Executive seeks to make World Games in Birmingham ‘special for everyone’

When Birmingham plays host to The World Games from July 15-25, 2021, the city will welcome about 3,600 athletes from more than 100 countries.

Those athletes will compete in 32 sports at 25 venues around the metropolitan area.

There will be about 100,000 attendees, and the event’s economic impact should be about $256 million, organizers said.

Needless to say, it will take lots of logistics, lots of planning and lots of people — including about 2,200 volunteers — to successfully pull off such a huge event.

Among the people responsible for helping ensure that success will be Kathy Boswell, a Birmingham native and veteran community relations executive who was named vice president of community engagement for the games in November.

Boswell will provide ongoing communication and community outreach in an effort to get area residents as excited as possible about The World Games and the positive effects it could have for the city. She will also generate tourism and cultural initiatives and oversee other key programs.

And it’s more than just a job, according to Boswell, who has high hopes for The World Games.

“My heart is in this, not my title,” Boswell said. “I literally want this to be something special for everyone.”

The games will give Birmingham a chance to show off the progress it’s made recently, Boswell said.

“Birmingham has strived to be a city on the move,” she said. “There is a lot of newness in this community… and this gives people a chance to see it.”

Boswell is “a universally respected” member of the community “whose passion is contagious,” said DJ Mackovets, who was serving as CEO of The World Games 2021 Birmingham when Boswell was hired. Nick Sellers became World Games CEO in December.

“Her vision, ability to cultivate relationships and experience working with Birmingham-based organizations make her the perfect fit for this role,” Mackovets said.

A Hoover resident, Boswell graduated from UAB in 1990 with a B.S. degree in criminal justice and a minor in communications.

She has long experience in health care, serving as director of community relations at Princeton Baptist Medical Center, community relations specialist at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and director of patient experience at Brookwood Baptist Health.

Most recently, Boswell served as director of employee engagement at the Birmingham Education Foundation.

She has also raised funds for United Way of Central Alabama and served on boards for Birmingham nonprofits, such as the Railroad Park Foundation.

Boswell prides herself on excellent communication and presentation skills. She is also adept at building relationships and creating trust in the community, and prides herself on being a good listener.

“So often what throws people off is you’re so busy wanting that you forget to listen,” she said.

These skills should serve her well as she attempts to get as many people and groups as possible involved at some level in helping make the games a success and a positive thing for the city.

“There are so many groups and communities and tribes out there,” said Boswell, who mentioned nonprofits, civic groups, neighborhood associations, doctors, athletes, fitness professionals, seniors, veterans and the special needs community.

Her other responsibilities as vice president include tourism and cultural initiatives. The goal is to “showcase some of the best parts of Birmingham,” Boswell said.

This effort will include not just large tourist attractions but smaller things such as community gardens or the ongoing revitalization of neighborhoods like Woodlawn, Boswell said.

Boswell also has oversight over the “Live Healthy, Play Global” education program, which will help generate interest in some of The World Games sports in elementary and middle schools through physical education activities, as well as civics and history classes.

The World of Opportunity supplier diversity program is designed to help minority and women-owned businesses get their fair share of contracts generated by the games.

There is also a sustainability program, managed by Julie Price, who is sustainability manager at UAB. The goal is to properly handle the leftover food, plastic bottles and other waste generated by the athletes, who will be housed and fed at UAB and Birmingham-Southern College.

Each program is administered directly by one of the 16 committees set up to run the games.

Boswell is excited about the games for a variety of reasons.

They are an opportunity for Birmingham to show the city’s capacity to do big things, Boswell said.

“It gives us a chance to show our strength and ability to do what needs to be done,” she said.

The games will also show that the people of Birmingham can “come together to do it.”

“No one municipality can stand alone with this,” she said. “To be able to come together and share in this is powerful.”

In fact, Boswell professes to have “a real passion for unity.”

“I love seeing people excited about something,” she said. “Anything that can bring people together for a common joy, I love that. I’m an optimist, an enthusiast.”

Birmingham has a wonderful spirit to show the world — and the many attendees at the games — Boswell said.

“You might hear about our imperfections, but there is a love and passion that we have for our community you just have to see for yourself,” she said.

It’s special to Boswell that the city is hosting the games on its 40th anniversary.

“It had to be destiny,” she said. “It puts us in the history books for something pretty cool.”

Boswell hopes everyone in the area will have a special experience during the games.

“I want people to feel a part of the games,” she said. “I want people to experience it.”

The games will serve as “a memory for all of us,” Boswell said. “It’s a moment in time that we’ll never get again. My hope and my prayer is that everyone through this finds a very precious memory to hold onto forever.”