The Suburban Newspaper for Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County
OVER THE MOUNTAIN
JOU RNAL OTMJ.COM
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2013
INSIDE Hoover woman reinvents her art— and herself
LIFE PAGE 10
VOL. 22 #2
HOMETOWN HEADLINER Redstone Club marks 105th year with annual Christmas Ball SOCIAL PAGE 15
Star turn for Hollywood house HOME PAGE 22
News anchor and Mountain Brook resident Mike Royer will share some of the stories he has collected in his more than 35-year career in television with those attending the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerceʼs annual luncheon on Feb. 7 at The Club. Journal photo by Keysha Drexel
Mike Royer Will Be Keynote Speaker at Mountain Brook Chamber Event BY KEYSHA DREXEL
M
JOURNAL EDITOR
ike Royer has done a lot of public speaking in his almost 40-year career in television, but the award-winning news anchor says his next speaking engagement might be tough. Mike, the co-anchor of Alabama’s 13 newscasts and producer of “The Spirit of Alabama,” will be the keynote speaker at the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce’s annual luncheon on Feb. 7 at The Club. He has emceed the event twice before but said this is his first time as the luncheon’s keynote speaker. “This could be a challenge because I can
MOUNTAIN BROOK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Hear from Mike
Mike Royer will speak at the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce’s annual Chamber Luncheon. When: Feb. 7 at 11:30 a.m. at The Club. Register: Call 871-3779 or visit www.welcometomountainbrook. com for more information and to reserve a seat.
fly out to Omaha and those people haven’t heard all my stories. I’ll be speaking on the home court here, and most people here have heard my stories,” he said. Mike said he rarely speaks to groups without sharing some of the inspiring stories he has heard during his career in television. He said hearing those stories and sharing them is what he likes best about his job. “My favorite part of the job is meeting the people I get to feature in ‘Spirit of Alabama’ because the people I meet challenge me and inspire me to do better,” he said. “They come from completely different walks of life most of the time, and I feel really lucky to have met them and to be able to share their stories.”
See ROYER, page 8
Free-range chickens for your backyard HOME PAGE 23
OTM students ace ACT
SCHOOLS PAGE 28
SUE MURPHY ON FACEBOOK P. 2 • PLANS UNDERWAY FOR ROAR GALA P. 7 • SCHOOL OFFICIALS DISCUSS SAFETY P. 12 • AGELESS STYLE IN CRESTLINE P. 26