Author: peggy

I listen to people, especially strangers, and tell their stories to give them a voice. Stories are the human connections that help us find common ground. They break down the invisible walls that keep us from knowing each other and help us see life from a different point of view. I grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi and am in love with Mobile, Alabama. The Delta and the Birthplace of Mardi Gras are my favorite places for pictures and stories, but I do this everywhere I go for my blog Our Southern Souls (that also became a book). The dream of writing began with The Southern Rambler and now I write investigative stories for Lagniappe and report for Alabama Public Radio. My series about domestic violence, “From Hell to Hope” won first place in feature writing in 2019 from the Alabama Press Association and my series about sex trafficking, “Sexual Slavery in South Alabama” won the 2020 William H. Johnson Print Journalism Award given by the Medical Association for the State of Alabama and the second place in feature writing for the Green Eyeshade Awards that recognizes excellence in journalism in the southeast. I started the Facebook groups “Faces of Mobile” and “A Day in the Life of Mobile” to show the beauty in the daily life and small moments of a city that is finally reaching it’s potential. People and their stories are where I find inspiration and hope that makes sense in a crazy world.

Born and raised in Mobile, Dr. Zarzour is a fellowship-trained hip and knee replacement surgeon and president of Gulf Orthopaedics.

He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, so he’s a Dawg, but also a double Jaguar with his medical school and residency training being completed here in Mobile at USA. He did his fellowship in joint replacement at Mississippi Sports Medicine in Jackson, MS. 

His goals are to increase his patient’s activity level while reducing hip & knee pain. He applies the latest literature-based techniques with respect to minimally invasive surgical approaches, peri-operative anesthesia, outpatient joint replacement and partial knee replacement while continuing to live by the lessons learned from his father- who many of you knew- Dr. Robert Zarzour, who taught him to focus on treating each patient like family.

Outside of orthopaedics, his involvement in the community is unparalleled. Dr. Z is co-founder of the Fuse Project, a local non-profit, dedicated to increasing opportunities for children across the Alabama Gulf Coast. It is not surprising that Becker’s Healthcare Ambulatory Surgery Center Review, listed Dr. Zarzour as one of 10 total joint physicians to know.

Dr. Robert Lightfoot serves as Executive/Medical Director. Dr. Lightfoot graduated summa cum laude from Auburn University. He graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham College of Medicine with honors. After completing his internship and residency at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in 1986, Dr. Lightfoot joined his brother in Mobile, Alabama where he practiced as a general surgeon for 17 years at Providence Hospital. Victory Health Partners is entering into its 20^th year and has provided compassionate and comprehensive healthcare to over 30,000 adults who do not have health insurance throughout the Gulf Coast. Dr. Lightfoot has been married to his wife and the co-founder of Victory, Tami, for over 30 years. They are blessed to be the parents of six children and 14 grandchildren. They are active within their church, Church of His Presence.

Dr. Jeremiah Newell is the Chief Operating Officer of the Mobile Area Education Foundation (MAEF) and Founder/Superintendent of MAEF Public Charter Schools, a 5-year old charter management organization, which includes two public, tuition-free schools. Accel Day and Evening Academy, Alabama’s first public charter school, serves grades 9-12, and ACCEL Preparatory Academy currently serves grades 6 & 7 and will expand to 8th grade in the 2022-23 school year. ACCEL’s schools offer a next generation learning space, which includes innovative, personalized learning environments that meet students where they are and put them on a path to achieve their dreams after high school. These tuition-free, public schools currently serve 450 students and will grow to serve 850 students over the next three years.

Most recently, Jeremiah served as a Harvard Fellow at the Rhode Island Department of Education. In this capacity, he worked as chief of staff for the Division of Accelerating School Performance, which directed charter schools, low-performing schools, and federal programs.  In his previous experience, Jeremiah taught at the middle and high school levels, launched and led innovative secondary school models, and directed secondary school turnaround efforts in Mobile, Alabama.

Jeremiah received his B.S. in Secondary Education/Language Arts from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, received graduate level training in Instructional Design and Development from the University of South Alabama, and earned a Doctorate of Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Bio for Will Edmonds

In 1995 Will Edmonds was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar out of our Mobile Rotary Club, which is how he was later able to study in Belgium.  He graduated from the University of Mobile in 1997 with a double major in French and International business.  While in college, he studied in FRANCE, at the Institut de Tourraine, and in BELGIUM, at the Universite Catholique Centre des Langues.  In 2007, he completed a Master of Education with a concentration in French at the University of South Alabama.  In 2009, he achieved National Board Certification in World Languages, and successfully renewed that certification in 2018.  Will taught French 1, 2, 3, and IB 4 for 20 years at Davidson High School in Mobile.  He is now teaching French at Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies.

Bill Tobin, Rotary Relations Manager, ShelterBox USA
A member of the Rotary Club of El Dorado Hills California since 2004, Bill Tobin has served
in several club and district roles and is a major donor to The Rotary Foundation. In 2016-2017
Rotary District 5180 awarded Bill “Rotarian of the Year” for his active and dedicated service
to Rotary, and for his commitment to ShelterBox.
Since learning about ShelterBox in 2010, Bill has shared the project to over 400 Rotary Clubs,
organized fundraisers, and helped develop strategies for donor engagement and volunteer
training. For his volunteer efforts, Bill received the United States Presidential Volunteer Service
Award seven times.
After retiring from a 30 year career as a nuclear power plant inspector, Bill became certified in
Non-Profit management through the University of the Pacific and joined the fulltime staff at
ShelterBox as USA Rotary Relations Manager in January 2019.
Bill is married to Sherie for 38 years, she is an Assistant Governor in District 5180. They have
two sons and a daughter in law.
About ShelterBox:
ShelterBox was founded to provide emergency shelter to people affected by disasters and
humanitarian crises around the world. In April 2000, the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in
Cornwall, England adopted ShelterBox as its millennium project. Little did they know that it
would become the largest Rotary Club project in the world, with affiliates in countries across
the globe. Since 2000, ShelterBox staff and volunteers have helped to shelter over 2 million
people in more than 100 countries around the world

Brian Harold is Managing Director of APM Terminals Mobile (formerly Mobile Container Terminal) at Choctaw Point in the Port of Mobile, and has held that position since 2010. He is a graduate of West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV and holds a B.S.D. in Finance. With nineteen years of experience in the logistics industry, Mr. Harold has held various positions in liner management as well as inland and seaport operations. Since taking over as Managing Director of the Mobile facility, the Port of Mobile has regularly ranked as one of the fastest growing ports in North America for containerized cargo.  The facility has undergone 2 expansions totaling over $100m in investment, and APMT has also opened an Intermodal Rail Facility in Mobile which Mr. Harold oversees.  He was with Maersk Sealand in Prague, Czech Republic from 2002 to 2004, primarily focusing on intermodal logistics. Prior to relocating to Alabama, he was most recently with APM Terminals in the Port of New York/New Jersey from 2004 until 2010 where he held the position of Director of Ter­minal Operations at their Port Elizabeth facility in New Jersey. His responsibilities there included oversight of day-to-day operations, labor relations and strategic development of the facility.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Mobile Steamship Association, the Mobile Propeller Club, and is Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors for the MSSA-ILA Pension and Welfare Funds.  Mr. Harold also served on the Board of Directors of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and is currently on the Chamber’s Board of Advisors.

David serves at the Vice President of Economic Development at the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce. He joined the economic development department in January 2015. David’s department is the lead economic development agency for the City of Mobile and Mobile County. Under his role, David oversees the day-to-day operations of the department that consist of industrial recruitment, international trade, foreign direct investment, workforce development, talent attraction, and existing industry relations. Prior to his role as Vice President, David served as the Senior Project Manager and Project Manager where he managed lead generation, project recruitment activity, and industrial site development for the Mobile area. Some of David’s recent projects to announce in Mobile include the Walmart Imported Distribution Center, the expansion of the Airbus and Bombardier Final Assembly Line expansion, and the reinvestment of AM/NS Calvert. David serves on the Board of Directors for the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission, USA Center for Real Estate and Economic Development, and the South Alabama Workforce Development Council, where he currently serves as Chairman. David was born and raised in Mobile and attended the University of Southern Mississippi. He has completed the University of Alabama Economic Honors Program and Oklahoma University’s Economic Development Institute.