2003

2003 was the 132nd year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

• April 23: Birmingham signed a Sister City agreement with Vinnytsia, Ukraine.
• May 30: Art Franklin delivered his final newscast at WBRC 6 before moving to Atlanta.
• September 12: The Birmingham Green Post Office closed.
• September 19: The new Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum opened to the public at Barber Motorsports Park.
• November 12: The non-profit Friends of Shades Mountain was incorporated by Larry Rodick.
• Jack Warner opened the Westervelt-Warner Museum of American Art.
• The Youth Service League merged with Camp Fire USA Central Alabama Council.
• The Samaritan Foundation was incorporated.

Business

• January 9: The Sheraton Perimeter Park South was remodeled and reopened as the Hilton Birmingham Perimeter Park.
• February 2: The Mountain Brook Inn closed.
• September 15: Bogart's Motorsports opened in Irondale.
• 2B Solutions opened in Mt Laurel.
• Balch & Bingham merged with the Atlanta firm of Meadows, Icther & Bowers.
• The Best of Times Records label was started.
• Tidwell & DeWitt acquired Geeslin, Cordle, Johnson & Wetherington LLP of Atlanta.
• Vamp & Tramp bookseller acquired Califia Books of San Francisco, California.
• Yanni's restaurant and 'N Vogue Salon & Spa opened at the Vestavia Hills City Center.
• Legends Smokehouse opened in Clay.
• Ron Massey purchased Massey's Corral from his father and relocated it to Trussville.
• Berkowitz & Lefkovits merged with Baker Donelson of Huntsville, Tennessee.
• Killarney's Celtic Pub moved from Eastwood Mall to the 3625 8th Avenue South in Forest Park.
• Infinity Property & Casualty was founded.
• Edward Aldag Jr founded Medical Properties Trust.

Education

• Leeds City Schools was established.

Government

• July: The Jefferson Metropolitan Health Care Authority was created by Jefferson County Commission president Larry Langford.
• September 9: 68% of voters rejected Amendment One, Governor Bob Riley's proposal to make Alabama's tax system more progressive.
• October 14: Bernard Kincaid and Carole Smitherman qualified for a runoff in the 2003 Birmingham mayoral election.
• November 4: Bernard Kincaid defeated Carole Smitherman in the mayoral runoff.

Religion

• The Church of the Reconciler moved to its present location on 14th Street North.
• CrossPoint, a Southern Baptist Church was founded as a satellite campus of First Baptist Church of Center Point.
• Solid Rock Church entered into a lease-purchase with the Jefferson County Board of Education for the vacant Pinson School.
• Our Lady of La Vang Vietnamese Catholic Parish was established at St John Bosco Catholic Church in Woodlawn.

Sports

• May 17–18: The first race was held at Barber Motorsports Park.
• June 11: The 8th annual 2003 Rickwood Classic was held; the Birmingham Barons defeated the Hunstville Stars 5-1.
• June 10: Garry Unger was announced as head coach of a yet-to-be-named WHA2 hockey team.
• June 14: The first North America Cup was held at Lakeshore Foundation.
• July 29: The name of Pelham's new WHA2 hockey team was announced as the Alabama Slammers.
• November 7: The Alabama Slammers lost their first game, at home, to the Jacksonville Barracudas.

See Also:

• Alabama Slammers (hockey)
• 2003 Birmingham Barons
• 2003 Birmingham Steeldogs
• 2003 UAB Blazers
• 2003 Iron Bowl

Works

• September 1: Fairytale, novel by Valerie Gribben
• November 1: The UAB Alma Mater was performed publicly for the first time at the Homecoming game against Army at Legion Field.
• Fame Among the Vulgar, album by Mars Electric

Buildings

• Barber Motorsports Park and Museum
• Bluff Park Elementary School
• Center Point Elementary School
• First Baptist Church of Boldo near Jasper
• First Baptist Church of Mount Olive, classrooms and family life center
• Gardendale Soccer Complex in Gardendale
• Irving Meisler residence on Old Leeds Ridge
• Paine Primary School and Paine Intermediate Schools
• Trinity United Methodist Church, youth building and renovations
• Vestavia Hills City Center, second phase
• 2229 1st Avenue South, renovations
• 150 Plaza shopping center in Bessemer

Individuals

• Dorothea Batiste was admitted to the Alabama State Bar.
• Superintendent Cleveland Hammonds retired from St Louis, Missouri public schools.
• Hubert Green was diagnosed with throat cancer.
• Herbie Newell became president and CEO of Lifeline Children’s Services.
• Clyde "Bud" Precise became pastor of Pilgrim Congregational Church.
• John W. Stewart III earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Southern Mississippi.
• Sam "The Great Kaiser" Tenenbaum retired from the NWA after a bout at Boutwell Auditorium.
• November: Jerry McIntosh became chief of the Irondale Police Department.

Births

• Jordyn Hudson, founder of Shape the Culture
• Nairobi and Sahara, cheetahs born at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri

Graduations

• Joey Kennedy, M.A. in English with honors at UAB
• Hadiyah-Nicole Green, M.S. in physics and optics from Alabama A&M University

Marriages

• Luther Smith to Esther Washburn
• Brian Toone to Kristine Cardwell

Awards

• Alabama Sports Hall of Fame: Al Del Greco, Rex Frederick, Cleon Jones, Guy Morton, Sarah Patterson, Steve Sloan and Larry Willingham
• National Veterans Award: Bert Bank
• State Superintendent of the Year: Jodi Newton
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Benny Benjamin
• Miller Gorrie was inducted into the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame.
• Miss Shelby County: Crystal Bedwell Langford
• National Association of Black Journalists' Journalist of the Year: George Curry

Deaths

• January 2: David Cromwell Johnson, Birmingham criminal attorney
• January 5: Roosevelt Bell, former Birmingham City Council member
• January 20: Hermie Friend, arts promoter
• January 23: Nell Carter, singer and actress
• March 2: Hank Ballard, singer
• April 8: Spider Martin, Civil Rights Movement photojournalist
• April 19: Cholly Atkins, Motown choreographer
• April 22: Dearniki Echols, community activist (killed)
• June 3: Joseph Connor Jr, retired Air Force and NASA physician
• June 14: John Weld, stuntman, journalist and author
• July: S. Richardson Hill, former President of UAB
• October 11: Ron Nored, AME pastor and community activist
• October 14: Buddy Cooper, labor attorney
• October 22: Tina Watson, newlywed on a scuba trip in Australia
• November 8: William Yester, prosthetist
• December 15: Earnest Mostella, preacher and luthier

See also List of Birmingham homicides in 2003

See Also

• 2003 City Stages

2000s

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