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(06/14/14 12:00pm)
When my fiance suggested that I attend the inaugural Auburn Women's Football camp, I wasn't exactly on board from the get-go.
I couldn't think of anything more intimidating than surrounding myself with diehard Auburn football fans for a whole day while trying to learn the technicalities of football, a subject that has never been my strong suit.
I've lived in Alabama my entire life, but football was never a part of my upbringing.
I understood the game at its most basic level.
I knew the positions and the faces of the big-name player for each team.
I knew what a fumble was.
I knew what calls the refs were making at least half of the time.
But as far as Auburn-specific football, I was a rookie.
But then, I took a deep breath and decided to attend the camp with my future mother-in-law, Martha.
I was expecting to enjoy a fun day with Martha, while Nate spent the day hanging around Auburn with his dad.
I thought, at the most, I'd get a few autographs.
However, what I got out of this experience was much more.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me.
I graduated from Auburn in May and have since moved to Birmingham. Throughout my four years on the Plains, I never went on the field or in the locker room.
I had never seen the new athletic facilities, including the new indoor football field.
I didn't understand the key components to our Hurry-Up, No-Huddle offense or our defense.
And I never knew how much creativity, patience and skill it took to be the Tiger's equipment manager.
However, after eight hours of intense lectures, tours, meet-and-greets and videos, I feel like I'm up to speed.
I even got to meet Gus Malzahn, spend time with his coaching staff and eat lunch with Travis Williams, current defensive analyst, former Auburn linebacker and rapper who created the "Tiger Walk" song.
Even though I enjoyed everything offered to us at this day camp, my favorite segment, by far, was the presentation by Dana Marquez, the equipment manager of the only certified equipment staff in the SEC.
Marquez patented a shoulder pad, both the soft and hard shells, that only weighs 3.8 pounds when dry or wet. Most shoulder pads weigh between 15 and 20 pounds by the end of a game.
Not only that, he also put himself through culinary school while working for several teams in various sports across the country before his arrival at Auburn.
Marquez was funny, well spoken and charming, so much so that one of the attendees asked if he was interested in "older women."
Needless to say, the entire room erupted in laughter.
I couldn't have asked for a more immersive way to wrap my head around something that for so long was completely foreign to me, and for this being the first year the University has hosted a football camp exclusively for women, I applaud it for an invaluable experience that I'll always cherish, along with all of the other memories I made at Auburn.
I am excited to see how next year's camp unfolds.
I'm sure it will be an even greater success than this year's.
I also couldn't have asked to spend the day with more inspirational women.
These women are at the heart of the Auburn family.
They're the great-grandmothers, grandmothers and mothers of current students.
They're the alumnae who helped make the University and the football program what it is today.
I can only hope to be as dedicated, loud and loyal as these women are by the time I'm their age.
(03/30/14 3:30pm)
I'm an adventurous chef, but I like to stick to a recipe. I'm not great at just throwing things together from memory or imagination. That's why I love Pinterest. I spend the majority of my free time browsing the "Food and Drinks" category for anything that catches my eye, whether it's homemade sushi, frozen Greek yogurt or a variety of desserts that utilize the phenomenon that is dark chocolate. However, I recently found a recipe that blew my taste buds out of the water. Its name intimidated me at first, but I decided to brave the task and try it out for my boyfriend's birthday dinner. This Cajun Conecuh Sausage, shrimp and quinoa casserole was dynamite and easy to make, and I can't wait to make it again. I got it from a blog called This Gal Cooks, and the original recipe doesn't call for Conecuh sausage, but, hey, what's a Cajun meal without Conecuh sausage? Plus, it's one of my boyfriend's favorite foods, and it transformed the flavors of this dish. Anyone with an appreciation for Cajun cuisine and healthy-spins on meals will love this recipe as much as I do. Also, if you're not fan of quinoa, you can sub the quinoa with brown rice. Nutritional content: Calorie content for 4 large (approximately 1.5 C) servings is around 410 calories per serving. For 6 (approximately 1 C) small servings, the calorie count is about 270 calories per serving.
Ingredients:
(03/20/14 3:30pm)
Tangela Johnson isn't fond of handshakes.
She'll slap that outreached hand away almost as though she was offended. However, she is a hugger. She will smile widely and insist on a hug. Her embrace is short-lived, but its warmth lingers.
In her living room, dozens of framed photographs portraying her loved ones--children, grandchildren, extended family and friends--smile up at the onlooker.
Her trophies, her most treasured possessions, are the memories tied to them.
Even though she's living in subsidized housing, Johnson considers herself the richest she's ever been, and those photographs are proof she's right.
However, Johnson hasn't always been so opulent.
While growing up in Detroit, Mich., Johnson endured hardships.
At age 4, she was molested.
Fourteen years later, she was raped.
At 20, while "feeding off of the depression (she) was already in and trying to hide those secrets," she propelled herself into an emotionally, physically and verbally abusive marriage.
At a time in a young woman's life when she is flooded with opportunity and optimism, Johnson found herself spiraling into a life-threatening depression. She was a victim, and she knew it. Even worse, she believed that was all she could be.
"Is this me?," Johnson said looking down at the floor ashamedly.
"Is this all that I have? Is this what my life is about? I just kinda gave in to that. I felt like I didn't have anywhere else to go in my life."
"You can't feel sorry for yourself, and I found myself doing that. That was not me. That was not the woman God wanted me to be. I couldn't see myself being the victim all my life."
Had Johnson continued to victimize herself, her story may have ended there.
However, she took hold of her own fate the day she decided to leave Detroit, move herself and her family to Auburn and write her story down on paper.
"After everything I went through, God got me through it," Johnson said. "I'm here, and I'm here for a reason. It didn't kill me. It made me stronger, even though I gave up many times."
What started off as a self-medicating diary metamorphosed 12 years later into a self-published autobiography titled "Can a Storm be Weathered? Memoirs of a Broken Past." Going by the pen name Ta'Ressa, Johnson wrote about her life experiences, and she spared no details.
Ta'Ressa told Johnson's story and gave a needed voice to free herself of her past.
"I had to take things in my own hands and put it out there," Johnson said. "My book is basically about secrets--secrets we hold in our families--and that doesn't do anything but torment you.
"You hold that secret in so that your family doesn't get overwhelmed or embarrassed, but what about how you feel? My thing was to let my secret out. So, I let my secret out."
By releasing her secrets, this novel served as Johnson's agent to empower women in her neighborhood to come forward about their own abusive pasts and catalyze their recoveries.
Through her testimony, Johnson ministered inspiration and encouragement to those in similar situations.
"My book is [here] to let people know you don't have to stay where you are in life," Johnson said. "A lot of people like to carry their past with them, and they feed off of it, and it becomes a tool that they use to gather sympathy.
"Well, you ought to be saying, 'I'm a victor. I've got a testimony. This is where I came from.' I refuse to be broken, and you can always move forward."
(03/17/14 7:09pm)
Today, the majority of our social interaction happens online through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs and even online dating websites.
So, why should shopping be any exception? In a time where we seclude ourselves with our smartphones and computer screens, online shopping is a rising trend.
Clothing and fashion stores around Auburn aren't naive to this modern shopping style. Many shops in the downtown area direct most of their consumers' attention to their respective websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and Instagram accounts.
And even though most of these stores and boutiques are in walking distance of campus, students and Auburn residents still choose to shop from the comfort of their own homes.
Gwen Baer, senior in public relations and marketing and public relations intern at Ellie clothing boutique, said Ellie customers choose to shop online because of the personable relationship she and her coworkers have instituted through their store's Internet persona.
Since the store's re-launching of its website last fall, Baer said they have added their own personal touch to their customers' online shopping experience.
"When we ship out clothes on the website, we include a personal handwritten note and wrap it (ourselves)," Baer said. "The whole point about it being Ellie is that we're all friends, and we want to treat people that way, on the website like we do in the store."
Almost all of the smaller boutiques around the main campus, including Therapy and Private Gallery, have various social media accounts to try to build a similarly personal relationship with their followers like they do with their in-store customers.
Although it stems from a larger, worldwide company, the Gap store is no exception from this style of business.
Dee Darden, assistant store manager at Gap, said most people come into this store to shop, but that she and her coworkers encourage people to visit their Facebook page and Twitter feed.
"We try to post our daily deals so that people know what's going on in the store from wherever they are," Darden said. "We use social media mostly to get those [in-store deals and promotions] out to the public."
Others stores, such as Behind the Glass, don't have a website, but that doesn't keep people from shopping their wide selection of clothing and accessories in the store.
We live in an age where social media is a key tool for communication. We follow, share, re-tweet, favorite, like, poke and direct message, and the stores around downtown Auburn are jumping on the bandwagon.
With strong, personal online interactions that mirror their equally personal in-store experience, it's no surprise that online shopping is on the rise on the Plains.
(02/05/14 7:25am)
It wasn't until the credits started rolling that I fully realized what I had just experienced. It was a revolutionary film, one that defied everything its predecessors valued.
I grew up in an age where young girls expected to sit around and wait for their charming princes to show up at the most opportune moment and rescue them from their lackluster lives, like Rapunzel being rescued from her tower and evil maternal impersonator, or Ariel abandoning her underwater kingdom at 16 to follow the first male biped she saw.
I started to think Disney movies would always portray its female protagonists as helpless damsels in distress who could only find happiness and true love by being rescued by the first man they laid eyes on, who also happened to be a dapper, young prince. However, Frozen opened my eyes to an entirely new kind of Disney movie on the rise, where women are able to take care of themselves.
Gasp. I know. What a notion! A young princess whose search for true love ends with her love for her sister and not for a studly young prince.
Who would have thought Disney would stray so far from what Walt started back in 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and end up with movies such as The Princess and the Frog, which not only starred Disney's first African American protagonist, but also embraced the importance of hard work to make your own dreams come true instead of wishing on stars; Brave, in which a young princess who refuses to give in to the pressure of getting married at a young age just to appease an outdated tradition and whose quest for true love and understanding ends up being a perilous adventure to mend her relationship with her mother; and, lastly, Tangled, a fairy tale of Rapunzel being locked away in a tower not to be rescued by a prince, but by a thief who turns good as a result of his love for the young maiden changing his outlook on life.
Frozen explored an entirely new kind of true love and even poked fun at the idea of a princess getting engaged to a man after knowing him for virtually no time at all. It was modern and realistic, at least as realistic as Disney movies can be.
Sure, there's no way a snowman named Olaf aching for life in the sun could be real, or an innocent princess could be plagued by an icy gift disguised as a curse that feeds on fear, but it is realistic for two young sisters to fight for their love for one another and focus on that relationship above all else.
This set a precedent for future Disney fairy tale films. We've outgrown the stories of teenage princesses being swept off their feet by the first man each of them came across, and we've entered a genre of Disney where the princesses can rescue themselves and having a handsome prince on their arms is just an added bonus.
(07/14/13 1:00pm)
Stewart Harvard is a 57-year-old native of Columbus, Ga., who spends his free time with his wife Candy, their three corgis and their 25-year-old son, who's working toward his master's degree in public administration at Auburn.
However, when he's working he raises border collies, grass-fed sheep, chickens and turkeys. He also trains collies for herding and German shepherds for police work and races pigeons at Marengo Creek Farms in Crawford, his fully-operative, 265-acre sheep farm and dog boarding facility.
When he's not working from his home at the farm, he's traveling on business to Germany to buy German shepherds to sell to police departments across the nation to work as patrol, search and rescue, drug, tracking and officer protection dogs.
The farm once belonged to Stewart's grandfather, who raised and sold cattle, and Stewart knew from an early age he would want to follow in his grandfather's footsteps as a farmer and work with animals.
"I went one quarter to college, and then I said, 'No, I'm going to go to work,' and I've been working ever since," Harvard said.
Directly out of high school he decided college wasn't the right path for him. After working in one of his father's paint stores for a week and deciding that wasn't right for him either, he went to work for his uncle in his insulation business. Stewart bought the business on a 10-year payment plan and satisfied the plan in a year and a half with only himself and four other men on staff.
After three years in the insulation business, the three fiberglass industries that existed at this time went on strike. Stewart was left without a product. In 1978, he used this as an opportunity to consolidate the company and go to the American Canine Training Centers in Nashville, Tenn., to learn how to be a professional dog trainer.
"I grew up an animal lover... and I always knew that I wanted to do something with animals," Harvard said. "So, I did that and I wanted to get back here. It was my way to get back to this farm."
Harvard's neighbor, Bill Cantrell, owns a horse-training facility directly behind his property, and it was the influence of this man and the success of his animal training business that inspired Stewart to pursue his dream of making a living as a professional dog trainer.
"The key is finding out what you're passionate about and making a career out of it,"Harvard said."I thought that if Bill Cantrell can make a living training horses, and since more people are working on dogs than they're working on horses, why couldn't I make a living training dogs?"
Jade Dwelley, Harvard's former client, said she and her dog benefitted from his training.
"She definitely listens to me better," Dwelley said. "I know how to coax her into getting her to do stuff with the help of what Stewart's taught me."
By the time he was 22 years old, Harvard married Candy and opened a training facility on his family's farm.
"When I came back in 1978, my dad wanted me to go back to rebuilding houses with him, and I said, 'No, I want to be a dog trainer,'" Harvard said. "So, my grandfather loaned me some money to build Harvard's K-9 Training Center, which is the front half of the kennel, and I was able to pay him back in half the time."
Because many people did not board their dogs, Stewart had to gain the community's interest through print advertisement, but his main means of promoting his business was through presentations at local civic clubs.
"Word of mouth has been a major part of our success in advertising for the business," Candy said. "Most of the vets around town in Auburn and Opelika know Stewart on a personal level, as well as a professional level, so they can recommend him to their clients that complain about having trouble with an unruly dog. It's personal connections like that with local police and vet offices that have made us and the farm what we are today."
In 1980, Stewart moved to Illinois to be an apprentice to Arthur Allen, the best border collie trainer in the United States at that time. By 1982, he began traveling to Germany for two weeks at a time to buy dogs to import to buyers in the states.
Through the breeders and trainers he met on these business trips, Stewart got involved with Schutzhund, which is a sport that was developed in Germany to determine the appropriate traits and characteristics of a proper working German shepherd dog. He even served as a judge at several Schutzhund competitions throughout the years in Germany and Brazil, where the sport is also popular.
After years of importing dogs from Germany and training them on his farm, along with the dogs of private owners, Stewart and Candy are finally able to enjoy themselves.
One of their favorite pre-retirement activities is pigeon racing, which includes releasing marked birds from one location and recording how long it takes them to fly home to Marengo Creek Farms via a tracker attached to one of their legs.
Stewart and Candy host border collie competitions and other herding dog competitions on their property, including events for the local Schutzhund Club.
"I still train dogs and import a few from Germany every year, but I'm getting old," Harvard said. "I've done well enough for myself so that I can do and enjoy all of what I've worked so hard to get."
(04/19/13 4:14pm)
For the third year in a row, 10 local celebrity dancers will be paired with 10 professional dancers to raise money for the Child Advocacy Center by competing against each other to be deemed the Dancing Stars of East Alabama.
(04/11/13 5:24pm)
Take a step back into 1850s pop culture Thursday, April 18 through Saturday, April 21 as the Lee County Historical Society hosts its 5th annual Lee County Gathering Old-Time Music Festival in Pioneer Park in Loachapoka sponsored in part by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
(04/01/13 4:07pm)
The Easter Bunny is coming to town on Saturday, March 30, during the City of Auburn’s 32nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Kiesel Park sponsored by Wells Fargo. This event is free to the public, and children ages 12 and under are invited to hunt for the 35,000 pre-stuffed Easter eggs hidden over a four-acre area throughout the park. Live music from Van Riggs from the 97.7 Kicker FM Morning Show, soft drinks, balloons, and the opportunity to have your child’s picture taken with the Easter Bunny will also be available at this event. The Kiwanis Club of Greater Auburn will also sell hotdogs and hamburgers, and proceeds from these sales will benefit families in need throughout the community. According to Becky Richardson, the City of Auburn Parks and Recreation director, as many as 5,000 children have attended this event in the past to hunt for eggs in Kiesel Park, and she expects a similarly successful attendance this year. “Kiesel Park is big enough so that each age group will have plenty of room to hunt in, and we will have plenty of eggs,” Richardson said. “Enough so each child will find quite a few eggs and prizes.” Most of the 35,000 eggs scattered throughout the park will contain small treats and prizes. However, there will also be 15 prize eggs hidden among the rest, including a $25 Visa Gift Card Golden Egg and a stuffed pony for each age group, all courtesy of Wells Fargo. There will be four age groups divided among the four acres filled with eggs: ages 3 and under, 4-6 years old, 7-9 years old, and 10-12 years old. All hunts will begin promptly at 11:15 a.m. in their assigned locations. Families are encouraged to get to the park by 11 a.m. at the latest to avoid any traffic that may build up and to find a place to sit during their respective hunts. “We have a lot of families that bring a blanket and set up a picnic and stay afterwards and just make a day out of it,” Richardson said. “A lot of families that buy the hamburgers and hot dogs especially stay and hang out all day. It’s a big event that’s a lot of fun for everybody.” According to Alison Hall, the community and special programs director, this event, like Kiesel Park, will be pet friendly as long as the dogs don’t hunt for the eggs. “This event is definitely dog friendly as long as the dog is on a leash or voice command, but they are not allowed to participate in the hunt or go in the hunting grounds while a hunt is taking place just because that would get a little crazy,” Hall said. “But we definitely encourage everyone to bring the family pet out for this fun event.” Hall also said this is one event you won’t want to miss. “It’s a great chance for all of the Auburn families to come together at one of our beautiful parks and enjoy a free morning and afternoon of spending great quality time together and having a lot of fun,” Hall said. “This is also a great chance to highlight the park and remind families that, especially with spring just starting, we have this beautiful park available year round for them to enjoy.”
(02/28/13 3:57pm)
Most people think of textbooks, Auburn memorabilia, quick snack foods, and free coupon books when they hear talk of a university bookstore. However, AU's campus bookstore is changing that stereotype and steering toward a more fashionable customer base.
(04/08/13 1:39am)
Get ready to get a dirty in your gardening clothes because Keep Opelika Beautiful is hosting its annual Garden in the Park event at Opelika Municipal Park on Saturday, April 6.
(03/22/13 2:14am)
A debilitating disease certainly isn't something to sing about, but why not sing on behalf of those afflicted by it? That's what the Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series is doing by having Caroline Herring take the stage this weekend at 7:30 p.m. at the Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall on Thach Avenue to raise epilepsy awareness.
(02/25/13 5:51am)
This weekend's baseball tournament ended on a warm Sunday afternoon with the Tigers uprooting the Indiana State University Sycamores 6-5 at Plainsman Park and Hitchcock Field.
(02/10/13 7:09pm)
The Lee County Historical Society sweetened its semimonthly Second Saturday event this weekend in Pioneer Park by celebrating the history embedded in heirloom cake recipes.
(02/09/13 1:38am)
The 2013 Winter Career Panel, Expo and Luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 5, at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center, discussed non-profit and philanthropic work.
(01/31/13 5:38am)
Twelve Auburn seniors competed in their last home meet at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center Saturday, Jan. 26, when the Florida Gators left their swamp to continue one of the longest rivalries in collegiate swimming and diving.
(01/28/13 3:20am)
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association's United States Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook released on Tuesday, Jan. 15, the dog days aren't over for Alabama as it is ranked 7th for dog ownership with 44.1 percent of households owning a dog.
(01/17/13 4:07am)
Local author and teacher Marlin Barton will be reading excerpts from his newest novel, "The Cross Garden" on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 4 p.m. at The Gnu's Room.
(07/27/12 3:15pm)
My name is Anna Claire Conrad, and I have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; or, at least that's what my doctor says.
(07/15/12 5:51pm)
New ownership has brought about a new aesthetically pleasing look for the Auburn University Club located on Yarbrough Farms Boulevard just past the intersection at Shug Jordan Parkway and North Donahue Drive.