Leadership Alabama

Look what your dues and gifts enable Leadership Alabama to do for current and future classes!  Class XXXI, with 64 members, launched last week, and the agenda was chalked full of incredible speakers in historic and impactful venues.

We were thrilled to hear from –
The Honorable Steven Reed, LA Board Chair David Nast, Thomas Rains, the Honorable Myron Thompson, the Honorable Teresa Pulliam, Bennet Wright, Dr. Ed Bridges, the Honorable Anthony Daniels, the Honorable Greg Reed, Greg Canfield, Alex Flachsbart, the Honorable Kay Ivey, Jimmy Parnell, Jeff Helms, Matthew Durdin, Brian Hardin, Paul Pinyan, Dr. John Dorsey & PHF fellows, Stacia Robinson and John Saxon.

We were thankful for the beautiful venues that welcomed us –
The Frank M. Johnson Federal Courthouse and historic court room, the Montgomery Museum of Art, the Alabama State House, ALFA’s Montgomery Headquarters, Montgomery members’ homes for dinearounds and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

Again, none of this would be possible without your annual dues payment of only $175 and your generous gifts, and we respectfully ask you to submit your dues for this fiscal year, 2021 – 2022.  You can make an immediate and secure payment online simply by utilizing the pay online button below.  Or, if you prefer a printed invoice for mailing a check, please click the invoice button.  Simply print and mail with your check to Leadership Alabama, P.O. Box 131394, Birmingham, AL  35213.

We send a huge, gratitude-filled hug to the MANY of you who have already sent dues and additional gifts – please know how much they are appreciated!  We are updating the dues/contributions and corporate gifts pages on the Leadership Alabama website, and they will be posted next week.   Additionally, for those who sent checks, a tax receipt will be mailed to you within the next few weeks.

Click here to pay online.

Click here for a paper invoice.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Kate & Ashley

Again, let’s welcome Class XXXI!
Ryan Austin, Birmingham; Will Barrois, Mobile; Chris Blankenship, Montgomery; Tommy Brigham, Birmingham; Kenyen Brown, Mobile; Anna Buckalew, Montgomery; Dawn Bulgarella, Birmingham; Greg Butrus, Birmingham; Greg Carnes, Muscle Shoals; Ronnie Chronister, Huntsville; Brooke Coleman, Birmingham; Susan Comensky, Birmingham; Allison Black Cornelius, Birmingham; Tommy Coshatt, Auburn; Derrick Cunningham, Montgomery; Mike Daria, Tuscaloosa; Cathy De La Garza, Mobile; Michael Douglas, Decatur; Trey Echols, Birmingham; Marquis Forge, Autaugaville; Brian Gary, Montgomery; Joe Hampton, Birmingham; Ben Harrison, Cullman; Sharon Haynes, Rockford; Betsy Holloway, Birmingham; Todd Jackson, Birmingham; Stephanie Kennedy Mell, Huntsville; Felicia Long, Montgomery; Delbert Madison, Montgomery; Emily Marks, Montgomery; Keith Martin, Atmore; Scott Mayo, Decatur; Steve Miley, Scottsboro; Anoop Mishra, Birmingham; John Montgomery, Birmingham; Mac Moorer, Birmingham; Chris Newlin, Huntsville; Tim Parker, Tuscaloosa; Russell Pigg, Florence; Kelli Powers, Decatur; James Rane, Abbeville; Amy Rauworth, Birmingham; Jim Richardson, Birmingham; Lashunda Scales, Birmingham; Tuerk Schlesinger, Mobile; Tasha Scott, Montgomery; Chad Scroggins, Columbiana; Jack Sharman, Birmingham; Jeb Shell, Mobile; Andrea Smith, Birmingham; Bryson Stephens, Birmingham; Hal Taylor, Montgomery; Chad Tindol, Tuscaloosa; Lynn Troy, Huntsville; Susan Waldrop, Birmingham; Steve Walker, Birmingham; Bestor Ward, Mobile; Karockas Watkins, Huntsville; Phil Webb, Heflin; Clare Weil, Montgomery; Ray White, Huntsville; Ashli Wilkins, Dothan; Elizabeth Winter, Tuscaloosa; Bob Woodall, Dothan.

Leadership Alabama is finally moving ahead again!  On the heels of countless Zoom sessions, remote board meetings and scheduled, postponed and rescheduled retreats and celebrations, we are thrilled to announce that Leadership Alabama Class XXXI will launch on October 7 in Montgomery, Alabama Leadership Initiative (ALI) Class IV will start its program year in November and plans are being finalized for the “30 and STILL Holding!” anniversary celebration on Wednesday, July 27, through Friday, July 29, 2022 at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear.  Additionally, after an August break, the Leadership Alabama Commission on Race and Equity (LACRE) is ready to jump back into its very important work.

As the work accelerates, we started this fiscal year (July 1) with a streamlined budget, eliminating additional expenses from the general operating budget after eliminating $26,000 last year.  We were very conservative when establishing the 2021/2022 budget, and we continue to look for ways to streamline processes and reduce expenses.

None of this work would be possible without your steadfast, ongoing support through your annual dues and contributions, and we are extremely thankful!  Without question, membership dues & your additional gifts are the lifeline of our organization, and we humbly ask you to submit your $175 dues for this fiscal year, 2021 – 2022.

Since establishing the category of donors who contribute $500 or more through their dues & contributions – Gold Circle Donors – the membership in this category has exploded.  Last year, 145 of you gave at this level, compared to 79 and 52 in the years preceding – thank you!

Click to see 2020-2021 Gold Circle Donors

You can make an immediate and secure payment online simply by utilizing the pay online button below.  Or, if you prefer a printed invoice for mailing a check, please click the invoice button.  Simply print and mail with your check to Leadership Alabama, P.O. Box 131394, Birmingham, AL 35213.

We can’t wait to see you soon!
Kate and Ashley

With profound sadness, we shared the news in March of the death of Mr. J. Michael Jenkins IV, a beloved board member, former board chair and co-founder of Leadership Alabama.  In 1989, Mike Jenkins and Bill Smith, chair of Royal Cup Coffee and Tea, shared the vision of creating an organization that would unite people from all backgrounds, professions and perspectives in order to collectively learn about the state’s challenges and opportunities.  By annually convening a diverse group of state leaders, it would enhance the opportunities of creating solutions and initiatives that would foster the continued growth and success of Alabama.  From this partnership and shared passion, Leadership Alabama was born, and Class I launched in Montgomery in 1990. In honor of Mike’s extraordinary leadership, commitment and vision, Leadership Alabama’s board of directors unanimously voted to establish the “J. Michael Jenkins IV Scholarship Fund” by allocating $10,000 from LA’s operating budget to this newly-created line item for the sole purpose of assisting young professionals (ages 25 – 40) participate in our Alabama Leadership Initiative (ALI) program.  Mike was instrumental in the creation of ALI and felt strongly that rising leaders in our state should be able to participate in this transformative program regardless of their ability to pay.  To make a contribution to this account, click the button to securely give online or mail a check to Leadership Alabama at P.O. Box 131394, Birmingham, AL 35213, and note that it is for the Jenkins ALI Scholarship Fund. Jenkins Scholarship Fund Online Giving

 

LACRE

After an August break, we are ready to jump back into our work.  While it looks like we still won’t be able to host statewide town hall meetings for a while longer, we will soon wrap-up our education-focused work with some written submissions related to education funding and plan our next listening session.  All previous zoom sessions, accompanying material, various resource materials and a list of the commission members are included on the Leadership Alabama website. Click underlined links for resources and members.

ALI Class IV

Commencing in November!

As a nation, we are tired, depressed, divided. We yell, we criticize, we label. We languish in silos, with closed minds and deaf ears, while shouting obscenities at those who think differently, act differently, and most definitely ARE different. Compromise is no longer a viable action; it has been replaced by unyielding resistance, skepticism and stoic determination. Yes, as a nation, we are tired.

America, we can do better; we must do better. Alabama, for the sake of all of us, our neighbors and the future of our state, we simply HAVE to do better. We owe it to each other. We owe it to the thousands of individuals who have selflessly served and continue to serve our nation. And, we definitely owe it to those who died on September 11, 2001 and to those who, following the horror and chaos, valiantly volunteered to protect all of us – without any thought to what divides us.

Do you remember how we, as a devastated and wounded country, shelved our many differences and experiences in unity to defend, protect and extol our incredible nation? And now, twenty years later, as we toil through distrust, discourse and a pandemic, we need to stop. We need to remember and honor those who died, volunteered and ran into the abyss to shield us, ALL of us, from the unknown enemy attacking our country. Through all of our many cracks and fusions, they should always be the reason, the symbol, the reminder to all of us to return to decency – to be thankful that we live in a nation without boundaries, restrictions or punishments, even when we are behaving at our worst, even as we address injustices – past and current.

Alabama, proudly wave the American flag on this solemn 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, and recognize that even though we are flawed, it stands to symbolize all of us – red, white & blue. It continues to wave in spite of our imperfections, and it continues to be a beacon to the world, even when the world isn’t watching. Most importantly, it continues to represent the freedom of thought, expression and action for each one of us, no matter what we think, where we stand or how we behave. May we all recognize its symbolic power of creating unity and loyalty to a common good by remembering those who died simply because they lived and worked in our incredible country, blemishes and all.

September 11, 2021

We Stand Strong

Dr. Henry Panion III, an extraordinary composer, arranger, conductor and educator, was a member of Leadership Alabama’s Class XII, which was in Huntsville at the Redstone Arsenal during the week of the attack. As he recently noted in an email to some fellow classmates, “This week we will see many images and hear many stories from that horrific day.  Thus, I thought I’d re-share my song, “We Stand Strong,” with you.  And, as I laid across my hotel bed on the Friday night of the retreat, watching TV coverage of people walking the streets of New York looking for their lost loved ones, the words and melody of the song just seem to come from nowhere…yet, everywhere.

We invite you to download a high-res copy of the score to the song, as well as the recording of the song by former Birmingham Police Chief Annetta Nunn.

http://www.music.uab.edu/Westandstrong.pdf
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uq2ybasxo2rob5l/02%20-%20We%20Stand%20Strong.mp3?dl=0

Click here to pay online and register!

Dear LA Members,

To those of you who were able to join us for the first LACRE zoom session on primary and secondary education, thank you for joining the conversation. We appreciated your engagement and value your feedback as we plan the second zoom session on education, which will focus on college and career readiness. As the surveys suggested, the upcoming session will include fewer speakers, allowing more time for Q&A and active engagement. Additionally, all of the presentations will be “live,” and we are honored that the following leaders will be sharing time with us –

• Dr. Jim Purcell                 Alabama Commission on Higher Education
• Dr. Jeremiah Newell     ACCEL Day and Evening Academy (Mobile)
• Ms. Tammy Dunn            A+ College Ready
• Dr. Lee Meadows            The Alabama STEM Council

Please mark your calendars for Friday, April 16, at 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Attendance is free, and if you can’t join us for the entire time, you are welcome to join us as your schedule permits.  If you plan to attend, please click the registration button below to complete the quick and easy registration form.  The Zoom meeting information will be sent within the next week or so.

Register here!

With profound sadness, Leadership Alabama shares the news of the death of Mr. J. Michael Jenkins IV, a beloved board member, former board chair and co-founder of Leadership Alabama. In 1989, Mike Jenkins and Bill Smith, Chairman of Royal Cup Coffee and Tea, shared the vision of creating an organization that would unite people from all backgrounds, professions and perspectives in order to collectively learn about our state’s challenges and opportunities. By annually convening a diverse group of state leaders, it would enhance the opportunities of creating solutions and initiatives that would foster the continued growth and success of Alabama. From this partnership and shared passion, Leadership Alabama was born. Class I launched in Montgomery in 1990, and this fall, Class XXXI will do the same. Since its beginning, approximately 1,700 leaders have participated in the LA program. As we fondly remember Mike, let us all offer heartfelt gratitude for him and Bill for their leadership and commitment to our beloved state.

J. Mike Jenkins IV