As 2025 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to revisit some of the stories that resonated most across Mountain Brook. These aren’t just top clicks or biggest headlines — they’re pieces that captured something real about the people, places and moments that defined the year.
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Photo by Savannah Schmidt
Mayor Stewart Welch at Mountain Brook City Hall.
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Photo courtesy of City of Mountain Brook
When Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch first sat down to evaluate his life goals, the idea of public office didn’t cross his mind. Yet after two successful terms as mayor, Welch is preparing to step down, leaving behind a legacy shaped by long-held ambitions and an unshakable commitment to community.
His journey to public service began far from City Hall — in the insurance business with his father. In his early 20s and fresh out of college, Welch wasn’t sure what life had in store for him, but his work in insurance sales soon offered some direction.
“With sales, it forces you to get organized and to begin to set some goals and things like that,” Welch said. “About six months after I started my career work, it was like a bolt of lightning came out and struck me, and all of a sudden I started getting really focused.”
As Welch set sales goals in the office, he also began to set life goals for himself. One of those goals, etched on a yellow legal pad, was to become a millionaire by age 40. Welch had no idea how he would get there, but he knew
Staff photo
Mayor Stewart Welch shakes hands with former Mayor Terry Oden at the dedication ceremony for the new Mountain Brook police and fire training facility Oct. 13, 2017.
one thing: he needed a plan.
“The criteria was, if there were no limits, I had unlimited talent, unlimited money, if there was nothing that stopped me. What is it I would do?” he said. “And so I started a bucket list.”
His early investments were as adventurous as they were strategic — a lakeside cabin accessible only by boat, condos in Florida and Colorado shared with friends, and a six-plex apartment where his grandmother lived.
“I didn’t want anyone raising her rent or kicking her out,” he said.
Over time, his real estate ventures expanded into raw land, low-income housing and office buildings.
Alongside financial aspirations, Welch’s bucket list included dreams of writing a book, appearing on television
Photo courtesy of the City of Mountain Brook
and contributing to national financial publications. Over the years, he has managed to accomplish all of those things and more. Welch has written a series of personal finance books, beginning with a guide for newlyweds published by Simon & Schuster. He became a regular financial contributor for Money magazine, Forbes and The New York Times. He has appeared weekly on WBRC Fox 6 for more than two decades in a segment called “Money Tuesdays.”
Welch also founded his own wealth management company in 1984: The Welch Group.
While checking items off the list has brought him success, it's Welch’s work ethic, dedication, planning skills and confidence in pursuing his goals that have led him to where he is today.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch gives the closing remarks during the 22nd annual Patriot Day and September 11 Remembrance Ceremony with the cities of Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills at SoHo Plaza on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch shakes hands with Melissa Turnage after Turnage gave the keynote speech and shared her story during the 22nd annual Patriot Day and September 11 Remembrance Ceremony with the cities of Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills at SoHo Plaza on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
Despite a career grounded in private-sector success, Welch’s foray into public service came at the encouragement of City Council member Billy Pritchard, following the retirement of longtime Mayor Terry Oden.
“My initial reaction was not no, but h*ll no,” Welch said. “And the reason was, it was right at that time when there was a big news story that the mayor from Birmingham had literally gotten in a fistfight with a council member in the back chambers. … So I said, ‘I can fight, but I don't want to do that.’”
After being reassured by Pritchard that such conflict was unlikely in Mountain Brook, Welch eventually agreed — and ran unopposed, being elected in 2016.
Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch signs a no-poaching agreement with other Jefferson County mayors on April 3, 2019.
Thankfully, Welch hasn’t experienced any fistfights in council chambers, and he’s since developed deep admiration for the city’s employees and officials.
“I think sometimes people have a mental image of people working in government, and I was just wrong,” Welch said. “I can remember the first couple of days I was mayor, somebody called with the classic pothole issue. So I said, ‘All right, I'm going to send an email to Sam telling him the problem.’ And then I figured it would go into the abyss.”
The next day, the pothole had been fixed, and Welch remembers saying to his wife, “Wow, I wonder how long this honeymoon is going to last.”
As of April 2025, he was still living in it, praising City Manager Sam Gaston, his assistant, Public Information
Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Mayor Stewart Welch introduces Nimrod Long, III, the recipient of the 2024 Jemison Visionary Award, during the annual Mountain Brook Chamber luncheon at the Country Club of Birmingham on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024.
Officer Janet Forbes, and Assistant City Manager/Finance Director Steve Boone for their consistent support. He also praised the City Council for always treating each other with respect despite differences of opinion.
As he prepares to leave office, Welch said the culture of quality employees and public officials is what he’s most proud to have been part of.
“As I look back over nine years, this is just my opinion, but I think that [the councilors] have made near-perfect decision making,” Welch said. “I can't look at anything, any decision they've made, that I look back at and say, ‘Oh, that was really not in the best interest of the city of Mountain Brook.’”
In fact, Welch says one of the things he will miss most about his role as mayor is interacting with city employees and council members on a daily basis.
While enjoying cookies and other treats, Mayor Stewart Welch asked each young artist about their work, took photos for the parents and handed each child a “million dollar bill” to remind them they were one in a million.
In addition to a strong work culture, Welch cited the donation of the Alabama Veterans Memorial site to the city — 22 acres of land now being developed into a park with trails and potentially an amphitheater and pavilion — and the new fire station as two of his most significant accomplishments in office.
Reflecting on his decision not to seek a third term, Welch said the timing felt right.
“When I initially did this, in my mind, I was thinking two terms,” Welch said. “If I were to do another term now, when I finished, I'd be knocking on the door of age 80, and I felt like that's too old. And I felt like the city's in a great place on every level. It felt like the perfect time to pass the baton to the next generation.”
Before he leaves office, Welch is continuing an initiative to reduce gas-powered landscaping equipment in city
Photo courtesy of the City of Mountain Brook
Mayor Welch poses with former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban.
parks and villages by encouraging a shift to battery-powered alternatives that cut emissions and reduce noise.
He is spearheading a partnership with local landscapers and a machine manufacturer to test an all-electric landscaping crew outfitted with tools that recharge overnight. The long-term goal is for city operations, commercial vendors and even residents to adopt battery-powered tools.
Welch will retire from his role as mayor in November, following the August election to select his successor. So far, Councilor Graham Smith is the only candidate who has announced plans to run for the position.
