The cover of the first issue of the Vestavia Voice published in May 2013.
The city of Vestavia Hills looks far different in 2023 than it did in 2013.
As the city has experienced wide-sweeping changes and new additions, of both businesses and people, the Vestavia Voice has been there for 10 years to document it all.
This month, the Voice celebrates its 10th anniversary.
The first copy of the paper featured a story about “reshaping U.S. 31,” following a plan for redevelopment by the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, on the cover.
Dan Starnes, the founder and CEO of Starnes Media, said the company had existing papers in Mountain Brook, Homewood, Hoover and along the U.S. 280 corridor.
“Vestavia Hills had always been in our plan and the time was right to start in the spring of 2013,” Starnes said. “We received a lot of positive feedback immediately in the form of story ideas, advertiser inquiries and even contributor and prospective employee outreach.”
Founding community editor Rebecca Walden is a Vestavia Hills native who wrote a history of the city for “Images of America.” She met Starnes at O.Henry’s and talked about journalism and a potential role for her at the paper, she said, which led to her being the first person to oversee both the Vestavia Voice and Hoover Sun.
“The community support was overwhelmingly positive,” Walden said.
The first issue enjoyed the support of local leaders. Walden said reporters worked to develop relationships with sources and community members, learning what was happening in the city.
“It opened a lot of doors,” Walden said of her time at the paper. “It made me confident speaking publicly.”
A few months after the Vestavia Voice launched, Sydney Cromwell began as an intern for Starnes Media. Over the course of the next six years, Cromwell worked her way up to become managing editor of the then-seven publications produced by the company.
“I think it [Vestavia Voice] was still finding its footing,” Cromwell said of the paper’s early days. “The other [papers] were known names.”
In her time at the company, Cromwell recalled handling the controversial “Rebel Man” issue, which saw the high school remove the Rebel mascot while not dropping the name in 2015.
“That was probably my first experience with a truly big story,” Cromwell said.
Back in the early days of the paper, everyone stayed at the office to help design pages, which is now done by a team of two people, Cromwell said. Cromwell recalled many late nights getting the papers ready to print.
Being able to contribute to the paper and getting to know the community was an honor, Cromwell said.
“It was really nice working at a community newspaper like this,” Cromwell said. “For the most part, people wanted to talk to me. They wanted to invite me into their homes and share their life story, which is a privilege.”
As the years went on, more reporters, photographers, designers and other staff members joined to help the Voice and other Starnes papers grow, Cromwell said. The paper also began covering city meetings and treating city news like a regular beat, she said.
“That was sorely needed,” she said. “It’s invaluable to a community.”
One of those reporters was Emily Featherston, who joined the staff part-time in 2015 and made the switch to full-time in 2016 before leaving two years later for another journalism job.
“It was exciting to be in a newspaper job that was growing,” Featherston said.
During her time covering the city, Featherston said there were a lot of growing pains and growth happening in Vestavia Hills. The city was beginning to plan and implement what would come to be known as the Community Spaces Plan, a massive infrastructure and capital project that is wrapping up its final components this year. Featherston covered 42 public meetings that dealt with the plan, she said.
“People start to expect that they’re going to get information from you,” Featherston said.
In her time at the Voice, Featherston said the paper began posting online stories, expanding its social media presence and added daily newsletters. It was an effort to meet readers where they are, she said.
Featherston said working at the paper taught her that community journalism is “where it happens.” People are concerned about bus routes, trash pickup and other hyperlocal news.
“People need it to make decisions,” Featherston said.
Starnes said he is proud to be able to cover stories that would likely go untold without the Vestavia Voice.
“If we go out and write about something that every other media outlet in Birmingham is already covering, we don’t really make much impact,” Starnes said. “But a lot of what we do is covering the community at a level that doesn’t exist without us. That contribution and the many people who have been a part of our journey are what give me the most pride.”
