July 2026 | Volume 14 | Issue 10
HOOVER’S COMMUNITY NEWS SOURCE HOOVERSUN.COM | STARNESMEDIA.COM
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SERVING HOOVER, HOMEWOOD, MOUNTAIN BROOK, VESTAVIA HILLS, TRUSSVILLE AND THE 280 CORRIDOR
Manufacturing Good Nonprofit started by 2 Hoover firefighters steers young men into productive lives By BRYAN BRASHER Quindarius Johnson was 17 years old and just out of A.H. Parker High school, preparing to move in with a few of his childhood friends, when his mother, Sherese Phillips, put her foot down. Recognizing the dangers of a young man trying to make his way through innercity Birmingham, she worked through Common Thread Community Church to align her son with a nonprofit called Magic City Woodworks that was started by two Hoover firefighters. That was 2013, and the nonprofit has since changed its name to Manufacture Good, but its overriding mission is still the same: providing a refuge for young men needing direction at an early age. The faith-based organization started by Hoover firefighters Tim Lawson and Lawrence Sheffield builds custom furniture, and those working apprenticeships are paid $15 per hour. Apprentices are guaranteed 480 hours of hands-on experience during their 12-week stint with the nonprofit.
Apprentices at the Manufacture Good facility sand wood as they make cutting boards. Photo by David Leong.
Will Adams earns Mr. Baseball, Gatorade Player of the Year honors By KYLE PARMLEY
See GOOD | page 26 Hoover’s Will Adams. Photo courtesy of Parisa Dudley.
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INSIDE
Adam Moseley has seen a number of baseball players come through the Hoover High School program. He knows what greatness looks like, and he knows how rare it actually is. What he saw from Will Adams every day was something different. “He has an elite level of preparation in all facets of the game,” the Hoover head coach said. “He takes it
Sponsors.................. 4 City............................ 6
Business...................8 Schoolhouse...........12
Sports......................16 Events......................21
to a level that is just unusual and you don’t see all the time. A lot of kids today choose to do the socially fun thing over their participation in their sport. Will is not that way in any form.” That standard — the one Adams set for himself and kept every single day — produced one of the finest individual seasons in Hoover baseball history.
See GATORADE | page 27 Life..........................24
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Recreation
Ballpark stars
Hoover plans to study greenway trails in Riverchase.
Bucs, Jags make All-South Metro baseball, softball teams
See page 6
See pages 16 and 18
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