January 21 Program: Olympian 2021 inductee, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

University of Alabama track and field legend and Olympic gold medalist Lillie Leatherwood has been selected for induction to the Class of 2021 Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame announced last month.

Lillie Leatherwood As PAL Director, Lillie worked with children. Lillie runs in 1984 Olympics.

Lillie_Leatherwood (from Wikipedia): Lillie Mae Leatherwood (born July 6, 1964) is an American athlete who competed mainly in the . She competed for the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in , U.S. in the 4 x 400 metres where she won the gold medal with her teammates , Olympic 400 m champion Valerie Brisco-Hooks and 400 m silver medalist .

Excerpts from the article, “A Race Well Run: Lillie Leatherwood Retires after Career of Helping Children” by Emily Enfinger, a reporter for The Tuscaloosa News: Lillie Leatherwood, a Tuscaloosa police officer, two-time Olympian, and soon-to-be Alabama Sports Hall of Famer, believes that a person can do anything no matter where they're from and no matter what their circumstances. This is a message she has delivered to hundreds of children for more than two decades with the Tuscaloosa Police Department's Police Athletic League, which is a juvenile crime prevention program that pairs at-risk children with officers. Leatherwood joined the Tuscaloosa Police Department in 1993 and has been assigned to the PAL program since '95. She has served as the program's director since 2013. Leatherwood retired on Jan. 1. “But I’m not just going to stop though, because my thing is, I still want to be involved in the community and help children where I can. And that will definitely never change," she said. Leatherwood grew up in Ralph, Alabama, which is a small, unincorporated community found near the southwest edge of Tuscaloosa County. She attended Tuscaloosa County High School and later the , where she earned a degree in social work, while on a full athletic scholarship. Still early in her track sports career, Leatherwood's running times during her freshman year of college at UA qualified her for the Olympics. She went to Los Angeles sometime in the spring of 1984 for the Olympic trials, she recalled, and that the trip across the country was the first time she had traveled out of Alabama alone. It was a nerve-wracking but memorable experience, she said. The further she made it in the Olympic trials, the more her confidence in her abilities grew. “So my nerves, it got better as I went (on), especially (when) making the team because I realized what I had accomplished and being from this small town," Leatherwood said. "And knowing that I could accomplish something like that really brought me wanting to come back here (to Tuscaloosa County). Leatherwood went on to win a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles in the 4x400-meter relay race, which made her the University of Alabama’s first female Olympic gold medalist. During her UA career, Leatherwood was a three-time NCAA champion in the 400 meters and a 10-time All- American from 1984-87. She was also an eight-time SEC event champion. Her UA school records in the 200 meters and 400 meters have stood since 1987. Leatherwood went on to earn a silver medal in the 4x400-meter relay race in the 1988 Summer Olympics, held in , Korea. She graduated from the University of Alabama in 1987 but continued to travel and compete in races before joining the Tuscaloosa Police Department in the early 1990s. “That was always a goal of mine: Come back and get involved with the community. And this (job) gave me an opportunity to do that," Leatherwood said, adding that the PAL program was a perfect marriage of her aspirations of working as a police officer and helping families and children. She retired from the Tuscaloosa Police Department on January 1 and looks forward to spending time with her 18-year-old son Reginald Savage, before he begins college and eventually getting back into traveling when she can. She is also planning to get back into a more regular running routine. "Once a runner, always a runner," she said. Within the past few weeks, Leatherwood learned she would be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame's class of 2021. Leatherwood said she was "tickled" about being included in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Leatherwood's hall of fame class includes George Teague, who played on UA's 1992 national championship football team and went on to a nine-year NFL career, and former UA golfer Steve Hudson, who grew up in Jasper. The class was selected by ballot through a statewide selection committee with votes tabulated by the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Officer Leatherwood has been an inspiration and a mentor to so many kids in Tuscaloosa over the last 25 years,” said TPD Chief Brent Blankley in an early December news release. “Her induction into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame will be well-deserved," he said.

January 28 Program: Serena Fortenberry Candidate for Mayor of Tuscaloosa

I am originally from Thomson, Georgia. I earned my BA in English at Mississippi University for Women, which I attended on a full academic scholarship. I hold Masters and Doctoral degrees from the University of Alabama. My dissertation focused on the work of William Faulkner. I currently work as English Faculty at UA.

My family attends Christ Episcopal Church, where I have served as a guild president, and taught Sunday School classes for both adults and children. I have been married to my husband, Wyn, for 20 years. Wyn works as a local realtor. We have three sons who attend Tuscaloosa City Schools. I have served my community as Vice President of Tuscaloosa Neighbors Together, as a board member of the Stillman College Foundation, as a member of the University of Alabama Neighborhood Partnership Committee, and as a Framework Steering Committee member for City of Tuscaloosa citywide comprehensive planning. I also wrote a book about Tuscaloosa’s history and historic landmarks titled Tuscaloosa Through Time.

I've been following Tuscaloosa City Government for years. It is clear to me that we have major deficiencies when it comes to Planning, specifically in three key areas: Projects, Finances, and City Planning.

My goals:

Budgeting: eliminate waste, stop money shuffling among budgets, reduce city debt.

Projects: ensure that project plans are logical and thorough -before- they get underway.

City: raise material and design standards, especially in central areas, coordinate infrastructure and city development better.

Strong multifaceted planning will strengthen our city, raising quality of life for residents through judicious and careful public investment, diversifying and growing our local economy, and stabilizing and maintaining the infrastructure on which our city depends. I’m not going to run for governor; I’m not going to raise taxes; I AM going to work hard for the benefit of Tuscaloosa and its citizens.

City of Tuscaloosa Elections - Qualifying Candidate Update

Posted on Tuscaloosa News website, January 15, 2021

Elections for the City of Tuscaloosa will take place on Tuesday, March 2. As of 3 p.m. on Jan. 15, the following candidates have filed qualifying paperwork. Deadline for applications is Jan. 26 at 5 p.m. For more information on the upcoming election, visit elections.tuscaloosa.com

Mayor Serena Fortenberry Martin Houston Walt Maddox

City Council, District 4 City Council, District 1 Lee Busby Katherine Waldon Matthew Wilson City Council, District 5 Sam Badger City Council, District 2 Kip Tyner Raevan Howard Boris Hurst Paul W. Sanders Sr. City Council, District 6 Norma Young John Faile Eric Gaines City Council, District 3 Norman Crow City Council, District 7 Matt Hood Cassius Lanier Sonya McKinstry

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Board of Education, District 3 Chair, Board of Education Lesley Powell Eric M. Wilson Board of Education, District 4 Board of Education, District 2 Patrick Hamner Deon Washington Kendra Williams Board of Education, District 5 Erica Grant