Photo: Winners at the convention. Kylie Entrekin of Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative’s marketing team is second from left. Kylie Mason is third from left. She is in sales and marketing for Coosa Valley Technologies.
The marketing team from Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative and Coosa Valley Technologies received six awards at the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives Communications Awards, which recognize excellence in marketing, communications and public relations among electric cooperatives across Alabama.
The awards, given during AREA’s annual communications conference in Huntsville, are for work created in 2024.
“These awards highlight the impact that marketing does for cooperatives and subsidiaries,” said Jon Cullimore, CVEC general manager. “I’m grateful for the team’s efforts and look forward to seeing what they can achieve next.”
CVEC and CVT each earned two Awards of Excellence, the highest honor given in each category. Cullimore received the Best Column Award for his Alabama Living magazine piece, “Giving Thanks After Helene.” The column recounts the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and highlights the critical role Alabama’s cooperatives and linemen played in restoring power to affected communities.
“Orchestrating an Outage Response,” also published in Alabama Living magazine, was named Best News Story for its behind-the-scenes look at the coordinated efforts required to respond to a power outage.
CVT, a subsidiary of CVEC, won Best Wild Card for “Daily Dose of Fiber,” a nutrition-label-themed cereal box featuring the organization’s fiber service features. Pioneer Utility Resources, a firm specializing in electric cooperative marketing, created the cereal box design.
CVT’s Trunk R Treat Cybersecurity Halloween Event was recognized with the Best Event Campaign Award for its engaging, family-friendly approach to promoting online safety.
CVEC also received two Awards of Merit. The Alabama Living article titled “Helping with Helene” highlighted CVEC linemen providing mutual aid after Hurricane Helene. It was honored in the News Story category.
Safety Director Tommy Tant earned a Best Photo nod for his nighttime image titled “Nighttime Ballet,” which captured the precision and teamwork of linemen working after dark.
Marketing efforts from 2025 will be recognized during the annual conference in October 2026.
No matter how old I get, I always seem to be waiting for the day I finally grow up.
We spend our childhood looking toward all these mile markers — driving, graduation, college, marriage, parenthood — believing that once we pass a few of them, something magical will happen.
We’ll grow up. We’ll know things. We’ll FINALLY arrive and stop feeling like we’re just guessing our way through life.
But here’s the secret no one tells you when you’re young:
You never really grow up. … At least not all the way.Sure, you age. You get larger … taller … wiser in some ways, tired in others. But truthfully, the older you get, the more you realize how little you actually know.
And the more you realize you’re not alone.
The big secret in childhood is that no one ever really warns you that you never really grow up completely … no matter how old you get. I’m convinced even the oldest and wisest among us still have moments where they still feel 16 again, a little unsure and a little lost. Most days, I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. I am literally just “winging” my way through life. At least once a week, I would give anything to call my mom (who’s been gone over 10 years now) and ask her to come over and help me fix my life.
Some days, my kids call out for a grown-up, and it takes me a minute to remember —that’s me. I’M the grown-up. And like so many other “grown-ups,” I still look around wondering how in the world I got here — But here I am. Trying. Failing. Guessing. Growing up. Hoping I’m choosing right. … And occasionally glancing over my shoulder to see if a ‘real’ grown-up is coming to save me.
Spoiler— they’re not. It’s us. It’s always been us.
– Mackenzie Free –
Wife, mother, photographer & current resident of the unassumingly magical town of Steele, Alabama
Historic Springville Rock School will once again focus on education
Story and Photos by Graham Hadley Architectural renderings Courtesy of Stewart Knox Centercut Creative
Springville’s old Rock School has always been a cornerstone for education and community activities in the region. So it should be no surprise future plans for the historic structure continue that tradition.
The Big Canoe Creek Preserve Partners will be developing parts of the building as an educational Nature Center – an immersive and interactive walk-through experience highlighting the natural wonders of the preserve and surrounding areas to help better educate people of all ages about the importance of the regional biome.
“The Nature Center will teach people about all the diverse animals and plants in the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve, all the biodiversity, the Big Canoe Creek watershed and what a watershed actually is,” said Preserve Manager Doug Morrison.
Concept designs from Centercut Creative on what the Nature Center will look like
The project will use between 1,200 to 1,900 square feet of space in the historic Springville building. Some of that space is already being put to use as office space for the Preserve staff, which was previously primarily operating out of a small building at the preserve.
The idea for the educational Nature Center came to Morrison a little over a year ago during a planning and zoning meeting.
“The Springville Preservation Society owns the building and has done a great job restoring it. They needed to rezone the property to properly make use of it. During one of the zoning meetings where that was being discussed, the idea for the center just came to me. The old school would be ideal for that,” Morrison said.
“It gives us room for the Nature Center, office space, handicapped parking and has a ramp for ADA compliance. It checks all the boxes. The Preservation Society remodeled it and were looking to lease it.” The Rock School has been a centerpiece of the community for decades. “My son used to do Scouts here years ago,” Morrison said.
Frank Waid, president of the Preservation Society, told Morrison they had the big room and some other space available for lease, and things started coming together.
Community support has been instrumental to the success of Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve, and this latest project is no different.
Doug Morrison in front of the blackboard in the Rock School where organizers brainstormed ideas for the center
Morrison is quick to point out how much help he, Education Coordinator Lucy Cleaver, Maintenance Tech Jake Tucker and the others who work to make the preserve such an amazing place, receive from the non-profit Preserve Partners. It was organized to handle fundraising and similar activities for the preserve. From the Board of Directors to the individuals and businesses that donate, along with the City of Springville, none of what they are doing would be possible without that collective support.
Shortly after discussing the idea with Frank Waid, Morrison was sitting in Nichols Nook drinking coffee with Justen Burns when he shared the vision for the Nature Center. Burns immediately responded, “I might be interested in helping out with that.” His company, Peritus Wealth Management, quickly stepped up to cover a portion of the lease expenses.
Granger Waid and his company, Norris Paving, also jumped on board to cover the remaining portion of the lease, saying, “I believe in what they are doing here.”
“We have the first year of the lease taken care of thanks to these good folks in our community,” Morrison said. “And thanks to other donors in the community and the Alabama Power Foundation, we are already accumulating funds for next year’s lease. If anyone would like to contribute to the Nature Center and the Preserve, donations can be made through our website at bigcanoecreekpreserve.org. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful support in this community, and we are extremely grateful.”
Once they had the fundamental pieces in place, things started moving quickly. Morrison and Cleaver have already moved into their new offices, making use of much-needed space for managing the preserve and planning for its future.
Morrison, Cleaver, Granger and Jessica Waid sat down after discussing the project and, using one of the old blackboards in the school’s big room, Granger mapped out exactly what their vision was.
What they have come up with is something very special for the city and the region.
“We have a guy, Stewart Knox with Centercut Creative, doing the master plan for the Nature Center,” Morrison said.
“He was involved in parts of the Natureplex at the Alabama Nature Center in Millbrook. I really like their 3D and interactive displays, especially this giant beehive you can go into. I want to have displays like that here.”
The walk-in behive display at the Natureplex in Millbrook designed by Stewart Knox
Knox, an Auburn graduate with a degree in industrial design, said it is “all concept-based design.” His work has focused on special projects – like the beehive at the Natureplex. “I am very hands-on; you have to be with this. I am good at coming up with complex plans.”
According to the design proposal Knox has put together, “The design will highlight the mission of Big Canoe Creek through storytelling, visual engagement and hands-on learning, while maintaining flexibility for future growth and programming.”
It incorporates free-standing and wall-mounted displays, interactive 3D installations and more. Knox refers to it as “nature’s classroom.”
Morrison said that they would also like to possibly have live animals at the center – “fish and turtles, maybe snakes. People have already started donating fish tanks that I need to go pick up.”
They also want to include displays about how the local native people lived in the area and others about community involvement in the Preserve and the conservation process.
This display case was originally in Laster Sundries
“It goes to our core ideals: Preserve, Explore, Discover,” Morrison said. “When you educate people about everything that makes up the biome here, those are going to be the people who want to help preserve it.”
Morrison sees other parts of Springville and the county working with the center. “Lucy is already putting together plans with the Springville Library to collaborate on educational programs. And we have two other businesses leasing space in the school – a photographer and an artist. I can see both of those being very much resources we can collaborate with.”
The Nature Center and the Preserve are the sort of big-picture projects that benefit the area by attracting people to Springville from all across the region and the state, he said.
The Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve is already doing just that. This past Christmas, more than 1,200 people came through the preserve to see the holiday light display called “Christmas in the Pines,” an event that Morrison expects to grow next year.
“This was a great idea from Lucy and working with Jake, myself and our many volunteers, it turned out to be a huge success. People loved it!” And the Nature Center is only one of several projects attached to the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve that is in the works, including an education and multi-use pavilion. All of which, Morrison reiterated, are made possible through the support they receive from the city, Preserve Partners, grantors and many others who are working to make the preserve and center successful regional destination points.
Eric Knepper doesn’t take credit for the beauty in his work. A profoundly spiritual man, he says he’s simply revealing the beauty that is already within the wood when he carves his one-of-a-kind pieces.
“You just get inside the piece of wood and see what God made,” says the artisan. “That’s what you want to show, all the beauty in the grains.”
Eric Knepper shows off some of his work
For nearly three decades, Knepper has been unveiling the natural beauty in the wood around him and crafting hundreds of pieces of original wood treasures. An old rotten maple tree found new life as a beautiful bowl. A red oak tree that had to be cut on his property was transformed into a rolltop desk, a credenza and a file cabinet.
His wife, Pat, smiles across the table as she talks about different items he has created over the years. The house is filled with them, from the dining room’s exquisitely carved grandfather clock with cabriole legs to the stunning freestanding cabinet in the living room made from pieces of an old fireplace screen. “He is so talented. I can’t think of anything I’ve asked Eric to do that he hasn’t been able to do,” she adds, her eyes filled with pride. “He will find a way to do anything.”
The son of a carpenter, and a very determined man himself, Knepper made furniture early in his marriage to meet the needs of his family. “When you get started, you have nothing. We built things then because you couldn’t afford them,” he explains. He even did all the millwork in the home that they built in 1997. But it wasn’t until after retirement at age 60 that his woodworking expanded into a new passion – wood carving.
On a camping trip the couple took to Florida, his interest in carving came alive. “People in the campsite next to us carved, and he took me to a carving club in Fort Myers.” When Knepper returned to Pell City, he met with Tom Goodwin, a carver from a local carving club, and the two became great friends.
Goodwin took Knepper under his wing, showing him how to work with different woods and specific tools. His friend has since passed, but Knepper still has the carving equipment that once belonged to Goodwin. After revealing that he was terminally ill, Goodwin asked Knepper to buy his carving tools so he could pass them on to someone with a passion for the art.
Creations on display at the Museum of Pell City
Those specialty tools, Knepper explains, are mostly different chisels and knives, with some power carving tools. “On a given project, you might use two or three tools primarily, or for furniture, (you might use) your whole shop,” Knepper says. He has a wood carving room within the house for smaller projects. Larger pieces are handled in his wood shop in the barn.
As any wood carver would tell you, keeping your tools sharp is essential. Keeping them sharp is important for precise cuts, but it can also create the need for some emergency care, as was the case for Knepper seven years ago. “I cut the end of my thumb off about 6 years ago,” he admits. “You don’t even notice it now. I don’t even remember what I was working on, but I did a dumb thing.”
“He just came in and said he needed a band aid,” tells Pat. He needed a bit more than that. “It was hard to get it to fit back together,” she adds, giving credit to “a wonderful nurse practitioner at Dr. Helms’ office.”
Eric and Pat Knepper
The Kneppers handled the crisis with the same grace and perseverance that has defined their 63 years of marriage. The two met while Eric was in the Navy in Virginia. Moves to Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Indiana preceded their final landing in Pell City where he came to work at National Cement. He later left that company and bought Pell City Fabrication, which provided maintenance and support for steel fabrication and other industries.
The couple have three grown children (Shawn, Scott, and Ericka), eight grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. Knepper says he sees talent in each of them and potentially at least one future wood carver. Several family members were among the guests at a recent art exhibit at the Pell City Museum of Art featuring his wood carvings.
Knepper’s most challenging piece was among that collection of works. He describes it as a “gold spiral thing,” for lack of a more technical term. “I just saw a picture of it and decided to give it a try,” he says. “It was very difficult because it’s hollow. I had to work from the inside out.”
The art of carving is an ongoing lesson in patience and finesse. Knepper also stresses the importance of listening to the wood. “The wood will tell you what to do, basically.” He considers himself less of a designer and more of a collaborator, with each knot, grain and imperfection guiding his hands. The character of the wood, with its texture and color, add to the direction the project takes.
Knepper has done much of his work from wood that has fallen on his property or that others have brought to him. Oak and Cherry woods are favorites, but he also has done many projects with Cottonwood and other bark woods. “I really like the color and grain of cherry,” he adds. “Sometimes people bring me roots they’ve dug up. It looks terrible, but I cut it up and look inside and it’s beautiful. You just never know.”
Though he finds it difficult to choose a favorite, some pieces – like a beer bottle complete with a bear in a Paul “Bear” Bryant houndstooth hat – clearly delight Knepper. Throughout his home, bowls, spiral works, vases and boxes crafted by this modest woodcarver are on display.
His faith is evidenced in another of his masterpieces which sits on the table – an intricate chapel featuring a lectern with an open Bible. Knepper’s craftsmanship extends beyond his home and into the heart of the local faith community. Over the years, he has used his talent to create kneeling rails for the altars of three area churches.
Template for a design of a kneeler at New Life Church in Pell City
The first kneeler was crafted for the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Rainbow City, designed specifically to complement an altar the church had received.
This careful attention to detail highlights Knepper’s ability to harmonize his work with existing elements, ensuring each piece feels at home in its setting. Later, he constructed a pair of kneelers for Pell City First Methodist, further demonstrating his commitment to supporting his community through his artistry.
Most recently, Knepper designed a folding, movable kneeler for New Life Church, which gathers at the Municipal Complex in Pell City while a new church is being built. This innovative design reflects his adaptability and practical approach, ensuring the kneeler could be easily moved and stored as needed. Form, function and beauty are hallmarks of Knepper’s work.
A quiet, serious man, Knepper is uncomfortable with attention. He shrugs off accolades, dismissing his own talent. “I’m always using other people’s design, not mine,” he says. “I just put my own spin on someone else’s design.” It gives him something to do, he says, adding that it keeps him from watching TV.
Knepper’s keen eye and ability to see what rough wood can become is what has defined him as an artist and wood carver. Hearing how a discarded root was crafted into a beautiful bowl certainly makes one pause for thought. Each gnarled root or discarded branch may still have a story to tell.
With patience, perseverance and careful listening, the wood carver reveals the beauty within.
Much more than the history of Pell City on display
As Museum of Pell City approaches its third birthday, it’s hard to imagine a ‘down time’ for this quickly growing museum.
On Feb. 5, the museum will present its third edition of the Breaking Barriers series focusing on the Black community and its place in the city’s history. Headed by Museum Board Member Tonya Forman, its popularity has grown right along with the program itself.
This year’s theme is Education: Foundation for Success and pays tribute to the early Black educators whose guidance and compassion transformed the lives of Pell City students.
St. Clair District Attorney Lyle Harmon takes inaugural flight on simulator at opening
The day’s program, which begins at 11 a.m. features a reception and a film premiere of family and former students of these educators on the legacy of their impact. It will also mark the opening of an expanded Breaking Barriers exhibit.
Opening the next day, Feb. 6, and extending for two weeks until Feb. 21 is an art show by Sundi Hawkins. The show is a continuing series of the museum, giving the art community a home to display their works.
The museum board invested in a hanging system, and the exterior walls of the atrium just outside the museum have already displayed the creations of artist Nettie Bean and her students, a spectacular quilt show and Duran Jr. High’s art show. The quilt show will return in 2026, and more art shows are scheduled.
In December, the museum’s art gallery hosted the wood carvings of Eric Knepper, intricate, creative pieces of artwork crafted by the local artisan.
Upcoming are shows by Penny Arnold, Williams Intermediate students, a return of Nettie Bean and her students and the Helen Keller Foundation Art Show of Alabama.
In November, the museum opened an expansion of its military section and added a flight simulator, which is already drawing crowds of young and old alike. Designed by Jeremy Gossett, the simulator resembles the cockpit of a Boeing aircraft with a curved monitor that displays various flight patterns including Pell City and Logan Martin, Mosul and the French countryside.
The software is highly sophisticated and gives museum visitors a real feel of flight – from takeoff to landing. It was made possible by a special fundraiser providing nearly $7,000 to build and equip it.
In April, just a few days past its third anniversary, the museum is celebrating with the official opening of its long-anticipated model train exhibit – Where It All Began. Headed by retired architect Malcolm Sokol with a team of volunteers – David Smith, Max Jolley, Erik Grieve and Winston Greaves – it took a year to build.
The museum hosted artist Nettie Bean and her students
The 16-foot train runs through a replica of 1920s-30s Pell City and will be surrounded by artifacts, narratives and photos depicting the train’s history in Pell City. After all, that is where it all began – when founder Sumter Cogswell missed his train to Talladega in 1890 and spent the night in what is now Pell City.
Nationally known artist Dirk Walker has donated an original painting of a Pell City train depot that will be used as a fundraiser for the museum.
An evening reception is planned along with tributes to the museum’s volunteers and naming “Volunteer of the Year.”
“We are so humbled by the community support we have been given since our opening,” said President Carol Pappas. Our docents give their time every week to guide visitors through our museum. We could not operate without them, and we are so appreciative of their work.”
Pappas lauded the dedication of the team who built the train, which now will be a centerpiece of the museum’s exhibits. “They met every Monday night for an entire year to assemble each rail of the track, recreate historic buildings from scratch, hand paint and place miniature figures throughout the town and so much more. It is so realistic. It is a must see. We cannot thank them enough.”
She noted that the museum is in the midst of a capital campaign, and businesses and individuals have stepped forward with multi-year sustaining funds. “They are the very foundation of our museum,” Pappas said.
“Recognizing the importance of cultural arts in our community as educational, historical, an enhancement to quality of life and a boost to tourism, the City of Pell City and St. Clair County have been supportive with appropriations over the past three years. Without their support, we could not have come this far.”
When the museum opened in a 4,000 square foot space provided by the City of Pell City, its mission was to preserve and promote the rich history of the city. Billing itself as the “small city museum that thinks big,” in less than three years it has attracted over 5,000 visitors from all over the state, country and points around the world.
It has created innovative, interactive exhibits highlighting the people, places and events that have shaped the city’s history, and the momentum shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
In October, the museum will reach back to the city’s real roots – Avondale Mills – with an impressive, interactive exhibition to celebrate and pay tribute to its first industry. Never-before-displayed artifacts, photographs and exhibits will tell the story of those early days along with a special film of oral histories premiering at the opening.
“As they say, we’ve come a long way since then,” Pappas said, “and Museum of Pell City is honored to be able to share that story along with countless others.”
mphasis on preserving the history of Pell City and that of its families and community. One of its most recent exhibits perfectly blended that history with the art of quilting. The museum, on the second floor of the Municipal Complex, typically contains its exhibits to the interior of the museum, but recently has been expanding outside its doors to showcase the work of the area’s talented citizens.
“Hosting exhibits like the quilt show allows us to celebrate the incredible talent in our own community,” said Museum Coordinator Erica Grieve. “It reminds us that art isn’t just found in galleries far away. It’s being created right here at home.”
The quilt exhibit ran from late October through November and featured roughly 40 quilts created by members of the Friendship Quilters Guild of St Clair County. The opening featured a presentation by historian Joe Whitten, a quilt collector himself, who shared stories about the history of quilts and shared some of his quilts. There were also demonstrations showing the making of a quilt from start to finish.
Part of the history of quilting included the quilting bee, a social gathering of ladies whose focus was on finishing a quilt together. Such was the case in the making of Janet’s Double Wedding Ring quilt on display by her daughter Janet Jones.
A group at Pell City United Methodist Church got together to complete the quilt for a silent auction. When the silent auction did not meet the minimum bid to cover expenses, the ladies voted to give it to Janet’s mother, Janet Weldon.
Weldon had reportedly done much of the hand-stitching, including the stitching around each of the intertwined rings. Her daughter said quilting was so important to Weldon that when her mom passed, they elected to drape her casket in the Double Wedding Ring quilt, rather than having a funeral spray. “Because it was cold, we also took some of her other quilts to the graveside to cover our legs,” said Jones. “She would have liked that.”
Ken Kilgroe came to the exhibit to honor his now-deceased grandmother, Roxie Moore. One of her quilts, made more than 60 years ago, was on display. Moore, an Eden native, reportedly hosted quilting bees often in the 1950s.
The Museum of Pell City’s next special exhibit opens Dec. 4 and features the beautiful woodcarvings of local artisan Eric Knepper. A reception will be held on Dec. 5 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The museum is open to view other compelling pieces of the history of Pell City, St. Clair County and Alabama Thursdays and Fridays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
