It’s one of those things we take for granted living in our Birmingham region.
It’s an important quality of life issue—one we seem to take for granted.
We may be at the bottom of many lists, but this one—we excel.
The idea for this piece came in the form of an e-mail…
“David, todays bham news….Mayor in shootout , Katapodis appeal denied, and Malzahn new auburn coach…that’s our front page headlines….buried on page 8 or so….the REALLY GOOD NEWS ….our community treasure the United Way raises $ 37 million dollars and makes the goal again ! good grief lets celebrate our success as a community !! put it out there on you blog, thanks felix” (Actually page 6A, December 5, 2012)
I received this e-mail from a good friend and a long time community leader, Felix Drennen, Chief Development Officer at Cobbs, Allen & Hall.
He was referring to an article titled, “United Way edges over goal…”
“As it has for more than 60 years, the United Way of Central Alabama once again met, and even slightly exceeded, its annual fundraising goal, bringing in $37,535,519…”
As Bill Jones, the 2012 chairman of the UWCA board bragged…
“This community always seems to come through. I knew we’d reach the goal because we always have.”
Gordon Martin, the 2012 chairman, and Alabama Power Senior VP, said…
“Even during the heights of the Great Recession, we’ve always moved forward.”
Greater Birmingham’s always at the top or near the top for generosity.
And Felix is right–our United Way triumph should be page one.
We in Birmingham seem to have such low self-esteem. We have a lot to be proud.
Why don’t we celebrate our successes?
Let’s turn Birmingham around. Click here to sign up for our newsletter. There’s power in numbers. (Opt out at any time)
David Sher is a partner in Buzz12 Marketing and co-CEO of AmSher Receivables Management. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (ONB), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
Thanks David for being a wonderful supporter and cheerleader for our community.
Yes, we had to look hard to find it on page A6 but a huge thanks to Jeremy Gray for attending our celebration and sharing the news with the community.
Our thanks to campaign chairman, Gordon Martin, Alabama Power Company and his campaign cabinet for being great servant leaders for our five county area. Ben Pitts, Pacesetter Co Chair put us on this road to victory with a successful summer campaign .
Want more news to celebrate? We have now moved from 4th place to 2nd place in the number of Tocqueville Society Members (donors who contribute $10,000 or more annually). Only the city of Houston stands in our way of being #1. Our thanks to Jon and Sheryl Kimerling for leading our Tocqueville Campaign along with Ham Poynor and Nancy Goedecke for serving with them as co-chairs.
Finally, let me take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to all our donors, volunteers and advocates who make this United Way successful . We will never take your support for granted and will use your contributions to improve live and community conditions. LIVE UNITED.
Samuetta Nesbitt
United Way of Central Alabama
.
David, we may have many reasons to fuss about Birmingham’s shortcomings, but this really speaks to the quality and integrity of the people of Birmingham! We have what it takes to be great… great people!