Pictured left to right:
Mike Higginbotham, Adam Hix, Madison Harness, Kaley Claudpierre, Lauren Whittle, Kimberly Dooley
By Barry Wise Smith
Mike Higginbotham shows his support for Thompson Intermediate School
After serving in children’s ministry for 10 years at the Church of the Highlands and helping to establish children’s programs on the church’s expanding number of campuses, Mike Higginbotham, a realtor with Keller Williams Metro South office, understands what is means to be blessed and to be a blessing. When he left full-time ministry three and half years ago to go into real estate, he knew he wanted to continue to bless his community.
Higginbotham, who still goes by his middle-school nickname Higgie, “hit the ground running,” in real estate and hasn’t looked back. “Because I was instantly successful, I knew I wanted to give back to the community I live in,” he says. When trying to decide how to give back, Higginbotham’s first thought was the Alabaster City Schools where his three sons attend—Ben a junior at THS, Jack a sophomore at THS, and Jude who’s in fifth grade at Thompson Intermediate. “The schools were at the top of my list,” Higginbotham says. “And I knew I wanted to do something personal.”
After talking to Jamelia Hayes, Thompson Intermediate School’s new principal, Higginbotham decided to give monetary gifts to the school’s five new teachers to help supply their classrooms. Adam Hix, Madison Harness, Kaley Claudpierre, Lauren Whittle, and Kimberly Dooley each received $250. “TIS teachers were surprised and appreciative of the monetary gift from Mr. Higginbotham and his team!” Principal Hayes says.
As for Higginbotham, he doesn’t want this to be a one-and-done situation. “I want to move to other schools and help more teachers,” he says. “I want to find new and different ways to be involved.”