Wade on March 2007
By Wade KwonThen and now
In like a lion: Eight students died in a spate of tornadoes March 1 at Enterprise High School. The community continues to rebuild, but paused Thursday for graduation ceremonies. Two chairs were left empty for Jessica Bullinger and Melinda Gooch, two of the 21 valedictorians honored. Our pal Bob Johnson has the story.
No celebs invaded the graduation, unlike the prom that featured food by chef/talk show host Rachel Ray and music by pop singer Mandy Moore (shown below).
Start of something new: One of Birmingham’s most visible young professional groups lost its head. Sort of. Cherie Fields decided to step down as executive director of Catalyst, with the board taking on responsibility for the organization’s new direction. It has been working on Sustain City Stages during the past six months, and apparently in as low visibility as possible. Still, the combined effort has netted $780,000, short of the $1 million goal but enough to take care of most of the festival’s debt.
Meanwhile, the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce has taken on a greater role in rallying young professionals, including the ironically named Cool School and the June 21 YP Expo. The cause lives, even as its leaders shuffle.
Off the runway: The second reject in the latest cycle of “America’s Next Top Model” was none other than self-described dork Samantha Francis. Take another look at the Pinson teen as she fields fans’ questions.
Haiku flashback
the end of myspace [March 2]
Generic whore would
like to be your friend and swipe
credit card numbers.
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Archives: March
Special report: Wade on 2007
