Member Stories: Skip Vanderburg of Athenaeum Recovery

Member Stories: Skip Vanderburg of Athenaeum Recovery

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Our Forge members are innovative, forward thinking, and considerate of our Birmingham community. Skip Vanderburg is no exception. Athenaeum Recovery, Skip’s newest undertaking, is a platform that helps loved ones of those suffering from addiction navigate the path to recovery.

Why did you decide to start Athenaeum Recovery?

I have been in recovery for over 9 years. Our investors came to me in San Francisco and asked if I would advise them on this concept of bringing people together who have loved ones with addiction issues or individuals seeking to learn and get recovery. The mission is to help facilitate the aggregation of recovery centers, information about addiction recovery, a safe place for those to come to and discuss openly about addiction and join a community of like-minded people. Additionally, we are building out a Recovery Experience Platform to help recovery centers, counselors and addiction specialists.

 

How do you see your company impacting the Birmingham community in the future?

Our initial launch plan is to help those within the community and surroundings of Birmingham, receive guidance on addiction, local and align recovery needs to resources, and connect the community in an online safe and controlled environment for recovery. Ultimately using Birmingham as the test market we want to scale this program.

What are the next steps for Athenaeum Recovery?

Our next steps at Athenaeum Recovery is not only scale to a national or even global presence, but to develop a multichannel solution suite for beyond the recovery center. An example is engagement and becoming part of larger organization’s CSR programs, which are programs to bring positive impact to the community they serve in.

 

 Why did you decide to join Forge? When did you become a member?

We joined in April. And the reason was we had to hit the ground running. Time is everything in addiction. People are dying daily. We need infrastructure, a place to work and conduct meetings. Forge was ready fit for that to help us on day one to be launched. 

 

What is your favorite aspect of coworking?

Having spent over 2 decades in Silicon Valley, coworking environments are somewhat something we did years ago, so I am very familiar with it. I have been a member of WeWork in the past, which is similar to Forge, so it was a no brainer to locate such a facility in Birmingham and get launched as quickly as we could and Forge has definitely enabled us to do just that.

 

Member Stories: Alex Brackett with Hole In The Wall

Member Stories: Alex Brackett with Hole In The Wall

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Homeowners and businesses often complain that a contractor has made a mess of their home or office and left them with a substandard repair. Hole In The Wall was created to fill this void! Hole In The Wall is a reliable drywall company dedicated to quick, clean, and convenient repairs. Alex Brackett recently joined Forge as he is expanding Hole In The Wall to the Birmingham market.

1. I know you recently moved to Birmingham, what brought you here?

We moved to Birmingham because we were looking for a place to raise our family, and be closer to a non profit that we really care about that is having a huge impact on it’s community.  We also have friends who are like family here and it’s great to be connected with other families with kids that are the same age as ours. I feel that doing life with people you love is the best way to do life. 

2. How does Hole In The Wall differentiate themselves from other construction related businesses?

 

We are different because we are professional. Have you ever tried to get a contractor to show up on time, keep the price you were quoted, clean up the mess they made in your house or just communicate with you? We thought that should change, so we added professionalism to drywall. We will bend over backwards to make sure we communicate with you, and leave your home better than we found it. 

3. How are you different than a contractor or handyman?

A handyman is a jack of all trades, but master of none. We are specialists. All of our technicians are background checked. We give you a 1 year warranty, we show up on time, we have  a fully supported office for timely responses and we use a dust-free process to keep your house free from dust. Our company is well reviewed and not going anywhere. 

4. How are you working to get the word out in Birmingham?

We are doing three things. First, if you type in Drywall Repair Birmingham, AL in Google you will see our ad at the top of the page, and we are at the top of the list for drywall companies. Second, I am reaching out to every company who makes holes. Plumbers, electricians, roofers, restoration companies ect.. all leave holes in your home when they do a  repair from a leak. They typically leave the home or business owner with the task of finding someone to fix the drywall. Third, we are using word of mouth by asking every one who has had a repair to review us on one of the one of many platforms, google, home advisor, yelp or Angie’s list. 

 

5. Why did you choose to work from Forge?

We chose the Forge because it is a great location in Birmingham, we love the atmosphere and the price was perfect for what we needed right now. I couldn’t have asked for anything better! 

Lincoln Theatre undergoes restoration in Bessemer. Learn about the revitalization of this “arts desert” and the women behind it.

Lincoln Theatre undergoes restoration in Bessemer. Learn about the revitalization of this “arts desert” and the women behind it.

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Downtown Bessemer’s Lincoln Theatre is getting a facelift! Being restored to help revitalize the arts within the community, the Lincoln Theatre is a historic African American theatre in downtown Bessemer. Keep reading for more info on the project and the two inspiring women behind it—Glenny Brock and Mary Holland.

Brock is a project consultant and currently works with the Alabama and Lyric theatres. Holland is the mother of actor Andre Holland and one of the founding members of the Holland Project.

Established in 2018 and spearheaded by Andre Holland, the Holland Project will own and operate the Lincoln Theatre when its restoration is complete. Holland’s goal is to provide access to the arts for Bessemer and surrounding areas.

 

The History

The Lincoln Theatre was built in 1948 as an African American movie theatre and closed in the 1970s. Many historic theatres, including the Lincoln, have been used for other purposes since their closing, or even completely demolished.

 

Holland has many memories of visiting the theatre when she was young, stating that at the time, it was considered to be the “African American entertainment district” in downtown Bessemer.

Brock and Holland hope to restore and revitalize as much of the original structure as possible while also creating a modern community space. The original marquee is still intact and will remain on the building to signify its history.

 

Big Plans

Brock and Holland hope the theatre will be completed by the end of 2020/2021. In June of this year, they received a $21,000 design grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. This grant will be used for signage and the marquee in order to make it more visible to the community. The Lincoln also has a commitment for a historic facade grant of $100,000 from the city of Bessemer.

 

The women described Bessemer as an “arts desert.” They want to allow everyone in the Bessemer area, especially children, to have access to the arts and entertainment.

“There is not much access to the arts…I want to expose all kids to a wide range of activities. Children should be exposed to the arts without having to travel outside of their city.”

Mary Holland

The Lincoln has also hosted its first volunteer clean up day in July. People from the Bessemer Historic Society, community members, friends and relatives came out to help.

 

Working at Forge

Although the hands-on work gets done at the theatre, Brock and Holland say that they enjoy working at Forge for all of their paperwork, applications, meetings and more.

Bham Now: Why do you like working at Forge?

Holland: The thing I like most about working at Forge is the atmosphere and the energy that is generated by everyone there. I feel that I’m surrounded by a diverse group of people who are there to bring about positive change for our community.  It’s contagious and makes me want to do more!

Brock: That grant that we won, we wrote the application at Forge. In the middle of the night. Then we did a second Lincoln grant, quite a lot. Then we met with Sidewalk here. We got a lot done here. It’s a great place to come and get good work done.

 

 

Want to follow the renovation process? Follow @bamalincolnon Instagram to stay updated!

Member Stories: Will Loper with Rouse Media

Member Stories: Will Loper with Rouse Media

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The Forge community strives because of all of our great members in a wide range of industries. Forge member Will Loper is a Forge member working with Rouse Media, a digital marketing agency. With so many similar companies in Birmingham, we wanted to find out what differentiates Rouse Media. 

1. How does Rouse Media set themselves apart from other digital marketing agencies?

We set ourselves apart by our personal touch that our employees provide. At Rouse, we believe that our biggest asset is our employees. They are willing and able to provide unique, tailored solutions to our clients, which helps create and sustain relationships. When we walk into a business, we’re your friend that’s here to help!

2. Why types of clients do you work with?

Rouse has the ability to work with any size business, but most of our client base is small to mid-level sized businesses, that are at the point where they need to hire a full time marketer, or need to hire a marketer so they can focus on the core of their business. You can hire a full time marketer for your business, or you can hire a full-team of professionals for the same price or less.

 

We’re actively targeting companies that are at the point where they need a digital marketing presence. They are at the point where they need to hire an internal marketing person, but for the same price or less, you can hire a team of marketing specialists

3. How is the performance of your digital marketing strategy measured?

 

There are many ways we can measure the results of your digital marketing strategy, and we like to leave it up to you and your company. Every industry and every client that we work with has different preferences and tastes. We personally enjoy swinging by your office to say hey, or tag along in marketing meetings to go over our monthly analytical reports! This helps us stay up to date with big things happening in your business!

4. Why did you choose to work from Forge?

 

Choosing to work at the Forge was an easy choice. We love the modern atmosphere, and the positive environment. We are surrounded by other professionals trying to accomplish goals for their business, and we love the opportunity to network and be right in the heart of downtown Birmingham.

4 Reasons Why It’s Way Better to Book a Conference Room in a Coworking Space

4 Reasons Why It’s Way Better to Book a Conference Room in a Coworking Space

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Looking for a board meeting or offsite meeting for your group can be tricky. Most people will call a hotel to book a meeting room but there are several reasons why scheduling your meeting in a coworking space is much easier. Coworking spaces can usually accommodate a wide range of group sizes- from very small to large. For conference rooms, meeting space and event space, a shared workspace offers a superior experience compared to hotels for a few reasons.

4 Reasons Why Booking a Conference Room at a Coworking Space is Better:

1. Extraordinary Service

Hotels are primarily focused on renting rooms and larger event space. But coworking spaces concentrate on creating a great experience in their meeting space for both the host and visitors. Coworking spaces have dedicated staff to plan and execute your meeting well. At Forge, our staff is available to help connect your device to our TV, make coffee, provide drinks and snacks and much more. 

2. Easy Reservations

When booking a meeting space at a hotel, usually there will be multiple people you will be contacting. Coworking spaces make the booking process as easy as possible. Through the Forge website you can directly book a conference room and see the availability for each room on the synced calendar. Nonmembers and visitors can seamlessly book a conference room by the hour through the website.

3. Better Accomodations

Coworking spaces have innovative space and their staff thinks through each detail of what is required for a smooth meeting. At Forge, all of our meeting spaces are equipped with a TV (connectivity with Apple TV, HDMI cords and bluetooth) , whiteboards, and includes wi-fi. And the best part about it, you are not charged extra for the use of these items. If you want, you can easily add snacks, drinks and coffee to your reservation.

 

4. Natural Light

Don’t underestimate the importance of natural light in a workspace or meeting room! Natural light significantly improves productivity and overall mood. The Forge workspace is filled with natural light and we believe its vital. Using a conference room in a hotel room is usually dark with only overhead light and there is a significant difference with a bright, airy space.

Because we often have visitors returning to our conference rooms for offsite meetings or board meetings at Forge, we now offer a package for meeting rooms. By purchasing a package, you’ll get a discount!

 

  • 10 Hour Pass for the Cahaba or Vulcan Room : $280

 

  • 10 Hour Pass for the Penthouse Room : $400

 

  • 5 Hour Pass for Cahaba or Vulcan : $150

If you need meeting space, you can book a room at Forge for group sizes from 4 to 30. We also have event space available for groups of up to 100 people. Book directly here! Or give us a call at 205-870-7558 and we can answer any questions.