COMMUNITY
Happy Anniversary!
Three neighboring Montgomery businesses – all located on Lower Commerce Street downtown -- enjoyed milestone anniversaries in 2019. Jackson Thornton marked 100 years of service as a certified public accounting and consulting firm. Starke Agency hit 90 years of providing insurance and risk management to people and businesses. And Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis and Miles, PC, celebrated 40 years as a plaintiffs law firm.
YMCA Names Man of the Year
Justin Castanza was named the 2019 YMCA Man of the Year. A youth minister at St. Bede and Holy Spirit Catholic Church and principal of Montgomery Catholic Middle/High School, Castanza has served as a dedicated YMCA member for many years. He is currently active on the East YMCA Board of Directors, was the East YMCA Volunteer of the Year, and is a member of the YMCA Jimmy Hitchcock Committee. He is passionate about service to the youth of Montgomery through his YMCA work. As the former Director of YMCA Camp Chandler, he brought a Christian Leadership Conference to camp and started other programs such as “Adopt A Child” and the SWAT (Servants Working All Together) program, which trains young leaders to be future camp counselors. Although he is no longer a YMCA employee, he still assists the YMCA with training lifeguards, CPR and first-aid training.
For 68 years, teens of the Montgomery Student YMCAs have shown their appreciation to the men and women dedicated to serving youth in the community by planning and executing the YMCA’s Man of the Year annual program held in December at Trinity Presbyterian Church. At the banquet, students pay tribute to the nominees, one of whom is selected as Man of the Year. This year’s program was co-chaired by Sofie Behr of Montgomery Academy and Anna Sadie of Montgomery Catholic and featured guest speaker General Ed Crowell, YMCA of Greater Montgomery’s 2018 Man of the Year.
Biscuits’ DiBella in International Boxing Hall of Fame
The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum has announced the 2020 class of inductees including Montgomery Biscuits CEO and Managing Partner Lou DiBella. “We are extremely proud and excited for our great leader and close friend to be receiving this honor,” said Biscuits President Todd “Parney” Parnell.
Recognized for his great contributions to the sport of boxing, DiBella was Vice President in Charge of Programming at HBO from 1989-2000 and was the creative force behind the “Boxing After Dark” series as well as “KO Nation.” Following his time at HBO, DiBella established DiBella Entertainment, promoting boxing stars including Bernard Hopkins, Sergio Martinez, Jermain Taylor and Alabama native Deontay Wilder.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Troy University’s Online Programs Among Nation’s Best
Several of Troy University’s online degree programs have been recognized by U.S. News and World Report in its “2020 Best Online Programs” rankings. TROY was ranked 52nd out of 353 universities in the “Best Online Bachelor's Programs” overall category and was ranked in the top 35 institutions in terms of “Best Online Bachelor's Programs for Veterans.”
TROY was also included in the rankings for Best Online MBA, Best Online MBA for Veterans, Best Online Master's Business/Non-MBA, Best Online Master's Business/Non-MBA for Veterans, Best Online Master's in Criminal Justice, Best Online Master's in Criminal Justice for Veterans, Best Online Master's in Education, Best Online Master's in Education for Veterans, Best Online Master's in Nursing and Best Online Master's in Nursing for Veterans.
AEGIS-Michaud Properties, Inc. Remains a Top Montgomery Realtor®
AEGIS-Michaud Properties, Inc. is once again in the top 5 percent of real estate companies in the Montgomery area and had the top two producing Realtors® for existing home sales in Montgomery County for 2019, Ann Michaud and Anna Kate Bowen. Additionally, the company has been selected as an award winner for The Montgomery Advertiser’s Best of the Best list for the past several years, and Ann Michaud is rated in the Top Three Agents in Montgomery on ThreeBestRated.com and a Neighborhood Favorite on Nextdoor.com.
Four Star Freightliner Recognizes Top Technician
Four Star Freightliner, Inc. announced its top diesel technician during the company’s annual Year End Employee Celebration at the Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort on December 7. Josh Nichols, who works from the Montgomery, Alabama, location, was named the top revenue-producing technician for 2019. The announcement Four Star Freightliner’s top technician Josh Nichols was made in front of pictured with Jerry Kocan, Four Star’s Dealer Principal his new wife Hayley, his parents and more than 200 employees and their guests.
“To be named the company’s No. 1 technician might not be a big accomplishment to some people, but it is to me,” said Nichols. “It means a lot because of where I started and what I have become in the past nine years of being at Four Star. I think it’s great that the company recognizes the technicians in this way to show their appreciation and for that I am thankful.”
AWARDS & HONORS
Beasley Allen Selects Chad Stewart Award Recipient
Beasley Allen has recognized Soo Seok Yang as the 2019 Chad Stewart Award winner. This honor was created in memory of Beasley Allen lawyer Chad Stewart, who passed away unexpectedly in 2014 at the very young age of 41. The award was created to recognize the lawyer who best exemplifies Chad’s spirit of service to God, his family and the practice of law in the task of “helping those who need it most.”
“Soo Seok embodies the spirit of the Chad Stewart award through his own dedication to clients and his involvement and leadership in the community,” said Tom Methvin, Beasley Allen’s Managing Attorney. “We are thankful for Soo Seok’s compassion, which is equally matched with his leadership and knowledge.”
An attorney in the firm’s Mass Torts section, Yang has handled cases involving defective drug and medical device multidistrict litigations (MDLs) for Fosamax, metal-on-metal hip implant and transvaginal mesh cases. For the past few years, he has been focusing on a national MDL involving injuries related to blood thinners.
“I feel utterly inadequate, knowing the life that Chad lived and the stellar example that he set, and the giant footsteps of the Beasley Allen attorneys who have received this award and their unmatchable love and excellence for the Lord, family and work,” said Yang. “So, I interpret this award as a chastisement rather than a compliment on anything that I’ve done – a loving encouragement for me to do better in serving the Lord, family and work.”
Montgomery Nursing Home Wins Second Excellence Award
Capitol Hill Healthcare has been recognized as a 2019 recipient of the Commitment to Performance Excellence Award for its dedication to improving the lives of residents through quality care. The distinction is the first tier of three progressive award levels through the Alabama Performance Excellence Award Program (ALPEX). The program promotes quality and high performance for businesses and organizations in the state. Capitol Hill, a 284-bed long-term healthcare center in Montgomery, was one of four recipients for this award. Last year, ALPEX named Capitol Hill as a winner of the 2018 Pathway to Performance Excellence award.
Montgomery Law Firm Marks Milestone
Montgomery-based law firm Hill Hill Carter recently celebrated its 95th anniversary. In 1924, Thomas B. Hill Jr., began his practice in a building with no air conditioning. In 1931 his brother, William Inge Hill, joined the practice, setting the wheels in motion for what would become one of Montgomery’s most highly regarded legal institutions.
“Hill Hill Carter has proudly served Alabama and the southeast for 95 years,” said Managing Shareholder David W. Henderson. “During that time, the legal industry has changed considerably, and many firms have come and gone, but Hill Hill Carter has remained a strong, mid-sized firm dedicated to excellence and the highest professional standards of practice and conduct.”
The firm has expanded from one office location to four to include offices in Fairhope and Birmingham, Alabama, as well as Louisville, Kentucky. Over the years, the firm has also broadened its areas of practice to include commercial and complex litigation, health care cost recovery, and education, along with its existing practice areas of insurance defense, employment litigation and workers’ compensation.
HCS Group Earns 2019 Society of American Military Engineers Award
In December, Montgomery area engineering firm HCS Group was named the 2019 Outstanding Sustaining Member of the Year in the Small Business Category by the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Mobile Post. HCS Group has been awarded additional contracts this past year working with U.S. military worldwide and supporting the SAME organization by sponsoring, exhibiting and attending SAME events on local, regional and national levels.
