Topic: “History of Lane Park (now Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Zoo)”

Program:

• Retiree Lifestyle Speaker- Liz Smith, VP Operations Milo’s Hamburgers
• Keynote Speaker- Jason Kirby, Archivist at Birmingham Botanical Gardens Archives

On Monday July 8, 2019 at 1:00 p.m., join us at the Energy Center, the Southern Company Services/Southern Nuclear offices at the Colonnade. In a nod to this year’s Alabama State Bicentennial, come learn about some beloved attractions as our speaker Jason Kirby makes history come alive!

The address is 3535 Colonnade Parkway, Birmingham AL 35243.  We will meet in the South Tower, Auditorium.  This is located on the same floor as the South Tower security desk. The cafeteria is on the floor above the auditorium.

Please allow ample time to find parking and sign in at the South Tower.  The Alabama Power Company (APCO) Credit Union is on the first floor of the North Tower.

We are delighted to have as Keynote Speaker Jason Kirby, Archivist at Birmingham Botanical Gardens Archives and Rare Book Room ( https://www.bbgardens.org/ ).  This year 2019 is the Alabama State Bicentennial, a great time to learn about some of Birmingham’s most beloved attractions. His presentation covers the history of Lane Park, a 200 acre park which becomes the future home of the Birmingham Zoo and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Come see how this park grew from its meager beginnings over the decades to what you see now! (Did you know this area used to be a Tuberculosis Sanitarium?) 

Our Retiree Lifestyle Segment kicking off the meeting is Liz Smith, VP of Operations for Milo’s Hamburgers, a Birmingham-based regional chain with over 20 locations. Started by Milo Carlton, Milo’s is known for its secret hamburger sauce and sweet tea, and now also serves breakfast.  As Vice President of Operations, Smith is responsible for the restaurant operations, field H.R and Training for all Milo’s restaurants.

Liz has an inspirational story, overcoming a difficult childhood in Colorado with hard work, faith, and a loving grandmother.  She worked her way up in the food service industry from her high school job in a cafeteria to several executive positions nationwide, leading to her current role with Milo’s Hamburgers. Liz also volunteers with Hope Inspired Ministries (HIM ), a faith-based, local non-profit designed to train low-skilled, poorly educated, and/or chronically unemployed men and women to obtain and maintain employment (https://www.hopeinspiredministries.org/ )

Jason Kirby’s Bio:

Jason Kirby is a native of Gadsden, Alabama, and has lived in Birmingham most of his life. He attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with a background in Biology. Kirby has worked within the Jefferson County Public Library System for the past nineteen years.

He currently works for the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens (FOBBG), formally known as the Birmingham Botanical Society, Inc. for over twelve years in the position of Archivist for The Library at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. He is the institution’s first Archivist, and created the Archives and Rare Book Room in August 2008. Kirby oversees over 300 rare books, Japanese Tea Ceremony artifacts, scrapbooks, antique seed catalogs and garden manuals, plant fossils, botanical prints, photographs and other horticultural and botanical ephemera.

He is currently President of the Society of Alabama Archivist (SALA), and a graduate of the Jefferson County Master Gardeners Association (JCMGA) in 2007 and a recent Harrison Fellow of the Historic Landscape Institute at Monticello in 2016. He is a recent yoga teacher graduate at Birmingham Yoga in 2018. He was honored to receive a lifetime membership to the Garden Club of Alabama by the Edgewood Garden Club in 2015. Kirby has a deep love for gardening, science and history and give numerous presentations to different garden clubs and plant societies across Jefferson County.

Liz Smith’s Bio:

Liz Smith is Vice President of Operations of Milo’s Hamburger’s, Inc.  Milo’s Hamburgers is a regional fast-food restaurant chain based in Alabama, United States. Milo Carlton honed his burger craft as a mess cook in the U.S. Army and opened his first burger shop in 1946.

As of 2019, Milo’s has 20 restaurants, 14 in the Birmingham metro area, two in South Al, one in Tuscaloosa and three in North AL. Milo’s is known for its secret hamburger sauce and sweet tea, both included with a pie in the Mega Meal combo.

Prior to Milo’s, Smith served as Vice President of Operations for Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. (ARG), the second largest quick-service sandwich chain in the U.S. with more than 3,600 restaurants system-wide.  Smith also served as Vice President of Operations with Furr’s Restaurant Group and then Regional Director with Whataburger, Inc. Smith joined Milo’s Hamburgers in February of 2014.

As Vice President of Operations, Smith is responsible for the restaurant operations, field H.R and Training for all Milo’s restaurants. Smith graduated from the University of Phoenix with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.

Smith and her husband, Robert, enjoy spending time with their son, Key, and dogs, Murphy and Amos.