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Pete Storey, Childersburg Chamber Director
Carol Emlich-Bates , Sylacauga Chamber Director
2A — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Sunday, February 12, 2012 sylacauga commerce
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Love of city drives Bates’ work at chamberBy EMILY ADAMSHome staff writer
“If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t do it.”
It’s as simple as that for Sylacauga Chamber of Commerce Director Carol Emlich Bates, who has been director for about three years.
Bates said her love of the Sylacauga community drives her work.
“I truly feel like this is where I am supposed to be right now,” she said. “This community is my home, and I just love being involved in any way I can.”
Before working at the chamber, Bates was an owner-operator of McDonald’s franchises for about 20 years, includ-ing the Talladega and Sylacauga locations.
“I did all the market-ing, advertising, birthday parties; all the fun stuff, as I would call it,” she said. “My job now is just like McDonald’s but with no food.”
Bates, who is originally from Lebanon, Ind., ran the restaurants with her late first husband, Rod Emlich, before he died in 1992.
“After he passed, I gave serious though to packing up my four children, who were at various ages, and going back to Indiana,” she said. “But the out-pouring of genuine love and concern for my family after that really cemented where my home is. This is my home.”
Bates continued to operate the restaurants until 1999.
“My kids had grown up, and nobody really wanted it,” Bates said. “It was a time when McDonald’s was going through some real growing pains as a corporation, and I wasn’t having fun any more, to be quite honest. I miss the restaurant business, and I could see me having a lit-tle place just for breakfast some day, but it was the right time.”
Bates said working with McDonald’s taught her the importance of community involvement.
“I had always been a member of the chamber with McDonald’s, because that was something they
Carol Emlich Bates, director of the Sylacauga Chamber of Commerce, says her work has taught her humility.
made very clear is that you will be a part of your com-munity,” she said. “You could not be a McDonald’s operator and not be involved.”
Bates said McDonald’s practices are reflected in the chamber’s current Adopt-a-Block program, where businesses and citi-zens are asked to adopt a city block to keep clean.
“When you had a McDonald’s franchise, it was part of somebody’s job description to take a trash bag and pick up a two-block area around the restaurant every day,” Bates said. “It’s just part of being invested in the com-munity. My kids can tell you horror stories about me pulling off the road and making them pick up McDonald’s trash.”
After selling the McDonald’s locations, Bates worked in real estate for several years before becoming more involved
with the chamber.“I had been president
of the chamber board for three months when (former director) Joe Richardson resigned,” she said. “I became interim director, and I thought, “I kind of like this,” and real estate wasn’t much fun at that time. I talked to board members and they thought it was a perfect fit, and so did I.”
Bates said being cham-ber director has taught her humility.
“I truly believe the Lord put me in this position to teach me that,” she said. “My entire career I had always been my own boss. In this job, you have a lot of bosses. I work for the community, for the city, for my board. But I really do love it.”
She took her position seriously, Bates said, seek-ing guidance from past and present members and studying meeting minutes.
“The first year on the job, I would take home volumes of the old min-utes,” she said. “It was my nightly ritual to study them. It gave me good background of the found-ing fathers, where it came from, how it has evolved and where we are now. You think you know an organization, but until you really get inside of it, you don’t.”
Bates said her job is still a daily adjustment.
“I’ve had a lot of good people that have helped me adjust and given me some great advice,” she said. “Our board mem-bers and past presidents are essential to me.”
Bates said she has many goals for the chamber, including getting a thor-ough community calendar up and running.
Her biggest goal, however, is to make the chamber more financially secure.
“Right now, the money we get from the city is used for operational pur-poses, but I’d like to get to a place where we can use that money to fund programs that we can’t currently afford,” she said. “That’s my biggest wish.”
Bates said once her time at the chamber is over, she looks forward to accom-plishing several other life goals. Among those is pur-suing her love of writing again.
“I’ve always loved writ-ing,” Bates said. “I used to write for Redbook and Parent magazines, but that was centuries ago. The magazines had a little ad about sending in your own writing, so I did, but I didn’t tell anybody in case it didn’t work. It did work though, and they began to use my name.”
Bates said she has a few ideas for books she would like to write.
“I’d like to write a mem-
oir, if nothing else about the McDonald’s journey,” she said. “Watching the corporation grow and evolve all these years has been an interesting road.”
No matter her position, Bates said she will always be involved in Sylacauga.
“I’ve been on about every board in town at one time or another,” she said. “This is where my family is now. My children are grown and have come back to this city. My hus-band, Jeff, is a contractor and is very invested in this community and loves it as much as I do.”
Bates said if she wasn’t committed to this com-munity, she wouldn’t hang around.
“They say timing is everything, and I truly believe that,” she said. “This is where I am sup-posed to be.”
Contact Emily Adams at [email protected].
‘We’re here to serve,’ Storeysays of chamberBy MARKLEDBETTERHome staff writer
“When approached to join, many are surprised that a town as small as Childersburg has a cham-ber, especially one that is active and progressive,” Childersburg Chamber President and CEO Pete Storey said.
Presently the chamber has about 200 industrial and retail members.
Storey served on the chamber board for three years before being hired full time to serve as presi-dent. The chamber reor-ganized in 2005 and in March 2006 Storey began his tenure.
Before being hired by the chamber, Storey worked at Vulcan Information Packaging. He spent two and a half years in the plant learning the product and then 12 years in sales.
“This is where I really learned how to commu-nicate with people and learned the selling skills,” he said.
Storey is a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management. The IOM is an adult education and professional develop-ment program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Graduates are recog-nized for their dedication to learn how to manage
non-profit organizations.“It is a very, very good
school to learn how the chamber works, network with other chamber direc-tors, and to keep in con-tact with them to exchange ideas,” Storey said.
He also attended Southeast Society Tourism Marketing classes. Courses included brochure devel-opment, designing signs and effective marketing strategies.
“One of the real bene-fits is the networking with opportunity I have with other tourism profession-als,” Storey said.
When the chamber reorganized, a consulting agency assisted in creat-ing the chamber’s Partners program.
Implementation of the program generated $30,000. Added to the reg-ular membership fees and increased funding from the city, the chamber’s budget increased from $20,000 per year to $65,000.
According to its mission statement, the chamber is “dedicated to stimulating positive business growth, fostering community lead-ership and acting as an advocate for the business community.”
Benefits offered to chamber members include providing networking
Mark Ledbetter/The Daily Home
Pete Storey has been president and CEO of the Childersburg Chamber of Commerce since 2006.
See Storey, Page 6A
THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Sunday, February 12, 2012 — 3Asylacauga commerce
17 West Fort Williams • Post Offi ce Box 185 • Sylacauga, AL 35150
256-249-0308
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The mission of the Sylacauga Chamber of Commerce is to provide leadership and promote the economic advance-ment, business climate and quality of life for the City of Sylacauga and surrounding areas.
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A dynamic city government, quality school system, city agen-cies and countless community clubs and organizations are working together with the Chamber of Commerce to make Sylacauga a great place to live, work and play!
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Hubbard Pharmacy offers friendly service
Bob Crisp/The Daily Home
Heritage South Credit Union is more than a banking institution.
Heritage South openedin Sylacauga in 1937By JUNE WINTERSHome staff writer
In life, one of the major decisions has always been finding the right banking institution where you are completely comfortable with your finances. Since the day Heritage South Credit Union opened its doors in this area, cus-tomers there have felt that security.
Heritage South is not only a banking institu-tion, but offers much more. Their capable staff is on hand to discuss CD account rates, savings account rates, mortgage loan rates, credit card rates and auto loan rates, among others.
They are proud to assist you with personal loans and/or investments.
When it comes to your banking account, they offer a no fee checking account, home loan refi-
nancing, low interest cred-it cards and high interest savings accounts.
The Credit Union offers investments in bro-kerage, mutual funds and bonds.
Heritage South Credit Union first opened in 1937 in Avondale Mills. It later moved to 901 North Broadway, but soon out-grew that location, and the central building for all Heritage South func-tions was built at 60 Gene E. Stewart Blvd, on U.S. 280. The building opened its doors for business in 2005.
In April 2011, another branch of Heritage South opened for business in Childersburg on Fay Perry Road, next to Central Alabama Community College.
Heritage South offers student loans and each year the $2,500 Claude Sawyer
Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a qualifying senior from the member-ship area.
They offer a Kids Club membership to teach chil-dren the easy, fun and rewarding way to save money beginning at an early age, and when retire-ment age rolls around, the staff is ready to assist with IRAs, 401k and 401k roll-over.
According to Daphne Harrell, CEO of Heritage South, membership in the credit union requires living, working or wor-shiping in the coun-ties of Talladega, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Lee, St. Clair, Clay, Calhoun or Shelby counties.
From the moment you walk in the door at Heritage South until you walk out, your needs will be met and cared for by the friendly “hometown” staff.
By JUNE WINTERSHome staff writer
There’s nothing like having a hometown phar-macist when you’re sick. There’s a comfortable feel-ing that just doesn’t come when dealing with large chain establishments. It’s called “being at home.”
LeighAnn Hubbard Armstrong and Rachael Pearson Grier at Hubbard Pharmacy offer just that kind of feeling when you bring your prescription and drug needs to them. They’re easy to find. Just walk in the front door of Piggly Wiggly Grocery just off U.S. 280, and turn right. There you will find Armstrong and Grier busy assisting their customers.
Hubbard Pharmacy opened March 30, 2010, but both Grier and Armstrong were very familiar with the pharma-cy’s surroundings when they moved in. Both had worked there when the grocery store was Food World, and the pharmacy was under another owner-ship. In fact, both women had been there for 10 years when Food World closed.
Hubbard Pharmacy has a complete line of phar-maceuticals, as well as all diabetic supplies.
They file Major Medical for nebulizers, walkers, canes and crutches.
Influenza, pneumonia and shingle shots are avail-able anytime the drug store is open, and all insurance is accepted.
They are happy to fla-vor any liquid medicine and they also do some compounding of medi-cine. Both Armstrong and Grier will be glad to discuss over-the-counter
medication and make rec-ommendations.
The store is open 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and Saturdays 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
Armstrong is owner of Hubbard Pharmacy and received her pharmaceu-tical degree from Auburn University. Grier is a certi-fied pharmacy technician.
They welcome you to Hubbard’s Pharmacy, and guarantee you will receive friendly and courteous ser-vice every time you visit them.
Bob Crisp/The Daily Home
Top photo: Hubbard Pharmacy is located in the Piggly Wiggly Groccery store just off U.S. 280 in Sylacauga.
Right photo: Rachael Pearson Grier is a certified pharmacy technician at Hubbard Pharmacy.
4A — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Sunday, February 12, 2012 sylacauga commerce
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By DENISE SINCLAIRHome news editor
Since 1952, there has been a Dairy Queen in Sylacauga and 2012 is no exception.
The Dairy Queen has been a popular hangout since then. The Dairy Queen franchise was start-ed by Roy Wilson, who operated the store for 33 years until the Ely family of Pell City purchased it in 1985.
Peter Shah bought the Sylacauga store in 2006 from the Ely family.
Shah renovated the pop-ular restaurant in 2010. He completely changed the store from the inside out, with a modern, updated look. The only area not changed was the kitchen.
Shah has been in the fast food business for 22 years.
A native of India, Shah and his family came to America and settled in New Jersey. He then moved to Georgia to get away from the cold weather in New Jersey.
From Georgia, Shah moved to Lincoln where he operated the Race City Travel Center for a year.
He learned about the Dairy Queen in Sylacauga and decided to buy it.
He loves Sylacauga and providing the community with good food and cus-tomer service.
Customer service is very important to Shah.
In the past two years, Shah has had a Customer Appreciation Day. The
event was so successful, Shah had to ask the Police Department to be on hand to direct traffic into and out of the store parking area onto Ft. Williams Avenue. Everything in the store was half price from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“It was so successful. I held it to let us appreciate the customer. We wanted to give back to the cus-tomer and let us appreciate them,” he said.
Dairy Queen has 21 employees. It is open seven days a week. Some of the customers’ favorite foods include the chicken strip basket, club sandwiches, foot-long chili hot dogs and Blizzards.
Shah uses coupon mail-ing to get specials to cus-tomers, too, along with local media.
The restaurant and Shah are very involved in the community.
“Churches can put down their receipts after they have come here with their names on it and we give them 5 percent back. We give coupons to teach-ers for ice cream and other products to give to students who do excellent work in school,” Shah said.
He said he and his employees take pride in the service they provide. “We focus on service as well as food.”
Shah pointed out one thing he has noticed since he purchased the store is that a lot of customers still come in the store to remember times they had in years gone by.
“Customers are what
Bob Crisp/The Daily Home
Peter Shah, owner of the Sylacauga Dairy Queen, loves his customers and the service he provides.
Bob Crisp/The Daily Home
The inside of Dairy Queen features a down home atmosphere with old photos featuring stores and people from the early years. New owner Peter Shah bought the store in 2006.
Bob Crisp/The Daily Home
Dairy Queen in Sylacauga has a new look. The store got a complete renovation, from inside out, in 2010. Dairy Queen has been in the Marble City since 1952.
Shah lovescreating smiles,giving back tohis community
drove me to remodel the store and give them a place to eat and remember. People love Dairy Queen. We just changed it to a newer version,” he said.
Shah noted there are a few surprises in store for
customers in the future. “I don’t want to give them away just yet.”
Sylacauga, he said, has been very helpful to him as a new business owner.
He tries to remember what Dairy Queens were
like in the early years. He has pictures all around the store from the 1950s and 1960s.
In talking about Dairy Queen, Shah said IDQ (International Dairy Queen) is owned by Warren Buffett. “That is one of the reasons you have seen so many reno-vations and modernizing the stores. The remodel-ing here was my idea,” he said.
Dairy Queen, Shah said, remains the number one brand of restaurants people connect with.
Shah first started in the fast food business with Burger King in 1989 near the New York Giants sta-dium. He got to meet a lot of the former players and is a big Giants fan.
He is also an Alabama football fan thanks to Roy McCaig. Shah said McCaig carried him to some Alabama games. He said, “Roll Tide and go Giants.”
From Burger King, Shah has worked in delis, coffee shops and Pizza Hut. He was named an All Star manager with one of
his stores and got sent to San Diego to accept the award.
Shah came to the truck stop in Lincoln in 2005 and from there to Sylacauga in 2006.
He said the restaurant business is stressful, with long hours.
“It is not easy working 60 to 70 hours, but I still enjoy it. I enjoy seeing the customers and their faces. Sometimes I’ll make a sandwich for a customer and when they tell me how great it was that makes me feel so good and makes me want to do more,” he said.
Shah’s wife, Hemali, also works at the store. The couple has a 10-year-old son.
Creating smiles on cus-tomers’ faces and helping give back to the commu-nity are two things Shah loves.
“I appreciate all our customers and always love to here about their experi-ence here.” he said.
Contact Denise Sinclair at [email protected].
THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Sunday, February 12, 2012 — 5Asylacauga commerce
Childersburg Chamber of Commerce805 3rd Street South West
Childersburg, Alabama 35044
256-378-5482
We are an organization made up ofbusiness fi rms, public offi cials,
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By EMILY ADAMSHome staff writer
It’s a business with a heart of gold.
Gold Kings, a metal-buying business on James Payton Boulevard in Sylacauga, runs with a dif-ferent outlook than the typical gold buyer.
“We did research and saw people were giving customers the rock bot-tom amount of what their materials were worth,” co-owner Tim Hughes said. “We came up with a way to give the most to the customer while still being able to support our fami-lies.”
Co-owner Craig Ogle said customers receive around 80 percent of what their material is worth, compared to 50-60 per-cent at like businesses.
“We don’t mind cus-tomers knowing exactly what their gold is valued,” Ogle said. “We are a busi-ness, but we try to be a help also. We can operate off of 20 percent profit and still get a paycheck and employ eight people between our two stores.”
Hughes said Gold Kings, which buys gold, silver and platinum, oper-ates on integrity.
“When we lay our heads on the pillow at night, we can sleep well knowing we gave the best prices we could,” Hughes said. “No matter what walk of life they’re from, we offer each of our customers respect.”
Gold Kings first opened in Inverness in August 2011 and Sylacauga in October. Hughes said they opened two stores quickly because of the great response.
“It just really took off,” Hughes said. “Customers were pleased with the prices they were getting, and it spread by word of mouth.”
Ogle said they are always hoping to expand their customer base.
“We would rather make a little money off more people than a lot of money off fewer customers,” he said. “That way you also ensure that people will keep coming back to you and will tell their friends.”
Hughes and Ogle, who are pastors at Victory Baptist Church in Goodwater and Faith Baptist in Sylacauga, respectively, began their business after the tough housing economy affect-ed their jobs at Wellborn Cabinets in Ashland.
“They had cut our work so much, it was affect-ing our families,” Hughes said. “Craig and I started praying about it, and we felt this is where we were led.”
Ogle said they chose gold sales because the busi-ness is doing well.
“We got to thinking and did a lot of research, and this seemed like the best option,” Ogle said. “The value of gold is up right now, and we also saw a need in this com-munity.”
Hughes said they most frequently see items like broken necklaces, mis-matched earrings, out-of-fashion jewelry, class rings, coins and dental gold.
“Some items we see are because someone lost a job or a family member died and they’re bringing in their belongings, so we want to help these peo-ple,” Hughes said. “We’re making a living doing this, but we also look at it as a service.”
The materials bought are melted into gold bars and sold to refineries.
“We make it into some-thing that can be resold
Gold Kings co-ownersays businessoperates on integrity
Emily Adams/The Daily Home
Sylacauga store manager Dan Jerrett, right, files a necklace to check its gold con-tent. Gold Kings buys materials that are then melted into bars and sold to refineries.
Emily Adams/The Daily Home
Gold Kings, on James Payton Boulevard, opened in September 2011. The business buys gold, silver and platinum at 80 percent of its value. “When we lay our heads on the pillow at night, we can sleep well knowing we gave the best prices we could,” said co-owner Tim Hughes.
and hold it to watch the prices and see when we can get the maximum profit,” Hughes said.
Customers have sev-eral opportunities to save money, Hughes said.
Each customer fills out a referral card, and if some-one brings their card to the store, the person who referred them receives 10 percent of that sale.
Gold Kings also hosts “gold parties,” where 10 percent of their profit dur-ing a certain timeframe is donated to a different fundraiser.
“These are not things we have to do, but its something we choose to do,” Hughes said. “We’re involved in the commu-nity with our families, and we like to give back some of what the Lord blesses us with.”
Contact Emily Adams at [email protected].
6A — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Sunday, February 12, 2012 SYLACAUGA COMMERCE
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opportunities, free small business counseling, free exposure through TV and radio programs, economic development services and community promotion and support services.
Storey said the cham-ber’s main purpose is to serve as an advocate for chamber members at the city, county and state gov-ernment levels.
“We’re here for them,” Storey said. “When issues arise, we want them to come to us.”
One of the greatest chal-lenges the chamber faces is getting local community members to buy local, “to make them understand how important it is to support local merchants, and get involved in local events,” Storey said.
Industrial recruitment is a priority for the cham-ber. Childersburg has the second largest land area dedicated to an industrial park
StoreyFrom Page 2A Another industry the
chamber wants to develop is tourism. Natural resourc-es in the area have the potential to draw 100,000 to Childersburg each year, Storey said.
Student leadership devel-opment is another goal for the chamber. Students are awarded $1,000 scholar-ships provided they meet requirements. They are required to attend the annual chamber banquet and Coosa Fest.
Students must also sub-mit an essay that is eval-uated by a board review committee. They must also assist with office work.
Part of the leadership program is the month-ly leadership teaching. Principles are taken from the book Teen Success.
They are also assisted with writing resumes and taught how to fill out applications, how to dress for interviews, and how to respond to interview ques-tions.
The Ambassadors and
Diplomat program is available for qualified stu-dents from Childersburg, Fayettevi l le and Winterboro high schools.
“We want to offer more things for young people, to give them a reason to stay, to go to college and return, or find jobs and stay,” Storey said.
Storey’s interests are not limited to chamber busi-ness. He also likes to play golf and has been involved in high school football and baseball.
Storey began officiat-ing high school football in 1989 and baseball in 1995. He said the thing he
enjoyed most about offici-ating is being close to the game itself, and getting to know the student athletes and coaches.
“I just love the atmo-sphere of Friday night football,” he said.
Storey’s wife is Crystal, and he has two stepchil-dren, Alexandra and
Asa Ricks. He has two daughters, Allison Todd of Alabaster and Valerie Cockerham of Pelham, and a granddaughter, Chloe Cockerham.
Contact Mark Ledbetter at [email protected].
Home file photo
Pete Storey began officiating high school football in 1989 and baseball in 1995. He said he enjoys being close to the game and getting to know the student athletes and coaches.
