BIRMINGHAM, ALA.— The Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, the world’s largest Kiwanis, is pleased to announce the 2018 class of inductees to the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame which was founded in 1997. This year’s honorees are Thomas J. Adams, AutoTec; Mother M. Angelica, EWTN; Sister Mary Frances Loftin, St Vincent’s Health System/Ascension; Michael Calvert, Operation New Birmingham; and Ervin Jackson & Philip C. Jackson Jr., Jackson Cos.
The Birmingham Business Hall of Fame Committee annually selects business leaders who have exemplified strong leadership and made extraordinary contributions to the Greater Birmingham area. The 550-plus members of the Downtown Kiwanis invite the community to join them as they recognize these outstanding business leaders in a ceremony to be held at The Harbert Center Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 5:30 pm.
Thomas J. Adams pioneered a unique insurance program designed to meet the needs of the automobile auction industry. Today AutoTec, a privately held business, has grown and evolved to provide insurance, credentialing, vehicle history and claims administration services for the automotive industry.
Mother M. Angelica, PCPA, founded EWTN Global Catholic Network and turned it into one of the world’s largest religious media operations now in its 36th year. Housed in a state-of-the-art multi-media digital complex in Irondale, EWTN has 11 networks broadcasting in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 275 million television households in more than 145 countries and territories.
Sister Mary Frances Loftin was president and chief executive of St. Vincent’s Health System from 1987 to 1992. She was instrumental in the merger of the Daughters of Charity National Health System and Sisters of St. Joseph Health System which formed Ascension, the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system.
Michael Calvert headed Operation New Birmingham, which has since transformed into REV Birmingham, for 28 years working to advocate for and improve downtown Birmingham. His leadership and coordination between the business community and the city of Birmingham resulted in overall growth and development of the city center for nearly three decades.
Ervin Jackson and Philip C. Jackson Jr. had significant impacts on both the real estate and banking industries in Birmingham and around the world through their work at the Jackson Cos. and other enterprises. Ervin was the “idea man” behind the suburban development trend in the 1950s bringing people from around the world to see Mountain Brook’s Office Park, only the second development of its type at the time. Prior to being named to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Philip worked at the Jackson Companies as vice president of mortgage loans as well as a director. He was also president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. After leaving the Federal Reserve, Jackson served as vice chairman of Compass Bancshares.
The event is open to the public and will be Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 5:30 pm at The Harbert Center in Birmingham. For information about purchasing tickets to the dinner, please contact the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham at 205-251-0032 or [email protected].
Kiwanis Club of Birmingham celebrated 100 years of service in 2017 with a gift to the community of Kiwanis Centennial Park and Kiwanis Vulcan Trail, a 5.8 million expansion to Vulcan. The 550-plus strong membership meets weekly at The Harbert Center and is proud to be the largest and one of the oldest Kiwanis Clubs in the world. Attracting business leaders across professions provides the club with a wealth of talent to pour into its civic projects impacting our city.
