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Editor’s Note: This feature originally ran on February 26, 2025 in the 2025 Progress edition (Chambers County Is…). The Progress edition is a publication produced annually by the Valley Times News. If you would like to pick up a copy of the 2025 Progress edition, please visit our office at 4002 20th Ave Suite E in Valley.

Home is where the heart is — that old adage has proven true for one decades-long Valley resident, Ellen Emfinger. 

Emfinger first found herself in the Valley in 1992. While finishing her master’s degree in Library Media at Auburn University, she got her first job with the Chambers County School District as a teacher at Valley High School.

She never thought when she first arrived that she would end up falling in love with someone who had deep Valley roots, her husband Bruce Emfinger, and raising her own family in Valley.

After graduating, Emfinger moved to LaFayette-Lanier Elementary where she worked as the media specialist for 24 years. When the school closed, she found her way back to Valley High School as the media specialist.

“It is a full circle moment that I got to see a lot of these kids start their school career, and I’m getting to see them graduate too,” Emfinger reflected. 

But what kept her and her family here all these years? Emfinger said, like many in the Valley, they loved being a part of a small town community. 

“I love making those connections,” Emfinger said. “And Valley is a place where people don’t mind helping each other and there’s almost a sense of family here.”

Emfinger does more than just work in the library at VHS though. During her time at LaFayette-Lanier, she sponsored a beautification club for students. When she moved to Valley High, many of those same students had matriculated there and wanted to keep the club going. 

That’s how VHS’s Ecology Club got started. Over the years, with the help of Commissioner Sam Bradford, the program has been able to partner with Alabama PALS (People Against a Littered State) on several projects.

Alabama PALS and the Chambers County Commission host an Adopt-A-Mile program for picking up litter. AL-PALS also hosts an annual recycled art contest, poster contest and several other civic engagement activities that Emfinger and her students have taken part in. They’ve even won awards for the past few years for their submissions. 

In addition to the AL-PALS, they have donated floral centerpieces to local nursing homes, cleaned up nature trails around town and volunteered with many community events. Engaging students in the community is always at the forefront of Emfinger’s work.

“When I first came here in 1992 the civic groups and the service groups in the community were huge,” Emfinger said. 

“I’m hoping that through promoting some of this through the students, that as they go into adulthood, they will be interested in joining and bringing life back to some of those civic groups where numbers have dwindled and they’re struggling to stay alive right now,” Emfinger said. 

When asked who she felt represented the community well, Emfinger had several names on her mind. 

“I’ve had so many people in Valley who have influenced me in a positive way and had a hard time with that question. There have been people from church, work and family friends who have all had a huge impact. There are just so many good people in Valley,” Emfinger said. 

She settled, though, on another Valley native who has made a career out of improving Chambers County: Commissioner Debra Riley. Riley has taught, served as a paramedic and now serves as a county commissioner. 

“I still say that the quiet workhorse, Debra Riley, is someone I truly admire and desire to be like. She is a true professional in everything she does,” Emfinger continued. “… She is one of the biggest advocates we have for Chambers County in my opinion. She loves her family and cares deeply for friends in need. She is what I would consider an unsung hero for our county because she grew up here, has always lived and worked here and now has served in a position to help make the best decisions possible for citizens in our county.”

A perfect day to show Valley off to visitors, for Emfinger, would be around the holidays. The first visit would be to the historic Christmas Merry-Go-Round, then the Fairfax tree festival and next a Winter Festival reminiscent of the old days at LaFayette Lanier Elementary. 

When asked what advice she had for young people, Emfinger spent some time thinking about it and decided to put together a poster to hang up at the school. Emfinger hopes students remember to:

B — Be the best version of you and invest in your relationships as a family member, friend, or co-worker.

E — Excel in all you do to the best of your ability. Work ethic wins!

G — Go explore options while learning the soft and hard skills it takes to be successful in your career.

R — Read and continue to grow. Learning doesn’t stop after you graduate.

E — Empathize with others. Know the power of servant leadership and follow “The Golden Rule”.

A — Always remember where you came from and value the experiences gained along the way.

They are what make you YOU!

T — “Thinking” by Walter D. Wintle is a poem to read and memorize. It will get you through

life’s challenges and serve as a reminder that positive thinking and self-belief can help

determine the outcome of many situations we face in life.