Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Stewart Welch
Stewart Welch
Mountain Brook Athletics excel
I only have one word to describe this accomplishment: WOW!
Mountain Brook’s school system has, for decades, been ranked among the highest in America. That’s right, not just the highest in the region, or highest in the state — highest in the nation. That, in itself, is an incredible accomplishment and applause rightfully goes to Dicky Barlow, our superintendent, but also his administrative team, our teachers, our board of education, our parents and our community that faithfully supports our outstanding schools.
But the Mountain Brook School system doesn’t just excel in academics; their athletic program was recently ranked number five in the nation. Think for a moment about just how difficult it is to create a top-five national athletics program.
This is what a top-five program looks like: nine state championships including boys and girls cross country, girls volleyball, boys wrestling, girls indoor and outdoor track, boys and girls tennis and girls soccer. Boys basketball finished runner-up in the state also. This takes a monumental effort from coaches, student athletes, school administration, parents and the community. Wow!
It takes a village: Update on Jemison Park
The new bridge at the end of our new Chief’s Trail is under construction and should be open to the public by Sept. 15. This new bridge and Chief’s Trail are an outstanding addition to the park. This was truly a community effort, starting with the Friends of Jemison Park and President Sally Worthen, who, along with the Friends Board, raised the full $575,000 required to complete this project.
Landscape architects Joel Eliason and David Gibbens of NLA did the design; Garry and Jimmy Ard’s company, Ard Contracting, poured the concrete; Banner Industrial set the bridge using Mountain Brook resident Dave Upton’s CraneWorks crane; and Landscape Services did the plantings and landscape installations. Shanda Williams, the superintendent of our Park & Recreation Department, and the Parks & Rec Board helped guide this project from start to finish. Great people working hard, together to create a beautiful project.
If you haven’t walked in the park lately, you should do so soon. With all the new improvements, it’s absolutely an awesome experience.
