Annual chamber luncheon presents various awards
On Jan. 24, the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Chamber Luncheon at the Grand Bohemian Hotel. During the luncheon, the chamber announced new leadership and presented three awards to community members: Employee of the Year, the Tynes Award and the Jemison Visionary Award.
At the beginning of the luncheon, 2016 chamber president Dan Bundy introduced attendees to the chamber president for 2017, Dr. Lori Smith. Smith has served as the executive vice president for the chamber for the past two years and as a director at large in the preceding years.
"These are really big shoes that I'm about to fill. I'm honored to be in this position," she said of taking Bundy's place in the chamber. "I've realized that one of the things I think that makes this community so neat is this amazing partnership."
Sam Gaston then presented the first award, Employee of the Year. After receiving five nominations, the city chose to recognize Michael Gill Jr. Gill is a senior arborist in the Public Works Department and has been a part of the city for 10 years. Recently he earned his degree in business management from Birmingham College and may continue on to law school, Gaston said.
"Mountain Brook has always been a pleasure of mine," Gill said. "I would not have been able to succeed in my job without the help of everyone. ...I would like to say thank you to everyone for helping me achieve this award."
The following award, named after William Tynes, is given to someone who has helped the Emmet O'Neal Library in many valuable ways. This year the award was presented not to a person, but a business: Western Supermarkets.
"From beer tastings to helping us with events, they have helped make so many memorable events," said library director Sue DeBrecht. "In the last 12 years, Western has donated over $160,000 to the Emmet O'Neal Library."
DeBrecht also said that in addition to donations, Western helped endlessly in the planning of different events, such as the Wine and Food Festival.
"This is an honor and we're appreciative of the recognition," said Western Supermarkets owner Ken Hubbard. "But this is a company award. ...I want to recognize the people who make this happen." Hubbard also presented DeBrecht with the company's contribution from its 2016 Wine and Food Festival which totaled to over $8,000, and Mike Royer, the emcee for the luncheon, recognized DeBrecht for her work with the library as she will be retiring in the near future.
The final award given during the luncheon was the Jemison Visionary Award.
"All of our awards are important, but this, I suppose, has to be the most prestigious award we give out every year during our luncheon," Royer said. The award was presented by Richard Yielding, a business man and active member in the Mountain Brook community, to long-time friend Hatton Smith, who has raised millions of dollars for different projects in the Birmingham community and is the CEO Emeritus of Royal Cup Coffee.
"To quote his brother Bill, there are not enough words in our language, or any language, to describe how valuable Hatton's leadership has been to Royal Cup," said Yielding. He also described the work that Smith has done in the community, including raising funds reinstate the UAB football program, for the Rotary Trail and for the Mountain Brook City Schools system. "Hatton deserves to be called a billion-dollar man, in my opinion," Yielding said.
Smith received his award to a standing ovation. "This award is really about collective vision," he said. "Our challenge as we leave this luncheon is to grasp the future, to grasp collective vision, to dream big, to coalesce together, to set high aspirations and to move our city forward, and that's what we're going to do."
The next chamber luncheon will be on March 16 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens with an All In Mountain Brook theme.