2020 has brought unprecedented challenges across every aspect of life and work worldwide. Incredible people have risen to the challenge—pivoting, reinventing, reimagining and working harder than ever before. Birmingham’s non-profit leaders transformed annual galas into virtual gatherings, transitioned runs into races for runners to complete on their own time, and innovated new ways to raise funds and provide services to those in need throughout the Magic City. We asked our nonprofit partners to nominate the volunteers who helped them get through this year. We are proud to spotlight some of the individuals who played integral roles as Birmingham’s 2020 Trailblazers.

Name: Jeremy Tuggle

Work: Bryant Bank

Charity: The Will Bright Foundation

Motivation: Lisa and Bill have taken a personal tragedy and have used it to make a tremendous impact on the lives of others.  This Foundation helps to fill a critical need for those in addiction recovery.  There is way more to recovery than just sending a person to a rehab facility.  They truly care about the individual and provide training and resources to get them back on their feet for the long haul.

What I Gained from 2020: There was certainly a lot of uncertainty and still is to some extent.  I think people are finding out just how resilient they are.  When we look back on 2020 years from now, I hope there’s a sense of pride and accomplishment that we pushed through the challenges and adapted where we needed to.

Check out all of our 2020 Trailblazers here!