Today’s guest columnist is Frank Young.
Yes, you read the title right.
Birmingham has no Chamber of Commerce.
Twelve years ago, a small group of Birmingham business leaders decided to scrap the 122 year old Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and create a hybrid organization called the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA). Continue reading Ouch! Birmingham has no Chamber of Commerce
A savvy business friend made an observation about Birmingham’s economic future that really got my attention.
But before I disclose what he said, please review a list of Birmingham’s largest companies to determine what you think they all have in common. Continue reading An epiphany about Birmingham’s economic future
Each year from 2002 to 2008 approximately 100 business and political leaders from Birmingham traveled to cities across the U.S.
The Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce BIG trips were designed to discover ideas that were successful in other cities that could be implemented here in Birmingham.
Much was learned, but every year we came home and lamented Birmingham’s stroke of misfortune.
Continue reading Birmingham’s misfortune (and how we’re overcoming it)
One of the greatest obstacles to metropolitan Birmingham’s growth is too many competing governments, but that’s not the only deterrent.
Being located in Alabama is also an obstacle.
The Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) publishes a report that compares key economic figures of metropolitan Birmingham to eleven peer cities.
In my opinion, the most important of these key metrics is job growth. And metropolitan Birmingham has no more jobs than they had before the recession. Continue reading Birmingham punished for being in Alabama
Do you have bejeebies?
If you do, your bejeebies will be obliterated when you see the one depressing statistic that best describes the economic health of metropolitan Birmingham.
Please note we’re not talking about just the City of Birmingham or Jefferson County. We’re talking about the Birmingham Hoover Metropolitan area—defined by our seven counties: Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby, and Walker.
So the folks in our suburbs are impacted by this number just as much as our local residents.
What is that statistic?
Continue reading This number will scare the bejeebies out of you
To compare Birmingham with no UAB to Anniston is an unfair exaggeration and I apologize to the good citizens of Anniston. I could have selected any mid-sized city, but I Googled “cities in Alabama” and Anniston came to the top alphabetically.
Visualize Birmingham without UAB. Exit the Red Mountain Expressway at University Avenue (without UAB–it would be 8th Avenue South) and drive west.
What would we see in place of the 86 square blocks occupied by UAB? Continue reading What would Birmingham look like without UAB–Anniston?
On August 30, 2013, The Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ) published a list of Birmingham’s 50 most influential executives. (Click here to see BBJ list of 50 most influential executives)
The BBJ tried to answer the question, “Who holds the power in the Birmingham business community?”
The list includes the absolute top corporate and political leaders including Birmingham Mayor William Bell and Jefferson County Commission President, David Carrington; Jay Grinney, President and CEO of HealthSouth, and Grayson Hall, Chairman, President, and CEO of Regions Financial Corporation. Continue reading Birmingham’s 50 most influential execs—maybe not?
Let’s talk about the Alabama Department of Transportation’s controversial plan for expanding and reconfiguring Interstate 20/59 through downtown Birmingham.
My understanding is the plan calls for limited access to our downtown and for the continuation of 20/59 to cut through the heart of our city.
This controversy is a case study on why our metro area is powerless
Continue reading Birmingham powerless again
“Let’s take one incredibly hard issue and prove we can solve it“
Giant headline front page,–The Birmingham News February 28, 2012, “Let’s take one incredibly hard issue and prove we can solve it.”
The article then quotes Johnny Johns, the then Chairman of the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA)…
“Johnny Johns, the Protective Life Corp. Chairman, president and CEO, gave a call of arms of sorts when he said this to 28 political, business and civic leaders who had gathered at The Birmingham News to discuss how to tackle metro Birmingham’s most pressing problems.”
“…So we all stand off and we talk, talk, talk… Continue reading A challenge for the Birmingham Business Alliance
Our BBA (Chamber of Commerce) takes a trip to Washington every year to visit our Alabama Senators and Congressmen and to lobby for legislation and money.
The BBA prepares a priority agenda and typically a small group of business leaders, politicians, and staff fly to DC to make their request. Continue reading Go home and get your act together!