Born and raised in London, Ontario, Colleen moved to Mobile in 2005 to attend
the University of South Alabama, where she got a degree in Exercise Physiology.
Colleen played volleyball for the Jags for four years then married Jason Smith of
Mobile, and they have two children, Adeline (7) and Cohen (5). Crazy ideas
aren’t new for the Smith’s, as they decided to build their own log cabin in
Lucedale, MS and live on 30 acres of land when they first got married. They lived
there for 5 years and this is really where the love for firewood began. Jason, a full
time firefighter for the City of Mobile, started cutting down trees, and splitting
firewood by hand in 2010. After experiencing all the painstaking problems that
come with doing firewood the “old school” way, the Smith’s knew there had to be
a better, more efficient way to supply firewood locally. Fast forward to 2018, they
began doing market research, including flying to a few other large scale firewood
operations around the country, as well as talking to potential local customers, and
they knew there was indeed a gap in the market for kiln-dried firewood with
reliable customer service. They made their first sale as “Mobile Bay Firewood” in
June 2019, and have grown exponentially since, including a recent move from a
5,500 square foot building to a 47,000 square foot space, which is rapidly filling
up with inventory! Named the Mobile Area Chambers Small Business of the
Month in October 2021, the Smith’s and their team know that none of this is
possible without the support of the people of Mobile and Baldwin Counties and
their continued encouragement. Despite many, many challenges, they have
managed to stumble in a forward direction and continue to grow their business
year over year!