POWERGRAMS

22 Kirk is one of the younger members of a group that began in 1959. timeouts. The high-tech timers were first bought by the SEC and distributed to all 14 member schools. Those are two of the innovations coming out of Hutch Hammond's small facility on Main Street, where he, his wife, Ann, and several technicians build systems that are often copied by Chinese companies almost as fast as Victory Game Clocks can patent them. The eDown marker concept was being developed in 2015 when Hammond entered into a collaboration with Auburn University and the state of Alabama. Sixteen Industrial and Graphic Design students under the direction of Professor Emeritus Randy Bartlett helped develop materials, ergonomics and other features. "They came up with some great concepts," says Hammond, an Air Force veteran who has been in the electronics business since the 1980s. "The students helped develop a product that was easy to operate and power but could stand up to getting hammered by players on the sidelines. You can throw one on the floor, jump on it and it will keep working." Hammond walks carefully through the production area crowded by trailers surrounding pallets of smoke-gray Lexan sheeting. Black metal frames fill slots along one wall, product components are stacked on shelving, while thin bins filled with bolts, screws, wiring and electronic materials are mounted on work benches. Technicians carefully assemble practice timers and play clocks that will be delivered to high schools and colleges within days of an order. The products can be powered by electricity or batteries, pulled by hand or vehicle onto playing fields using light-weight trailers. Victory's wireless scoreboards are suitable for most high school sports, operable with LCD touchscreen controls or wrist controllers for officials, and the mobile stands make them easily storable. At $5,000-$10,000 each, the portable scoreboards offer a cheaper alternative to digging underground data lines and stringing cable from a conventional field scoreboard to a press box. From 2001 until 2017, Hammond was on the staff of Roanoke Electronic Controls, across the street from his current offices. He said some VGC products stem from research first conducted at REC, and all use circuit board assemblies built by REC engineers. All VGC products are designed and assembled in Alabama. Hammond says his company is branching out into new products for baseball, basketball, gymnastics (AU already uses them) and other sports. VGC products are currently in 23 states, with collegiate customers including Alabama, Auburn and the universities of Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCLA, Utah, Villanova, Virginia Tech and Wyoming. NFL teams using Victory Game Clocks include the Houston Texans, Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks. In October 2022, Gov. Kay Ivey selected Victory Game Clocks as one of 14 Made in Alabama Showcase members. "I commend your team's hard work to produce exceptional products and provide stellar customer service over the years, especially during challenging times," Ivey wrote. "Businesses like yours keep our great state's economic engine running and growing." THE ELEPHANT Heads turn traveling past the White Elephant. Whether it's a person's first glance at the unique little building, or just the latest look in a lifetime, passersby are apt to stare, snap photos or simply smile at the landmark. Built in 1928 by a dentist who wanted an office that looked like a giant tooth, the building soon was seen instead as an elephant with its trunk touching the ground. Contractors used blown concrete and U-shaped rebar to fashion the figure that would become famous all along the Alabama-Georgia border. In 1940, it became a Sinclair store and was later various other gasoline stations before closing in 1996. The White Elephant has been restored to its 1928 condition. Gladney, 84, inside the renovated old Sinclair station. Auburn player holds eDown marker during scrimmage; VGC portable scoreboards are used by many high schools.

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