This is Alabama

Award-winning freelance journalist Javacia Harris Bowser is convinced that #writing is a superpower. She sees her life as proof of it since writing has helped her navigate marriage, crisis of faith and body image issues. It also helped her to beat cancer. The #BirminghamAL native founded See Jane Write, a website and community for women who write and blog. Women across #Alabama and the nation are a part of the community. Javacia graciously answered our Essential Questions about food, life in Alabama and more. "My favorite part about living in Alabama is the people," she said. "Yes, Alabama has A LOT OF ISSUES but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a place whose people exhibit Southern hospitality the way we do. If you’re stranded on the side of the road in Alabama, the kindness of strangers will rescue you long before AAA arrives. One night at a local restaurant I witnessed a man literally leap over a table to get to an elderly woman he didn’t even know who had taken a nasty tumble. If I’m at Publix and I need something off a high shelf, people who aren’t vertically challenged like me seem to appear out of thin air to help, without me saying a word – and these are people who work there and customers! In Alabama, we take care of each other." Read more from her #QandA: https://lnkd.in/eVWYe4FQ #thisisalabama

Y'all have got to see two #Alabama legends in action! Author Rick Bragg and comedian Roy Wood Jr. will be recognized by the Alabama Humanities Alliance as 2024 Alabama Humanities Fellows. You can watch the two of them in on Dec. 2nd at University of Alabama at Birmingham's Alys Stephens Center.?The event will feature an in-depth conversation between two of the state's funniest storytellers. Others at the event will include: ?? Kaitlan Collins,?CNN anchor; the Colloquium moderator ?? Devon Frazier:?Educator;?founder, I See Me literacy nonprofit ?? Cassandra King: Award-winning author, past Alabama Humanities Fellow You won't want to miss this! Get tickets here: https://lnkd.in/eFGSCmU8

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An #Alabama sweet tea company is $500,000 richer, after a successful appearance on the ABC reality series “Shark Tank.” Y'all Sweet Tea, a business founded in 2021 by Darien Craig and Brandon Echols of Hayden, introduced their company to the celebrity investors (known as “sharks”) on the Nov. 15 episode of the ABC reality series. Their pitch to the sharks was so well received, it prompted three competing offers from the investors, allowing Craig and Echols to choose their favorite. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e_RBEb9S #thisisalabama #entrepreneurs #sweettea

Happy Friday! Let's go into the weekend with Sweet Home Highlights.

The Orion Amphitheater just got a major honor! The #HuntsvilleAL music venue has been nominated for Pollstar's outdoor venue of the year. Its competitors? Some awfully big names, like the Hollywood Bowl and Los Angeles' Greek Theatre. If you'd like to vote for the venue, find out more here: https://lnkd.in/ewkRk7qk #alabama #thisisalabama #music

Company officials say Wawa, Inc. plans to open 7 to 10 stores in the Baldwin and Mobile County markets over the next few years. They say each represents and investment of about $7.5 million and employs around 140 contractors and local partners during construction, and about 35 employees once open.

J F Ingram State Technical College just received 10 state-of-the-art driving and forklift simulators. The simulators were gifted to the college by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. "The CDL program is one of our most popular and fastest growing programs,” ISTC President Annette Funderburk, MPA said. “The addition of these simulators will allow us to expand the program while also allowing our students to hone their skills by giving them more time with their hands on steering wheels and feet on gas pedals.” #alabama #thisisalabama #workforcedevelopment

When Tamar Blue founded her #telehealth company MentalHappy four years ago, she was sitting in Silicon Valley - the global hub of tech firms and venture capital. Now, she has moved the company she founded to #BirminghamAL. MentalHappy received funds from InvestAL, a program of?Innovate Alabama, the public-private partnership?working with entrepreneurs. It allocates funds from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), a federal program reauthorized under the American Rescue Plan Act. Read more about MentalHappy: https://lnkd.in/exVEprJQ #tech #Alabama #thisisalabama

Happy Friday! (Hasn't it been a long week?) In this week's Sweet Home Alabama, we're talking Uncrustables (yes, the favorite food of toddlers and NFL players alike) and Alabamians who are breaking records. #alabama #newsletter