2021 marks 50 years for Amerex, 20 years since school groundbreaking.
Photo by Erin Nelson.
Former Paine Elementary School Principal Betsy Schmitt and former Paine Intermediate School Principal Beth Bruno stand in front of the school that’s now called Paine Elementary School.
It’s been 20 years since the dirt that forever changed the trajectory of what became Trussville City Schools was first turned.
Amerex Corporation founder Ned Paine broke the first bit of ground in August 2001 for what became Paine Primary and Paine Intermediate schools. Paine and his wife, Goldie, founded Amerex Corporation in 1971, a Trussville-based manufacturer of hand-portable and wheeled fire extinguishers. In 1999, the founding couple donated 38 acres of land across from Amerex Corporation on U.S. 11 to the Jefferson County Board of Education on the condition it be used for a new elementary school.
At the time, the Jefferson County Board of Education was already searching for available land for a new elementary school in Trussville to ease overcrowding at Hewitt Elementary School. In the fall of 2000, only four of the school’s 48 kindergarten to third grade classes met the state standard of one teacher for every 18 pupils in elementary classes. There were six portable trailers and one modular building at the lower part of the school’s campus. The school’s lunch period in 2000 began at 10 a.m. and lasted just over three hours to accommodate all of the classes. All this led in part to the need for a new school, and Ned and Goldie Paine’s donation.
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Photos courtesy of Trussville Public Library.
Photographs by Hal Yeager and an article by Donna Cornelius from the Dec. 31, 2003, issue of The Birmingham News shows students waiting to be picked up from school during the fall semester of the opening of the Paine Schools.
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The construction of the two new Paine schools meant the closing of Hewitt Elementary and Hewitt-Trussville Junior High schools. The old elementary school became the administration office for Trussville Fire & Rescue.
The subtraction of the junior high school meant an addition for Hewitt-Trussville Middle School on Parkway Drive. A $1.1 million addition that included eight classrooms was constructed so that eighth grade students could attend the middle school. The addition allowed the school to cease the use of 10 portable classrooms. That school is now Cahaba Elementary School. The Paine schools officially opened their doors for teachers and students at the beginning of the 2003-04 school year.
Beth Bruno was the Paine Intermediate School principal from 2003-14.
“Paine was and is the Cadillac of schools,” Bruno said. “Spacious, beautifully decorated, no expenses spared. Mrs. Goldie Paine had been collecting child-appropriate art for years. She had someone frame, place and hang all the art throughout the Paine schools. That art really made the school beautiful and was a true legacy for Mrs. Paine.”
Bruno remembers Ned Paine often coming by the school to chat and get updates.
“We both loved books, so we often discussed what we were reading at the time,” she said. “He was so wise and caring. He rarely offered advice, but made [Paine Primary School Principal] Betsy Schmitt and me feel that he was confident in our leadership. He was a genuine friend and advocate.”
Amerex Product Manager for Vehicle Systems Alan Fulton, who worked with Ned Paine, recounted the Paines’ land donation and the artwork contributions.
“Mr. Paine was very into education and would reimburse employees for their expenses to further their education,” Fulton said.
Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill said the Paines’ generosity has touched the lives of thousands of families over the past two decades.
“Their land donation allowed the creation of Paine Elementary School, which has benefited our entire community as families move to Trussville because of our high-performing schools,” Neill said. “Ned Paine was also one of the charter members of the Trussville City Schools Board of Education, and his picture will hang in the new central office.”
Ned Paine served on the Trussville City Schools Board of Education, Trussville City Schools Foundation, Jefferson County School Foundation and Trussville Industrial Development Board. He died in July 2015. Goldie Paine served as Amerex Corporation’s international president, selling fire extinguishers in 71 countries. She served as the president of the World Trade Association. She died in October 2015.
“Trussville City Schools and Paine Elementary are part of the legacy left by Ned and Goldie Paine, and we will always appreciate them for their contribution to the education of our students,” Neill said.
