BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Small businesses across Alabama need to put as much focus on preparing for tornadoes as they do on how to survive fires, ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann said during a storm recovery event held Monday at the Sheraton Birmingham downtown.

That was just one of the issues discussed during the Birmingham Business Alliance's "After The Storm: Small Business Recovery Summit," which took place exactly two months after deadly tornadoes caused destruction in many parts of Alabama. About 200 people attended.

During a presentation on disaster preparedness, Spann said many businesses have signs on where to go in the case of a fire, but they don't put much emphasis on tornado safety. He hopes that changes in the wake of April 27's killer tornadoes.

"Too many businesses do not have a plan in place on what to do in case of a tornado," said Spann, who encouraged more homeowners and small businesses to buy weather radios equipped with batteries. "There is no way 250 people had to die that day."

During the disaster preparedness discussion, Holly Lollar of The Lollar Group in Birmingham shared tips on how companies can set up a communications strategy to handle media inquiries, while Bryan Breland of UAB talked about how employers can more effectively keep in touch with employees and customers in the event of natural disasters or other emergencies. Angie Jett, a Southeastern regional manager of SunGuard, also served on the panel.

Tips for businesses

 

Small businesses looking for contracts as the state recovers from a tornado outbreak that caused billions of dollars in damage need to make sure they have a good track record and the ability to stand behind their work, said Alice Gordon, supplier relations and diversity manager at Alabama Power.

"Be sure you can explain the scope of your service, have a list of former clients and good insurance liability," Gordon said during a panel discussion called "Turning Crisis Into Opportunity."

Belinda Mitchell of UAB, Ron Perkins of Doozer Software and Tom Cosby of the BBA also participated on the panel.

The Birmingham News and Charter Business sponsored Monday's summit.

The event kicked off with a noon luncheon session, "Taking Inventory: April 27 As Seen by The Birmingham News," moderated by Birmingham News Editor Tom Scarritt. Panelists News photographer Jeff Roberts and reporters Mike Oliver, Robin DeMonia and Thomas Spencer shared stories about covering the disaster on April 27 and the paper's subsequent efforts.

Spencer said The News wants its articles to be a resource for small businesses and others affected by the storms.

"There is a resistance and distrust of the federal government here in Alabama," Spencer said. "Businesses, we need to hear from you."

Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Williams at rwilliams@bhamnews.com.

The New York marketing firm hired by the Birmingham Business Alliance to help boost the region's image has started meeting with area leaders to gain ideas to pitch to national media contacts. 

Andy Levine, chief executive of Development Counsellors International, and Steve Duncan, a DCI account supervisor, spent five days in Birmingham last month during the BBA's small business week activities, meeting with about two dozen city and business leaders. 

"It was a great opportunity to talk with area business leaders about what's important to them and find out what stories they'd like to get out to national media," Duncan said. 

Dave Rickey, the BBA's senior vice president of communications, also introduced the DCI officials to a group of communications leaders from some of the Birmingham area's biggest companies. While Levine, who previously worked with BBA chief Brian Hilson when Hilson headed the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce, had been to Birmingham before, it was Duncan's first time in the Magic City. 

"There was a very positive vibe building in Birmingham, from what I heard from the people we talked to," Duncan said. "We've been to cities before where that wasn't the case. Birmingham appears to be a city that is on the move." 

From the DCI's talks with area leaders, Duncan said, residents expressed optimism about projects such as the new Railroad Park, UAB's expansion plans and the planned $50 million Westin Hotel. Asked whether DCI heard any concerns about fallout from Jefferson County's financial crisis, Duncan said, "It came up a little bit." 

"I think people are ready to move beyond it -- this problem has been around a couple years," Duncan said. "From a national perspective, it could be a problem if things worsen. But Birmingham has already proven its ability to bounce back from difficult times." 

Jefferson County officials are considering a possible bankruptcy filing after a judge invalidated an occupational tax and a business license fee that generated $74 million a year. The county was already groaning under about $3 billion in sewer system debt that it can't repay. 

If Jefferson County files for Chapter 9 protection, it will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in the nation's history. 

'Positive stories'
DCI, meanwhile, already is working on the next step of its image campaign. 

In coming weeks, Duncan and Levine will return to Birmingham, joined by a third DCI representative, Susan Brake. This time, they will talk with a larger array of area business, political and community leaders, including Birmingham Mayor William Bell, who was unavailable last month. 

"We have already talked to some of our national media contacts about Birmingham," Duncan said. "We don't have a timetable, but hope to see some positive stories coming out soon and will continue to pitch stories about the area." 

The marketing effort by DCI came out of the Blueprint Birmingham plan to move the region forward. Rickey and Duncan said any area residents and business leaders wanting to make suggestions for DCI should do so at blueprintbirmingham.com.

"There are a lot of positive things going on in metro Birmingham," Duncan said.

"Those are stories that the national media don't know about. The national perception of Birmingham's image from the 1960s are no longer true. It's a place that has changed and is growing, and we are excited about telling that story."

Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Williams at rwilliams@bhamnews.com.

 

MOUNTAIN BROOK, Alabama -- The Mountain Brook City Council tonight pledged $5,000 to the Birmingham Business Alliance.

The council authorized the money, with council members saying they would consider another allocation to the organization in a year's time, based on its work.

The money will be part of the city's 2012 budget. Barry Copeland, representing the alliance, told the council its "Blueprint Birmingham" five-year strategic plan is aimed at fostering cooperation and economic progress within the seven-county Birmingham area.

"This plan has more promise than any other plan I've seen in 30 years in business," Copeland said.

Council President Virginia Smith said the city's contribution may encourage other cities to contribute.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- During much of the eight years she spent working in banking, Birmingham's Tiesha Chestang felt an urge to start her own business.

She found her calling while working as a licensed physical therapist assistant, and in January 2010 opened Purify Wellness & Spa at 157 Resource Center Parkway just off U.S. 280.

"I stepped out on faith and it has been a wonderful journey so far," said Chestang, whose firm partners with gastrointestinal doctors and naturalist experts to help clients improve their health and provides body scrubs, body wraps, and massages.

Charles Lawson, owner of L&O Greek Specialties in Tarrant, also took the entrepreneurship plunge last year. Lawson, who had sold hats, shirts and other paraphernalia for sororities and fraternities and other Greek organizations out of his home for years, opened a store just off Alabama 79 in Tarrant.

"It has been a blessing. Everyone has been so supportive so far," Lawson said.

Chestang and Lawson are part of a growing number of women and minorities in the Birmingham metro area who are leaving the corporate arena and pursuing the dream of entrepreneurship.

A Birmingham Business Alli­ance analysis of new Census data found that the Birmingham-Hoover area surpassed the national and Alabama averages in the growth of black and women-owned businesses. It lagged in the growth of Hispanic, Asian and Pacific-American Indian companies, in part because of smaller percentages of population compared to the 28 percent of blacks who live in metro Birmingham, said Michael Shattack, the BBA's director of research.

Shattuck says his study also found that metro Birmingham saw a 21.7 percent growth in all new businesses (white and minority or women-owned) formed between 2002 and 2007, trailing only Nashville's 25.8 percent growth among the cities surveyed. In terms of revenue growth, Birmingham firms' 53.3 percent rise trailed only Oklahoma City's 63.9 percent gain during that period.

His analysis, based on a U.S. Census Bureau 2007 survey of business owners released in April, compared metro Birmingham to the U.S. and Alabama averages as well as three peer cities -- Oklahoma City, Louisville and Nashville.

The economic census report is released every five years and is the primary source for women and minority business information.

"I looked at benchmark data and compared Birmingham to cities our consultants identified as most similar to us," Shattuck said.

"I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by the results. What will be interesting is to see if this same trend continues when the data for the years 2007 through 2012 are released in 2016."

The available figures don't reflect the tough times since 2008, when the worst recession since the Great Depression punished small businesses, but the findings of the BBA survey do shine a light on an often-ignored segment of the metro area economy -- enterprises run by women and minorities. Among those findings:

• Birmingham had 93,718 businesses in 2007, a 21.7 percent rise compared to 2002. That outpaced the U.S. average of 17.9 percent but was slightly below Alabama's increase of 23.6 percent.

• Women-owned companies made up 30.5 percent of all businesses in metro Birmingham in 2007 and accounted for 8.8 percent of all business revenue. The number of women owned businesses surged 37.5 percent between 2002 and 2007, the highest increase among the three other metro areas surveyed.

• Black-owned businesses comprised 16.5 percent of all companies in metro Birmingham and more than doubled (113 percent growth) between 2002 and 2007, the highest increase among peer metro areas. The downside was that black-owned businesses received just 1.2 percent of business receipts in metro Birmingham.

Bob Dickerson of the Birmingham Business Resource Center said he is pleased to learn the number of black-owned companies in metro Birmingham has grown over the period surveyed by the BBA. Over the past 15 years, his agency has been what he calls "a staunch advocate for black and historically disadvantaged or under-utilized companies."

"In addition to offering counseling, training programs and financial assistance, we've spoken to this issue every chance we get," Dickerson said. "We've encouraged utilization of these firms and encourage African-Americans and others to try entrepreneurship.

Knowing that the number of enterprises has more than doubled and revenue increased fourfold over the past 10 years is heartening."

But Dickerson stressed "that we aren't where we need to be yet," noting that black firms still receive a small slice to total business receipts in metro Birmingham.

Alicia White, owner of JMA Enterprises, a realty company and the chairwoman of the BBA's African-American Business Council, said her group is trying to help the city's primary business organization groom more successful minority companies in the Birmingham area.

"The AABC attempts to serve as a nucleus for minority businesses," White said. "We have partnered with Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church to provide community events and started aFacebook page, Birmingham African American Business Council, to provide community awareness information and bid opportunities posted on a regular basis."

While Birmingham fared well in the growth of women- and black-owned businesses, the metro area trailed the national, state averages and its peer cities in the growth of Hispanic, Asian and American- Indian/Alaskan native owned companies.

Only 1.5 percent of businesses in metro Birmingham were Hispanic-owned and a mere 0.4 percent of all business revenue went to Hispanic firms. But the number of Hispanic-owned firms surged 66.5 percent between 2002 and 2007, showing that Hispanics are a growing part of the metro population base, Shattuck said.

Just 2.1 percent of all businesses in metro Birmingham were Asian-owned, ranking lowest among peer metro areas. Asian-owned firms did grow 60.3 percent between 2002 and 2007, though, the second highest increase among peer metro areas.

Businesses owned by American Indians and Alaska natives comprised 0.5 percent, the lowest among peer metros and grew only 3.8 percent between 2002 and 2007.

Shattuck of the BBA said it is not surprising to see Birmingham lag in the number of Asian, Hispanic and American-Indian/ Alaskan native companies. "They do not comprise a large population in Birmingham," he said.

Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Williams at rwilliams@bhamnews.com.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Two events this week will elevate the Birmingham metro area's place as a Southeastern leader in the distribution center industry.

On Monday, Norfolk Southern will break ground on its $97.5 million Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility, a 316-acre railroad hub that economic developers expect will become a magnet for distribution centers, generating millions of dollars in new investment and creating thousands of jobs in the years ahead.

Dollar General on Thursday will break ground on its $60 million, 1 million-square-foot distribution center on 106 acres at Lakeshore Parkway and Alabama 150 in Bessemer. The facility is expected to have 550 warehouse jobs and 100 trucker jobs.

Alone, those two projects are substantial economic development projects coming at a time when major projects are rare. Together, they constitute two of the biggest advances yet for Blueprint Birmingham, the metro area's five-year strategic plan being pushed by the Birmingham Business Alliance.

That plan includes a goal of boosting the metro area's recruitment and retention of companies in seven industry clusters, one of which is trade and distribution.

"We've got two very large and very distinct projects," said Brian Hilson, BBA's chief executive. "Both certainly stand on their own, but they're also complementary because they represent -- through significant corporate investment and job creation -- the logistics advantages the Birmingham area offers."

The Norfolk Southern facility, part of the railroad's multi-state Crescent Corridor initiative between the Gulf Coast and the Northeast, will not create many jobs at the facility itself but could create thousands as distribution companies look to build in Birmingham.

Hilson said it's an example of the geographic location and transportation infrastructure that makes Birmingham an ideal place for the industry to grow.

"The Birmingham area has been studied and industry targets have been identified for the region," he said. "One of the leading sectors of our economy is and has been for quite some time warehouse and distribution."

Hilson said because distribution companies don't produce a specific product, they often fly under the radar.

"They shouldn't because the cumulative effect of the individual warehouse, distributions and logistics companies represent thousands of jobs in the Birmingham region," he said. "It's been a major factor in our economy for a long time, but these two developments are evidence Birmingham will continue to be a major player in logistics and it ought to be recognized as a major plank in our economic development marketing programs because it's a significant industry target in and of itself."

The groundbreakings this week come at a time when not many announcements are being made on the economic development front.

"It provides a sense of continuing momentum in economic development for the Birmingham region," Hilson said.

But Hilson said this won't be the last week some major announcements are made.

"It's certainly a good week, but we're going to have lots of good weeks going forward," he said. "The true mark of an active economy we can all feel good about is to be working on other projects while at the same time we're taking a moment to celebrate the successes we're having. I will tell you that is going on right now."

Incentive proposals

The current legislative session has already seen the passage of one new economic development incentive, and two more could be added this week.

The Legislature itself took the lead on creating and passing the "Made in Alabama Job Incentives Act," which offers foreign companies a way of recouping money it pays in tariffs while establishing operations in Alabama. The legislation is aimed at large projects that involved at least $100 million in investment and create at least 100 jobs. The company would get a state income tax credit for up to $20 million over three years to offset the federal tariffs the company would pay on imported products while it builds and opens a plant here.

The perk is not a "statutory incentive," meaning it is not automatic for any company that meets the qualifications and must be considered on a case-by-case basis. For that reason and the fact it is due to pass off the books after a couple of years, some insiders believe the Legislature has a particular project already on the hook. Could it be that a Birmingham prospect is ready to cash in on the new incentive?

"We are working with foreign-based companies that would find that new legislation to be of benefit in the near term and it gives Alabama an advantage over other states that I know economic developers throughout the state will be very pleased with," said Hilson, the BBA chief. "It's particularly important to our community and region because of some of the foreign-based companies we are currently working with and would find that to be an advantage to them."

Two bills

Gov. Robert Bentley and the Alabama Development Office, meanwhile, are pushing two bills aimed at luring companies and creating and retaining jobs with new incentives.

The "Data Center Bill" and the "Jobs Creation/Retention Act" have been approved by the Alabama House and await approval in the Senate.

The data center legislation would lower the job threshold for data center projects from the current 50 to 20, so long as those jobs average $40,000 in annual salary and benefits. But, more importantly, it would extend the length of tax abatements from 10 years to 20 if the company invests at least $100 million and 30 year if they invest $300 million or more. Moreover, it will allow them to get tax breaks for some of the millions they invest to continually expand and upgrade their equipment and software systems.

The Jefferson Metropolitan Park at Lakeshore has already become home to four data centers with more than half a billion dollars in investment. A fifth company is purchasing 4.65 acres for another data center.

The "Jobs Creation/Retention Act" would be much broader and could apply to most any new or expanding industry. Companies, once approved by the State Industrial Development Authority, would be allowed to retain a portion of the withholdings from state income taxes based on the number of full-time jobs created or retained.

"There are multiple projects carefully watching the data center and the jobs creation bills and could create hundreds of jobs with their passage next Thursday," said Linda Swann, assistant director of ADO. "These bills are critical to Alabama's economic development strategy."

As with the tariffs bill, Hilson said Alabama's largest metro area stands to gain from the other incentives.

"Each of those pieces of legislation has a very direct bearing on the Birmingham region because of some of the current economic development prospect activity we are working," Hilson said. "We have companies we are working with right now that would be impacted by those various pieces of legislation. That's really good work on the part of the Legislature for us -- not just for Birmingham, but for the entire state."

Michael Tomberlin covers economic development, commercial real estate, construction, media and advertising. Contact him at 325-3436 or mtomberlin@bhamnews.com. Follow him on Twitter:@MAJ_Chicken.

With new political leadership in some key areas and efforts by business and civic officials to work together, metro Birmingham is at a tipping point for change, area leaders said Monday. 

More than 50 leaders from the political, civic and business arenas took part in a nearly two-hour roundtable discussion at The Birmingham News on leadership and collaboration in the region. 

While they agreed that the area faces significant challenges, heightened by the recovery from the April 27 tornadoes, participants pointed to several examples of progress in the area. Among them: collaborative efforts between the mayors of Birmingham and Hoover, an improved working relationship between the Jefferson County Commission and the local legislative delegation, and the public-private partnership that completed Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham. 

"We have reached that point now where we have a diversity of ideas, but we also recognize that common denominator that will bind us together as a region to help push us forward, so I see this as a great opportunity with the leadership that's coming into play at this point in time," said Birmingham Mayor William Bell. 

In addition to Bell, panelists at Monday's roundtable were Jefferson County Commission President David Carrington, Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos, Protective Life Corp. CEO Johnny Johns, BB&T Alabama President Donta Wilson, state Rep. Merika Coleman of Hueytown, Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham President Kate Nielsen, Greater Birmingham Ministries Executive Director Scott Douglas, and Birmingham schools Superintendent Craig Witherspoon. 

Wilson, who described himself as "an optimist at heart," talked about a tipping point, "a cumulative effort that comes together at the right and perfect time, and all of sudden you have a trend that takes over a movement." 

Wilson said he noticed similar things happening in Birmingham that he has seen in other cities where he has lived and where change occurred, such as Charlotte and Frankfurt, Germany. 

Using a bottle of water to illustrate his point, Wilson said, "You can't tell the precise moment when this bottle of water will overflow with a drop of water. But at some point in time, the cumulative efforts of all those drops will cause this bottle to overflow. I think that's where we are right now in Birmingham." 

Working together
The tornadoes, panelists said, galvanized the need for strong, regional leadership. And the aftermath, some said, demonstrated what can happen when the community sets aside its differences and works collectively. 

"We have seen courageous giving, collaborative efforts across government, faith communities, civic organizations with relief," Douglas said. 

The key, Petelos said, is whether the community can keep that kind of momentum and cooperative spirit going in the rebuilding effort. 

Other examples of recent cooperative efforts include business leaders who have worked with the county in efforts to reach a solution to the county's $3.2 billion sewer debt crisis, and Blueprint Birmingham, the Birmingham Business Alliance's five-year economic plan for the metro area. 

"What this community needs is a different style of leadership than what people typically think of as a strong leader," Johns said, a leadership that has a "desire to cooperate and share and give up a little bit and say, 'I don't have to win every time. I can win one today and lose one tomorrow, but at the end of the day this world will be better.'" 

Coleman said the community needs to redefine leadership. 

"I get some of the best pieces of legislation and ideas from people within my district," she said. "We have to respect that people are leaders within the community and take their suggestions, value their suggestions." 

Because some of the area's issues are complex and enormous -- ranging from the fragmented collection of local governments in Jefferson County to the lack of an effective mass transit system -- panelists said area leaders should first focus on identifying and tackling "achievable" goals. 

"You've got to prioritize what you take on," Johns said "... We need a very sober assessment of what are the fundamental issues we have to challenge and in what order do we challenge them." 

Monday's discussion was an outgrowth of "Reinventing Our Community," a News special report that began May 15 and will continue throughout the year. For the initial installment, News staffers conducted extensive interviews on leadership with nearly 120 residents of the metro area. 

Those interviews showed a widespread sense of cautious optimism that the elements are in place to tackle some of the region's longstanding problems. 

"The alignment was incredible," said News Editor Tom Scarritt, who moderated Monday's discussion. "We thought, this is the basis for a conversation about the future of our community. If there is already some agreement, why don't we build on that? Why don't we carry this conversation beyond the pages of the newspaper?" 

News Publisher Pam Siddall said of the session, "Hopefully this is the first of many conversations. The key is that we don't just talk, that we act and we do it together in a way that makes sure our children and our grandchildren have a very bright future in our community, to live and to work and to play."

 

Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Wright at bwright@bhamnews.com.

 

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Birmingham Business Alliance said Friday it is planning a summit to help small businesses affected by the April 27 tornadoes and to discuss ways the region can recover from the natural disaster.

The BBA says it is asking small business leaders to join it on June 27 -- exactly 60 days after the tornadoes hit Alabama --- for a business-focused event, "After The Storm: The Business of Re-Building Birmingham."

The summit will take place at the Sheraton Birmingham beginning at 11 a.m., said a BBA member and managing director of Projects Unlimited, which will organize the event.

The half-day event, originally scheduled to be a small business expo next week as part of the BBA's Annual Small Business Week celebration, is designed for business owners, even those that did not suffer physical damage to their property, Fields said.

"After the storms, we felt it was important for the BBA to host an event to help businesses respond to this disaster," he said.

Details and speakers are still being worked out, but the "After the Storm" small business summit will focus on three areas:

• "Take Inventory: April 27th As Seen by the Birmingham News"

Fields said the BBA will ask reporters and others who covered the storms assess the storm and share perspective on lost lives, businesses, homes and what it means to the metro area.

"We want to discuss the crisis from a business and leadership perspective," Fields said.

• "Just In Case: Update Your Crisis and Disaster Plan"

Did your business already have a disaster or crisis plan in place before the tornadoes hit? Even if it did, Fields says, the BBA wants to examine issues such as how to make sure your plan has enough protection to help businesses survive and cover their needs.

Experts will share examples of what should be included in a disaster plan. Fields said the BBA wants companies affected by the storm to share live testimonials.

The one-hour workshop will include topics such as data/ document back up, facilities/operational back-up plans, and communications.

• "Turbocharged: Turning Crisis Into Opportunity"

City leaders say that they want Birmingham to be even better than it was before the storm. That leads to a question the BBA wants to explore: Is your business positioned to provide products and services that will be a part of this multi-year recovery?

"We want to give businesses a guide on how to respond to business opportunities that lie ahead of us now," Fields said,

Summit attendees will hear presentations from leading private, state and federal corporations and agencies that want to help small businesses know exactly what steps are needed to do business with them.

For more information on pricing and to register, call the BBA at 324-2100 or go to birminghambusinessalliance.com.

Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Williams at rwilliams@bhamnews.com.

Tom McKown, Janet Smith and Bella sat side-by-side-by-side in the middle of Railroad Park, quietly taking in the view on a picture perfect Sunday afternoon.

McKown, 52 and a resident of Warrior in north Jefferson County, was making his first visit to the park. So was Smith, 56, who lives in Trussville and works in Mountain Brook. She brought along Bella, her 2-year-old goldendoodle.

"I wanted to see it for myself," said McKown. "And, you know, it's a good first start for maybe finally bringing the town back. And who knows? Maybe bringing people together.

"At least I hope so."

The hope that people might come together has been bolstered by an outpouring of support for the communities hit by the April 27 tornadoes, efforts that reach across city limits, county lines and the social divisions of the community.

McKown is not alone in his sense of cautious optimism about the prospects for Birmingham -- both the city and the larger metro area. Interviews conducted by The Birmingham News earlier this year with nearly 120 people -- some well known, others not so well known -- found something unexpected:

Optimism -- a widespread sense of optimism and hope for the future of the Birmingham region.

They cite some key developments:

• After a decade of convictions and financial crisis, a newly elected bipartisan coalition on the Jefferson County Commission is openly trying to pick up the pieces of shattered trust.

• A new mayor in Birmingham is working amiably with the City Council and other mayors across the metro area.

• The community is finally seeing the tangible results of collaboration between the government, the business and philanthropic community.

To be clear, the optimism is guarded, cautious, hesitant. Not everyone shares it. The optimists understand that their hope comes despite daunting challenges: The population is plunging at a record pace in the core city, and Jefferson County, more than $3.2 billion in debt, teeters on the edge of bankruptcy.

And then there is the impact of the deadly tornadoes that swept across the state on April 27. The twisters destroyed lives, neighborhoods and businesses.

While the long-term impact of the storms remains a question no one can answer, people across metro Birmingham set aside their differences -- political, racial, economic and geographic -- to come together and help in the aftermath.

Tens of thousands of people came to the aid of those hit by the tornadoes, pitching in ways big and small.

Corporate Birmingham contributed millions of dollars, with the total growing every day. Smaller businesses fed and clothed the survivors, and delivered meals for those helping in the relief effort. People -- even those with little to call their own -- gave money and nearly any item you can think of to help those who lost loved ones or homes. One family, planning a yard sale, instead donated everything they intended to sell.

Perhaps just as important, the jigsaw puzzle of jurisdictional lines throughout metro Birmingham seem to have, for the moment at least, disappeared. Cities and counties are working together to dispatch police, fire, public works and collectively hundreds of their employees to help mend, serve, feed and protect people who do not reside in their cities, towns or counties.

It is an example of the kind of broad cooperation some say is vital if the region's future is to be brighter, an example that could serve to convince more of us that we can rely on and trust each other, and not only in stormy times.

Birmingham Mayor William Bell made that point in a piece he wrote for The News:

"As we ... begin the process of planning and rebuilding Birmingham, we do it with a sense of neighbor helping neighbor. We are all in this together and, with the spirit of unity and brotherhood that I have seen shown in example after example over the past few days, I know that the new Birmingham will use the strength of our past to build our future."

But the storms' aftermath does not guarantee that will happen. Without effective and broadbased leadership working to seize the opportunity, the tornadoes of 2011 could have the same long-term impact as storms that strafed some of the same communities in 1998 -- working together to rebuild, then moving along in separate ways. Regardless of the difficulty, that cautious hope, like McKown's, appears genuine. It's the kind of involuntary hope that comes from a spring day in the sun at the new park.

 

From McKown's vantage point facing south is the red brick metropolis that is the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Two construction cranes that tower above the gleaming new home for Children's Hospital dominate the view this day. Over the past decade, cranes have become a constant symbol of growth at the university and associated medical enterprises.

Smith faced toward downtown, its office towers glinting in the bright sunlight of a cloudless day. There, the picture is mixed. Birmingham's base of major league hometown banks has been battered, with new corporate names now topping office towers -- Wells Fargo, BBVA-Compass. Missing are names like AmSouth and SouthTrust. Regions remains.

But even amid a downtown checkered with boarded up buildings and vacant office space, trendy restaurants are popping up. New apartments and condos now fill buildings once left abandoned.

And there's Railroad Park. Perhaps more than anything else, this patch of green on what once was a weed-infested lot has become a symbol: physical evidence that a community, long-divided economically, culturally, politically and racially, can just maybe -- with effective leadership -- create a common ground. 

 

It's an example of success born of collaboration between leaders from the city and the suburbs, among government, corporations, private citizens and philanthropy.

As clear as its success has been, a larger challenge is just as clear: finding the leadership to move beyond the grassy oasis of a new park toward solving the deep-seated problems that have conspired over the decades to hold Birmingham back.

And these 19 acres at the very heart of Birmingham may be a catalyst for that kind of change.

Already, a few new businesses are taking root around the park. And it is giving birth to a new sense of possibilities, like the nearby site that could be home to a new baseball stadium and the return of the Birmingham Barons minor league team.

"You know, I grew up in West End," said McKown. "I used to walk to Rickwood Field to watch games and even in those days -- the late 1960s and after all the troubles of the civil rights stuff -- the city still had a kind of vibe that long ago went away.

"But, you know, this place has a vibe, something I haven't felt in town in a long time. There are so many people here and it's really different kinds of people -- whites and blacks, young and old like me, kids."

WHY OPTIMISM? 

The positive vibe McKown and others talk about with Railroad Park is a dramatic contrast to the negative reality of the past decade in greater Birmingham.

It was a period when influence buying, bribery and greed snared prominent politicians, a one-time superstar CEO and even preachers: all breaking laws, all profiting at the expense of those who trusted them to lead for the common good.

Larry Langford, the former mayor of Birmingham elected in 2007 on a promise to move the city forward, sits in a federal prison in Kentucky, convicted of taking bribes during his tenure as County Commission president. He is just one of more than two dozen public officials, business leaders and preachers convicted in recent years of public corruption, shattering faith in many of our institutions.

Staggering debt, amassed in part by crimes that took place during the construction and financing of the county sewer system, still weighs down Jefferson County.

Further complicating matters is the long-running litigation over the Jefferson County occupational tax. The tax on wages had accounted for one-fourth of the county's general fund budget. Just this year, a court ruling voided the tax, leaving the county scrambling to cope with the loss of tens of millions of dollars.

Fed up with corruption and dysfunction, voters elected new leaders in 2010. A new commission -- led by Chairman David Carrington, a Republican from Vestavia Hills, and Vice Chairman Sandra Little Brown, a Democrat from Birmingham -- has won cautious praise for the adult way they have begun to deal with the county's problems.

There is also tangible change across Linn Park at Birmingham City Hall.

 

Bell, a three-decade veteran of Birmingham politics who won the mayor's office after Langford's conviction and removal, has garnered praise even from skeptics as he works to steer Alabama's largest city through rocky times.

Maybe most notably, there are signs that old animosities and suspicions between Birmingham and its mostly white and richer suburban neighbors have begun to mend.

Nowhere is that more evident, many say, than in the friendship and respect between Bell and Tony Petelos, the mayor of Hoover, the fast-growing, second-largest city in metro Birmingham.

Like the coming of Railroad Park, the Bell-Petelos relationship may seem like a small thing, but it offers a glimpse of a new Birmingham -- a new way of looking at the area. Some say such a new way is needed.

One such voice belongs to Birmingham architect Jeremy C. Erdreich, who said the lack of metro government or similar institutionalized cooperation on a meaningful level has held the region back.

He said the Bell-Petelos relationship could lead to the beginning of the kind of "big-picture" leadership that metro Birmingham needs.

"It has been encouraging to see Mayor Bell and Mayor Petelos, mayors of the metro's two largest cities, showing up at the same events and endorsing each other's progress," Erdreich said.

Kate Nielsen, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, also cited the Bell-Petelos relationship as one reason for her optimism.

"When I see Mayor Bell and Mayor Petelos publicly talking about wanting to work together, I see huge potential," Nielsen said. "My view is, people have a collaborative spirit right now that's going to pay huge dividends."

Petelos said he and Bell are aware that their relationship and cooperation have inspired some hope that a different kind of era is at hand -- although he chuckles at the thought that the relationship is the start of a new era.

"We're just two mayors, two guys who have decided that there is more that unites us than divides us," Petelos said. "I do sense the relationship has become a symbol, but that's not because of us.

"I think people are just tired of the bickering, the fighting, the dysfunctional forms of government we have had over the last decade, and they are ready for new leadership where people will work together toward a common purpose that helps this area move forward."

Bell said the metro area has reached a very important moment in its history.

"Birmingham and the Birmingham region has reached a tipping point in terms of the leadership," Bell said. "You have many changes in the political arena as well as the business arena.

"I think with those changes has come a realization that we all must work together to overcome whatever issues that may be confronting us as a whole.

"And, I think, now is the opportunity for all of us to come together with the new leadership that is in place."

To be sure, Petelos said, not everyone shares his or Bell's view that leadership demands that sometimes you give a little more than you get because the goal is worth it. For example, Petelos cited the possible move by the Barons back to Birmingham from Hoover, where the team has played since 1988.

"I've been criticized by some of my constituents. They say, 'Why do you want to work with Birmingham?'" Petelos said. "Well, I'm not going to let that divide us. The Barons have a business decision to make and if they move, Regions Park won't go dark. There are bigger issues out there than to worry about the Barons. That's what I think."

Another key change that is stirring hope for the area's prospects is the dramatic drop in Birmingham's rate of violent crime under the leadership of Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper, a Birmingham native who spent almost 20 years working in Hoover.

While Birmingham remains one of the nation's most violent cities, the crime rate has plunged. In 2010, the city's 62 homicides represented its lowest tally in at least two decades, a 33 percent drop from the 93 homicides recorded when Roper took office. However, in the latest comparative data available, Birmingham still ranked ninth in the nation for murders and fourth in the nation for its overall crime rate, according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report for 2009.

Successes in the war on crime are also at least partly because of another collaboration across jurisdictions.

Under Roper and Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale, the county's principal law enforcement agencies have increased cooperation with police departments throughout the region and, as important, with federal agencies. It is a level of cooperation that had not existed in recent years.

Meanwhile, the business community has launched a campaign to redefine the Birmingham metro both to residents and outsiders. With the rolling out of its Blueprint Birmingham plan, the Birmingham Business Alliance has signaled a new level of united civic engagement from corporate Birmingham.

"Business leaders every generation have attempted to do what we're now doing," said developer Jeffrey Bayer, developer of The Summit shopping center who also is planning a nearly $60 million project to renovate and reopen the long-vacant Pizitz Building in downtown Birmingham. "In my eyes, they were always the small business and not the major corporations. The major corporations are still the powerful group.

"Maybe in the past the major corporations were not motivated to act because the status quo suited them very nicely. But I am now seeing the leaders of the major corporations stepping forward and saying the status quo is not good enough. I think that's the difference." 

 

 

[Continued: Follow this link to read the rest of the story]

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Read all of the Reinventing Our Community series

Richard Wallace spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, where he flew nearly 4,000 hours on missions in fighter jets.

As owner of Organizational Success Management in Birmingham since 2004, he has been on another mission -- helping business executives boost company performance and their bottom lines.

This week, Wallace as chairman of the Birmingham Business Alliance's Small Business Council is heading the organization's annual Small Business Week, an event sponsored by The Birmingham News. For much of the past year, he has led the planning of the events.

He said the biggest challenge is making sure activities are aligned with the BBA's Birmingham Blueprint plan for the region's future. In an interview, Wallace talked about the event and why he feels small businesses are such an important part of the metro area economy.

The Pleasant Grove native also talks about the effect of the deadly tornado that struck Jefferson County on April 27 and how businesses and residents are affected.

"One of my sisters lost her home. She and her family were in the home when the tornado hit, and described the terror of the walls caving in around them," he said. "Luckily they got out OK. I've been in the area helping clean up. The pictures on television do not do it justice. Some of the neighborhoods look like a war zone."

Q. Instead of having small business awards in three or four categories based on number of employees, the BBA has its awards broken down by category -- technology/biotechnology company of year, business services company of year, retailer of year, family owned and emerging business of the year. What led to those changes?

The changes were spurred primarily by the Birmingham Blueprint and some of the core clusters or industry segments that were identified as being critical to the overall success of the region. The BBA and council felt strongly that the change was needed and we should recognize these industries.

I think the change was worth the effort but it was a lot more work than we expected. I don't think we would have been successful if it were not for the efforts of Sally Reilly, an attorney from Wallace Jordan. She did an amazing job heading up this committee.

The award categories will probably evolve over time to support the blueprint objectives. Additionally, they might place greater emphasis on the economic impact of an organization.

Q. What do you see as our biggest challenges as the BBA implements the Blueprint plan, its guide for the region's future?

The three biggest obstacles for individuals is: limiting beliefs, sabotaging behaviors and inadequate structure. I think this applies to communities as well.

I look at the Birmingham region and I see nothing but potential. I look forward to the day that we stop just being a diamond in the rough and we all work together to overcome our obstacles to success.

Q. Do you feel the important role of small businesses in our nation's economy are often overlooked?

Yes, they are overlooked. It is hard for the news media or the community to get excited when a company adds three, four or five employees, but do that a few hundred times and it is a different story. Of course that will show up in economic numbers but the public rarely knows who is responsible.

Recognizing small businesses is the primary reason Small Business Week is celebrated not just in Birmingham but in cities all across the U.S. I wish we could give an award to every small business that survived the economic challenge of the past three years.

It has been tough, but despite the challenges, there are companies in the region that have grown and entrepreneurs that have started new businesses and have done well. Right now I am starting to see a lot more companies getting healthier.

The main reason they are doing well is they prepared to take advantage of a recovering economy. One thing that surprises most people is the definition of a small business -- a company with less than 500 employees -- criteria defined by the Small Business Administration.

Q. How critical is being organized in terms of business success?

The hard part for some companies is just defining success and determining how they will measure. If they have not defined and they are not measuring, then they may not know just how unorganized or undirected they really are.

To me, having well-defined processes is also a big part of being organized. Edwards Deming, one of the fathers of total quality management, said: "If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing."

We provide a variety of solutions to help organization discover and utilize the uncovered potential in their people, processes, and business strategy. I consider it coaching because I help others see things through fresh eyes.

Q. I hear a lot about small businesses complaining about access to capital in recent economic downturn.

I do hear a fair amount about the need for capital. The interesting part is there are a lot of options that companies are not aware of. One example is the Birmingham Angel Network.

They focus on early stage funding for companies. Their goal is to help, when feasible, to either fund their business idea or point them to a funding source that is most appropriate for their need.

There are a number of other capital-related initiatives in the region that I believe will also have a positive impact on the region.

Q. Has the tornado made it more challenging for small businesses in Alabama?

At the moment it is difficult to determine just how big the impact is. It is easy for us to see the impact on a business if it was destroyed.

What is not so obvious is how did this event impact the customers of a business or its employees. So far the community and businesses have done a great job working together to help those that are in need.

The question for me is: How well will we perform when it comes to finding and seizing opportunities that may arise from this catastrophic event?

Q. What made you choose this field as organizations consultant?

It has been an evolutionary process for me. When I was in the Air Force, I became an expert on aviation technology and air-to-ground weapons systems working with companies such as McDonnell Douglas and Texas Instruments.

Later in my Air Force career I gained extensive experience in the development of air crew training programs and was trained in process improvement. Since I left the military, I have relied heavily on my experience and education in processes and training development.

Drilling down into problems and finding the root cause is something that I really enjoy and I get to do often.

Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Williams at rwilliams@bhamnews.com.

The Birmingham Business Alliance is surveying its backers to determine how hard they were hit by last week's devastating storms, and -- no surprise -- early results show that the impact is widespread.

In an email sent to its investors, the BBA said early survey results show that 20 percent have been affected in some way by the storm. Of those affected, 65 percent were waiting to have utilities repaired, and 100 percent were in touch with a disaster relief agency.

The BBA is providing free to its members a daily report listing public requests for proposals, so members can have a better chance to bid on business associated with the rebuilding effort.

Also, in cooperation with area chambers of commerce, BBA is maintaining a disaster relief Web page that includes information on how to volunteer or donate.

This item was published in The Insider, a weekly column in The Birmingham News Business section.

The Birmingham Business Alliance is surveying its backers to determine how hard they were hit by last week's devastating storms, and -- no surprise -- early results show that the impact is widespread.

In an email sent to its investors, the BBA said early survey results show that 20 percent have been affected in some way by the storm. Of those affected, 65 percent were waiting to have utilities repaired, and 100 percent were in touch with a disaster relief agency.

The BBA is providing free to its members a daily report listing public requests for proposals, so members can have a better chance to bid on business associated with the rebuilding effort.

Also, in cooperation with area chambers of commerce, BBA is maintaining a disaster relief Web page that includes information on how to volunteer or donate.

This item was published in The Insider, a weekly column in The Birmingham News Business section.

The Birmingham Business Alliance is asking its members to donate relief funds to help Hitachi City, Japan, which was affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. 

Hitachi City has been Birmingham's "sister city" since 1982. 

The BBA said Hitachi City residents are facing limited sources of electricity, food, water and transportation. The city also is assisting with evacuees from other parts of the country. 

"It's a beautiful place and our hearts go out to its citizens," BBA chief Brian Hilson said in a statement. "Helping Hitachi City is a way we can make a difference in a specific area we know is in need."  

Hitachi City has donated the large stone lanterns in the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and the city erected a replica statue of Vulcan in one of its main gardens.

The BBA said the Birmingham Sister City Commission has created a "Hitachi Relief Fund" and said all funds received will go directly to relief efforts. Donations to the "Birmingham Sister Cities/Hitachi Relief Fund" can be mailed to Brian Hilson at the BBA office at 505 20th Street North, Suite 200, Birmingham, AL, 35203. 

The Birmingham Business Alliance said its executive committee has given conditional backing to the Jefferson County Commission's plan to get the financially strapped county government back on solid ground. 

The business group said today that Commission President David Carrington and Commissioner Jimmie Stephens met with the executive committee to ask for support of legislative initiatives being pushed to help stabilize county finances. The loss of the county occupational tax has threatened a financial meltdown. 

"The loss of the occupational tax and business license tax have reduced the county's general fund by more than $73 million per year." BBA Chairman James McManus said in a statement. "Our executive committee realizes that tough decisions must be made. However, we are supportive of the commission's efforts to put Jefferson County back on a sustainable financial footing." 

The BBA said its conditional support includes various approaches currently being considered by the commission. These include replacement taxes, such as business license or occupational taxes that would be capped; the prospect of home rule with limitations on the time to impose taxes and the amount of taxes collected; and the potential for un-earmarking various sources of the county's revenue. 

McManus added that the BBA will continue to monitor the commission's proposals to ensure they reflect the interests of the business community, the statement said.

MORE READING: Consultants: Jefferson County will be out of money by July

The new head of the Birmingham Business Alliance said today that the six counties and communities that join Jefferson County and Birmingham in making up Alabama's largest metro area can do more to act in a spirit of regional cooperation without giving up their own identities. 

Brian Hilson conceded that trying to foster cooperation in the seven-county Birmingham metro area will be a greater challenge than it was in Huntsville and Madison County, which was his charge as the CEO of the chamber of commerce there. That was the job that Hilson left last month to lead the BBA, Birmingham's primary business organization. 

Speaking to the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham at its weekly meeting today at the Harbert Center, Hilson said work that will be done by the New York marketing firmDevelopment Counsellors International will benefit the entire metro area as that firm seeks to boost Birmingham's image globally. The BBA lined up the services on DCI after Hilson's arrival. The firm had performed image work on the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. 

Hilson said the BBA is also the point-of-contact for the metro area when the Alabama Development Office brings representatives of a new economic development project to look at sites in the area. He said sites in all seven counties are pitched to prospects. 

A spirit of cooperation should exist in citizens, local elected officials and the metro area's legislative delegation, Hilson said. 

"Our goals should be one and the same and our approach should be one and the same," Hilson said. 

Hilson said he saw that happen when 14 counties in north Alabama and south Tennessee lobbied to keep Redstone Arsenal and the thousands of defense and aerospace jobs during the government's 2005 Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, program.

He said BRAC officials held up Huntsville as an example of the kind of cooperation and a unified front that other communities should demonstrate in trying to protect their bases. That effort resulted in Redstone gaining around 4,500 jobs in the realignment. 

"It's the same thing I've been talking about today (for Birmingham) but in a different light," he said.