Mary Wilson started work at the Alabama Farmers Federation in 2012 and became co-host of Simply Southern when the show began in 2015.
She was raised on a small cattle and tobacco farm in central Kentucky. A 2007 graduate of Western Kentucky University, she has a degree in broadcasting and geography. When not at work, her energetic rescue dog, Doug, keeps her busy. She also enjoys traveling with her husband, Matt.
Favorite Simply Southern shoot: Square dancing with the Guntersville Lake Twirlers back in season 3! I never knew square dancing could be so much fun!
Next thing to check off the bucket list: I’ve recently gotten into genealogy and discovered the towns my ancestors came from in Ireland and Scotland. I’d love to visit those places!
Kevin Worthington has proudly worked for the farmers of Alabama for more than 20 years. He joined the staff of the Alabama Farmers Federation following nearly 10 years in radio and television news. While he’s served as director and agriculture reporter for Simply Southern since its inception, he became co-host in 2021.
He and his wife, Leanne, have two sons, a daughter and six grandchildren.
Most memorable Simply Southern shoots: Sharing the stories of farmer David Wright, who lost his right arm when he was 14, and youth livestock exhibitor Shelby Traylor. Shelby was born with spina bifida. But growing up, she’s always been a vital part of the family’s farm. I enjoy sharing those kinds of inspiring stories.
Favorite food: Steak. Medium.
Melissa Bowman graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in journalism. She loves discovering and telling the stories of interesting people and places. Melissa started as a freelance reporter with Simply Southern in 2018 and became a recurring reporter in every episode starting in 2021.
Additionally, Melissa is the co-host of a morning radio show in her home town of Montgomery, Alabama, where she lives with her husband, Scott. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing and choreography as well as painting.
Most memorable Simply Southern shoot: Definitely getting to do goat yoga at Goat Yoga Birmingham. I think goats are some of the cutest animals! And how can you not smile being surrounded by goats? (Watch for this feature later in season 7!)
Next thing to check off the bucket list: I’ve always wanted to go to England. I love British literature.
Stacey Little is the food blogger and recipe developer behind SouthernBite.com. He joined Simply Southern in 2021.
Stacey’s goal with his blog and cookbook is to share tasty recipes that make it easy for people to share meals with their family. He and his wife, Heather, have a son, Jack.
Recipe he’s most proud of developing: That’s probably a tie. My great-grandmother, we called her Big Momma, used to make turnip greens and cornbread dumplings. We loved it, but none of us ever got her recipe before she passed away. I finally was able to recreate that, and that was a great gift to give my family. Then, for the blog, I created a recipe called Pulled Pork and Collard Green Egg Rolls with a White Alabama BBQ Dipping Sauce — we just crammed so much Southern in that dish that it’s probably my other favorite.
Controversies created by blog posts: That has to be a close tie between calling a lima bean a butter bean and putting some sugar in cornbread. Now, you want to get folks riled up, those two things’ll do it.