James Spann coming to Winfield December 30

WINFIELD - Meteorologist James Spann will be conducting a book signing at Dizzy Dean’s Fireworks in Winfield on Saturday, Dec. 30, from 1-4 p.m.
Spann has served as the Chief Meteorologist for ABC 33/40 for 24 years, and can be seen weeknights at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. In all, Spann has been a television weather anchor for 43 years.
Spann is also a prolific author having penned numerous children’s books as well as books pertaining to weather events. These books can be viewed at: crestpublishers.com.
Spann has received the two highest awards in the nation for a broadcast meteorologist. One is the national “Broadcaster of the Year” by the National Weather Association. According to the NWA, Spann was selected to receive the award “For his passionate dedication to serving the Central Alabama community with critical weather information for over thirty years, especially during the deadly April 27, 2011, tornado outbreak.”
Spann also was the winner of the American Meteorological Society “Award for Broadcast Meteorology.” The AMS stated he was the winner in part because of “his tireless efforts to advance the public’s awareness of and engagement in the science of meteorology, particularly severe weather forecasting and response.”
Spann has earned multiple Emmy awards over the years. He has also been inducted into the Theta Tau professional engineering fraternity Alumni Hall of Fame and the University of Alabama School of Communication Hall of Fame.
Spann is the chairman of the board of Grandview Medical Center, and is a member of the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences Board of Visitors.
Spann and his wife, Karen, have been married for 40 years, and they have two sons. Spann leads children’s worship every Sunday at Double Oak Community Church in Mount Laurel.
In his spare time, Spann enjoys tennis and amateur radio. He earned his first ham radio license at the age of 14, and holds an extra class license.
Dizzy Dean’s Fireworks Super Center is the largest fireworks super center in northern Alabama. The business opened in Dec. 2021, with a grand opening in the summer of 2022.
“I built it for the people of northwest Alabama,” owner Glenn Dodd stated. “On the busier days, we give away free popcorn, and we have the largest disco firecracker in the world. Once an hour, we crank it up and turn the whole store into Alabama’s largest dance floor. We have a giant eight foot tall prize wheel. It’s a fun place.”
Dodd mentioned they have all the standard things people love, such as bottle rockets and Roman candles, but they also sell a lot of the big show fireworks with multi shot aerials.
“We have the largest selection of those,” Dodd added. “Then there are the artillery shells where you put a shell in a tube and shoot it up one at a time. Those are real popular.”
Additionally, the super center has a kids’ section that is about the size of a normal stand.
Dizzy Dean’s has 10 locations, but began in Winfield in 2002.
“I built a 240 square foot wooden building,” Dodd said. “That building is now inside the 6,000 square foot super center.”
The super center is located on I-22, exit 30 at 135 Bob Lawrence Drive.