Congratulations to Miss Leeds Area Braidyn Lazenby who received an honorable mention for social impact when the Top 7 Community Service finalists and Top 7 Stem Scholarship finalists were named at Brookwood Village in the kickoff event of the Miss Alabama Scholarship Pageant week. Braidyn will be busy all week long with a week full of appearances, rehearsals and various activities. The official competition began last night and goes through Saturday when the next Miss Alabama will be crowned. Congratulations are also in order for two former Miss Leeds Area’s Outstanding Teens, Brooklyn Holt and Reagan Handley, who received STEM awards. We wish Braidyn, Brooklyn and Reagan much success as they experience the fun and excitement of their achievements!

Leeds Downtown First Thursday Street Fest returns today, June 6 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. It’s going to be another afternoon of great entertainment at the gazebo on the corner of 9th Street and Parkway. Cody Howell and Paul Sisson, local singers and songwriters, will be entertainers on stage. The car cruise-in will include the Porsche Club sponsored by Eurasian Auto Services including a number of vintage cars. Plan to bring your family and enjoy street vendors, food trucks, entertainers, car cruise-in, downtown shopping on the Parkway and more. This is a free event so don’t miss it! For info, visit www.LeedsAreaChamber.com.

Leeds Lions Club will meet at 5:30 p.m. today, June 6 at Leeds Masonic Lodge Building. Contact T. V. Weaver at 205-699-6742 for more information.

Barber Small Bore Festival is scheduled for this Friday-Sunday, June 7-9 at Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. The festival is dedicated to miniature motorcycles, pit bikes, scooters and their riders. For more info, visit www.barbermuseum.org/events.

The public is invited to an event, History and Care of the American Flag, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 9 at Leeds Railroad Depot. This free event is sponsored by the Leeds Historical Society and the information will be presented by Philip D. Robertson, flag expert with Woodmen Life. For more information about the presentation, please visit https://bit.ly/2QuofWV.

Moody First Baptist Church will host VBS June 9-13 from 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. for all kindergarten through 6th grade. To pre-register, visit Moody First Baptist Church. 

The Rise & Fall of Atticus Finch will be presented by Christopher Metress, Ph.D., professor of English and director of the University Fellows Program at Samford University on Monday, June 10 at Leeds Jane Culbreth Library at 11 a.m. A light lunch will be provided. This is just one of the many events hosted by the library.

Moody City Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 10 at Moody City Hall.

LadyBUGS, the Leeds/Moody Professional Women’s Organization, will meet at Noon on Tuesday, June 11 at The Livery Event Center. Lunch is $10 and RSVP to anneglidewell@yahoo.com.

Moody Area Chamber of Commerce will host their monthly luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 13 at Moody City Hall. RSVP to Andrea Machen, Executive Director, at 205-640-6262.

Miss Leeds Area and Outstanding Teen Pageant is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 22 at Leeds High School Auditorium. Miss Leeds Area was founded in 1980 and is an official preliminary to the Miss Alabama Scholarship Competition and the Miss America 2.0 competition. For more information, please visit www.missleedsarea.net.

Thought for the week: “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do!” ~Steve Jobs

I truly appreciate each of you who read my column and I really love sharing news so please send your Leeds and Moody news to me at leedsmoodynews@gmail.com.