Tom Cosby

Thomas Rice Cosby (born 1947 in Birmingham) is Director of Development for Birmingham Landmarks, and previously a long-time executive with the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Birmingham Business Alliance.

Cosby graduated from Ramsay High School and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology at the University of Alabama in 1969. He spent two years in the U.S. Navy and then returned to UAB where he completed a master's degree in social work in 1974. Beginning in June of that year, Cosby worked for the United Way of Central Alabama, co-founding the United Way Information and Referral Service, and compiling its first Community Resources Directory.

In August 1977 he moved to the Chamber of Commerce, where he remained for more than 35 years. As vice-president for investor relations he led the growth of the chamber's membership base to more than 4,000, and later became chief operating officer. He led the Chamber's appeal to raise $250,000 to assist victims of the 1998 Oak Grove tornado and also led its efforts to establish an independent organization to manage Vulcan Park.

Cosby was one of three founding members of the Friends of Rickwood, that took charge of leading fund-raising drives to benefit preservation of Rickwood Field. He served on the founding board of City Stages and helped coordinate implementation of a citizen-based jitney service during the 1996 Olympic Games.

In 2004 Cosby led an unsuccessful grassroots effort to see the Barber's clock restored at Five Points South. In 2005 he created an online database of more than 1,400 jobs potentially available to workers displaced by Hurricane Katrina. In 2006 he and Charlie Brown III co-produced "The Magic City Rocks", a two-disc compilation album of Birmingham rock bands. In 2011 he led the Chamber's campaign to raise $20,000 for assistance to people in Birmingham's sister city of Hitachi affected by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Cosby left the BBA to lead the fund-raising campaign to conserve and restore the Lyric Theatre. He served as senior counselor for National Community Development Services, an Atlanta, Georgia company contracted to implement the campaign. After a little more than a year he transitioned to work with Birmingham Landmarks directly as director of development. He is also coordinating efforts to extend the Appalachian Trail to Birmingham.

References

• Godwin, Brent (October 17, 2012) "Tom Cosby leaving Birmingham Business Alliance after 35 years." Birmingham Business Journal
• Walsh, Alex (July 1, 2014) "Meet Mr. Birmingham: Everyone's asking how they can make Birmingham better. Tom Cosby has the answer." Birmingham magazine

External links

• Cosby, Tom (2020) "Good Times, Riches and Sons of Bitches, I've Seen More Than I Can Recall: A Birmingham Memoir". Issuu.com