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Photo by Jon Anderson
The 2026 Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce scholarship recipients are, from left, Spain Park High School's Mary Payton Dees and Hoover High School's Camille Moffett.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Spain Park High School 2026 senior Mary Payton Dees, second from right, receives a $2,500 scholarship from the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce at the Hoover Country Club on Thursday, April 16, 2026. With her, from left, are Spain Park High School college and career specialist Tracy Prater, Spain Park Principal Amanda Esslinger, Superintendent Kevin Maddox and Chamber President and CEO Nan Baldwin.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover High School 2026 senior Camille Moffett, second from right, receives a $2,500 scholarship from the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce at the Hoover Country Club on Thursday, April 16, 2026. With her, from left, are Hoover High college and career specialist Molly Kate Lallone, Hoover High Principal Kristi Sayers, Superintendent Kevin Maddox and Chamber President and CEO Nan Baldwin.
The Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday awarded $2,500 scholarships to two seniors from Hoover and Spain Park high schools.
Recipients of this year’s chamber scholarships were Camille Moffett from Hoover High and Mary Payton Dees from Spain Park High. The students were chosen based on their academic achievement, community involvement and good character, chamber President Nan Baldwin said.
Moffett has challenged herself with a rigorous schedule of Advanced Placement courses and dual enrollment classes that gave her both high school and college credits, said Merrick Wilson, the school system’s executive director of communications and a board member for the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce.
Moffett also has actively contributed to her school community as a Peer Helper, a member of the Yearbook Club and previously as a member of the school’s dance team, Wilson said.
“But what truly sets her apart is her heart for service and the way she engages with her peers,” Wilson said. “Through her volunteer work in the Hoover community, she is involved with the Sweetheart Service Guild and her participation in the Prince of Peace [Catholic Church] youth group. She has a genuine dedication for making a positive impact in the community. Her kindness, gentle spirit and natural ability to connect and support others makes her a role model amongst her peers.”
Her work ethic, compassion and integrity make her a clear and deserving choice the for the chamber scholarship, Wilson said. Moffett plans to attend Auburn University and study architecture.
Dees is a relative newcomer to Spain Park, having arrived at the school at the beginning of her senior year. She quickly made a meaningful and lasting impact at Spain Park, Wilson said. She played a key role in helping lead Spain Park’s varsity volleyball team to the final four this school year and then transitioned into making an immediate impact on the softball team, Wilson said.
“Her coaches are consistently speaking of her positive energy, her leadership and her work ethic that she brings both on and off the field and court,” Wilson said. :Academically, Mary Payton is equally impressive. She has earned all A’s while taking a rigorous course load. Absolutely amazing. She’s also dedicated to serving others through her involvement in Key Club and as a proud member of the National Honor Society.
Dees, who also plans to attend Auburn, will be pursuing a degree in nursing. She truly exemplifies what it means to lead with commitment, integrity and excellence in all that she does, Wilson said.
Tony Johnson, senior pastor at Riverchase United Methodist Church, said the scholarships for these two young women are not just about money.
“It’s about momentum,” Johnson said. “We’re not just recognizing who they are; we’re investing in who they’re about to become. The sky is the limit.”
Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox during the chamber luncheon shared some life lessons he took away from one of his favorite movies: “Saving Private Ryan.” They’re applicable to the seniors heading off to college but to everyone else as well, he said.
First, everyone needs to understand their mission, he said. Sometimes that mission is obvious, but sometimes it is not, he said.
“It’s easy sometimes to get distracted off of your mission,” Maddox said. “I would encourage you to try not to become distracted, to stay focused, to be relentless in your pursuit of your mission. There’s lot of fun in college. Lots of fun. You have to learn to balance the fun though, and that’s part of the key in being successful.”
Second, it’s important to learn how to be a good team member, Maddox said. “You can’t have it your way all the time,” he said. “Sometimes you have to be flexible. You have to give in. You have to encourage other people along the way.”
Third, you have to be willing to make sacrifices for the things you care about, whether that be family members, grades or dreams, Maddox said.
Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox speaks to the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
“Sometimes you have to sacrifice time. You have to sacrifice fun,” he said. “You have to let something go in order to achieve something else. We do that financially and in a lot of other aspects in our lives. As humans, we are selfish by nature. … We have to work really hard to make those sacrifices for other people.”
Fourth, it’s important to make sure you take time to celebrate successes before moving on to the next mission, goal or opportunity, and fifth, you have to learn from failure, Maddox said.
“You’re going to fail in life,” he said.
He was disappointed when he didn’t get the first school superintendent job for which he applied, but he took that disappointment as a chance to self-reflect and consider how he could improve himself, he said.
“Also, understand that things may not happen in your time,” Maddox said. “Sometimes they don’t’ happen when you want them to happen. What I now realize … I was purposefully prepared for this job. I know that now. I didn’t know that then.”
