Major Roger Glick (left), Salvation Army Area Commander for Greater Birmingham, receives a check from Pell City Kiwanis member Ed Ray (right.) Photo by Urainah Glidewell

Whether school bells or jingle bells, Pell City Kiwanis rings in the beginning of February by giving back.

At their regular weekly meeting at the Pell City Civic Center, Kiwanis members honored their teacher of the month, Allison Etheredge from Williams Intermediate School (WIS).

“Allison is one of the most enthusiastic educators I have every known,” said WIS Principal Holly Harmon Costello. “She connects with her students and brings her content alive.”

This is the second year for Etheredge teaching sixth grade math at Williams. She graduated from UAB with a masters’ degree in elementary education and has taught for a total of nine years.

Etheredge was presented with a plaque and a check for $100 to use in her classroom. 

“Thank you for this. We can use it!” said Etheredge. “We are doing lots of classroom creative experiences for the students so they look forward to coming to school.”

Kiwanis also presented a check to their guest speaker, Major Roger Glick, Salvation Army Area Commander for Greater Birmingham. Members of Kiwanis volunteered to be bell-ringers during the holiday season, raising $2093 for the Salvation Army.

“I was a high school dropout,” Major Glick said. “Education wasn’t important to my family. A Salvation Army Officer took an interest in my family, and encouraged me to take the GED.”

Glick went on to further his education, being commissioned in the Witnesses For Jesus Session from the College for Officer Training in Chicago in 1990, and also earning an Associate Degrees from Olivet Nazarene University the same year. Glick received his Bachelor’s Degree in Religion, graduating Cum Laude from MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas in 1999.

“The Salvation Army literally changed the landscape of my life,” Glick said. “I recognized the power of one person to change the life of another.”

The Salvation Army of Greater Birmingham began their ‘Pathway of Hope’ program to invest money, time, and resources in families that want to change.

They also have a Career and Workforce Development program, which includes education and workforce assessments, education and career counseling, basic life skills training, pre-GED and literacy assessments, GED courses with a diploma option, vocational training, certification opportunities, job placement, and associate degree programs. 

The Career and Workforce Development Center is a part of the new Center for Hope, also offering emergency and transitional housing, access to a food pantry, and the “Pathway of Hope” which focuses on solving issues of intergenerational poverty by providing opportunities to expand resources.

“Someone’s journey may take five years,” Glick said, “but as long as they are moving in the right direction, it’s not a waste.”