If you follow Discover St. Clair Magazine long enough, you should be able to spot a recurring theme. What makes this place so special?

As I sit down to edit the stories in this month’s edition, I am reminded once again that there’s no shortage of people, places and events that truly do define ‘special.’ Take Floyd Waites, for instance. Here’s a Pell City kid born and raised with a particular penchant for piano and singing.

He moves to New York and plays in jazz clubs, on stages around the world and around the corner with some of the greats, like Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight. He played blues and jazz in Harlem. But come Sunday mornings, you’d most likely find him behind the piano or organ at his church, just like back home in Pell City.

His roots run deep here, and when he retired, he returned. And on Sunday mornings, you’ll find him playing at his church once again.

Springville’s Jacob Walker is cut from the same cloth – a passion early in life became his career. Growing up on Logan Martin and the Warrior River, he honed his skills and followed his dream. Today, he is now a professional angler who is garnering national attention as a champion.

As a state senator, Jim McClendon knew that with the office comes a certain amount of power over Alabama’s purse strings. But he also knew he needed to guide the investment wisely. Combining education and workforce development, he successfully drove sizable amounts of funding in Jefferson State Community College’s direction.

Today, its Nursing and Allied Health Wing at the St. Clair Campus bears his name. It’s a fitting tribute to a lawmaker who saw the value of nursing education in St. Clair County to provide quality staff for the nearby hospital and veterans home as well as health care facilities all around. It also enabled opportunities for quality education here at home for citizens who might not otherwise have had the chance.

A trio of physical therapists have developed an unspoken bond through their work in their chosen vocation and as bird hunters through their sport of choice. Their camaraderie delights their patients, and their passion for their dogs and hunting brings them even closer.

What makes this place so special? Ask Brock’s Gap Training Center, and officials will quickly tell you it’s the widen open acreage they were able to secure for a move from Hoover to St. Clair County for long range shooting facilities. The center just opened on 877 acres in the southern part of the county and may just become a target destination point from throughout the Southeast.

Pose the question to Outback Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steaks, Wingstop and Kami Thai and Sushi Fusion why this place is special, and they’ll no doubt cite the soaring growth in Pell City that landed their restaurants on the development menu. In our business section, you’ll read all about what’s opening and what’s breaking ground in the way of new eateries in Pell City.

A pair of Realtors with a successful track record in real estate sales followed it up with buying rental property management and opening a new office house all their services. As if that wasn’t enough to keep them busy, now they’ve turned the bottom floor into retail space for Martin Street Mercantile gift shop. Recognizing the need for more retail offerings in their city, they are seeking to fill the need. Special indeed!

Of course, that’s not all. There’s plenty more in this edition. Just turn the page and discover it all with us!  

Carol Pappas
Editor and Publisher