2007

2007 was the 136th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

• January - April: Birmingham Festival of Arts Spotlight on the Czech Republic
• January 8: Bernard Kincaid delivered the 2007 State of the City address.
• January 12: The 2007 State of the Region luncheon was at the Harbert Center.
• February 2: A Cessna 172 with two aboard crashed in western Jefferson County.
• February: The UAB Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics was chartered.
• March 8: Governor Bob Riley designated George Watson Day.
• March 27: A non-discrimination resolution failed by a 3-4 vote in the Birmingham City Council.
• May 12: The 6th annual Buck Creek Festival was held in Old Town Helena.
• May 14: Two employees were killed during a robbery at a Wachovia Bank branch on Bessemer Superhighway in Bessemer.
• September 9: Cahaba Park Church held its first service.
• October: 2007 mayoral election
• October 25: Forever Wild acquired two tracts which added 9,746 acres to the Coosa Wildlife Management Area.
• Eric Walker founded the Beth Hallel Messianic Jewish church.
• Bessemer, Hoover, Graysville, Fultondale, and Leeds withdrew from the Storm Water Management Authority.

Business

• May: The Bama 6 in Tuscaloosa closed for business.
• May 16: Daniel DeLong launched The Western Tribune in Bessemer.
• August 3: Jennifer Hunt Gallery opened.
• Will Haver and Jay Wilson purchased Otey's Tavern.
• John Hudson and Nyya Parson-Hudson opened the Hudson Law Firm.
• Iron Art closed.
• The Reznick Group acquired Birmingham's Tidwell & DeWitt.
• Monarch Windows and Doors was acquired by Woodgrain Millwork of Fruitland, Idaho.
• Bolaji Kukoyi founded Dynamic Civil Solutions in Maylene.
• Keen Communications was formed from the merger of Menasha Ridge Bress with Cincinnati, Ohio-based Clerisy Press.
• Rocco & Cheaters Speed Shop closed.
• Toro-Cordes Iron Arts moved to 2nd Avenue South in Forest Park-South Avondale.
• Karol Leggett opened the Kidz Closet and More consignment shop in Vestavia Hills.
• The law firm of Liles & Rushin was founded.
• Time Inc. sold its Southern Progress division to DTN of Omaha, Nebraska.

Music

• Imaginary Planes was formed.
• Alice in Thunderland was formed.

Religion

• Greater Grace Missionary Baptist Church moved to Center Point.

Sports

• February 23-25: 2007 Bassmaster Classic on Lay Lake
• June 10: Victor Mercedes became the first Baron to hit for the cycle since Reggie Jackson 40 years prior.
• Dickey Wright permanently succeeded Bob Newton as head coach of the Homewood football team.

Tourism

The Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel estimated that 3 million people visited Birmingham and Jefferson County in 2007, accounting for 1.8 million hotel stays and $1.58 billion in travel-related spending.

Individuals

• January: Jimmy DeButts joined the Birmingham Business Journal as a staff reporter.
• February 1: Long-time administrator Edna Snow retired from Homewood City Schools.
• February 14: Brian Mackin was promoted to UAB Blazers athletic director.
• Buck Brock succeeded Joseph Mathews, Jr as Vice President for Business Affairs at Samford University.
• Gary Jones became house organist for the Alabama Theatre.
• Edward Partridge was named full-time director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.
• George Perdue retired from UAB.

Births

• Spring: Farley and Giovanni, sea lions

Awards

• 2007 Leadership Birmingham
• Alabama Academy of Science's Gardner Award: Dan Holliman
• Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame: Bob Newton
• Alabama Lawyers' Hall of Fame: John Campbell, Howell Heflin, Thomas Jones, Patrick Richardson
• Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame: Joe Drake, Walt Dropo, Reggie Jackson and Norm Zauchin.
• Birmingham Record Collectors Hall of Fame: Bill Bolen, Ed Boutwell, Ben McKinnon, and Three on a String
• Harper Lee Award for Alabama's distinguished writer: William Cobb
• Miss Alabama: Jamie Langley
• Miss Shelby County: Liz Cochran
• UAB School of Medicine's "Distinguished Faculty Lecturer": Dale Benos
• World Golf Hall of Fame: Hubert Green
• Jason Simpson earned the American Meteorological Society's Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal.
• Robert Taylor won a fellowship from the Alabama State Council of the Arts.
• Fouad Fouad was named "Engineer of the Year" by the American Society of Professional Engineers.

Weddings

• July 7: Alan Hunter and Elizabeth Bradley

Retirements

• Elizabeth Garner retired from Pizitz Middle School.
• Cecil Whitmire retired as house organist of the Alabama Theatre.

Deaths

• January 9: Samuel Burr, partner in Burr & Forman LLP
• January 9: Oliver Roosevelt, music critic for The Birmingham News
• January 13: Margaret Tingle, park director, Birmingham Park and Recreation Board
• January 22: Elmer Hollis, educator and school administrator
• January 24: Tom King, attorney and state senator
• January 24: Leon Medlock, former officer for the Birmingham Police Department
• February 7: Kellie Camp, elementary school teacher
• February 10: Johnny Mack Gore, country guitarist
• February 16: Mary Burks, environmentalist
• February 22: John Henry Mealing, railroad worker and "gandy dancer"
• February 24: B. Davie Napier, theologian
• February 28: Robert Luckie Jr, advertising executive
• March 8: Mama Petite, Birmingham Zoo hippopotamus
• March 13: James Walker, artist and historian
• March 27: James Perryman, basketball coach
• April 3: Conrad Rehling, golf coach
• April 4: Bob Clark, filmmaker
• April 8: Sid Ingram, former Robinson Elemenary and Banks High principal
• April 22: Juanita Millender-McDonald, United States Representative
• April 25: Billy Gafford, Captain in the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service
• April 27: Ronald Jenkins, biologist and Samford University professor
• April 29: Josh Hancock, pitcher for the St Louis Cardinals
• April 29: Lee Roberson, evangelist and author
• April 30: Thomas Stubbs, decorated World War II veteran and Alabama State Senator
• May 3: Arthur Lee Giles, convicted murderer
• May 6: Big Joe Duskin, blues and boogie-woogie pianist
• May 16: Topper Price, harmonica player
• May 19: Simmie Lavender, former president of the Jefferson County Citizens Coalition
• June 11: Cecil Bauer, former president of South Central Bell
• June 15: Leonard Weil, business executive
• June 15: Sherri Martel, professional wrestler and manager
• June 21: Mona, Birmingham Zoo elephant
• July 1: Keith Blayney, First dean of UAB's School of Health Professions
• July 6: James Jones, former Shelby County Sheriff
• July 7: Steve Orel, educator and activist
• July 11: Marshal Hagler, photographer
• July 15: Garage Kitty, feline mascot of the Garage Café
• July 20: Ward McIntyre, television personality
• July 28: Jon Darnell, rock musician
• July 29: Walter Johnsey, engineer, executive and political operative
• August 4: Jim Skinner, auto dealer and television personality
• August 7: William F. Walker, former Auburn University president
• August 22: Madelyn Poole, music director for Town and Gown Theatre
• September 6: Nora Ezell, folk quilter
• September 10: Cordray Parker, sculptor
• September 16: Louis Willie, business executive
• September 20: Joseph Schreiber, choirmaster and organist at Independent Presbyterian Church
• September 29: Hugo Black III, attorney
• September 29: James Crutcher, former pastor of 16th Street Baptist Church
• October 1: Jerome Murkerson, U. S. Marine
• October 8: Kayla Fanaei, UAB student and murder victim
• October 18: Bill Edmonds, founder of BE&K
• October 19: Margaret Fife, co-founder of Fife's Restaurant
• October 24: Pete Norris, banker, lawyer and judge
• November 4: Scott "Blue" Bernstein, jazz guitarist
• November 6; John Grenier, attorney and GOP official
• November 15: Joe Nuxhall, pitcher
• December 12: Warren Crow III, real estate executive
• November 18: Kapali Swamy, bar manager
• December 18: James Kidd, Jr, margarine executive
• December 20: Robert Tyler, hardware salesman
• December 23: Sandra Sokol, art collector

See also List of Birmingham homicides in 2007 and List of Jefferson County homicides in 2007

Works

• Joseph Zoettl statue, Ave Maria Grotto by Ira Chaffin

Buildings

• 2600 Highland Avenue
• Alabama 4-H Environmental Science Education Center
• Aldi on Green Springs Highway
• Birmingham Social Security Administration Center
• Birmingham-Southern College Admission Welcome Center
• Broadway Park condominiums
• ChristWay Church
• The Church at Cahaba Bend
• Colonial Center at Brookwood Village
• Colonial Promenade Fultondale
• "Eagle's Perch" 2nd grade wing at Center Point Elementary School
• Eastwood Village shopping center
• Gables at Glen Iris
• Guiding Light Church
• Innovation Depot
• McCrory Building in Hoover
• Parkridge Cottages
• Dax Swatek residence
• University House
• Wylam Oaks subdivision (site work and infrastructure)
• Pete Hanna Center at Samford University
• Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavilion at Samford University

Books

• Birmingham: Then and Now by J. D. Weeks
• What Came Before by Irene Latham

See Also

• 2007 Alabama Steeldogs
• 2007 Birmingham Barons
• 2007 City Stages
• 2007 Iron Bowl
• 2007 SEC Baseball Tournament
• 2007 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
• 2007 UAB Blazers football

References

• Williams, Roy L. (May 6, 2008) "Area's tourism 2nd to Alabama coast." Birmingham News

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