May 27—This is one in a series of occasional stories on local small businesses.

Leah Stephens, co-owner and vice president of T&C Stamping in Athens, feels a sense of pride every time she walks into a store and sees a Sunbeam Oster brand blender, knowing her company helped make it.

Stephens said the best way to describe a metal stamping is "if you buy a Sunbeam Oster brand blender at Walmart, most all of the blender blades, as well as most of the metal components that are in the base part of the blender, are made here."

T&C makes 10 different parts for the blender and ships over 120 million pieces for it annually. They make approximately 580 different parts overall and ship a total of 167 million pieces annually.

A family-owned business that has operated in Athens since 1985, T&C was honored last month with the Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce's Small Business of the Year Award among businesses with more than 50 employees.

Some of the metals T&C uses are steel, aluminum, brass and silver. T&C has customers all over the world, Stephens said.

"We have a really diverse customer base," Stephens said. "We have automotive as well as small appliance business, as well as lawn and garden business ... as well as the rail(road) business. Those are some of our major customers."

T&C makes parts for companies such as Briggs & Stratton, Siemens Mobility and Linde Wiemann, among others. Stephens personally owns a generator whose Briggs & Stratton engine contains parts made by her company.

Rita Kincaid, who lived in Athens most of her life, has worked for T&C the entire 37 years they have been in business. She started out on a metal stamping press but became a quality engineer around 1997.

Kincaid said she has continued to work for T&C for so long because "they're laid back, everyone's friendly, (and) it's just a nice, family-owned company." Kincaid plans to stay at T&C until she retires.

Stephens said the company was started by Mike Coleman and John Turner in 1985. When Coleman died in 1997, the Coleman family bought out Turner. Mark Coleman, Stephens' brother, is currently co-owner and president.

Stephens said the company currently has 80 employees. "In the beginning it was started with just a few employees as a small metal stamping company." She said most of their employees live in Limestone County.

Stephens said T&C is an asset to Limestone County. She said the company has always been an active member of the chamber and the Limestone County Economic Development Association.

"We are always eager to be active in the community by giving back and volunteering and participating in community events," Stephens said.

Stephens said T&C is involved with the Athens-Limestone Hospital Foundation, Relay for Life and fundraisers for the Athens High School booster club, among other things.

Selection for the chamber award was based partly on community involvement.

In 1985, the company started in a small section of a now 96,000-square-foot facility. Stephens said the business has grown with Limestone County.

Brooke Pettus, programs and events manager for the chamber, said T&C won the award "based on their leadership and community support, chamber involvement, business success and overall deservedness."

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.

Meghan Markle isn't one to sit back and watch . In the aftermath of the tragic...

"Our patience will pay off," firefighter Brad Brautigam said. "It's going to be really beautiful when it gets back eventually."

Westborough Deputy Fire Chief Jason Ferschke said he's looking forward to getting to know Natick after being named the town's new fire chief.

In a small town with many rooted traditions, a "car wash and plate sale" is the old-school way of giving back.

Shelves at the Westmoreland Food Bank will soon be a little fuller, thanks to the Rotary Club of Delmont-Salem and Busy Beaver.

The Duchess of Sussex has paid a visit to a memorial for the victims of mass shooting in Texas. Meghan Markle placed flowers at the memorial

A group of Gilbert students took their classroom learning about cancer out to serve patients and families.

The amfAR gala, the social and celebrity highlight of every Cannes Film Festival, returned in all its pre-COVID glory Thursday night. With all pandemic restrictions lifted in France ahead of this year’s festival, the charity event from the foundation for AIDS Research could again pull out all the stops in a glitzy and star-studded evening. […]

Paige Barrows, 34, raised nearly $15,000 to help survivors of the Russian invasion and is hosting a Friday event at Drexel Hall. Tickets are $20 at the door.

The three municipalities exceeded the goal they set and collected 91 pints, which can save up to 273 lives.

During her time at the helm, Furner led the chamber through the pandemic while adding more than 100 members and implementing many positive changes.

The organization is a large support group of cancer survivors helping each other tackle their journeys as they re-enter life after treatments.

"Dine with Uvalde" organizes Austin restaurants to donate to relief funds this weekend. Emmer & Rye group also plans to donate part of Sunday sales.

More than 1,000 volunteers gathered at Massachusetts National Cemetery to place flags on graves of those who served

Helping has long been a passion for Ryann and Dulce McMillon.