POWERGRAMS

Junior Barbour Seafood workers pick prized meat from just-cooked blue crab. Below, crab claws are bought by finest restaurants nationwide. employees take great pride and spare no expense to produce what they believe is superior seafood. When not directing operations inside the company buildings, Raymond and Brad watch a 32-camera video monitor that covers every angle of the processing and packaging. When they travel, the Barbours are always watching on cellphones or laptop computers. "Nobody else can beat the quality operation we have," Brad says. "We spend more on the front end to ensure our seafood is unsurpassed. That's our biggest selling point. Our crab meat has an 18-day shelf life; others have 10 to 12 days at most." The Barbours say they may not make as much profit as some competitors, but they don't often have to face disgruntled customers either. They lament that foreign seafood competitors flooding the U.S. market don't have to meet the same strict FDA standards that are met by American companies. The Barbours support tariffs on foreign products, but believe consumers in the long run will be willing to pay more for the better taste and freshness of fish from the Gulf. "I'm all about quality," says Raymond, who grew up beside his plant and still lives next door. "My Daddy taught me a long time ago, you give people what you would expect to get." "That's what keeps us around," adds Brad, who also lives next door. Medical Miracles No one would blame Regina Benjamin if she had fled Bayou La Batre after what can, at best, be described as a series of unfortunate events. In 1987, Dr. Benjamin opened a nonprofit medical clinic helping the underserved across Mobile Bay from her hometown of Fairhope. A year later, Hurricane Georges destroyed that office. Hurricane Katrina took out the next office, and its replacement burned down the night before open house. "I've been through a lot trying to keep it open – we're still struggling, but we've never stopped seeing patients," she says. "The day after the fire, with the embers still glowing, an elderly patient brought an envelope with $7 given by her granddaughter. I knew if she could do that, we could make it." Indeed, the Bayou Clinic today has its latest home not far from the previous buildings. A staff of two part-time doctors, a full-time nurse practitioner, a part-time nurse practitioner and 11 office personnel greets patients from across the Gulf Coast. Many are treated by the former U.S. Surgeon General herself. Benjamin said she felt guilty leaving the bayou behind for Washington, D.C., from 2009 to 2013 but was encouraged to accept President Barack Obama's appointment by clients who she still treated at the clinic while serving her country. Benjamin says it seems Bayou La Batre "never stops" having to recover from weather or economic calamities, so after nearly 30 years of battling those forces, the clinic is in it for the long haul. She's added a brick walking path around the new building, where locals come each day for exercise. The clinic has a large community room for adult education classes and public meetings. A waiting room computer is available to patients or anyone off the street. Many of the 4,500 patients on file drop in just to chat or seek advice rather than treatment. Staff members often take advantage by suggesting ways drop-ins can improve their health. "We always take pride in helping 16

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