Mountain Brook Magazine, November/December 2017

ENGLISH VILLAGE’S NEW EATERY • TIMELESS RENOVATION • REBECCA FULMER’S ABSTRACT IMAGES

MAGIC MOMENTS

THE SPARKS THAT STARTED IT ALL

150 YEARS STRONG CANTERBURY’S MILESTONE CELEBRATION NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 MountainBrookMagazine.com Volume One | Issue Two $4.95

GIRLS WHO

HUNT

AND THEIR CANINE SIDEKICKS

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M O D E R N N E W B O R N + C H I L D + FA M I LY P O R T R A I T U R E INFOAPEPPERMINTPHOTO.COM | 205.807.6431 H E I R LO O M A L B U M S | A R C H I VA L Q UA L I T Y P O R T R A I T S

W W W . A P E P P E R M I N T P H O T O . C O M MountainBrookMagazine.com 3

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37 FEATURES 46

GIRLS WHO HUNT Friday night cheering, Saturday duck hunt—it’s a growing trend that starts with family.

54

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE How Canterbury United Methodist Church has remained faithful through its 150 years.

60

THIS MAGIC MOMENT

PHOTO BY GRAHAM YELTON

The story of this nonprofit is one of magic for chronically ill children, yes, but also of the sparks and connections behind them.

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35 PHOTO BY EMMA SIMMONS

arts & culture

17 At Home with Art: Rebecca Tully Fulmer’s Mixed Media 21 Five Questions For: Mason Music Founder Will Mason 22 Read This Book: Community Connectors with Church Street

schools & sports

23 This One Time at Band Camp: Sixth-Grade Band Growth 28 Five Questions For: MBHS Basketball Forward Trendon Watford

food

& drink

29 The Route South: Root to Tail’s Ben Vaughn 35 Cocktail: Fall Mojito at Vino’s Gallery Bar 36 Five Questions For: Davenport’s Pizza’s Amanda Thames

home

in every issue 6 Contributors 7 From the Editor 8 MountainBrookMagazine.com 9 #MountainBrookMag 10 The Question 11 The Guide 68 Holiday Gift Guide 72 Chamber Connection 74 Out & About 86 Marketplace 88 My Mountain Brook

& style

37 Just in Time: The Mourons’ Open & Airy Renovation 44 In Style: Merry & Bright

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MOUNTAIN BROOK

contributors

MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL

Graham Brooks Stephen Dawkins Alec Etheredge Briana Harris Amalia Kortright Madoline Markham Keith McCoy Emily Sparacino Neal Wagner

Rebecca Caine, Writer

Rebecca Sheehan Caine lives in Birmingham with her husband, Tim, and their two cats, Cleo and Hamilton. She can be found walking trails, splashing in puddles with her 2-year-old neighbor or enjoying a Reuben.

Rebecca makes a mean mimosa and can probably beat you at MarioKart.

CONTRIBUTORS

Rebecca Caine Kayley Coggins Rachel Crisson Mary Fehr Jennifer Jones Michelle Love Patrick McGough Tracey Rector Jackson Ross Christiana Roussel Emma Simmons Lauren Ustad Graham Yelton

DESIGN

Connor Bucy Jamie Dawkins Katie Krouse Kate Sullivan

Rachel Crisson, Writer

After earning her degree and spending eight wonderful years living around Montevallo, Rachel made the move back home to Cahaba Heights, where she lives with her cat Calypso, her roommate Sarah and Sarah’s cat Hermes. You can find her most days working at Image Arts, Etc. in Crestline Village, taking portraits, editing photos or laying out photo books. Nights find her hanging out with family, attending community events, playing games with her friends or watching cartoons with her cat.

Kayley Coggins, Stylist

Kayley Coggins is a wardrobe consultant and stylist who believes that fashion is a tool to help you feel beautiful in every season. By using what is already have in your closet and finding pieces to complete the wardrobe for year-round ease and fun, Kayley helps create a sense of style that is unique, budget friendly and empowering. You can reach her at kayleycoggins@gmail.com.

MARKETING

Kristy Brown Kari George Rachel Henderson Daniel Holmes Hagan Joiner Rhett McCreight Kim McCulla Ashley Murphy April Spivey Bayleigh Thompson Kerrie Thompson

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

Mary Fehr, Photographer

Mary is a wedding and portrait photographer based out of Birmingham.

She studied art and art history at University of Montevallo. She likes to teach and plans on getting her MFA in order to do so. Mary also loves to travel and has a goal of photographing a wedding in every state! She enjoys reading non-fiction, going to concerts and spending time with her family.

Mountain Brook Magazine is published bimonthly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

Mountain Brook 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, Mountain Brook Magazine, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

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

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

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from the editor

Y

Y’all, as I reflect back on putting this second issue together, I realized how absolutely spoiled I am in my job. Why? I made a list of a few of my favorite behind-the-scenes moments from these pages that I’m super excited to share with you.

ON THE COVER

Girls Who Hunt

Kathryne High, Anna Rose Alexander and Frances Gaut change out of their cheerleading uniforms to duck and deer hunt on Saturdays in the fall and winter.

Photo by Jennifer Jones Design by Connor Bucy

1. Seeing how stunning the interiors of the new Root to Tail restaurant in English are (and photographed)—which seals the deal on a culinary experience for me. See page 29.

2. Learning how Amanda Thames’ life story connects in with Davenport’s Pizza’s story and how Will Mason stumbled into first music lessons. See pages 36 and 21, respectively.

3. Watching photographer Jennifer Jones’ vision for the “Girls Who Hunt” story come to life, and oohing and aahing over her shots when they came in. See page 46.

4. Getting to learn just what interior designer Dana Wolter meant when she said her clients the Mourons had not just an amazing home but also an amazing story with, spoiler alert, children who were born six weeks apart. See page 37.

5. Hearing Buffie Marks’ and Shelley Clark’s stories, some funny, some heart-wrenching, all touching, about the special moments Magic Moments has made possible over the years, and how it all go started.

See page 60.

6. Watching our stylist Kayley Coggins pull a red velvet pants suit out of a shopping bag for us to photograph for our In Style shoot and wowing over not just how party-perfect it was but also how unbelievably comfortable it seemed to be. See page 44.

7. Learning the history of Canterbury United Methodist and what exactly a brush arbor meant for a church, and then seeing how enchantingly beautiful its sanctuary photographed during a special 150th celebration. See page 54.

8. Emailing with Ragan Cain as she brainstormed out her ideas for our My Mountain Brook column and seeing how her style really came out in it. (Side note: If you or someone you know would be interested in sharing some of your favorite things about Mountain Brook in future issues, let me know.) See page 88.

Without further ado, give this issue a read, and let me know what you think. I always love to hear your feedback and ideas for future issues.

madoline.markham@mountainbrookmagazine.com

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10 Events Not to Miss in Mountain Brook From parades to parties, find our monthly guide to what to do for fun without traveling far away. It’s online anytime you want to find it. mountainbrookmagazine.com/category/events/

Gorgeous home!

-Triton Stone Group via Facebook on “All in the Details”

facebook.com/mountainbrookmagazine

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@mountainbrookmag

@mountainbrookmag

#MountainBrookMag

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

@cskinnerstudios_ MBHS

@sarahsextonphotography Got the last of the puppy vaccinations and the go ahead to take this baby on her first walk! #mountainbrook #familyphotography #dogphotography #jemisontrail #saturdaystroll #labradoodle

@daneoid

#Coco getting her feet wet. #MountainBrook #Alabama

@hanginintheham Thirsty Thursday #happyhour #cheers #views #rooftopliving #prefriday #hanginintheham

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“ ” THE QUESTION

If you could (hypothetically) only eat one more meal in Mountain Brook, what would it be?

Grilled Hot Wings at Billy’s in English Village with fries and a side of ranch! And an ice cold beer to wash it all down with. Ahhhh!

-Kevin Williams

Gilchrist chicken salad wheat toasted- & a limeaide (NOT diet). I ate this ALL the time when pregnant with second child.

It’s just so good! (And don’t ask me if I want lite mayo.)

-Catherine Cooper Loveman

My son Jack says: The Chicken Fingers & Fries at Sneaky Pete’s! I say: Ousler’s dainty-tasty incredibly edible finger sandwiches!

-Kelly Harrington Higgins

Sneaky Pete’s two dogs all the way and a special dog all the way (from hubby); Hot Beef Wrap with Pimento Cheese and Hot Sauceand a Limeade (from son); and the Rex Special from Davenport’s (Nellah).

-Nellah Bailey McGough 12 MountainBrookMagazine.com

Bongiorno’s Chicken Marsala. The food is terrific as is the environment. The family-owned business where they care for each customer is impeccable.

-Natalie Isom Sansom

It would be at Otey’s and it’s a Diablo Sandwich with a cold beer. No need for a Dr. Pepper. And BTW, Rodney, please make it snappy!

-Chris Thomas

Dyron’s, hands down, for any shrimp dish on the menu.

-Mariah Nowlin Chapman

Appetizer: BBQ Wings and Bo’s Nachos at Otey’s and Chicken Salad Sandwiches from Ousler’s. Main Course: Fried Chicken at dg.

Dessert: a milkshake from Mountain Brook Creamery.

-Fletcher Abele

THE GUIDE

ALABAMA DESIGNER CRAFTSMEN ANNUAL FINE CRAFTS SHOW NOV. 11-12 10 A.M.-5 P.M. BIRMINGHAM BOTANICAL GARDENS Going 45 years strong, this annual event draws 50 artists from across the state who specialize in basketry, clay, fiber, glasswork, gourds, fine jewelry, metal, printmaking, stone and wood—plus a children’s craft classroom and on-site artist demonstrations. A $5 entry donation is suggested for adult patrons, and children under 12 are free.

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THE GUIDE WHAT TO DO IN MOUNTAIN BROOK NOV. 2 UAB Neuroscience Café: Understanding Depression Emmet O’Neal Library 6:30 p.m.

NOV. 4 International Gaming Day! Emmet O’Neal Library/Teens 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

NOV. 8 Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Birmingham Botanical Gardens 11 a.m.

NOV. 10 Veterans Day Mountain Brook Schools Closed Library Closed

NOV. 15-18

Market Noel The Finley Center at The Hoover Metropolitan Complex It might have a new venue this year, but what you love most about this shopping event remains the same. More than 100 vendors including Mountain Brook’s Anne Schilleci, who owns Freedom Soaps, will be there selling handcrafted goods, clothing, accessories, artwork and more. And of course it all goes to benefit community projects of the Junior League of Birmingham. Hours are Thursday 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Find tickets and more information at marketnoel.net.

NOV. 23

Sam Lapidus Montclair Run Levite Jewish Community Center Start off Turkey Day with the opposite action of stuffing your belly. This annual run celebrates the life of Sam Lapidus, his love of fitness and the LJCC and of family and friends. Proceeds benefit the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Alabama and the LJCC Fitness Program. Visit bhamjcc.org for more details and to register.

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DEC. 1-17

Mountain Brook Art Association Holiday Show The Summit Daily 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sundays 12-6 p.m.

Find some of your favorite local artists displaying their wares and feature artists painting in the window each day. Note that this is a new location for the annual event to the left of Bed, Bath & Beyond in the former Coconut’s space.

NOV. 14 Family Night: Peanuts Thanksgiving Movie Emmet O’Neal Library 5:30 p.m.

NOV. 16 Bookmania Harry Potter Edition: HP & the Prisoner of Azkaban Emmet O’Neal Library Registration Required 6 p.m.

NOV. 16 Teen Trivia Challenge Emmet O’Neal Library 6:30-8 p.m.

NOV. 17 Standing Room Only Presents: The Great Brookie Bakeoff!

Ages 21 & Up Registration Required Emmet O’Neal Library 6:30 p.m.

NOV. 18 Miss Olympian Pageant Mountain Brook High School 7 p.m.

NOV. 21 Documentaries After Dark AMY Emmet O’Neal Library 6:30 p.m.

THE GUIDE NOV. 22-24 Thanksgiving Holidays Mountain Brook Schools Closed NOV. 23 Sam Lapidus Run LJCC DEC. 1-17 Mountain Brook Art Association Holiday Art Show The Summit DEC. 3 Mountain Brook Holiday Parade Mountain Brook Village 3 p.m.

DEC. 5 Holiday Band Concert Mountain Brook High School 7 p.m.

DEC. 6 Etc.: Fancy Nancy Holiday Hairdo Hullabaloo Emmet O’Neal Library 4-5 p.m.

DEC. 7 Choir Holiday Concert Mountain Brook High School DEC. 8 Yoga with Marie Blair Emmet O’Neal Library 10 a.m.-noon DEC. 11-15 Star Wars Week All Programs Are Stars Themed Emmet O’Neal Library/Children DEC. 12 Family Night: Atlantic Coast Theatre – The Snow Queen Emmet O’Neal Library 5:30 p.m.

DEC. 20 Last Day of First Semester Mountain Brook Schools DEC. 20-22 Living Nativity Mountain Brook Baptist Church DEC. 23 All Day Movie Marathon Emmet O’Neal Library/Teens 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

DEC. 10-11

Birmingham Boys Choir 40th Annual Christmas Concert Canterbury United Methodist Church Sunday at 2:30 p.m., Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Celebrate the season with musical selections from a chorus of 150 young men and boys ages 8-18 from more than 50 different schools in the community. The event is is so popular that they are holding two different performances this year—the choir’s 45th to perform. Guests are asked to register their attendance for this free concert event through Eventbrite or by calling 205-767-9219.

DEC. 26-JAN. 8

Mountain Brook Tree Commission Recycling Program The Birmingham Zoo Not sure what to do with your tree come Dec. 26? You can drop off during normal business hours in the zoo’s picnic area near the parking lot, and your evergreen will be recycled to make mulch for the zoo and other areas thanks to an effort by the Mountain Brook Tree Commission.

Be sure to clear off all your ornaments and lights first.

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THE GUIDE AROUND TOWN

NOV. 3-12

The Taming of the Shrew Virginia Samford Theatre NOV. 4-5

Moss Rock Festival Moss Rock Preserve, Hoover Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

NOV. 4-5

Christmas Village Festival BJCC NOV. 10

Dionne Warwick Alys Stephens Center 8 p.m.

DEC. 20-22

Living Nativity Mountain Brook Baptist Church See the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth played out live—with live actors and live animals at this annual production by Mountain Brook Baptist Church, now going more than 50 years strong. And hark! the herald angels will sing, glory to the newborn king. Shows start at 6:45, 7:30 and 8:15 p.m. each night.

FOR KIDS

North Pole Express

Children can send wish lists straight to the North Pole via “Letters to Santa” mailboxes located in the villages. After their arrival, Santa will send a response thanks to a special collaboration between Mountain Brook Public Works employees and the Jolly Old St. Nick himself. Mailboxes are located outside Gilchrist in Mountain Brook Village, Swoop in Lane Parke, Smith’s Variety in Crestline Village and the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce office on the side of city hall across from Oak Street Garden Shop.

NOV. 11

National Veterans Day Parade Downtown Birmingham 1:30 p.m.

NOV. 13

UAB Gospel Choir Alys Stephens Center NOV. 16-19

STARS: A Charlie Brown Christmas Virginia Samford Theatre NOV. 17

Illusionist Kevin Spence Alys Stephens Center NOV. 18-19

Dolores Hydock Silence: The Adventure of a Medieval Warrior Woman Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret Theatre NOV. 19

Magic City Half Marathon, 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run Regions Field NOV. 27

The Hip-Hop Nutcracker Alabama Theatre NOV. 29

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer The Musical BJCC DEC. 1-17

Holiday Spectacular 16 MountainBrookMagazine.com

THE GUIDE Red Mountain Theatre Company DEC. 2, 9-10, 16

Birmingham Children’s Theatre Presents: Cinderella BJCC Theatre DEC. 3

Chris Tomlin Christmas Alabama Theatre DEC. 4

Christmas at the Alys Alys Stephens Center DEC.7

Legacy League Christmas Home Tour samford.edu/legacyleague/ DEC. 7-17

A Bluegrass Christmas Carol Virginia Samford Theatre DEC. 8-10, 15-17

Alabama Ballet’s The Nutcracker Samford University Wright Center DEC. 8-22

Holiday Movies Alabama Theatre DEC. 8-10

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story BJCC Concert Hall DEC. 9

Voices of the South Presents Christmas at the Lyric Lyric Theatre DEC. 13

Trans-Siberian Orchestra BJCC Legacy Arena DEC. 15

Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Magnificat Alys Stephens Center DEC. 16-18

Birmingham Ballet Presents The Nutracker BJCC DEC. 31

Celebrate! The New Year’s Eve Concert Alys Stephens Center

DEC. 9-10

IPC Holiday House Tour Independent Presbyterian Church Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday 1-5 p.m.

Take a tour of area homes decked out for the season, and stay for tea at the Great Hall at IPC, which acts as a stop on the tour. The tour benefits the Children’s Fresh Air Farm, STAIR and The Open Door—all missions sponsored

by IPC Presbyterian Women. Mountain Brook homes on the tour are: uMr. and Mrs. Tom Adams, 4227 Old Leeds Road uMr. and Mrs. Joseph Hirsch, 3700 Mountain Park Drive uDr. and Mrs. Raleight Kent, 2837 Southwood Road Tickets, which are $30 each, can be purchased online, at each house or at Independent Presbyterian Church during tour hours.

SHOP LOCAL

Holiday Open Houses

No need to worry about a 5:00 closing time on these nights. Plus, there will be extra merriment with festivities in the stores, so come knock out some shopping for special ones on your list and support local businesses.

Nov. 29: English Village, 5-8 p.m.

Nov. 30: Mountain Brook Village, 5-8 p.m.

Dec. 5: Cahaba Village, 5-8 p.m.

Dec. 7: Crestline Village, 4-7 p.m.

DEC. 3

Holiday Parade Mountain Brook Village 3 p.m.

Watch as floats, fire trucks, bands, choral groups, dancers and of course St. Nicholas himself parade down through Mountain Brook Village. Plus, you can stay afterward to catch photos with Santa too.

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&CULTURE

ARTS

AT HOME WITH ART

To understand how Rebecca Tully Fulmer layers her art, you must first understand the layers of her thoughts.

BY MICHELLE LOVE PHOTOS BY MARY FEHR

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ARTS & CULTURE

R

Rebecca Tully Fulmer is adamant about not calling herself an artist. “Art…really has to mean something to you,” she says standing in her downtown Birmingham studio. “What is art in my eyes may not be art in your eyes and vice versa.

So I’m always uncomfortable with that.”

Birmingham has no such discomfort with the label though. Rebecca’s work focuses on mixed media projects with manipulated photographs printed on transparency sheets then layered in front of a mirrored background.

Many of her pieces have adorned the walls of local art galleries, including Gallery 1930 in English Village.

“I was really trying to layer pieces to see what I could get with images layered on top of each other,” she says. “I really like seeing how they react together. And somehow…

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it led me to put them in front of a mirror and then it just started developing from there.”

“I’m sure there’s some sort of psychological thing about me wanting to cover up mirrors,” she adds with a laugh.

Rebecca’s studio is filled with monuments to her need to create. In one corner lies wood planks that she says are for her latest attempt at making her own frame boxes; in another lies a fishnet hose that she knitted together. There are sketchbooks filled with her drawings and magazine clippings of various textures, things she says motivate and inspire her. “What inspires me is anything visual,” she explains. “I can’t even quantify it into one thing. I’ll get so excited about things I almost can’t stand it.”

Currently adorning her studio are pieces made with

“

What inspires me is anything visual. I can’t even quantify it into one thing. I’ll get so excited about things I almost can’t stand it –Rebecca Fulmer

”

items others might normally ignore, such as a shower screen or a chewed up baseball courtesy of her dog. Rebecca beams at all of them. “I think that mundane things can be [elevated] to a different experience or at least a different visual experience. I try not to take the visual world for granted,” she says.

Her office, which she refers to as her “think tank,” holds her computer, which is flooded with various photographs that range from car wash foam to jellyfish in an aquarium. She remembers the subject of each individual frame no matter how abstract the image. “This is a hair dryer cord,” she says of an image. “And I just did the negative and then I started tweaking it… This amazing thing happened when I put it in front of the mirror. The mirror did its own job, and it was really cool.”

While her work mainly involves photography, Rebecca’s signature comes from the fluidity and

movement her pieces exude. “Movement is my heart and soul,” she says. “I’m always trying to find movement, and it seems like everything I do I’m wanting movement in my work.” She has even considered incorporating dance into her art. “I really wanted to dance on the image and use my feet as brushes.”

Rebecca lives in Mountain Brook with her husband and four children, who, she says, try to help her find interesting subjects to photograph. It’s a personal principle of Rebecca’s, however, that no one take a photo for her—she has to take a picture of the subject herself. “I’m not a photographer,” she says. “And I don’t want anything to be treated as photographs and be repeated over and over again. I like every piece to be its own. They may look similar but there’s something different about every one…I don’t want any piece to be the same.”

Rebecca’s creative streak is not a surprise to those MountainBrookMagazine.com 21

WEDDING AND LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHER

“I CAME ALIVE WHEN I STARTED LOVING YOU.” - C.S. LEWIS

W W W . M E G A N T S A N G . C O M

22 MountainBrookMagazine.com

who knew her mother, artist Toni Tully. In fact, she credits her mother for her attraction to the arts though she quickly adds her mother was initially against her daughter pursuing an artistic career. “I wanted to major in art, and she really wouldn’t let me do it,” she says.

Despite her mother’s objections, Rebecca pursued an art history major and art minor at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Her junior year, however, she decided to change her major to interior design, and she transferred to Auburn University a year later. “I always felt at home with art. I just think I speak better visually than verbally,” she says.

Rebecca feels there can be a mix of arrogance from some artists about what they believe qualifies as art. All she desires, she says, is for her work to “evoke an emotional reaction.” “It always comes down to, ‘What is art?’ Art is such a basic human existence kind of thing,” she says.

“Do you think the cavemen were like, ‘Is that really art?’

They were just expressing themselves and trying to document their life so that something existed beyond them and also trying to tell stories…so in some aspect I guess I am trying to tell stories too in each little box or series of boxes.”

While she doesn’t have any art shows planned in the near future, Rebecca says that right now her main focus is trying to find her “voice and who I am.” She calls it a “transition moment.”

“I’m a work in progress…” she says. “I feel like I’m just kind of getting going.”

ARTS & CULTURE

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Will Mason

Mason Music Co-Founder PHOTO BY MADOLINE MARKHAM

Will Mason’s musical ties to Mountain Brook go back way further than opening their storefront for music lessons in Mountain Brook Village in 2013. Today he focuses on running their four locations, while his wife, Sarah, runs the Mason Music Foundation to provide music opportunities to the low income population and those with disabilities. Will has also seen students like Ellis Bernstein signed with a band called Lady Legs and a group that came out of their Rock Band League, Riverbend, play at Sloss Fest. Here’s some of his story.

How did you first get into music?

My parents signed me up for piano lessons when I was 6. I excelled at it, but I didn’t really love it. I switched to guitar when I was 13, and it was totally different. I walked into my first lesson, and my teacher said, “What do you want to learn?” And I had never been asked that question, so I was really taken aback by that. Very quickly I started to connect the music I was listening to what I was playing, which was a really a different experience than piano. I started playing in bands, but I never considered making it a career.

How did you end up teaching lessons?

I took a “semester” off of college, and started playing in a band that ended up turning into a five-year endeavor. We got signed to a record label and started touring the country and lived the dream. It was called Moses Mayfield, and Matthew Mayfield was the principal songwriter. He and I played in Art Forms together at the

junior high. Then, I met my wife, Sarah, and got married in 2007, and the band got dropped from the label. My wife is a musician too, and we started teaching lessons. My first student was a kid who came up to me at church after I was playing at a service, and said, “Hey, can you teach me how to do that?” I started meeting with him once a week and really liked it, and then his neighbor starting calling and their friends started calling.

and fulfillment being found in the teaching and one-on-one interactions with the students to letting go of some of that and seeing other teachers’ satisfaction in that and me enjoying leading those people. I feel really confident in everyone that works for us, and it allows us to multiply our influence.

How does Mason Music approach teaching?

It is very much a reaction to the rigid music lessons we experienced. Most of our How did that evolve into what is now teachers grew up with that, and to an Mason Music?

Sarah teaches piano and voice, and I extent we are grateful because it made us teach guitar. We were driving all over, into the musicians that we are. As a teacher and then we started hiring some of our you have to figure out how hard to push a friends for our waiting list. All of the student and how to keep them engaged. It business stuff came later, but it became should be fun, it’s music. We have a lot of teachers with different such a passion and there was a need for it different backgrounds and different personalities, in the community. We have now shifted from doing the teaching to finding great so we can match people up to a teacher. teachers to carry on our mission and We are like an eHarmony for music vision. I have gone from my satisfaction lessons.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 23

READ THIS BOOK

Community Connectors Recommendations from

Cal Morris

Owner Church Street Coffee & Books

My wife, Heather, and I own Church Street Books and Coffee. The idea of community is very important to us, and one hope we have for Church Street is for it to be a place where people connect with others and have meaningful interactions and conversations. Below are five great books that focus on elements of community.

Jayber Crow

By Wendell Berry | Fiction This title was translated into the biggest grossing movie of its day. The book has many different scenes not shown on the screen and makes for a delightful and easy read.

Just Mercy

By Bryan Stevenson | Nonfiction We sell a lot of nonfiction books at Church Street, and this is one of the best ones I’ve read. Stevenson writes about his work with a man sentenced to die for a murder he didn’t commit. His time working with Walter McMillian changed Stevenson and has the capacity to enlarge our views of mercy and justice while also broadening our definition of who our neighbors are.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

By William Joyce and Illustrated by Joe Bluhm | Children This beautiful children’s book provides great lessons about the intermingling of joy and sorrow and tragedy and hopefulness. It also emphasizes the importance of everyone’s stories. We recently highlighted this book on the Church Street website. It’s one of our most-loved books for kids.

Plainsong

By Kent Haruf | Fiction This novel was a National Book Award finalist. It tells a story of a community whose members move from isolation into community. It’s a gorgeous book full of grace and redemption. Haruf’s characters come alive for his readers. You won’t want this one to end.

The Sacred Enneagram

By Christopher Hertz | Nonfiction Knowing your Enneagram type can tell you a lot about yourself and how you relate to God. But what I really like about this book is how the author also writes about how the Enneagram can help us relate to other people. Hertz provides guidance on personality types so we can better know ourselves better and better know members of our communities.

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SCHOOL

&SPORTS

THIS ONE TIME AT BAND CAMP One of MBHS’s own directs Mountain Brook sixth-grade bands toward personal greatness.

BY RACHEL CRISSON PHOTOS BY JENNIFER JONES

MountainBrookMagazine.com 25

James Rogers, a MBHS graduate, is now directing sixth-grade bands at all four elemenary schools.

J

James Rogers takes a daily driving tour of Mountain Brook—and its school band rooms. His day starts at 7:45 a.m. at Mountain Brook Elementary, and then he’s off to MBJH where he assists with their concert band and jazz band. From there he drives to MBHS where he co-teaches with high school band director Jason Smith, then Cherokee Bend Elementary, and finally either Crestline Elementary or Brookwood Forest Elementary to end out the day. On Friday nights in the fall, he only has a little downtime before helping direct the MBHS Marching Band halftime show. And on the day of the interview for this story, his car

26 MountainBrookMagazine.com

was filled with a trombone, two trumpets and a clarinet.

These are all routes and rooms James knows well—after all he grew up here—and now sees in new light as the new sixth-grade band director for all four elementary schools, a role that looks different than even just a few months ago.

Before this school year, all sixth-grade band students were bussed to MBJH at the end of the school day for band class, but now each elementary school has its own band room at its own school, giving the students a personal connection to their band room. The change is part of MBHS Band Director Jason Smith’s vision to create a clear

identity for band at Mountain Brook. “The emotional toil [of leaving school] was too much for the elementary kids, so we wanted to take them back to the elementary schools.”

James explains. “Now we have an active presence at all four schools.”

With 55 students as of three weeks into the school year, the sixth-grade band was already stronger than the 22 students last year, and in fact 20 more in number than at the start of term. A presence in each school brought curious students looking for the music and more interest in the

band. All signs point to James and Jason’s vision working.

“Boots on the ground improved our ability to get and keep kids. Some brought buddies back with them, and that’s important to a sixth-grader,” Jason says. “It is a very precious time.”

James knows this in part because he remembers being there. He started in the band in fifth grade under nowMBJH Director Mark Foster, played throughout his career in Mountain Brook schools, continued at Auburn University and has now come back home to teach, thanks

MountainBrookMagazine.com 27

NORMANDYBOUND FOR 75th ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY James Rogers’ students will be a few years shy of getting to travel with Mountain Brook Band traveling to perform in Normandy, France for the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion in the summer of 2019.

Itinerary: The band will perform on June 6, 2019, at the Wreath Laying Ceremony and Victory Parade at Normandy. They are planning for 10 days in Europe overall, visiting and performing in Paris and London—ideally at the Louvre or a park.

Crestline Elementary students now have a new band room at their school campus to practice in.

Last Big Trip: On Dec. 6, 2016, the Mountain Brook Band played at the Pearl Harbor 75th Commemoration, which helped them along their path to Normandy.

The Reveal: The day before leaving for Hawaii MBHS Band Director Jason Smith heard the band made the short list for Normandy. “Only a handful of bands from the United States were invited,” Jason says. “We’re very excited!”

in a large part to the mentorship of Mark Foster and longtime MBHS band director Frank Blanton when he was in school.

“I’ve known I wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade. I thought it was going to be history, but I couldn’t grade all those papers,” James says with a laugh. “So I got more into the social interactions of band in high school. I became a better player in college.”

“Mark and Frank were the most influential people in my life, and I want to be that for other kids,” James continues. “[They] met us in fifth grade and interacted with us through 12th grade, so it is important to me to grow with the students and to be a part of their lives.”

Now he gets to walk that eight-year road with a new generation of students. “I get to focus on the elementary kids, but not give up the middle or high school band work,” 28 MountainBrookMagazine.com

James says. “[Jason, Mark and myself] are all heavily involved in each band. We’re constantly critiquing each band and fixing things. It’s definitely a team atmosphere.”

Jason spoke to this dynamic as well. “As a team, we talked about the overarching goals of keeping our program healthy and viable, and though our quality is the best we can possibly get, we’d like to grow, too,” Jason said. “We want students to know you can still play football, run track or play volleyball and also be in band. You will expand exponentially your value in life because you are a musician!”

It was an ability to guide and see massive amounts of improvement quickly that drew James to the sixth-grade bands specifically. Previously he was band director at Childersburg High School and Montevallo High School.

MBHS Band Director Jason Smith works with sixth-grade percussionists.

“

It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the growth of the band and how we’re constantly pushing the envelope.

- James Rogers

”

“There’s nothing like beginning band. You start with students who can’t put instruments together or even make a sound, and end up giving full concerts and going Christmas ‘caroling’ by the end of the semester,” James says, laughing. “I’m a high-energy person and I’m very ADD, so it works for me.”

He’s currently channeling all that energy to studying French horn and flute to improve his own musicality and to understand what his students are learning. He’s already especially familiar with brass after playing trombone professionally in the Alabama Winds for four years. “It is important to not only improve my students, but also keep practicing and improving myself,” James says.

No matter what school he’s in at the moment, James said he would not have it any other way.

“I’m incredibly excited to be here–it’s been incredibly rewarding to see the growth of the band and how we’re constantly pushing the envelope,” James said. “It’s been outstanding to be a part of it this year… and coming back to be part of a Mountain Brook-Hoover matchup as a director was quite the different experience.”

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SCHOOLS & SPORTS

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Trendon Watford

MBHS Basketball Forward PHOTO BY IMAGE ARTS

Trendon Watford led the Spartans to their 7A state championship title as a sophomore last year, and colleges are taking note. Word is recruiters from Alabama and Kentucky have their eyes on him, and he took home several honors by season’s end. We caught up with him after an offseason workout to ask about what Spartan fans can expect to see on the court this season.

What was it like to win the state championship last season?

We started off the season 18-0 and went 31-5 overall. It was pretty surreal, especially the last game against Auburn High School. We ended up beating them by 20 points, but it was a good game up until the fourth quarter. We went on 18-2 run and stretched the lead out, and when we realized we were going to win, everyone just started having fun. We all stormed the floor and jumped around celebrating.

our main scorers, but we have a junior Lior Berman. He’s about 6-foot-4-inch and pretty tall, pretty fast. Sean Elmore and Alex Washington also played last year. Everyone has been developing, and we are going for back to back state. That’s what will keep us motivated—to keep winning and keep winning state championship games. There are plenty of great teams—Huffman High School, Hoover High School, Homewood High School. Spain Park might be okay, Oak Mountain was okay last year. It’s still What can people expect to see on the going to be a battle but we are going to be ready for it. court this season?

We lost a few people, but we are a young team and all of us have played together for What is your mentality on the court?

I just always try to stay motivated and a while. We may see a better team than last year, but we will see. We lost one of not get caught up in the hype. I keep 30 MountainBrookMagazine.com

trying to do what I do. I love the game that I play, and I keep trying to play and have fun.

What is the team camaraderie like?

We all gel together. We have all been around each other since we were younger.

We have team dinner and everything together, and that builds relationships with us. By the time we get on the court, it’s much easier to all play together. We all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s all good.

What are some of your hopes and dreams for the game?

I want to be a professional basketball player and keep playing. My dream’s the NBA. The Lakers are my favorite team.

&DRINK

FOOD

THE ROUTE SOUTH He’s been on the Travel Channel, written books and starred on The Food Network. Now Chef Ben Vaughn is seeking “regulars” in English Village.

BY CHRISTIANA ROUSSEL PHOTOS BY MARY FEHR

MountainBrookMagazine.com 31

O

One might expect to hear The Beatles song “Long and Winding Road” over the sound system at Root to Tail, Chef Ben Vaughn’s new restaurant in English Village. It would certainly be appropriate, given the circuitous way in which he arrived in Birmingham and opened this Mountain Brook eatery. Though only 40 years old, Ben has already racked up appearances on The Food Network, The Travel Channel and A&E Network’s World Food Championships.

As host of Health Inspector, Ben has seen it all, and as a guest judge, he has probably tasted it all. He also lists “author” on his roster of accomplishments, having written Southern Routes: Secret Recipes from the Best DownHome Joints in the South where he shares his favorite road trip, one delicious pit stop at a time.

In between media projects, Ben has served as a culinary director, consultant, chef and restaurant owner. This Florida native has had ventures in Memphis, Atlanta and Las Vegas, but Root to Tail is his first food concept in Alabama. Open since late August, the restaurant has been a huge hit, at both lunch and dinner, where it is not

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uncommon to be seated next to many familiar faces. Ben says they regularly see 40 percent return rates on diners, which he credits to his approach to the type of food he serves. “My concept is to work directly with farmers, removing purveyors and making it affordable to come here a couple of times a week,” he says. “You can have an incredible meal in a relaxed atmosphere.” Each dish only has a few ingredients but comes with a level of quality that resonates with diners. “I like to say that I serve ‘people food’—it is not homespun or rustic,” Ben continues. “It is refined and looks clean. It is respectful of our agriculture and our community.”

Ben leased the Root to Tail space just five months after moving to Birmingham, and credits nonprofit REV Birmingham with expediting his entry into the restaurant scene. The REV initiatives and thoughtful partnerships are economic drivers in not just Birmingham but also in neighborhoods all over the city. These are the folks who helped bring Zyp BikeShare to town, and they have positively disrupted the farm-to-restaurant delivery model

Sous Chef Dustin Allin, Chef Ben Vaughn and Chef de Partie Gary Jones plan menus.

with their Urban Food Project (UFP). Ben is thrilled with the access he has to seasonal produce through UFP: “From an app on my phone, I can see what is available from local farmers and write my menu from those ingredients.”

He and his wife moved here as he was writing his second book (Three Square Ten) for a job opportunity she had, and they had decided he would take care of their four kids and write the book and while she worked during the day.

“During the process of writing, I started to look around and saw that Birmingham has a great core of restaurants but that it is underserved in a specific style of cuisine,” Ben says. “Highlands Bar & Grill, Bottega Café and Hot & Hot Fish Club are all phenomenal, but how many people can

eat there every day or even three times a week?” He’s been cooking for 23 years, and this restaurant concept had been in his head for three of those. “When I found this location, I knew it was the right spot because it is an underserved area,” Ben says. “We’re about two miles from almost everything around here.”

Their location has seen a lot of restaurants over the years—Wanda June’s, Ciao, Bambinelli’s, La Catrina—but Ben wanted its interior to match his concept. “I love the space because of the way it flows and that it is small and controllable,” he explains. “But the last tenant used colors that were really bright and had painted the ceiling black.

We toned things down by lightening up the paint colors

205-447-3275 • cezelle@realtysouth.com

MountainBrookMagazine.com 33

GET TO KNOW CHEF BEN VAUGHN For having lived here for just a short time, you seem very dialed in to the Birmingham food scene. How did that come about?

My wife says it is because I am like the guy next door. I talk to a lot of people.

And I know a lot of chefs in the South–I am good friends with Linton Hopkins and Sean Brock and Hugh Acheson. So when I moved here, it was like, “Who do I need to talk to?” Farmers and REV Birmingham were at the top of the list.

I also like the guys who own Roots & Revelry, Post Office Pies and Saw’s.

Maybe the biggest thing though was getting plugged in with Dr. Shirley Kahn, who is my landlord and one of my biggest supporters. She eats here almost every day!

Will you continue to write books and produce digital content while running the restaurant?

Yes! I just finished up a deal for my third book, and we will definitely still be doing (digital series) The Breakfast Show. At Root to Tail, my sous chef, Gary Jones, and chef de partie, Dustin Allin, continue to be my two right hands in the kitchen.

Who were you most excited to sit down and eat with for The Breakfast Show?

There are two. Andrew Zimmern was really fun, and we became buddies after it. The other one was Jonathan Gold, the restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times. I was totally geeked out on getting him because our show was one of the first ones he’d ever done. He’d never appeared anywhere.

Everybody knew who he was but maybe not even what he looked like.

It was almost nerve-wracking! Robin Leach is a good friend of mine, and he was on the show once too. He is my partner in the Las Vegas concept.

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Jumbo lump crab with baby kale and pea salad

Grilled octopus with blue oyster mushrooms

and kept things a lot more simple. We’ve got about 50 seats inside and another 20 outside. Our (evening) hostess is also our artist, Katie Jones. She painted every painting in here.”

Cooler months promise a change in the types of salads and entrées Root to Tail will showcase. Gone are the local tomatoes and strawberry watermelon salads as they make way for darker greens and squash. “There is a core to our menu that will always be familiar, but the rest we can vary with the season,” Ben notes.

“For the fall, we will add more pork dishes like porchetta, things with butternut squash, and maybe something with a sofrito, what I call a ‘cool guy salsa.’ Braised short ribs and gnocchi will more than likely be menu staples, as well as anything fresh from the Gulf.”

It sounds like we’re going to be glad Ben Vaughn took that long and winding road to English Village.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 35

PAN ROASTED SNAPPER with Mango Relish and Basil-Scented Broccoli Puree ROOT TO TAIL CHEF BEN VAUGHN

SNAPPER • 8-10 ounces snapper with skin on, scored • Vegetable oil • Salt and white pepper, to taste • Butter Salt and pepper the fish. In a hot pan heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add fish skin down, and let it crisp. Do not flip. Place fish pan in an oven preheated to 400 degrees and bake 8-10 minutes. Remove and baste with cold butter. Serve skin side up.

MANGO RELISH • 1 cup diced white onion, small dice • 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced • 2 ½ cups diced mango • 1/4 cup champagne vinegar • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil • 3 tablespoons honey • 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt • 1 tablespoon Tabasco • 2 tablespoons basil, Chiffonade Combine all ingredients and toss together.

VANILLA BEAN BUERRE BLANC • 2 medium shallots, finely minced • 1 1/2 cups dry white wine • 1/2 cup white wine or Champagne vinegar • 1 pound cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons • Coarse salt and white pepper, to taste • ½ whole vanilla bean scraped 36 MountainBrookMagazine.com

In small saucepan, combine shallots, wine and vinegar.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 10 minutes.

Turn down heat to lowest possible flame. Whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, adding a piece as previous one melts. Don’t allow sauce to become too hot. For a more smooth sauce, strain through a fine sieve, if desired.

Season with salt and white pepper and keep over hot water. Just before serving BASIL-SCENTED BROCCOLI PUREE • 1 bunch broccoli, trimmed* • 2 large potatoes • 1 tablespoon butter • 1/4 cup chopped onions • 1/4 cup sliced leeks, sliced • 1 cup basil leaves* • 5 tablespoons heavy cream • 1 tablespoon lemon zest • Grated Parmesan cheese Steam broccoli until it is tender. Boil potato until it is soft.

In a large skillet, melt butter, add onions and leeks, and sauté till soft. Add broccoli to pan for a few more minutes.

Put broccoli in a blender mixture and puree until just blended. Add potato and basil and continue to puree slowly, adding heavy cream until smooth. Garnish with lemon zest and Parmesan. *You can substitute okra and cotija cheese for the broccoli and basil.

Fall Mojito VINO’S GALLERY BAR PHOTO BY EMMA SIMMONS

A cult classic and fabled cure-all, Fernet Branca is bitter, mentholated digestif that’s a favorite among local mixologists. It’s something Gallery Bar’s Chris Moore says your 100-year-old Italian grandmother would sling back three times a day— for good health, of course. Despite its unique flavor profile, the herbal liqueur blends beautifully with the bar’s homemade Demerara simple syrup and Cruzan’s Blackstrap molasses rum. With a robust, refined sweetness that’s anything but sugary, Gallery Bar’s Fall Mojito is a tempting, tropical invention that’s right at home in sweater weather.

WHAT’S IN IT • 1 ounce Cruzan Blackstrap rum • 1 ounce Fernet Branca • 6 mint leaves • 3/4 ounce lime • 3/4 ounce Demerara simple syrup • Soda, for garnish • Mint, for garnish

MountainBrookMagazine.com 37

FOOD & DRINK

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Amanda Thames

Davenport’s Pizza Co-Owner PHOTO BY MADOLINE MARKHAM

Not much has changed about Davenport’s Pizza since it opened in 1964, except three things we found. Two pizza ovens were added a few years ago due to growing demand. Video game machines have been replaced, but only when the vintage ones have met their absolute final death. And people aren’t quite as familiar with Jim “Peanut” Davenport, a childhood friend of the founder’s in Siluria, Alabama, who had been on the San Francisco Giants’ 1962 World Series championship team. To get the family side of the Davenport’s story, we sat down to chat with Amanda Thames—who notes she has been eating more plain cheese pizza lately since her kids like it and you can taste the dough and sauce better on it.

How did Davenport’s get started, and how does that fit into your family tree?

My grandparents Rex and Ardyce Hollis opened the restaurant in 1964. There were no pizza places anywhere around unlike today.

They lived on Brook Manor Road right across the street. They opened half of what is now the restaurant where the game room is now, and they took the pizza around trying to introduce this new food to everyone in the neighborhood. Obviously people liked it, and it continued to grow. My mother and my aunt Heather Norris took it over when my grandmother passed away, and my aunt and I run it now. It’s stayed in the same family ever since, and we are continuing the tradition.

What do you remember about growing up around the restaurant?

I’d come with my grandmother. She’d pick us up in the summertime, and she’d make us 38 MountainBrookMagazine.com

pizza or give us pepperonis and cheese while we played the games and she made dough and sauce in the kitchen. In high school I was a server down here for a little while. Now my kids love it. If they are out of school on a sick day or in the summer, coming to work with Mom is a lot more fun than it might be for someone else.

about all of that but haven’t pulled the trigger, but maybe one day we will.

What have people remembered about dining here over the years?

There’s a lot of nostalgia associated with our restaurant since we have been here for so long. People will say, “My parents had their first date here.” Or “We got engaged here this many years ago.” Or “I remember going to my What makes Davenport’s food unique?

Our dough and our sauce is made fresh softball or baseball games here 20 years ago, from scratch in our kitchen with a family and I still recognize Dave making pizzas.” recipe. The thin crust is different. We cut in Dave Simpson is our most well known squares, I don’t know of any other place employee. He’s been here for more than 35 around here that does that. People who grew years. He makes one of the best pizzas here. up here and come back will say, “We just don’t have pizza like this where we live, and What is the key to Davenport’s longevity?

I think the key to that is doing one thing we really need a Davenport’s.” We make our Italian and French dressings, also family and doing it well. We are really simple here. recipes. A lot of people ask us to bottle our We do pizza and salads. We stuck to that one Italian or to take it home. We have thought thing and make sure it’s a good product.

&STYLE

HOME

JUST IN TIME

Open and airy renovations to the Mourons’ home coincided perfectly with the surprise ending to their family story.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY GRAHAM YELTON

MountainBrookMagazine.com 39

A

Allyson Mouron remembers the day vividly. Her husband, Lewis, had driven her to see the house he had his eye on—the one whose wooded lot and privacy he’d already fallen for.

Seeing the house from the road didn’t spark Allyson’s interest at first. But then, it came to her. “When we were pulling down the driveway to see it, I had this vision of two kids on little motorized vehicles riding around on the driveway,” Allyson recalls. “I knew this was from the Holy Spirit and this house was for us. I just didn’t know how our story would unfold at that point.” As of that time, the couple had been trying to have children for four and a half years.

Little did they know that a year later they’d move into that house with not one but two infants, and two years after that, Allyson would be spending her afternoons playing with two kids in that driveway. As it turns out, they found out Allyson was pregnant a month after finding the house. As if that wasn’t a big enough surprise, they also got the news that their surrogate, who they’d been working with because they didn’t think Allyson could carry a baby, was also pregnant. Their children Tyson and Annie were born six weeks apart in the fall of 2015.

Once they knew their family would be growing as they hoped for years, the Mourons wanted more space as well as to update the interior of their new home, which had been owned by the same family for the past 24 years. To do so, they enlisted

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Allyson and Lewis Mouron moved into their newly renovated home just after their “twiblings,” Annie and Tyson, now age 2, were born.

PHOTO BY LAUREN USTAD

architect Pete Pritchard and interior designer Dana Wolter, whom Allyson had first met with she taught Dana’s daughter at Mountain Brook Elementary.

One of the major selling points of the house had been its open floor plan and all the rooms being on one floor, so the renovations played up those two features by rethinking the main living spaces. They opened up the breakfast nook and kitchen into one large space and added white oak beams with a custom wash to the ceiling. In both the breakfast nook and living room, they added nearly floor-to-ceiling windows to allow in natural light and show off their forested yard.

The Mourons also added a new master in a separate wing, updated the foyer and mudroom with shiplap, and added a laundry room and screened-in porch.

Dana and Allyson collaborated on the modern touches with timeless traditional designs Allyson envisioned. “Dana has great taste and has a way of making a house feel like a home,” Allyson says. “Her style is beautiful and timeless.”

In the end, the Mourons were ready to move into their new home five days after Annie was born—and six weeks after Tyson was born. And it was just in time for the holidays. “It was such a special Christmas to be in our new house with these kids we had prayed for and hoped for for so long,” Allyson says.

It’s hard for the Mourons to imagine any home being as perfect for their family as this one is now.

Bar The bar connects the kitchen to the dining room. “We thought a lot about the flow of the house, and we wanted the bar to be centrally located to the kitchen and dining room for entertaining,� Allyson says. The cabinet design here follows suit with those in the kitchen as well.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 41

Join us for

Candlelight at Dawson For over 40 years, Birmingham has experienced the joy God gave us with the birth of His son, Jesus, through Candlelight at Dawson. Please join us as we introduce a new night of worship on Friday.

Friday, December 15 6:30-7:45 p.m.

Saturday, December 16 5:00-6:15 p.m.

Sunday, December 17 5:00-6:15 p.m. dawsonchurch.org/Candlelight Dawson Memorial Baptist Church 1114 Oxmoor Road • Birmingham, AL 35209 Office: (205) 871-7324

Breakfast Nook Sunlight floods into the breakfast nook and adjacent living area thanks to tall windows the Mourons had added as a part of renovations. “Part of the charm of this lot is you don’t feel like you are in Birmingham, so we wanted to make sure we had natural light so we do feel quiet and secluded back here,” Allyson says. Dana and Allyson also made sure to select a kid-friendly upholstery for the banquette that could easily be wiped off after kid meals. “I wanted pretty, but I needed function,” Allyson says.

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Kitchen Cabinets The custom quarter sawn white oak cabinetry is the statement maker of the kitchen, with sleek Alabama White marble on the large island and on the backsplash. “The cabinet details are unique and what a difference custom cabinetry can make in a home,” Dana says. “They are made to fit the space like a glove.” Allyson loves the detail in them with their curves and angles.

The kitchen also opens up in the living space on side and the mudroom and to a playroom on the other. “I love that I can be at my kitchen sink and look out and see my family in the living room,” Allyson says. “And my kids can be in playroom while I make dinner.”

Kitchen Design Custom cabinet panels conceal two of the kitchen’s most practical elements (see photo on left). The panels on the refrigerator don’t allow for the fingerprints that can gather on stainless appliances. And to the left of it, doors open to a large butler’s pantry with spacious cabinets that allow Allyson to store all the things she doesn’t want out in the “pretty” side of the kitchen—a microwave, bottles, a crock pot, dog bowls and more. “I want my home to fill lived in and warm, but I don’t want stuff everywhere,” Allyson says.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 43

What does Excellence in daycare look like?

Clean and Safe facilities

A Loving Caring and Nurturing Christian Based Staff

Environment

Excellence

Daily Bible and

Fun

Academic Approach

Character Development

SEE WHY PARENTS ARE CHOOSING IN DAYCARE!

®

FA M I LY

FAVO R I

Master Bathroom TE

2016

Excellence in Daycare look like 3.5x4.75.indd 1

6/27/2017 10:44:59 AM

This space is the retreat the Mourons envisioned when they were designing this addition. “It feels more like I am in the mountains with the trees [behind the bath tub], especially when they change colors,” Allyson says. Behind the tub the couple has his and her sinks with custom reeded cabinets made out of the same quarter sawn white oak as the ones in the kitchen.

BEHIND THE SCENES Interior Design: Dana Wolter, Dana Wolter Interiors Architect: Pete Pritchard, Pete Pritchard Architects

Contractor: Chris Franks, Franks Building Company Faucets: Fixtures & Finishes

Countertops: Alabama Marble, Mineral, and Mining Co.

Cabinet Hardware: Brandino Brass

Lighting: Visual Comfort (foyer sconces), Currey

and Co. (kitchen pendants), Brandino Brass (kitchen sconces), Urban Electric (master bathroom sconces)

Cabinets, Banquette, Breakfast Table, Select Art: Custom designs through Dana Wolter Interiors Select Furnishings: Dana Wolter Interiors

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Artistic Base This painting by William McLure was the basis for the furnishings in the foyer, and golden retriever Maggie approves. “It’s a special piece because [William] is a friend of mine, but also I feel like the colors and the feel embody our house,� Allyson says. To the left of the painting you can see the custom door Dana designed for the front of the house to make more of a statement.

Foyer While the Mourons enter their house through their mudroom, Allyson wanted the foyer to make an inviting statement to welcome guests as they arrive. Shiplap lines the walls here just as it does in the mudroom, and details on the chest make the space warm and personal.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 45

&BRIGHT IN STYLE

MERRY

By Kayley Coggins Photos by Lauren Ustad

LOOK 1

May all your holiday parties be stylish.

1. GOLD OFF-THE-SHOULDER DRESS Every detail of this shimmery dress makes a statement. The neckline and peplum waist play off an hourglass figure, and the texture and shine make it ideal for a holiday party.

M. Lavender | $525

1

2. GOLD GEOMETRIC EARRINGS Pairing long, detailed earrings with an offthe-shoulder dress keeps the focus on the neckline while adding glamour too.

Village Sportswear | $195

2

3. BLACK PLATFORM HEEL BY CHINESE LAUNDRY These heels play of the peplum detail in the dress and bring a flirty retro look full circle.

THE PANTS STORE | $69.99

Kayley Coggins is a wardrobe consultant and stylist who believes that fashion is a tool to help you feel beautiful in every season.

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1. BLACK SILK TOP BY ALICE AND TRIXIE BY ANGELA GEORGE

LOOK 2

A cold shoulder detail makes this top pair perfectly with or without a jacket.

Monkee’s of Mountain Brook | $218

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2. MAROON VELVET JACKET BY JENNI KAYNE Cozy up in this elegant velvet pairing. The sheen of the velvet makes a stunning holiday outfit.

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48 MountainBrookMagazine.com

Friday night cheering, Saturday duck hunt— it’s a growing trend that starts with family.

BY REBECCA CAINE | PHOTOS BY JENNIFER JONES MountainBrookMagazine.com 49

“

It’s really peaceful in the woods, and sometimes it helps me to take my mind off of other things.

”

-Frances Gaut

Anna Rose Alexander duck hunts with her dog, Selma.

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The hunter exhales a cloud of breath into the late autumn air behind the duck blind. Mallards fly overhead as dawn spreads across the sky.

With a careful aim and a practiced hand the trigger is pulled. Gunshot shatters the quiet and a duck splashes into the water below.

Game Calls, his handcrafted duck call business.

“I knew after that first time, she was stuck,” Chris Alexander recalls of his daughter’s natural alacrity for the hunt. “Now she’s just an old pro.”

The Alexanders have made a tradition of duck hunting during the Thanksgiving holidays and plan this year to follow the flock’s migration south from Canada into Stuttgart, Arkansas, referred to as the duck capital of the THE DRAW TO THE HUNT world by ESPN. Speaking of family, Kathryne High, a senior at John It’s understandable why some may be surprised to learn of Anna Rose’s double life as an experienced hunter, but Carroll Catholic High School who hunts and cheers, says there are similarities between hunting and cheerleading, she has also learned a lot from her cousins and older brothers, all of whom hunt. She has been hunting since believe it or not.

Both sports take a skilled performer who is cool and middle school and also points out the distinction between precise under pressure, impervious to weather extremes the two activities. “In cheer, you’re trying to engage with with a high tolerance for pain and an absolute dedication people and be super loud and excited, and hunting is more to honing their skills. Both can result in a boost of calming, and you’re not really around people,” Kathryne confidence for the athlete. “You get a lot of adrenaline explains.

After a hunt, Anna Rose says she enjoys her father’s when the duck’s flying over your head,” Anna Rose says. “I really like being able to do it and having satisfaction of culinary skills, especially his duck poppers—juicy nuggets of duck wrapped in bacon. shooting.”

For this family of outdoorsmen, quality time transcends Where cheerleading or other organized high school sports allow parents to watch their child in action, hunting the hunt. “I could do away with the hunting part of it and has the added bonus of allowing the whole family (even the everything and just go be with her for a while,” Chris says. dog) to participate. “I also like spending time with all my NATURE ESCAPE family and my dad,” Anna Rose says.

The key to facing those dawn hunts at Central Alabama Cheerleaders who hunt may or may not be a phenomenon Water Fowl Preserve in Maplesville where the Alexanders hunt, according to Anna Rose, is a steaming cup of coffee in the Mountain Brook area. Anna Rose’s cousin Frances and McDonald’s breakfast and then watching the sunrise Gaut, now a freshman at the University of Alabama, was while she and her father drive down country roads to the also a cheerleader during her time at MBHS and is now an avid deer hunter. hunt site.

Still somewhat of a beginner, Frances learned how to “My dad taught me everything I know,” Anna Rose says.

Anna Rose’s father, Chris, introduced his daughter to duck hunt last deer season thanks to her boyfriend (and her hunting almost seven years ago after he began Dunbarton MBHS high school sweetheart), Owen Conzelman.

The scene Anna Rose Alexander describes is a stark contrast to her fall Friday nights. The junior at Mountain Brook High School spends them in green and gold under bright stadium lights, with a radiant smile and swinging ponytail, as a cheerleader for the high school’s football team.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 51

Crestline Village 81 Church Street Suite 102 Mon.-Thurs. 10a.m. - 10p.m.

Fri. & Sat. 10a.m. - 11p.m.

Mountain Brook Sunday 12p.m. - 8p.m.

205.848.2080 Delta deer hunts with her owner Frances Gaut.

“He’s a big hunter, and it’s a big part of his life,” Frances says. “So, he just wanted to show me what it was like.”

“It was very exhilarating,” Frances says of her first hunt.

“I was really nervous because I had never done it before.”

She shot her first buck, an 8-point, while on one of her five hunts with Owen, a sophomore at Alabama, and his family on their land.

In addition to enjoying spending time with Owen and his family, Frances also recognizes the benefits of escaping into nature to decompress after a long week of lectures and exams. “It’s really peaceful in the woods, and sometimes it helps me to take my mind off of other things,” Frances says.

Like Frances, Kathryne’s game of choice is deer. “It’s so peaceful being out there in the woods,” Kathryne says, echoing Frances’ sentiment. “Like nothing’s bothering you.”

Frances explains that a hunter may sit in the woods for hours observing nature, patiently waiting for a deer to appear. Among the winter woods, it’s easy to imagine how a hunter can enter an almost meditative state and foster an appreciation for the skill and beauty of her prey.

The skull of her first deer hangs in her room. She’s 52 MountainBrookMagazine.com

“She made [Anna Rose] comfortable from the get-go,” Chris says of his daughter’s hunting mentor. “Bridget is a big hunter, so I think that had a major influence on her. . .

The very first time she went, Bridget sat with Anna Rose, WELCOMING NEW RECRUITS she talked her through everything, and I think that made Anna Rose, Frances and Kathryne all have the unusual her feel really comfortable from the very beginning, so that experience of being young female hunters, a growing trend was a real blessing.”

The fresh generation of female hunters is eager to offer Chris Alexander has noticed in the past few years.

As an example, Chris notes big game hunter Kendall advice and encouragement to other young women Jones, who is sponsored by brands like Orca, SixSite and interested in hunting.

“I think all girls should know that they can hunt,” says APA Archery and who also was—you guessed it—a Anna Rose. “It’s not a boy thing. You can hunt, and it’s so cheerleader in high school.

Another hunter Anna Rose looks up to is the Alexanders’ fun when you get into it.”

“It’s good for boys and girls to hunt,” Frances says. “I family friend Bridget Wilson, who hunts with Anna Rose would definitely tell them to try it. Because before I tried it at the preserve in Maplesville. painted it with a pink and gold marble effect, proving that being proud of yourself can be downright beautiful.

Frances Gaut University of Alabama Deer Hunter With her chocolate Labrador retriever Delta

Anna Rose Alexander Mountain Brook High School Duck Hunter With golden retriever Selma

Kathryne High John Carroll High School Deer Hunter With Chesapeake Bay retriever Stella

MountainBrookMagazine.com 53

“

I think all girls should know that they can hunt. It’s not a boy thing. You can hunt, and it’s so fun when you get into it.

”

-Anna Rose Alexander 54 MountainBrookMagazine.com

I didn’t think I was going to like it, and once I did it was a really exciting experience. So I would definitely tell them to try it and branch out. It’ll be fun!”

Maybe this trend of cheerleader-hunters isn’t a phenomenon after all, maybe—and probably more likely— there just happen to be some superbly confident, wellrounded young women growing up right here in our little corner of the world.

Photographer’s Note: Thanks to the dog trainers who helped with this photo shoot: Ralph Gibson, Obedience and Service Dog Trainer, and​Chris Alexander (Selma);​ Ben Griffith of Griffith Retrievers (Delta); and ​Chris Adams of Oak Bowery Kennels (Stella)—and to Stella’s owner and handler as well as our hunting consultant, Robert Fritze.

Anna Rose Alexander sports touches of pink with her camo.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 55

56 MountainBrookMagazine.com

Some Things Never Change How Canterbury United Methodist Church has remained faithful through its 150 years.

BY TRACEY RECTOR PHOTOS BY JACKSON ROSS “The prettiest country church in the United States.”

According to the plaque placed on the grounds of the church by the Birmingham-Jefferson Historical Society, this was the name once given to Canterbury United Methodist Church. My, how times have changed.

To be sure, Canterbury United Methodist is still pretty, but a more accurate description of the physical building on Overbrook Road in Mountain Brook should probably include the words “beautiful,” “gracious” and “impressive.” And depending on your level of sophistication, Mountain Brook might still qualify as “the country.”

FROM IRONDALE TO OVERBROOK There is no doubt, however, that the “prettiest country church” has matured into a community of worshippers whose members have shaped the very

history of not only Mountain Brook, but the city of Birmingham and its surrounding areas as well.

In October, Canterbury United Methodist Church commemorated the 150th anniversary of its founding with services of celebration and the recounting of memories from faithful members of all generations.

Its founding in 1867 as Irondale Methodist Episcopal after the nearby furnace that employed many of its members makes it older than both the city of Birmingham itself by three years and the city of Mountain Brook by some 60 years. At that time, families were moving into Shades Valley to reestablish Cahaba Iron Works, which had been destroyed by Northern troops in the Civil War in 1865. The growth of the area as well as the growth of Methodism itself led committed families both old and new to form Irondale Methodist Episcopal Church. The church typically met in homes or “brush arbors” erected to shade the services from the sun.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 57

150 YEARS OF CANTERBURY 1867 Irondale Methodist Episcopal Church formed in the aftermath of the Civil War. 1871 The city of Birmingham is founded.

1874 A small cabin is built on what is now Hollywood Boulevard, just west of today’s Mountain Brook Village, and the church becomes Union Hill Methodist Episcopal Church.

1911 Over in Crestline, the Waits brothers, who had grown up in Union Hill Methodist, sponsor a several weeks-long revival, and Crestline Heights Community Church is born. It would later be renamed Crestline Heights Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1912) and then Mountain Brook Methodist Church (1943), and construct what is now the now Steeple Arts Building.

1928 The Union Hill Methodist Episcopal Church changes its name to Canterbury Methodist Episcopal Church, borrowing from the English Tudor influence of new homes and businesses being built in the area.

1929 Real estate developer Robert Jemison, Jr. develops the Mountain Brook Estates community.

1930 Plans are drawn for an expansive new church building of a Gothic design on Canterbury Methodist Episcopal Church’s current site, but the Depression intervenes and it is never built.

1942 The city of Mountain Brook is incorporated.

58 MountainBrookMagazine.com

The church underwent a number of location changes and a few mergers along the way. After a move to what is now Hollywood Boulevard in the 1870s, it was called Union Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, thus explaining, for those who’ve ever wondered, the Union Hill cemetery that still stands there. In 1928, as architect Robert Jemison developed Mountain Brook with the goal of replicating a proper English village, the church became Canterbury Methodist Episcopal Church. This church then merged with the Crestline-area Mountain Brook Methodist Church in 1948.

The first services in the current location took place on October 12, 1952. The church has been known by its current name, Canterbury United Methodist, since 1968.

To say the church has flourished in its present location is an understatement. The church roll now contains over 4,000 names. Its influence reaches from as near as the community of Avondale in Birmingham to as far away as the poverty-stricken villages of Haiti through the congregation’s Rise Against Hunger ministry (formerly called Stop Hunger Now).

CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES, CHANGED LIVES One clear legacy of Canterbury United Methodist throughout its history is its profound impact on the lives of its members. Elizabeth Dunn, a member since age 7, credits the church for helping her develop leadership skills. Now chairman of the Mountain Brook Board of Education and Director of Business Development for Ray and Poyner Properties, she took advantage as a teen of the opportunities presented through participation in MYF, or Methodist Youth Fellowship, to gain confidence in her abilities in a variety of settings.

Elizabeth is quick to add that she is hardly alone in this respect. She points to the influence of longtime youth minister Leon Precise over countless impressionable lives that passed through Canterbury’s doors. “We were called ‘Leon’s kids,’” she says with a laugh. “He expected and demanded a lot from us.”

Union Hill Methodist Episcopal Church later became Canterbury UMC.

Canterbury held its 150th anniversary celebration in October.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 59

1948 Canterbury Methodist Episcopal Church and Mountain Brook Methodist Church merge to form Canterbury-Mountain Brook Methodist Church, and plans are drawn on a 20-acre site on Overbrook Road, formerly part of the Bearden Dairy farm.

1952 The first service is held on Overbrook Road.

1956 The church votes to change its name to Canterbury Methodist Church. In 1968 “United” would be added to the name when The United Methodist Church is created.

1962 A new sanctuary opens.

1976-77 A chapel is planned and constructed.

1981 The Children’s Center opens to house Child Development Center and Sunday School classes.

1993 Martha’s Garden is dedicated on April 18 in memory of Martha Reese, a long-time and much-beloved member of Canterbury.

2003-04 A parking deck is designed and completed to handle membership growth, and other renovations are undertaken in the sanctuary, Canterbury Hall and the Children’s Center.

2007-08 Canterbury Center is designed and completed, allowing for two worship services venues and various community and performance events.

2017 Canterbury United Methodist Church celebrates its sesquicentennial.

60 MountainBrookMagazine.com

She recalls a youth trip Leon led to a Native American reservation in Oklahoma during the 1970s. Canterbury’s presence continues there today in a small chapel on the reservation the youth members helped construct.

Lifelong membership shows up again and again among Canterbury’s congregants. “I don’t really know any other church aside from Canterbury,” 77-year-old Fred Renneker admits. “It has been my church all my life.”

The son of the architect for the current church building, Fred has served as chairman of the church board and president on an almost-200 member Sunday School class. His grandchildren are the fourth generation of members from his family. He, too, speaks of the far-reaching effects the church has had on his life, both personally and professionally.

Like Elizabeth, he is heavily involved in serving others through the opportunities the church provides. He works in the Encore program, which offers activities and fellowship for adults with memory loss while providing support for their family members and caregivers. He also works with the Brown Bag ministry to help provide groceries to those with food insecurity.

Canterbury’s devotion to service stands out as a critical component of the church’s mission. The church website lists almost a dozen programs that the church sponsors on an ongoing basis, while others, such as providing Christmas gifts and Easter baskets for needy families, are carried out on a seasonal basis. Rachel Estes, director of outreach and missions, describes the church’s philosophy as “working alongside communities and individuals, striving not just for ‘Band-Aid’ solutions, but also sustainable solutions.”

Rachel notes the historical commitment to community and service of the United Methodist Church. It is a recipe that Canterbury follows closely with positive results.

“What we find when we reach out to others is that so many of those we’ve served come back to serve alongside us,” Estes explains. The return on the investment is both improved circumstances as well as changed lives.

A CENTURY AND A HALF OF SERVICE Much has changed in Canterbury’s 150 years of existence. But Senior Pastor Dale Cohen sees clearly that some things have not. In a recent church newsletter, he writes, “Just as in 1867 our nation was emerging from the divisions of war, similarly, our country needs to move from an ideological divide that is creating two Americas. I believe Canterbury played a role in healing the divisions of 1867, and my prayer is that we can now play a role in healing the divisions of 2017.”

Healing divisions in an increasingly fractured society is an ambitious goal, but Canterbury through the years has proven that it is more than up to the challenge. “The one thing that hasn’t changed is our compassion for those in need and our desire to connect people with God,” Cohen says.

With a century and a half of service, devotion, and a love through some of the most tumultuous times in history, Canterbury stands poised to continue that legacy for years to come. From the rustic simplicity of a brush arbor to the soaring grandeur of an elegant sanctuary, Canterbury embodies the wise old truth that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Editor’s Note: The timeline in this article was adapted from a one written by Bill McDougald, based on Marilyn Davis (Madge) Jackson’s research in From A Brush Arbor: Canterbury United Methodist Church’s 135-Year History of Service to God.

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This Magic Moment

62 MountainBrookMagazine.com

The story of this nonprofit is one of magic for chronically ill children, yes, but also of the sparks and connections behind them.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY PATRICK MCGOUGH & CONTRIBUTED

MountainBrookMagazine.com 63

Magic Moments co-founder Shelley Clark and Executive Director Sandy Naramore with children who have received magic moments: Will Nichols, Grace Bittick, Sam Hodnett and Sean Fredella.

The spark that would ignite Magic Moments came to Shelley Clark in the early 1980s.

Shelley was with her daughter, Angela, for treatment for kidney and liver disease at Children’s Hospital (now Children’s of Alabama) when a show came on TV about a little boy who was very ill. “It showed the firemen coming up and telling him they’d have him come visit when he got out of the hospital,” Shelley recalls. “And then it showed him taking a ride [in the fire truck] with the fire hat and the dog and the whole nine yards—and it was free.” And that’s when the idea flared to bring moments like this little boy’s to kids in the rooms around her.

Buffie Marks had a similar revelation only miles away around the same time when she saw a similar “magical moment” on 60 Minutes. “I remember standing there in the middle of that living room and saying to my family, ‘This is what I’d like to do,’” Buffie recalls. She had been volunteering at Children’s Hospital as what was then called a “pink lady” because volunteers wore pink uniforms, and as a former special education teacher, “Children have always had my heart, especially children in 64 MountainBrookMagazine.com

need,” she says.

That’s when a series of connections were set off, one after another after another. Shelley called the Junior League of Birmingham President Carey Hinds and then her daughter’s pediatrician Tommy Amason, who connected her with play therapist L.E. Patton at Children’s, who then connected her with the head of Children’s.

Meanwhile, Buffie had talked to L.E. about her idea from 60 Minutes, and L.E. told her to talk to Shelley.

But one of the most formative pieces of the early days of the organization—its name—didn’t come from any adult with a title. It came from the kids who lived around Shelley’s home on Mountain Park Drive in Crestline.

Shelley had been talking with Angela’s friends about her idea to help other kids when two words came to them that stuck: “Magic Moments.”

Within a few months of pressing “go” in 1984, Buffie and Shelley had formed a board, received a $500 grant from the Junior League, and were in the business of creating

Magic Moments co-founder Buffie Marks with Sam Hodnett, who will travel to Disney World for his magic moment in November.

BHM 26.2 Birmingham’s Newest Marathon, Half Marathon, Team Relay and Fun Run SUNDAY, APRIL 15 Benefitting Magic Moments and the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Alabama.

magic moments. With that, the only organization dedicated to granting wishes to solely children in Alabama was born. The first moment they granted—like so many to come after it—sent a child and his family to Disney World.

Today Magic Moments’ six staff members, 24 Board of Directors members and 23 Advisory Council members all work together. To date, they have provided more than 4,600 magic moments for children with chronic life-threatening illnesses and their families in all 67 counties of Alabama.

STORY TIME Numbers aside, this story is all about the moments, moments of laughter and wonder. Get the two founders, Buffie and Shelley, and Magic Moments Executive Director Sandy Naramore around a conference table like we did to write this article, and there is no shortage of laughter as they recall story after story from over the years.

In the early days, board members rotated who would take charge of each magic moment. Booking trips on a dime looked a bit different then than it does today. “If you needed a hotel room in Ishkooda, you had to find it, and you were trying to find it for free,” Buffie says. “Computers were not an option, so you spent hours on the phone trying to get the airline tickets, trying to get them a car.”

The Course: The course has no repeats, no loops. It starts at Railroad Park, makes its way to Glenn Iris, runs along Valley Avenue to Key Circle, through Southside, around Sloss Furnace and out to Legion Field, through the Civil Rights District, and then downtown passing the McWane Center, the Lyric and Alabama Theatres before returning to Railroad Park. A full map is on bhm262.com.

After Party: An after-party will take place at Railroad Park featuring a regional entertainment act as well as a Children’s Area with child friendly activities. Tickets can be purchased at bhm262.com.

Why Run: Magic Moments’ goal is to have all the event expenses covered through sponsorships, so when runners sign up, 100 percent of their money goes to the children.

To Sign Up: Visit bhm262.com.

MountainBrookMagazine.com 65

THIS PHOTO: Recent magic moment recipients stand near a familar background— Children’s of Alabama.

RIGHT: Magic Moments supporters Ron Morrison and Layne Held with Mollie, who went to Disney World with Magic Moments.

Photo by Andrea Mabry.

Buffie recalls delivering a train set from Homewood Toy & Hobby for an early magic moment and being assigned all of the dog requests since she’s a dog person. One time she put a Dalmatian puppy under her coat to bring in the hospital, and on a particularly heart-warming occasion, she delivered a Chihuahua to the Ronald McDonald House.

“Chihuahuas are kind of high strung and they yap a lot,” Buffie begins. “The dog had to spend the night with me at the house, and it was the worst night’s sleep I’d ever had— it was worse than babies. I kept thinking it was going to be a disaster. We got down there with the puppy jumping and playing, and I walked in with the puppy. This little boy was so excited, and everyone just lit up. I handed the puppy to him and that little puppy walked right up to him, walked in a circle and settled down—he did not yap. He knew what his job was.”

Sandy has only served as executive director since January of this year, but she’s just as full of magical stories—stories like that of a 14-year-old ballerina diagnosed with cancer whose request was to go to New York City to see The Nutcracker. Magic Moments wanted 66 MountainBrookMagazine.com

to take it a step further though, so the girl arrived in style with limousines and restaurants—and got to meet the principal dancer after the performance.

Then another child came to mind for Sandy. A 12-yearold from Troy asked to go to a theme park in Valdosta, Georgia. The Magic Moments team wanted to send him to Disney but wondered if that was what he really wanted. As it turns out, he had made his request thinking his parents would have to pay for the trip—a heart-melting discovery for Sandy. “His heart was so big to me,” she says.

As it turned out, the boy wasn’t able to travel due to an infection from a stem cell transplant, so the Magic Moments team worked to bring an almost-instant moment instead for the Cam Newton fan. With a few phone calls, they arranged to get him on the sidelines for an Auburn game, and the office is working on getting a jersey for players to sign.

More than just technology has changed in setting up moments over the years. Magic Moments now sends families to Disney through Give Kids the World, a nonprofit in itself that allows families to stay in their Orlando resort.

Co-founder Shelley Clark says her daughter Angela, pictured here with Shelley’s husband Jerry, is the legacy of Magic Moments. “For every magic moment that is granted, she has a little part of it,” Shelley says. Angela passed away in 2012 at age 38. This photo and dolphin photo (left) courtesy of Magic Moments.

It’s run at $750 for an entire week, including tickets and meals.

All three women pipe up to speak of its wonders. “It’s unbelievable,” Sandy says. “It’s like a little Seaside.” “It’s like Candy Land,” Buffie says. “I want to go there,” Shelley says.

“We’ll plan a girls’ trip,” Sandy follows.

THE CONNECTIONS Much the work of Magic Moments involves “magical” connections. Often it takes a while to find the right person to get in touch with an athlete or celebrity a child wants to meet—and it never hurts to know someone. “It’s amazing how things work out,” Shelley says. “It’s quite godly… And we have never failed.

That’s the good news.” Buffie echoes her sentiment: “If God wants that wish for that child, it’s going to happen.” And for Sandy, it goes a step further too. “If you ever had any doubt in people, it restores your faith in them. It’s amazing what people are willing to help you do, whether it’s financially or making those contacts.”

Shelley recalls one request to meet Adam Levine that she had been working on for a year and half. Her frustration over roadblocks came out one day and she said something in her office at Ray & Poynor Properties where she is a realtor. In that moment her colleague Mike McCraney looked over at her and said, “Call Peggy Jones. Her daughter was on The Voice. I bet she can work it out.” Peggy’s daughter, Sarah Simmons, was their golden ticket to granting the child’s request. “When you throw it out there in conversation, it’s amazing who comes to the party,” Shelley says. “It’s godly.”

Another time Buffie was tasked with a Final Four trip. (Her initial reaction was, “The final four what?” to which the men in

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MountainBrookMagazine.com 67

HOW TO BE A PART OF MAGIC MOMENTS Order Holiday Cards. Each year at Family Camp children design cards and the winners are printed into holiday cards that can be purchased. Contact Amy Cowling at amy.cowling@childrensal.org to make your purchase.

Buy Cupcakes and Pies. Magic Moments sells Jim ‘N Nick’s pies at Thanksgiving and Ashley Mac’s cupcakes at Easter. To purchase them, email Amy Cowling at amy.cowling@childrensal.org or call 968-9372.

Sponsor a Moment. Magic Moments is looking for businesses to raise money for moments and plan reveals. Call 638-9372 to learn more.

Become a Magic Maker. Magic Makers have the honor of informing children of their magic moment at a reveal, and is a good opportunities for families.* Join the Magic Moment Society. For a repeating $100 single membership or $150 family membership annual donation (or $10 monthly), you can become a member of the Magic Moment Society.* Attend an Event. Check out the calendar on magicmoments.org for up to date information on events throughout the year.

Volunteer. You can help out at fundraisers like clay shoots or at special events for the children.* Give. The organization always welcomes financial donations.* *Visit magicmoments.org to learn more.

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Otey’s and Taco Mama owner Will Haver supports moments given to kids like Connor, pictured here.

PHOTOS ON THIS SPREAD

BY ANDREA MABRY

the room said, “Uh-oh!”) “I thought that won’t be hard, I’ll just call Coach Bartow or the University. And then I realized this was a big deal,” Buffie says. She called the SEC but soon learned she needed a different kind of connection. “Then I realized I do know someone, I grew up in Alex City, home of Russell Mills. A friend of mine’s husband is high up at Russell Mills and had always said, ‘If you need a jersey, we will print it for you.’ So I called Kathy and told her we had a wish. She said ‘Do you need a jersey?’ I said, ‘We need more than a jersey.’”

Russell came through with two tickets to the game, they found a hotel room in a booked-up Seattle, but Buffie still needed plane tickets which were pricing at $1,000 each. “One Saturday afternoon I was feeling desperate, and I called an airline, and [the woman on the line] said ‘I am going to do everything I can to help you because my brother got to meet George Bush [through a wish-granting organization].’ And she gave me her home phone number. It’s amazing to see how things fall into place.

You may beat your head on the wall for a while, but it happens.”

All this talk of connections reminds Sandy of a moment from this year. Their team was going to visit a child who had had a magic moment and was back in hospital one day, and so they called to see if she wanted them to bring lunch. They learned the girl was on a feeding tube. She did, however, want a visit from University of Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson. “So we called Jay Barker and Major Ogilvie, and before that girl knew it, he was there and brought autographed pictures for her to display in her hospital room,” Sandy says. “John Parker commented, ‘I’m here in town, and I’ll come once a month if that’s what y’all need.’”

MORE THAN A MOMENT Before each magic moment comes a reveal—a special event where the child learns what their moment will be. Sometimes Magic Moments plans them, or other times it’s organizations or corporations who are sponsoring the child’s moment. Some are small and quiet affairs, and others loud and over-the-top—depending on the child’s personality. “Some react crazily and some go under the table,” Shelley says.

Sandy describes one of the latter kinds of reveals at Simmons Middle School for a 7-year-old from Center Point. “The band was there and the cheerleaders, and he thought he was coming to judge the spirit of the school. When he decided the seventh graders had the most spirit, they flipped over cards saying, ‘You’re going to Disney World!’”

Sandy recalls one that causes them all to chuckle: “The recipient was so excited.

But she has a twin sister who was standing beside her, and her face was just like ‘Oh,

Tom Curtin with Seth and Heath

lucky her,’” Sandy explains. “So finally I went over and said, ‘Honey, you get to go too.’ And she said ‘Oh!’ I bet she thanked me 20 times.”

Today the Magic Moments experience extends long past the reveal through the Beyond the Moment program.

Families reunite for Family Camp on Memorial Day weekend every year at Children’s Harbor at Lake Martin and at fun family events held in different cities all over the state to see a movie or go to a holiday party. In fact, a woman who got a moment as a child and is now a nurse comes back to help at camp, and a 19-year-old who just aged out of the program came back as a volunteer this year.

Shelley says seeing the families interact at these events

Hud Hudson with Raylee

is “unbelievable”—that they can’t wait to see each other (even though many do connect through social media these days). “[They think], ‘Oh wow, somebody else is experiencing this.’ You may have a brain injury and my child is experiencing cancer. But they are still going through the abnormal childhood experiences, and they just bond,” Sandy says. “That’s also when you really get to hear these families reminisce.”

There’s magic in the reminiscing, too—both for the critically ill children and their families who cherish oncein-a-lifetime experiences to Disney World or to meet Adam Levine, and for the team who first dreamed up the idea and makes all the calls and connections to bring them to life.

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GIF T GUIDE 1

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1. MAGNOLIAS TOP SELLER! This three piece canister set features vintage style glass door knob handles & sealed lids. Part of a beautiful entertainment collection that can be found at Magnolias! Complimentary gift wrapping! $120 48 Chesser Crane Road, Suites A&B, Chelsea, 205-618-9800

2. BEARDEN DESIGN ET BOUTIQUE Lampe Berger Paris. Cleans and Perfumes the air, Destroys Odors!

Gift Sets Starting at $30 1903 Cahaba Road English Village, Mountain Brook, 205-703-8462

3. BLACK SHEEP ANTIQUES John Derian Dailey planner for 2018 with wonderful botanical and animal engravings. $19.95 each in stock along with a wide selection of the latest shelter books.

39509 Highway 25, Harpersville, 205-283-6796

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING 4. KELLUM AND COMPANY

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This brass mirror makes a statement in any room. At 33” in diameter, it is a perfect size for any bedroom, bathroom or living space, $999.

1829 29th Avenue South, Homewood, 205-874-9530.

5. MARGUERITE’S CONCEITS Holidays got you burning the candle at both ends? Save face and spoil yourself with these detox masques!

Feel fresh and put your BEST face forward!

2406 Canterbury Road, Mountain Brook, 205-879-2730.

6. ANTIQUITIES Elegant Christmas Holiday Glitter Ornaments, Perfect for ornament swap or to hang on your tree from $5.

2421 Canterbury Road, Mountain Brook, 205-870-1030.

7. MERLE NORMAN

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Prep lips for a kiss with lip revive and assortment of color treats. Two full retail-sized lip pencil plus are paired with creamy lipcolor in gold illusion.

All ready in a gift-giving box.

140 Inverness Plaza, Birmingham, 205-995-2442

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING

8. iiis. AN OPTICAL SHOP Explode the idea of what is possible: we find it as a shape a color a volume a surface / you give it limitless possibilities / your face / our frames. Belgian eyewear THEO. $520.

1925 11th Ave S, Birmingham, 205930-9394

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9. PAIGE ALBRIGHT ORIENTALS Vintage patchwork floor pillows.

Made from upcycled rug fragments. 36” square. $275 each.

2814 Petticoat Lane, Mountain Brook, 205-877-2232

10. SNAP GIRLS

11. THE COOK STORE

Let Snap Girls assist you with your holiday shopping with our fantastic collection of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. 10% off regular-priced merchandise everyday for Instagram followers (@snapcrestline)!

2841 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook, 205-879-5277

New BHM Tumbler or Vase from Earthborn Studio Pottery by Tena Payne.

2841 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook, 205-879-5277

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Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce C O N N E C T I O N S

Save the Date

November 8 Chamber Luncheon Featuring Dan Starnes

“Reinvesting For Success: How We Turned a $10 Investment into a Full Service Media Company�

Sponsored by Jimmie Hale Mission & Starnes Publishing

Birmingham Botanical Gardens Register at mtnbrookchamber.org.

11:00-1:00 p.m.

New Member Spotlight -

R&R Liquor The Sanders Financial Group of Wells Fargo Advisors Phone Restore Snap Girls HighTower Twickenham Shields Insurance Agency Junior League of Birmingham Angelica Rohner Pediatric Dentistry Speed Spa Root to Tail Birmingham Allergy & Asthma Specialists Mountain Brook Wellness Kathy Harris, RealtySouth Specialty Turf Care & Landscaping Continental Realty Corporation

101 HOYT LANE 74 MountainBrookMagazine.com

Introducing the Leadership Mountain Brook Class of 2017-2018 Carter Brown, Kate Brown, Patton Browning, Frances Cheatham, Hunt Cochrane, Will Garrison, James Gillespy, Jessie Holt, Mary Kate Hughes, Katherine Kehl, Alexis Kennedy, Anthony Lauriello, Jose Pilco, Liam Powell, Claire Smith, Parker Statham, Maddie Usdan, Fairbanks White, Virginia Williams, Kathleen Wilson

Save the Date December 3 Holiday Parade Mountain Brook Village 3:00 p.m.

Sponsored by Swoop

MTN. BROOK, ALABAMA 35213

F i n d U s O n l i ne

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

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Access our member directory

Happenings Around Town Snapshots from Recent Chamber Events Aug. 16

Sept. 22

Coffee & Contacts

Speed Spa Grand Opening

Around the Villages

November 29

English Village Holiday Open House 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Sept. 7 R&R Liquor Ribbon Cutting

Sept. 26 Chamber Luncheon Featuring Brittany Wagner

November 30

Mountain Brook Village Holiday Open House 5:00-8:00 p.m.

December 5

Cahaba Village Holiday Open House 5:00-8:00 p.m.

December 7

Sept. 17

Sept. 28

Taste of Mountain Brook

Joint Networking Event at St. Martin’s in the Pines

Crestline Village Holiday Open House 4:00-7:00 p.m.

Coming in 2018 January 23

Chamber of Commerce Annual Luncheon Honoring Jemison Award Winner Dr. Neal Berte

205 - 871 - 3779

WWW.MTNBROOKCHAMBER.ORG MountainBrookMagazine.com 75

OUT & ABOUT

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TASTE OF MOUNTAIN BROOK

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PHOTOS BY ALICE LUCAS

This annual event featuring local restaurants benefitted All In Mountain Brook.

1. Julie Grimes, Black Sheep Kitchen 2. Will Garrison and Frances

Cheatham (front); Katie Kehl and

Liam Powell (back) 3. Trip Wood, Church Street Coffee 4. Lynn Priester, Will McDonald,

Johnny Nathan, Forest Whatley

and Margaret Priester 5. Javier Young, Newks 6. Molly Simpson and Emily Brown 8. Allison Gurley, Taziki’s 9. Emily Grant, Bella Hoffman,

Anna Catherine Brown, Greer

Kelly and Mary Grace Lorino 10. MBHS Band 11. Carrie McFerran

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Dr. Wilson received her medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine and completed her Pediatric Residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. She completed her Allergy and Immunology Fellowship at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. After her fellowship, Dr. Wilson completed her Masters of Health Sciences in Clinical Research at Duke University.

Dr. Wilson is Board Certified in Pediatrics and Adult and Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, and is a member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the American College of Asthma and Immunology. Dr. Wilson is a third generation allergist/immunologist who is dedicated to providing every patient with the best care possible. She strives to have a positive and lasting impact on their quality of lives by discussing their symptoms, testing and treatment options, as well as treatment goals. She believes it is important to listen to and to educate her patients about their condition and seeks to use the least medication possible to control symptoms.

Dr. Wilson joins Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center in their commitment to providing patients with the individualized and expert care they need to obtain a better quality of life. With seven board certified allergists, and six locations, Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center is the leading caregiver in the state for asthma, sinus issues, seasonal allergies, food allergies, drug and insect allergies, eczema, hives and chronic infections.

Dr. Wilson is now accepting appointments in Homewood, Hoover, and Alabaster.

For more information or to make an appointment call 205-871-9661 or visit alabamaallergy.com.

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FLICKS AMONG THE FLOWERS

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PHOTOS BY ALICE LUCAS

Father of the Bride hit the big screen at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on Sept. 27.

1. Matthew Kenny, Elizabeth Roth

and LaDonna Gaines 2. Taylor Campbell and Shelby

Santa Cruz 3. Christy Perdue and Heather Oliver

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4. Hudson, Ava and Heather Mitchell

5. Heather Goodwin and Mallory Carson 6. Andrew Plasters and Kelly Neumeyer 7. Heather Hyde and Courtney

Moore 8. Lauren Gentry 9. Bryan Barnes and Jessica Latham 10. Kelly and George Colbourne 11. Carter Stanley and Cailtin Pearcy

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l

Children’s of Alabama is ... l The

third largest pediatric hospital in the United States

l Licensed l The

for 332 beds & 48 NICU bassinets

first LEED-certified hospital building in Alabama

l One

of the Top 20 employers in Alabama with more than 4,700 employees across the state

l The

pediatric teaching hospital for the School of Medicine at UAB

l Home

to the Pediatric & Congenital Heart Center of Alabama, where more than 450 cardiac surgeries are performed annually

l Site

Russell Campus

205.638.9100

1600 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233 Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children Lowder Building McWane Building Children’s on Third Outpatient Center Children’s Park Place

1601 5th Avenue South 1600 7th Avenue South 1600 7th Avenue South 1208 3rd Avenue South 1600 5th Avenue South

Children’s South

205.638.4800

of the only pediatric kidney dialysis program in the state — one of the largest in the country

l Home

to one of the largest burn units in the Southeast

l One

of the largest pediatric rheumatology programs in the nation and the only one in Alabama

l Provides

care for more than 90 percent of Alabama children with cancer and blood disorders

1940 Elmer J. Bissell Road, Birmingham, AL 35243 Outpatient surgery services, Pediatric Imaging Center, laboratory services, specialty care clinics and After Hours care

Over the Mountain Pediatrics

205.870.7292

3300 Cahaba Road, #102, Birmingham, AL 35223

Mayfair Medical Group

205.870.1273

3401 Independence Drive, Birmingham, AL 35209

www.ChildrensAL.org

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MOUNTAIN BROOK CHAMBER LUNCHEON

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PHOTOS BY MADOLINE MARKHAM

Brittany Wagner of the Netflix series Last Chance U spoke at the chamber luncheon in September.

1. Kathleen Wilson, Frances

Cheatham, Mary Kate Hughes

and Alexis Kennedy 2. Terri Vickers and Karen Fowler 3. Anthony Lauriello, Patton

Browning, Will Garrison and

Jose Pilco

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4. Leanne Messer and Susan Melvin 5. Milind Patel, Avani Patel and

Shanna Patel 6. Nicole Baumhover, Mercedo

DeWitt and Joell Miller 7. Megan Flowers, Brittany

Wagner and Suzan Doidge 8. Gina Harris, Kitty Lovelady and

Christy Savage 9. Matt Huttle and Kim Lee

Call me today for a no-obligation quote!

205.789.0890 Chad Long Your Local Farmers Agent 100 OLDE TOWNE RD STE 104 VESTAVIA, AL 35216 RLONG3@FARMERSAGENT.COM

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Tickets Start at $15!

Restrictions, exclusions and additional charges may apply. Subject to availability.

BJCC CONCERT HALL

NOV 17 & 18 1703181

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VILLAGE GARDEN WALK

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PHOTOS BY ELEANOR KERR

The shops of Mountain Brook Village welcomed Antiques at the Gardens with special festivities on Friday, Oct. 6.

1. Parker and Emmaline Cate 2. Reid Ramsbacher 3. Kate Ramsbacher and Emma Sanders 4. Chloe Dillion and Emma Stern

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5. Carlton Wallwork and Austin Evans 6. Ashelynn Falkenbury Smith,

Elizabeth Burgess and Anne

Marie Everly 7. Beverly Ruff and Hillary Kent 8. Martha Bradford and Jack Bowers 9. Anne, Katherine and Blake Lary 10. Reid Ramsbacher and Carlton Wallwork

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WESTERN’S FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL

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PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER

This annual culinary event held at the Birmingham Zoo benefited the Emmet O’Neal Library.

1. Kaylan Clark, Sydney Boehm

and Track Steedly 2. Joseph Edens 3. Chef Alan Nelson, Keith Nelson and John Krontira

4. Jennifer Cantu

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5. Brian and Christy Von Gartzen 6. Patrick Hartley, Jeanne

Hutchison and John Mayer 7. Becky Duenow with Sarge the

Gray Ratsnake 8. Cameron and Whitt Steineke,

Riley Griffin and Leighton Burkett 9. Jenna Stene, Lauren Myers,

Mana Nolt, Adam Threet, Jason

Nolt, Cara Bevinetto, Chris

Blakely, Bryan Dowling and Ryan Schreiner 10. Carol Key and Michelle Smith 11. Margaret and Bradley Pate 12. Ginger Woodham, Anna Knew,

Heather Eron and Kristin Mitchell 13. Jacque Bailey, Sally Helms and

Jane Shalhoop 14. Pam Bates, Debbie Parker,

Paige Jordan, Jonathan Benoit

and Bryan Jordan

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JAZZ IN THE PARK

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PHOTOS BY ELEANOR KERR

Music filled the field across from the Emmet O’Neal Library on Oct. 16 for this event from Magic City Smooth Jazz and the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.

1. Jennifer and Thomas Waters 2. Sandra and Jeff Jernigan 3. Evelyn and Annika Shapshak

with Helga Gonzales 4. Meredith and Marlowe Belkofer

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5. Kathy and Leah Shows 6. Phillip, Kristin, Phillip John,

Christopher and Elizabeth Madonia 7. Cromwell Estes and Gili Weintraub 8. Jack Royer, Lori Smith, Molly

Wallace and Suzan Doidge 9. Ben, Allison, and Trafton Leaver 10. Ann Hester, and James and Lucy Sellers 11. Cameron, Ann and Henry

Holifield 12. Brad and Donna Ware 13. Lonnie and Janice Parker, and

Jaylah Owens 14. Lydia Johnson and Hattie Breece

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TURNED

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2017 /OCTOBER SEPTEMBER okMagazine.com MountainBro $4.95

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Marketplace Mountain Brook Magazine • 205.669.3131

Be part of the next breakthrough Cancer treatment. Donate Today.

Your donation funds lifesaving research, treatment and care. www. cancer.org

Great Jobs ARE Out There... If You Know Where to Look! AIDT recruits, screens & trains qualified applicants for outstanding jobs statewide. All at NO COST to you! Visit www. aidt.edu/jobs today to view your opportunities!

American Proteins, Inc. Hiring Drivers Home Daily, Great benefits package (including: health, dental, vision insurance), paid vacation and holidays, 401K retirement plan.

Requirements: •Class A CDL with tanker endorsement •1 year verifiable driving experience.

Contact Jamie Sewell: 256-970-6133 or Ronnie Demonia: 256-970-6109 EOE Accepting Resumes for Full-time/ Part-time Tellers at large credit union. Cash Handling experience required. Great work environment, Competitive Salary, Great Benefits.

E-mail resumes to Jobs1@apcocu. org Computer Sales & Repair Appalachian Computer Services New to the Jemison area after 25 years in Georgia! Offering In-home & Inoffice Computer Repair & Servicing for Chilton, Bibb & Shelby Counties CALL TODAY! 706-273-9987 INDUSTRIAL ATHLETES $17.68 hour plus production & safety $$$ incentives. Grocery order selection using electric pallet jacks & voice activated headsets. HVAC REFRIGERATION MECHANIC $20+ hour depending on experience.

Required: 10 years recent ‘hands-on’ industrial maintenance experience or related certification. Experience in electrical, plumbing, welding & concrete repair. Ideal candidate will have experience servicing Ammonia refrigeration systems.

Paid vacation & holidays. Blue Cross health & dental insurance.

Matching 401k plan. Apply online at AGSOUTH.COM or call Charlie Seagle at (205)808-4833 Preemployment drug test required.

Lake Mitchell! 1209 Co Rd 261 Spacious home with privacy & beautiful views. GR w/exposed beams & rock fp. Wood floors, large rooms make this home perfect for entertaining or relaxing. FR w/ fp. Multiple decks, exterior stone fireplace, dock & 2 covered boat slips. $270,000. MLS#786807 Atkinson Real Estate LLC 256-2456782 NITES 205-369-7769

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.

Walk-in applications accepted.

Clanton (205)280-0002. Pelham (205)444-9774.

“B&J Metal Fabricators Professional sheet metal replacement and fabrication on classic cars/trucks. $65.00/hour for labor Parts/supplies additional Quotes based per job. Media blastingavailable. Powder coating coming soon.

Montevallo area.

(205)665-4687 (205)296-9988” Bama Concrete Now Hiring: Diesel Mechanic 4 Years Minimum Experience. CDL Preferred.

Competitive Pay. Great Benefits.

Apply in person: 2180 Hwy 87 Alabaster, 35007 BAMA CONCRETE FINISHING Driveways, Patios, Floors, Sidewalks, Driveway Repair, Concrete Walls, and Bobcat Work. Call Jeremy - Free Estimates 205-901-4112 Beelman Truck Hiring Experienced Mechanics and Drivers. Great pay.

Great benefits. Apply online at beelman.com or call 205-665-5507.

NOW HIRING CAMPGROUND HANDYMAN Must have basic electrical/plumbing/multi-tasker/ computer knowledge/customer service/communication skills/fluent English. Can pass a background/ drug screen. Email resume: tammy@ abshop.com or call 205-664-8832.

CAREGIVER Over 20 yrs experience. Trustworthy. References upon request. 24/7. Light cooking, drs appts., will run errands. CALL 205-566-4900 Borden Dairy of Alabama, LLC NOW HIRING for Class B CDL Delivery Drivers at our Irondale, AL Branch. Six Months verifiable experience driving a Commercial Vehicle. Experience in customer service preferred. Go to www. bordendairy.com to apply. (Careers, select location) Borden Dairy of Alabama, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

BRIARWOOD APARTMENTS Now Leasing! Beautiful 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments. Mon & Wed 8:30am-4pm. 535-A Hicks St.

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Montevallo • 205-665-2257 • TDD #’s: (V)1-800-548-2547 • (T/A)1-800548-2546. This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

ORDER PULLERS. Distributor in Alabaster has an immediate need for order pullers. Heavy duty lifting is required. We offer a Monday-Friday work week, competitive pay and benefits. Call our job line at 205397-1781.

Piano Tuning, New & Used Sales, Moving, Storage, and Repair. Trained

by School for the Blind. 47 Years’ Experience. BUDDY GRAY 822-0482 or 800-593-2462 FOR SALE: Oracal Vinyl and Premium HTV Vinyl by the Foot or by the Yard. C&C Trophy & Sign, Inc. 209 6th ST N Clanton Carroll Fulmer Now Hiring Class-A CDL Drivers. Over-the-road positions available. Dry vans. No hazmat. Must have one year overthe-road. Experience and a clean MVR. Competitive pay and bonus package. Good home time. Call 800633-9710 ext. 2 CDL Drivers Needed! HOME DAILY! •$850-$1250/week •Paid Vacation after 1yr •Medical/Dental/ Vision Avail. •New Equipment 2yrs Exp, Clean MVR, Drug Test Chris 205-446-5400 chrisgilliland01@ gmail.com Regina (205)275-2293 rparker7770@gmail.com Danny (205)471-3177 dcgcfi@gmail.com Chandler Health & Rehab in Alabaster Alabama Now accepting applications for CNA’s, RN’s, LPN’s, and RN House Supervisor Call Linda White 205-663-3859 FT Presser for Dry Cleaner. Salary, vacation, holidays, health & life insurance. Must have reliable transportation. Call Debbie: 205588-6521 Chase Learning Center & Day Care is Pelham is Now Hiring • PT Nursery • PT After-school. $8/hr. 5 days/ week. Great for college students!

205-620-1616 •Police Officer •Main Street Director - Visit www.cityofmontevallo.com for detailed job description and on-line application or apply in person at City Hall, 541 Main St, Montevallo, AL 35115 EEO Coosa Valley Medical Center NOW HIRING! •RN Med/Surg, 7am-7pm •RN Labor & Delivery, 11pm-7am 7-on/7-off •LPN CVMC Nursing Home,

3pm-11pm, 11pm-7am •Medical Receptionist: Davis Family Medicine 8am-5pm. Email resume to: Blaine.Green@cvhealth.net or to apply, go to www.cvhealth.net Crossroads Building Supply hiring a Class-B CDL Driver Drug test/ background check required, 2 years experience Apply at: 820 Southern Drive Clanton AL Call Bryan: 205755-0103 Full Time and Part Time RN’s Needed for home health in Bibb, Shelby and Chilton counties.

Excellent Salary and Benefits. Please send resumes to jobs@rubic.com or call 866-273-3984 DCH Health System Caring. For Life. $5,000 *Sign-on Bonus for full time RNs *For More Info Contact Annie.Miller@dchsystem.com. Apply online at: www.dchsystem.com Homewood Area Package Store.

Day Shift (10am-6pm) Clerk/Stocker.

Must be 21, have retail experience, be able to multi-task, able to work any shift. Good pay. Call (205)5858900 PT/FT Farm Equipment Operator, Lawn Maintenance and Fork Lift Driver Needed. Drug and Background Check Required.

Apply In Person: 150 Princeton Lane, Jemison, AL 35085 Plumbing Service & Repair Technician . Requirements: •Journeyman’s plumbing card •Experience in Residential/ Commercial service/repair/drain cleaning/sewer work •Clean-cut/self-motivated •Good communication skills •Clean MVR/ background/drug test. Email resume: john@jeffcoat.us Welder Training. Short Term Licensing . Call for Details . 866-4320430 ESDschool.com SHOP MANAGER CALERA, AL Evergreen Transport has an immediate opening in Calera, AL for an experienced shop manager.

This fast paced position effectively manages and directs the daily operation of the maintenance department at our Calera terminal.

Required Qualifications and Experience: •Class A Mechanic Certification, valid Class A CDL, good driving record •A minimum of five years shop experience, to include supervisory responsibilities •Computer skills, including knowledge of Excel •Mechanical repair knowledge and familiarity with warranty and vendors procedures If

interested, please call: Chuck Talbot at 251-578-5000 or Rick Mangrum at 205-668-3316 $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.

LABORERS NEEDED INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTOR Faulkner Industrial Sterrett, AL • Pre-employment drug screen and criminal background check required.

• Random Drug/Alcohol screening also administered • Must have State DL or State issued ID. • Must be able to pass basic written safety exams after training • Must be physically fit. Work includes use of personal protective equipment. This includes ½ face and full-face respirator, must be clean shaven. • Must be willing to travel, in and out of town work. Hotels paid by company and daily cash perdiem issued • OSHA 10 & MSHA a plus.

• Mechanic and Trouble Shooting Skills a plus.

• Pay depends on experience and personal skill sets. Pay starts at 12.00 for basic labor that meets all criteria above. Higher pay is available for higher skill sets or when skills are proven.

• Must provide work history and references. Please call for application: 205-672-8556 ONLINE AUCTIONS www.GTAOnlineAuctions.com 205-326-0833 Granger, Thagard & Assoc.

Jack F. Granger #873 H&H Waterproofing Now Hiring Experienced Waterproofers. Must be able to pass background check and drug test. 205-670-0090 DRIVERS: Hanna Truck Lines is seeking Professional Flatbed Drivers.

53 cpm No surprises: Starting pay (all miles): 51 cpm, 52 cpm at 6 months, 53 cpm at 1 year. 100% Outbounds loads Pre-loaded & Tarped. 75% Inbound No Tarp. Late Model Peterbilt Trucks. Air Ride Trailers. Home weekends. Low cost BCBS Health & Dental Ins. Matching 401K. Qualifications: 18 months Class A CDL driving experience with 6 months flatbed; Applicants must meet all D.O.T. requirements.

Contact recruiting at 1-800-634-

7315 or come by HTL office at 1700 Boone Blvd, Northport. EOE LPN’s, RN’s, CNA’s Full-time & part-time • 2nd & 3rd Shift. Apply in person: Hatley Health Care 300 Medical Ctr Dr Clanton, AL 35045 Hernandez Remodeling Construction & More Jobs over $1,000 receive 10% discount!!!

Remodeling, Painting (Interior/ Exterior), Roofing, Brickwork, Hardwood Floor,Carpet, Sunrooms, Decks/Porches/Stairs, Electrical, & New Construction. References Available. Licensed/Fully Insured 205-503-6237 Looking for a wonderful place to live? NEW Meadow View Village Apartments. Columbiana, AL. Now Pre-leasing 2&3 Bedrooms.

Great Amenities Provided. Call 256-560-0821. 99 Eagle Lane. info@ hollyhand.com. Equal Housing Opportunity.

DRIVERS NEEDED J & M Tank Lines, Inc. Sign On Bonus Full time. Local & Regional.

Consistent Home Time. 18 mo Tractor Trailer Experience. jmtankjobs.com or call Carlos Coleman@205-769-3536 CDL TRUCK DRIVER For Tree Service. Also hiring for other full-time and part-time jobs. Drug Test Required. 205-836-2038 or 205-229-7144 Kelly Educational Staffing® We’re hiring! •Substitute teachers •Aides •Cafeteria •Clerical •Custodial positions Shelby County School District & Alabaster City Schools.

Please call 205-870-7154 -Equal Opportunity EmployerOwner Operators Wanting Dedicated Year Round Anniston, AL www.pull4klb.com QUICK LUBE DEPARTMENT IMMEDIATE OPENINGS- Fulltime or Part-time opportunity to work at theoldest & largest Ford/ LincolnDealership in Alabama!

Long-Lewis Ford Lincoln is seeking qualified oil/tire technicians to join our busy Quick Lane! Join our team of technicians and earn top dollar for production! We offer the best training in the area, state of art facility, fast paced shop, team building, support from the top, great pay and benefits. Job duties: oil change, brakes, tires, rotation, alignment and coolants.

Job experience is helpful, but some automotive work would be acceptable. We can train! Call 205-989-3710 to schedule an appointment- no walk ins please. WE ARE HIRING NOW! EOE Lovejoy Trucking Montevallo seeking an OTR Driver home once/ twice a week Flatbed and Tarp experience, must pass Physical/Drug Screen Terry Lovejoy 205-746-2419 Jimmy Hatcher 205-283-9822

WE HAVE JOBS! · Machine Operator- Moody · Packers- Moody/ Hoover · Paint Line- Moody · Pickers/ Packers- Alabaster. Lyons HR www. lyonshr.com/career-search (205)9434820 Service Technician. Top Pay, Benefits & Commission! Mainline Heating & Air. 400 Hillwood Park S, Alabaster, AL. Or email resume to: ashley@ mainlineheating.com (205)664-4751 Marble Valley Manor. Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments for Elderly & Disabled. Many on-site services! 2115 Motes Rd, Sylacauga.

256-245-6500 •TDD#s: 800-5482547(V) •800-548-2546(T/A). Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/Employer MedHelp Clinics is hiring experienced full-time and part-time front office staff for our Pelham location. Candidates should have at least 2 years of medical, front office experience. We’re open 7 days a week: 8am-8pm Monday thru Friday, 8am-6pm on Saturday and 1pm6pm on Sunday Hours may vary by location Qualified applicants should email a copy of their cv/resume to: georgia.turner@medhelpclinics.com 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 Hiring CDL-A Drivers! Sign-on Bonus, Great Benefits, Local Domicile Work. Apply online at: MerchantsFoodService.com/Careers 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 280 Location Opening Now Hiring 3 shift Managers. Pay Rate $9-$11.

20-25 Employees. Pay Rate $7.75$8.50. Must have own transportation and flexible schedule. Apply at recruiting.talentreef.com/mommagoldbergs-deli (205)503-6190 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 Production Jobs. Willing to Train.

AAM in Columbiana is HIRING for multiple shifts. Email resume to dcurtis@grede.com or apply in person: 130 Industrial Pkwy, Columbiana, AL 35051 Ignite Your Career with Mspark!

For current openings, visit: www. mspark.com/our-company/careers/ or send resume: apollard@mspark. com. Mspark offers competitive compensation, benefits and a teamoriented work environment. EOE. INDUSTRIAL CLEANING IN VANCE Requirements: •18 Years Old •HS Diploma/GED •Able to

work variable shifts/weekends/ holidays •Able to lift up to 50lbs constantly, stand on your feet for 8hrs •Able to pass drug screen/ background check Complete your application on line at www.naonsite. com Production / Manufacturing Vance, Alabama Starting pay: $12.00 – $14.50 /hr. • Have 2 years+ Production/Manufacturing experience. • Have Recently Lived in Alabama at least 2 years. • Have A High School Diploma or GED. • Are at least 18 years old. Complete your application on line at www. naonsite.com Odyssey Early Schools.

Birmingham’s Best Daycare/ Preschool is Seeking Experienced Teachers. 4 Year Degree Preferred.

Full-Time. BEST Pay. FULL Benefits (Insurance, Leave, Holidays). Call Annie Fine 205-991-0039.

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 inquires only. Call 334-409-0035 or apply on-line at www.Oxfordhealthcare.com Cook/Server Needed Breakfast Shift (approx. 3am-1pm) Must be able to work some weekends and holidays. Apply at: Peach Park Express 2320 7th Street South Class A CDL Drivers Needed Immediately for Dump Trailer Hauling • $2000 Retention Bonus • Local Hauling • Home Nights APPLY ONLINE: www.perdidotrucking. com Perdido Trucking Service, LLC 251-470-0355 PLUMBERS & PLUMBER HELPERS Call or Text 205-432-9049 3/2 Garden Home Calera Schools.

Easy access to HWY 31 & I-65 W/D hook-ups, Dishwasher. Fenced backyard. No Pets. Rent $1250 (205)433-9811 ROSS NEELY TRUCK LINES •NOW HIRING• TRUCK DRIVERS-OTR If you are a professional CDL A Driver, have two years experience, a good safety recrod, and want to GET HOME ON THE WEEKENDS apply online at www.rossneely.com or apply by email at jeff@rossneely.com The Salvation Army, Alabaster, is hiring (Seasonal) Angel Tree Coordinator • Kettle Coordinator • Required Skills: Driver, databases, computer, physical abilities. Email resumes to: Rufus.McDowell@uss. salvationarmy.org 205-663-7105 JOIN OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM Schuster Enterprises, Inc, a Franchisee of Burger King, is looking for Management professionals who have a desire to join a team where people are the most important asset, where growth is based on ability and where opportunity is abundant. Benefits: •Competitive wages •Health & Life insurance •Paid

vacations •401(k) Apply online at: www.bkworker.com DRUG FREE WORKPLACE EOE ServiceMaster is Hiring Part-time Fire Cleaning Techs WILL TRAIN! Must pass background check/drug test, have reliable transportation & good driving record. Serious Inquiries. Call (205)424-4211 The Alabama Symphony Orchestra in partnership with Shelby County (DiscoverShelby.com) are providing complimentary recreational outing for Shelby County, Alabama Senior Citizens 55 and older. Please register with your local Senior Center Manager to reserve your tickets and your ride on the bus. You can contact Senta Goldman, Coordinator of Community Services for Shelby County at: (205)670-6557 or email at: sgoldman@shelbyal.com WE NEED SHELBY COUNTY TO REPRESENT! RSVP your ticket at least three days in advance. The concerts begin at 11:00am in the Jemison Concert Hall at the Alys Stephens Center.

Complimentary coffee and pastries before the concert November 17th Justin Brown Returns! Mozart, Beethoven & Clyne Order Selectors Food Dist. Center in Pelham Day-Shift: Mon-Fri. 40+ hours/week 10:00AM until finished (varies). Salary: $16-20/ hr after training. Benefits: Medical, vision, dental, vacation & 401k.

Requirements: •Reading & math skills •Lift 40 lbs. repetitively •Work in -10 Temperature Apply in person: 8:30AM-5:00PM Southeastern Food 201 Parker Drive Pelham, Alabama 35124 resume@southeasternfood. com Southern Haulers LLC Immediate Openings for Regional Tractor Trailer Dump Drivers for Calera, Decatur, Brewton, & Mobile terminals. •Home on weekends •Excellent wage & benefit package plus 401K, vacations & bonuses •23 years of age •1 year tractor trailer driving experience, good MVR and CSA points. If interested call 1-800-537-4621 and ask for Adam, Ext 703 or www. southernhaulersllc.com EOE Immediate Positions!!!! Positions needed: Warehouse • Sales Reps • Assistant Manager • Delivery Drivers • Customer Service. Laid back atmosphere, good pay, plenty of hours available! Company vehicles to qualified individuals! Call Andrew 9am-7pm • Mon-Sat at (205)4901003 or (205)243-6337 CLOCK REPAIR SVS. * Setup * Repair * Maintenance. I can fix your Mother’s clock. Alabaster/Pelham.

Call Stephen (205)663-2822 Supreme Cores Alabama, Inc. PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR NEEDED Why drive in BHAM traffic or work 5 days per week? Interested?

Apply at: 2595 Highway 87, Alabaster, Alabama 35007 or email résumé: hr@sccarolinas.com 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.

TARGET AUCTION Advanced Real Estate Marketing 800-476-3939 www.targetauction.com TaylorMade Transportation Hiring CDL Drivers for Flatbed Regional Division! BCBS Insurance After 30 Days. To apply call: (334)366-2269 or email: s.smith@taylormadeinc.com The Painting Company of Birmingham Immediate openings for professional residential and commercial painters.

Must be able to speak English. Call 205-995-5559 Become a Dental Assistant in ONLY 8 WEEKS! Please visit our website capstonedentalassisting.com or call (205)561-8118 and get your career started!

Caregivers Needed ASAP! Competitive hourly pay. Call Visiting Angels at (205)719-1996 to discuss.

NOW HIRING CDL-A DRIVERS w/ Haz. $5000 Sign-On Bonus. Apply online: www.westernintl.com or Corporate Office: 979-413-2140 $5000 SIGN-ON BONUS! HIRING CDL TEAM A DRIVER Apply online: www.westernintl.com Or Contact Corporate: Western International Gas & Cylinders 979-413-2140 or 979-413-2192 (EOE) Now Hiring •MASTER PLUMBER •EXPERIENCED CARPENTER. Please Call 205-755-8555 or send resume to whatleybuilders@businessmailbox. com Tree Nursery Worker Needed Responsible w/mechanical skills.

To operate forklift/farm tractors/ equipment/welding/ground maintenance/service equipment/ check fluid levels/clean after use.

Maintainsafe/clean area. Requires valid-DL/reliable transportation.

334-365-2488 Wiley Sanders Truck Lines Inc $1,000 SIGN-ON-BONUS DRIVER PAY RAISE EFFECTIVE JUNE 2017!

Longevity-Bonus. Quarterly SafeDriving AWARD. Competitive Pay Package. PAID Orientation. NEW Fleet of Trucks. Call 1-855-777-9785 & ask for Dale or Brandy. Nights/ weekends, call Jeffrey: 334-3725049 Ron: 1-850-454-4276 Richard: 334-492-0803 Wiregrass Construction Company is seeking experienced asphalt CDL TRUCK DRIVERS. Must be dependable. Excellent benefits.

Interested applicants may apply: 951 Dow Street. Pelham, AL 35124.

(205)620-4132 or 151 Piper Lane.

Alabaster, AL 35007 (205)605-0753.

8AM to 5PM, M-F. WCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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MY MOUNTAIN BROOK Ragan Cain

Tacala Companies VP+Traveller+Design Connoisseur

Home Accessorizing

Table Matters This shop been my go-to shopping spot since I graduated from BirminghamSouthern in 1999. Along with the fabulous inventory, it has also given me a dear friend, Patricia Murray!

Fashion Chic

Stylist Megan LaRussa Working with Megan has been a game changer for me.

I love fashion but I’m not “good” at it, so I am thankful to Megan for helping my style vision come to life.

Tastemakers Unite

Antiques at the Gardens Hands down, this is my favorite event in Birmingham.

Every October so many beautiful things and people come to life in one weekend and benefit our very own Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

A Quiet Oasis

Breeze Hill Farm My yard is a quiet spot in the middle of a busy life and city. More and more it’s becoming my favorite place to be in Birmingham.

PHOTO BY REBECCA WISE

For the Little Ones

Christine’s Across the Street I am a lover of children’s clothes, always have been, always will be. Christine’s is one of my favorite spots in Mountain Brook for the most beautiful and timeless pieces.

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