“Judge (James) Ray and his wife were both well-known ‘characters’ in town,” Shelley says with a faint grin. “I also heard he had the dining room set up like a lending library and people would come here and check books out.”

“My dad was an innovator when it came to organic farming and early conservation. He wanted to care for the farm so that the soil would remain productive, not for him, but for the generations to come.”

“If Herbert was called to war, he would go right now—he'd walk out of that wheelchair,” says Command Sgt. Major Frye.

“Enduring the loss of my grandparents, seeing them in those vulnerable states where they were most in need of care and compassion really set me on the path toward where I am today.”

“The importance of community was ingrained in me from a very young age,” she says. “I was taught that, no matter where you live, it is imperative to be active in your community and give back in a way that helps it thrive.”

“It was 80 degrees that Sunday afternoon, and I was sitting in my stand sweating when ‘Gramps’ came out of the clearing. I caught a glimpse of the horns, and I swore he looked right at me with a scowl…I drew back, and the moment he stepped from behind the tree, I let my arrow fly.”

“I got the guys together and I said, ‘Guys, I need your help,” Bobby remembers. “’Y’all don’t know how fortunate you are to be able to go fishing just about any time that you want to go, but these kids probably get to go once a year.’

“I am blessed with such a wonderful husband,” she says. “James is my biggest supporter, so I told him his name should also be on my nursing degree because I couldn’t have done it without the love of my life.”

“The biggest blessing I've ever had was having former students come up to me in Walmart, etc., and say, ‘I want to thank you for what you did for me,’” she says. “One girl said, ‘I want to thank you for making me interested in reading. You made it fun.’”

“Sometimes life is a meandering path and you don’t know where it will take you. When you're trying to figure out what to do, if you can just do the next right thing, God leads you where He needs you.”

“I had been a constant at my grandmother’s Singer sewing machine for quite some time. It was a natural thing for me.”

“Some people have had, even in their youth, most of the breaks in life. It’s those that haven’t that need us the most.”

“One of my hopes going into office was to see our downtown grow. I wanted our children to be proud of where they're from and to want to return home to live, work, and play... and we are seeing that.”

“I sold pumpkin rolls around Christmas time, so I thought I’d try my hand in baking some cakes. I started experimenting with my own recipes, especially buttercream.”

“I had always been a closet Alabama fan and followed Alabama football, so my wife was like ‘what place would be better to go? We could work in Alabama and get to go the Alabama football games!”

“If you treat others the way you wish to be treated, and you are loyal to those who love and support you, and you live in faith, God will work in your life with best intentions for you.”

“He always had something in the closet—scrubs, etc., ready to go. That was his happy place taking care of babies.”

.”One night, Walker High School was playing Curry and I counted 11 defensive starters, 11 offensive starters, and a cheerleading complement that I had delivered,” he beams.

Morris didn’t have a childhood dream of becoming a doctor or a surgeon, nor was it a career he had planned after graduating from high school. [He] had something more valuable: his parents’ support.

“My parents told me, ‘You do what you want to do, just do it right,’” he says.

[ Dr. Steve Johnson] was working with Buddy Cross and Mike Brasfield,” he says. “He said, ‘We need some help. Why don't you come out here and practice with us?’ I wanted to live in a small town, so I said I’d try it.”