2019 Winning Project
The 2019 winning project was the Magic City Junior Chefs team which was made up of the following team members:
-Chris Hill (Spire)
-Mary Wallace Hannon (Regions Bank)
-Crystal Maxena (Vulcan Materials)
-Irving Jones (Balch & Bingham)
-Craig Lawrence, Jr. (Adams and Reese LLP)
When the team first met, each team member, in a somewhat unexplainable way, was drawn to Birmingham inner city schools. This team wanted to do something to encourage the next generation of professionals to pursue their passions. Through the process of molding the concept, with each step more ambitious than the last, the team was able to finalize their project, a cooking competition called “Top Chef Wenonah High School: Dragon’s Lair Edition”. On April 16, 2019, the Magic City Junior Chefs hosted three teams of three students from Wenonah High School’s Hospitality and Tourism Academy at the Southern Museum of Flight. The teams did not know what they would be cooking, so they were surprised to find out that the competition was around making crêpes! The teams were judged by three well-accomplished Birmingham Chefs and emceed by Channel 13’s Eunice Elliott. Our distinguished panel of judges included:
-Chef Kristal Bryant of K&J Elegant Pastries
-Chef Dolester Miles of Highlands Bar & Grill, Botega, and Chez Fonfon
-Chef Kenneth Moore, Catering Manager and Instructor at The Culinary Hospitality Institute at Jefferson State Community College.
Please see below for pictures as well as a video of the event. Hats off to the Magic City Junior Chefs!
2018 Winning Project
2018 Winning Project: Woodlawn Mural managed by the following members of team Orange Crush:
-Alisa Summerville (Alabama Power)
-Chelsea Hendrix (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama)
-Jordan Jones (Altec)
-Josh Harrison (Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart)
-Traci Bennett (City of Birmingham)
When team Orange Crush first met, they were faced with the question, ‘What’s Wrong with Birmingham?’ After pondering that complex question, the team decided to focus on the city’s image. In this day and age, social media is a huge part of everyday life and it is very popular to post pictures in certain trendy locations such as in front of murals. These murals, in turn, become even more popular due to this increased attention. Team Orange Crush decided to take that thought and create a mural in a community where the social attention would create innovative excitement, a sense of pride, ownership in the community, and economic growth. Team Orange Crush decided to make an event of creating the mural by holding community events to get input for ideas from members of the community. The community members were also invited to join in the fun and help paint! The project was a success as it received a ton of promotion via the news and several social media channels. Even more importantly, the team received tremendous feedback and support from members of the community as they were ecstatic with the end result.
Please see below for pictures as well as a video of the mural. Great job team Orange Crush!
