From the Enjoy Hoover Studios. This is the Enjoy Hoover Podcast, your monthly guide to news and exciting events, all with big city style. With a small town feel. Everyone is welcome here to our small, enticing piece of Alabama. So welcome you all to enjoy Hoover!

Hello and welcome to the Enjoy Hoover Podcast. My name is Melissa Carter and we're so glad you're here. I'm going to start with all the things going on this month because April is packed with incredible events in Hoover. Let's start with the Dixie Vintage Antique Automobile Club first Saturday cruise on April 6th. It goes from 7 a.m. until noon at Hoover Tactical Firearms. Now, vintage car lovers will enjoy checking out this family friendly event featuring the restored and preserved rise of Alabama's oldest car club. On April 8th, it's helping hands from 3 to 8 p.m. at Hoover Public Library. Teens and adults are invited to drop in on this monthly volunteer session to help roll newspapers for the local humane society. Please come to the nonfiction area to participate on April 20th. It's family art from 2 to 4 at the Hoover Public Library. Children and their grownups are invited to work together to create a collaborative art piece. This event will be held in the youth program room. On April 27th. Celebrate Hoover Day from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Veterans Park. This annual citywide celebration draws more than 10,000 residents from all ages for carnival rides, live entertainment and a petting zoo. Plus, you got a Kid Zone ice cream and the largest apple pie you have ever seen. And this event is free and open to the public. On April 27th, it's hope for autumn crawfish boil from 3 to 9 p.m. in Ross Bridge. Join more than 2000 attendees for this annual event, benefiting Alabama families that are battling childhood cancer. Admission includes all you can eat crawfish, hamburgers, hot dogs, non-alcoholic beverages, bounce houses, face painting, balloon animals, and live entertainment. Tickets can be purchased at Hope for Autumn foundation.org, and on April 19th, it's denim and dining at 6 p.m. at Aldridge Gardens. This casual event is the largest annual fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation. It features local barbecue music and live and silent auctions. Proceeds support grants for special programs in the city's 17 schools, and tickets are available at Hoover csf.org/events. If you live and play in Bluff Park, you know it's a special community. GMC media is proud to announce its newest magazine, The Bluff Park Neighborhood Reader. This bimonthly magazine is full of community news, information, photos, stories, and more. Mailed every other month to homes and businesses in Bluff Park. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with all that's going on. On the bluff.

In 2008, friends and relatives gathered for a small backyard crawfish boil to raise money for the family of a little girl named Autumn, who is battling childhood leukemia. Autumn was among the 190 children who were diagnosed with cancer each year in Alabama. Understandably, a childhood cancer diagnosis is challenging for a multitude of reasons, but in addition to the newfound responsibility for caring for a sick child, families often face financial obstacles as well, losing up to 40% of their household income. If one parent needs to stop working in order to ensure their child has around the clock care. Over the years, community support grew for autumn and the families in similar situations. In 2012. Hope for Autumn Foundation was officially founded as a 501 C3 public charity to provide financial help to families, fund research and spread awareness. Today, the foundation is gearing up for its largest annual fundraiser, a family friendly, all you can eat crawfish boil held in a large green space on Grand Avenue in Ross Bridge, scheduled for April 27th from 3 to 9 p.m.. The hope for autumn crawfish boil is expected to raise around $200,000 for more than 2000 attendees and 60 sponsors. Amanda Neur, the executive director for Hope for Autumn Foundation, says the funds from the crawfish boil will directly support families battling childhood cancer in Alabama. And as this signature event grows, so does the organization's ability to help. We used to be able to help 1 to 3 families one time per year every year, says Nour. But now Hope for Autumn Foundation accepts financial assistance applications year round from families from the Alabama region, now in its 17th year. Guests can expect £4,500 of fresh crawfish boil on site. Hamburgers, hot dogs and non-alcoholic beverages are also included in the admission price. Admission is $50 for those over 12 years old. If you're 5 to 12 is $20, and if you're under five, it's absolutely free. The boil has become a community social affair, with neighbors pitching in to purchase a group tent to serve as their home base for the day. Tent rentals, which range from 100 to $300, include a cooler with ice provided on site, but all attendees are welcome to bring their own cooler, too. Chairs are available on a first come, first serve basis for an additional fee, and event sponsors receive additional perks, including admission into a VIP tent. School age children, even those who may not be crawfish fans, enjoy jumping in the bounce house and getting their faces painted, both available at no additional cost while connecting with friends. As the day unfolds, a large crowd forms around the main stage to sing and dance along to live entertainment. This year's music lineup includes The Divines, who began as a local band, and whiskey River band, a country cover band. Proceeds from the boil will also support efforts to raise awareness and promote research. Because raising awareness leads to funding and funding leads to cures. In terms of research, Hope for Autumn Foundation contributes to Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Developmental Therapeutics Program, a cutting edge research and treatment program located at Children's Hospital of Alabama. This program serves the children with incurable cancers, providing treatments that are not widely available, says Nerv. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to Hope for Autumn Foundation. Org. Tickets will go on sale closer to the date of. The event.

For over 50 years, Jefferson State Community College has been a beacon of education in the Greater Birmingham area with a commitment of quality, convenience and personal attention. We've helped over 15,000 students annually achieve their goals, offering 120 university transfer programs, 33 career programs, and countless certificates across four campuses and online. We're one of the largest community colleges in the state. At Jefferson State, we believe in accessible, economical education. Find your place at Jefferson State, explore our programs and let us help you accomplish your vision. Visit Jefferson state.edu today. Explore our site and discover how Jefferson State can help you find your place. Your journey starts here.

Obi, a Labrador Retriever, is a certified police dog serving as a school resource officer at Hoover High School. He joined the Hoover Police Department in August of 2018, and has been certified as a police dog for almost six years. Now we sat down with Obie and his handler, Officer Kyle Broll, for a behind the scenes look at a life as part of the K9 unit. And here is what Obie had to say. Obie, how did you get your name?I was named after Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. I have a friend whose human partner is a huge Star Wars fan, and Obi-Wan Kenobi is my favorite character. Interestingly enough, my friend's name is R2-d2.

Why were you chosen to be a police dog?

I was chosen to be a police dog because I have high dog drives, a main driver hunt, retrieve prey, train ability, and plane. This makes me a great candidate for a working dog. My favorite job is playing, of course.00:08:03S2Tell us more about your role as a school resource officer.

My human officer, Kyle and I are both school resource officers. My role is to support him by detecting drugs. I also like to comfort children when they may need some help or if they're having a bad day. I love going to work every day at school. Everybody is so nice, and I get plenty of belly rubs from each of the teachers and students. They refer to us as Obi and that guy that is with Obi.

What does it take to become a police dog?

To become a police dog? I had to work extra hard on my drives. I had to go through stressful classes throughout puppy hunt, my human partner and I had to go through an intense four week drug detention course. I, of course, was already trained when my human partner came along, but we had to get to know each other and learn how to work together. I had been through two other courses prior to the two of us teaming up.

What do you like most about being a police dog?

What I like most about being a police dog is training with my human partner. We get to spend all day together hunting and playing, and after training he usually throws the ball for me to fetch.

What is your favorite treat?

My favorite treat is anything. I love all kinds of human food and dog treats. I have a buffet every morning in the school courtyard eating food that the kids drop.00:09:12S2Tell us about your family.

My family consists of my partner, Officer Kyle, my mom Taylor, my younger human brother Bryson, and my doggie sister, Skyler. When I retire from the police department in a couple of years, I get I get to spend the rest of my life with them.

OBE. Tell us about some of your favorite things.

I enjoy waking my human up at 4 a.m. every day to be fed my breakfast. I also enjoy coming to school and being treated like royalty. I love playing fetch and being petted when I am tired. I probably have the best job at all the dogs in my unit.

We appreciate Oby taking the time to talk to enjoy Hoover. We are so excited to have David Cohen with us here on the podcast now. David, of course, is involved with Enjoy Hoover Magazine. But also my favorite part is the owner of the whole scoop ice cream shot. David, how are you? I am just.

Wonderful. Life is good. It's springtime.

We are going to talk about spring leading into summer and some of the summer fun in Hoover. But first, I want to talk quickly about how you got involved and enjoy Hoover Magazine. Well, you.

Know, Matthew and I have known each other for a long time. We did the Taste of Hoover kick off and he was in the magazine business. I was looking for a venue and a vehicle to get everything going in the city, and we thought it would be a great time to showcase all of our local restaurants. So that's when I met Matthew. Initially, him selling me advertising and enjoy Hoover is just a passion. I think if you deem yourself a hospitality professional, which I do, and in a local person who wants our city to grow and to benefit and to become all it can be, you want more and more had to be more than just my wonderful ice cream shop. It had to be more and more for me was how do I help showcase our restaurants? How do I help showcase all the small businesses here who need and deserve the love? Many of them are mom and pops, husbands and wives and they're growing their business. They put it all out there and that's how Enjoy Hoover started. It's a passion. It's not just about selling ad space, it's about telling the story of who we are here and Hoover. And people want to come here because I'd love to think they come here for the ice cream shop. Oh, well.

You don't know that, David.

Well, I tell myself that people move here because of the education. I mean, we have great schools. They move here for the public service. We have great fire and police departments. And there's a true southern hospitality here in Hoover. I like to call southern hospitality Hoover style. That's very welcoming. You know, when we moved here 17 years ago and we pulled into the cul de sac, the neighbors came out and welcomed us. It's just been like that when we opened up our business, we had people who came in and said, we want you to succeed. And I don't know about you, but I never heard anyone say that team before. I've been in business a long time. Enjoy. Hoover is telling a story of who we are to the guests who live here and the people who visit here.

Well, that's what makes Hoover such a special community. And like you said, you've been there for 17 years now, and you opened the whole scoop ice cream shop. I'm curious of the background you had in the culinary industry, and what led you to actually deciding to open up this shop?

You know, I've always been a hospital and a professional working in big restaurants and hotels and and a hotel job is what got me adhere to Birmingham. I realized after a while that I have an entrepreneurial streak, and an entrepreneurial streak is about having a certain amount of expertise. Mine is culinary, mine is hospitality, but it's also being willing to take a risk. It's really funny. I enjoyed working in corporate America, but at a certain point, the entrepreneurial streak that I had just didn't jive with, with who I wanted to be and and how I wanted to work in corporate America. So it was time to venture out on my own, and we tried to come up with something that I would enjoy, something I would love, and what's my passion? And my daughter Katie, who's now 23, she takes full credit for it and I don't I don't argue with her about that. She says, you love ice cream. Do ice cream. You know, no one is ever unhappy at ice cream. It's been it's been a roller coaster ever since. But it's just been just wonderful.

Now, David, I assume that owning an ice cream shop and being in there like you, like you said in your daughter said that everybody's happy when they go into an ice cream shop. That's got to be more than just being a business owner. I mean, the conversations you must have with the people that come in there and the kids you see grow up in that time coming into the shop and then later on coming in as an older kid. I mean, talk about just the holistic experience it is to own an ice cream shop.

Well, it's funny, I've never heard it put it as a holistic experience, but I'll buy that. Uh, you know, for me, when I interviewed the young people who work here and we've had over 40 young people start their careers in the workforce here, 16 year old knuckleheads who have never had a job and don't know what it's all about. And when I interview them, I say, okay, it's a trick question. What do we sell here? We sell a whole lot more in ice cream. We sell a hospitality experience. And, you know, there's a story that I love to tell. Years and years ago, I had these young man come in and bring me a Lego diorama of the whole school. And he was about 9 or 10 years old. And don't you know, when he turned 16, I hired him as as an employee here at the Whole scoop. And he worked for us for two years, and he got a job summers working at Ross Bridge Resort, and he went to Troy as a hospitality professional, and he just got promoted to assistant manager at the Marriott down in mobile.

Oh that's great.

Out of those 40, we've had a couple into the military. We've had four of them become parents. We have them venturing into the workforce and they've learned their skills and how to be a grown up here at the whole school. The whole school. In this town has gotten to be the place you celebrate the first day of T-ball. It's got to be the place that you celebrate your state championship. Unfortunately, we've had people come in here after the funerals. We get to be the center of the community, and it's more than I could have ever hoped for. In my heart.

You get to see this younger generation grow and learn, but you're always wanting to grow and learn. So let's talk a little bit about that Iron Chef competition.

We have Restaurant Week, which was started during the Covid year, and it has grown and grown. And it is a way to showcase our restaurants, showcase our community. And we were looking for a way to kick start it. And Iron Chef is just a fun competition. So we recruited four great chefs from Troy and Families and Bellinis and the Hyatt Regency Hotel Winfrey, and we paired them up with students as their sous chefs and their sous chefs were from Jefferson State Community College and Wrc3, which is our local career connection school. So we gave these chefs the awesome task of not just preparing food, but mentoring these young kids. And it was the perfect blend of being a teacher and being a true culinary. We did it in, Jeff states in their kitchen, which is a big, beautiful kitchen. We put about 30 people in the kitchen watching them. Judges. You know, you had Frank Ricardo last month and he was one of our judges and Claire from work and Joseph Mitchell from Jeff State. They were our judges. And it was just a win. And Matthew Allen, our publisher for Joy Hoover, did the trophy for us with this big old cleaver sticking out of it. It was just remarkable.

Before we go, let's talk about Restaurant Week. Let's talk about the summer and what people can expect.

We kick it off in July, we take in Restaurant Week and we've turned it into a whole month. We're going to start by showcasing our firehouses. We're going to do a cooking competition between all our fire departments. Bluebell ice cream is giving me desserts. And then we go into a bartender challenge where we sort of do the Iron Chef. But imagine bartenders who are preparing their signature cocktails. And then we go into Restaurant Week and we have 50 to 20 restaurants cooking for us and people tasting. And, you know, anytime you can mix and marry our city to the people that live and work here and toil here, it's a great thing.

Let me ask you one last question, David. And look, I, Bluebell, no disrespect, but when you taste that Bluebell is or part of you that says, you know what? This is good. But it's no whole school ice cream shop.

Uh.

David Corn, who is part of enjoy Hoover magazine. You can find out all about Restaurant Week and enjoy Hoover. And he, of course owns the whole scoop ice cream shop. So go in and have a scoop. David, thank you so much for taking the time to be part of the podcast.

I appreciate you having us.

Spring is the season for big formal galas and fundraisers across Hoover and the metro area. One of the residents favorite fundraisers is a Night Under the Stars at Aldrich Gardens in their blue Jean best. The Hoover City Schools Foundation's annual and biggest fundraising event, denim and dining. Not only does this Hoover event support a great cause, but the casual night outdoors is the perfect time to mingle with residents and friends, enjoy great music, participate in live and silent auctions, and partake in great barbecue and beverages. Plus, the culinary students at Riverchase Career Connection Center prepare the most delicious desserts this year. Denim and dining will take place on Friday, April 19th from 6 to 10 p.m. at Aldridge Gardens. Tickets will go on sale in early April, so be sure to get yours early at Hoover. CSF mortgage events, individual and corporate sponsorships are available, with an option to purchase a table for eight. The Hoover City Schools Foundation has given more than $700,000 in grants since it was founded in 1992. Recently appointed as executive director, Anne Marie Harvey says that the organization is the only one that represents all 17 schools in the school system. The primary mission of the Hoover City Schools Foundation is to bridge the gap between increasingly limited public schools funding and the growing needs of our students and teachers, she says. This happens in a variety of ways, most notably through teacher grants. Our teachers have amazing innovative ideas, and the money given to the foundation goes right back into the classroom. Examples of projects include the steam on the go kart at Shades Mountain Elementary, which steam teacher Margie Keeney keeps stocked with seasonal activities for the teachers to use in their classrooms throughout the week. Other grants have been given for reading resources the Gems annual event gems, of course for Girls and Engineering, Math and Science, a greenhouse, robotics, the Hovercraft Project, Sensory spaces for students, and much more. A list of grants can be found at Hoover CSF. Org. In addition to grants, the foundation offers a student board for high school students. Students volunteer their time for our efforts and those in our community, Harvey says. They gain interview experience, volunteer hours and a collaborative working environment. Doctor Kevin Maddox, the Hoover City School superintendent, also emphasizes that schools appreciate and benefit from community and business involvement. Businesses contribute financially to enhance what we already have through directly sponsoring sports and arts programs and contributing to the Hoover City Schools Foundation, he says. Those enhancements are designed to provide extras. Those extra opportunities for our students are what separates us from other districts. We cannot make it without them. The Hoover City School Foundation ensures the extras are provided to Hoover students and teachers. For more information on Hoover City Schools Foundation or how to get involved as a board member or a friend of the foundation, just visit Hoover CSF. Org.

Thanks for listening to the Enjoy Hoover podcast. For even more information about Hoover and what's happening, we invite you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram. This podcast is a production of BGR Group.00:20:44S6All rights reserved.