H. Neely Henry Hydro Plant Superintendent Jeff Harris calls Katie Glenn the “Mama Hen” of the facility, adding that her caring support of her co-workers and community shines through everything she does.
“Katie takes care of everybody here at the plant,” said Harris. “She is the one who makes sure we are comfortable and have everything we need, and calls to check on us when we’re not at the plant. She also leads in her community through her church and her participation in the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO). She has a love for people.” (more…)
Although it’s no picnic, wearing a face mask gets easier.
That’s Elizabeth Perkins’ message to kids who have not yet started back to school. After more than a week of wearing a face mask for about six hours a day at school, the eighth grader at Bessemer Academy advises other students to practice wearing their mask at home as much as possible before returning to the classroom.
“Wearing a mask was hard at first,” said Perkins. “The first day, I tried to get away from people for a few minutes so I could pull it away from my face just to try to breathe. Now it’s still a little weird, but I think I’m getting used to it.”
Dr. Gigi Youngblood, a pediatrician at Pediatrics East – Children’s of Alabama, agrees that encouraging kids to practice social distancing and wearing face coverings, and reminding them to thoroughly wash their hands are the keys to keeping them safe. Whether they are in the classroom or taking part in remote learning at home, children need to understand the importance of practicing these safety measures, she said. (more…)
Jim Bob Rutlin has come home at last.
Rutlin is one of the first residents of Union Village, an innovative community in Talladega for low-income blind, deaf and deaf-blind individuals.
“It gives me a sense of independence,” said Rutlin, a blind part-time Braille transcriber at the library at the Alabama School for the Deaf. “It says we’re grown, we pay taxes and we can have a place of our own. This is home for good, and I thank God for that every night.” (more…)
In the midst of the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Misty Kerr has found joy by helping to feed hungry kids in her community.
“With all the bad news on TV, I had to have something to smile about,” said Kerr, an automotive market specialist at Alabama Power’s Gadsden Office. “When all this is over and I think back on the pandemic, I wanted to be able to think about the good that came out of it. There is nothing more fulfilling than feeding children.”
When schools abruptly closed in March, Kerr became concerned. Knowing that many of the children in her Gadsden community depend on free or reduced-priced lunches at school, she turned to Facebook to see how she could help. That was the start of a fast friendship among Kerr and four Gadsden-area women who share a passion for making sure kids’ bellies are full. (more…)
When Alabama shut down in April to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, Lorine Askew and her four daughters did their best to keep their two restaurants’ doors open, even though it was a struggle for their families.
“Like everybody else, we were affected by the shutdown,” said Askew. “But we never gave up because we had people working for us. Those people had families to feed and bills to pay, and they needed to work. When you care about your employees, you try to sacrifice for them, even if you are not getting paid. But God has continued to bless us.”
Askew and her daughters, Mary Key, Kia Tyndale, Jerelene Askew and Rewa Ford, together run Pannie-George’s Kitchen, a family-owned restaurant with locations in Auburn and Montgomery. It is named for Lorine’s parents, Pannie and George Taylor, who often welcomed church friends into their kitchen for a home-cooked “Sunday supper,” and passed their love of serving others to their children and grandchildren. (more…)
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced Alabama schools to close their traditional classrooms in March, Corey Jones said it hit his students in rural Greene County doubly hard.
“We’re one of the poorest school districts in the state, and most of our students don’t have computers or access to the internet,” said Jones, Greene County School System superintendent. “We had to print out instructional packets and use buses to deliver them to students. Having to rely solely on printed materials put them at a significant educational disadvantage.” (more…)
Jeff and Bethany Meadows are opposites when it comes to their taste in hot sauce. But they agree on one thing: No family dinner is complete without it.
Jeff is what his wife calls a “serious chili head.”
“I’ve always loved hot sauce, and over the years I’ve built up a tolerance for a lot of heat,” Jeff said. “I enjoy experimenting with different flavors and food combinations. There is such a wide range of flavors and every hot sauce recipe is different.” (more…)
Dr. Brandon White has never drowned before. But after fighting the battle of his life with COVID-19, he has experienced the closest thing to it.
“Just sitting on the bed, I felt like I couldn’t get my breath. While I have never drowned, that would be the best way I could describe the sensation,” White said. “I was on oxygen, and I still wasn’t getting any better. That was the most concerning part of it.”
White, a doctor at UAB Medical West in Bessemer, was working long hours in the hospital’s intensive care and isolation units treating some of the worse coronavirus cases when the unthinkable happened: He was knocked down by the disease. Now, nearly a month later, with much of that time in the ICU, he is back on his feet and has returned to his job on the front lines of the pandemic. (more…)
Giving back to her community is not new to Meghan Goyal.
That’s why the 10th grader at Birmingham’s Altamont School quickly embraced the idea when she read an online article that volunteers are needed to help make plastic face shields for health care workers fighting the battle against the deadly COVID-19 disease. Local organization Bham Support was calling on area makers to help produce these face shields using 3D printers.
“Both my parents are doctors, and when I saw this, it struck a heart chord. I thought it would be a great project to take on,” said Goyal. “I’m involved in a lot of service projects, and I didn’t want to stop just because school has stopped.” (more…)
With nurses, doctors and other health care professionals working every day in the thick of the fight against COVID-19, 1818 Farms decided to give them a little pampering.
On Tuesday, April 14, this small Mooresville farm will join with the community to recognize these men and women for their commitment and hard work. It will award its Health Care Hero Gift Box to 10 medical professionals.
Decorated with a bright red ribbon, the keepsake boxes are filled with a selection of 1818 Farms’ all-natural, handmade beauty products designed to give these workers comfort and an extra lift after a long day on the job. Five men and five women will receive these gifts. (more…)
This year, 7-year-old Diana Bailey received an early birthday surprise – a new furry friend to help fill her days at home during the nation’s coronavirus crisis.
“I told Diana that if she was good, she could have a dog for her birthday in August,” said Jeannine, the girl’s mom. “But when we were sequestered, I thought this would be a good time to get a dog because we would be at home and would have more time to housetrain it.”
After scouring the web, Jeannine, a talent and employment manager at Alabama Power’s Corporate Headquarters in Birmingham, and Diana found their “dream dog” at Crossing Paths Animal Rescue Center in Cleveland, Alabama. (more…)
During this period of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak across the nation, Full Moon Bar-B-Que is offering Alabamians a way to reach out a helping hand to neighbors and friends.
Through its new “Feed a Friend” initiative, Full Moon is choosing 10 families in the Birmingham area to receive a free meal. Each family will receive Full Moon’s value meal, which includes a pound of pork or chicken, fresh bread, two sides and the restaurant’s famous cookies. The program will run through Friday, April 4. (more…)
Alabama women today hold political office at local, state and national levels. In 2018, Alabamians elected Gov. Kay Ivey as the state’s second female governor, raising her to the top leadership post.
But it has not always been that way. More than 100 years ago, a woman’s place was in the home. She had no legal rights, and it was considered by many unnatural for her to take part in political affairs.
That began to change with the passage of the 19th Amendment giving American women the right to vote. This year, Alabama and the nation will celebrate the centennial of that pivotal, life-changing moment. (more…)
As a young boy living within a stone’s throw of Cape Canaveral in South Florida, Forest Harper Jr. reached for the stars.
Although he never realized his childhood dream of rocketing through space as an astronaut, Harper broke through another “stratosphere” when he became the first and only African American vice president at pharmaceutical manufacturing giant Pfizer. Now, through his leadership at INROADS, he is helping today’s youths find their own place in the corporate world.
“After I had been vice president for a while, I woke up one morning and looked in the mirror and said, ‘There’s nothing I can do about being the first African American in this role, but there’s something I can do about being the only African American,’” Harper said. “What I wanted to do was give untapped and underrepresented youths opportunities to come into corporate America.” (more…)
For kids and adults who are rarely in the limelight, victory was sweet as they splashed across the finish line at the natatorium in the Birmingham Crossplex.
On Jan. 24, 160 athletes and their unified partners — family members, relatives and friends — competed in the Special Olympics Alabama Birmingham Swim sectional. Special Olympics is a year-round sports training and competition program open to children and adults with intellectual or physical disabilities.
There were 13 teams from across the state with athletes, ages 8 to 67, competing in 27 swim events, ranging from the 25-meter backstroke and breaststroke to the 800-meter freestyle. The competitors swam in 39 races in various divisions, based on age, gender and ability. (more…)
Some senior citizens in Oxford recently learned that good things come in small packages.
On Dec. 20, Eastern Division Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO)-Anniston sub-area members teamed up with Santa to deliver shoeboxes packed with gifts to seniors at the Diversicare of Oxford Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center. Employees filled 151 boxes – one for each resident – and gave them to Santa to distribute at the facility’s Christmas party. (more…)
Earlier this holiday season, the happy voices of the Arc of Tuscaloosa County choir rang out at the Alabama Power Western Division Office, ushering in the holidays for Karen Burklew and many of her co-workers.
The choir, known as the Sounds of Joy, performed its annual holiday concert for employees on Dec. 11 in the office auditorium. About 35 employees turned out for the concert, enjoying the music while sampling morning coffee and doughnuts.
“I feel like my holiday season doesn’t start until the choir comes,” said Burklew, Western Division Marketing team leader. (more…)
The North Pole is closer than you think.
In the heart of Hoover, Santa, his elves and his workshop take center stage at Patti and Steve Knain’s home throughout the holiday season.
After Halloween, Steve begins his massive holiday pet project – the transformation of the couple’s 16-foot-wide living room into his own version of a miniature North Pole village. The winter wonderland, which Steve began with one piece about 30 years ago, now stretches from wall to wall in what the couple calls their “Village Room.”
Along with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, the village features 87 lighted buildings and large accessories, 75 to 100 elves and more than 200 trees. There’s even an electric company, a gondola that travels up and down a mountain and a hot air balloon that floats above the miniature village.
“It’s usually about 100 hours of work,” said Steve, adding that his goal is to finish building the village by Thanksgiving. “I blow snow and glitter over everything, so the living room is kind of a mess throughout the process. But it looks very nice when it’s finished.” (more…)
The Mobile Division Chapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) has stepped in for Santa in Bayou La Batre this holiday season.
APSO members are making Christmas brighter by providing gifts for Vietnamese-American seniors and children living in the community.
“There is a large Vietnamese-American population in Bayou La Batre, and many of the people are fishermen,” said Sharon Murrill, community relations manager in Alabama Power‘s Mobile Division. “Because the fishing in Bayou La Batre is not what it once was due to the oil spill in the Gulf several years ago, I thought that perhaps our chapter could help those families.” (more…)
Although Dr. Kevin Chance has tickled the ivories on concert stages around the world, including at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City, he said his greatest satisfaction comes from watching his students grow into successful, confident performers.
“One of my greatest memories is the first time I had a student perform their first solo recital,” said Chance, assistant professor of piano at the University of Alabama. “The process of putting together an hourlong recital is daunting for some students. It’s a lot of music to put in your head and then feel confident enough to play it in front of people. For me, teaching is the opportunity to see the potential in every student and often take them to heights they didn’t know they could achieve. When I see the joy and satisfaction they get out of that, it gives me eternal gratification.” (more…)
Sara Franklin’s world turned upside down on the night of Aug. 25, 2018, when she experienced her first seizure. Now she has turned what began as a scary experience into an opportunity to help others facing similar situations.
“My husband woke in the middle of the night to find me convulsing, and I wasn’t responding. He didn’t know what to do, so he called 911,” said Franklin. “When I woke up about 15 minutes later, there were firemen in my room, and I didn’t remember anything.”
Franklin was rushed to a hospital after suffering a tonic clonic, more commonly known as grand mal seizure. She visited a neurologist several weeks later to undergo a series of tests but no cause for the seizure was immediately uncovered. (more…)
When Shawn Goyal learned two years ago of the desperate need for drinkable water in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, he knew he had to help.
“We were studying Puerto Rico and the Caribbean in Spanish class the fall that Hurricane Maria hit,” said Goyal, now a senior at Altamont School in Birmingham. “As I researched Puerto Rico and dug deeper, I realized how bad the need was and I wanted to do what I could for the people there.”
At the same time, Goyal was looking for a community service effort that could serve as his Eagle Scout project. That’s when he thought, “Why not make it a global project?”
Goyal decided to partner with local nonprofits that were sending disaster relief to Puerto Rico and other hard-hit areas. The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham told him of the scarcity of fresh water and linked him with Uzima, a company that manufactures inexpensive, easy-to-use water filtration systems. (more…)
With summer in full swing, it’s the prime season for fresh fruits and vegetables. But who wants to get up at dawn on Saturday morning to make the trip to the local farmers market to buy produce?
That’s no longer necessary in the Birmingham area. In April, Will and Hayley DeShazo launched till, the city’s first-ever service that delivers produce fresh from the farm directly to your doorstep. (more…)
During World War II, the battles raging overseas must have seemed a world away for most Americans. But the conflict was closer to home than they realized, with thousands of German prisoners of war housed at an internment camp in a small rural community in west central Alabama.
In Aliceville, 36 miles west of Tuscaloosa, the more than 830-acre camp held up to 6,000 POWs and was one of the largest of its kind in the United States. Although the camp opened in 1942, it was not until the following summer that the first trainload of POWs arrived in town. (more…)