City Beat: The Vulcans Community Awards, 1917 Clinic moves to Lakeview, Legion FC gets ready for 2021
This month in City Beat, the Vulcan Park Foundation announces the winners of a prestigious group of annual awards. Lakeview gets a major new medical facility. In addition, Birmingham Legion FC — the city’s only professional soccer franchise — is getting ready for another playoff run in 2021.
CIVIC PRIDE
Vulcan Park Foundation recently announced the 2020 honorees for the The Vulcans Community Awards, which honor civic pride and leadership in the seven-county Birmingham area.
The Vulcans honor 10 people this year in four awards categories — Lifetime Achievement, Hero, Game Changer and Servant Leadership — and are divided into two broad groups: The Vulcans and Spears.
Over 100 nominations were received this year, and recipients were chosen by an independent panel, according to a Jan. 7 Vulcan news release.
Due to COVID-19, there will be no traditional awards banquet. Instead, Vulcan was scheduled to host a virtual awards celebration Jan. 28 and, the same night, open a five-month exhibit at Linn-Henley Gallery honoring the work of the winners.
For more information about the exhibit at Linn-Henley Gallery, call 205-933-1409 or go to visitvulcan.com.
VULCANS HONOREES
►Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Perry Ward, recently retired president of Lawson State Community College. Under Ward’s leadership, Lawson State was named one of America’s Top 50 Community Colleges in 2010 and one of the county’s top five community colleges in 2013.
►Hero: Madison Kerns Conrad, director of operations for the Birmingham nonprofit Urban Avenues. In 2020, Conrad led the organization’s CareHealth initiative, a response to COVID-19 that helped healthcare workers and local restaurants.
►Game Changer: Amanda Storey, executive director of Jones Valley Teaching Farm, which hosts educational programs for thousands of public school children in Birmingham.
►Servant Leadership: T. Marie King, an activist who champions social justice through training, educating, speaking and consulting. She has served communities in Birmingham and around the country and worked with many national organizations for about 20 years.
SPEARS HONOREES
►Heroes: Milton King, founder and executive director of Determined 2 Be Mentor and Leadership Program, which helps young men build better futures, and Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Moreman, who was born with hearing loss, and is an English Instructor at Jefferson State Community College and chair of the social media team at the Junior League of Birmingham. She spoke at TEDxBirmingham in 2018.
►Game Changers: Keith Richards, founder of Taziki’s Mediterranean Café, and Alicia Johnson Williams, an arts educator and administrator.
Richards’ signature charity at Taziki’s is the HOPE Program (Herbs Offering Personal Enrichment), which helps children with special needs in 10 states learn about the herb business and develop job skills.
Williams serves as director of the Negro Southern League Museum and Boutwell Auditorium and is also the artistic director of her own community youth theatre company, Make It Happen Theatre.
►Servant Leadership: Dr. Karim Budwhani of CerFlux Inc. and Quan & Nga Nguyen of Dang’s Alterations.
Budhwani, who is a visiting scientist in the UAB School of Medicine, founded CerFlux in 2018 to use micro- and nano-medicine to fight cancer. He was also active in 2020 in helping to solve logistical and administrative challenges in fighting COVID-19.
Quan and Nga Nguyen started Dang’s Alterations 20 years ago in the Trussville and Clay area. After closing their shop in March due to the pandemic, they worked 14-hour days to make masks and provide them for free to the community.
ACCESS TO CARE
The UAB 1917 Clinic, the largest HIV health care unit in Alabama and one of the country’s preeminent HIV clinics, has relocated to the Dewberry Building at 3220 Fifth Ave. South in Lakeview.
It opened its doors to the community and about 3,600 active patients Dec. 15, according to UAB News.
In its new location, the 1917 Clinic has 50,664 feet of space, a substantial upgrade from the previous clinic on 20th Street South.
“This move will allow for increased capacity to meet the existing and burgeoning need for HIV comprehensive multidisciplinary care and support service to people with HIV and the community,” clinic director James Raper told UAB News. “It also allows us to more effectively do outreach to identify persons with HIV who are not engaged in care.”
Birmingham AIDS Outreach has space in the building as well.
“This move will provide renewed synergy between 1917 Clinic and BAO as community partners in the fight to end the HIV epidemic while addressing the immediate needs of the HIV community,” Raper said.
The Dewberry Building, located on a public transportation route and with ample parking, is intended to provide easier access for the 1917 patient population.
It also provides an easy route back to the UAB main campus.
LOOKING TO 2021
Birmingham Legion FC became an expansion member of the USL (United Soccer League) Championship in 2018, and the team qualified for the playoffs each of the club’s first two seasons, including the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
Legion FC is now looking forward to 2021. In recent weeks, the team announced that nearly a dozen key players will be back with the team this year, including Bruno Lapa and Alex Crognale.
As a rookie in 2020, Lapa, a midfielder, started all 17 matches and was voted Team MVP and earned a spot on the USL Championship All-League First Team.
Legion teammate Alex Crognale, a defender, made the All-League Second Team and was named the team’s 2020 Defender of the Year.
In December, the club also signed defender Phanuel Kavita of Saint Louis FC and defender Ryan James of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
For 2021 ticket information, go to bhmlegion.com.