Local business relocates to the Rex Theater
What started as a college student business venture has grown beyond its current location and is preparing for the construction of a $1.2 million office space on Main Street.
Known for their glowing product and popular drink cubes, Glo is a recognizable brand across the Golden Triangle, with expansion plans across the U.S.
As Glo enters its fifth year in business, owner Hagan Walker and his business partner Anna Barker said their current space on East Lampkin Street is no longer suitable for the size and growth of the company.
“We just need more space,” Walker said. “We are currently out of space at our current location, and our team has about doubled in the last year.”
In the summer of 2019, Walker and Baker recognized the growth rate of their business and started preemptively searching for a space based Glo's on anticipated expansion.
“At that point, we didn't need a new building just yet, but we wanted to plan ahead a little bit,” Walker said. “It is hard thought because we are still a small business and there were some options to purchase property, but that is a very big commitment for a small company.”
Given their hesitancy to purchase a property, pursuing a long-term lease, Walker said, was their ideal option. However, properties that met their specification were limited.
“We could have moved out to the industrial park, but being out there, I feel like you start to lose a sense of identity and why you created your company in the first place,” Walker said.
Despite their limited selection, Walker said they were
reached out a touched me because I knew some of his circumstances and what he had been going through,” Willard said. “Something just told me, 'See if you can help him,' so I did.”
Alongside Bracy's full-time employer, he also received a second letter of recommendation from his parttime boss as well.
These factors, when coupled with the other factors of their application, helped the Johnsons and their two daughters stand out among other applicants.
Tabatha, though hopeful, said she knew there were other equally deserving families applying for the home.
“I am kind of in disbelief because I'm wasn't sure if we were going to get this,” she said. “I'm just so happy. Ever since I have been grown, I have always rented, and now we are going to have something of our own. It is one thing to live in a bad place if it's just you, but you don't want that for your kids.”
Despite her own excitement, Tabatha said she was even more excited to pick up their 7-year-old daughter Senaria from after-school and share the news.
“She is going to be so happy and ask all kinds of questions about how everything went,” Tabatha said. “Honestly, she will be more excited about this cake they gave us to celebrate.”
Following the Johnson family, Casey Mcquiller and her four children arrived at the party.
With tears streaming down her face, Mcquiller said she could barely believe this was happening.
“I am just so excited and happy, but more than that, I feel like I am blessed,” Mcquiller said. “We are going to have more space, and this is going to change our lives, not just me but my children's.”
While Mcquiller said her focus with the home will be to keep it clean and nice, her 13-year-old daughter Jaleriah Hall said she had different plans in mind.
“The first thing I want to do is just lay out on the floor and be there,” Hall said. “It will be ours, and no one can take that.”
Mcquiller said she hopes this home will be the place for many memories and a venue to teach her kids how to manage a home.
“My youngest girl is so messy, always leaves clothes on the floor,” Mcquiller said. “This place is not just a temporary place, so I want to teach them how to respect it and take care of it so it will last.”
With the room nearly full from the first two families, Latalla Harris, the final recipient, entered the room.
Shocked to see her mother standing across the boardroom's table, Harris said she could barely find the words to express herself.
“I am just blessed,” Harris said. “That is all I can say.”
As the director of the J.L. King Center, Harris said she is used to giving back to her community and has never been on the receiving end in this way before.
“It feels weird to get something like this when I am always trying to help people get, but this is going to change everything for me and my son.”
Though her 3-year-old son Jace Bentley was not present, both Harris and her mother were excited to share the news.
Given the unique circumstances, Lifer told the three families to get comfortable with one another because they were going to become familiar faces in one another's lives.
“I want them all to support each other and go through this process together,” Lifer said. “That support and connection have made a positive impact on many families before.”
At the moment. the Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Joel Downey said he was not sure how selecting three families would impact their future selection process but said the board planned to meet to discuss what changes, if any, would need to be made.
“This will potentially change our structure, but this is what needed to be done,” Downey said. “These families, these people are so deserving of this opportunity. There is a reason why we made an exception, why we choose them.”