Local Landscape Painter Is Featured Artist at Hoover’s Southern VoicesBy June MathewsWhen artist Melanie Morris accompanied her husband, author Michael Morris, to the Hoover Public Library’s Southern Voices Festival in 2004, she met that year’s featured artist, Toni Tully, with whom she naturally felt a connection.“She was so nice, and I thought then that I would … [Read more...]
Waking Up about Addiction
Personal Experiences Highlight Prevention EventBy Emily Williams“I was on the right track, or what seemed like the right track, to doing everything you would want to do in life and everything that parents would ever want from their kid,” said Brad Blount, his image playing on a large screen in the crowded ballroom of Vestavia Country Club.A room packed with people … [Read more...]
The Long Run
By Lee DavisAlmost 23 years ago, nobody could have guessed that the birth of a child could lead to the establishment of one of the most successful charitable events in metro Birmingham.But that’s exactly what happened.In August of 1992, Paul and Cinna Sotherland of Homewood gave birth to their son, Matt. The child had Down syndrome, along with a heart defect that … [Read more...]
Running the Good Race
By Donna CorneliusBefore the 2009 Mercedes Marathon, a friend asked Sally Williams to run for a cause.“I ran as a BellRunner for a child with Down syndrome,” said Williams, who lives in Birmingham near Crestline.BellRunners raise money for the marathon’s official charity, The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs. The Birmingham-based nonprofit organization … [Read more...]
Laughing and Learning
Comedy Group Uses Humor to Spread Anti-bullying MessageBy Emily WilliamsWhat began as a not-for-profit anti-bullying coalition has evolved into an incorporated business serving corporations and individuals through workshops and improv classes.David Grissom, founder of Positively Funny, Inc., said he discovered his love of improvisation after graduating from UAB with … [Read more...]