Business Is Booming

Speaker1: [00:00:02] Business is Booming from the small mom and pops to the big industries, our local businesses drive our economy and provide the products, services and jobs we depend on. Our host, Jennifer [00:00:15] McCurdy, brings us these stories as she visits with the business owners and leaders of Fort Payne and DeKalb County, Alabama. And now here's Jennifer now.

Speaker2: [00:00:26] Mayor Brian Baine, welcome to Business is Booming with the Fort Payne [00:00:30] Chamber of Commerce. Thanks for joining me today.

Speaker3: [00:00:32] Well, you're quite welcome. Great to be here.

Speaker2: [00:00:34] Yes. Well, I thought it would be nice to have your perspective on business in Fort Payne as well as I kind of want to get into your role [00:00:45] as the mayor of Fort Payne and how you started. I think it's fascinating that well. Fascinating and impressive that you have always kind of since I've known you had a servant's heart and just been involved [00:01:00] in your community, you worked at a small business for many years.

Speaker3: [00:01:03] I started at Bruce's Foodland. Gosh, way back there, I was I was still in high school. I was on the work program. And, you know, it was always brought [00:01:15] up to, you know, get out and work and earn your own money. And, you know, if I wanted to go out and do something, then get some money. And in doing that, I guess a lot of people would not realize this or would not know [00:01:30] this. But I was I guess, kind of I wouldn't say shy, but kind of shy, you know, in school growing up and. Oh, I wouldn't, you know, I didn't I was I was very, very introverted.

Speaker2: [00:01:43] Right.

Speaker3: [00:01:43] And but [00:01:45] working with the public at Bruce's Foodland, it really gave me the opportunity to to get out and meet people and really see what what this community is all about. And [00:02:00] I guess through the years of being there and growing up there and working in the different departments and the different aspects of the grocery business really gave me an opportunity to really get involved with the public, gave [00:02:15] me some opportunities to get involved with some non-profits, some volunteer work. And that is my heart is to, you know, to serve the people. Yes. I often say, you know, I'm not a politician. I'm a public servant.

Speaker2: [00:02:28] Yes, I'll agree with that.

Speaker3: [00:02:30] I've [00:02:30] heard that said before. But I'm the least thing from a politician that you'll ever find. I want to be a public servant. I want I want to help people. I want to to know that what I'm doing is is something [00:02:45] good for the community.

Speaker2: [00:02:46] And you do that. And I can say you're with the Optimist Club, right? How long have you been with the optimists?

Speaker3: [00:02:51] I've been with the Optimist Club since probably about 2008.

Speaker2: [00:02:56] Goodness.

Speaker3: [00:02:57] Yeah, we we actually started the [00:03:00] the annual event that we do Race to Embrace my first year as president of the Optimist Club.

Speaker2: [00:03:06] That's been going strong for years.

Speaker3: [00:03:07] Yes.

Speaker2: [00:03:08] And doing well.

Speaker3: [00:03:09] Yes.

Speaker2: [00:03:10] Lots of people in the community participate and love it so they can check with the Optimist [00:03:15] Club. If they'd like more information on Race to Embrace.

Speaker3: [00:03:17] Yeah, we are bringing it back this year. Due to COVID the last two years, the the school system would not let us, you know, have COVID for various reasons are obvious reasons.

Speaker2: [00:03:29] Race [00:03:30] to Embrace.

Speaker3: [00:03:30] Yeah have Race to Embrace. Yes. Yes. Because of COVID, we could not have Race to Embrace

Speaker2: [00:03:35] There we go.

Speaker3: [00:03:36] But this year we're actually going to get to to have Race to Embrace. It's going to look a little bit different this year because the school is having [00:03:45] their stadium redone. And so, yes.

Speaker2: [00:03:48] That's impacted a lot.

Speaker3: [00:03:49] So it will we're moving it to the VFW, which is a great facility. They've been great to to work with us and be able [00:04:00] to give us the opportunity to have it there.

Speaker2: [00:04:04] And I'm we're just going to jump around here because there's so much I can touch on with you, the VFW Patriots Park.

Speaker3: [00:04:11] Yes.

Speaker2: [00:04:12] Let's talk about that today. Since we're on the VFW. [00:04:15]

Speaker3: [00:04:15] That has been one of my big initiatives after becoming mayor. You know, they that board had not met probably a year and a half because of COVID and different reasons. But I [00:04:30] want to see that Patriots Park done.

Speaker2: [00:04:33] Tell us where that's at exactly.

Speaker3: [00:04:35] Okay. We we started an initiative probably back in November around Veterans Day. And I want to have a dedication of [00:04:45] that park on Veterans Day this year.

Speaker2: [00:04:47] Is the park located on Fifth and Godfrey, right?

Speaker3: [00:04:49] Yes, fifth. And Godfrey. Okay. And we're planning to do a dedication of that park. So we set out a fundraising effort started in November, and [00:05:00] we are probably about 75% of goal right now of the funds that we need to finish that park and be able to have the dedication in in November of this year. And [00:05:15] the VFW has been a big, big help in that and getting that getting help and get the funds.

Speaker2: [00:05:22] So the park has pavers with veterans names and service dates.

Speaker3: [00:05:29] Yes, you can purchase [00:05:30] a paver. There's a four by eight paver that you can do for $100 or an eight by eight paver for $200. And there's a walkway and it'll be put in that walkway and that that stone, that paver will be there [00:05:45] with those people's names on it.

Speaker2: [00:05:47] And it's beautiful there. If you haven't gone down to look at it, it's just a great little corner lot.

Speaker3: [00:05:53] It is. And it's it's you know, we we need to recognize our veterans more and really need [00:06:00] to show them that, hey, we appreciate them.

Speaker2: [00:06:02] And we do.

Speaker3: [00:06:03] And we do.

Speaker2: [00:06:03] Yes, 100%. I think the community will get behind you and are getting behind you 100%.

Speaker3: [00:06:08] Oh, yeah, the community is great. And that's the thing I like about this community is when there is a need, people [00:06:15] just come out and they help. They do. I mean, it's whether it's financially, whether it's volunteering, this community is great to come out and help when there's a need.

Speaker2: [00:06:26] And that's something I think a lot of people need to understand as well, is a lot of times [00:06:30] you might not have financially, but you might not be able monetarily to give to a cause. But if you're able to work or provide some other type of service, those things are needed just as much and they're just as important.

Speaker3: [00:06:43] Yeah. I mean, any time that [00:06:45] you can volunteer your time and your talent, you know, you might not be able to do much, like you said, as far as monetarily, but you may have a talent that is required for a certain certain thing that needs to be done. And you [00:07:00] can volunteer that time.

Speaker2: [00:07:01] I can ask for money from people for sure. So if you're like me, you can you know, if you're not afraid to ask for money, then that's something that's needed to. A lot of people don't feel comfortable doing that.

Speaker3: [00:07:12] But through my years of volunteerism, you know, t [00:07:15]hat's one thing that I have seen is this community is, you know, they're great to get out and give. And when they know it's going for a good cause, they will, you know?

Speaker2: [00:07:25] Yeah, I say what's happening. It's nice to be able to tangibly put your hands on things and see. [00:07:30] Speaking of that, you're also on the board of the Children's Advocacy Center.

Speaker3: [00:07:36] Yes, I've been on that board, been privileged to sit on that board for quite a few years, have been involved with their dinner theater [00:07:45] play. We just did our. Well, this was just my I would say 18th or 19th, I think 19th year to be involved with the with the play. You know, we do a big production every [00:08:00] every year and that's their biggest fundraiser for the year. And I guess that's one of the highlights of my year is is being able to be in that play. And yes. And the, the knowing that you're helping a good cause like the CAC, [00:08:15] the CAC is phenomenal. They do, you know, they've got therapists and folks there. And Liz does a great job as the director. It's just a unfortunately, it's a needed organization in our community, but [00:08:30] they do a phenomenal job with that.

Speaker2: [00:08:32] And I love that they've expanded and now have the gathering place, which is a. A meeting place. That's for exchange.

Speaker3: [00:08:40] Exchange for safe exchange for kids. And that that came through [00:08:45] our board president, Dana Grimes. You know, we were talking about it. She brought it up to the board one one year. And we said, we just need to we just need to do it. We just need to put it out there and do it. And it has been a huge success.

Speaker2: [00:08:57] Oh, I know. I've heard I mean, positive comments. [00:09:00] And I think y'all are still growing that I mean, so many programs, unfortunately. Right. Just keep coming up. And it's nice that the Children's Advocacy Center has the support of the community so that when they do see a need such as the [00:09:15] gathering place or any other needs that come up, the support of the communities there.

Speaker3: [00:09:20] And, you know, after Amber McPherson came aboard again, you know, she brought to the to the board said, you know, I've checked in to a therapy dog. [00:09:30] And I think that the CAC would benefit with the therapy dog. And I'm telling you what, if you've not ever met Luna, the therapy dog. Luna is a she's a mess. She is so comforting for these kids. And I've seen [00:09:45] her in action. I've seen her in action with some of these kids that will just you know, they'll be upset and they'll be, you know. Telling their story or whatever. And Luna comes in and she just she just takes care of it.

Speaker2: [00:09:57] I love it.

Speaker3: [00:09:57] And it's amazing to [00:10:00] watch.

Speaker2: [00:10:00] And Luna is very well-behaved. I saw Luna at the Advocacy Center play, and I don't even think Luna barked. So that was good.

Speaker3: [00:10:10] Well, and talking about the gathering place, the gathering place has a therapy dog [00:10:15] as well. Maybe his name is Gravy.

Speaker2: [00:10:17] Oh, that's who I saw. I saw gravy, not Luna.

Speaker3: [00:10:21] Okay, so the gathering place has gravy and the CAC has Luna.

Speaker2: [00:10:26] Well, we're thankful to have the CAC and board members such as yourself and Dana that [00:10:30] serve on those boards. People don't understand too, that they're volunteer positions, right? Yeah, they're time consuming and you really need to have a passion for it. But I would encourage everyone who's looking, if you have time and you want to invest in your [00:10:45] community, a lot of people would call them, what is it, the Facebook keyboard warriors that are behind the keyboard? How about let's turn that around, find a civic club or an organization, an organization [00:11:00] to get involved in. And, you know, obviously you have an opinion, let's make a difference. Right? You know, that's the best thing to do. Typing it on Facebook just gets people fired up and nothing happened and nothing good comes out.

Speaker3: [00:11:13] Don't don't be the problem. Be [00:11:15] the solution.

Speaker2: [00:11:16] That's right.

Speaker3: [00:11:17] Don't add to the the issue, but find a solution for the issue.

Speaker2: [00:11:20] And that's it's so easy just to top your opinion and. How you feel about something versus saying, Okay, I'm just [00:11:30] going to get up and I'm going to do something about this. Find out why. Figure out why it's the way it is before you start griping about it. And then if you don't like the way it is, talk to whoever you need to about. How can we make a change here?

Speaker3: [00:11:43] Versus well, and that goes [00:11:45] back to the thing that, you know, what I've always throughout my life tried to do is, is realize that relationships matter. I do you know, relationships do matter. And that's every aspect of life. You've got to have those relationships and [00:12:00] you've got to build on those relationships. Because what I've always said too is, you know, people don't care what you know until they know how much you care.

Speaker2: [00:12:09] That's right.

Speaker3: [00:12:09] And, you know, if they know that you care and they know that you're you know, you're willing to listen to them. And that's [00:12:15] what my aim is as mayor is to to to be approachable, to be able to sit down and realize somebody may have a problem. Right. But and look at it and look at all the different angles and say, okay, this is what we've got to look at and [00:12:30] how can we fix it?

Speaker2: [00:12:31] Right.

Speaker3: [00:12:32] Instead of just saying, okay, this is you know, this is a problem. Nobody's doing anything about it. Because sometimes you can't just fix somebody's issue.

Speaker2: [00:12:41] A lot of times you can't. I mean, there's usually more to it and there's more sides. [00:12:45] However you feel about it. Somebody else feels just as strongly the opposite of how you feel about it. And you just can't. And being able to agree to disagree and just being able to explain to people, this is why it's this way. You know, even sometimes you might [00:13:00] not necessarily agree with the way it is, but it it's out of your hands or your control, right?

Speaker3: [00:13:04] Yeah.

Speaker2: [00:13:05] Which as a mayor, it's not all in your control. You have a city council, right?

Speaker3: [00:13:08] You've got a city council that votes on issues. And, you know, and and I'm I'm a non-voting member [00:13:15] to a lot of those issues. And we you know, we just have to sometimes we have to agree to disagree.

Speaker2: [00:13:20] That's right.

Speaker3: [00:13:21] And, you know, I think we've got a, you know, group that we can agree to disagree at times.

Speaker2: [00:13:27] Yeah.

Speaker3: [00:13:28] And and that's very important because [00:13:30] it all it takes everybody working together. And that goes back to, you know, relationships. You got to have those relationships and you got to build those relationships. That's what life's all about, is relationships.

Speaker2: [00:13:45] And [00:13:45] you've been in your mayor position two years now, is that right?

Speaker3: [00:13:49] Two years in November.

Speaker2: [00:13:51] Okay, so two years then. How are you feeling about it?

Speaker3: [00:13:55] I feel good. And I've had people ask me, you know, now that you've been mayor for, you [00:14:00] know, a year and a half, two years. Would you do it again? And absolutely. You know, no, I'm not going to make everybody happy. And I guess that's probably the the hardest part for me that that I've had to adjust to is because I [00:14:15] have come from a world of trying to, you know, make everybody happy.

Speaker2: [00:14:18] Right.

Speaker3: [00:14:19] Being in the grocery business, trying to make sure that, you know, customers, you know, we have a say and customers are always right. You've got to you know, you've got to handle those customers with, [00:14:30] you know, kid gloves sometimes. Yeah. You've got to be understanding and know that. Because I have realized, too, that when somebody comes to you with a problem, that problem is as bad to them as your worst problem is to you. [00:14:45] So we've got to understand that. And we've got to know that, hey, just because it's a small issue to me, it's a big issue to them.

Speaker2: [00:14:55] That's so hard to do.

Speaker3: [00:14:56] It is hard to do. It is hard to do. But you got to get [00:15:00] to that place to where you can say, okay, I know this is, you know, a minut issue, but I realize that it's a big issue to you. And I want I want to work to get that, you know, to solve that issue for you.

Speaker2: [00:15:12] And plus, a lot of times when those issues [00:15:15] you're talking about, it might be something small guaranteed. More things have happened leading up to that. And that was just the icebreaker for that person. They were just like, that's the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm done. And that. And so really in the grand scheme [00:15:30] of things, it's not the only thing that they're upset about.

Speaker3: [00:15:32] And I've seen too, as, as this year, the year and a half that I've been mayor is sometimes, if you will, just listen to people, if you'll just sit down and listen to them, let them let them, you know, vent, [00:15:45] let them talk about their issue. A lot of times that's all they want. They just want somebody to be, you know, to sit and listen to them and to be heard. And that's what I've tried to do. Of course, none of us are perfect. And, you know, I'm going to I'm going to make mistakes [00:16:00] and I'm going to you know, I'm going to do things that that you know, I'm going to think, hey, I should have done done this or should have done that.

Speaker2: [00:16:07] That's right. And that's life.

Speaker3: [00:16:08] But that's that's life. And you learn from those things.

Speaker2: [00:16:11] Yes. As long as you're learning and moving forward, that's all you can ask for. Yeah. [00:16:15] What is up for the next two years as mayor? Do you see anything that coming up that's for our community that's you could talk about?

Speaker3: [00:16:24] Well, we are we have started a process with GMC. [00:16:30] It's an architecture architect firm that will it's a comprehensive master plan for the city of Fort Payne. And we're we're in the beginning stages of that. It's a 12 to 14 month process. We'll [00:16:45] have community meetings. We'll have people, you know, giving us input and feedback. We've got a probably a 20 member steering committee we're putting together to kind of help ensure [00:17:00] that this project is, you know, started like it needs to be and it's carried out through the whole process like it needs to be. And this is various people from the community that will be serving on this steering committee. And as [00:17:15] a matter of fact, I have a Zoom call, I think, tomorrow afternoon about, you know, where they're at so far in the process. And then we'll have our probably another couple of weeks or so, we'll have our first steering committee meeting and [00:17:30] really start hammering down and and have some committee meetings. And, and what this will do, it'll kind of encompass the whole city. Give us a plan going forward, right? Because without a you know, without a vision or without a plan, [00:17:45] you know, you know as well as I do, if you don't have that, you're just going through things blindly. And and all the while, we're may seem like you're not the city's not doing anything. We're getting our plan together, trying [00:18:00] to figure out what direction we're going to go so that at the end of this process, we'll have a document that will kind of lay out how the community wants things to go, and we can work towards all that kind of stuff.

Speaker2: [00:18:13] But keep in mind, as a community, [00:18:15] yes, it can't all happen.

Speaker3: [00:18:17] Exactly.

Speaker2: [00:18:18] I mean, there's money involved and then things come up unexpectedly. So sometimes money has to be diverted to other projects that aren't glamorous, but they have to be done right.

Speaker3: [00:18:27] And we've seen that in the last term. As my [00:18:30] term on the council, you know, we we had borrowed some money and had all these projects that we were going to do. And then we had the sewer project, you know, that that busted. And we had to, you know, we had to look at, okay, we've got to we've got to fix [00:18:45] this.

Speaker2: [00:18:45] Yes.

Speaker3: [00:18:46] And that's not cheap.

Speaker2: [00:18:47] No.

Speaker3: [00:18:48] And it's not something that you see every day. But, you know, if it's not working, you're going to know that it's not working.

Speaker2: [00:18:54] Yes, that's right.

Speaker3: [00:18:55] And so those things have to be done. So sometimes you have to step [00:19:00] back and reevaluate and say, okay, because this happened, we've got to we've got to change, change and go this direction.

Speaker2: [00:19:08] Yes. And sometimes things like roads and railways. Is that how [00:19:15] you say it? Railways? Yes. That's out of your control as well, because if it's a state road or a state highway or in the in the railway system, that's Norfolk Southern. So they're strict and [00:19:30] there are certain rules and guidelines and they have their certain policies and it's really in their hands what can be done.

Speaker3: [00:19:36] Yeah, and we have, we have been working with those folks and trying to get cooperation with, with [00:19:45] Norfolk Southern and in which they have they have done an excellent job communicating with us. We are looking at, you know, overpass possibilities.

Speaker2: [00:19:56] Right.

Speaker3: [00:19:57] That is something that that is being looked at and [00:20:00] trying to make sure that, you know, that's it's a big project. And I know that we as a city cannot take that project on fully because, you know, it's it's an astronomical amount of money. But I think that working [00:20:15] with, you know, working with our state representatives, with our Washington delegation and Norfolk Southern, I'm really encouraged. I know that that you and I were in Washington, you know, a couple of [00:20:30] weeks ago. And, you know, we had the delegation up there. And we had some really positive meetings and had a really positive meeting with Norfolk Southern that while we were on that trip. Yeah. And really encouraging and knowing that. [00:20:45] But in that same sense, it's not going to happen tomorrow.

Speaker2: [00:20:50] It takes time.

Speaker3: [00:20:51] It takes time and all the, all the pieces of the puzzle have to be lined up and everybody has to get on board and know that, you know, this [00:21:00] is the way we're going. You know, we just we just got to follow the path to get there.

Speaker2: [00:21:05] And, you know, we want an overpass. There's lots of other cities that also want that as well. So you have to look at we're not alone in this. And [00:21:15] there's timelines for every community that they can't just say 15 communities this year are getting one. It doesn't work that way. So we just have to be patient and that's hard.

Speaker3: [00:21:27] And that comes back to, you know, I'll say it again, you [00:21:30] know, relationships. And that was a lot of what this Washington trip was was a relationship building experience.

Speaker2: [00:21:37] I felt very positive coming home from Washington. I felt like we made great strides and and moving forward with just our relationships [00:21:45] with our right delegates. I mean, we it was a great trip.

Speaker3: [00:21:50] Yeah. And you you have to stay in front of these folks.

Speaker2: [00:21:52] You do. And remind them, yeah, we're here. Don't forget us. Right.

Speaker3: [00:21:56] And you know, it's I have noticed, [00:22:00] you know, being mayor, you know, I can get overwhelmed, you know, because I've got you know, we've got a city of 15,000. And, you know, somebody may call with an issue and I may be working on that issue. And and somebody else calls about [00:22:15] an issue and you get diverted to another. And there's times that I forget, you know, I was working on this here. I've got to go back and make sure that that, you know, this is taken care of.

Speaker2: [00:22:27] We need you to have a vice mayor or a deputy [00:22:30] mayor. That's something.

Speaker3: [00:22:31] Are you volunteering?

Speaker2: [00:22:32] No, I'm not. I've got a I'm going to be your business advocate over here. All right. That's what and which I hope to focus on that, too, this year. A lot is.

Speaker3: [00:22:42] Well, and let me just say that that you know, that is [00:22:45] one of the dynamics that we see here in Fort Payne that a lot of places don't see. You know, we have a good relationship with the city and the chamber, also with our Main Street.

Speaker2: [00:22:56] Yes.

Speaker3: [00:22:57] And you know, when when you've got that cooperation [00:23:00] and working together for the same goal, then we can go a lot further.

Speaker2: [00:23:04] And we even heard that in Washington. Yes. That it's nice to see the chamber and the city council and mayor all together and Main Street while they weren't there, they knew they are represented [00:23:15] well and that we on their behalf were they're working together and we do.

Speaker3: [00:23:20] And that's why, you know, when when I first got elected as mayor and we had our orientation with the Alabama League of Municipalities, they had a panel of folks, [00:23:30] and it was about, you know, communities working together. And this particular community was Wetumpka, Alabama. And they had their their mayor, their chamber representative, their main street representative, their city clerk, their economic [00:23:45] development person, and the the energy sitting in the audience. The energy from that group of folks was just phenomenal. That and if you remember, you know, I came back and I said, look, we've got to get a group and go to Wetumpka and visit because [00:24:00] they've got there they've got it going on in Wetumpka. Yes. And we did that. You know, we went down and was able to see what they've got and what what it happens when when you do work together.

Speaker2: [00:24:11] And we did come back with some ideas that that we're still kind of working [00:24:15] on here. So I'm thinking just that's again, relationship building. Exactly. They're a great resource for us if they've done some things that we would like to do and who better to ask them? People who've gone through it.

Speaker3: [00:24:26] Exactly

Speaker3: [00:24:28] There's no sense in reinventing the wheel [00:24:30] when somebody else out there is doing it and it's working.

Speaker2: [00:24:32] That's right. So you would say that you're working at Bruce's Foodland groomed you really for your role now? Yeah. Customer service. I mean, that's what it's all about, right?

Speaker3: [00:24:43] You know, that was one [00:24:45] thing that that Shan Bruce told us, you know, I can remember him drilling it, you know, customer service, customer service, customer service. And when I was the store manager, that's what I would tell employees. I said above, anything else, I don't care how [00:25:00] good you are at your job, you know, top notch. It's got to be customer service. You've got to have that good customer service because when you've got that good customer service, it don't matter what the store looks like, it don't matter what you know, your prices [00:25:15] are, people is going to come where they're taking care of.

Speaker2: [00:25:18] I'll agree with that 100%.

Speaker3: [00:25:20] I mean, if they're taken care of and you've got that customer service out there. You get nothing to worry about. And that's why that's what I tell my department heads [00:25:30] now here in the city is above anything else. I want that person that that customer service to be top notch. And if we can if we can get there and get that top notch, everything else is minimal. [00:25:45]

Speaker2: [00:25:45] So what's going on with the police department?

Speaker3: [00:25:48] Our police department now is actually has has moved to the old Williams Avenue School building because they're you know, we did the renovations on the outside of [00:26:00] the police department and then we learned that there was mold on the inside. And that inside of that building had not been renovated in in many, many years. And so it was the Old City Hall Building. And when the city hall moved out, [00:26:15] they just moved the police department into that building. So, you know, that's been another one of the things that I've tried to really push to to get that, you know, get our police department updated. Because it was real to me it was real embarrassing [00:26:30] to take anybody to the police department from out of town to to let them look at it, because it really was not a police department. It was the police department existing in an old office building.

Speaker2: [00:26:41] Yes.

Speaker3: [00:26:42] So now they have [00:26:45] moved out, moved up to the Williams Avenue School Building temporarily. We are working on the original Police Department building and will be making renovations, hopefully. Within [00:27:00] a year, year and a half, we'll be able to move our police department back into that building in a newly remodeled facility.

Speaker2: [00:27:08] That'll be great. They'll appreciate that. I know.

Speaker3: [00:27:10] Yes.

Speaker2: [00:27:12] What else can we talk about? What about the fire department? [00:27:15] We have a wonderful fire training center.

Speaker3: [00:27:16] Yes, we've got probably the best in the state. They they have lots of, you know, lots of folks. And a lot of people don't realize that, you know, that the fire college or fire school there, we have a lot of folks from [00:27:30] all around come through and goes through that fire school. And that's a testament to Scott Westbrook, who is the, you know, the trainer there. He's done a phenomenal job with putting that thing together and making sure that, you [00:27:45] know, we have top notch folks come out of that fire college or fire school.

Speaker2: [00:27:49] Yeah. So and our rec centers tootling right along.

Speaker3: [00:27:54] Yeah. We we are our sports complex. You know, we're, we're right in the middle of probably, [00:28:00] I would say starting maybe mid May, first of June. We'll start seeing some work going on. We'll have all turf fields at the existing complex. It'll be the [00:28:15] all the baseball, softball and soccer fields will be will be turf.

Speaker2: [00:28:19] Wonderful.

Speaker3: [00:28:20] We'll have new new fencing, some new lighting up and some renovations to the existing towers [00:28:30] that are they're high. We've just finished. They just finished maybe last week or week before last. The bathrooms and the softball towers will be after baseball season is [00:28:45] over. They'll be doing the renovations in the baseball bathrooms. So I know that's been a big issue with folks just hanging on. I actually got a complaint yesterday about our bathrooms needing [00:29:00] to be upgraded and I was able to pull out pictures and say, hey, this is what the bathrooms are going to look like because these are the ones that are at the softball complex. So that's going to be exciting. And, you know, we had [00:29:15] we had the you know, we got the new property of that we bought. And that's what I was speaking to earlier as when things happen, you have to kind of change direction. Sometimes we're still looking at [00:29:30] putting a complex up there in the future, but right now, to get the biggest bang for our buck, because we needed both all the baseball, softball and soccer needed to be updated. Yes. And [00:29:45] to get the most out of our money. This was the sensible thing to do.

Speaker2: [00:29:49] I agree.

Speaker3: [00:29:50] So, you know, it's not what and it goes back to the thing that it's not what everybody wanted, but it's it's what you've got to do. You've got to look at the whole big [00:30:00] picture.

Speaker2: [00:30:00] Yes. And in the grand scheme of things, this makes the most sense right now. Yes, absolutely. And it's better to me than nothing than waiting and waiting. So something's better than nothing.

Speaker3: [00:30:12] Exactly.

Speaker2: [00:30:13] Well, I appreciate you coming [00:30:15] on today. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Speaker3: [00:30:17] No, I think that kind of it in a nutshell, just. I'll keep going back to the fact that, you know, life is all about relationships. And we got we got to remember [00:30:30] that in every aspect of everything we do. And, you know, I just want people to remember that, you know, they don't people don't care what, you know, until they know how much you care. And we can we can do that and we [00:30:45] can, you know, show people that we do care and and the things that we do and things that we say. And another thing that I've always learned through the years and through serving on boards and stuff, there's always two sides to [00:31:00] every thing you say and do. And you know, and a perfect example, I was on the board and I felt real strongly about this situation that we were voting on. And, you [00:31:15] know, I was like, okay, nobody's going to change my mind. This is the way I'm voting. You know, I went into that board meeting thinking this, well, then the other side got up and talked about their issue and their their side of it. And I sat there for a minute [00:31:30] and I thought, you know, I never really thought about that. So that made me realize, you know, we've got to look at both sides before we can make an educated decision on what to do, because we've got to know both sides. [00:31:45] And and as strong as I was about my side.

Speaker3: [00:31:52] They were just as strong about theirs and it made sense.

Speaker2: [00:31:55] Yes.

Speaker3: [00:31:55] When they sit down and explained it. So even though [00:32:00] we do. I feel strongly sometimes about things. We still got to look at the other side.

Speaker2: [00:32:06] Be open to be open to listening to other peoples side or perspective on the situation.

Speaker3: [00:32:09] Exactly.

Speaker2: [00:32:12] I agree with that. Well, [00:32:15] I have enjoyed working with you so far as the chamber director and our mayor and Chamber Director relationship. It's been wonderful.

Speaker3: [00:32:22] And I hope that continues for many years to come.

Speaker2: [00:32:26] Brian, it will. So we're in it together, friend.

Speaker3: [00:32:28] That's right.

Speaker2: [00:32:29] Thanks for coming [00:32:30] today. I appreciate it.

Speaker3: [00:32:30] Yes, ma'am. Thanks for the opportunity and the invitation.

Speaker2: [00:32:33] Well, you'll be back.

Speaker3: [00:32:35] All right.

Speaker1: [00:32:36] You've been listening to Business Is Booming, a podcast brought to you by Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce. The host is Chamber [00:32:45] Director Jennifer McCurdy, executive producer Stephen V Smith with assistant producer Emily Kirby. Our engineer is Lucas Smith of Lucky Sound Studios. Business is Booming is a production of Rare Life Media. [00:33:00]