Here’s an exclusive online gallery of some of the alternate takes from Mark Broadway’s 1920s fashion photoshoot in this issue’s Style Points department.

See our Vintage Vogue fashion shoot in the May/June 2012 issue of Dothan Magazine.

We had a great time setting up our vintage fashion shoot for the May/June issue. Many thanks to our models, photographers and volunteers who helped us take you back in time.

See our Vintage Vogue fashion shoot in the May/June 2012 issue of Dothan Magazine.

Four of Dothan’s tattoo artists share their artwork and personal stories behind a once-taboo industry which is gaining wide acceptance.

“I was an accidental tattoist,” DeRoche says. “I planned to be career military but I got hurt in a crane accident.” For the past 13 years, DeRoche has been at Forbidden Images in downtown Dothan. He has been a tattooist for 17 years. His favorite style is Celtic, owing to his Irish roots.

Chris Lurie has been a tattooist for three years at Lasting Empressions. “Tattooing is an art form. It’s all about your own personal preference. It is expressive for the person getting the tattoo as well as for the artist. I love my job and will try to give people exactly what they like.”

Chris Robinson, Navarre Beach, Fla. native and manager of Lasting Empressions, has always had a love of drawing and tattoos—he got his first tattoo at age 12. "It's not just a job, it's a lifestyle. It consumes you."

Charles Childree gets a lot of the younger crowd, and like most other artists in the area, he does a lot of tattoos with religious subject matter. “It’s not about money for me. It’s about someone walking around with my art on their body forever. It’s awesome.”

For the full story please see the May/June 2012 issue of Dothan Magazine.

Chris and Alison Suddarth of Dothan were able to take advantage of the advanced treament options now available in Dothan when Alison discovered she had breast cancer in 2011.

Local cancer patients benefit from advanced treatment options in Dothan thanks to a new partnership between SAMC and UAB.

story by Kim Atwell
photos by Steve Pearce

You are sitting in an exam room, trying to distract yourself from your thoughts. You are there because test results done at a previous visit alerted doctors to the need for more tests. Footsteps draw near and the medical chart containing your fate rattles in the door. You take a deep breath, hoping for the best and bracing for the worst. The words finally come: “You have cancer.”

As your breath escapes your body, so goes hope. In the blur that follows, you are able to anchor on one word: “options.”

Dothan resident Alison Suddarth realized those options after being diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer in January of 2011. Alison and her husband, Chris, are an active family with three children, Matt, 17, Claire, 14, and Clay, 10.

“I first noticed the lump while taking a shower. It was not because of a self exam, because unfortunately, I wasn’t in the habit of doing that,” Alison said. “I had a mammogram eight months earlier and everything was fine. I am now a firm believer in self-exams.”

After a biopsy, local gynecologist Ben Martin shared the results with Alison and Chris, who have been married for 23 years. Alison recalled being in total disbelief with great fear of the unknown.

Alison and her family reviewed her options, ultimately choosing University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) surgeon Kirby Bland, MD, an Abbeville native like Alison, and UAB medical oncologist John Carpenter, MD. Both physicians specialize in advanced treatment of breast cancer. Little did they know that midway through her treatment, those advanced options would extend beyond Birmingham to Southeast Alabama Medical Center (SAMC) through a new partnership.  

Options are the core of the recent affiliation between SAMC and the UAB Cancer Care Network. Six years ago, SAMC and UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center closely collaborated to create the state’s only mobile medical cancer screening program to provide annual cancer screenings such as digital mammograms, prostate and colorectal tests to rural communities.   

Recognizing the benefits of a more formal partnership in progressive cancer care, Ed Partridge, MD, director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, and his team, had been in pursuit of SAMC to become the only research affiliate in the state through the newly formed UAB Cancer Care Network. The UAB Cancer Care Network was established by the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and UAB Medicine to enhance cancer services in the region to pursue high quality patient outcomes, improved access to early detection and treatment, and optimal patient satisfaction.    

For the full story please see the May/June 2012 issue of Dothan Magazine

Dothan Magazine visited seven area day spas to sample their services, check out the atmosphere and meet the folks behind the business of refreshing yourself.

2 Girls & A Spa

“If we make someone’s day, then it’s a good day,” says Sandy, “Our clients bless us.” And they bless them – or rather, bliss them – right back, with a fantastic array of delectable spa services.

Hemispheres Day Spa

“We try to make everyone feel at home,” says Hemispheres’ salon manager Sherie Cunningham. Open since 1994, Hemispheres Salon & Spa offers a full array of services for the hair and body, with genuinely friendly staff who are knowledgeable about the services they provide.

Massage Envy

From stress relief to pain management, the folks at Massage Envy will work with you to customize your massage experience to suit your exact needs. And if you add in their facials, whether you’re looking for an anti-aging treatment or skin clearing regiment, Massage Envy will leave you feeling revitalized from head to toe.

Rituals Day Spa

“Our goal is to delight every customer that comes in the door,” says Hannah Loftin, Rituals’ manager, and they succeed superbly while being as posh as possible.

Westwood Day Spa

Atmosphere is certainly one of the reasons so many of Westwood’s customers are rather regular; the other is Westwood’s philosophy for their clients. “We want to leave the impression with clients that they are welcome, and not like they’re the next one on a list,” says Seay. “We want them to say ‘Wow, I’ve never been treated like this before’”. In a good way, of course! one-stop-shop for all your pampering needs.

Planet Beach

Focusing on stress relief, skin therapy and full body rejuvenation (as their motto “Relax. Glow. Renew.” suggests), Planet Beach offers everything from massages, oxygen therapy, facials and even teeth whitening – a veritable one-stop-shop for all your pampering needs.

Plush Med Spa

Plush offers massage, waxing, manicures, pedicures, skin care products and treatments, and cosmetic procedures including injectables like Botox, chemical face peels and an electrotherapy skin-tightening procedure called Thermage, all in a modern, upscale yet home-like environment.

For the full story along with contact info on all seven of our featured day spas please see the May/June 2012 issue of Dothan Magazine.

The members of the Dothan Police Department’s Bomb Squad blend courage and curiosity with technical savvy and nerves of steel.

story and photos by Nick Stakelum

Lt. Scott Heath, Team Commander of the Dothan Police Department’s Bomb Squad, has spent 13 years analyzing and defusing all types of dangerous devices. When asked which was the most serious situation he found himself in, he quickly responds: “All of them.”

That’s part of the mindset necessary to put on a 90-pound protective suit and play a game of wits with people who design homemade explosives. Whether they’re responding to a child’s backpack left on a street corner or a live missile in a drainage ditch, the Bomb Squad is going to be patient about resolving the situation. “Nothing is fast,” says Lt. Heath.  “We’re slow, methodical and safe. We’re going to go home that night.”

The members of the bomb squad are all volunteers for this hazardous, yet necessary, duty in modern law enforcement. They must meet high standards of physical ability, mental discipline and mechanical aptitude. “Most of the officers you talk to have no desire whatsoever to do what we do,” Lt. Heath says. “It’s a thin line between bravery and stupidity, and a lot of times we trip around on the edge of it.”

Lt. Heath’s father was a police officer in Ozark and Enterprise for 30 years, so the passion for law enforcement and peacekeeping was instilled in him at a young age. As a child, he also developed a natural curiosity in mechanical devices. “When I was five or six I took apart a Red Ryder BB Gun,” says Lt. Heath. “I got in trouble for that, but I was told I’d be in more trouble if I didn’t put it back together!”

Today, Lt. Heath loves the technical nature of his work as each potential threat presents a challenge to overcome. For his family, it can be a source of stress. A married father of three, Lt. Heath says, “My wife’s father was a police officer in Memphis, so she understands that part of the job.  As far as handling bombs, I love it and she hates it – she likes to say that somewhere in the middle it all evens out.”     

Members of the bomb squad are secretive about the exact methods they use to diffuse explosive devices. It’s all part of the chess game they play with the people who build the devices. If those people know too much about the methods employed by the bomb squad then they can build devices to defeat them.

What’s known is that when the bomb squad arrives on scene they’re packing some serious equipment: two remote-controlled robots, bomb suits, x-ray machines, and many specialty tools and devices of their own to safely disable an explosive device. Bomb suits are worn by members of the team at all times when investigating a situation. “If we go downrange, we’re in a suit until it’s deemed safe,” says Lt. Heath. The heavier suits can weigh up to 75-80 pounds.   

The squad conducts much of its training exercises at the Dothan PD’s firing range, where they can safely detonate explosives. They also create their own field exercises based around realistic scenarios they may encounter in the line of duty. Lt. Heath provides an example: “Let’s say you’ve got a John Doe who says his wife is mad at him and she set [a device] in the house. The John Doe doesn’t know what it is. We have to use all the tools at our disposal to go into that house in a bomb suit to figure out what we’re dealing with and how to defeat it.”  

According to Lt. Heath, during these training sessions the team members of the bomb squad build mock-devices to try and trick each other.  “If you can beat a bomb technician then you’re doing pretty good,” he says.

Following the attacks of 9/11, the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began bringing many of the country’s local bomb squads up to date with the latest training, equipment and protocols. The Dothan PD’s Bomb Squad has been designated by DHS as Alabama’s Region II squad, meaning it responds to situations across ten counties of the Wiregrass.

For the full story please see the May/June 2012 issue of Dothan Magazine

Ladies from across the state gather for a weekend to earn outdoor skills from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

story by Anna Holman  |  photos by Billy Pope

Sometimes the hardest thing about learning a new skill is opening your mind to it, especially if it’s outside your comfort zone. For many ladies, it’s tough to find the right environment to learn more about outdoor skills like archery, fishing, canoeing, rock climbing and marksmanship. When I heard of a statewide workshop specifically tailored for women to learn more about outdoor skills and activities I decided I was ready to become an outdoor woman.

The Becoming an Outdoor Woman (BOW) workshop is held twice a year (spring and fall) in Columbiana at the Alabama 4-H Center. Over the course of three days, ladies from around the state are able to take a variety of classes outdoors, including everything from rock climbing and mountain biking to bird watching and nature crafts. All of the classes are conducted in a safe, non-threatening environment with experienced instructors guiding the way. With over 50 class choices for all skill levels, you could attend several BOW workshops and never repeat a class.

“Since BOW is sponsored by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources we have a lot of knowledgeable, people-oriented individuals with us who are ready to teach their outdoor skills to our ladies,” says Sylvia Payne, the workshop’s coordinator. She says the weekend’s instructors also come from other BOW organizations, conservation clubs and sporting goods manufacturers.

Back in March, I signed up to attend the spring workshop along with my co-worker from Landmark Park, Laura. We arrived together at the Alabama 4-H Center in Columbiana just in time to settle into our rooms and attend the orientation session for the weekend. Laura headed to her first class: Introduction to Nature Photography. I immediately loved my first class: rock climbing. I had never been rock climbing before, so it was a new experience for me. My fears were tested by the intimidating rock wall that towered above us, but it was a great experience to meet new people and bond with them during the challenge of overcoming the wall.

Each class is three hours long, so Friday only featured one class in the afternoon, with plenty of free time until dinner. When I saw on the registration form that all meals were included and cafeteria style, I cringed, automatically thinking of high school cafeteria food and the constant question revolving around the “mystery meat.” However, the meals at BOW are excellent. Breakfasts included eggs, grits and bacon, and lunches and dinners consisted fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans and lasagna with salad. The meals were also a perfect time to meet other women who might not be in one of your classes.

On Saturday I took Wilderness First Aid and Backpacking/Hiking. Both of these classes were not only informative and fun, containing a good mix of experienced BOW veterans who had taken the classes before and newbies like myself. The Backpacking/Hiking teacher took special time to help me adjust my backpack to better fit my body. Laura attended Frontier Skills, giving her a chance to throw a tomahawk, build a fire and practice her marksmanship with a old-style flint rifle. Following her afternoon class, Wildlife Gardening, she returned to our room with a bucket of worms to use in her compost pile and a homemade bird feeder.

For our last classes on Sunday I took Pine Needle Creations and learned how to make a basket out of Long Leaf Pine needles. Laura took Backyard Wildlife and learned how to attract birds to her backyard. One of the best things about the Becoming an Outdoor Woman workshop is the way the classes are taught. For first timers or experienced BOW women, the classes are always fun and educational.

Becoming an Outdoor Woman originated at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1991 and since then has expanded to more than 40 states in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Becoming an Outdoor Woman has also had success with BOW Destinations, an extended BOW program in places such as Baja. BOW workshops are offered twice a year in each state, in October and in March.

According to Sylvia, the Alabama BOW workshops average around 120 participants, both in March and October, and that women come from all over the country to attend.

“In addition to ladies from Alabama, we typically have participants from our neighboring states,” she says. “However, this last workshop we had participants come from Colorado, Massachusetts, Missouri and even Montana.”

Becoming an Outdoor Woman was an entertaining and educational way to experience the great outdoors with new friends. I am already having a hard time deciding what classes I want to take when I go back in October!

Click here for more information about attending a BOW workshop.

Poplar Head Farmers Market in front of the “Salute to the Peanut” mural in the Dothan Civic Center parking lot from 8am to noon. Come shop for fresh fruits, vegetables and homemade items from local vendors in June and July. For more information visit PoplarHeadFarmersMarket.com

Poplar Head Farmers Market in front of the “Salute to the Peanut” mural in the Dothan Civic Center parking lot from 8am to noon. Come shop for fresh fruits, vegetables and homemade items from local vendors in June and July. For more information visit PoplarHeadFarmersMarket.com