Still Not Innovative in 2023?

 

Last year marked the first Innovate Alabama Awards. No, the Shoals didn't qualify for one:

No One Innovative in the Shoals?

This year, there were 51 awards. Surely someone/something in the Shoals won. Yes! Well, sorta. Here are the winners:

Communities: 

• City of Auburn 
• City of Bessemer 
• City of Dothan 
• City of Henagar 
• City of Hoover 
• City of Marion 
• City of Mobile 
• City of Pinson 
• City of Talladega 
• Shelby County 
• Town of Pike Road 

Nonprofit entities: 

• AL AI Center 
• Alabama Trails Foundation 
• Baldwin County Community and Economic Development Foundation 
• BioAlabama 
• Birmingham Bound 
• Birmingham Business Alliance 
• Bronze Valley Foundation 
• Cordova Economic Industrial Development Authority 
• Ed Farm 
• Economic Development Partnership of Alabama 
• Hardware Park 
• HBCU Cares 
• Higher Education Partnership 
• Innovation Depot 
• Innovation Portal 
• Main Street Marion 
• McWane Science Center 
• Montgomery Tech Lab 
• Prosper Foundation 
• QIE Foundation 
• REV Birmingham 
• Singing River Trail 
• Southern Research 
• Teach2Lead 
• The Alabama Collective 
• The Arc of Madison County 
• The E-Center 
• The Overton Project 
• United Way of Southwest Alabama 
• Venture for America 

Higher Education Institutions: 

• Alabama A&M University 
• Alabama State University 
• Auburn Lowder Center for Family and Entrepreneurship 
• Drake State Community and Technical College 
• Talladega College 
• Trenholm State University 
• Troy University 
• University of Alabama 
• University of Alabama at Birmingham 
• University of South Alabama 

Which one is "us?" The Singing River Trail, of course. If you've never heard of it, you're excused. It's all new, but developers hope to have 15 miles of the proposed 200 ready by the end of this year.

We gather that these 15 miles will be in the Madison County area; however, Leighton in Colbert County was mentioned as a future local site within the trail. That's right, Lauderdale is bypassed.

Innovate Alabama is now taking applications for the 2024 awards. At least apply, folks. You won't win if you don't apply.

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