Sunday, November 1, is the 35th anniversary of the Business Council of Alabama’s (BCA) founding. In a press release marking the milestone, the powerful advocacy organization reflected on its history while stressing BCA’s important role in advancing a more robust 21st century economy in the Yellowhammer State.
BCA formed in 1985 through the consolidation of the Alabama Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Alabama; ever since then, the organization “has worked diligently to foster a ‘Sweet Home for Business’ in our great state,” the release underscored.
“BCA, over time and to this day, has helped spearhead crucial, pro-growth reforms that have led to unprecedented economic wins for Alabama job creators, workers and families. For 35 years, BCA has worked tirelessly to ensure that businesses regardless of size have every opportunity to grow and flourish in our state,” the release continued. “From championing pro-jobs initiatives and regulatory policies to striving to put Alabama on the cutting-edge of innovation and infrastructure, BCA has helped pave the way for enhanced opportunity for the Alabamians of today and tomorrow.”
While the organization has certainly played a significant role in the state throughout the past few decades, “the importance of BCA and its members to our state has perhaps never been magnified more than in the present,” the release advised.
The release then outlined that as our state continues to grapple with coronavirus, BCA has been at the forefront of relentless advocacy efforts on behalf of Alabama businesses throughout this pandemic, from mom-and-pop operations to our state’s largest employers.
“And, just as BCA’s history has proven, we are stronger together – and recovery will take all of us, working hand-in-hand, side-by-side,” the release noted.
BCA touted “the strong support of its membership and strategic, mutually beneficial partnerships, such as BCA’s longtime formal relationship with the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama and the continued relationship with the Alabama Self-Insured Workers Compensation Fund.”
BCA is also the exclusive Alabama affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the release highlighted.
“Representing nearly one million hardworking Alabamians, BCA could not be prouder to be the voice for Alabama business from Goat Hill to Capitol Hill. BCA is able to do what it does because of its many incredible members,” the release concluded. “This 35th anniversary commemorates our shared successes; but, even more importantly, this landmark represents a pledge that the best is yet to come for Alabama.”
Katie Boyd Britt leads BCA as the organization’s president and CEO. BCA’s board of directors is currently helmed by chairman John Mazyck of Montgomery’s Frazer Lanier Company; first vice chairman Gary Smith of Andalusia’s PowerSouth Energy Cooperative; and second vice chairman Mike Kemp of Birmingham’s Kemp Management Solutions.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
