U.S. Air Force, advising the commander of her special operations wing on discipline and administrative actions. Furthermore, she created the S.T.Y.L.E. Program in Mobile.

Designed to foster positive relationships between youth and law enforcement, this program has been adopted by the FBI for national implementation. ✦ ALMA MATER

B.A., Shaw University; M.P.A., Pennsylvania State University; J.D., North Carolina Central University School of Law ✦ HOMETOWN Farmville, Virginia ✦ SPOUSE + CHILDREN

Stephen; Dareon (8), Destiny (4) ✦ GUILTY PLEASURE Eating!

Though petite in stature, I am the ultimate foodie! I enjoy different cuisine and eating as the locals eat wherever I travel. ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED

My grandmother would often say that every setback is a setup. Usually that “setup” is for a comeback.

TIM WILLS, 33 Chief Executive Officer Boys & Girls Clubs of South Alabama

In all, Tim has 12 years of experience in the field of youth development, and his latest stop is in the Port City.

He has worked for the Boys & Girls Club in Chicago, Washington D.C. and Harford County, Maryland; during his tenure at each of those stops, club membership, outreach and financial resources increased substantially. Named CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of South Alabama in April of this year, Tim oversees six year-round club sites and serves 3,600 youth ages 6 to 18. ✦ ALMA MATER Southern Illinois

University at Carbondale ✦ HOMETOWN St. Louis, Missouri ✦ FIRST JOB

Balloon specialist at Party City ✦ BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED Live with

gratitude every day. Read more than the next person. Never give up on yourself. ✦ HOBBIES Traveling, traveling and traveling ✦ AS A KID, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? Anchor on “The

Today Show” ✦ IF I WERE MAYOR, I WOULD...

Fight loudly for a high-quality education for every child in my city with no exceptions ✦ WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRAVEL NEXT? Tokyo!

I am fascinated by the city.

MARY-LACEY ROGERS ZEIDERS, 29 Executive Director, The Steeple

After singing under contract for three years with the Minnesota Opera, Mary-Lacey returned to Mobile with a mission to help the community grow — especially in music. In 2015, Mary-Lacey sank her teeth into renovating the St. Francis Street Methodist Church into what is now known as The Steeple, Mobile’s newest music and event venue. Outside of music, she has led a life of adventure, biking across America raising money for cancer research, leading overseas travel programs and receiving certification as a rescue EMT. ✦ ALMA MATER Master of Music,

The Johns Hopkins University; Undergraduate, Converse College ✦ HOMETOWN Mobile, Ala. ✦ SPOUSE Jeffrey ✦ FIRST JOB Cantoring (singing) at St. Joseph’s Chapel at Spring Hill College ✦ AS A KID, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? I desperately

wanted to be a tornado chaser and meteorologist. ✦ WHAT’S YOUR VISION FOR THE STEEPLE? The Steeple is

an intimate space designed so that patrons can experience a show, not just attend. When they leave, we want them to feel like they are new best friends with the performers and feel that spark of energy in Downtown Mobile that The Steeple brings! january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 67

JANUARY / FEBRUARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS

ON STAGE & EXHIBITS PG. 70 • MARDI GRAS PG. 72

The Polar Bear Dip Noon. Man up and bear the cold at this annual event that kicks the new year off in style. Take a dip in the Gulf of Mexico; then stick around for a traditional New Year’s feast. ✦ FLORA-BAMA • FLORABAMA.COM

HIGHLIGHTS

through january 14

january 3 - february 8

january 4 - february 22

Ice Rink at The Wharf

Tuesday Winter Civil War Tours

Winter Wednesdays

4 p.m. - 10 p.m. M - F, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Sa / Su. Channel your inner Olympian.

Hit the ice at The Wharf to practice axels, lutzes, combinations and other jumps.

Or, simply master remaining on two feet.

2 p.m. - 3 p.m. T. Historians provide insights into Fort Morgan’s history to give tourists a glimpse into the everyday lives of people from our local past.

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Brighten up green thumbs with programs on gardening, history, and Bellingrath’s collections during the winter months.

THE WHARF • ALWHARF.COM

FORT MORGAN • FORT-MORGAN.ORG

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

 To have your event included in the online or print edition of Mobile Bay Magazine, email calendar@pmtpublishing.com.

68 mobilebaymag.com | january 2017

PHOTO BY JON HAUGE

JANUARY 1

SENIOR BOWL

january 8 ServisFirst Bank First Light Marathon 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Journey through the Port City’s historic neighborhoods for a good cause.

GOVERNMENT PLAZA FIRSTLIGHTMARATHON.COM

january 27 The Artsy Awards 7 p.m. The Mobile Arts Council’s annual awards ceremony celebrates the Port City arts scene’s movers and shakers.

This year’s recipients will receive awards crafted by Susie Bowman, owner of the Kiln Studio and Gallery. Tickets: $30 - $35.

ALABAMA CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER MOBILEARTS.ORG/WHAT-WE-DO/ART-AWARDS

january 28 Senior Bowl 1:30 p.m. The best and the brightest leave it all on the field in hopes of being noticed by NFL scouts. For those who can’t make it to the game, the action will be televised on the NFL Network.

LADD-PEEBLES STADIUM • SENIORBOWL.COM

february 16 BCHM Golf Scramble 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Registration. Hit the green to raise money for the Baldwin County Heritage Museum. The museum hosts educational programs and classes in addition to providing visitors with a glimpse into the past.

GLEN LAKES GOLF CLUB • FOLEY

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 69

USS ALABAMA. PHOTO BY BEAU DODD

ON STAGE & EXHIBITS

january 12 - 15, 19 - 22 “Dearly Departed” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa, 2 p.m. Su. Drama unfolds as the patriarch of the Turpin family dies in the first scene. Tickets: $12 - $18.

SOUTH BALDWIN COMMUNITY THEATRE 2022 W. SECOND ST., GULF SHORES • SBCT.BIZ

january 13 - 22 “Nunsense” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa, 2 p.m. Su. When nuns accidentally poison their sisters, they put on a talent show to raise funds for funerals. Tickets: $13 - $16.

CHICKASAW CIVIC THEATRE CCTSHOWS.COM

january 27 - 29, february 3 - 5, 10 - 12 “Ripcord” 8 p.m. F / Sa. 2:30 p.m. Su. Theatre 98 presents an intriguing character study of two women at the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility. Tickets: $12 - $18.

THEATRE 98 • 350 MORPHY AVE. 928-4366 • THEATRE98.COM

january 27 - 29, february 3 - 5, 10 - 12 “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” 8 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Journey back to 1950s Mississippi and watch as the drama unfolds in this quintessential Southern drama by Tennessee Williams.

Tickets: $15 - $20.

MOBILE THEATRE GUILD • 14 N. LAFAYETTE ST. 433-7513 • MOBILETHEATREGUILD.ORG

january 13 - 29 “Chapter 2” 8 p.m. F / Sa, 2 p.m. Su. A recent widower decides to start dating again in this Neil Simon comedy. Tickets: $10, $15, $20.

JOE JEFFERSON PLAYERS JOEJEFFERSONPLAYERS.COM

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january 28 - 29 Winter Romance 6:30 p.m. Doors open. 7:30 p.m. Show starts. Sa. 1:30 p.m. Doors open. 2:30 p.m. Show starts. Su. Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 are sure to banish the winter blues.

The performance also features works by some of the Romantic Era’s best-known composers: Wagner, Korngold and Tchaikovsky. Tickets: $15 - $75.

MOBILE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MOBILE SAENGER • MOBILESYMPHONY.ORG

february 2 Beatriz Williams 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams celebrates her latest work “The Wicked City,” a novel about a love triangle set in the Jazz Age. PAGE AND PALETTE • 32 S. SECTION ST. 928-5295 • PAGEANDPALETTE.COM

february 4 - 5 USS Alabama Living History Crew Drill 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Historical reenactors bring the battleship to life with gear from WWII and demonstrations illustrating wartime conditions on Mobile’s iconic ship.

Admission: children 5 and under, free; children 6 to 11, $6; children 12 and over and adults, $15.

USS BATTLESHIP MEMORIAL PARK USSALABAMA.COM

february 12 “Love Letters” 2 p.m. Experience a one-of-a-kind production where correspondences between two lovers provide the action.

Tickets: adults, $15; students, $12.

SOUTH BALDWIN COMMUNITY THEATRE SBCT.BIZ

february 15 - 19, 22 - 26 “Let’s Murder Marsha” 7:30 p.m. W - Sa, 2 p.m. Su. Don’t miss this comedy about a lover of murder mysteries who misinterprets her husband’s behavior and thinks he is trying to kill her. Tickets: adults, $15; students, $12.

SOUTH BALDWIN COMMUNITY THEATRE SBCT.BIZ

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 71

MARDI GRAS

january 28 Krewe de la Dauphine 1 p.m. Dauphin Island

february 4 Town of Dauphin Island Parade 1 p.m. Dauphin Island

february 10 Condé Cavaliers 6:30 p.m. Route A

february 11 Order of the Rolling River 2 p.m. Dauphin Island Parkway

Bayport Parading Society 2:30 p.m. Route A

Pharaohs Mystic Society 6:30 p.m. Route A

Order of Hebe 7 p.m. Route A

Condé Explorers 7:30 p.m. Route A

february 16 Order of Polka Dots 6:30 p.m. Route A

february 17 Order of Inca 6:30 p.m. Route A

Apollo’s Mystic Ladies 6:45 p.m. Daphne

february 18 Mobile Mystics 2 p.m. Route A

Mobile Mystical Revelers 2:30 p.m. Route A

Maids of Mirth 6:30 p.m. Route A

Knights of Ecor Rouge 6:45 p.m. Fairhope

Order of Butterfly Maidens 7 p.m. Route A

Krewe of Marry Mates 7:30 p.m. Route A

february 19 Neptune’s Daughters 6:30 p.m. Route A 72 mobilebaymag.com | january 2017

OOI 7 p.m. Route A

february 20 Order of Venus 6:30 p.m. Route A

Order of Many Faces 7 p.m. Route A

february 21 Order of LaShe’s 6:30 p.m. Route A

february 23 Mystic Stripers Society 6:30 p.m. Route A

february 24 Crewe of Columbus 6:30 p.m. Route A

Mystical Order of Mirams 6:30 p.m. Orange Beach

Maids of Jubilee 6:45 p.m. Fairhope

february 25 Foley Parade 11 a.m. Foley

Floral Parade 12 p.m. Route A

Mystic Revelers 12 p.m. Bay Minette

Knights of Mobile 12:30 p.m. Route A

Mobile Mystical Ladies 1 p.m. Route A

Order of Angels 1:30 p.m. Route A

Krewe of Mullet Mates 2 p.m. Mullet Point

Mystics of Pleasure 5:30 p.m. Orange Beach

Mystics of Time 6 p.m. Route A

Coronation of Queen to King Felix III 6:30 p.m. Mobile Convention Center

Shadow Barons 6:45 p.m. Daphne

 Be sure to grab a copy of next month’s issue for the full Mardi Gras 2017 schedule! january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 73

BAY BOY

Dove Hunting For a young Watt, dove season was nothing more than a mystery he never cared to solve. text by WATT KEY

I

n Point Clear, the first sign that waterfront activities are over is the sound of doves cooing and fluttering in the tree limbs. I take more notice of the cool breezes coming over the Bay, and the water is calm and clear like it is resting from the chaos of a long summer. And I begin to accept the impending winter months with mixed feelings of melancholy and excitement. Like something big is over and the next big thing has yet to start.

Dove season always seems to arrive too early. And as a young man, it felt to me like something men did only to pass days until deer season. At the time, I reasoned that it lacked the luster of long road trips up the country and the adventures that came with spending the night at the hunting camp. There were no big woods, and the weather wasn’t harsh. It was just an afternoon thing, a mild warm-up for hunting real, big game.

Dad loaded his sons into the green station wagon and started up County Road 32 and into the farmlands of Baldwin County. We hunted several Summerdale fields that were leased by the same men that were in our deer club.

We met at a farmer’s house around noon, parking under a grove of pecan trees. The men talked casually amongst themselves, leaning against their vehicles and occasionally bending down to pick up pecans and crack them in their fists.

I never knew or cared what the grownups talked about. The kids were more interested in exploring the cavernous, dusty barns where the giant tractors loomed over us like sleeping beasts. To us, the highlight of the afternoon was dashing about the farm equipment until being told it was time to hunt.

A few miles up the blacktop, a small grove of pines stood out of an otherwise bare field. Everyone expected a good hunt if we were going to the pine tree field. Anywhere else was a backup plan.

To reach the grove we turned onto a boggy dirt road that took us through a cattle gate and alongside a sinister swamp.

The last person was expected to close the gate to keep

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the cows in. As the oldest of the sons, I rode on the front passenger seat. As Dad was probably the least enthusiastic of the dove hunters, our car was typically last, and it was always left to me to close the gate.

“Watch out for the bull,” he said.

There was always a bull. An angry bull that I never saw threatened every dove field we hunted. And if I asked any of the other men about this, they never failed to deliver a story to back up Dad’s claim — always along the lines of somebody getting chased by this monster and ultimately running naked across the field after having his clothes torn off by a barbed wire fence. Of course, the pine tree field bull lived in the nearby swamp. All of them lived hidden in the most fearsome places.

The hunters set up their dove stools and mesh blinds around the grove. I was always happy to be on the side away from the swamp. I figured I would hear the bull murder the other men behind me and have time to run and squeeze through the barbed wire without losing my clothes. But sometimes I drew the unfortunate stand with only a small strip of pasture between me and that dark tangle of underbrush.

And, if I shot a dove, it would fall in the intervening space. Hurrying to retrieve it, I imagined the bull standing just out of sight, tensed up and watching me, waiting for me to stray too far.

A dove hunt is a lonely thing. There is no one to commiserate with about the bull. Everyone sits quietly alone, just out of speaking distance, watching the sky. Other than the occasional popping of shotguns and the faint sound of someone’s portable radio playing a football game, there are only breezes in the tops of the pines. Occasionally I had visitors — but no one I wanted to see. If another person strolled my way, I knew I was about to get “dumped on.” When the more successful hunters approached their limit of dove, they “dumped” part of their cache amongst the rest of us so they could continue shooting. Not only was it humiliating, but I knew they’d never want those birds back. And Dad, always preaching about eating what we kill, would require us to clean and eat them. I didn’t like the taste of doves.

And I didn’t kill those things.

It was usually dark by the time we got back to Point Clear, our dove stools filled mostly with other people’s kills.

We plucked the birds on the end of the wharf, an icy north wind trailing feathers over the waves and our hands stiff and trembling. It seemed there were no lights for miles. The waves were rough and black and mean. It went against nature to be out there. Nothing about dove season ever fit. It started too early and ended too late. And left me wondering what exactly I’d gotten out of it except a heightened fear of bulls. MB

january 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 75

ASK MCGEHEE text by TOM MCGEHEE

Who is Esau H. Frohlichstein, the man commemorated by the plaque in Fearnway’s park?

Between the years of 1910 and 1920, Mexico was embroiled in a civil war. In 1914, the United States sent a military contingent to that nation to protect the interests and property owned by American citizens. In April, U.S. warships arrived at Vera Cruz, one of Mexico’s largest and oldest ports on its Gulf Coast.

A large crowd of curious Mexican and American residents gathered at the waterfront to watch. The Mexican army retreated, and the landing at first was unopposed.

Esau Frohlichstein, a Mobile native, was aboard the USS New Hampshire when he wrote his parents, “Don’t be afraid if I get killed, for as the old saying goes, ‘I’d rather die like a hero than a coward.’ Will land at Vera Cruz in about four hours.”

By the time Frohlichstein arrived, street fighting had erupted. The naval contingent was ill-prepared for such a battle, and as they marched in parade formation, Mexican rooftop snipers began an assault which resulted in more than a dozen casualties, including the 20-year-old Mobilian. The official U.S. Navy report stated: “22 April, 1914, Esau Frohlichstein, Ordinary Seaman, USS New Hampshire – wound, gunshot, brain. Died.”

Mobile gave Frohlichstein a hero’s funeral of epic proportions with the mayor declaring an official day of

ABOVE This humble marker rests in the small park with gulleys and a picturesque fountain in the center of the Fearnway neighborhood in Midtown. It commemorates the life of brave Mobilian and soldier Esau Frolichstein.

mourning. His body lay in state within Mobile’s City Hall where thousands of citizens paid their respects and then followed his casket to the Government Street Temple on the southeast corner of Warren Street. His grave within the temple’s cemetery off of Virginia Street was carpeted with floral tributes, including a large wreath sent by President Woodrow Wilson.

Fearnway, Mobile’s oldest subdivision, became home to a monument to

the fallen sailor in 1916, two years after his death. The bronze plaque described the young man as “A True American Patriot, Lover of Liberty, His Flag and Country.” Some accounts stated that the park would be named Frohlichstein Square, but it apparently never was.

Just why Fearnway was selected is something of a mystery as the Frohlichsteins never lived there.

Perhaps the developer, George Fearn, suggested it, thinking it would draw

 For more information on the Mexican Revolution, check out Winston Groom’s new historical novel, “El Paso.”

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TOP The American troops arrived at the Mexico shores in 1914, as the nation was immersed in civil war. The U.S. goal was to protect the interests and property of its own citizens.

ABOVE When U.S. forces arrived, chaos ensued.

PHOTOS COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

potential homebuyers to his subdivision. Within a few months of that dedication, America entered World War I. The atrocities U.S. soldiers endured over the next two years quickly eclipsed the events at Vera Cruz.

In the 1980s, Frohlichstein’s marker was moved to Battleship Park to stand among other memorials to fallen American soldiers. The bronze marker in the park in Fearnway is a duplicate of the original. MB

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IN LIVING COLOR

Welcome to Oz Through a cutting-edge digital process, MB presents photographs of old Mobile as they’ve never been seen before — in vibrant color. original photo from the Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, USA Archives • colorization by Dynamichrome Limited

This photograph, taken in Mobile around 1944, captures the scene of a war bond rally held by the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company. Bond rallies were just one of the ways civilians on the homefront supported the war effort, and it turned out Alabamians were pretty good at throwing them. In each of the federal government’s eight war bond campaigns, every county in the state reached its quota — a national record. In all, more than 85 million Americans purchased war bonds during World War II, totaling $185.7 billion.

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