By Emily Williams Patti Callahan Henry of Mountain Brook recently was named winner of the 2020 Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer. It is annually awarded by the Monroeville Literary Festival and Alabama Writers’ Forum, named for Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” who was raised in Monroeville and returned there to spend her later years. “Some … [Read more...]

By Donna Cornelius Several British kings and queens changed their names when they ascended to the throne. Victoria preferred her middle name to her first name, Alexandrina, and George VI, who started life as Albert, chose to be known by the same name as his popular father. This year’s king of the Beaux Arts Krewe is Jim Miller. But this merry monarch intends to reign over the … [Read more...]

Alvin Bresler, co-managing director of J. Smith Lanier & Co., recently was presented with the Alabama Associated General Contractors’ Capstone Award. The award was presented Jan. 16 during the BuildSouth Awards Banquet, which kicked off AGC’s centennial year celebrations.“Alvin is a consummate professional,” Billy Norrell, CEO of Alabama AGC, said in … [Read more...]

Grace Richardson recently earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, for her “Project Aquarius.” The project focused on environmental consciousness. She saw that the root cause of many environmental issues, particularly involving the oceans, is a lack of knowledge about where trash ends up or energy comes from. Richardson, a graduate of Hoover … [Read more...]