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Air Force veteran Rashim McKinney helps his hometown scale with technology lab | People to Watch

Montgomery Advertiser - 12/22/2021

There used to be a bank next door to century-old Chris' Hot Dogs, a few steps away from Alabama's State Capitol. Now, it's something else.

Today, in the lobby where tellers once greeted guests, representatives from nearby Trenholm State Community College are helping Air Force stakeholders better integrate technology into their operations. In one of the back offices, an aerospace company is meeting with a tech startup about expanding their operations here. In another, the head of a new outdoor trails project is discussing how it should roll out, exchanging ideas with Rashim McKinney.

It's an average Monday at The Lab on Dexter, the small and minority business-focused downtown innovation center that was formed through a public-private partnership earlier this year. It's also the home base for the startup accelerator project Montgomery TechLab and its innovation director, McKinney.

The Lab opened its doors in September alongside anchor tenant — and TechLab alum — AnalogTeams.

"It really is doing what it's designed to do," McKinney said about the new space. "It's fun for me. I get to put my hands into all these different things."

It's the kind of work that the Auburn University and Tuskegee University graduate has been doing for years, just at a different scale. While serving in the Air Force, he once found himself helping get kids in Inglewood, Calif., into STEM and came to appreciate the value of growing the community in that way. He yearned to make that kind of impact on his hometown.

That led him to start tech consulting company Gibraltar Solutions years ago and get involved with other innovation and startup leaders here. The speed and scope of that impact is changing as momentum builds.

More: Tech companies pitch local business ideas as Montgomery looks to student pipeline

More: From Austin to Montgomery, a tech success that almost wasn't

"Montgomery's at a pivotal point where it can choose to be whatever it wants to be," McKinney said. "It literally has one of the best brands in the world, and its time has come calling. There's nothing like an idea whose time has come."

Now, the 36-year-old watches the reflection of those changes in the eyes of his three daughters.

"My youngest daughter was riding by a building on South Perry Street, a big glass building on the corner," McKinney said. "She said, 'Dad, that's going to be my office one day.'

"... To have them engaged in the stuff that I'm doing around the city and to see how that forms and shapes what they think is possible, I think that's really important."

The Montgomery Advertiser's People to Watch is a series of stories about everyday Alabamians we believe will do exceptional things in our communities in the coming year. Our readers and journalists nominated this year's slate. The Advertiser will publish profiles about these honorees from Dec. 23 through early January.

What is Montgomery's greatest attribute?

"Its spirit, the spirit of Montgomery. I call it the city of giants, and not just because of folks that were here 60 years ago but the everyday folks walking the streets today."

What did the pandemic teach you about yourself?

"Just because you can do a lot of different things doesn't mean that you need to do a lot of different things. Focus on filling gaps and then really supporting the people who are really doing great jobs and great things in their lanes."

Name somebody in the community who inspires you.

"Where do I start? Guys like Pastor Richard Williams, Kevin King, (Octavious Jackson) down at the county. Folks that are behind the scenes, doing the tough work that nobody sees every day."

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brad Harper at bharper1@gannett.com.

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