By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
It had been a whirlwind weekend, and frankly, most of them are. March Madness was in full swing, and a number of things had occurred in the city– ball games, gatherings, hellos and goodbyes. On Friday, March 27, there were two significant retirement parties. The first was for Sandy Thompson, who had been the director of the Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives for the last 17 years. Sandy and a team of dedicated volunteers had taken the museum from a local collection of military memorabilia to an award-winning tourist destination with beautifully arranged and displayed Smithsonian-quality artifacts. The museum had also navigated moving across the street into the event center, and under Sandy’s leadership, learned how to be a wonderful place to host all kinds of things for “all kinda folk.” That was “Bittersweet, Part One.” Blessing, Part One is that Sandy, who honorably served in the USAF and retired as a master sergeant is going to get a chance to travel and enjoy her family.
Kim Glaze has “worked for us” for decades, and has been in the mayor’s office in the new City Hall building for the last nine years. I first met her when City Hall was located on the second floor of the Utilities building on Wilkinson when the old City Hall was being torn down and the new one was being built. Unfailingly kind to me, Kim was the first person I would see on my way in to interview Mayor Ronnie two times a month for this column. Kim is a new grandma of a precious baby grandgirl, and is going to take care of her two days a week. She is also going to be working part time for Premier Structures, Inc. “Bittersweet, Part Two.” Blessing, Part Two is that Kim is going to be able to love on a beautiful bundle and have new adventures as PSI is involved in the wild growth spurt going on in Limestone County.
Brand-new Blessing has come in the form of Andrea Coburn, who is taking over for Kim. Andrea brings years of experience as a police dispatcher and a municipal court clerk. She is an Athens native and came to the City planning department three years ago. She is incredibly organized, and I jokingly asked if she could please donate part of her pre-frontal cortex to me so I could be organized, too, when I grow up. Her husband is an Alabama State Trooper, and their daughter has her eye on going to Auburn and becoming a veterinarian. I am fully confident that Andrea will be a competent and gracious gatekeeper.
Singing River Smoke-o-Rama was a grand success, and one of the things Mayor Ronnie especially enjoyed is how kids as young as two get involved in the cooking process. There are carefully supervised grilling contests for older kids, along with the competition for adults that brings people from Chicago and Mississippi. The purpose is to raise awareness and funds for the Special Needs Rodeo that is part of the upcoming Sheriff’s Rodeo in May. And, the mayor did not mind at all that as a judge he got to eat a whole lotta steak.
Lastly, there was Love for the City, on Saturday. “Love” is a celebration of praise, music, testimonies, and a community declaration that includes the mayor. It culminates in participants publicly renewing our commitment to making Athens, Alabama, a city that truly shows forth the Jn 17-type or the love of God irrespective of skin color. This year, Love for the City was held in Swan Creek Park, and honored a number of people who have served our city faithfully with no thought of being recognized for it.
There was just one thing left to do, and that was to pray, and then it was time once again for Ronnie to roll.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
