TheThe CornerCorner SouthWest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce

Serving All of South Mobile County May 2019

Sandy Stimpson Mayor of Mobile

LUNCHEON

“In Step With Progress” 2019 Officers President Message from the President Pete Riehm NAI Mobile April has been another busy month in Southwest Mobile County. Your Chamber hosted 1st Vice President Tiffany Ginn our first Membership Appreciation BBQ with Uniti Fiber

delicious Dick Russell’s BBQ; we had a great turn 2nd Vice President out and fun was had by all. We will definitely be Chris Black doing it again next year! The monthly Chamber Integrity IT Services

Coffee was also well attended with plenty of new Secretary faces showing up again for the beneficial and fun Cadie Gaut Payroll Vault networking. Treasurer Bryan Dewberry New membership applications have been strong, but for Midtown Mortgage some reason renewals have been lagging. We have at this point 149 members, but we have 48 outstanding renewals from last year! If we had 100% retention, we could set a new membership Board of Directors record with 200 members! Southwest Mobile County is booming Jeff Brinson - Southwestern Consulting and your Chamber is thriving. We don’t want to leave anyone Stephanie Chestnut - Dick Russell’s BBQ behind, so please be sure to renew for 2019 ASAP. These are Laura Hittson - W. C. Griggs Elementary exciting times, so recruiting new members is easy – just share our Russanne Howell - Farmers Insurance success stories. Let’s break 200 in 2019! Cindy Imsand - Mobile’s Best Storage Tammy Lyons - Family Security Credit Union c c The campaign for our first ever South Mobile County Delores M Laney - M Laney Senior Dance Magazine is well underway and we met our minimum goal, so Wes Pipes - Individual there will be a new magazine this year. The original campaign Curtis Polk - BLP Mobile Paints expired, but we have extended the deadline to 8 May to give Joe Summersgill - Mobile Co. Water, Sewer & FPA everyone a chance to get their orders in. Alliance Publishing has a Teresa Taylor - AIM Mail Center distinguished track record producing high quality Chamber Della Wade - Individual magazines. Please contact Keith Lott or Tina for more information. Advisory Board Please look for more information about our 2019 TALL Theresa Orrell (Past President) program in this newsletter. TALL provides leadership training Polysurveying of Mobile with local business for select local High School Seniors; and those Seniors also receive $1500 scholarships. We are now accepting Kay Peace (Past President) applications for the next class. Individual Jeff L. Schmitz

Ruth Robinson (Past President) Our May lunch is our awards lunch when we award the Mobile Memorial Gardens Cemetery “Business of the Year” and “Volunteer of the Year.” And our guest Dena Pigg (Past President) speaker is Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. RSVP now because we Power will have a FULL house. We will also have the 5th annual Chamber Prayer Breakfast 0700 Thursday morning 2 May 2019 at the Chamber for the National Day of Prayer. Southwest Mobile County Community Center Staff has been abundantly blessed, so please join us to thank our Creator and pray for His continued blessings! Executive Director Tina Poiroux [email protected]

Pete Riehm, SWMCC President Rental Specialist Ashley Rester [email protected]

Chamber Mission Event Specialist Susan Williams Our Chamber’s mission is to foster, promote, advance, and Glennan Palframan improve the civic, commercial and general business interests of the surrounding areas and to cooperate with other Maintenance George Davis communities promoting objectives for the improvement of our business and the welfare of our community. Office number: 251.666.2488

MAY CALENDAR Chamber Networking Social

30 When: May 30th 4:30pm - 6:30pm Where: Family Dental of Mobile SWMCC Business Luncheon 1924 Dauphin Island Pkwy Ste D | Mobile, AL 36605 1 Contact: 251-666-2488 When: May 1st (Networking 11:30am) 12:00-1:00pm Cost: Free to attend Guest Speaker: Mayor Sandy Stimpson Where: Tillman’s Corner Community Center Contact: Chamber Office 251-666-2488 Cost: $12 for Members and $15 for Potential Members Sponsors:

National Day of Prayer Breakfast

2 When: May 2nd 7:00am Where: Tillman’s Corner Community Center Contact: 251-666-2488 Cost: Free to attend

Sales Training Workshop - Jeff Brinson

16 When: May 16th 9:00am Where: Tillman’s Corner Community Center Contact: 251-666-2488 Cost: Free to attend

Coffee with the Chamber

21 When: May 21st 7:30am Where: Tillman’s Corner Community Center Contact: 251-666-2488 Cost: Free to attend Sponsor: Touching Hearts Senior Care

Our office is CLOSED on May 27th for 27 Memorial Day. We will resume regular business hours on Tuesday, May 28th.

SouthWest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce SMALL BUSINESS LUNCHEON May 1, 2019

Networking 11:30 am / Meeting 12:00-1:00 pm

Guest Speaker: Mayor Sandy Stimpson

Sandy's mission is for Mobile to become the safest, most business and family friendly City in America by 2020. His visionary goal to unite the City, known as One Mobile, has empowered every Mobilian to have a voice. He was first elected as mayor of Mobile in 2013. During his first term, he worked hard to address issues of public safety, fiscal responsibility, downtown revitalization, and blight eradication. He was reelected by a landslide in 2017.

Sandy's civic and business endeavors, both locally and statewide, have been numerous and varied. He has served on the boards of the Boys & Girls Club of Southwest Alabama; the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce; the Alabama Policy Institute; the Business Council of Alabama; the President's Cabinet; and the University of South Alabama's Board of Trustees.

Sandy graduated from the University of Alabama in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He spent nearly forty years in the lumber manufacturing business. Sandy and his wife Jean have been married since 1975 and have four grown, married children and twelve grandchildren. They are longtime, active members of Ashland Place United Methodist Church. T.A.L.L. Graduation

We will be honoring our 2018-2019 T.A.L.L. students at the business luncheon.

Caterer: Luncheon Sponsor: Menu:

Beef Tips with Gravy Mashed Potatoes Green Beans Rolls 1608 Rochelle Street Bread Pudding Mobile, AL 36693 Sweet and Unsweet Tea 251-666-1141 Please RSVP to 251.666.2488 or [email protected]

$12 for Members & $15 for Potential Members

Congratulations Small Business of the Year Finalists Servpro of South Mobile County W.C. Griggs Elementary Boys & Girls Club of South Ala. SERVPRO The SERVPROs in Mobile County (SERVPRO of South Mobile County, SERVPRO of Southwest Mobile, SERVPRO of North Mobile County, and SERVPRO of Mobile Northwest) are independently owned by the Mayhall family. The Mayhall family has proudly been a part of the Mobile community for four generations and have been serving the Guest Speaker: Mayor Sandy Stimpson greater Mobile area for nearly a decade now. Our company core values are what truly drives everything that we do. In addition to reinforcing the level of service we provide to our clients; our core values drive us to give back to the amazing community we serve. The Mayhall’s firmly believe that what we do is about more than the services we offer, it’s about what we can do for others. From that principle evolved SERVPRO Serves, which became home to such programs as Feeding Firefighters, Fridays at the Firehouse, and Crawfish for a Cause. We truly enjoy giving back and have plans to expand the program even further through our Caring Closet.

We also take pride in being a “one-stop” shop and offer a full line of cleaning and remediation services to meet the needs of our clients. In addition to fire, water, and mold, we also provide floor, HVAC and textile cleaning, as well as climate-controlled contents storage. As a member of the national network of more than 1,500 SERVPRO franchises, we are also an active Storm Response Team, traveling all over the country to help those in need after a natural disaster. Thank you Mobile, for allowing us to serve you and we look forward to continuing to do so in the future! W.C. Griggs Elementary School The student body at Griggs currently has 683 students, including 447 (65%) Caucasian, 146 (21%) African American, 69 (10%) Hispanic, 11 (2% Asian), and (9) 2% American Indian/Alaskan Native. Many of our students live in non-traditional homes and are being raised by a single parent, grandparents, or other family members. An increase in the number of students who are doubled-up or who live in hotels has been noted over the past several years.

As a 21st Century School, Griggs is at the forefront of the district in technology implementation with SMARTBoards, document cameras, student/teacher laptops, and iPads/tablets in every classroom. Our interactive Media Center offers a combination of eBooks and printed materials, as well as collaboration areas for student and teacher use. Griggs has two fully operational computer labs plus a Cyberstation, which incorporates a T. V. Studio, an interactive whole group instructional area, and three collaboration tables. As an Alabama Math, Science, and Technology (AMSTI) School, our teachers receive on site professional development and opportunities to participate in Professional Learning Teams.

Our mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

This mission means so much to me as a person serving in this club because often times we see the light in children dim tremendously by their situations big and small. We offer these children opportunities that they may not otherwise have a chance to participate in. At the Boys & Girls Club we offer a variety of programs ranging from Academic Success, Career and Life Skills, Social Recreation, Athletics, Arts and more. We have an Afterschool program from August to May and a Summer Program from June to July. During our summer months we heavily focus on Summer Brain Gain a program designed to prevent summer learning loss. We hope to continue impacting lives, because GREAT futures Start Here!

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER BREAKFAST MAY 2, 2019 Tillman’s Corner Community Center 5055 Carol Plantation Road | Mobile, AL 36619 251.666.2488 or [email protected] to RSVP 7:00 A.M.

Tillman's Corner Area Learning Leadership program was established to encourage and enable future leaders of our Greer’s is 5th generation family owned and operated with 30 local community grocery stores and 4 Ace Hardware Stores serving families in AL, MS and FL. We Community. It is our great pleasure to introduce our sixth love the grocery and hardware business and have for 103 years since 1916 with class of T.A.L.L. students that were chosen by their our roots established in downtown Mobile. We look forward to our newest submitted applications and letters of recommendation. specialty, fresh focused Greer’s location coming soon on St. Louis Street! Through their hard work, volunteerism and dedication to Greer’s Team Vision “to bring added joy, well-being and value to people’s lives!” this program these students are developing opportunities and our Team Mission ”Enthusiastically continue to improve our team, customer to meet business men and woman that are mentoring them service, values, community involvement and performance!” are what our Greer’s through the processes of their future endeavors. By Family of 800 + Associates strive to put into action at work each day! We truly completion of this program these students have had the believe God, Family then Greer’s! opportunity to be eligible for scholarships and open door opportunities to be successful in the work force. Join us in congratulating our 2018-2019 Tillman's Corner Area Learning Leadership Class. It has been a pleasure getting to know each of these students. The have had many hours together learning more about the world in which they live in today. Beginning with an instructional lecture from Jeff Brinson a certified Sales Coach at Southwestern Consulting to visiting the City Council and Pre-Council meetings with the Mayors Staff. Receiving leadership advice from Councilmen, John Williams. They toured the Evonik Corporation and learned about job safety and product management. Judge Naman and Chief Probation Officer at Strickland, Michael Dekle were very important in imparting vital information on “Creating A Change”. The experience these students have received in such a short time has been priceless. They have volunteered with the Chamber over 600 hours and enjoyed many activities over the past 8 months. Contact Tina Poiroux at [email protected] for applications for the upcoming year.

Business Insight

Over the past couple of years, one of the things I have found when working with business owners is that many of them do not have any idea who their target customer or client is. The fancy term for this is a User Persona. Defining your user personas is important as it helps you hone in on people that have a higher likelihood of actually purchasing from you.

When we build out user personas for our clients some of what we define is the following: What is the person’s name? What do they look like? Are they male or female? Are they in a certain age range? Are they part of some minority group? What interests them? Do they make a certain amount of money? Where do they hang out online? Where do they hang out in the real world? Are they part of any organizations? Do they have any special skills or talents?

This list could go on and on but I think you get the idea. Defining the items above should happen before you even get started on things like branding or advertising. It shapes everything about the business.

Think of a clothing retailer. If I ask you who the target audience is for Brooks Brothers you probably conjure up images of someone that dresses fairly conservatively. Counter that with H&M, you probably Outstanding Officer of the Month think of a young trendy person. Both sell clothes but defining their target audience has defined everything about their business.

If you are a business owner, take time to write down your user personas. You are not saying that you will not do business with people outside of that defined group. You are just giving yourself some guidelines by which to operate in both your branding, your brand experience, and your advertising. The Mobile Police Department Precinct 2 has named Make sure to add Blue Fish on social media for Cpl. Darrell Tucker as Outstanding Officer of the additional updates and helpful tips. Month for April. Captain Jonathan Lee congratulated Cpl. Tucker at the SWMCC monthly Business Marcus Neto Luncheon. During the month of April, he provided exceptional and unparalleled service to the citizens of Mobile that perfectly encapsulates his professionalism and dedication to protect and serve. His dedication is gratefully acknowledged and appreciated.

MOBILE DOWNTOWN AIRPORT (BFM) OPENS MAY 1ST 2019

Mobile, Alabama. – Low-fare carrier Frontier Airlines announced the addition of Mobile, Alabama, a new city in the Frontier network, with non-stop service from to Denver International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. To celebrate the new routes, Frontier is offering a special introductory one-way fare of $39 which is available now on flyfrontier.com. These will be the only non-stop flights from Mobile to both Chicago and Denver.

“We are proud to bring our unique brand of Low Fares Done Right to Mobile,” said Jonathan Freed, Director of Corporate Communications for Frontier Airlines. “With flights beginning May 1st, we will make air travel more affordable for everyone in the greater Mobile area. And Mobile Downtown Airport is more accessible to the region. We look forward to making it easier for people to fly, and for people to fly more often.”

Frontier is focused on more than low fares. The carrier offers customers the ability to customize travel to their needs and budget. For example, customers can purchase options a la carte or in one low-priced bundle called the WORKSsm. This bundle includes refundability, a carry-on bag, a checked bag, the best available seat, waived change fees and priority boarding.

Member News Congratulations, Karen C. Simmons. She was named Business Woman of the Year 2018 by Women's Business Alliance.

Real Estate Corner by Ron Sivak Stirling Properties commercial real estate company was awarded the management contract for Schillinger Place May 21, 2019 7:30 am shopping center at 2502 S. Schillinger Road, Mobile.

Drop by SWMCC on your way to work! Start your day Schillinger Place is a roughly 69,000-square-foot off right with a hot cup of coffee and networking! neighborhood retail center located at the southwest corner of Schillinger and Cottage Hill roads in West Mobile. Currently it No cost to attend! is 70 percent leased with tenants including soon-to-open Club

Attendees are asked to give a short introduction 4 Fitness, Pizza Hut, Mediterranean Sandwich Co., Port City about their business. Don’t forget your business MMA, New China One, Mediacom, Down South Native, Zeal cards! Boutique, Vape-It, West Mobile Liquors, Brian Casey State

Farm and Nail Express. Sponsored by: Touching Hearts Senior Care Planned landlord updates to the shopping center include a renovated exterior façade, upgraded lighting and parking lot sealing and striping. The former Winn-Dixie space is being subdivided into two retail areas: Club 4 Fitness will occupy RSVP at 251.666.2488 or [email protected] 30,000 square feet and plans to open in the spring; the remaining 22,181-square-foot area is available for lease.

Angie McArthur, broker associate with the local Stirling Properties office, was the leasing agent in the transaction.

The Performance Lab, a baseball, softball, gym, sports training and coaching facility, has leased some 29,750 square feet of warehouse space next door to Get Air Trampoline Park

at 842 Schillinger Road in Mobile. The Performance Lab is owned and operated by a local Sales Training Workshop investment group currently making improvements and modifications to the property. A grand opening was held in With Jeff Brinson March. The facility will possibly offer a broader selection of

sports training services for customers in the future. The May 16th 9:00 am transaction was handled by Sharon Wright with White- Spunner Realty.

Tillman’s Corner Community Center John Delchamps with Merrill P. Thomas Co. Inc. reported Glazed Doughnuts is now leasing some 1,000 square feet of Learn: retail space in Olympic Plaza, 7251 Theodore Dawes Road in Theodore, near a Walmart Neighborhood Market. The confectionary plans to open this spring. Angie McArthur with  Habits of Top Producers Stirling Properties worked for the landlord in the transaction. Delchamps represented the tenant.  7 Skills to master to be a Some 9,500 square feet of commercial development located near the intersection of Cody Road and Airport Top Producer- Sniper vs Boulevard in West Mobile is underway, according to Leigh Pray approach to Dale Younce with JLL. Currently, 4 AM Cookie Dough leases prospecting roughly 1,700 square feet and Cajun Corner some 2,300 square feet of retail space at the site. Younce and Buff Teague with JLL worked for the developer on the project. John Delchamps with the Merrill P. Thomas Co. Inc. represented the owner and tenant, Atlas Oil, on a five-year RSVP to lease of a 4,000-square-foot building sitting on one acre at [email protected] or 5589 Todd Acres Rd. Taylor, Michigan-based Atlas Oil is 251-666-2488 nationwide a fuel supplier and logistics company that is new to the Mobile area.

THANK YOU TO THE SPONSORS OF EACH SCHOOL Star Students Mobile Memorial Gardens Cemetery Brelan Turner from W.C. Griggs Elementary School Payroll Vault Polysurveying of Mobile Lalee Spragg from Meadowlake Elementary School AIM Mail Center #153 Madison Hoyt from Pearl Haskew Elementary School

Dick Russell’s BBQ Evelyn Dickson from St. Elmo Elementary School

Elaine Sessions Caden Wiggins from Cottage Hill Christian Academy

BLP Mobile Paints Kinley Davis from Nan Gray Davis Elementary School SouthWest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce

May Chamber Networking Social

Thursday, May 30, 2019 4:30 - 6:30 PM

Please join us at Family Dental of Mobile 1924 Dauphin Island Parkway STE D Mobile, AL 36605

 This event is open to the public  Free to attend  Hors d'oeuvre Beer, Wine and Non- alcoholic Beverages will be provided by Family Dental of Mobile

RSVP to [email protected] or 251.666.2488

New Members:

Alsco Linen & Uniform Service Sheila Clark Realtor at 2900 N Navy Blvd. JWRE Mobile Pensacola, FL 32505 6337 Cottage Hill Road 850-433-3106 Mobile, AL 36609 251-802-5720 CORPORATE SPONSORS

Platinum State Farm Speegle, Hoffman, Holman & Vvonaka Richardson Holifield, LLC PAYROLL VAULT 5253 Hwy 90 W Suite D Jennifer Holifield Mobile, AL 36619 5 Dauphin St Ste 301 INTEGRITY IT SERVICES 334-407-8982 Mobile, AL 36602 251-694-1700 Gold

EVONIK

Farmers Insurance Blue Fish THE GROUNDS

Will Hudson Agency Marcus Neto 6925 Cottage Hill Rd Ste F 920 Dauphin Street Silver Mobile, AL 36695 Mobile, AL 36604 251-405-2999 251-287-9707

Bronze

OLIVE GARDEN Landshark Promotions Rick Thompson Chrissy Robinson 6721 Grelot Road Ste A HUNTINGTON LEARNING 7856 Westside Park Dr Ste B Mobile, AL 36695 CENTER Mobile, AL 36695 251-622-6966 251-259-5432 MOBILE MEMORIAL GARDENS FUNERAL HOME

EverLoved Veterinary BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SO. ALA

Dr. Lydia Sullivan TOUCHING HEART SENIOR CARE 251-229-1043 MOBILE MEMORIAL GARDENS CEMETERY

POLYSURVEYING OF MOBILE Membership Renewals: BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY

FAMILY SECURITY CREDIT UNION Alabama Power Company Midtown Mortgage NAI MOBILE Franklin’s Starter & Alternator New Horizons Credit Union

Keep Mobile Beautiful Southwestern Consulting Kings Automotive St. Elmo Elementary School Friends of the Chamber Lighthouse Baptist Academy State Farm Insurance - Surge Church Joey Strickland THE HOWARD FAMILY MainStreet Family Urgent Care Zippy Mart DICK RUSSELL’S BBQ

ZIPPY MART