Birmingham Shines

In Episode 40 Birmingham Shines the spotlight is on East Lake Farmer's Market, a program of Peer, Inc. to provide healthy food for the East Lake Community and market opportunities for Alabama farmers. Photos and complete show notes are available at http://birminghamshines.com/40 In this episode we hear from: Witt Farms in Hayden Benny Dixon of Dixon Family Farms in Clanton Eugenia Wynfrey of Wynfrey Farms in Boaz Jimmy Carmack of Pure Alabama Honey (several hundred hives) he touches on the challenges in beekeeping Sister Sniffle: Facebook, Soundclud, Bandcamp Kevin Snelson representing Whited Farms at East Sally Aloca - Executive Director of Peer, Inc., the nonprofit that operates the East Lake Farmers Market at East Lake United Methodist Church Max Bellmore, a student in the Samford University Accelerated Nursing Program. Max is from Chicago. ennifer Freeman, also a student in the Samford University Accelerated Nursing Program. Jennifer is a California native https://www.samford.edu/nursing/bsn-accelerated The East Lake Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from April through October and is located at East Lake United Methodist Church in east Birmingham, Alabama.

This week on Birmingham Shines my guests are Uma Srivastava, who is the product development manager for Pack Health, and M’kayl Lewis, health adviser manager for Pack Health. Pack Health is a Birmingham startup founded by Mazi Rasulnia & Will Wright with a mission to help individuals suffering from chronic medical conditions take ownership of health and achieve positive outcomes through health advisers and condition management kits. Find out more at http://birminghamshines.com/pack-health Episode Sponsor Episode 39 of Birmingham Shines is sponsored by Vulcan Security Systems, a Birmingham company that offers customized commercial IP video surveillance services in the greater Birmingham metro area. Owner Jason Maddox and his team offer video surveillance system sales and installation and monitoring through an IP-delivered video system for commercial property, churches and daycare facilities, private schools, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and related commercial enterprises. If you are a business owner, facilities manager, church trustee, daycare operator and would like more information on how video surveillance can be an added part of your risk management program, visit http://birminghamshines.com/vss to learn more about Vulcan Security Systems and schedule your free consultation today. Happy 1-Year Birthday And I also want to mention that this episode is coming out on the 1-year anniversary of the launch of Birmingham Shines. So Happy Birthday to the podcast! Changes are coming, moving forward, and I’ll be sharing more about those changes in the next episode.

Dr. Shelley Stewart, Birmingham businessman, radio legend, philanthropist and pillar of Birmingham, is the guest on episode 38 of Birmingham Shines podcast. If you’ve been in Birmingham very long you’ve probably heard some of Dr. Stewart’s story. I’ll just say that I was honored to have spent a couple of hours with Dr. Stewart in late March to do this interview. I’ve heard Dr. Stewart speak on several occasions and have read a good bit of his biography and I feel like he takes us, in this conversation, down some paths in this interview that don’t usually come up in other interviews or when he’s sharing stories from his life at various events around town. As always, Dr. Stewart offers many gems of life wisdom, truths, if you will. And I didn’t see a single ox in the room. You can find a couple of blog posts at Birmingham Shines.com to supplement this audio conversation. I hope you find inspiration and hope in Dr. Shelley Stewart’s words in this episode of Birmingham Shines. Thanks to the great folks at o2 Ideas for making this interview happen.

This week's offers something of a hodge-podge, centered around the theme of out-and-about town. We start with the Birmingham Dance Walk event organized by Sherri Ross. Last Sunday, March 20 I hung out at Railroad Park for a while to be a part of the first Birmingham Dance Walk of 2016. It was the Dance Walk that inspired this episode to share some sound bites about what makes Birmingham Shine and to let you know about a few events coming up over the next few weeks. All of these events and festivities are in Birmingham, except for one. That one is a camping-and-yoga trip for women that some of my Shoals friends are doing at Cane Creek Canyon near Muscle Shoals. If that’s something you’re interested in, listen through to the end because there’s a registration deadline looming. When I started Birmingham Shines last year, I went out in April to Pepper Place Market to gather some sound bites from folks about what makes Birmingham Shine. You heard from two of those in the teaser: Preston and Eric. Thanks to you two guys for sharing your thoughts on what makes Birmingham Shine! One of the things I discovered that weekend in April of 2015, just before I launched the podcast is that folks are shy around microphones, even when there’s no camera involved. I had a bit more success at this year's Birmingham Dance Walk. First we’re going to hear from Sherri Ross, founder of Birmingham Dance Walk and her hubby, Daniel Walters. They give us some info about Dance Walk and Daniel also talks a bit about living downtown. Then we hear from Trudy Bezet about what she loves about Birmingham. After Trudy, we hear from Panama Jack You Up of the Tragic City Rollers about their next roller derby meet at the Zamora Shrine Temple in Irondale. Then we have Laura Gaines talking about the Sol Dance Experience for women. She's followed by Jennifer King, who has the blog Stellar Fashion and Fitness, gives the heads-up on an upcoming free 5K on April 2. After that, my friends Summer and Ashley share a bit about the camping and yoga trip set for April 9-10 at Cane Creek Canyon near Muscle Shoals. You can still register as of March 24, 2016, but you’re running out of time. If you’re interested and don’t have time to listen, you can find out more at ashleybakeryoga.com. This is an excerpt from a full interview available in the Discover Grow Shinecast. After the Summer and Ashley excerpt, I have a short promo from Michael Syms about Zyp Bikeshare and close it out with a another bit of sound from Ben of Jones Valley Teaching Farm, recorded in April 2015 at Pepper Place. Promotional Disclosure: At the time I recorded the full interview with Summer and Ashley for the Discover Grow Shinecast (available at http://shinecast.tv) I had not received any promotional consideration from them. During the week of March 20, however, I was asked if I would like to receive a discount to attend the April 9-10 yoga and camping outing at Cane Creek and I said yes. So, at the time of THIS episode, I have received something of value from these guests and want to disclose that to make sure I'm in compliance with FTC rules for bloggers and podcasters. Check out the new Birmingham Shines Podcast page on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/BirminghamShines Complete show notes and links available at http://birminghamshines.com/37

TEDxBirmingham 2016 was March 12 at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center on the UAB Campus. This episode features a recap of the ideas shared by speakers, through performances, and in a few short films interspersed throughout the event. The theme was Pure Imagination and the speakers and performances were curated into three sessions: Take a Breath, Make a Wish, Change the World Full show notes are available at http://birminghamshines.com along with links to the videos and other resources mentioned in this episode.

When I was three a lawnmower turned over on me and crushed my left temple, I have a noticeable but faded scar in the shape of a cross. I can actually remember bits and pieces of the moments before, during, and after the accident. My head on my mother's chest, covered in blood, as we raced to the nearest hospital 10 miles away. Today, I call it my Harry Potter scar. The girl who lived. I'm Sheree Martin, host and producer of Birmingham Shines, and I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast and for sharing it with your friends. I've been blessed to have met so many awesome individuals through Birmingham Shines, both guests, fans of the show, and others who simply love Birmingham or love podcasts. It's hard to believe that it's been a year since I started scheduling interviews for the first episodes and now we're just a few weeks away from the anniversary of the first episode release. This week's show is a bit different. I decided to make myself the guest, to tell you a little bit about my own story, why I started Birmingham Shines, what I'm trying to do here and some other things I'm working on. Some bits and pieces of this have been woven into my conversations with guests, but a lot of what you're going to hear in this episode is new and I'm going to try to do it more in a storytelling format. Some of you know that I'm a big fan of Seth Godin, who's both an inspirational force for the adapting to the new economic realities we live in, and someone's who helped to change the face of marketing in the digital arena, through his book, Permission Marketing, and later on, through his messages of empowerment. As Seth recognized years ago, the internet enables everyone—from brands to individuals in basements and bedrooms—to bypass the traditional media gatekeepers and to find and speak directly to their tribe of fans, followers and kindred spirits. When I began making plans to leave my faculty job at Samford a few years ago, I decided I wanted to stay in Birmingham, if possible, and that meant I would be leaving academia because there are only a few teaching jobs within driving distance for someone whose focus is social media marketing, digital content strategy and media law. Within academia, the traditional approach to PR and advertising doesn't accommodate the perspective that I bring to the table. And marketing departments in business schools typically don't consider faculty with a Ph.D. in Mass Communication, those programs want a Ph.D. in marketing or, perhaps, psychology of consumer behavior. It's all very siloed and that's not a topic I care to get into in this podcast. My point in bringing this up BEFORE I get into the official part of the episode is to say that when I left Samford my plan was to demonstrate how on-demand audio, especially audio content with a longer shelf life, can be a key part of business marketing strategy. That's a message I've been talking about behind-the-scenes for quite some time. More recently, I've ramped up my own marketing efforts to explain this approach to CEOs and business marketing and corporate communications managers to sell my own on-demand audio content strategy and production services. My target clients are B2B companies, and professional service providers, like lawyers and accountants, and other certain business sectors like real estate, construction, and banking/finance, healthcare and veterinary medicine. If you're a business owner, a marketing manager or someone who handles PR and corporation communications in house or with an agency: Perhaps the best way to think of it is this: Podcasts are like having your own business radio station and you are the DJ. You can decide whether to have short news features, product-specific episodes, answer the FAQs of your customers and clients You get to explain what you do in a way that lets you speak directly to each unique customer. Not only do you get a “radio station” section for your website, with audio file that you can distribute across the digital spectrum through iTunes, SoundCloud and other channels, but you can also use the script or notes from each episode as the basis for a text story on your website to get more SEO juice from the content in the audio file. You can also use pull-quotes from the audio to create graphics that you share across social-media channels. The Birmingham metro area as over 400,000 daily commuters who spend around 50 minutes of each work day driving alone to and from their jobs. Many of these are your customers and many of those customers will gladly choose to listen to you answer their questions and solve their problems through your business radio podcast. Another cool thing is this: Even if your target customer doesn't immediately listen to the episode, the podcast is always available to answer their question when the time is right. Content creation becomes an investment, not an expense. And the distribution of the episode across social media channels gives you brand impressions in ways that ads do not, unless they are internet display ads or promoted posts on social media. So even if the episode doesn't immediately generate listens or downloads, you can still get brand impressions for unique content. The great thing about on-demand audio, is that's very affordable, multipurpose and you--the business owner, the PR specialist, the marketing manager--get to control the distribution schedule. On-demand audio is targeted to your unique customer profiles. Each episode can speak to one segment of your client base on one unique topic or question or concern. That means you aren't throwing money out the window on relatively expensive and ephemeral radio and TV ads that evaporate into the ether as soon as they're broadcast to an audience that's both distracted AND much broader than your ideal customer base. Unless you're a fast food restaurant, a car dealership, or a big-box retailer these radio and TV ads probably don't give you much bang for your buck. Print ads also have a relatively short life and are very hard to target. You're usually paying for reach you don't need. And with print ads, your message is competing with a million other distractions. With on-demand audio, you can create one piece of content that speaks directly to many ideal customers, one individual at a time. When someone is listening to your voice through an earbud, you can establish a relationship with the customer that grows over time. And that content is easily repurposed for use in a multi-channel digital distribution world. I'm here to help you develop a business radio strategy and launch your own podcast. It's really not difficult. I can handle the episode production, as well as the scheduling and distribution, if that's not something you want to do in house. So how to connect with me? I've put together landing pages at birminghamshines.com and shereemartin.com that explains what I offer and I'm happy to give you ballpark estimates on costs, both for strategy development and production. If you don't have time to visit the landing page, you can email me: sheree at shereemartin.com and ask me about podcasting for your business.   Now, back to this week's episode:   Remember that lawn mower accident? A week or so after I was released from the hospital, I spent a few minutes facedown in a muddy, freshly plowed field while a tornado passed overhead. My dad was trying to run with me to a neighbor's storm cellar when we got tripped up in the muck.   Fortunately, the tornado was just to the north of us and not quite on the ground, so we weren't harmed. My bandages were a muddy mess. I can see the scene unfolding like it was yesterday.   On the way home from the doctor's office to have my bandages changed, my parents had stopped to speak with my maternal grandparents, and we were all standing in the yard when Earline, a neighbor, up the road began running in our direction screaming, “Tornado, it's about to get me....”   The house between us had a storm cellar. My grandfather, Paps, sprinted off in the direction of the cellar, but opted to go under small bridge. My dad took the shorter route, which is how we ended up in the field. He'd taken a short cut that didn't quite work out. My mom and mema were left standing in the yard. They didn't run. A couple of years after the lawnmower accident, on a sweltering hot June day in 1968 when I was 5, my beloved grandfather, Paps, was my pier-side babysitter while my parents spent several hours waterskiing on the Tennessee River. It was a very hot day and my dad was a tool and die maker who worked the 4-12 shift at Ford Motor Company in Sheffield. He had to go to work so we left the river in mid-afternoon to return home. On the way home, it was clear my grandfather was in distress. He was sweating profusely and complaining of nausea. Everyone thought it was the heat. We dropped my dad off at home so he could leave for work and then drove on to my grandparents' house. Mom and I drove on my grandparents house, a quarter-mile away. It had been decided that I could spend the night with my grandparents, which I did regularly. My uncle William stopped by with some medicine for my grandfather, who was lying on the couch, obviously in a great deal of distress. He left and Mom left to return home to get clothes for me to spend the night. A bath was running for me, when I heard my grandmother scream to call my mother. I ran into the den to see my grandfather having a heart attack.    

This week’s episode of Birmingham Shines features a conversation with Dr. Julian Maha, an emergency medicine physician and co-founder of KultureCity, an impact driven and award-winning nonprofit that is based in Birmingham but with a global presence. Dr. Maha and his wife conceived the idea for KultureCity after their oldest son was diagnosed with autism several years ago. KultureCity is designed to be a real community of volunteers and supporters who work to help families directly and to be advocates for the types of systemic change that will help individuals with autism achieve and live out their full potential as human beings. The teasers tell you a little bit about what Julian and I talked about, but he also shared two specific stories of how care and the right interventions helped two young men with autism move from being essentially ignored by society to valuable contributors. One of these young men earned a Ph.D. in physics. The other is now well-adjusted and working at Panera Bread, even though he’s still non-verbal. We also talk about some of the research that’s being done to better understand the causes of autism, including the role of environmental factors as genetic triggers. You’ll find links and full show notes to this episode at http://BirminghamShines.com, where you can also sign up to get email updates, subscribe to the show or even download it for your audio library if you want to keep a copy.  A special thank-you to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens for letting us record this conversation outside on a beautiful day last week. Connect with Kulture City: http://www.kulturecity.org/ Isn’t it awesome to hear the stories of nonprofits right here in Birmingham who are working hard to bring about positive change to our city, state and world and to make life better for everyone, through service and caring. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll go back and listen to episode 32, which features Jason Carroll of Red Mountain Grace, another nonprofit that’s working to help families who are facing medical challenges. But they offer an entirely different type of service. And episode 28 features a conversation with Nelson Brooke about the work of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper to protect one of Birmingham’s main sources for drinking water and a major economic engine in west central Alabama. I hope you’ll do something this week that makes you shine--and that makes the world a brighter place for everyone.

Katie Exum, publisher and editor of Alabama Trails magazine is the guest on episode 33 of Birmingham Shines. Rotary Trail in downtown Birmingham is the next trail set to open in Birmingham. Rotary Trail is part of a much larger trail system under development in the Magic City and surrounding areas. We are so blessed to have amazing outdoor recreation opportunities all around us. Birmingham’s burgeoning trail system and city parks are one of the reasons that Birmingham is gaining so much attention from national media and tourism bloggers. Yes, we have amazing food. But we have so much more and outdoor recreation is a big part of that. I wanted to have Katie on the show because she and her husband have created a relatively new magazine that focuses on outdoor recreation opportunities all across Alabama, including those here in the greater Birmingham area. I think it’s a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about what to see and do all across Alabama, including right here in Birmingham. If you’re a regular listener to Birmingham Shines, you might remember that Deon Gordon said he marks the turning point in Birmingham’s renaissance with the creation of Railroad Park. Others on the show have echoed that sentiment. Teresa Thorne, executive director of City Action Partnership, known as CAPS downtown, is one of those individuals. Another guest, David Weigel singled out the city parks and outdoor recreation opportunities surrounding the greater Birmingham area as one of the reasons Birmingham Shines. Scot Duncan, a professor at Birmingham Southern College talked about Alabama’s amazing biodiversity and why it matters for our city, region and state. Connect with Alabama Trails magazine here:http://www.alabamatrailsmagazine.com/our-story.htmlInstagram: @atmmagazineFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alabamatrailsmagazineTwitter: https://twitter.com/AlabamaTraMag Full show notes here: http://birminghamshines.com

My guest this week is Jason Carroll, one of the co-founders of Red Mountain Grace, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that offers residential space to out of town families in need who must be in Birmingham on an extended basis to receive medical treatment. As is often the case, the really good part of this episode comes in the last 5 minutes. Before that, Jason and I talk about the organization, the type of hospitality provided by Red Mountain Grace, and how you might get involved. Near the end of our conversation, I asked Jason to share a story about a family served by Red Mountain Grace. The 38-year-old husband had just been diagnosed with metastatic cancer and the family was among the first to receive residential assistance through Red Mountain Grace. Jason shares a poignant conversation with the couple, who asked why Red Mountain Grace existed.That family did not get the blessing of a cure, but Jason said that if they had only been able to assist one family, ever, it would have made it all worthwhile. “If you can be a light for a short time for a family, it’s worth it.” -- Jason Carroll I hope the big takeaway from this conversation is that everyone can make a difference in some way, large or small. If you listen to many episodes of Birmingham Shines, you’ll often hear that it’s the people who make Birmingham shine. I think this episode of Birmingham Shines really proves that point. Find out more about Red Mountain Grace at http://www.redmountaingrace.org http://birminghamshines.com

Teddy Zane, owner of Flex Fitness in Irondale, is the guest on episode 31 of Birmingham Shines. Health and fitness starts with food. “You can’t outtrain a bad diet,” Zane says. Teddy is an ACE certified trainer. Bodybuilding Awards include:--Mr. New York--Teen Mr. Upstate New York Flex Fitness is an awesome gym in Irondale, a suburb of Birmingam, with 24/7 access. Flex Fitness offers a full range of cardio workout machines, as well as multiple varieties of circuit training machines. There's a full floor of free-weights for the hard-core bodybuilders, but Flex Fitness really emphasizes fitness for everyone.  In this week's episode we talk about nutrition, designing a workout regimen and more. Here are some highlights: Some folks don’t get the results they want because they quit too soon when they don’t get the results fast enough. Patience is a key and you also have to pay attention to what you’re eating. Most of us can’t get all the vitamins, minerals, amino acids that we need, even if we’re eating reasonably well. So it’s not just about what you’re will to give up and a commitment to eating the right combinations and quantities. You also have to pay attention to the quality of the food you’re taking in. Industrially-produced poultry and beef, farmed fish, these receive food that’s largely corn-based. As a result, you don’t get the Omega 3 fatty acids and other benefits of grassfed, pastured livestock. Teddy recommends intermittent fasting to help detox body and restore gut health. This is not the solution for someone with a medical condition, but for a normal healthy person intermittent fasting can be an excellent tool for restoring colonic health and intestinal function. With intermittent fasting, you go 12 hours, usually overnight, with no food intake to give your digestive system a rest. Drink a lot of water, especially in the morning after, to help flush out toxins. Food and fitness are the fountain of youth. Not sure where to start, if you aren't already on a fitness plan.....Teddy offers these tips: Set a goal. Identify your goal and a reason to achieve it. If you can’t manage your self-discipline, get a trainer. Not mandatory if you can stay committed to your plan, but a trainer is great to keep you motivated. Ask people in great shape to help you. It’s better to talk to a real person--even a friend who’s knowledgeable--rather than just going to YouTube or a website for motivation. Be consistent. Don’t be sporadic. Your body adapts quickly, so you want to keep moving forward. Bodybuilding is for the extreme-fit enthusiast. Most people just want to focus on cardio to get rid of stored body fat. A key to maximize fat-burning is to work out on an empty stomach and you must get your heart rate up (more on that shortly). Drink lots of water. Take a branch-chain amino acid supplement before your cardio workout. Branch chain amino acids usually come in powder form. Take before the workout, on empty stomach, to preserve muscle and burn fat. For strength-training, want to have a couple of meals in the day before your strength workout. Ideally, do your cardio early, on an empty stomach. Make sure you get your heart rate up to the right level, based on age. A heart rate monitor is crucial for making sure you hit the right threshold in cardio to burn fat. Then have 2 meals before strength training. Do your strength 2 p.m. or later, after you’ve had good nutrition.   Flex Fitness is located on Crestwood Blvd. in Irondale. Irondale is (as some of you may know) the hometown of the Irondale Cafe, which inspired The Whistlestop Cafe in Fannie Flagg’s book, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe. Find Flex Fitness on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Flex-fitness-117410334948869/ http://birminghamshines.com

Chef Tony Bayles started out working with food when he was an assistant to his uncle who ran a catering business. Today, Tony owns Bayles Catering and a popular take-out cafe in the Woodlawn community, which is in the midst of a community revitalization that's turning into a renaissance. In this episode of Birmingham Shines, Tony shares the story of how he decided to become a professional chef, a bit about his history and training, the types of catering services he provides, and what makes the community of Woodlawn and the city of Birmingham Shine. We also talk about bowling. Enjoy! Links and more at http://birminghamshines.com  

Welcome to episode 29 of Birmingham Shines. I’m your host and producer Sheree Martin  and this week’s show is about TEDxBirmingham: what it is, why it matters, who it's for and more. We also talk about what makes Birmingham Shine and what makes a person shine. My guest is Matthew Hamilton, someone I’ve been trying to have on the show since last summer and we finally had a chance to sit down just before the beginning of the year to talk about TEDxBirmingham. I’m a huge fan of TED talks and TEDx talks and use them to learn, find inspiration and spark my own innovation and creativity. TEDxBirmingham 4th edition is set for March 12 and the leadership team just announced this year’s speakers a few weeks ago. Matthew and I talk about the importance of TEDx events in the life of a community and the goals of TEDxBirmingham in particular. I ask Matthew to highlight a few of his favorite speakers from past TEDxBirmingham events and you can find videos of those talks on the Birmingham Shines blog. He also gives us a preview of this year’s speaker line-up. You can apply for tickets right now through tedxbirmingham.org and Matthew explains the selection process in our conversation around the 43 minute mark. The deadline to submit your application is January 31, so only a few days left to apply for tickets. But you can also participate via the free livestream if you can’t attend in person. Why does TEDx matter? Matthew says it creates a forum in a community where a diverse group of people can come together and share ideas. The TEDx event can be a spark or catalyst for innovation. Tt’s the sharing of ideas and bringing people together to connect that is the service TEDx events provide to a community. The focus or mission of TED is to bring to light Ideas Worth Spreading. I like to think that my hero Benjamin Franklin would have been one of the forces to bring a TED-type of event to life. His Junto is probably the closest thing to a TED-type of event that existed in the colonies in the first half of the 18th century. Matthew is a co-organizer with Dr. Sarah Parcak of UAB, who’s a TED Fellow. In curating the speakers for TEDxBirmingham events they try to focus on ideas that matter coming OUT of Birmingham, more than ideas about Birmingham. “We want to share ideas that are originating in this city, out to the world,” Hamilton said. One of the criteria used by the TEDxBirmingham organizers for speaker selections is that the idea is one that would be relevant to someone regardless of geography. The idea is not specific to Birmingham or relevant only to people in our city or region. Matthew used the example of Dr. Pat Hymel’s TEDxBirmingham talk from 2013, which focused on how we grow and learn from our mistakes. This year’s TEDxBirmingham has the theme of Pure Imagination. In curating speakers for this theme, Hamilton says the idea was to find speakers who consider the possibilities for the future with an emphasis on WHEN, not if. Once we finish talking about TEDxBirmingham, past and present. Matthew shares some of his thoughts on how and why Birmingham Shines: It really comes down to the people. We talk about two books Matthew recommends: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman How Will You Measure Your Life by Clay Christiansen   What makes someone shine personally? A similar theme echoed by other guests: A willingness to step out and do the thing you’re passionate about.

Nelson Brooke has served as Black Warrior Riverkeeper since 2004. The nonprofit Black Warrior Riverkeeper organization provides leadership in protecting the Black Warrior River, one of the primary sources of drinking water to the City of Birmingham and several other surrounding municipalities and public water systems. Nelson explains why water is so important and how the modern "disconnect" from water contributes to the lack of public awareness about the importance of protecting water. We take a look at some of the challenges of protecting water in Alabama. We also discuss briefly some of the hidden costs that we incur personally and as a society as a result of failure to enforce existing water quality regulations and the failure to update water protection regulations. For instance, many pharmaceuticals and emerging chemical hazards aren't yet covered by the regulatory system or treatment protocols. We are exposed to these chemicals that persist in drinking water and this exposure contributes to the increased rates of cancer and other health problems. We collectively incur the medical costs of treatment of these health conditions and it might be less expensive to remove the chemicals from the water supply, or find ways to limit the discharge of these products into rivers, streams and reservoirs. We also touch on the role that our natural environment plays in outdoor recreation and the economic opportunities this offers. Find out more at http://birminghamshines.com and http://blackwarriorriver.org

This week’s guest is Susan Shoemaker, a Birmingham mixed media artist. You can find her work around Birmingham and online. Just search for pencilpress. Susan markets her work as pencilpress, which explains originated with her college art studies in printmaking and her love of drawing. And she also presses hard with her pencil. Hence, pencilpress. Susan is known for her animal-focused art and she explains how she conceives and creates animal drawings, paintings and other pieces of art. In our conversation, we touch on the creative process, art in schools and what it’s like to pursue art while working a full-time day job. Susan explains how she gave up art for some years after college, while she worked full time, and then returned when she found that art was something that she could not let go. Susan also talks about a few of the challenges that artists are facing—and they might surprise you. One is the challenge of dealing with bad weather during an outdoor art show. Another stems from the frequent requests that artists receive to donate their work for fundraising events. These are two things the artist community, overall, is facing and working to address, collectively. We also talk about the challenges of pricing and value and perceptions of price, time, value and quality in the context of art AND food. Susan's website is http://pencilpress.org (not .com) Thanks to Chris and Ana Newsome for letting me commandeer a corner table at Ollie Irene at 4 p.m. one recent Friday afternoon to record the interview and thanks to the house staff for being so accommodating with the request to turn down the background music a bit while we were recording our conversation.

Birmingham mother, wife and green cleaning entrepreneur Rebecca Davis is the guest on episode 26 of Birmingham Shines. Rebecca owns a cleaning business that uses only green cleaning products Rebecca makes at home. One of her clients suggested she begin selling the green cleaning products and that led Rebecca to the Co.Starters program offered through Create Birmingham. In this episode, we talk about Rebecca's journey to green and clean, in cleaning and in eating. Birmingham Shines will be returning to a weekly production schedule for the months of November and December, with the possibility of bonus episodes. Rebecca's line of cleaning products are free of the typical synthetic chemicals we find in industrial cleaning products. Rebecca uses things like vinegar, baking soda, herbs and fermentation to create her products, which she sells at Pepper Place Saturday Market. In today’s episode we mainly talk about Rebecca’s journey into the realm of green entrepreneurship and what triggered her decision to give up the traditional American diet to return to what I call whole real foods, but I’ll let her tell you that story. During November and December 2015 only I’m offering a limited number of opportunities for nonprofits and local businesses to be a part of Birmingham Shines through sponsored content episodes. I’ll be offering my services to host, interview and produce special episodes of Birmingham Shines to promote a seasonal event, year end fund raising campaign or holiday message. The starting price is just $500 for the promoted episode (limits apply) and you, the business owner or nonprofit, will be able to use your audio file in other contexts beyond the Birmingham Shines podcast feed. If you’re interested in learning more about this , visit birminghamshines.com and click the link to 2015 sponsored content or simply email sheree at shereemartin dot com and say tell me more. You can find links to her website and Facebook page in the episode post at BirminghamShines.com. And you can find Rebecca at Pepper Place Saturday Market each week for the rest of the 2015 season. If you’re a small business owner or event planner with a special event or message to promote through on-demand audio, don’t forget to visit BirminghamShines.com to learn more about the limited time offer for promoted episodes. Thank you so much for listening to Birmingham Shines. I hope you’ll share the show with your friends. See you soon! You can find the links and full show notes at http://BirminghamShines.com

Industrial designer Scott Doty is the guest on episode 25 of Birmingham Shines. We talk about the power of and importance of design in all facets of life and business. We also get into tips and resources to help boost creativity and innovation, regardless of skill or experience. Full show notes at http://birminghamshines.com Please support Birmingham Shines and all of the Shinecast® resources and media content through Patreon. Visit http://birminghamshines.com/support to go directly to the Shinecast Patreon page.

This week’s guest on Birmingham Shines is writer T.K. Thorne, author of the award-winning novel Noah’s Wife. Noah’s Wife received ForeWard Magazine’s Book of the Year Award in Historical Fiction and T. K. has received a number of accolades and much critical acclaim for her fiction and non-fiction works, including Angels at the Gate, another novel in the genre of historical fiction, and Last Chance for Justice, a investigative non-fiction work about the Birmingham Church bombers. I recently finished reading Noah’s Wife and I can say from first-hand experience that this is a compelling, page-turning work of historical fiction. I literally did not want to stop reading each night when it was time for me to turn off the light. I hope you enjoy this conversation, we start with a look at her early years and then focus on her journey to becoming a published writer and how the characters in her stories come to life. You'll probably only get an episode every other week during the month of October. That's something I'm contemplating. If you want to keep up to date to know for sure, please visit http://birminghamshines.com and sign up for the email newsletter. You can find the sign-up form just below the player on any episode page.

Lawrence Sheffield knew from a young age that he wanted to work with his hands, his heart and his mind and that college was not in his plans. His love of woodworking inspired a vision to start a training program to help young men learn both job and life skills through woodworking. That vision led to the creation of Magic City Woodworks, a 501c3 nonprofit in Birmingham, Alabama. Lawrence is my guest on this week's episode of Birmingham Shines, along with Jacob Pierce who serves as the volunteer coordinator for Magic City Woodworks. In this conversation, we talk about the importance of doing meaningful work and the life lessons that can be learned through woodworking and other trades. One of the most important books I've read in the past 5-6 years is Shop Craft as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford.  When I discovered Magic City Woodworks through Instagram I knew I had to reach out to these guys and learn more about what they are doing. I'm so glad I did. I think you'll love this conversation. You can find more at http://birminghamshines.com. If you like this podcast, I hope you'll considering purchasing my ebook (a PDF), 7 Days of Real Food. The price is $5 through Friday, September 19, 8 p.m. CDT. You can purchase online through the link at http://shinecast.net. I'll be adding a purchase page to Birmingham Shines this weekend. 

Teresa Thorne, executive director of the City Action Partnership, is the guest on episode 22 of Birmingham Shines. She describes the role of the CAP team, the services they provide, and shares an example of how the CAP officers go beyond the "call of duty." Teresa is a former  Birmingham police officer and she shares some of the reasons she thinks downtown Birmingham Shines. I'll be publishing another part of our conversation in a future episode that focuses on Teresa's writing. She's a successful author who's published several acclaimed books under her pen name, T.K. Thorne. Find out more at http://birminghamshines.com

Stacey Hood is my guest on episode 21 of Birmingham Shines. Stacey is in the midst of launching Old Swole Podcast, a crossfit focused show for the over 35 crowd. Stacey and I talk about the importance of real food, physical activity (doesn't have to be crossfire, just move), sleep, body image and more.  My new show, Discover Grow Shinecast, also has a big wellness/fitness/health component. Stacey's co-host on the Old Swole Podcast is Jay Symms. More at http://birminghamshines.com

The word "Kuumba"  means create. Deidre Clark is bringing innovative programs to Ensley to inspire and train kids in the creative arts. The latest program will provide training and mentoring in the field of graphic design and offer high school students the chance to gain valuable job skills and a portfolio to supplement college applications and/or pursue employment or freelance opportunities. In this episode, we walk through the history of Kuumba Community Art and into this new direction. Deidre also provides tips on how you can choose yourself to do that thing that you've been dreaming of doing. Find out more at http://birminghamshines.com

Journey Beyond with Mwendo Adventures. Episode 19 of Birmingham Shines features a conversation with Joe Caruga and Jason McCracken. Joe is a native of Kenya who moved to Birmingham to study. Jason is a Birmingham entrepreneur. They met at Dawson Memorial Church and that led to travels to East Africa and the formation of Mwendo Adventures. Mwendo Adventures provides bespoke safaris, climbs and other adventures on the African continent (with other stops on the way). In this conversation we talk about what makes African special---with an emphasis on Kenya and other destinations in East Africa--and what it's like to travel with Mwendo Adventures. We also talk about what is beautiful about Africa and the importance of connection, community and living in the moment. There's also a surprise after the tag at the end. Thanks to Erin Street for introducing me to Joe. More at http://birminghamshines.com  

This week’s guest is Deon Gordon--if you’re civic minded and under 40 you probably know Deon. If you’re over 40 and civic minded you’ve probably heard of Deon, even if you don’t know him personally. Deon is one Birmingham’s champions and just an all-around super nice guy. In March 2015, Deon assumed the role of director of business development for REV Birmingham. Deon was one of the first four individuals I reached out to when I began working on the show. We had everything scheduled for him to be guest #2, but then a series of scheduling snafus led to rescheduling and it wasn't until early August that we were finally able to connect for a conversation. We ended up meeting at 7 a.m. to get the interview onto our calendars! Authenticity and local culture are two of the necessary ingredients for a successful 21st century city. Deon believes Birmingham has finally begun to tell its own story of authenticity, beginning with the culinary and food scene.We talk about some of Deon's favorite Birmingham people, places and things--like Railroad Park, Gip's Place and Chez FonFon. Enjoy! Visit http://birminghamshines.com for more.  

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Scot Duncan, associate professor at Birmingham Southern College and author of Southern Wonder: Alabama's Surprising Biodiversity. The focus of the conversation is on the economics of protecting nature--from the value of ecosystem services to the economic growth we derive through outdoor recreation and tourism to the health benefits of time spent in nature (which reduce healthcare costs and stress that lowers productivity in the workplace).  I recorded this interview with Dr. Scot Duncan a couple of weeks before the release date and scheduled it for epsiode 17 because I had a conference and other constraints that would keep me from doing new interviews during the 10 days or so leading up to August 6, the date I'm publishing this episode of Birmingham Shines. In a sad coincidence, the night before the episode was scheduled to publish for Birmingham Shines the Alabama State Senate voted, 23-1, in a special session to destroy the Alabama Forever Wild program by diverting funds from that program to fund the Alabama State Parks system. The Forever Wild program was approved in 2012 by a 75% of Alabama voters who authorized a 20-year continuation of the program. Forever Wild Alabama is funded through 10% of the interest on oil and gas royalties paid to the State by oil and gas developers. The Forever Wild program and lands in the program are not intended to be a replacement or substitute for the Alabama State Parks. I hope this conversation with Dr. Duncan will contribute to public awareness of the travesty that will occur if the House goes along with the State Senate and passes legislation to divert funding and end Forever Wild. I hope that this conversation will raise awareness that nature is a leading engine of our economic not an expense.One of the fastest (and least expensive) ways we could boost our state's economy is to grow our tourism industry, with an emphasis on outdoor recreation and outdoor sports, like fishing, boating, water sports, hiking, climbing, bird watching, and more. We need well-funded state parks and we need lands in Forever Wild. I hope you will share this episode widely and contact your Alabama legislators and the Governor and tell them to protect funding for Forever Wild, fund state parks and grow our economy by emphasizing the natural beauty of our state. Our lives depend on nature. Visit http://birminghamshines.com for more. This episode is also published as episode 22 of the Shine Springs Farm Shinecast®.

David Sher is a Birmingham businessman who started the Comeback Town blog in 2012 to spark a conversation about change in Birmingham. David's goal is to have a conversation about hard questions that many have said should not be asked because the effort would be futile. Perhaps the tide is turning now, due to the Comeback Town Blog's growing readership and the increase in subscribers to the companion email newsletter. In episode 16 of Birmingham Shines, David Sher explains how he came to be interested in social media (especially LinkedIn) at the stage of life when most successful businessmen are thinking of retiring to a golf course or lake house. After several years as a social media consultant to businesses and executives, David put his knowledge of online relationship building and content marketing to work with The Comeback Town blog. I met David briefly at TEDxBirmingham in February 2014 and reached out to him through LinkedIn recently to be a guest on Birmingham Shines. I had just discovered his Comeback Town blog through a post he shared on LinkedIn. I think it's very important to have meaningful conversations about important issues in our community and I love the work that David is doing to make this happen.  I hope you enjoy this conversation. Visit http://birminghamshines.com for more.

This week we have another writer on the show, my friend Carla Jean Whitley. Carla Jean is one of the first people I approached about being on Birmingham Shines because I know how much she loves Birmingham. We decided to time her appearance on the show to coincide with the release of her new book, Birmingham Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Magic City, which will be available for purchase starting July 27, 2015. The official book launch event is set for July 27 from 4-6 p.m. at The Alabama Booksmith in Homewood. Carla Jean has several other appearances around town for book signings and readings. You can visit carleajeanwhitley.com for details and I’ll also include the upcoming events that I know about in the show notes for episode 15, which you can find at BirminghamShines.com. In addition to books and writing, Carla Jean and I talk about some of the places she loves to share with Birmingham visitors, and what it means to seek peace. One thing we share in common is that To Kill a Mockingbird is our favorite book.   In the final segment of this week’s show we talk about what this book means to us.   By happenstance, we recorded the conversation the week before Go Set a Watchman was released and before either of us had read it. At this point, I still have read it and won't get to read Go Set a Watchman for another week or so, but I know that Carla Jean has been an active participant in discussions about both books in recent week, through her writings for The Birmingham News / AL.com and her #RedClayReaders podcast.    

Some stories are meant to be told. The Caldwell Family’s story of survival is one example. Albert and Sylvia Caldwell met at Park College in Missouri and embarked (on their wedding day) in 1909 on their journey to Siam to become missionaries.  By February 1912, before the terms of the missionary appointment had been met, the couple and infant son were making their way back home to the United States. By happenstance—or fate—the Caldwells ended up on the Titanic in April 2012 and were one of the few families to survive the disaster. One of the goals of Birmingham Shines is to shine the light on stories that aren’t necessarily being told, at least not on a widespread basis. Dr. Julie Hedgepeth Williams, a media historian, scholar, educator and the guest for episode 14 of Birmingham Shines is one of those individuals who doesn’t always get the recognition she deserves. Julie also has a story that is meant to be told. In this episode, Julie and I talk about researching and writing narrative-style historical nonfiction and we also delve into traditional publishing in 2014. Julie’s most recent book is the award-winning A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells’ Story of Survival. This book recounts the story of the Caldwell family, from the time Al and Sylvia met at Park College through the years after they were among the passengers who survived and sailed to safety in NYC aboard the Carpathian. We also talk about Julie’s first book, Wings of Opportunity, about the Wright brothers’ commercial aviation school in Montgomery, Alabama and her upcoming book that looks at three key figures in the emergence of Southern literature as a specific literary genre. If you’re interested in historical nonfiction—this is the episode for you! As always, you can find more detailed show notes at http://birminghamshines.com. Check out the Shinecast Facebook page to stay up-to-date on all things Shinecast®.

Mark Kelly, publisher of Weld for Birmingham, is the guest for episode 13 of Birmingham Shines.   If you’re in Birmingham, you know Mark as a writer and voice for change in Birmingham and in Alabama. In today’s show we talk a little bit about the founding of Weld for Birmingham, but our main focus is a conversation about bigger questions like the role of journalism, change that is sparked by grassroots efforts of “we the people,” the importance of hope, challenges in education, poverty and how poverty hampers economic growth and educational opportunity, and the importance of having a vision and then going after that vision. Mark and I have a history dating back to the very early 70s when we were kids in elementary school. Back in January (2015), I wrote a blog post about 10 people who influenced my life. These weren’t necessarily the MOST influential people in my life but the list was about 10 people who really made a difference in some way. Mark Kelly was the one person from my peer group who made the list. And he made it because having Mark in my life during those formative years as a tween and a teen sort of forced me, at least in a subconscious way (I think)  to step up my game in terms of ambition, intellectual development, and breadth of interests. Mark and I weren’t rivals or directly competitive but we had conversations that went well beyond the typical teen stuff. I feel like I should give a shout out to Joey Johnson who was also often part of those conversations and debate. Mark and I both loved the comedian Steve Martin, Saturday Night Live, The Far Side comics. And I credit Mark Kelly with introducing me to the music of Beatles. I already knew of the Beatles before, of course, but in high school Mark made me a cassette of Beatles music that I hadn’t heard before--the Beatles catalog, beyond the hits that everyone knew. That sampler clued me in on how and why the Beatles basically defined the future of popular music. I wore that tape out in college and eventually ended up with the entire Beatles catalog on CD. I close the show with these questions: Are you putting your best into your life? Are you treating everyone with kindness and respect? Do you know what it is you’re trying to do?   For some it may simply be raising your kids in the best way you can. Parenting is the most important calling and responsibility of all. For others, you may have a vision and a calling and be working to make that vision real. Whatever it is you’re trying to do, I hope it’s intentional and I hope you’re willing to leave your all on the field so that when the game is over you gave it your best shot. And regardless of your mission or vocation or avocation keep this in mind: We’re here to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and spirit and to love our neighbors as ourselves. It starts and ends with love. Love is all you need. That Beatles reference wasn't planned when I wrote the intro notes but I couldn't resist here. I hope that today you’ll help someone else to Shine.

Episode 12 of Birmingham Shines features Jennifer Skjellum, president of Tech Birmingham, a nonprofit that provies education, professional development and networking opportunities for tech professionals, entrepreneurs and companies with IT departments. Jennifer is the executive director of Central Alabama chapter of Angel Investor Management Group, a network for angel investors who focus on companies in the southeastern US. Jennifer is also owner of Run-Time Computing, one of several computer businesses she's been a part of starting during her professional life. We talk about the state of entrepreneurship in Alabama, the geographic and workforce challenges of starting a tech company in the deep South, the positive attributes of the Birmingham metro area for anyone who's considering a move to the area to start or work for a tech company. The intro and closing comments are different, but the conversation/interview segment is the same as episode 3 of the Ignite Alabama podcast. Show notes related to the Birmingham topics in this episode are available at http://birminghamshines.com.

John McCarter, director of business development for Soluble Therapeutics, Inc., describes the company's history and path to commercialization of technology developed at UAB. Soluble Therapeutics, Inc. developed and has commercialized technology that enables the rapid formulation of biologic solutions for delivery of protein-based pharmaceuticals. In the past couple of years, Soluble Therapeutics has received several infusions of capital from venture funds and a major NIH grant.  In addition to explaining the company's technology, John explains how he uses LinkedIn and other internet-based communication platforms to grow the company's client base around the world.  We also cover the attributes of a 21st century economy and whether Birmingham (is moving in the right direction. As always, you can find more about this week's show at http://birminghamshines.com Birmingham Shines is a Shinecast® show.  

What makes someone shine? Doing the thing that you love, makes you shine. So find what it is and do that. Sage advice from Taylor Robinson, owner of Six Foot Five Productions & co-founder of Arc Stories, this week's guest on Birmingham Shines. We talk about storytelling, creativity, the ultimate source of our creativity, fulfilling our unique purposes (and most of us have more than one, we both agree), and doing the thing that excites us. I reached out to Arc Stories back in April, hoping to schedule someone to talk about the Arc Stories events and podcast for one of the early episodes of Birmingham Shines. Due to a death in the family, my original Arc Stories story coach guest had to delay and offered Taylor Robinson as his substitute. I had never met Taylor prior to this conversation recorded June 4, 2015, but I knew a fair amount about his work as a filmmaker and videographer. What I found is someone with whom I seem to have great deal in common. I love this conversation because Taylor and I seem to share a lot of the same values: A belief that kindness matters and that creativity comes from taking in lots of inspiration from myriad sources. I hope you enjoy it. As always, more detailed show notes will be available at http://birminghamshines.com.    

André Natta moved to Birmingham in 2004 because he wanted to play a role in the rebirth of the Magic City. He is a journalist and urban conversationalist--someone who seeks to find and tell the stories that aren't being told. André set out to fill a gap in local news coverage when he established the hyperlocal website, The Terminal: Birmingham's Hub and that site was immensely helpful to me when I set out to discover more about Birmingham when I moved here in 2009. Our conversation covers a lot of territory. We talk about the impact of the digital revolution on traditional media, the role of the traditional media, and the new voices that are emerging to help write and share the new stories about Birmingham. Near the end of our conversation, André says, in reference to Birmingham's emerging new identity: "I believe this city was built to change the South." I hope you'll listen and find out what he means. Complete show notes and more are available at http://birminghamshines.com

This is a bonus episode of Birmingham Shines, featuring David Weigel, a young educator and explorer who moved to Birmingham in 2014 to become the director of Christenberry Planetarium at Samford University. David shares a bit about his love for space exploration what he likes about Birmingham (the outdoors and the city's amenities), and some of the topics that will be covered during the Alabama Summer Skies program at Christenberry Planetarium this summer. The free planetarium shows are interactive and open to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. The first show is set for June 16, 2015 and that's why I wanted to release this episode as a bonus, while still adhering to my regular Thursday publication schedule. In addition to astronomy 101, the shows include updates on current NASA missions like New Horizons and Dawn, and the European Space Agency Rosetta mission to the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. David talks about these missions in this episode of Birmingham Shines, as well as what you can see in the Alabama night sky this summer even if you can't make it to one of the shows at Christenberry Planetarium. For details about the Alabama Summer Skies shows visit the Christenberry Planetarium Facebook page. You'll find a link to the page and the complete show notes at http://birminghamshines.com. The regular episode of Birmingham Shines will be published, as scheduled, early Thursday morning.

Jessica & Scott moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 2011 from Manhattan for Jessica's work (medical research) and set out to discover Birmingham through the Magic City's food culture. They started out sharing amazing food finds with friends on Facebook and that led them into the world of food blogging. Their blog, What to Eat in Birmingham, is extremely successful and popular and offers more than just information about where to eat. Jessi & Scott offer a community-oriented story about restaurants that aren't always in the news. They feature interviews with chefs and go deep to tell the story-behind-the-story. In this episode of Birmingham Shines, Jessi and Scott talk about their journey as food bloggers, how they fell in love with Birmingham through food, and how they built a place in the community that grew out of their love for Birmingham's ethnic food culture. Find out more at http://birminghamshines.com Birmingham Shines is a Shinecast® show by Sheree Martin.

I recorded this interview with Daniel Drinkard in early May while getting a preview of the new location of Seasick Records, a vinyl record store in Birmingham, Alabama. We talk about our love for music, common interests in punk and indie bands, and the reasons why listening to music on vinyl makes music seem more special. We also talk about the DIY ethic of Henry Rollins and why it matters to spend your days doing work you enjoy. Daniel opened Seasick Records in November 2013, with his co-founder Chayse Porter, to offer a vinyl record store in Alabama that focuses on punk and indie music that Daniel loves. It didn't take long to outgrow the original location in Avondale, so Seasick is moving down Crestwood Blvd. a little ways to a new location next to Crestwood Coffee. This episode is released this week to coincide with the grand opening of Seasick at the new location. As always, the complete show notes can be found here: http://birminghamshines.com  

Amy Bickers is a professional writer and has had successful careers in feature writing, as a newspaper journalist and editor for Southern Living.In 2009, Amy saw her ex-husband commit suicide. She used writing to make sense of the tragedy and deal with the grief. Ultimately, she turned from journaling to writing her truth of the experience and that turned into a memoir, The Geography of You and Me. After literary agents turned down the manuscript because "no one knew her," Amy put the book aside for a while. Later she turned to Kickstarter and had a successful campaign. The memoir is now in production and will be available for sale by September.  In this conversation, we talk about writing as catharsis, life as a journey, and taking the plunge into doing the thing that makes you shine. Complete show notes are available at http://birminghamshines.com    

Taylor Peake Wyatt, co-founder of MotionMobs, shares the story of starting the software development company in 2010. We also talk about the path from idea to funding, how to address the shortage of tech industry talent in Alabama and the benefits of growing a tech business in the Magic City. Full show notes and a PDF transcript will be available at http://birminghamshines.com  

Javacia Harris Bowser talks about founding SeeJaneWrite-Birmingham when she couldn't find the writing group she was looking for.  Javacia Harris Bowser, my guest for Week 3 of the Birmingham Shines podcast, is a writer, teacher and entrepreneur. She’s also a successful blogger and founder of See Jane Write Birmingham—networking group for women writers that has turned into a business. As we learned in episode 3 of Birmingham Shines, Javacia moved to Birmingham several years ago from Louisville, Kentucky to teach English at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Before embarking on her teaching career, Javacia worked professionally as a journalist and she continues to do freelance writing work today. Do one thing every day that scares you. Eleanor Roosevelt That’s the inspirational quote that Javacia shared with me when I asked her for something to inspire others to Discover. Grow. Shine.™ If you want to grow, you must be willing to get out of your comfort zone, even just a little bit. When you do, you usually find that it wasn’t so bad after all— especially if you’re taking little steps. No need to take up hang-gliding. Just send an email to someone you admire and don’t know and invite them to coffee. Take a different route home from work. Or maybe do your grocery shopping in reverse order from your usual routine. It’s pretty clear that Javacia is willing to take her own advice. When Javacia couldn’t find the type of writing group she was looking for, she decided to start one. The first “official” meeting of See Jane Write Birmingham was a simple dinner meet-up on March 24, 2011 at a Mexican restaurant in Birmingham. That meet-up led to a “next event,” which was all about using Twitter to network, connect with others and build a blogging audience. The successful Twitter event led to a blogging workshop and into one-on-one consulting and even bigger events. See Jane Write Birmingham has grown immensely in the four years since that first informal meet-up and today Javacia offers consulting and online courses for women who aspiring writers and entrepreneurs. Find out more about the See Jane Write Birmingham story by listening to episode 3 of Birmingham Shines—if you haven’t already! Javacia Recommends What to read….. Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso Where to eat in Birmingham…. Carrigan’s Where to caffeinate in Birmingham…. Urban Standard Church Street Coffee & Books Listen Goddess by Banks Anything by Beyoncé Where to get fit…. Lakeshore Trail Birmingham Blogger….. Jennifer Dome King: Stellar Fashion and Fitness I love Jennifer Dome King’s blog Stellar Fashion and Fitness. It has such a great message about body positivity. Life Hack Get up early. I’ll echo this one—I got up before 5 a.m. to start writing this blog post. I’m a big believer in “early to bed, early to rise.” If you know me at all, you probably know how I go on all the time about Ben Franklin! What makes Birmingham Shine…… The Creative Class I hope you are inspired by Javacia as I am!

Tripp Watson, Birmingham attorney and business adviser, talks about the entrepreneurial scene in Birmingham and how it's changed in the years since he began practicing law and advising entrepreneurs. Tripp was recently named one of the Birmingham's Top 40 under 40 by the Birmingham Business Journal. A transcript and full show notes available at http://birminghamshines.com

We also have a conversation about what it means to "shine" in an entrepreneurial context and whether Birmingham is now shining as a destination for entrepreneurs, makers, and creators. Full show notes will be available at: http://birminghamshines.com Birmingham Shines is a featured show on the Shinecast media network. Shinecast is a registered trademark of Sheree Martin.

Sheree Martin explains how and why she created Birmingham Shines, the podcast, and the larger Shinecast® brand. Sheree is a Birmingham, Alabama entrepreneur, lawyer and former college professor. She's also a professional writer and speaker. The Shinecast® media brand grew out of a vision for inspirational and educational media content to help others Discover, Grow and Shine in all aspects of life. The Shinecast brand began in 2012 with the first Shinecast show, the Shine Springs Farm Shinecast. [Shine Springs Farm is so-named because of a geological landmark known as "Shine's Spring" which is located on the property, not because Sheree was originally fixated on the word "shine"....:)] The preview episode of Birmingham Shines podcast was published April 30, 2015.