Vestavia Hills Magazine, December 2019/January 2020

JAMIE HOLLEY’S ACRYLIC ARTISTRY • A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS • HELP THE HILLS STUDENT TEAM

VAPOR MINISTRIES

DISTINCTLY NOHA NADLER

EGYPTIAN-INSPIRED HANDBAGS DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 VestaviaHillsMagazine.com Volume Three | Issue Six $4.95

ON A MISSION TO NOT FADE AWAY

KLINGLER DELIGHTS

GERMAN LEGACY, SOUTHERN FLAIR

,

Nothing takes away the joy of a new home faster than a broken sewer pump.

But, if Jody Potts has anything to do with it, you can keep that new home smile on your face.

Because every single time Jody and his team of SouthWest Water Company service technicians install a pump at a newly constructed home, they follow a fourteen-point checklist, to ensure everything is just so.

“We always want to meet the customer’s need with the least amount of out-of-pocket expense for them,” Jody says.

His most satisfying days? When he and his crew diagnose, troubleshoot, and repair the problem in one visit.

As a Senior Service Technician, Jody is responsible for maintaining 1,500 pump stations that keep the system running smoothly. And for fixing problems that arise for existing customers, too.

“That means the customer is going to benefit right away,” Jody says. “And we take extra steps to try to make sure we don’t have to come back a second time.”

For starters, he will never try to sell you an expensive pump, if all you need is a $35 check valve.

Jody Potts and SouthWest Water Company are committed to getting it right the first time. And that’s always cause for joy.

To learn more, visit CleanerCahaba.info.

WE WANT TO FILL YOUR LIFE WITH GOODNESS Hello, neighbor. We have a large variety of organic, specialty, and traditional groceries. But there’s so much more for you to discover. Come see for yourself or learn more at greenwisemarket.com.

1000 JEMISON L ANE, MOUNTAIN BROOK

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2 December 2019/January 2020

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FEATURES

56

DISTINCTLY NOHA NADLER Edgy meets traditional in this Egyptian-inspired handbag line designed right here in Vestavia.

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HOW MICAH MCELVEEN DECIDED TO NOT JUST FADE AWAY Here’s the back story of how Vapor Ministries came to work in Africa and Haiti—and how we can support their work there from afar.

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

What should you buy for friends and loved ones this season? Look no further than the shops right around you.

4 December 2019/January 2020

PHOTO BY EMMA SIMMONS

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

35

17

PHOTO BY MARY FEHR

arts & culture

17 The Golden Touch: Jamie Holley’s Acrylic Artistry 26 Read This Book: Books to Expand Your World

schools & sports

27 Change Agents: A Chat with the Help the Hills Student Team 34 Five Questions For: Dolly Ridge Principal Ty Arendall

food

& drink

35 The Klingler Legacy: German Family Recipes with Southern Flair

in every issue 6 Contributors 7 From the Editor 8 @VestaviaHillsMag 10 The Question 11 The Guide 76 Out & About 86 Marketplace 88 My Vestavia Hills

42 Five Questions For: Taziki’s Founder Keith Richards

home

& style

43 A Sparking Touch: Home for the Holidays with the Prewitts 53 At Home: Be Our Guest 54 In Style: Holidays in the ‘Ham

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contributors EDITORIAL

Graham Brooks Stephen Dawkins Alec Etheredge Madoline Markham Keith McCoy Scott Mims Emily Sparacino Briana H. Wilson

CONTRIBUTORS Abby Adams Kaitlyn Baker Lauren Brooks Jessica Clement James Culver Mary Fehr Melanie Peeples Emma Simmons Lauren Ustad

Kaitlyn Baker, Intern

Kaitlyn is a student at Samford University, studying journalism and mass communication and worship leadership. When she’s not writing for school, you might find her writing just for fun in a local coffee shop (Caveat is a fav) or writing songs in her room. She’s a multi-instrumentalist, often “winging it” at best. Her latest feat is the accordion!

Lauren Brooks, Writer

Lauren and her husband, Joel, moved to Birmingham 23 years ago for Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, and never left. An Atlanta native, Lauren is a graduate of The University of Georgia and has worked for Southern Living, Oxmoor House, Birmingham Home and Garden, and Alabama Gardener magazine. Three daughters and Redeemer Community Church keep her busy most days.

DESIGN

Angela Caver Jamie Dawkins Kate Green Connor Martin-Lively

MARKETING

Darniqua Bowen Kristy Brown Kari George Caroline Hairston Rachel Henderson Daniel Holmes Rhett McCreight Kim McCulla Jordan Price Viridiana Romero Briana Sanders Jessica Steelman Kerrie Thompson

Jessica Clement, Stylist

Jessica has been passionate about interior design and decorating since childhood. She graduated with a degree in interior design from the University of Alabama and started her own locally based design company, JMC Studio. As an interior designer, she believes that well-designed interiors should tell the story about the people who live there and takes pride in creating aesthetically beautiful and functional spaces.

Melanie Peeples, Writer

Before becoming a stay-at-home mom, Melanie covered the South for National Public Radio, writing about everything from the trial of the country’s first school shooter to the 85th anniversary of the MoonPie. She loves travelling to new places (and old places, too) and also coming home.

ADMINISTRATION Hailey Dolbare Mary Jo Eskridge Katie McDowell Stacey Meadows Tim Prince

Vestavia Hills Magazine is published bimonthly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Vestavia Hills Magazine is a registered trademark. All contents herein are the sole property of Shelby County Newspapers Inc. [the Publisher]. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher. Please address all correspondence (including but not limited to letters, story ideas and requests to reprint materials) to: Editor, Vestavia Hills Magazine, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

Vestavia Hills Magazine is mailed to select households throughout Vestavia Hills, and a limited number of free copies are available at local businesses. Please visit VestaviaHillsMagazine.com for a list of those locations. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $16.30 for one year by visiting VestaviaHillsMagazine.com or calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 532.

Advertising inquiries may be made by emailing advertise@vestaviahillsmagazine.com, or by calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 536.

6 December 2019/January 2020

from the editor

A

ON THE COVER

A few summers ago I found myself around a kitchen table full of my parents’ friends I was meeting for the first time. We were breaking for lunch from lake activities, and somehow at the end the table had ended up being ladies-only. So not surprisingly, we got on the topic of “how we met” stories, and each woman took a turn sharing how she and her husband first interacted in college or at a friend’s house. I was well acquainted with my mom’s tale of a road trip with her older brother’s friend, but the others I learned that day were new to me—a uniquely sweet set of happenstances decades ago that led them to the man with them that day.

In some ways, I think of this magazine like that lunch table. There, like in these pages, we had the time and space to delve into the back stories that don’t come up in our everyday busyness, the tales of how what is today came to be.

Likewise when I chatted with handbag designer Noha Nadler we started not with handbags but with her childhood summers visiting family in Egypt and her nursing career before getting to how a trip to an Egyptian market inspired her to start working with leather. When writer Melanie Peeples interviewed Micah McElveen, they started not with the children in Haiti and Africa that his nonprofit works with but with a tragic accident on the beach that would forever alter his life. And although Irmgard Klingler is no longer with us, it’s her story that is the backbone of Klingler’s bakery and cafe and hence what her daughter Michelle Worthington narrated for us in our story on the longtime German restaurant.

Jumping around to other parts of the magazine, you are going to want to hear from the Help the Hills Team at Vestavia Hills High School and how they are seeking to spread amongst their peers that drinking is not essential to the high school experience. And you’ll want to take in the delight that is the holiday décor in the Prewitts’ home—especially their dining room table full of glistening metallics.

We captured it last Christmas when it was all dolled up for the Legacy League Home Tour, and we’ve been waiting since then to get to share it with you.

Here’s to hoping we get to pressing into back stories—and not just skimming the surface—as we catch up with family and friends at holiday gatherings this season!

At Home with Noha Nadler

Handbag designer Noha Nadler works for her home office and often has help from her daughter Sophia.

Photo by Mary Fehr Design by Connor Martin-Lively

madoline.markham@vestaviahillsmagazine.com

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@VestaviaHillsMag

Tag us in your Vestavia Hills photos on Instagram, and we’ll pick our favorites to regram and publish on this page in each issue.

@katysomething Fireplace, fire pits, & fire sky. Photo cred: @__collier__ @katieacollier #vestaviacountryclub #countryclub #sunset #vestavia #vestaviahills

@erinmartin1 Vestavia Hills High School class of ’99…20 years later! Some of my best friends are in these pictures and we’ve been friends way longer than 20 years. A great night to see everyone!

@kilo_the_lab

@yanoskyorthodontics

This week is National Fire Prevention Week.

October brings awareness to many causes that are dear to our family, so we will be highlighting information about those throughout this month.

Congratulations to our beautiful patients on the 2019 Homecoming Court AND to the newly crowned @vhcschools Homecoming Queen!

Check out those smiles! #proudofourpatients #yanoskyorthodontics #bestpatientsever #homecomingqueen2019

8 December 2019/January 2020

Wallace-Burke Fine Jewelry & Collectibles

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“ ” THE QUESTION

What is the most magical part of the holidays in Vestavia Hills?

The house on Graylynn Drive with the amazing Christmas lights set to music.

-Jeannie Negrón Faherty

I love getting family photos at Sybil temple with Santa.

-Jill Norris

DIY Christmas projects at Makers DIY Experience with friends and family.

-Kellie Green

I’m SOOOO excited to see Rushton Mellen Waltchack’s lights again this year!

-Casey Skewes O’Dell

The candlelight service at Vestavia Methodist. When they turn off all the lights and everyone is signing carols while holding up theirs candles, it’s like time stands still.

Candle light service at Vestavia Hills Baptist.

It used to be the Christmas parade down 31!

Christmas trees with white lights in front of most homes on Shades Crest Road.

-Tricia Mills Burris

-Emily Absten

10 December 2019/January 2020

-Suzanne Hauser Walters

-Dianne Routon Horn

THE GUIDE

MAGIC CITY NUTCRACKER DEC. 6-8 Virginia Samford Theatre Friday & Saturday 7 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 2 p.m.

Travel to the land of mice soldiers and a Sugar Plum Fairy in this holiday favorite— put together with a community cast and special guests based out of Vestavia Dance. Order your tickets at magiccitynutcracker.org.

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THE GUIDE DEC. 8

WHAT TO DO IN VESTAVIA DEC. 7 Breakfast with Santa Vestavia Hills Civic Center 7:30-10 a.m.

DEC. 9 Senior Citizen Luncheon Vestavia Hills Civic Center 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

DEC. 10 Chamber of Commerce Monthly Luncheon Vestavia Country Club 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

DEC. 10 Celebrating the Season Vestavia Hills High School 7 p.m.

Vestavia Hills Christmas Parade and Celebration

Liberty Park Sports Complex to Alston Meadows 2-4 p.m.

The tradition continues. Find a good spot along the route to watch the parade pass, and then stay for a Christmas Celebration with children’s activities, refreshments, music, pictures with Santa and more.

DEC. 21

Pure Fitness Reindeer Dash 1425 Montgomery Highway, Suite 115 8 a.m.

Work off all that party food at this annual 5K and 1-mile fun run. Better yet, dress as favorite holiday character and bring your family when you come. Plus, your registration fee benefits the Grace Klein Community, which seeks to create authentic community by uniting diverse individuals, businesses, ministries and churches to work together by sharing what they have in order to meet physical and spiritual needs both locally and globally. Register at runsignup.com/thereindeerdash.

12 December 2019/January 2020

DEC. 12 Legacy League Christmas Home Tour Various Homes 10 a.m.–2 p.m. and 4-8 p.m.

DEC. 17 Family Night- The Santa Show Library in the Forest 6 p.m. Dinner, 6:30 p.m.

DEC. 20 First Day of Winter Break Vestavia Hills City Schools JAN. 1 New Year’s Day Library in the Forest Closed JAN. 6 Students Return from Winter Break Vestavia Hills City Schools JAN. 7 Escape Room for Teens Library in the Forest 4-6 p.m.

JAN. 13 Senior Citizen Luncheon Vestavia Hills Civic Center 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

THE GUIDE JAN. 16 OLLI Presents – Birding in Costa Rica Library in the Forest 1:30-3 p.m.

JAN. 20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Vestavia Hills City Schools Closed JAN. 20 Family Night- Snowtastic!

Library in the Forest 6 p.m. Dinner, 6:30 p.m.

JAN. 23 Friends of the Library Fundraiser Dolores Hydock Library in the Forest 10-11:30 a.m.

JAN. 25 College Knowledge for Teens Library in the Forest 2-3:30 p.m.

DEC. 3

Tree Lighting Festival Vestavia Hills City Hall 1032 Montgomery Highway 6 p.m.

Ring in the season with this annual celebration of holiday lights. We hear Santa will be there, too, along with music from school choirs and bands and more.

BUSINESSES

Now Open Needlepoint is back! Birmingham now has its first needlepoint store, Magic City Needlepoint, at 2531 Rocky Ridge Road. Over on Highway 31, you can shop gloves and bats galore at the new Romeo Sports in the Diplomat Deli shopping center. Its Crestwood store was scheduled to close Nov. 16 and reopen in Vestavia a couple of weeks later.

205.638.PIRC (7472)

Psychiatric Intake Response Center (PIRC)

PIRC

The PIRC is generously supported by additional funding from the Hill Crest Foundation, Brasfield and Gorrie, LLC, and the Gorrie family.

Navigating mental health resources for those who care for children and teens l

FREE and CONFIDENTIAL service

l

Provide information and resources for adults with a mental health question about a child or adolescent

l

Staffed by licensed mental health clinicians who recommend the best treatment options

l

Open seven days a week, year-round from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The PIRC is not a crisis hotline. Anyone experiencing a crisis should call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Room.

Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should call the 24-hour, 7 day a week National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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THE GUIDE

AROUND TOWN

PARKS

NOV. 30-DEC. 1 The Nutcracker Presented by the Birmingham Ballet Alabama Theatre DEC. 6-22 RMTC Holiday Spectacular Red Mountain Theatre Company DEC. 13-15, 20-22 Alabama Ballet’s The Nutcracker Samford University Wright Center DEC. 15 Opera Birmingham Presents Sounds of the Season Samford University Wright Center

Play Ball The average baseball diamond isn’t designed for children or adults with physical and mental disabilities, but a new field at Wald Park for The Miracle League will be when it opens in March! In order to complete this field that will allow everyone in the community to play baseball, the Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation Foundation is working to raise $450,000. You can make a donation or buy a brick to show your support online at vhprf.org or download a printable form to mail to Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation Foundation, P.O. Box 660177, Vestavia Hills, AL 35266.

SCHOOLS

Teachers of the Year Vestavia Hills City Schools recognized its 2019-20 Teachers of the Year in October. The Elementary Teacher of the Year is Lori Reeves, third grade teacher at Vestavia Hills Elementary West, and the Secondary Teacher of the Year is Michael Sinnott, English teacher at Vestavia Hills High School. Both of these teachers will now be up for consideration for Alabama Teacher of the Year. The full list of teachers with this recognition is: uJennifer Dawsey, VH Elementary East uTiffany Marron, VH Elementary Cahaba Heights

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DEC. 19 Birmingham Boys Choir Christmas Concert Briarwood Presbyterian Church DEC. 13-15 Once On This Island Presented

by Broadway In Birmingham BJCC Concert Hall DEC. 20 Handel’s Messiah Presented by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra Alys Stephens Center DEC. 21 Home for the Holidays Presented by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra Alys Stephens Center DEC. 28 Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker Alabama Theatre

uMartha Martin, VH Elementary Liberty Park uKelly Bagby, VH Elementary Dolly Ridge uKathy Knickrehm, Pizitz Middle School uChassi Waddell, Liberty Park Middle School (not pictured)

DEC. 31 Cheers! The New Years Eve Concert Presented by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra Alys Stephens Center JAN. 10-11 Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto Alabama Symphony Orchestra Alys Stephens Center

THE GUIDE JAN. 12 Branford Marsalis Quartet Alys Stephens Center JAN. 17-18 Symphonie Fantastique Alabama Symphony Orchestra Alys Stephens Center JAN. 23- FEB. 9 Cabaret Virginia Samford Theatre JAN. 24 Robben Ford Alys Stephens Center JAN. 27 Drum Tao 2020 Alys Stephens Center JAN. 28 An Acoustic Evening with Travis Tritt Alabama Theatre

CITY

Watch That Recycling Did you know when non-recyclable items are placed into recycling bins, everything in the bin becomes contaminated, and that the contaminate rate for the City of Vestavia Hills was 37 percent in 2018?

Between November and April, Vestavia is participating in an Inter-City Recycling Challenge with Hoover, Mountain Brook and Homewood to see which city has the greatest reduction in contamination rates.

To do your part,follow these guidelines: uBe sure items are EMPTY, CLEAN, DRY & LOOSE before placing them in your recycle cart. Wet or soiled items will result in the entire load of recycling being discarded! uClean your recycle cart occasionally to reduce contaminants. uPlace all recyclables inside your cart.

The City’s vendor will NOT pick up anything outside of your cart or in another receptacle. uIf needed, request a replacement or an additional cart for FREE via the Vestavia Hills Action Center or call Public Works at 205-978-0150. uPlace your cart at the curb with the front (arrows) facing the street.

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&CULTURE

ARTS

THE GOLDEN TOUCH

Jamie Holley tailors each of her layered acrylic paintings to be uniquely its own.

BY LAUREN BROOKS PHOTOS BY MARY FEHR VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 17

T

There is a blank wall, with three nail holes, in the kitchen of Jamie Holley’s Vestavia home where a large painting used to hang. And there’s another similar spot over a sideboard in her living room.

This prolific artist can’t keep any of her acrylic abstract paintings in her own house—she ends up selling them all—mostly to friends and customers who drop by to pick up a piece and decide they want to purchase more.

What started as a love for crafting and creating with friends has turned into a business for this wife and mother of three young children. Jamie, a selftaught artist, started painting when she was a student at Auburn.

“I had weekly craft night with friends,” she says.

18 December 2019/January 2020

“People started buying the paintings and then I made more for myself and family members. And it just kind of evolved into a full-time business. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit—when I was little I used to fold paper into boat shapes and sell them.”

The Gadsden native met her husband, P.J., at Auburn and after graduation, they married, moved to Birmingham, and have been living in Vestavia for the past 15 years.

Jamie says her business really took off when she began posting photos of her paintings on Facebook Marketplace. These days she posts on her Instagram account more than Facebook, but it’s the same social media marketing that keeps people in the

Jamie Holley’s daughter assists her in her home studio.

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Often, Jamie incorporates gold leaf crosses into her paintings. “These smaller cross paintings are my bread and butter,” she says.

“I use gold metallic leaf to make the crosses and then add an epoxy resin for a shiny topcoat. They make an inexpensive but special gift.”

know about her pieces.

“Most work comes from word of mouth and I end up getting orders when people see other pieces of mine,” she says.

Although customers often request paintings like ones they’ve seen, no two paintings are the same and each one can be custom designed to fit a particular space.

“I go to a client’s house to see the space where they want a piece,” she says. “They tell me the style, size, color scheme and proportions that they want.

It’s a layered process and I’ll text them photos of the piece in stages and then stop painting when the customer says ‘That’s it!’”

Jamie begins with a blank canvas, usually one 20 December 2019/January 2020

that’s 24-by-36 inches or 30-by-40 inches, and begins the layering process with liquid acrylics— generally using cooler color schemes. She goes back to a painting over and over adding more paint, texture, and often incorporates pieces of gold metallic leaf for detail.

Sometimes Jamie frames the paintings and other times she paints the metallic gold leaf along the edge of the canvas for a finishing touch. “The gold leaf on the sides really dresses it up,” she says.

To paint, Jamie often uses her hands rather than a brush. Sometimes she uses sponges, a palette knife, or pieces of rubber to get a textured look.

Occasionally, she even uses a blowtorch to add an extra touch to a canvas.

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“It’s therapeutic. There’s nothing like the feeling of getting to paint,” she says. “God created this creative side of me. I feel so spiritually connected and close to Him when I’m painting. I was made to do this.”

Jamie’s studio is what was supposed to be her garage— previous homeowners turned the space into a den and Jamie and P.J. intended to turn it back into a garage—but it’s the perfect spot for her to work. Drips of paint on the concrete floor don’t matter, and usually Jamie skips the easel and paints sitting on the floor. Even the wet wipes plastic container in her studio is artistic—she splatter painted it Jackson Pollock-style. Works in progress are propped up all over the room, and it’s easy for Jamie to add layers to paintings and then walk away while they dry.

“I keep layering and tweaking,” she says. “It’s hard sometimes VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 21

If she’s not painting or doing interior design, you can find Jamie at kids’ flag football games or driving carpool to Pizitz for son Cole (12) and Dolly Ridge Elementary for daughter Anna Reed (9) and son Grant (7).

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to know when to stop touching it up.”

The holidays are Jamie’s busiest time of the year for orders since people love her smaller pieces to give as teacher gifts. They also make good housewarming gifts or baby presents, so she keeps a stash of these “little happies” available so customers can stop by and pick up what they need.

Smaller pieces start at $25 while large pieces range in price from $300-$400.

Generally, Jamie can offer a two-week turn around for a commissioned piece. They are mostly commissioned for residential settings, but she has also painted for small commercial jobs like a dance studio and a doctor’s office.

Besides painting, Jamie is skilled in interior design and works full-time in this field, helping clients transform spaces in their homes.

“I can polish anything and make it more,” Jamie says. “I love turning anything into something more.

We’re all made for more. Paintings, like humans, have so many layers—we can add more and turn anything into a masterpiece.”

To learn more or commission a piece, contact Jamie Holley Designs at jamiedholley@gmail.com or 205-542-0028 (text or call), or follow her on Instagram at @JHDesigns_art.

JAMIE’S PLAYLIST Depending on her mood, Jamie usually listens to one of these while she paints: uJohn Mayer shuffle uKim Walker Christian music station uPodcasts like The Mysterious Mr. Epstein and Gangster Capitalism uBravo TV

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING

SPECIAL ADVERTISING

READ THIS BOOK

Books to Expand Your World Recommendations from

Laura Ezell

Liberty Park Middle School Librarian

As a school librarian, I try to maintain a collection of books that represents a diversity of characters, authors and viewpoints. This is important so that all of our students can see themselves represented in what they read, and also so that they can be exposed to ideas and experiences different from their own. In this way, reading can expand our worlds without us ever leaving home. Here are some recent titles that readers—either young or young at heart—should check out.

Front Desk

by Kelly Yang The Tangs emigrated from China looking for the American Dream, but instead they found Mr. Yang’s motel, where they work constantly for almost no pay. Their daughter Mia makes new friends at school and by working the front desk, while her parents help other immigrants by letting them stay for free in a secret room. When Mr. Yang finds out, will the little community they’ve built be strong enough to survive?

Ghost

by Jason Reynolds Castle Cranshaw, called Ghost, has been running in one way or another ever since the night his father tried to hurt his mother and ended up in jail. When Ghost happens upon the Defenders’ track practice one afternoon, his natural speed and desire to run convince Coach to let him on the team, even though tryouts have passed. Ghost is struggling, though, and he’s making some bad decisions. Can he learn what it means to be part of a team, on and off the field?

This is the first in the four-book Track series.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

by Dusti Bowling Aven is fine with the fact she doesn’t have arms, and so are her friends. But when her adoptive parents get jobs and move the family to Stagecoach Pass, a cowboy-themed park in Arizona, she has to start over. Luckily she meets Connor, an interesting boy with Tourette’s syndrome, and they stumble upon a mystery to keep them occupied.

This fun mystery will remind readers that different isn’t bad—it’s just different.

The Parker Inheritance

by Varian Johnson “Find the path. Solve the puzzle.” Candice’s grandmother has died, leaving Candice a note and a story about millions of dollars hidden in Lambert, South Carolina. To find it, Candice and her new friend Brandon must dig deep into their town’s hidden secrets, confronting racism, homophobia and bullies from the past and present. This puzzle mystery is great for fans of The Westing Game.

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

by Pablo Cartaya Arturo has his hands full in the summer of his thirteenth year between his new job as junior dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant, the return of a childhood friend who’s much more interesting now than when they were 8 and a developer whose plans threaten his family’s whole way of life. I’m currently in the middle of this fun adventure, which would appeal to kids who like Carl Hiassen’s Hoot.

26 December 2019/January 2020

SCHOOL

&SPORTS

CHANGE AGENTS

The Help the Hills Student Team lives out what they say—you don’t have to drink in high school.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 27

T

This fall 90 Vestavia Hills High School juniors and seniors took a pledge—not to drink, not to smoke, not to vape. The Help the Hills Student Team pledge is for themselves but also for their peers and those younger than them, to model that you don’t have to do those things to enjoy high school. To learn more about what it looks like to be a part of this team, now in its third school year under the Help the Hills Coalition and Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills umbrellas, we chatted with its cochairs Annie Dodd and Jordan Henson and members Stella Ross and Caleb Leak.

Why did you choose to be a part of Help the Hills?

Jordan: My parents are Southern Baptist, so they hammered it in not to drink. As I entered the

28 December 2019/January 2020

high school, I saw some of my friends who had believed the same as me stray away and take a different path. As I watched them, I saw how their character changed and how they were struggling.

As soon as I heard of Help the Hills, I thought that’s where I need to be because I want to help people like my friends before they have to make that decision.

Stella: I firsthand have had family members who were subject to addiction, and one who passed away because of it. I just promised myself I was never going to take that path because I saw how that hurt my family. I am going to take a different road and have a different trajectory and maybe inspire someone else to not take part in those actions because of how harmful that is.

Caleb: I wanted to take the action to make sure I

THIS PHOTO: Help the Hills members wear jerseys and more from their involvements at VHHS when they visit the middle schools to show that they represent a diverse set of teams and clubs at the school.

LEFT: Help the Hills members talk to middle school students.

and we don’t have regrets from it, and they can too.

Stella: I have a brother who is in eighth grade, and he said the general idea after we left from the vaping talk is that they didn’t realize what they were doing. I think that awareness we raise is critical to putting them on the right path.

Annie: We tell the eighth graders some of the things we are involved in and tips about the high school, and they ask questions. I still talk to some of the kids who were in the homeroom I met with last Can you talk some about your group’s interaction year, and I know their names. It’s cool to see we did with eighth graders at Pizitz Middle School and have an impact on them. One time we ate lunch with them at their tables, so we got to seek out kids Liberty Park Middle School?

Annie: We focus on the eighth graders because who maybe didn’t get to sit with someone who was we think if they make the choice earlier it’s easier to super close to them. say no. We go in groups of three into homerooms, and we just give them a talk on vaping and facts What have you seen in this year’s freshmen that that show how bad it is for them. We help them get you worked with as eighth graders last year?

Jordan: Walking through the halls I’ll have adjusted to high school knowing that there are people at the high school who don’t drink, and that random freshmen come up to me and say, “Hey, they don’t have to do it. It’s a choice we all make you talked to my class.” Last year I thought those am held accountable. I have family members who have suffered from addiction, and I have a best friend whose brother died of substance abuse.

Annie: I joined Help the Hills as an accountability group because it gave me an excuse instead of just saying “no” because sometimes when you say “no” people will peer pressure you more into it. I have a family history of addiction, and I knew if I started drinking in high school it would be downhill.

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 29

The first Help the Hills class from the 2017-2018 school year spoke on a panel at Vestavia Hills City Hall for a parent awareness meeting sponsored by VHHS PTO.

eighth graders weren’t going to listen, but they are truly listening and getting engaged. When we talked about vaping, you could see their eyes widen because they had never heard some of these statistics.

Caleb: I had a freshman this year tell me she learned about vaping from us last year, and she was excited to have upperclassmen help take care of them who want them to be healthy.

Jordan: You can go speak to anybody, but if they see you living what you are teaching, it’s going to make so much more of a difference. They come to the high school and see that we are actually doing that and that we don’t drink and don’t vape, so they know they can do it too.

At the end of the school year, your class shares a set of 10 “Why I Don’t Drink” speeches at each middle school in an assembly with all the eighth What unique perspective do y’all in Help the Hills graders. What was that like last year?

Annie: It was probably the hardest thing I have have to share with younger students versus ever done because I was sharing my story that others who could speak to these topics?

Stella: It’s a really diverse group. We have kids probably five people in Help the Hills had heard, in theatre, football players, cheerleaders, people and for 300 kids to hear it was a big moment in my from every single group, and we show them there life and in the healing process for me. You can see are football players who don’t drink, kids in theatre on some kids’ faces that they can relate to my story, who don’t drink, kids in band who don’t drink. It that it’s happened to them.

Jordan: I went to Pizitz and remember people shows them they have somebody and they don’t coming and talking about why they didn’t drink. As have to drink to fit in.

30 December 2019/January 2020

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I was sitting there, I was thinking, “I have made it this far. These people talked to me, so I need to talk to these eighth graders.”

Annie: I feel like the whole Help the Hills team came together as a family and really loved on every single person who gave their speech. I have never looked at 500 people and felt like it was family, but I really did in that room. We band together for one great reason.

Stella: Some people feel ashamed to talk about these topics, but I think it’s important we take that stigma away. Addiction is common and it is a disease, and it’s okay to talk about it and okay to hurt from it.

Each person in Help the Hills signs a pledge not to drink, smoke or vape. What kind of dynamic does that create within the group?

Jordan: When you look around in that class at the faces, it’s comforting to know that you are not the only one making these decisions, that you are not alone. When I was in eighth grade, all my friends said there’s no way to get through high school without drinking. For me it was like looking at a mountain, and

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I didn’t know how I was going to get through it. But when you see 90 people who are making the same decisions you are making, you know you can actually do it.

Stella: When you come into high school, friend groups change, and people you thought had the same beliefs as you are now doing that. It’s comforting to have these people who have pledged to not do these things.

What impact do you think Help the Hills has on the junior and senior classes?

Annie: This year we have focused on accountability groups, so every member of Help the Hills student team has an accountability group that ranges from two to 15 people. That’s a really great way we are making Help the Hills bigger than just the student team. The accountability groups have over 225 people in them, plus our 90 members. I can see a difference in my accountability group because they influence their friends too. It’s a chain reaction.

Stella: The way I like to think about Help the Hills is when you drop something in the pond that ripples out, we are that rock that is dropped, and through our actions and accountability groups it spreads and hopefully it can reach everyone in some aspect. Maybe it can lead someone to a healthier life.

32 December 2019/January 2020

The 2019-2020 Help the Hills team, with co-chairs Annie Dodd and Jordan Denson at the front. The four students interviewed for this article are pictured on page 27.

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SCHOOL & SPORTS

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Ty Arendall

Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge Principal PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

The past two years have been a whirlwind for Ty Arendall—but a fun one. He was still serving as principal at Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park when he was named principal of the new Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge, but he was often at the new school, which is right near his house, making plans and preparations for the 18 months leading up to the opening this August.

This summer alone, a 14-classroom addition and a parking and traffic loop were added to the building.

We caught up with him to hear about what the new school is like. “It feels completely like a Vestavia school, it just has its own flavor to it,” he says.

How did Dolly Ridge come to be?

When the school system went through strategic planning five years ago, we had an aging building at Central that couldn’t become a K-5 school, and we realized it’s not good to have different alignments, some K-5 and some K-3 or 4-5. We decided all the schools should have K-5 alignment. This campus is 27 acres right in the middle of Vestavia Hills and was a Jefferson County school, Gresham Elementary. I drove past it for seven years from my house in Countrywood. The board decided to purchase the property and leased it back to the county before it became a new K-5 school this year.

K-3 students now. There were such excellent teachers at all the schools. When parents saw the teachers who were coming here, they were like, “Oh this is going to be good!”

Where did the teachers come from?

Most of our K-3 teachers came from East and West, and the grades 4-5 teachers came from Central along with most of the office, lunchroom and special areas like PE and music. It’s been fun for them to be with the

What was one challenge particular to this school?

People told me you can’t run a carpool line here with no room to stack. We use bar codes and scan car tags, and then they go into a computer. The kids are in the gym

34 December 2019/January 2020

What was the feel like on the first day?

There was tons of excitement. We had such limited time to be ready for that first day, but after a week it felt like we had been having school here a long time. This summer it was more than we could handle, and we called volunteers from churches and the Dolly Ridge Dads to help us. I don’t know any other community who could have made that happen.

and see their name, number and picture, and then they go to that cone. By the second day we were 20 minutes faster, and today we are finished by 10 ‘til 3 p.m. Now Cherokee Bend Elementary was here observing our system.

What traditions are you starting?

I wondered if we’d be able to pull off a carnival in October, but it was clear it was important culturally. We made RidgeFest our own and used our new field. Our fundraiser raised $97,000, which tells the community everybody has bought in. Last Friday we got a big grill, and Billie Williams our maintenance guy and I grilled hot dogs and hamburgers in the courtyard for the teachers and we had a tailgate.

Now that the dust has cleared, we can work on a motto and school-wide recognition. The character of the school emerges, and you don’t know what the personality is going to be.

&DRINK

FOOD

THE KLINGLER LEGACY

Take German family recipes, add Southern flair, and you get an Alabama staple.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY EMMA SIMMONS VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 35

In keeping with its heritage, Klingler’s serves up stollen, a traditional German bread with candied fruits eaten during Christmastime.

J

Judging by the way WERC’s Tommy Charles talked about Irmgard Klingler, it was no secret he was smitten. Taken with the baker’s goods—and charming German accent—T.C., as he was known on morning radio, would sing her praises over the Birmingham airwaves in the ’80s. Intrigued, his sweet-toothed supporters flocked to her Alabaster bakery, where they satisfied their curiosity—and palates. Four years after opening in 1987, Klingler’s European Bakery and Café ceased to be a hole-inthe-wall. Having outgrown the space, Irmgard and her husband, Richard Middleton, began looking for a better fit. In 1991, they packed up their baking

36 December 2019/January 2020

supplies and cuckoo clocks, and relocated to the shop’s current Vestavia Hills location, much to T.C.’s delight.

Irmgard, affectionately known as “M,” piqued the locals’ curiosity with her German-Southern cuisine and brazen disregard for wait times. Timing-related complaints were swiftly met with directions to the neighboring McDonald’s. Irmgard wasn’t in the “fast food” business, she’d have you know.

Fortunately, most diners found Irmgard’s nononsense attitude more amusing than off-putting.

For them, the wait was worth it. From the bratwursts and reuben sandwiches to the cheesecakes and

Christmas stollen, Klingler’s delicacies have received their fair share of acclaim. In 2012, the Alabama Tourism Department declared the bakery’s Black Forest Cake as one of the “100 dishes to eat before you die.” And for a short while, the staff entertained a film crew pitching a new Oprah Winfrey Network show.

Klingler’s owner and manager Michelle Witherington, Irmgard’s and Richard’s daughter, can’t let her mother take all the credit for the restaurant’s renown though. “It took the two of them; they both had this love of food. One couldn’t have done anything without the other,” she explains.

Michelle’s parents blended their respective cultures into a fusion fare as harmonious as their marriage. Richard, mistakenly known as Mr. Klingler, didn’t mind the matrilineal affiliation. He

was a creative, behind-the-scenes kind of guy. The former Birmingham Police officer would retreat into the café’s kitchen, adding a dash of Southern flair to Irmgard’s family recipes while she took center stage front of house.

Irmgard first caught Richard’s attention while he was stationed in Germany, serving in the U.S. military in the 1950s. On her way to work she’d bike past the barracks, a strategic route, playfully tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. Magnetized by Irmgard’s je ne sais quois (a French phrase meaning “I don’t know what”), the Hueytown native didn’t want to return home without her. Then 19 years old, Irmgard eagerly agreed to the new adventure. But she never completely left Germany behind. She’d cook up sweet memories of home through her mother’s recipes, giving her children a taste of their VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 37

NEW AT KLINGLER’S Tasty Tuesday – Sample some of Michelle’s latest creations.

Throwback Thursday – Savor former fan favorites like the mushroom strudel and Bavarian chicken.

38 December 2019/January 2020

Michelle Worthington, current owner and daughter of Klingler’s founders, with their long time pastry chef Edith Webster

heritage.

“My sister was at the grocery store one day, and she overheard a conversation with the manager and said, ‘Well, my mom makes the best cheesecakes,’ and he said, ‘Oh really? Well how about bringing me 40 by Friday?” Michelle recalls.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Irmgard said yes.

In 1982, she started selling her coveted cheesecakes to restaurants and hotels who’d taken notice of her baking chops.

Five years later, the demand for her desserts was insatiable. In 1987, she opened her first brick-and-mortar in Alabaster, where she launched the café side of the business.

Over the years, Irmgard’s and Richard’s tastes melded together, their synergy yielding a peculiar product: GermanSouthern American cuisine. The couple’s recipes had evolved naturally via decades of rubbing elbows in the kitchen. A cultural hodgepodge, the menu is exactly as it was intended to be, Michelle insists. “The fusion, it’s always been who we are.”

But now, seven months after her mother’s sudden passing, Michelle has been forced to reexamine the café’s identity without its most prominent fixture. She’s accepted that she cannot recreate the experience of having her mother around, but she says it’ll still taste like she is.

“It’s almost like the customers are surprised the food still tastes the same. But she wasn’t as involved in the back. She was

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Michelle Worthington, left, works with her parents Irmgard Klingler and Richard Middleton and her sister in the bakery they operated in Alabaster in the late 1980s before moving to Vestavia Hills.

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Michelle Worthington stands in front of the bakery and cafe today.

always up front, making sure everyone was being taken care of,” Michelle reveals.

The 84-year-old workaholic hardly took a break, much less a vacation. But at Michelle’s urging, in January she finally took one, albeit reluctantly. Having forgotten to pack her anxiety meds, Irmgard did what any plane-fearing German would do: drink beer. She even sent Michelle selfie evidence of her preflight inebriation.

While Irmgard was out in Las Vegas with her other daughter, Michelle realized she could get by just fine with the help of the store’s longtime pastry artist, Edith Webster. Knowing the 28year Klingler’s employee can hold her own in the sweets department, Michelle is pivoting towards the savory side of the business. A recent Jefferson State culinary school graduate, Michelle is excited to adapt the menu to new cooking techniques.

Regulars need not worry. Michelle wouldn’t dare risk the backlash from a menu overhaul. She’ll continue to honor her parents’ memory by bringing back old favorites (mushroom strudel and Bavarian chicken, anyone?) and taking a stab at traditional European dishes Klingler’s isn’t yet known for.

“There are some things that have to change over time, but others…I just want to keep how she left them,” Michelle says pensively, her gaze drifting toward the back office where her mother hung up her coat for the last time.

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 41

FOOD & DRINK

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Keith Richards Taziki’s Founder PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

Keith Richards was leaning over a wall to capture just the right shot, with a Greek man he didn’t know well ensuring he didn’t fall over the edge. But it was worth it, and today you can find the bird’s-eye view of the Greek coast he took in a large photo on the wall when you walk in the Taziki’s on Highway 31 that opened in April. The location was the first to exhibit new photos from the Richards’ family travels that now you can find in close to 100 Taziki’s around the country. To learn more about the back story on the restaurant’s Greek fare, we chatted with the man who started it all.

How did you decide on the new Vestavia location and its décor?

Our first Taziki’s was in The Colonnade, our second in Mountain Brook, our third in Lee Branch. I knew I wanted to be in Vestavia, I just didn’t know where. We eat at Diplomate Deli, and when that Pier One spot opened, I wanted to put a Taziki’s there. We were living in Vestavia at the time we started Taziki’s back in 1998, so technically Taziki’s started here.

The décor was inspired by some of our Greece trips with the Mediterranean coastal look and feel. The colors and textures are what we saw when we were traveling in different islands with our family last summer. I have a garage door at my lake house that brings the outside in, and that’s what we wanted to do there.

That was the first location we have done that in.

It’s been 21 years since you started Taziki’s. Can you give us a recap of that back story?

I had been working at Bottega for 10 years, and my wife, Amy, and I took a trip to Greece before we started our family.

Their passion for life and food there

42 December 2019/January 2020

struck me, and that’s what we wanted to bring back to Birmingham in our own Greek restaurant. There was one restaurant at an island on the coast, and we kept going back every night. I wanted to create that feeling back at home.

Can you tell us some about your recent travels to Greece?

I wanted my four children (two sets of twins), who were 16 and 13, to experience the culture and the healthiness there and what God has given us, so we all went last summer. We took tons of pictures and ate tons more food. We use a lot of products from Greece at Taziki’s including our lemon juice, olive oils, olives and our salts, so on another trip I took a friend of mine who is a photographer and fellow Birmingham resident George Sarris and met all these farmers. I wanted to bring back film and video to show people the farmers behind Taziki’s food. The photos in our restaurants aren’t stock photos, they come from our personal library from our travels.

The menu has grown and evolved over the years. What’s your go-to order?

Eighty percent of the core menu we created 21 years ago is still on our menu today. I love our new Quinoa Bowl with the chicken kebobs and taziki sauce. Our Tinos Salad in the bowl, which is also new, is a traditional Greek salad with cucumbers, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, capers and feta we had on an island there.

How has Taziki’s grown and expanded?

A lot of people in Birmingham don’t know we have 95 stores since we only have nine in Birmingham. We have restaurants all the way from Tampa and up to West Virginia and all through Georgia and the Carolinas and Virginia.

The farthest are Boise, Idaho, and Denver.

If you look at the SEC football teams, we are in that market too—Athens, Tuscaloosa, Fayetteville, Gainesville, Auburn.

Most of our franchisees have eaten at Taziki’s and say, “I want one of these in my neighborhood.” Then it’s up to them to make sure they adhere to our recipes and culture, and they run it like they are Keith and Amy in Birmingham. Our franchise partners must be engrained in their community like we are.

&STYLE

HOME

SPARKLING TOUCH The Prewitts dress up their English-style home for the holidays with greenery and metallics.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY LAUREN USTAD VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 43

H

How does a 1950s ranch house become an Englishstyle cottage? Answer: with many years to dream.

When Ashley and Andy Prewitt first bought their three-bedroom home on the Vestavia Country Club golf course in 2003, they saw what it could be—and then spent more than a decade living in it and dreaming, saving off photos of styles they liked. “We kept coming back to the English style,” Ashley recalls. “I loved the gables and exaggerated pitch elements now incorporated on the front.”

So that’s just what they did when they started construction in 2016. They raised the roof up to create more pitch and elevated the ceilings to 19 vaulted feet in the living room and kitchen and 12 feet throughout the rest of the house, letting in more light from windows and allowing for better views of the golf course too. With those changes came additional architectural elements such as a large limestone-framed window, a cedar shake roof and a cross built into the brick façade on the exterior to create the English look they were looking for while also staying within the scale and style of the neighborhood. A landscape design of English boxwoods and gardens

44 December 2019/January 2020

complete the look too.

Inside they reworked the flow of the house. The kitchen at the front of the house moved to the back to create on open space with the living area, and the dining room moved to the front. On the back of the house they added a large master bathroom and closet and reworked the hallways so the master has its own vestibule entrance while the two guest rooms share a separate and enlarged entry hall.

The couple and their two Labradors moved back into a drastically different home in 2017 with a long punch-list of final details and décor to wrap up, so showcasing it in the 2018 Legacy League Christmas Home Tour made for a good excuse to get the details just how they wanted it—just in time for them to enjoy it for the holidays themselves.

Ashley worked with her interior designer Mark Kennamer to dream up a holiday aesthetic of greenery and creams and whites instead of the traditional Christmas red and green. Neutral colored ribbons softened up the décor and metallic touches gave it a modern set of pizazz—the perfect finishing touches for the Prewitts’ English cottagestyle home.

Dining Room An antique glass chandelier and a calming painting by Kristin Blakeney punctuates the metallic Osborne and Little wallcovering in this elegant room, along with another painting by Ashley’s uncle that pulls from the aqua color in the lamps.

Table Décor For the Holiday Home Tour Ashley wanted to use her mom’s Christmas china and silver goblets that were a wedding gift from her parents to Ashley and Andy, and she and Mark incorporated the more rustic look of Earthborn Pottery vases filled with white roses, and trendy gold, silver and mercury glass trees and glass balls.

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 45

Living Room The Prewitts wanted their living room to be somewhat formal but very open and with a family area feel that would be ripe for entertaining. The back of the room features a set of four doors that fully open onto each other, allowing the living room to flow right into the porch, creating an even larger living space. For the holidays Ashley incorporated fresh greenery, white roses, amaryllis, paper-whites and heirloom silver pieces into the space’s cream and white aesthetic too.

BEHIND THE SCENES Architect: Adams Gerndt

Tile: Synergy Stone

Builder: Bradford Residential

Landscape Design: Falkner

Interior Design: Mark

Screened Porch Addition:

Designs

Construction

Building Company

Kennamer, Mark Kennamer

46 December 2019/January 2020

Gardens

Tommy Prewitt, TWPrewitt

Kitchen A large kitchen island was on the Prewitts’ wish list—and that’s just what they got with plenty of storage on both of its sides to boot. The kitchen also features Carrera marble countertops, a grey herringbone tile backsplash and two oversized light fixtures that were perfect for hanging platinum pinecones for Christmas.

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 47

Den When the Prewitts first bought their house in 2003, they turned the fourth bedroom into a true den, now adjacent to a new powder room and laundry room. With its bronze, grass-cloth wallpaper walls, it’s a cozy spot to enjoy a fire, especially when they set up their Christmas tree.

LEGACY LEAGUE CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR A while back Ashley heard a Samford University Legacy League scholarship recipient speak about the challenges that kept her from setting her sights on college and the impact her scholarship had on achieving that dream. “It touched me so much,” she recalls, “I was in awe of the Legacy League and the lives they touch.” So when a friend involved with the league asked her to allow her home to be on the tour, Ashley had extra reason to say yes.

Thursday, Dec. 12 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 4-8 p.m.

Tickets available at samford.edu/ legacyleague or at the door of featured homes.

48 December 2019/January 2020

Christmas Tree Glass ornaments from Table Matters add a whimsical splash of color to the tree along with a modern metallic look from faux branches and pine cones and sentimental ornaments from Ashley’s mom’s collection.

Master Bedroom A simple eucalyptus wreath on the headboard and a garland of magnolia leaves draped on an adjacent piece add a touch of holiday to creams and tans in this spacious bedroom. Most of the room stayed the same in renovations, but the addition of a large closet and bathroom and its new private entrance have made it into more of a retreat.

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 49

Screened-In Porch The Prewitts added their screened-in porch onto their house after they adopted their 6-year-old Labradors Camper and Ivey, and the fireplace, which is dressed up with a more ornate fresh garland with metallic pine and white berries, enables them to use it all year round.

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Entry Way The Prewitts’ arched doorway opens up to a light and bright area with Thibaut textured wallpaper. For the holidays they added a wreath of peasant feathers hung with ribbon to the mirror on your right as you enter the home.

Front Door A wreath of fresh flowers accented with white roses, berries and a velvet ribbon adds a festive flair to the new English cottage look of the home.

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52 December 2019/January 2020

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IN STYLE

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Noha Nadler and her daughter Sophia

56 December 2019/January 2020

Distinctly Noha Nadler Edgy meets traditional in this Egyptian-inspired handbag line designed right here in Vestavia.

By Madoline Markham | Photos by Mary Fehr & Graham Yelton Noha Nadler sees the world through Egyptiancolored glasses. To her, things that are old or even plain to the average person are full of beauty, harkening back to the vibrant colors and ornate aesthetics of her Egyptian heritage. You’ll also find markers of her eye for beauty around her office space in her Vestavia Hills home, with leathers from vendors around the world, hardware pieces she has

carefully selected and finished bags scattered about— all part of a handbag line she designs through her very specific lens.

But Noha’s career began not in Egypt but grounded in the town where she grew up in the footsteps of her father, an anesthesiologist who moved his young family from Egypt to Birmingham in the late 1960s to work at UAB when the medical center was starting

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 57

Noha displays her handbags and other items that inspire her on the shelves of her home office.

a kidney and liver transplant unit. Likewise, after growing up mostly in Vestavia, attending West Elementary and Pizitz, Noha trained at UAB to care for the same kinds of patients her dad had as a cardiac intensive care nurse.

Noha’s outlook changed in August 2009, though, when her dad unexpectedly passed away from acute respiratory distress syndrome at UAB where she worked. “Every day I was reliving the six weeks he was at the hospital, and I got to the point where I had no compassion,” she says. “I decided in my head I had to find something (else) to do.”

Around that time she took a trip back to Egypt, where she’d spent every summer growing up. Her cousin who is like a sister, Deena Wagdy, took her deep into an ancient outdoor market where she finds many of her supplies for her work as a jewelry designer. That’s when Noha saw him—a man in a tiny closet with shelves filled with leather. “I just started buying it,” Noha says today. “I don’t know what I was thinking really. I had a huge backpack, and I stuffed these leather in there.” As she and 58 December 2019/January 2020

Deena continued to walk through the market, she spotted a set of hand-dyed fabrics—bright like her personality—and bought those too.

Back at home in Vestavia, Noha set to work on a line of table cloths, pillows and other home wares inspired by her time in the market, but it wouldn’t turn into the new career she had envisioned. “The hand-dyed fabrics were transferring to people’s furniture,” she says. “It was horrible.”

And so she continued working as a nurse. Then one night she had a party to attend, and she turned to her go-to outfit, jeans and a white T-shirt. To jazz it up she made an envelope clutch out of the leather she still had from the Egyptian market. People asked her about it that night, and that’s when her handbag line was born in 2011—just as organically as her first purchase of raw materials.

Originally Noha had her leather designs made in Egypt to support the economy there and sold them to boutiques in Birmingham including Mia Moda in Vestavia Hills and Marella and Elle in Mountain Brook, but with January 2012 came the Egyptian

Revolution. One of Noha’s shipments got stuck in customs and was never realized. “I thought my company was gone,” Noha recalls. But like every other rock in her path, it was just time for a rerouting.

This time she turned to Accessory Think Tank owner Nancy Forman in New York to develop her first collection to be made in Los Angeles all with U.S.-made materials, and she quit her nursing job at last. That first collection debuted in 2014. “I learned and failed and learned and failed,” Noha says. “I did miss my direct deposit at UAB, but I kept persevering because that’s something my parents taught me.” In

fact, it took until 2017 before her business turned a profit—what she says was a difficult but rewarding journey.

The biggest reward for her has always been an aspect with parallels to her nursing career: her relationship with customers. “I know their families and their kids, and I connect with them on a deeper level. That is why my handbag business stands out compared to other emerging brands. They may like my bag, but their stories and their connection with me are very important.”

Case in point: A mom first bought a bag from Noha VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 59

“

You have to stay true to what is you. I try to translate a trend I like into something that is classic and functional.

60 December 2019/January 2020

– Noha Nadler

”

at a market a few years ago, and the following year that woman’s own mom bought her own bag from Noha. “And then they brought their whole family to meet me,” Noha says. “They shared how their bags went to Italy and Japan with them and how durable they were. That’s what people share a lot—where they take (their bags).”

Another time Noha was at Target in Birmingham when she spotted a woman in the home section with a familiar looking handbag design. “I think that’s my bag,” she thought. And it was. “It’s pretty cool to see when you are out and about.”

Who is this customer Noha speaks of?

She’s a busy woman somewhere between her 20s and 70s who likes a traditional look that is also edgy. She is conscious of the material her bag is made with, and is delighted by how functional and lightweight her Noha Nadler bag is. Perhaps most of all she loves the flair of the handbag’s leather.

Noha is drawn to textured and metallic leathers she says are signature of her brand.

Even women who don’t think they like a metallic look are often enticed by the 3D foils on hers, and others are drawn to textures inspired by Noha’s travels, like a python print that reminds her of the snakes she grew up seeing in the Egyptian desert.

Equally signature in her designs is their turquoise lining—a color that also accents Noha’s home and wardrobe. “Most designers use a black or beige, but that’s boring to me,” she says. “When you look inside your bag, you want to be happy.”

The designer is also especially proud of how versatile her designs are. Her bestselling Deena tote—named for her cousin who took her to the market back in Egypt and who is “fashion forward but practical”—can be used as a diaper bag with her smaller top zip clutch to hold smaller items inside, or can hold a laptop and then lay flat in a suitcase when you are traveling.

You’ll also find pops of color in her lines outside her turquoise lining. Last year’s featured color was yellow—what she says was “sunshine to the blacks and greys.” This holiday season Noha unveiled 12 new designs, including one in this year’s signature color, turquoise, at a set of holiday

markets across the country, from Nashville to Jackson to Austin. These days she has chosen not to sell through boutiques because she prefers the customer interaction she gets in person and through her online store.

Noha’s handbags might be glamorous by the time they make it into markets and onto Instagram, but the process behind them starts with a technical design and a lot of math. “I have to source my leather and calculate how much square footage (of leather and how much hardware I need) for each bag, and I ship it to my manufacturer,” Noha says. “I have never used so much algebra in my life. It’s very exhausting.”

A key part of Noha’s mostly one-woman team is her daughter Sophia, the second youngest of her four children who is now a high school sophomore. “She is my sounding board and helps me with the design process,” Noha says.

“She has a really good eye.” For Christmas this year Sophia even asked to go to New York to work with Noha’s mentor in New York Nancy, who Noha credits for much of what her business has become.

In fact, Noha originally named her handbags

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VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 61

after her daughter as Sophia Designs before changing it to her own name, which means “intelligent and brave,” followed by her married name, Nadler— although Noha is quick to note that she is still very proud of her maiden name, Mustafa, too.

While her business is certainly her “baby” in many ways, Noha’s principal focus is always on her human children and community. “My family comes first, so if my kids are sick I am not going to work,” she says.

“That puts some behind, but at the end of the day I love them more. Growing up I loved that my mom was home when I came home from school and had something fixed for me to eat, and I like to do those small things for my children.”

“Whoever says you can do it all and do it all great, they are lying,” she continues. “There is no such thing as balance.”

Outside of her family, Noha is also active in the Vestavia Hills community and as a board member for the Parks and Recreation Foundation is passionate about current efforts to raise money for the new Miracle League Field at Wald Park.

Through the ins and outs of all she does in life, Noha is also always looking to understand style trends and let them inform her work without necessarily always following them. “I stay up way late

62 December 2019/January 2020

and watch all the runway shows (in New York and Milan) and see what’s trending,” she says. “If you followed every single trend you’d look ridiculous though. You have to stay true to what is you.

I try to translate a trend I like into something that is classic and functional.”

For instance, mini purses that only fit an object the size of a key are trending right now. “But why would I design a bag like that?”

Noha notes. So instead she made a smaller crossbody bag that was still functional. And since orange is trending, she’s not designing an orange bag but instead looking at what colors will complement orange clothing.

Noha’s customers’ handbags aren’t the only ones who travel.

You won’t catch Noha getting on a plane without her own Deena tote, and around town she carries her Yasmine crossbody bag— named for another cousin who is “very beautiful and very classic”—that she says fits a phone and wallet and has a pocket on the outside for whatever she likes to keep handy. Like all her designs, it comes with a story written through the Egyptian lens that is distinctly Noha Nadler.

SHOP NOHA NADLER See new product releases on Instagram @noha_nadler.

Visit her online store at nohanadler.com.

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 63

How Micah McElveen Decided to Not Just Fade Away Here’s the back story on Vapor Ministries’ work in Africa and Haiti.

By Melanie Peeples | Photos Contributed

64 December 2019/January 2020

This isn’t the life Micah McElveen was supposed to have.

It’s not the one he dreamed of as a 14-year-old multi-sport jock surfer, diving into a wave to paddle out and hang 10.

There was a storm coming, and Micah, having grown up on the west coast surfing in San Diego, knew better than to miss an opportunity to surf in the Gulf of Mexico, a body of water so lacking in dependable waves that it often looks more like a lake. But on this day in October of 1995, Hurricane Opal was skirting past the Florida peninsula, making big waves for the beaches near his home in Englewood.

His parents dropped him and his brother off and went back to park the car. Micah grabbed his board, and running into the water, dove headfirst into the base of a wave. That’s how you do it — the duck dive.

Otherwise, the wave knocks you down. You duck dive through the bottom of the wave and pop up on the other side and start paddling out to the better waves.

Only this time, something went wrong. Micah slammed headfirst into a sandbar.

He knew immediately that something was wrong.

A shock hit his spine. He remembers being groggy and confused. The next wave rolled him over onto his back, and he could see the surface. But when he tried to get up, his body wouldn’t work.

“Panic raced through my veins. I’m underwater and try. (But) there’s nothing I could do. I can’t get VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 65

Vapor Ministries Haiti center staff sing praises together. All of their centers are run solely by indigenous staff and leaders.

up. In a last-ditch effort—you know my lungs are crying out for breath—I put my lips together and I try to get air,” he says, reliving that terrible moment. But his lips remained underwater. They couldn’t reach up to the air. “I sucked in water and I passed out.”

To make matters worse, his brother didn’t see it.

He’d gone back to get a football, and when he came back to the shore and couldn’t find Micah, he assumed Micah was playing a joke on him and hiding in some bushes. By the time his parents arrived, Micah’s brother was frantic. They estimate 5 to 7 minutes passed before a stranger 150 yards down the beach found him in a slack pool of water, floating face down. His parents saw the stranger pick up his hand and watched as it fell, seemingly lifeless, back into the water.

They started CPR immediately and then the ambulance arrived, used a defibrillator and airlifted him to Tampa. He doesn’t remember much about that first week, but when he woke up, choking on the tubes in his nose and throat and saw his father sitting in the corner, Micah asked, “How did I do in the game?” But there had been no big football game, not 66 December 2019/January 2020

for Micah. And there never would be.

PARALYZED Micah had shattered four vertebrae in his neck and was a total quadriplegic, fighting for his life. He couldn’t even breathe on his own. He could move his mouth and eyes, and that was it. At 14, in the prime of his athletic abilities, he was beyond devastated. It wasn’t JUST the loss of sports, but he was in pain. A LOT of pain. His damaged nerves felt like they were on fire. “I was like, ‘I am in intense pain. I am literally trapped in this prison of a body.’ I thought, ‘If this is life I don’t want to live it.’”

In the weeks to come Micah had dreams. Dreams where he would actually die. Not like those dreams where you’re falling and before you hit the ground you wake up. Micah dreamed he was shot, electrocuted, in a plane crash, and every time he dreamed it all the way through, felt himself floating above, seeing his body below him. He remembers feeling euphoric. “I kept saying, ‘Thank you, Jesus, thank you God.”

Micah, his wife Audrey and their two children

And then he would wake up, still alive, and cry, “Dear God, no!

No, no, no, no!” Being alive had become his nightmare.

That’s when he says his relationship with God came into play.

He was under such emotional and physical pain he would cry and call out to God. It was at those times he says he felt God’s presence and the sense that although things weren’t fixed, he wasn’t alone.

It pushed him into a deeper pursuit of his faith.

Looking back, Micah says, “My big deal was sports. That was my idol. It had taken the number one place in my heart over my relationship with Christ.” But not for any longer. He says he realized, like the Bible says, a person’s life is like a vapor that appears for a brief time and then is gone. And he started to realize he wanted to leave something behind.

Micah spent the rest of his high school years in hospitals and physical rehabilitation. He went from being among the most popular kid in school, to the kid he says no one wanted to hang out with. But he worked hard. And eventually he regained partial use of his arms and legs. He got back about 85 percent of his lower body, 30 percent of his left arm and 40 to 45 percent of his right arm. It wasn’t enough to be that professional athlete, but he says it was enough to do life. And he wanted to do more of life than before. He had begun to feel that maybe his tragedy could be used for good.

He enrolled in a Christian college in Missouri and even managed to make the soccer team. “I worked really hard,” he says,

SHELBY LIVING’S

BEST OF THE

BEST 2019 WINNER

SHE

LBYLIVING.CO

M

SHOP AT VAPOR Proceeds from the Vapor Thrift Store, 1069 Montgomery Highway, fund the operating costs for Vapor Ministries for expenses from clean water for the community to educational scholarships, medical care, soccer leagues and food. You can shop or donate gently used items including accessories, books, clothing, cookware, decorative items, dishes, electronics, furniture, housewares, jewelry, linens, movies, music, shoes, suitcase and toys any time during operating hours.

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 67

A discipleship coach prays with this soccer team in Dilaire, Haiti, after their practice.

Each match or practice that is a part of Vapor Ministries ends with a Bible study in prayer.

The statistics of poverty became names and faces.

He tried to wrap his brain around how a family of 12 lived in a one-room, 12-by-14-foot tin shack with a leaky roof and a dirt floor.

Having gone through his own trial, he thought maybe God had been preparing him for this. He knew how it felt to have no hope. And he knew how it felt to get it back.

When Christmas break was over, poverty had become personal to him. “It got under my skin,” he says. “I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life trying to forget what I saw, or spend the rest of my life trying to do something about it.”

MOTIVATED He dropped out of graduate school, moved into his “And that’s when the lights came on for me,” car for eight months, came up with a plan, assembled Micah says. “Ministry isn’t necessarily trying to get a board, raised some funds and then moved back to people to go to a church, which they may never want Africa. “It was like a dream,” he says, like a divine blueprint entrusted to him. He stayed for a year, and to do. It’s entering peoples’ lives where they’re at.”

After witnessing poverty there in Missouri, he in that time Vapor Ministries built a center that began to think about global poverty. He’d learned offered a multitude of services. There was a soccer that at the time, 1.3 billion people lived on less than program for kids, a well with clean water for $1.25 a day. He arranged to stay with a missionary residents, an education sponsorship program, family in Nairobi, Kenya, and spent his Christmas disease prevention, and a program to get those who break there. He visited the slums and got to know need medical intervention to a clinic. And, of course, people, sometimes spending the night with those a church to partner with.

Perhaps most amazingly, Micah figured out a way he’d grown close to. underestimating the kind of strength that must have required. “I can’t throw the ball in and I run a little bit funny,” he says, but he made that team and even ended up being captain by his last year.

Along the way his soccer team and the church he was attending became involved in outreach in the impoverished and drug-ridden neighborhoods near campus. He started connecting with kids, lavishing them with attention and talking about making good choices. The kids loved soccer, so they listened to him and his teammates.

68 December 2019/January 2020

Vapor also has a child sponsorship program to provide quality education, medical care and supplemental food to those in need in the communities they serve.

“

Ministry isn’t necessarily trying to get people to go to a church, which they may never want to do. It’s entering peoples’ lives where they’re at.

to do it with indigenous workers. “Locals built it, locals lead it, locals use it. Together, we fund it.”

When he left Kenya, Micah came back to the U.S., got married, and they lived in his wife’s car for another year, working to expand the program. All their earthly possessions were in their trunk, back seat or a storage container on top of the car.

Today, his Vapor Ministries has five operating centers: two in Kenya, one in Togo (West Africa) and two in Haiti. The operating costs are funded in part by the three thrift stores Vapor Ministries operates: one in Vestavia Hills on Highway 31, one in Greystone, and a wholesale center in Westover. The capital campaign—the funding arm for NEW centers—come from grants and major donors. And Micah wants to open many more centers. Right now, he says their programs serve hundreds of thousands, but he has plans to serve millions.

– Micah McElveen THE VIEW FROM HERE Had Micah not broken his neck 23 years ago, he thinks he would probably have become a professional athlete. “I would have been worldly successful by the world’s measures. And very miserable right now.”

For a long time that day on the beach was the worst day of his life. “It was something I mentally tried to, like (figure out), ‘How do we undo that? Can I go back?’”

Now, he says it’s one of the five best things to ever happen to him. “I wouldn’t wish it on anybody and I DEFINITELY don’t want to go through it again,” he says.

“As much good as it’s brought, I also (am) acutely aware of the pain and trial. It wasn’t easy, and I wouldn’t make light of it. At the same time, now that it’s happened, I would not change it. I would not undo it.”

”

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 69

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70 December 2019/January 2020

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VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 75

OUT & ABOUT

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COMMUNITY NIGHT OUT

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PHOTOS BY KAITLYN BAKER

The Vestavia Hills Police and Fire Department held their ninth annual Community Night Out on Oct. 1. This year, it was also a special Alabama Bicentennial celebration, complete with free food, live music, local vendors, kids’ activities and more.

1. Julia Altamirano, Natalie Dunn and Jewel Yelverton

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2. Khadijah Raquib, Eliza Julian, Priya Muthukumar and Riley Hart 3. Carolyn Mize, and Lou and John Hollingsworth 4. Isabella Lao, Amiee and Ella Zhu, and Elisa Mu 5. Carol Lawson, Michael Hartsell, Karen Harrington, Larry Cracky, Rhonda Datherage, Christi Cowan and Cali Dunaway 6. Rob and Wendy Wilson with Adelynne 7. Jaxon and Camaryn Crenshaw 8. Caroline, Jack, Mallory and Emma Weinacker 9. Tyler and Lindsey Odle with Miller and Olivia 10. Jennifer Sides and Joy Brunson 11. Diane and Richard Horn 12. Alec and Carson Phillips with Mak

76 December 2019/January 2020

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OUT & ABOUT

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BRAZILIAN DAY FESTIVAL

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PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER

The fifth annual Brazilian Day Festival brought the food and culture of Brazil to Horizon Church on Oct. 12.

1. Antonio, Isabella, Lukas, Erika and Anna Elise Giuvenduto 2. Mikaely, Dian, and Ana Elisa Felipe, and Orlando Ferreira, Agnaldo and Cristiane 3. Julia Scarinci and Gabriel Gurmendi 4. Leila, Nikolas, Joshua and Matthew Favareto 5. Leo and Cindy Diniz 6. Rene Vasquez and Omar Lopez 7. Teles and Katelyn Siqueira 8. LaTasha and Gerald Parks 9. Enrique, Liliana and Adriana, Susan and Julian, and Ignacio and Francisco 10. Janet Comer and Mary Basselin

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OUT & ABOUT

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OUT & ABOUT

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LIBERTY PARK WITCHES RIDE

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The witches of Liberty Park dressed their best on Oct. 20 for their first ever witch ride through the neighborhood on their brooms (bikes or golf carts) with music, lots of candy and a costume contest.

1. Joni and Joyce Kniseley 2. Tracy Gardner, Liz Knecht, Michelle Keizer, Jessica Keller, Megan Deshazo and Dori Pekmezi

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3. Jenn Burnaman and Andrea Bowens 4. Bethany Campbell and Loritta Faulkner 5. Rachel Green, Angie Clean, Katy Stanford and Reena Powell 6. Mallory and Drayton Green with Emily 7. Virginia Winston, Christi Smith and Suzanne Vickers 8. Ashley Hibberts, Sara Collins and Candy Hacker 9. Karen Dykes and Stevie Jones 10. Kristina Caldwell, Cachita Bermejo and Kaitie Sneed 11. Jennifer Collins, Lindley Salmon, Laura Grinelel and Lauren Estes 12. Joy Brunson and Meg Flowers

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OUT & ABOUT

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SAMMY DUNN MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

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PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED

The Vestavia Hills High School Baseball program hosted a golf tournament to honor Coach Sammy Dunn and the impact he made on VHHS on Oct. 17 at Greystone Legacy.

1. Senior baseball players Caplan Bashinksy, Graham Duncan, Reece Crenshaw and Carter Zulanas

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2. Association of Related Churches Golf Team 3. Head Coach Jamie Harris, Linda Dunn and Assistant Coach Wes Kelley 4. Sara Hale and Mary Ann Harris 5. VHHS Baseball Coaches Cody Skewes, Matt Eddleman, Jamie Harris, Kris Thomas and Wes Kelley 6. Holly Richter, Caroline Campbell and Leigh Johnston 7. Mike Dunn, Jared Smith and Rusty Weaver 8. Front Row: Daria Howard and Linda Dunn. Back Row: Tracey Hammonds, Savannah Windham, Heidi Forsyth, Gerri-Martha O’Hara and Cathy O’Berry Dunn 9. JD Gann, Ben Gann and Coach Jamie Harris 10. Mike Dunn, Sam Dunn, Marty Dunn and Casey Dunn 11. Linda Dunn, Jamie Harris, Tracey Hammonds and Savannah Windham 82 December 2019/January 2020

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HEIGHTS HEROES 5K

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The community and young heroes of Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights ran this third annual race on Oct. 27 to raise funds for the school.

1. Luna Lang, and Katie and Allie Abbott 2. Kim, Nghia and Dan Nguyen 3. Jasmine and Abena Lamptey 4. Karen Cardwell, and Sarah, Ben and Clara Kate Brooks 5. Charles and Carrie Beth Buchanan with Claire 6. Ethan Seales and Kelly Koncsol 7. Linda Smith with Camden and Caden Hamaker 8. Julie and Branscomb Beavers with Audrey, Blake, Charlie and Branscomb 9. Amy Fuqua and Alicia Hunsberger 10. F arhana Rahman, and Rachael and Sixto Leal

The Heart Knows There Is Only One Right Choice

Paid for by John & Melody Greene

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REMEMBERING Y DOWNEY •

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MARKETPLACE

Marketplace Vestavia Hills Magazine • 205.669.3131

Need appliance or air conditioner parts? How about a water filter for your refrigerator? We have it all at A-1 Appliance Parts! Call 1-800-841-0312 www.A-1Appliance.com Acceptance Loan Company. Personal Loans! Let us pay off your title loan! 224 Cahaba Valley Road, Pelham. 205663-5821 General Painting -Interior & Exterior -Residential Painting -Top Quality Materials -Window Glazing, Caulking & Priming -We do all the prep work! Call Alex: 205955-3439 American Auctioneers, LLC 1-866-789-5169 american-auctioneers. com Call us for your auctions needs!! •Land/ Acreage•Estates •Residential/Commercial Real Estate•Business Liquidations•Construction Farm Equipment •Lake/ Recreational Properties INDUSTRIAL ATHLETES $18.38+/hour + production & safety $$$ incentives. Grocery order selection using electric pallet jacks & voice activated headsets. Apply online at AGSOUTH. COM or call Charlie Seagle at (205) 808-4833 Pre-employment drug test required.

Automation Personnel Services Hiring IMMEDIATELY For: Automotive Assembly, General Labor, Production,

Clerical, Machine Operator, Quality, Carpentry, Welder, Foundry. Positions In: Calera, Clanton, Pelham, Bessemer, McCalla. Walkin applications accepted.

Clanton (205)280-0002.

Pelham (205)444-9774.

Bama Concrete Now Hiring: Diesel Mechanic 4 Years Minimum Experience. CDL Preferred. Competitive Pay. Great Benefits. Apply in person: 2180 Hwy 87 Alabaster, 35007 Bent Creek Apartments.

Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom. On-site Manager. On-site Maintenance. 3001 7th Street. North Clanton, AL 35045. TDD#s: 800548-2547(V) 800-5482546(T/A) bentcreek@ morrowapts.com Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/Employer Boise Cascade Now Hiring for Utility Positions.

Starting pay $13.66/ hour. Must be able to pass background screen.

Please apply at www. bc.com Core Focus Personnel 205-826-3088 • Now Hiring Production Mill Worker, Jemison. 12hrs (days/nights), ability to pass drug test, background check, physical. Positions working in outside temperature conditions.

Previous manufacturing experience required. $11.75/hr to start.

86 December 2019/January 2020

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com

DRYWALL REPAIRS SAME DAY SERVICE Offering: •Plastering •Stucco •Water Damage Repair $$FREE ESTIMATES$$ Please Call: 205-502-6023 ETS RESTORATIONS •Retaining Walls •Concrete Work •Demolition •Landscaping •Construction •Tree Removal •Tree Trimming •Bobcat Work •Hardscapes •Hauling Residential & Commercial FREE ESTIMATES!!! CALL NOW (205)209-7787 $2000 SIGN ON BONUS NEW PAY SCALE TO QUALIFYING DRIVERS EVERGREEN TRANSPORT, is accepting applications for local drivers in the Calera and Leeds, AL, area.

Must have Class A CDL, good driving record, 1 yr verifiable tractor trailer experience. Good pay and benefits. Apply in person at 8278 Hwy 25 South, Calera, AL, or call for info 205-668-3316.

Now Hiring Heavy Equipment Operators and CDL Drivers Competitive pay and benefits. Pre-employment drug test required Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Call: 205-2986799 or email us at: jtate@ forestryenv.com NOW AVAILABLE LPN’s, RN’s 12 HOUR SHIFTS CNA’s Full-time & part-time

Apply in person: Hatley Health Care 300 Medical Center Drive Clanton, AL 35045 Heritage Christian Academy is now accepting enrollment for K3-12th Grades.

Don’t miss this amazing opportunity! Call 205978-6001, to schedule a Campus Tour!

Office Manager FullTime Position Must have experience in Bookkeeping, Quickbooks Monday-Friday 8am-5pm Apply in person: 1110 Highway 31, Calera Call 205-663-1511 Industrial Coatings Group, Inc. is hiring experienced -Sandblasters -Industrial Painters Helpers. Must be able to pass drug test and e-verify check. Must be willing to travel. Professional references required.

Please send resume to: icgsecretary@hotmail.com or call (205)688-9004 Owner Operators Wanting Dedicated Year Round Anniston, AL www.pull4klb.com Lancaster Place Apartments. Location, community & quality living in Calera, AL. 1, 2, & 3 bedroom apartments available. Call today for specials!! 205-668-6871.

Or visit hpilancasterplace. com

Now Hiring!!

•Caregivers-ADL’s, assist with medications and some lifting 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm, 11pm-7pm •Activity Director PartTime •Cooks-some 12/ hr shifts Call Shay McNeal 205-620-2905 Marble Valley Manor.

Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments for Elderly & Disabled. Many on-site services! 2115 Motes Rd, Sylacauga. 256245-6500 •TDD#s: 800548-2547(V) •800-5482546(T/A). Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/ Employer Are you a motivated professional? Are you looking for a dynamic career? Are you ready to control your own level of success? See why McKinnons’ is an exciting place to work and grow. Now accepting applications for Sales, Service, and Detail Shop. Apply with the receptionist. 205-755-3430 Shake up your career!!!

Are you looking for something new and FUN? Milo’s is always looking for great managers to come join our growing and dynamic team. Apply online at miloshamburgers. com Montgomery Stockyard Drop Station at Gray & Son’s in Clanton. Call Lane at 205-389-4530. For other hauling arrangements, contact Wes in Harpersville 205-965-8657

MARKETPLACE Oxford Healthcare in Montgomery currently hiring certified CNA’s and/ or Home Health aides in the Clanton, Marbury and Maplesville areas. Must be able to pass complete background check, have reliable transportation and have a strong work ethic. Serious inquiries only. Call 334-409-0035 or apply on-line at www.

Oxfordhealthcare.com Help Wanted - full time/ part time available!

Warehouse environment assisting with painting, building, designing props and scenes. Visit www.phobiafactory.com to submit your application.

Looking for a house to rent in Shelby County?

We can help. Call for available rentals and specials (205)433-9811 Coosa Pines Mill in Childersburg hiring Entry Level Technicians •Full time positions w/ comprehensive benefits package •Starting rate $15.70/hr w/an increase up to $21.93/hr after 90 days •18 years or older with High School Diploma or GED *All successful applicants will be required to pass a pre-employment drug screen and criminal background check* Specializing in all your hair care needs SERENITY SALON Barber/Stylist Chairs Available for Rent 2 Convenient Locations •2005 Valleydale Rd. •Pelham •3000 Meadow Lake Dr. Suite 107 Call Nichole 205-240-5428 CLOCK REPAIR SVS. * Setup * Repair * Maintenance. I can fix your Mother’s clock. Alabaster/ Pelham. Call Stephen (205)663-2822

Electrician - FT Supreme Electric, local-based company in Pelham.

Must be willing to learn & work hard. Go to: supremeelectric-al. com Print employment application under Contact Us. Mail to: Supreme Electric 231 Commerce Pkwy Pelham, AL 35124 or call 205-453-9327.

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White Oak Transportation is hiring CDL-A drivers in your area. Great Pay! Excellent Benefits! Visit our website www.whiteoaktrans.com for more information EOEM/F/D/V Acceptance Loan Company, Inc. Personal loans! Let us pay off your title loans! 224 Cahaba Valley Rd, Pelham 205663-5821 Pharmaceutical Grade Pharmaceutical Grade CBD Oil, a unique concept for sublingual absorption.

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Package Store 2398 Greensprings Hwy Homewood,AL NowHiring!! Requirements: •Must be 21 years old •Retail experience •Able to multi-task,work any shift,lift kegs,and check in orders •Beer,wine,& liquor experience a plus Call: 205-322-3333 Commercial Cleaning Company hiring General Cleaners in Columbiana.

Part-time position Monday-Friday, 5:30pm until 8:30pm. Duties include sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, sanitizing restrooms and trash removal. Email resumes and/or your contact information to dave@ eaglecleaningservice.com Driver needed to deliver small packages to Birmingham area dentists •Vehicle provided •Have clean driving record+good knowledge of area roads •4/days a week •25-35/ hours Call:205-663-6500 Trucking company hiring qualified local delivery drivers •Must have clean driving/criminal background •Verifiable commercial driver experience •Good communication skills a must Serious Inquiries Call: 205-3109810 $Cash Paid For Used RV’s!$ Motor Homes, Travel/Enclosed trailers, consignment welcome, Cars and Trucks, Pick up available, Mccluskey Auto and RV Sales, LLC 205833-4575

Construction Workers Needed for Local Construction Company.

Must be experienced and dependable. Job is five days a week. Salary based on skills. Must have remodeling experience.

Call Adam 205-863-9059

Place Christian Church 14 Westside Ln, Columbiana, AL 35051 Bishop Wales Williams, Jr Chief Apostle •Morning Worship Sunday 11am •Life Enrichment Classes Sunday 10:15am •Join Us Every Tuesday Night at JOYFEST •Midweek WorshipBegins at 6:30pm www. getyourharvest.org

Small Engine Technician Full-Time Must have knowledge of: -Lawn Mowers -Pressure Washers -Chainsaws -2-Cycle/4Cycle Weed Eaters MUST BE DEPENDABLE! Call: (205)281-0565 Email: qtr@ mindspring.com

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Service Tech, Inc. Heating & Air Conditioning AL Cert# 89282 Now Hiring Full-Time Certified Technician • Minimum 5 years experience • Residential, Commercial and Refrigeration • Ipad Experience • On-Call Rotation Apply at: www. servicetechhvac.com Sitting Angels Home Care, LLC NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS Doctor Appointments, Bathing/ Dressing Meal Preparation, Errands, Laundry,Light House Keeping and More.

Lenette Walls, Owner 205405-6991 Shelby County Openings: Loaders: •1st shift 7am4pm, Monday-Friday •2nd Shift- 4:30pm Finish, Sunday–Thursday $11.00/ hr Packers-1st shift 7am4pm, Monday-Friday $11.00/hr Replenisher1st Shift 6am-3:30pm $12.00/hr Standup Forklift Operators 1st Shift-6am3:30pm $12.00/hr Apply online: www.mystaffmark. com The Harvest Place Christian Church Join us for worship every SUNDAY The Harvest

Western International Gas & Cylinders, Inc $10,000 Sign-OnBonus! Hiring Class-A CDL Drivers •2yrs Exp•Pass D.O.T Physical/ Background Check •Hazmat Endorsement Apply Online: www. drive4western.com EOE Experienced Termite Technician or someone experienced in routeservice work and wants to learn new profession.

Work-vehicle/equipment provided. Must drive straight-shift, have clean driving record/be 21/ pass background/drug test. Training provided.

Insurance/401K offered.

M-F 7:00-4:30 + 1 Saturday/month. Pay $13hr. Send resume to facsmith@charter.net WASTE PRO IS NOW HIRING CDL DRIVERS & MECHANICS Go online to WWW.WASTEPROUSA. COM to fill out an application

VestaviaHillsMagazine.com 87

MY VESTAVIA HILLS Brantley Bowden

Southern Stationery Owner + Wife & Mom of Three

Lunch Please

Slice at Patchwork Farms Oh my, they have the best lunch specials around! The $12 Slice & Salad combo can’t be beat. My favorite is the house salad with those glazed pecans and goat cheese with a classic slice of cheese pizza. Get a to go box, you won’t be able to eat it all.

Farm Fresh

Murphree’s Market Long ago when I played softball at the Cahaba Heights fields, we would stop at Murphree’s after our games for the freshest fruits and vegetables for Mom to cook up that evening—butter beans, field peas, okra, squash and tomatoes for tomato sandwiches. They had some beautiful pumpkins this year to decorate for Thanksgiving.

Play Ball

The New Wald Park I’m looking forward to the extra green spaces and thankful for a community and city council that see the importance of investing back into where so many families spend so much of their time.

The new fields should be top notch, and I can’t wait to cheer on my youngest there!

Little Rebels

Youth Football & Cheerleading From community involvement for nonprofit support to Homecoming lead-out traditions that have continued for decades, the community bonds made on the sidelines, cheering and playing youth football in Vestavia leave a lasting impact full of special memories for parents, grands and youth participants.

Read On

Vestavia Hills Magazine I come from family publishing business and can truly say the print publication and online coverage that Vestavia Hills Magazine offers our community is so special in the way it knits our sweet city together by keeping us up to date on local happenings and areas of interest.

88 December 2019/January 2020

Comfortable Medical Waiting

Dedicated Spa Check-in Area

Private Spa Lounge

Birmingham’s Only Float Pool