CULLMAN – Clint Hollingsworth is a man who is outnumbered. Until two years ago, he was the only man in the house, living with four ladies- his wife and three daughters. The addition of the Hollingsworth’s son, Nelson, who joined the family when he was adopted from Haiti, gave the City of Cullman councilman a rough and tumble compadre. Cullman’s love for young Nelson was shown immediately as he was embraced, literally and figuratively, with love and hugs galore.
Hollingsworth talks about his children with the unmistakable pride that all dads can relate to and says Nelson was a game changer for his family’s home. “We had just the girls for so long so, when Nelson came along, he was really different than the girls were at his age! He’s into everything with an engine – motorcycles, four wheelers, Polaris Rangers. He likes to go fast. He’s all boy and loves anything motorized. He’s a hoot!
"It speaks to our community about how we were supported and loved during the three-year adoption process. We brought a then 4-year old Haitian boy here and he’s been welcomed just like I was when I came here. He was so adaptive and Cullman has just loved on him for the past two years!”
As a part of the current team on Cullman City Council, Hollingsworth is seeking his third term in the Aug. 23 municipal election. Cullman’s love and acceptance for his young son mirrors the same unconditional welcome and love Hollingsworth received when he first moved to Cullman as a young man himself in 1994. Finishing up his high school years at Cullman High School, Hollingsworth married a local girl which immersed him even more into the community.
“Looking back, when I first moved to Cullman in ’94, people welcomed me, loved on me and were so friendly from the get-go. When I got married, my wife’s family embraced me with open arms, giving me roots here too. That is a huge part of why I love this community and why I serve and give back to Cullman.”
Proud of the city’s family-friendly atmosphere, Hollingsworth shared, ““Cullman is a place that’s pro-family, pro-business and it’s safe. In the world today where people need a job, value their families and want a safe place to raise their kids, you see a lot of folks moving into Cullman. When you look at the schools, the hospital and the overall safety of the city, you can see why folks are leaving to go to school and coming back here. Plus, there are career and job opportunities here in Cullman that weren’t here just eight years ago.”
Hollingsworth and his wife, Leslie, have five children – Nelson, who is now 6, Clementine, who will be 8 in September, Eliza is 13 and Caroline will be 16 in August. The family lost their beloved son and brother, John Carter, in 2007 when he was just 5-months old.
Speaking of the family’s tragedies and how Cullman lifted up the young family, Hollingsworth said, “I had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006 and went through six rounds of chemo, and we had a child born in November of ’06 that had a diaphragmatic hernia and he passed in April 2007. 2006 and 2007 were a critical time in our lives when our family, our church, our friends and our community were huge parts of us getting through our circumstances.
"That was a big reason I have such a need to give back. From 1994 until the present, this town has been very good to me. From that horrible time when we needed folks the most, they were there. That defines Cullman. That was a big deal to me. I will always be appreciative of this community because they took care of us and now I just want to take care of them.”
Suddenly, Hollingsworth’s unique perspective on life, his ferocious love for Cullman and the maturity that belies his age, make sense. The life-altering events have provided him with an even greater appreciation for the many blessings he was worked for, prayed for and been given.
“At the end of the day, relationships matter so much in life, and I value these friendships and people in the community. That’s the beauty of serving on city council. I get to interact and see so many types of people and appreciate what they do to help our city function.
“We have such a good mix with our council. Everybody brings different things to the table. Jenny, Coach, the mayor, Johnny, Garlan – from our age to our professions to our families to where we grew up, all of these things mesh very well. We all have different strengths and experiences. Our backgrounds are from sales, education, small business owners and a banker. I think we represent the city as a whole very well. We all want to do what’s right for Cullman. Our temperaments work well together. We have our differences in opinions, but at the end of the day, we always look at the big picture and realize what’s most important and what truly matters. I think we’ve done a good job in the last eight years of doing what’s best for Cullman.
“The mayor talks about how Cullman is a great place to live, work, worship and play and it’s so true. We want to do more and finish up on projects that we’ve started. We listen to the people and hear both the good and the bad opinions then try to do things that will benefit everybody.
“The influx of new retailers from Dick’s Sporting Goods to Publix to Ross and different retail businesses popping up mean that people don’t have to travel outside of Cullman to shop. The retail growth has been a great accomplishment. Several things all came together at the same time that spawned this growth. I think that, in the last eight years, we’ve done a great job providing opportunities for people in the opportunities in the job market.”
As head of the tourism committee on the council, Hollingsworth is proud of the town’s willingness to work together for the greater good of the city. “If you look at the weekend when we had the Strawberry Festival, the state track meet, Relay for Life, Day in the Park and state baseball, softball and soccer games, the town was packed! Restaurant and hotel owners were happy because they were so busy. The business people were happy because of the foot traffic through their restaurants, business and stores. I think to get these events and to get people in your city, it takes a group effort by folks who are organizing, communicating, making contacts and they all had to be willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the community. It takes a lot of folks coming together who can work unselfishly for the good of Cullman. Everybody benefits. It takes all of these departments and groups looking at the big picture and what’s good for Cullman. Everybody wins. I hope that everyone appreciates us trying to bring folks to Cullman to increase revenue.”
As for the future of Cullman, he hopes for the council to continue its momentum with continued retail recruitment and downtown revitalization. “We have such a neat downtown that it would be great to get it to where more people want to come there. I want to see it become more pedestrian-friendly. It’s important, also, to preserve memories and history when we redo historic buildings so that we honor different aspects of our heritage. The folks that came before us paved the way to allow us to be where we’re at today. I think it’s respectful to try to keep those memories and honor their work as we move forward. Just think about all of the time and work Chester Freeman and everyone put into getting the Heritage Park idea off the ground in the early 90s. Today, people appreciate and use that park so much that Mr. Freeman’s dream was realized.”
Another progressive step Hollingsworth is excited about is Cullman City Parks and Recreation’s Connected Park, a fully-inclusive playground for children and adults of all abilities. The special needs-friendly park will take advantage of the Ingle Park area next to the Field of Miracles, Cullman’s inclusive ballpark that opened 10 year ago. “I can’t wait to see Connected Park open up and the kids playing there. The kids in our community with special needs are so important to all of us!”
Hollingsworth continues to share in a manner that is usually only found with our grandmas and grandpas, “When things happen in your life, your mindset changes. When we get older and mature, what was important in our 20s isn’t as important in our 30s, and it changes in our 40s and so on. Your outlook on life and what matters changes. You learn to appreciate all that you have. Whether you’re serving on city council or at your school or church or work, everybody has a circle of influence and I think it’s important to be a positive influence on those around you.”
