The 13th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide took a bad loss to the Birmingham Blazers on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Field. The Blazers scored seven times in the top of the 1st and coasted to an 11-2 victory. The teams played last Tuesday at Regions Park in Birmingham with the Tide winning that contest 12-6. With the loss Alabama is 28-14 while the Blazers improved to 26-15. Casey Dunn’s squad is much improved this year and carries an RPI of 33. Alabama entered the game 4th in the nation in RPI. Bama did not help themselves by committing five errors. The Tide is now 60-29 all-time in matchups with the Blazers, including 32-13 in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama
2024 Elevate Conference unites Alabama nonprofits and the Alabama Power Foundation to spark positive change across the state – Alabama News Center
2024 Elevate Conference unites Alabama nonprofits and the Alabama Power Foundation to spark positive change across the state
More than 250 nonprofit leaders from all corners of Alabama came together in Birmingham recently to attend the 2024 Elevate Conference, hosted by the Alabama Power Foundation. This annual event is a chance for nonprofit trailblazers to connect, exchange ideas and get reenergized as they work toward making a bigger impact in communities across the state.
“We share the incredible gift and the challenge of building up Alabama and her people – that’s the mission that keeps all of us going,” said Staci Brown Brooks, Alabama Power vice president of Charitable Giving, president of the Alabama Power Foundation and executive director of Alabama Business Charitable Trust Fund, in her opening remarks during the conference kickoff dinner at Protective Stadium.
Staci Brown Brooks, Alabama Power vice president of Charitable Giving, president of the Alabama Power Foundation and executive director of Alabama Business Charitable Trust Fund, said the foundation and its partners celebrate 35 years of “building up Alabama and her people.” (contributed)
Alabama Power Foundation marked its 35th anniversary with a celebration that included cupcakes, confetti cannons and a giant birthday card. (contributed)
This year’s conference was also a time of celebration – complete with cupcakes, confetti cannons and a giant birthday card – as the Alabama Power Foundation marked its 35th anniversary. The foundation was established on Oct. 31, 1989, with five focus areas: educational advancement, civic and community development, arts and cultural enrichment, environmental stewardship, and health and human services.
“Our five focus areas really have remained unchanged for the past 35 years,” Brooks said during her State of the Foundation address. “We’ve chosen to be consistent. We’ve chosen to provide what the state of Alabama needs.”
Brooks went on to explain that instead of deemphasizing any focus area, the foundation decided to ramp up efforts in particular subcategories. For example, within educational advancement, the foundation has increased its support of two-year colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities in recent years.
In 2023, the foundation awarded 1,063 grants for a total of $15,247,130 of giving across the foundation’s five focus areas:
- $737,550 for Arts and Cultural Enrichment.
- $5,326,606 for Civic and Community Development.
- $6,165,255 for Educational Advancement.
- $813,040 for Environmental Stewardship.
- $2,231,679 for Health and Human Services.
Additionally, Brooks highlighted the continuing partnership between many nonprofits at the conference and the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO), comprising more than 6,700 Alabama Power and Southern Company employees in Alabama who gave more than 21,000 volunteer hours in 2023. Brooks also applauded the ongoing work of the Energizers, made up of Alabama Power and Southern Company retirees and spouses who gave more than 39,000 volunteer hours in 2023.
But this year’s Elevate served as a birthday party where the guests were the center of attention. The conference was designed to give nonprofit leaders the practical tools they need to continue their meaningful work.
Day two of the conference included a panel discussion on strategic fundraising and grant writing featuring Rusha Smith, executive director of Freshwater Land Trust; Chad McEachren, president and CEO of Edmundite Missions; and Pamela Reed Phipps, executive director of Grace House Ministries. (contributed)
Day two of the conference included a panel discussion on strategic fundraising and grant writing featuring Rusha Smith, executive director of Freshwater Land Trust; Chad McEachren, president and CEO of Edmundite Missions; and Pamela Reed Phipps, executive director of Grace House Ministries. (contributed)
During her State of the Foundation address, Foundation President Staci Brown Brooks said the foundation provides what the state of Alabama needs. (contributed)
During her State of the Foundation address, Foundation President Staci Brown Brooks said the foundation provides what the state of Alabama needs. (contributed)
Day two of the conference included a panel discussion on strategic fundraising and grant writing featuring Rusha Smith, executive director of Freshwater Land Trust; Chad McEachren, president and CEO of Edmundite Missions; and Pamela Reed Phipps, executive director of Grace House Ministries.
Brooks said she curated the panel, selecting leaders who have shown the ability to “turn straw into gold – or a little bit into a lot.”
Jeff Ware, director of philanthropy for the Nature Conservancy in Alabama, has attended several Elevate conferences and said the panel discussion was a great example of why he keeps coming back.
“I always find something useful,” Ware said. “I was just thinking as the grant panel was speaking that I’ve been in development for more than 30 years, fundraising for different organizations, and I know about grant writing, but they reminded me of some things that maybe had slipped my memory, and their passion for what they were doing inspired me to think in new ways about what I want to do.”
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Jake McKenzie, CEO of Intermark Group, led a workshop on psychology-based marketing. (contributed)
Jake McKenzie, CEO of Intermark Group, led a workshop on psychology-based marketing, stressing the importance of brand building and offering ways to leverage artificial intelligence.
Paul Kennedy, president of the Walker Area Community Foundation, said he appreciated that McKenzie’s talk gave him a lot to think about.
“I’m a lifetime learner, and I’m always coming to hone my craft and to be better at what I’m doing,” Kennedy said. “I’m wondering when I meet with somebody for the first time how am I setting my brand up to be in their permanent memory as the subconscious default, so that when they think of charity, philanthropy, they think of us.”
But opportunities to network at the conference are equally important to Kennedy.
“It’s smart to come every year so that I stay connected to the people that are on the Alabama Power Foundation team that I need to know,” he said. “And all my peers are coming, too – organizations that we’re currently funding, ones that we don’t know about that we might want to fund and ones that might want to know about us. So, it’s a great opportunity to get to see your classmates. It’s a little bit of a reunion.”
Whether over a meal or during designated networking time, connections are made and collaborations are born at Elevate.
Catherine Goudreau, executive director of Better Basics, discussed potential partnerships with Adrienne Marshall and Danielle Tipton of The Literacy Council of Central Alabama. Stephanie Shorter of Hope Inspired Ministries scheduled a meeting with McEachren, president and CEO of Edmundite Missions.
For Susan Sellers, CEO of United Ability, the Elevate Conference was key to opening doors for major collaborations with the Life Is Good apparel company.
“They had never done any kind of T-shirt or anything that was centered on individuals with disabilities,” Sellers said. But a conversation at a past conference led to a partnership with the brand and a line of “Inclusion Is Good” T-shirts.
This event aims for attendees to leave both informed and inspired.
Opening night featured a keynote address by life coach and motivational speaker Timothy Alexander, who was in a horrific car accident in 2006 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. (contributed)
Opening night featured a keynote address by life coach and motivational speaker Timothy Alexander, who was in a horrific car accident in 2006 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. (contributed)
Opening night featured a keynote address by life coach and motivational speaker Timothy Alexander, who was in a horrific car accident in 2006 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. (contributed)
Opening night featured a keynote address by life coach and motivational speaker Timothy Alexander. After a horrific car accident in 2006, during the fall of his senior year in high school when he was fast becoming one of the best football players in Alabama, Alexander was paralyzed from the waist down. Refusing to take no for an answer, Alexander went on to attend the University of Alabama at Birmingham – on a football scholarship – and was instrumental in bringing back UAB’s football, bowling and rifling teams after they were cut in 2014.
Alexander’s talk centered on the importance of “keeping the main thing the main thing” or staying focused on one’s vision. He also stressed the importance of having a growth mindset, the kind of mindset that allows a person to turn adversity into opportunity.
The conference closed with a keynote address by Leland Melvin, the only person in history to catch a pass in the National Football League and in space. (contributed)
The conference closed with a keynote address by Leland Melvin, the only person in history to catch a pass in the National Football League and in space. (contributed)
The conference closed with a keynote address by Leland Melvin, the only person in history to catch a pass in the National Football League and in space. A former wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, Melvin is an engineer and NASA astronaut whose journey from the gridiron to the heavens was riddled with setbacks and injuries. By sharing his story of “grit, grace and second chances,” Melvin illustrated the power of community and commitment.
Learning about all the different ways the Alabama Power Foundation works with local communities was a highlight of the conference for Jamie Brown, director of development for Heart of Alabama Food Bank – so much so that she began to tear up as she reflected on the foundation’s impact. But her favorite part of this year’s Elevate conference were the talks by Alexander and Melvin.
“The keynotes were so inspiring,” Brown said. “It really filled my cup.”
After attending last year’s conference, which was held in Montgomery, Patricia Butts of the Lee County Literacy Coalition became a fast fan of the event’s atmosphere and the thoughtful preparation that she said she felt went into bringing the event to life.
“Working in nonprofits and being in a leadership role, we’re usually caring for others,” Butts said. “When I came last year, I really felt cared for.”
Karlos Finley, executive director of the Africatown Redevelopment Corporation, said what he appreciated most about Elevate was the intentionality of each day’s agenda as well as the intentionality of each person attending the event.
“We all know why we’re here – to work toward a common goal because we’re all a community,” Finley said. “It’s this kind of initiative that I think really breeds an environment for us to succeed. It’s about all boats being raised by that rising tide, but we must be in the water in order to be effective. This is one of those events that puts everybody in the water.”
To learn more about the Alabama Power Foundation, APSO, Energizers and the ABC Trust, visit powerofgood.com.
More than 250 nonprofit leaders from all corners of Alabama came together in Birmingham recently to attend the 2024 Elevate Conference, hosted by the Alabama Power Foundation. (contributed)
More than 250 nonprofit leaders from all corners of Alabama came together in Birmingham recently to attend the 2024 Elevate Conference, hosted by the Alabama Power Foundation. (contributed)
More than 250 nonprofit leaders from all corners of Alabama came together in Birmingham recently to attend the 2024 Elevate Conference, hosted by the Alabama Power Foundation. (contributed)
More than 250 nonprofit leaders from all corners of Alabama came together in Birmingham recently to attend the 2024 Elevate Conference, hosted by the Alabama Power Foundation. (contributed)
More than 250 nonprofit leaders from all corners of Alabama came together in Birmingham recently to attend the 2024 Elevate Conference, hosted by the Alabama Power Foundation. (contributed)
More than 250 nonprofit leaders from all corners of Alabama came together in Birmingham recently to attend the 2024 Elevate Conference, hosted by the Alabama Power Foundation. (contributed)
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Freshman left hander Luke Smyers started on the mound for Bama and had a short lived appearance. Lead off man Kevin Hall tried to bunt and popped out to Alabama first baseman Luke Vaughn. That was the only batter retired by Smyers. JP Head followed with a walk and Smyers hit Landon Beaver and Max Price to load the bases. Brady Waugh looped a soft single into short left field to score a run. Andrew Hunt singled up the middle to score another and when Bama centerfielder Bryce Fowler fumbled the ball for an error, another run scored. Wesley Helms singled to chase Smyers in favor of JT Blackwood. Alex DuPay greeted Blackwood with a two run single. Two more runs came in on an error by Bama third baseman Jason Torres on a bunt by Baylor Roberts. By the time the dust settled and the inning ended, the Tide had put themselves in a 7-0 hole.
The Tide went down in order in the bottom half of the first against starter Isaac Warrick. Blackwood allowed two singled to begin the top of the 2nd, but a strikeout and double play held the deficit to seven. Eric Hines was hit by a pitch leading off in the bottom half but a pop out and two strikeouts kept Bama at bay. Blackwood had a perfect third with a ground out, fly out, and pop out. Alabama finally had a scoring opportunity in the in the bottom of the third, but could not capitalize.
Torres led off with a walk but was foreced out at second on a ground ball by Fowler. Justin LeBron shot a single to the right side to move Fowler to third base. LeBron then swiped second base for his 33rd stolen base of the year in 33 chances. Brady Neal walked to load the bases with two outs for Hines. Hines struck out to end the uprising. Blackwood walked Roberts to led off the top of the 4th, followed by a single by Hall. Head singled to right to drive in one run, and when Neal fumbled the ball in right, another run followed. Connor Lehman replaced Blackwood and walked the first two batters he faced to load the bases. A strikeout and a double play prevented further damage, but the score was now 9-0.
In the bottom of the 4th Bama got their second hit of the game with one out when Hall couldn’t find a pop up by Vaughn that fell in for a double. A strikeout and ground out ended the inning. Owen Sarna replaced Lehman and had a quick top of the 5th with a ground out and two strikeouts. Bama went down easily in the bottom half of the fifth. Sarna was back in the 6th and despite a walk and a single kept the Blazers from adding to their lead. Alabama final broke through in the bottom of the frame. Neal led off with a single and was forced out at second on a ground ball hit by Hines, Tide catcher Johnny Lemm crushed a 408 foot home run into the visitors bullpen to cut the lead to 9-2. A strikeout and a long fly out by Will Plattner ended the inning.
Austin Morris replaced Sarna in the top of the seventh. Hunt singled to lead off the inning and a one out double by Dupuy scored Hunt. DuPay reached third when Neal misplayed the ball in right field. Roberts put down a perfect squeeze bunt to score DuPay. Hall struck out to end the inning with the 11-2 score. The Tide went down in order in the bottom of the inning. Joe Chiardo tossed the 8th for Bama and had a perfect inning with a fly out, ground out, and strikeout.
The Tide went down in order in the 8th and Zach Kittrell made his season debut on the mound for Bama in the ninth. Kittrell walked Waugh to lead off the inning. Waugh was cut down trying to steal (in a 11-2 game in the ninth?) by Lemm. The runner was initially called safe but the call was overturned upon review. Kittrell retired the next two on a strikeout and fly ball to left field that Hines made a sliding catch on. Plattner singled with two outs in the 9th for Bama, but a strikeout of Evan Taylor ended the game with the Tide on the short end of the 11-2 score.
Alabama’s offensive woes continued with a 5-32 night at the plate with two walks, one hit batter, one double, one home run, a stolen base, nine strikeouts, and left six on base. The five hits were divided among five players. Smyers fell to o-1 with the loss.
Birmingham hit 11-33 in the game with six walks, two hit batters, one double, one stolen base, nine strikeouts, and left five men on base. Head, Beaver, Hunt, and Dupay all had two hits apiece. Riley Miller was the winning pitcher and is 3-0 on the season. Warrick left the game in the third inning with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.
No sugar coating this one. Just a stinker all the way around. The loss gave the Tide a 2-6 record in their last eight games. There were a couple of bright spots. Lemm hit a much needed home run after struggling the last 8-10 games. Sarna was impressive in his two innings, Chiardo was sharp in his inning, and Kittrell showed some velocity with his 94 mile an hour fastball. LeBron now has a 10 game hitting streak and is still yet to be caught stealing. Bama now has only 20 hits in their last four games with seven runs scored.
Next up is a road trip to Knoxville to take on the struggling Tennessee Volunteers in a Thursday- Saturday series.
Roll Tide
Alabama has become the latest state to enact a comprehensive consumer privacy regime, adding further complexity to an already fragmented U.S. regulatory landscape and raising new compliance imperatives for businesses operating across state lines.
Welcome to BamaCentral’s “Just a Minute,” a video series featuring Alabama Crimson Tide on SI’s beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.
Watch the above video as BamaCentral baseball beat reporter Theodore Fernandez reflects on the first two months of Alabama baseball’s season and explains why the team has left much to be desired despite success on the field.
At face value, this has been a successful campaign for Alabama baseball. Entering the final four weeks of the regular season, a Crimson Tide team that was projected to finish No. 13 in the SEC is 9-9 in conference play, and just one game out of fourth place. The first sweep of Auburn in more than a decade, the Frisco Classic title, and a road series win over Oklahoma are big-time results that speak to the potential Alabama clearly possesses.
But it continues to appear increasingly likely that this team may not realize that potential.
There are issues up and down the roster. The bulk of the attention has been on Justin Lebron’s struggles. His career-high in errors and underwhelming offensive numbers have led to his draft stock beginning to fall, and it led to him even being experimentally moved out of the two-hole for a game against Arkansas.
Players like Luke Vaughn and Jason Torres have struggled, and there is still a significant amount of regular roster experimentation occurring on a week-to-week basis. Will Plattner, Justin Osterhouse, Chase Kroberger, Andrew Purdy and Peyton Steele are all among the players who have started games over the past two weekends and still appear to have undefined roles.
The biggest question remains the bullpen, as it is nearly impossible to predict what it will provide on any given day. There was a two-weekend stretch where it gave up just five earned runs over 22.1 combined innings against Auburn and Oklahoma, willing Alabama to wins in games where the bats did not show up. Then there have been the lows: implosions against Arkansas and Texas that cast serious doubt on the unit’s ability to show up in big moments.
In all of those areas where the team has struggled, there is hope of a turnaround. There are the bullpen’s aforementioned elite stretches. There are the web-gem plays in short by Lebron, that will leave him with one of the most impressive defensive highlight reels of any player in the nation. There’s Torres responding to a 1-for-12 weekend against the Razorbacks with a two-hit game where he drove in one of Alabama’s two runs to avoid a sweep against Texas last Sunday.
In a sport defined by randomness, where the thinnest of margins can mean the difference between going home in a regional or making a run to Omaha, we simply have no way of knowing where Alabama will land.
Would we really expect it any other way?
That’s baseball.
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