Chamber honors Shelby, top volunteers at annual celebration
Top volunteers and a now-retired U.S. senator were among those honored Thursday at the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama‘s 122nd annual celebration.
The event, hosted at the University of Alabama’s Bryant Conference Center, welcomed U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby home to West Alabama as he begins his retirement after decades serving the state and country.
Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge Rob Robertson, Northport Mayor John Hinton and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox offered up tributes for Shelby’s service, and the Chamber’s annual Chairman’s Leadership Award was renamed in Shelby’s honor.
Other awards included:
- Charles H. Land Member of the Year: Jordan Morris of Ward Scott Morris Architecture
- The Honorable Richard C. Shelby Leadership Award: Michael Goebel of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International
- Robert C. Tanner Corporate Service Award: EatMyBeats, Inc.
- Ambassador of the Year Award: Romel Gibson of Habitat for Humanity Tuscaloosa
- Diverse Business Council Trailblazer Award: Thomas Dedrick of Raymond James and Elizabeth Winter of Regions Bank
- Nonprofit of the Year Award: Arts ‘n Autism
- Distinguished Service Award: Matt Fajack of the University of Alabama
- Distinguished Service Award: Whitni Molden of Hotel Capstone
- H. Pettus Randall Entrepreneurial Rising Star Award: Gavin Baum-Blake and Erik Johnson of CityDetect
- H. Pettus Randall Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Matt Paylick of GRO Marketing
