On Tuesday evening the Business Council of Alabama (BCA) held their annual Chairman's Dinner in Birmingham with guest speaker Jeb Bush.
The BCA has become a political force in Alabama and is seen as one of the premiere endorsements a candidate/elected official can receive.
Since its founding in 1985, with the consolidation of the Alabama Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Alabama, the Business Council of Alabama has worked hard to improve Alabama’s business climate.
With the help of the Alabama legislature, which in 2011 -- for the first time -- was truly committed to addressing the concerns of business, the BCA was instrumental in securing passage of a number of real reforms in the areas of:
- Tax credits for small business
- Job creation
- Incentives for economic development
- Ethics reform
- Positive changes in our public education system
BCA Chairman Fred McCallum Jr. presented the 2014 BCA Chairman’s Award to state school board member Mary Scott Hunter for her distinguished record of service and her steadfast support of Alabama’s College and Career Ready Standards.
“Attracting and retaining good jobs and raising the net worth of Alabama households through quality education are always at the forefront of her efforts.”
- Fred McCallum, President of AT&T Alabama
After thanking supporters, Mary Scott Hunter wasted no time putting education back in the spotlight.
Alabama Education is undergoing a dramatic change – a sea change really, a dramatic increase in quality. There was a time when Alabama Education pretty well matched our regional competitors and we were keeping up. But then we had about 50 years or so of standing still while our competitors galloped ahead. A time when leaders like Joe Morton and Bob Riley fought to just keep Education’s head above water and even made some progress under the most difficult of circumstances.
As a state, we stopped moving forward in education AS we stopped being PASSIONATE about education.
I feel we have the passion back now. Education is on everybody’s mind and lips. That’s good because our medium and long term prosperity will rise or fall on whether we stay our course in smart, strategic education reform that’s right for Alabama.
I’ve been in many discussions in the last four years where I didn’t particularly have the home team advantage. Many of you were my teammates in those tough moments or went for me when I couldn’t go or just took it on the chin in the face of tremendous pressure. Thank you so much. It’s good to be with the home team tonight, and I’m deeply honored by this award.
Mary Scott Hunter represents Madison, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson and Limestone County on the State Board of Education.
