HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023 MayJuneThe Fairhope Rotary Disaster Response team has been named 2023 Fairhopers of the Year. The Disaster Response Team has made tremendous contributions to the community through their time and acts of service.
“After Hurricane Michael hit in 2018, we gathered a group of people and traveled to Port St. Joe and stayed for three days, cooking several hundred meals for those who were affected by the storm,” said Andy Tubertini, Disaster Response Chairman.
“It felt so good to help and we received such a great response that we knew we needed to do it again.”
Later that same year, a tornado hit Auburn and the group traveled and stayed for two days assisting with cleanup efforts.
After that trip, an entity was formed, and the Fairhope Rotary Disaster Response Team was created.
Tubertini says he enjoys doing this because he was once a victim himself. “I was living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi when Hurricane Katrina hit, and I remember feeling completely hopeless. A church group came and it was an outpouring of help, and it was then that I felt hope again.”
Andy says, “This is why we do what we do, to offer hope – to help those in their time of need.”
The Fairhope Rotary Disaster team is made up of 14 individuals, offering their time and support when a disaster strikes and a community is in need. Since their founding in 2018, the group has traveled on multiple missions, assisting communities all across Alabama.
“When Hurricane Sally hit in 2020, people traveled left and right to help us here in Fairhope. Those communities who we had once helped in their time of need, were right here alongside us in our time of need returning the favor.”
“Every town has a rotary who likes to give back, and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about – helping others and serving the community.”
City Sketches
MAY / JUNE 2023
Live at Five Spring Concert Series
Arts Ally Update
Fairhope Rotary Steak Cookoff
2023 Fairhopers of the Year
NEWS
HIGHLIGHTSMAY / JUNE 2023“Every town has
a rotary who
likes to give back,
and at the end
of the day, that’s
what it’s all about
– helping others
and serving the
community.”
City Sketches
Mobile Bay Keepers Grandman Triathlon
Saturday, May 20
The 2023 Mobile Bay Keepers Grandman Triathlon is a celebration of community as well as a competition. Racers, volunteers, and spectators will converge on a spring Saturday morning, excited to compete.
The Mobile Bay Keepers Grandman Triathlon is important to Mobile Baykeeper because it helps raise money to protect the health and beauty of the Mobile Bay Watershed. Clean water is a fundamental element of healthy communities, and we want future generations to experience the beauty and natural wonder that now surrounds us.
For more information, visit www.thegrandman.com or call (251) 433-4229.
Fairhope Rotary Steak Cookoff
Friday, May 12
The Fairhope Rotary Steak Cookoff returns at 7 p.m. Friday, May 12, on Bancroft Street in downtown Fairhope. All proceeds benefit the Fairhope community. Among the projects impacted by the fundraiser include the Fairhope Police Department’s Back to School program and Shop with a Cop Christmas program, Donations to the Fairhope Rotary Youth Club for after-school and summer programs for at-risk children, four annual, renewable scholarships for graduating Fairhope high school seniors. Also, upgrades to the Young Street Park including new dugouts for the baseball field, and emergency relief trailers that allow Rotarians to deploy immediately to areas affected by natural disasters and include room to carry non-perishable food items, drinking water and cleaning supplies, as well as washing machines and showers. Cook team signups and ticket sales are going on now.
For more information, visit www.fairhopesteak.org or call (251) 929-8400.
National Public Works Week gives us an opportunity to recognize the many facets of
public works. They contribute to the wonderful quality of life we have in Fairhope from
building and repairing roads, recycling, sanitation, to growing and planting flowers.
If you see a City worker out and about, tell them thanks!
Girls Night Out
Thursday, May 11
Boot scoot and boogie into town for the Downtown Fairhope Business Association’s 9th Annual Girls Night Out! Shopping, giveaways, discounts, and food are in the works for this fun night. The ticketed event takes place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Fairhope Welcome Center and features over 100 participating businesses in Downtown Fairhope that will offer big savings, door prizes, complimentary refreshments, and live music. Advanced tickets are just $30 and include a GNO t-shirt, exclusive coupon book, and Swig cup!
For more information, visit www.FairhopeMerchants.com or call (251) 929-1474.
National Public Works Week May 21-27
MAY / JUNE 2023
the natural surroundings of the Halstead Amphitheater.Live at Five is an exciting concert series set in the heart of downtown Fairhope, Alabama in
Each spring and fall, Live at Five hosts national and regional bands and singer/songwriters spanning a wide range of musical genres: rock, jazz, country, Americana, soul, funk, and more –ultimately returning proceeds to our neighbors with music-based needs through the Jacob Hall Music Grant. Concerts take place at The Halstead Amphitheater located in downtown Fairhope on the campus of Coastal Alabama Community College.
For more information, visit www.liveatfivefairhope.com.
The first five students to graduate from FairhopeHigh School started their senior year in the fall of 1923. Those five students, Charles Dade, Alva Gilmore, Neally Mannich, Mayne Ruffles, and Lillian Steele, began a tradition of excellence in public education that has continued for one hundred years. To celebrate this milestone, Fairhope will mark the occasion with a number of events this fall. In September, floats in the Fairhope High School Homecoming parade are planned to recognize various eras of our educational history. After this kick-off, a weekend event will be held on November 3rd and 4th, to include Friday night, Saturday, and Saturday night activities. A street party on Saturday evening will include entertainment, food, and reunions with classmates and friends.
A tangible and long-lasting opportunity to celebrate education in Fairhope comes in the form of pavers that can be purchased to honor a teacher, principal, or family member(s). These 12”x12” pavers will be placed in front of the 1925-1953 high school on Church Street – also known as the former K-1 Center. The pavers are $125 each and must be purchased by May 31, 2023, in order for them to be delivered and installed by October 27th. Details about the events and the paver project are available on the Baldwin County Board of Education website at www.bcbe.org/FHS100Anniversary.
Live at Five Spring Concert Series
Fairhope Celebrates a Century
of Public Education with a
Paver Project
The Arts Alley Project is a revitalization effort for the area around the public parking garage in the heart of Fairhope’s downtown. The alley space is also planned as a downtown transit hub for the Baldwin Rural Area Transportation System. It will feature a new brick paved alley that runs from Section Street to Church Street along with a new restroom facility. What was once a drab and boring parking garage, will now feature colorful and eye-catching unique works of art. Also, as part of the project Single Tax Corporation selected artist Bruce Larson to design and construct a seahorse gateway structure on Church Street. The Project is expected to be complete this
summer.
Arts Alley Update
MAY 5 North Mississippi All Stars
MAY 19 Marlow Boys
JUNE 2 Tip Tops
SPRING
SCHEDULE
Contact your
elected officials
LETTER FROM THE MAYOR
Public MeetingsListings
The Fairhope Planning Commission
MEETS AT 5pm | City Council chambers
FIRST MONDAY OF EACH MONTH
The Fairhope City Council
MEETS AT 6pm | City Council chambers
THE SECOND AND FOURTH MONDAYS FairhopeAL.gov | 251-928-2136
Sherry Sullivan, Mayor
Sherry.Sullivan@FairhopeAL.gov
Jay Robinson, City Council President
Jay.Robinson@FairhopeAL.gov
Corey Martin, City Councilmember
Corey.Martin@FairhopeAL.gov
Jack Burrell, City Councilmember
Jack.Burrell@FairhopeAL.gov
Kevin Boone, City Councilmember
Kevin.Boone@FairhopeAL.gov
Jimmy Conyers, City Councilmember
Jimmy.Conyers@FairhopeAL.gov
Mayor & City Council mailing address:
City of Fairhope
P.O. Drawer 429
Fairhope, AL 36533
The days are longer, it is starting to feel
like summer, and the calendar is quickly
filling up with all things outdoors. The
Fairhope Rotary 2023 Steak Cook-
off, Mobile Bay Keepers Grandman
Triathlon at the Fairhope pier, Live at
Five Spring Concert Series at the Halstead
Amphitheater on the campus of Coastal
Alabama Community College and Girls
Night Out are just a few of these activities.
During the month of May, the City of
Fairhope recognizes over 80 employees
that make up the public works department
during National Public Works Week.
Without these hardworking employees,
the flowers, sanitation services, event set
up and clean up, streets and parks would
not be what they are today. If you see
these employees out and about, please
share a kind word, as they work to keep
our City running smoothly. I hope you
enjoy this fun time of year, and I look
forward to seeing you around the city
soon! Sherry Sullivan, Mayor