Leah Ingram Eagle
Shelby Chamber Small Business Award Winners
From L-R: Brittani Morris, Khiari McAlpin, Kim Phillips, Dr. Jay Crisman and Maurice Mercer
The five recipients of the Shelby County Small Business of the Year Awards spoke at Thursday’s Chamber Connections Luncheon at First Baptist Church of Columbiana.
The business owners shared how they started their companies, lessons they’ve learned and their secrets to success and growth. They all agreed on one thing: take care of the customers and take care of your staff.
The winner of Category 1, Brittani Morris, State Farm agent, shared that when she opened her office in 2016, she became the youngest State Farm agent in the country. This is the second time she has won this award presented by the chamber.
“I couldn’t do what I do without my staff,” Morris said. “You have to find the right people and take care of them.”
For more information, visit brittanimorrisinsurance.com.
Vinehouse Nursery in Alabaster was the Category 2 winner. The childcare facility was opened by Khiari McAlpin in October 2017. The facility is 100% eco-friendly and offers a variety of programs for infants and parents and care for children as young as 6 weeks old.
“We have grown from two to eight full-time employees and will soon be adding more,” McAlpin said. “We also doubled our clientele over the past year.”
For more information on Vinehouse Nursery, visit vinehousenursery.com.
In Category 3, the winner was Kat's Delivery, owned by Maurice Mercer. Mercer started the company in 2014 as a grocery and meal delivery service, but as times have changed, he has switched his focus and is now doing on-demand delivery, catering delivery and retail delivery to both residential and commercial clients in the Metro Birmingham area.
For more information on Kats Delivery, visit katsdelivery.com.
The Category 4 winner was 280 Animal Medical Center in Westover, which was purchased in 2006 by Dr. Jay Crisman, who said their doctors and staff are committed to providing “Big City Quality, Small Town caring” at every visit and they strive to take care of people through their pets.
For more information on 280 Animal Medical Center, visit 280amc.com.
Shiloh Clays was the winner of Category 5. The new small business, open less than one year, has only two employees: owners Butch and Kim Phillips. They opened their 18-station sporting clay range in Calera in 2018. They also offer training classes and clinics.
For more information on Shiloh Clays, visit shilohclays.com.
The next Chamber Connections Luncheon will be August 1 at 11:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Columbiana and feature a presentation from the ABI-ADECA Director.
