Vestavia Hills Business Happenings February 2025

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Relocations and Renovations

River Bank and Trust is relocating its Birmingham region office from the Park South Plaza in Vestavia Hills to a site about 1.3 miles north on U.S. 31. The bank chose the former CVS Pharmacy building at 1100 Montgomery Highway, which will allow it to have a drive-through and almost double its space from 5,700 square feet to 11,000 square feet, Birmingham region President Brian Ethridge said. Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood is working on a redesign of the building and renovation plans, and the bank hopes to begin construction by May 1, Ethridge said. “We want to be in the fourth quarter of this year,” he said. 205-588-0500

News and Accomplishments

The Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 14 handed out its annual business awards. The awards given and recipients were:

  • Retail Business of the Year: Mudtown and The Ridge Eat & Drink
  • Service Business of the Year: Jackson, Howard & Whatley, CPAs
  • Nonprofit Organization of the Year: Vestavia Hills Methodist Church
  • Member of the Year: Vestavia Dental
  • Board Member of the Year: Kelly Atchison, Two Men and a Truck
  • Volunteer of the Year: Kevin Wade, ITAC Solutions
  • Dr. Charles A. “Scotty” McCallum Leadership Award: Tracy Thornton, Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce director of membership and marketing
  • Chair’s Choice Award: Katherine McRee, Lili Pad & Gigi’s
  • President’s Choice Award: Christina Babineaux, IRA Innovations
  • Chairman’s Award: Clabe Dobbs, People’s Bank of Alabama
  • Lifetime Membership Award: Ben Chambliss, Jackson, Howard & Whatley, CPAs
  • The chamber also installed officers and its board of directors for 2025. They are:
  • Chairwoman: Keri Bates, Rocky Ridge Drug Co.
  • Chairman-elect: Taylor Burton, Taylor Burton Co.
  • Vice Chairwoman of Membership Development: Christina Babineaux, IRA Innovations
  • Vice Chairman of Business Development: Andrew Burke, General Informatics
  • Vice Chairwoman of Community Affairs: Kelly Atchison, Two Men and a Truck
  • Vice Chairwoman of Programming: McDonald’s/Black Family Restaurants
  • Vice Chairwoman of Public Education: Ashley Moss, Village Dermatology
  • Immediate Past Chairman: Clabe Dobbs, People’s Bank of Alabama
  • Director: Bob Barker, Big Color
  • Director: Brian Fisher, Community Bank
  • Director: Bridget Glasgow, ERA King Real Estate
  • Director: Tyler Kime, Standard Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
  • Director: Katherine McRee, Lili Pad & Gigi’s
  • Director: Roger Steur, Method Mortgage
  • Director: Grant Thomas, Thomas & Associates
  • Director: Kevin Wade, ITAC Solutions
  • Treasurer: Roger Jackson, Jackson, Howard & Whatley, CPAs
  • Secretary/Legal Counsel: Mark Macoy

205-823-5011

Christie Howell, a Vestavia Hills resident who owns the Wrapsody gift boutiques in Trussville, Homewood, Hoover, Auburn and Madison, has been elected to the Alabama Retail Association’s board of directors. Her two-year term began Jan. 1. Wrapsody employs 88 people at its five locations. Howell worked at the Auburn Wrapsody store while in college. When she purchased the business in 2017, Wrapsody was in Hoover and Auburn only. Over the next seven years, Howell moved the Hoover store and added three new stores. In 2023, with a Small Business Administration loan, she and her husband, Reel, bought several parcels of property on 18th Street and Linden Avenue in Homewood. Besides a store, Wrapsody’s warehouse and corporate office are in Homewood. Wrapsody has been a member of the Alabama Retail Association since 2005 and was recognized in 2023 as the Gold Alabama Retailer of the Year for businesses with annual sales between $5 million and $20 million. Howell is also part owner of Once Upon a Time, a children’s boutique in Homewood and Mountain Brook. Once Upon a Time has been an ARA member since 2007 and was recognized in 2016 as the Gold Alabama Retailer of the Year for businesses with sales of less than $1 million. 205-974-1388

Patrick Warren, a Realtor with the Cahaba Heights office of ARC Realty, has been elected 2025 president of the Birmingham Association of Realtors. Other officers are Vice President Kevin Sargent of ARC Realty’s Trussville office, Treasurer Diane Knight of RealtySouth’s Chilton County office, Secretary Brandon Smith of RE/MAX Advantage South, Immediate Past President Chris Wood of RealtySouth’s Inverness office and Greater Alabama MLS President Kristina Knowles of Knowles Realty. Other directors include Kimberly Benefield of Sweet HomeLife, LaTonya Butler of EPI Real Estate, Stacy DeVoe of ERA King-Birmingham, Kyle Forstman of Embridge Realty, Janet Hamm of ARC Realty-Alabama, Lori King of Keller Williams Realty-Hoover, Ann March of ARC Realty-Hoover, Richard McLemore of ERA King-Birmingham, Stephanie Nelson of ERA King-Birmingham, Joy Stanley of Keller Williams Realty-Hoover, Timothy Taylor of Barnes & Associates, John David Terpo of ERA King-Birmingham, Shannon Wilks of Sold South Realty, Senia Johnson of Keller Williams Realty-Vestavia Hills (ex-officio) and David Lucas of eXp Realty-Central (ex-officio). 205-871-1911

Katherine Smith has been named the new CEO of the Birmingham Association of Realtors and Greater Alabama MLS. Smith has served as interim association executive since July following the departure of former CEO Amanda Creel to the Memphis Area Association of Realtors. Before that, Smith served as the Birmingham Association of Realtors' vice president of operations since March 2016. As the new CEO, Smith plan to spearhead initiatives focusing on promoting the values of the association and MLS and expanding communication efforts to members and subscribers, the organization said. 205-871-1911

Personnel Moves

America’s First Federal Credit Union, with a location at 1112 Montgomery Highway in Vestavia Hills, has two nominees to fill vacancies on the credit union’s board of directors. They are Melanie McNary, who previously served on the board from 2017 to 2023, and Jim Dorris. McNary is vice president of human resources at Power Grid Components. She previously served as human resources director for BLOX, senior human resources consultant for Human Resources Management, and ice president and senior human resources business partner for Protective Life Corp. Dorris is a senior technology leader at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. He previously served as a strategic accounts manager and regional general manager at GE Capital IT Solutions. Credit union members are scheduled to vote on filling the vacancies at the credit union’s annual meeting on April 15. 205-582-5270

Burn Boot Camp has promoted Brandi Davis to be the regional community manager for all four of its Birmingham area locations (Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Meadow Brook and Hoover). She has been a member of Burn Boot Camp since May of 2019. She taught first grade for 10 years at McAdory Elementary School and has been a substitute teacher for Hoover City Schools for many years. She also was the hospitality chairwoman for Gwin Elementary School and Hoover High School for years. Burn Boot Camp’s new Vestavia Hills location at 1425 Montgomery Highway, Suite 133, has brought in Brittany Swearengen as its head trainer. Swearengen has spent the past two years as a trainer at Burn Boot Camp’s Meadow Brook location and has a total of 10 years of experience in training and coaching. She has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science from the University of Alabama at Huntsville and a master’s degree in health and human performance from University of the Southwest. Other staff members include certified personal trainer Michelle Awtry, support trainer Mary Catherine Roche, client experience manager Kortney Phifer, client experience representatives Michelle Colafrancesco, Libbi Isbell and Amy Anderson, and childwatch manager Roxanne Roddam. 205-717-8805