"Who" Is Albertville?
So, "who" is Albertville? You may have been wondering why a random fire hydrant is featured as the background of our blog. It's not like they're uncommon, right? Every city has fire hydrants... Albertville, however, probably means "fire hydrant" in some undiscovered language because they are just about all made right here. We are, in fact, the "Fire Hydrant Capital of the World!" Yes, that's actually a thing. How our citizens and visitors, alike, interact with this idea of a simple fire hydrant that's such a common element of municipal necessity, however, is what has taken the slogan #firehydrantcapital from a positioning statement, to a brand. Not only do we get excited about people staring at us like we're insane as we pose for selfies in random town's across the world with fire hydrants, we buy replica fire hydrant water bowls for our pups (really), and even have fire hydrant Christmas ornaments on our trees every December!
Melia Toney, Owner, Lake Designs
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLakeDesigns https://www.facebook.com/mylakedesigns/
If you've ever browsed our tagged Facebook or Instagram photos, you'll find a world showcase of fire hydrants spotted across the globe that dote, "Made in Albertville, AL" or sometimes simply "Albertville, AL." Our most recent "spottings" have been in Kuwait City, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Arlington Cemetery. If you've ever driven our downtown loop and pass the Chamber of Commerce, you've passed the chrome plated fire hydrant monument dedicated in the 90's that states "One Millionth Fire Hydrant Produced", "Fire Hydrant Capital of the World." Now, luckily for us (because it is not an easy job), the City doesn't manufacture fire hydrants, so where do they come from?
Mueller Water Products, Mueller Co., for short, is known for its innovation in municipal water efficiency and as a leader in water infrastructure not only in North America but around the world. A major element of those water products, of course, include fire hydrants. The industry's headquarters is located in Albertville. Mueller is an integral part of our industrial base in the area providing hundreds of local jobs and constantly challenging our educational and governmental systems to keep workforce development a top priority. They are known and beloved in our community not just for giving us a fun nickname, but for investing in our economy and giving back via quality of life enhancements throughout the City and volunteer service to our citizens whenever they have the opportunity. Think big time corporation, big time career opportunity, and big time resources meet rural, "small" town Alabama, and you can imagine what they have meant and will continue to mean to our trade area, God willing, for many years to come. Their employees are our neighbors, our friends, our family.
Freshly painted fire hydrants pass through the drying oven at Mueller Co's Albertville plant. (Mueller Co.)
Alabama News Center
Featured: Made In Alabama
Unfortunately, our hearts are currently shattered alongside theirs, as their subsidiary, Aurora, IL based Henry Pratt Company was the location of a tragic workplace shooting last Friday, February 15th, that claimed six lives, including that of the shooter's, and injured several employees and law enforcement officers. It is with deep sadness that we confirm one of the victim's among the deceased is, Josh Pinkard, formerly employed with Mueller Co.-Albertville. Josh and his family moved to Oswega, IL for him to lead the Aurora facility as, Plant Manager, in the Spring of 2018. Albertville Plant Manager, Mike Lang, along with many in the community that know and love the Pinkard family, remember Josh as a kind man who valued faith, family, and his career, all three proven through his marked success in all his Earthly endeavors. Josh and his wife, Terra's, children attended Albertville City Schools prior to being relocated to Illinois. They attended church in Albertville. They were leaders in their careers and in our city. We mourn with Terra and the entire Pinkard and Mueller Families. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers are with "our" sister plant and the families of each victim, as well as those injured who are still recovering.
People attend vigils for the victims of the Henry Pratt Co. plant shooting in Aurora, where six people, including the gunman, were fatally shot days earlier on Feb. 15, 2019.
(Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-henry-pratt-facility-20190218-story.html
In sitting down to draft this blog post, I first second guessed myself, asking "how does this promote Albertville?" "Is it content I should even remotely use in that context?" As I wrote, up until this point, unsure of whether I would publish or not, I discovered the answer. This is an accurate portrayal of exactly who we are. We aren't just a "municipality", another "dot on a map." We are, instead, "home" to over 50 major industries within our 26 square miles to include: Tyson, Mueller, Alatrade, Huhtamaki (Chinet Products), Newman Technology (Honda Parts), Progress Rail Services, and more. We are "home" to a world class school system with state of the art facilities and fine arts programs proven best in the state of Alabama. We are "home" to a vibrant, culturally diverse demographic not usually seen in rural, southern cities; most importantly, we embrace that diversity. We are "home" to 26,000 plus citizens who work in these industries, whose children march in our 300 member Aggie Band or cook in our culinary program that's unmatched by competing schools across the state. We are "home" to an all new $60 MM Sports Complex, Water Park, and Amphitheater that's recently broken ground and projected to open in 2020.
Albertville High School
What's important to note, however, is though we are "home" to all of this, we were brought to our knees last week by the loss of one. That, is the definition of community and community is what we seek to build every single day in Albertville above any brand message or platform. We believe that through that sense of communal pride in loving where you live, supporting local, and thinking Albertville first, is where our brand is actually born. We are the Pinkard's. We are Mueller. We are community first. We are Albertville.
Josh and Terra Pinkard with their three children
In Memory of Josh Pinkard and In Constant Prayer for his family
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