T hat - Economic Development Partnership of Alabama

T h a t ’s WhatI Like AboutA l a b a m aBY BARBARA SLOANBusiness folks looking at a move to Alabamaoften have misconceptions about the state,but when they visit they are amazed at thepleasant climate, gorgeous scenery, loyal andhard-working employees, communityinvolvement, sports and artsAs any gardenerknows, transplantinga seedling caneither stunt growth or causean amazing burst of flowering.People facing a transplantto a new city are nodifferent: they confront aseries of challenges that cancause them to wither — orbloom.Business folks looking ata move to Alabama oftenhave misconceptions aboutthe state, but when theyvisit they are amazed at thepleasant climate, gorgeousscenery, loyal and hardworkingemployees, communityinvolvement, sportsand arts. Countless executiveswere transplanted toAlabama through their jobsand many decided to stay,despite what might haveresulted in lucrative promotions,transfers home, or thechance to retire elsewhere.Beatriz Alberdi, managerat Viscofan USA of Montgomery,came to Alabamafrom Spain in 1998 whenher company relocated inMontgomery. Because shehad such limited knowledgeabout the state, she was asomewhat reluctant transplant.She has since marriedTroy Wayman of the MontgomeryArea Chamber ofCommerce, and they have athree-month old daughter,Sophia Marie. Their story isan interesting one, sinceTroy helped recruit hisfuture wife to Alabama.Troy Wayman explains,“I was working with theBeatriz Alberdi, husband Tr o yWayman and daughterSophia get set to enjoy pumpkinpie (one of Beatriz’sfavorites) near one of herfavorite places, the AlabamaShakespeare Festival inM o n t g o m e r y.economic developmentoffice when consultantsfrom Detroit were lookingfor a site in the Southeast[for Vicosfan, the worldleader in manufacturingand distribution of artificialcasings for the meat industry].Montgomery made thecut and we were finalists intheir site selection. Ibecame good friends withtwo guys who came tocheck the city out. Oncethey decided on Montgomery,I went over toSpain to see their facilitiesand met Beatriz [whowould later become logisticsmanager in Montgomery].It was funny — we didn’treally hit it off.”Not at first, anyway. “ForBeatriz, it was a very differentculture,” Wayman says.“Moving to America washuge. Now I often tell people:‘I’ll do almost anything28 PARTNERS

Montgomery’s Beatriz Alberdi “Icould not believe the people here.Being a foreigner, I didn’t think Iwould make friends, but I have.”to land a project, evenmarry someone!’”Beatriz Alberdi tells thestory like this: “Our companywas looking to relocatefrom Detroit and somy first visit to Americawas to Michigan during thelast two weeks of October.It was already cold, and Iwasn’t impressed. But Viscofanwanted to relocate,and so several of us came tovisit Montgomery inNovember of that year. Iam from Pamplona, Spain,and to think about movingwas tough.“I had originally picturedthe state to look likeLouisiana, but it is a lot likeSpain, with mountains andtrees. I thought it would begood for my career, so Isaid, ‘Let’s give it a shot.’Anyway, it was supposed tobe a two-year assignment,and I could go right backhome. I came with a fewmore Spaniards and at first,we didn’t have friends here,so we traveled a lot. Wedecided we loved Alabama.Every time I came back, itseemed like home to me. Inthose years, I met Troy, andso he is really the reason Istayed. But, if I hadn’t likedMontgomery… whoknows?“Now, on top of everything,I am a food lover. So,I have fallen in love withSouthern cooking. I lovethings you eat at Thanksgiving,like dressing andpumpkin pie, and I loveanything with corn, likesweet corn casserole or cornon the cob. I had nevereaten corn on the cobbefore. And barbeque, Ilove barbeque and grilling.“My family and friendswanted me to come hometo have my baby, but myhusband is here, and mydoctor is here. I am used toeverything big here now, abig yard, big houses, bigcars. When I go home, thebed is too little and thecloset is too little. Ourdaughter Sophia Marie isnamed for my mother,Maria. She is going to havetwo nationalities. I miss myfamily of course. But Montgomeryhas a great thingwith the Shakespeare Festival.I like country musicand I love to go to a barand hear a really good liveband.“I could not believe thepeople here. Being a foreigner,I didn’t think Iwould make friends, but Ihave. People are always sowelcoming and they try tolearn my accent while I tryto learn their drawl. I am solucky. I have made truefriends, like the ones I wentto playschool with backhome.”■FALL 2004 29

That’s What I LikeAbout AlabamaDetroit-born Peter Ferrante isn’tgoing anywhere. “I’m staying,” hesays. “We’re all deeply rooted.”Peter Ferrante, founderof and consultant toJIT Services inHuntsville, arrived inHuntsville in 1985 to bethe operations manager forDaimler-Chrysler Electronics.When he was up for apromotion that would takehim back to Michigan, hedeclined the offer andstarted his own company,Just in Time Services, aninventory control business.“At the time of our moveto Alabama,” Ferrante says,“my wife and I weren’t surehow our three kids wouldrespond. But it didn’t takelong for them, mainlybecause of the friendlinessof their fellow students, toget firmly entrenched. Infact, they said, ‘If you goback, we’re staying.’ I waspromoted several times, butmy next promotion wouldhave taken me back toMichigan. I had 25 yearswith Daimler-Chrysler, butdecided to start my ownbusiness because the familywouldn’t budge.“We all love the charmof Huntsville. It is a throwbackto old times. In businesshere, politics are not soprevalent. In other words,you don’t have to be a giantto get something done. Thechamber of commerce isprogressive and great towork with, as is theHuntsville InternationalAirport Authority.“But, the sense of unityH u n t s v i l l e ’s Peter Ferrante (abovein the Josephine Ferrante MemorialLibrary at St. John the BaptistCatholic School) sponsored thelibrary in memory of his late wife.is what we love here. Theatmosphere is family-oriented,with little crime orbig town worries. I lost mywife in 1994 to cancer andour friends and the communityresponded remarkably.She loved children, soin her memory, we sponsoreda library at St. Johnthe Baptist Catholic School— the Josephine FerranteMemorial Library. We havealso worked closely with theHuntsville Hospital Foundationand other charitablegroups. We have suchfriendships, and now that Ihave retired, I’m staying. Iwas born in Detroit, butmy kids married Alabamapeople, so we’re all deeplyplanted here.”■30 PARTNERS

That’s What I LikeAbout AlabamaMark LaRue, plantservices divisionmanager atHonda Manufacturing ofAlabama, and his family(wife Amy and childrenCaleb, 14, and Hannah,10) moved to Anniston inDecember of 1999. WithHonda for 18 years, he wasthe first company transplantto Alabama. After thestartup, he decided to stay.He has a degree in electricalengineering from OhioState.“To be honest, I didn’treally have an accurateimage of Alabama,” LaRueadmits. “The only thing Iknew about the state waswhat I had seen in movieswhich gave me the pictureof a very flat state. Whenmy wife and I visited, wewere amazed to find themountains and hills — notat all what I had visualized.Right off, the scenery wasvery appealing.“I have complex reasonsfor staying. The first NewYear’s Day I spent here, Iwas at my outside grill inshorts and golf shirt. I lovethe sunny days and blueskies. Certainly part of theaura here is the football tradition.I have to tell youthat I will be an Ohio Statefan until I die. I haven’tgotten to an Auburn orAlabama game, but I certainlywant to. I see a greatparallel of traditions atAlabama with Bear Bryantthat we have in Ohio withMark LaRue: “When my wife and Ivisited, we were amazed to find themountains and hills — not at allwhat I had visualized.”our longtime coach, WoodyHayes.“More than that, we havebecome part of the community.In May of 2001, Ibecame the lay minister atthe church, so needless tosay, we are very active there.Alabama is famous for itsexcellent scouting opportunities.My son immediatelybecame involved in the BoyScout program in Anniston,and I became an assistantscoutmaster. Caleb hasalready finished his EagleScout project, which was awheelchair ramp for a hos-Mark LaRue (at home inAnniston) says about moving toAlabama: “The first New Ye a r ’sDay I spent here, I was at myoutside grill in shorts and golfshirt. I love the sunny days andblue skies.”pice. My wife Amy isinvolved in the Knox ConcertSeries, which bringsballet and music events totown, and we are allinvolved in the local foodpantry. We have settled onin. It’s been a good movefor the whole family.”■FALL 2004 33

That’s What I LikeAbout AlabamaRandy Nykamp, plantmanager of KeySafety Systems, hadcompleted some assignmentssix years ago forAllied Signal (later KeySafety Systems). The companywas considering closingits Butler County plantin Alabama and sent him totake care of it.Nykamp says, “I wasborn and raised in Michigan,and was working thereand in England. Financialand customer-satisfactionratings were not good inGreenville [Alabama]. So Icame down here to checkthings out. After a few days,I called management andsaid the plant was salvageable,the people were great,and what they were doingshould be saved. It has beenan outstanding run. Overthe last couple of years, wehave had scored exceptionaldelivery and financial performance.“My work experiencehere is outstanding and,since I am single, it hasbecome my life. I am a Yankee,but I hate coldweather. In Michigan, fromOctober to April, you basicallystay inside. In lowerAlabama, we have only sixto eight weeks of badweather and that is heatand humidity. I have aHarley motorcycle, which Ilove to drive. Most of theyear is great for riding —besides, the country roadsare fantastic. I have a placeon Lake Martin, and Ienjoy driving there on thegreat and curvy Highway49. In fact, this part ofAlabama has wonderfultwo-lane highways, whichwind all through thewoods. I’ll drive up toMontgomery to meetfriends for dinner. Or, thebeach is so close, sometimesI just zip down to Sandestinto eat lunch and then afterwards,come right back.“If someone had told me20 years ago I’d be living ina town with a population of7,200, I would have toldthem they were crazy. But Ilive four minutes fromwork and I fight no trafficto get here. I can imagineRandy Nykampsays of hisa d o p t e dA l a b a m a :“This is an easyplace to makeh o m e . ”Randy Nykamp at the Butler CountyCourthouse in Greenville, Ala.myself retiring here andthat is 19 years away! Thepeople of Greenville are sofriendly. I have encouragedfriends from the North toconsider moving Alabama.It’s not perfect, but no placeis. However, this is an easyplace to make home.”■34 PARTNERS