Logan Martin Longbeards succcess

Honoring Barnett Lawley for years of service

Story and photos
By Graham Hadley

Decades after helping launch the original National Wild Turkey Federation chapter in the Pell City area, Barnett Lawley was honored by a new generation of conservationists during the Logan Martin Longbeards’ sold-out Hunting Heritage Banquet at the Pell City Civic Center.

“Barnett has done so much for the state and the county to promote conservation efforts here,” said chapter President Jim Tollison.

“He started the first chapter here. When I was helping organize the chapter again, I did not know he organized the original chapter or what he called it. I ended up picking the exact same name he used – Logan Martin Longbeards.

Board members and organizers Tracy Marcus, Rodney Bunt, Jim Tollison, Brooke Tollison, Tim Smith, Brittany Smith, Karlee Tucker, Logan Tucker, Hanna Grogan and Cameron Edge

“When I found all that out, I said we need to thank him for that” and everything else he has done. “There is no telling how many kids from around here he has taken turkey hunting over the years. Some of them are the same people who are donors and sponsors for this event now. His efforts back then are still helping conservation and the NWTF today.”

Tollison was quick to point out it is not just Barnett, but everyone in his family who deserves thanks for supporting the community.

“He was teaching about conservation, and his wife, Deanna, was teaching students in the classroom. She probably is one of the main reasons I went to college. She kept encouraging me to go. This organization and event, it’s been a great situation having the Lawleys involved,” Tollison said.

The sold-out event moved to a larger venue this year at the Pell City Civic Center, raising more than $40,000 for the program, which covers everything from promoting conservation and hunting to education efforts, including local scholarships, Tollison said.

Participants entering in drawings to win everything from coolers to custom firearms

“We now have money in hand for scholarships, we just need people here to apply. And these scholarships can be used not just for four-year colleges, but for two-year degrees and trade schools, whatever path the students choose.”

Tollison and his wife, Brooke, thanked everyone who supported the Logan Martin Longbeards and the banquet.

“The Pell City Civic Center turned out to be a great venue. We will probably be holding it here again next year. They did a great job working with Hanna Grogan on our board to coordinate set up,” he said. “Complete Catering Company and Mandy Camp also did an amazing job with the food. It’s the only banquet I have ever been to that served turkey. It wasn’t wild, but it was good.

“Everything was well received. Thanks to our sponsors, we were able to give out 24 guns this year. Brian at BG Customs and Engraving put together several guns for us. GNX Gun Exchange and Coosa Guns also contributed,” he said.

The audience applauds all the sponsors

“Thanks to the support of GNX, BG Customs and Coosa Guns we are able to have some very high-quality firearms with some finishes only available at this event.”

Because the banquet is family friendly, every child who came got to take part in a raffle, Brooke, who runs an Alfa agency in Pell City, said. “We gave out $500 worth of stuff to all the kids. They had a great time.”

And that’s the point, Jim said.

“It’s not just about raising money. We wanted to have a fun and successful event that also promotes the National Wild Turkey Federation and conservation efforts,” he said.

“We have a great team putting this event on, and it continues to grow.  If you see one of the board members and are interested in being involved let them know.”

Follow the Logan Martin Longbeards on Facebook and the National Wild Turkey Federation online at nwtf.org.

Inside Processor’s Choice

Named one of USA Today’s top workplaces

Story by Cherith Glover Fluker
Submitted and staff photos

Just off Highway 78 in Moody, a company is quietly doing something remarkable – and not just the millions of pounds of food ingredients it moves across the Southeast every month. Processor’s Choice has earned a spot on USA Today’s Top Workplaces list three consecutive years running, and the recognition isn’t coming from the top down. It’s coming straight from the people who show up there every day to work.

Founded in 1984 by Don Allinder, Processor’s Choice started as a straightforward warehouse operation. Today, under the leadership of President Mark Bales, it has evolved into something far more sophisticated: a leading solution provider for food and beverage manufacturers across the country.

Think of it as a bulk grocery distributor on a much larger scale. Rather than selling finished products to consumers, Processor’s Choice distributes bulk food and beverage ingredients, servicing everything from large Fortune 100 companies to local mom-and-pop businesses. By consolidating orders and maintaining a robust inventory, they can get ingredients to customers quickly, even when demand is urgent.

“We help customers develop and reformulate products to meet regulatory requirements while maintaining performance,” Bales explained. It’s a niche that requires both technical knowledge and a genuine problem-solving mindset. These qualities are baked into the company’s four core values: customer-focused, collaborative, dependable and problem-solving.

The company’s footprint is impressive for a team of 30. With seven sales representatives, Processor’s Choice serves customers from North Carolina to Texas, with reach extending as far as Los Angeles and Jamaica. In 2011, Allinder sold the company to Doug Skidmore, making it part of the Skidmore Enterprise group. This acquisition expanded supplier relationships and broadened the company’s network of facilities, making it an even more reliable partner for its customers.

Winning USA Today’s Top Workplaces award once is an achievement. Winning it three years in a row is a statement. What makes it even more meaningful is how the honor is earned. Rather than through a company-nominated application, the award is driven entirely through anonymous employee surveys. The people doing the work are the ones casting the votes.

So what are they voting for?

Bales points to a culture built on transparency, trust and genuine investment in people. Profit sharing ensures that when the company wins, everyone wins. A hybrid work model offers flexibility that employees value. And regular check-ins keep communication open between leadership and staff, so no one feels like a number.

But it’s the smaller, more personal touches that seem to define the culture at Processor’s Choice. Every Thursday, the team gathers for lunch. This simple ritual fosters a camaraderie that can’t be manufactured. Quarterly family nights extend that sense of community beyond the office walls, welcoming the people who matter most to employees into the fold.

“We focus on empowering employees and fostering a family-like environment,” Bales said. For a company of 30 people, that’s not just a talking point – it’s a daily practice.

Growth and development are also central to the company’s culture. Processor’s Choice offers tuition reimbursement and a Learning Library to help employees advance their careers, and the company prioritizes local hiring, keeping its investment rooted in the community it calls home.

That community commitment extends beyond the workplace. Processor’s Choice actively supports the Backpack Buddies program, which provides meals to more than 700 children in St. Clair County each week. It’s a cause that aligns naturally with a company in the business of food and one that reflects the values Bales has worked to instill throughout the organization.

“We have a waiting list every month for employees who want to help pack backpacks,” Bales said. “People are always eager to support this project. It’s something we’re all so proud to be a part of.”

In an era when workplace culture has become a buzzword, Processor’s Choice offers an example of what it looks like when a company invests in its people. Three consecutive Top Workplace awards are the result of intentional leadership, a commitment to transparency and a belief that a thriving team and a thriving business are one and the same.

For St. Clair County, it’s a quiet source of pride worth celebrating.

Editor’s Note: Processor’s Choice is located in Moody. For more information, visit processorschoice.com.

New Tractor Supply

Odenville chamber holds grand opening celebration

Odenville Chamber of Commerce welcomed Tractor Supply in April with a ribbon cutting ceremony, celebrating the addition of the nationally recognized retailer to its growing community. Local leaders, business representatives, and residents gathered to celebrate the store’s opening and the continued economic development in St. Clair County.

The new Tractor Supply store brings a wide selection of products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden care, livestock, pet supplies and outdoor living. The addition of the store is expected to provide both convenient access to essential goods for residents and new employment opportunities for the area.

Store Manager Ross Coleman expressed enthusiasm about becoming part of the Odenville community. “We are thrilled to open our doors in Odenville and serve the hardworking customers in this area,” he said. “Tractor Supply is committed to supporting growing communities, and we look forward to building lasting relationships with our neighbors while providing the products and services they need.”

Odenville Mayor Buck Christian also highlighted the importance of the new store to the city’s growth. “This is an exciting day for Odenville,” he said. “Tractor Supply is a perfect fit for our community, and we are grateful for their decision to locate here. This store not only enhances the services available to our citizens but also contributes to our local economy and quality of life.”

St. Clair County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon offered his thanks for the investment into the county. “We are proud to welcome Tractor Supply to Odenville and St. Clair County. This investment reflects the strength of our local economy and the continued confidence that national retailers have in our community. Tractor Supply will be a valuable resource for our residents and a strong partner moving forward.”

The ribbon cutting ceremony marked an important milestone for Odenville’s continued growth and development. Community members were invited to explore the new store, meet the team and take advantage of opening promotions and offers.

We aren’t doing it right

If we are growing older and our hearts aren’t growing softer… we aren’t doing it right.

If we are growing older and becoming less curious and teachable… we aren’t doing it right.

If we are growing older and gaining wealth but not using it to bless others…

we aren’t doing it right.

If we are growing older and protecting our reputation and pride matters more than protecting people… we aren’t doing it right.

If we are growing older and expecting grace for ourselves while withholding it from someone else… we aren’t doing it right.

If we are growing older and our faith produces more judgment than gentleness…

we aren’t doing it right.

And if we are growing older but remaining exactly the same?

We definitely aren’t doing it right.

We were never meant to stay the same.

The aim of aging is to become better.

– Mackenzie Free –

Wife, mother, photographer & current resident of the unassumingly magical town of Steele, Alabama

Nature provides

Pell City Gateway Community Garden growing strong

Story by Paul South
Submitted photos

For more than a decade, on a small piece of God’s good earth, folks here have found sustenance for the body and solace for the soul.

The precious piece of ground is known as Pell City Gateway Community Garden, where a small cadre of volunteers tends to the one-acre field that yields a growing harvest to help the hungry.

The garden has a natural garden area where organizers have recently planted Alabama native plants. The nature sacred area, said Gateway Director Renee Lilly, “Is a really a big deal,”  “The Nature Sacred program is a national program created for people of all faiths by the Nature Sacred Foundation. They wanted to create places where people could be meditative.”

Riley Robinson, Savanna Rutledge, Mercedeze Glanze and Grayson Glanze explore garden’s bounty

Founded by an Iowa couple, Kitty and Tom Stoner, the aim is to create more green spaces in communities to ease the fatigue and clamor of modern life. The idea took root some three decades ago after the Stoners moved to the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. Now known as Sacred Places, the sites “serve as a kind of a healing poultice for people to regain balance as an antidote to stress,” according to the website, naturesacred.org.

The Pell City Gateway Community Garden was established in 2014 on the former Avondale Mills site near downtown Pell City. It later moved to land across from St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church at 3705 Mays Bend Road.

While organizers want the Gateway community garden to be the sacred space, it also holds fast to the mission of raising fresh food – like kale, collards and cabbage in winter. Everything harvested from the garden is donated to the local food pantry and senior center.

At the end of the year 2025 The Anniston-based Northeast Alabama Community Foundation provided an emergency grant to boost a food drive because last winter, the federal government put a hold on funding for the SNAP food assistance program. “They (the foundation) have been good to us,” Lilly said.

Food insecurity and affordability have added to the urgency of the work of the garden, Lilly said. It brings to mind the Victory Gardens that sprouted across the nation during World War I.

But the garden’s vision isn’t simply to grow food, but to grow gardeners as well. “We’ll still provide harvest for the places where we provide food, but it’s like teaching people to fish,” Lilly said.

Lillian Olin-Sanchez, April Sanders, Audrey Sanders, Charlena Miller, Riley Robinson and Tia Glanze learning to garden

“If we teach people to garden, they can provide for their own needs, making people self-reliant and showing them they can grow food in a very small space,” said Gateway Community Gaden President Rebel Negley.

The garden produces food grown without the use of pesticides, said Negley, who at one time worked in the food industry. “That will really open your eyes. There are so many chemicals that are banned in European countries that (the American food industry) continues to use. That’s why we’ve been passionate about growing fresh food,” she said.

“We live in a society, where increasingly, people don’t know where their food comes from. A lot of kids eat canned foods, and they eat frozen stuff,” Negley said. “There’s nothing wrong with that sometimes. But our mission is to teach people where their food comes from. Good nutrition is not as affordable, unless you grow it yourself. It takes a village to make a community garden work.”

That’s why organizers are looking for people to invest their time to make the garden and its sacred space flourish.

“We need people. We need volunteers. We need teachers who want to teach, and we need administrative people. It’s not just tilling the soil. It’s administrative work as well,” Lilly said. “We need social media and marketing help. If you can show up, we’ll find something for you to do,” Lilly said.

The garden has the support of two local churches, St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church along with First United Methodist Church of Pell City.

Gateway is also collaborating with similar successful programs like Sylacauga Grows community garden in Sylacauga.

Sacred Space bench lures visitors to find solace in nature

While food for the body is a critical part of the Gateway mission, so is nourishment for the soul.

“The sacred space is a place where you can reflect,” Lilly said. “There is a journal underneath a wooden bench in the garden where people can sit and write and listen to the birds and see the beautiful plants that are in the nature area. They’re also able to see all the growing vegetables in our growing garden. People need to see that it’s a special place.”

The garden now flourishes with cucumber plants, okra, beans, potatoes – sweet, red and white – heading toward a seasonal harvest. The garden has produced some 30,000 pounds of food in its history.

Volunteers like Lilly and Negley haven’t just learned lessons about working the land, but also about themselves.

“One of the most important things is that any one of us could be food insecure at any given moment,” Negley said. “It doesn’t matter where you live or how much you have. Things can change, and you can find yourself with food insecurity. And there’s so much satisfaction in growing your own food because you know where it comes from, and you have excitement through the efforts in growing a garden. It’s a stress reliever. It’s peaceful.”

Lilly, who knew food insecurity as a child, recalled last December’s food drive. “I spoke to every person who came through our line,” she said. “People that were educators, people who had lost their husbands or had just lost their jobs. The feeling that you are able to help people. We all need to love one another and take care of each other.”

Gateway Community Garden has a Facebook page, and donations may be sent to Pell City Gateway Community Garden, P.O. Box 17, Pell City.AL 35125.

“Come see us,” Negley said. “See what we’re doing and if you want to get involved,” Negley said. “It takes all of us just working together to make the garden work.”

From Pell City Gateway Community Garden, hope – like the flowers and vegetables – is blossoming, even in these difficult days. And so is something comforting to be found here, Lilly said. “There is good in the world, and there are people who are kind.”

Test of agility

Fast paced, exciting dog agility trial takes center ring at arena

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Bob Crisp

Four-footed competitors from across the Southeast headed to Odenville in April for an action-packed event at what has become a destination point for events as diverse and wide-ranging as the organizers who plan them.

St. Clair County Arena and Event Center has played host to everything from rodeos and circuses to vintage markets and truck shows.  And in April, dogs of all shapes and sizes took to the arena filled with jumps, tunnels, weave poles and what planners called “plenty of tail-wagging excitement.”

Spectators, dog lovers and handlers came together for three days of Greater Birmingham Agility Club’s Spring Into Agility Trial, a mixture of a qualifying run for further competition, fine-tuning skills or simply sharing time with other dog agility enthusiasts. Organizers billed it as “a weekend of fast dogs, great runs, and even better community.”

Dog agility is “a dynamic and fast-paced canine sport where dogs navigate through a timed obstacle course, showcasing their agility, speed, and teamwork with their handlers,” according to GBAC’s website.

“Yes, your dog can definitely participate in dog agility,” GBAC added, “and we welcome all breeds, both mixed and pure, to join the excitement and fun of agility training and competitions.”

Agility training involves obstacle courses, obedience drills and agility trials.

When the day is done, the final hurdle crossed and a clean jump through the ring is made, it comes down to connections – the bond between dog and handler. Through this sport, that bond is promoted, strengthened and on display for all to see.

The next Odenville event is Nov. 15-17 for GBAC’s Fall Trial. Club officials are already looking forward to it, noting that the 100 x 100-foot ring offers plenty of room for “exciting and challenging courses for the dogs to navigate.

“This event promises an exhilarating experience for both competitors and spectators, making it a must-attend for the agility community.”

“We’ve really enjoyed working with the Greater Birmingham Agility Club and have had a great response from them about hosting events at the Arena,” said Public/Recreation Asset Manager Ashley Hay. “We try to work closely with every group that uses the facility to make sure we’re meeting their specific needs, especially when it comes to footing and ground preparation.”

She noted that dog agility trials have very specific requirements, “and we’re happy to accommodate those details, just like we would for any group using the space. Seeing them choose to return is a great sign that the partnership is working.”

 The goal of the center complex and campus has centered on creating a facility that serves the community and evolves alongside the needs of the people and organizations using it.

“We want groups to know we’re listening and willing to adapt where we can,” she said. “In fact, groups like GBAC have helped shape some of our future improvements.” She credits their hosting of multi-day events and bringing participants in from outside the area with reinforcing the need for RV and trailer hookups, “which we’re now working to add.”

 Hay also talked of the overall interest in the Arena continuing to grow. “More people realize it’s more than just a place that hosts rodeos. We’ve had great interest across a wide variety of events, from dog agility and vintage markets to equestrian events and community gatherings. It’s been exciting to see people discover new uses for the space and reinforces our belief that the Arena can continue growing as a place that brings together a wide range of interests across our community.”

Editor’s Note: The St. Clair Arena and Event Center is located at 100 Arena Drive, Odenville. Learn more about the facilities at:  stclairco.recdesk.com