Meet the Community Member of the Year 2015 nominees

Vestavia Hills is full of people making a difference in our community, and we need your help to give them the recognition they deserve.  

Steve Ammons

Vestavia Hills City Councilman

Steve is the president of Bullet Inc. an employment screening service located in Vestavia Hills, and a member of the Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation Board as well as the City Council. He is a coach for a Vestavia boys’ lacrosse team and is a parent to two Vestavia students.

Julie Ellis

Director of Marketing and Business Development at Bridgeworth, LLC

Julie and her husband, John, have two boys. She is a 2012 graduate of Leadership Vestavia Hills.  and is on the Board of Directors. Her  class project evolved into Help the Hills – a program aimed at raising awareness of drug and alcohol use by young people.

Kelly Garner

Community Volunteer

During the 2014 snowstorms, Local resident Kelly Garner helped stranded motorists stuck in the icy conditions on U.S. 31 and miraculously survived a fall down a 40-foot-deep ravine. He has since trained for several races around Birmingham and is writing a book about his experience tentatively titled The Night that Changed My Life.

Jim Metrock

President of Obligation, Inc.

Jim is president of Obligation, Inc. a child advocacy organization that has worked nationally to remove harmful advertising from public schools. He also successfully campaigned for a change in Alabama’s ethics law that ended the practice of public officials receiving free Iron Bowl ticket.

Joe Perez

Owner of Wild Birds Unlimited

Joe Perez is a board member of Rotary Club of Vestavia Hills, trustee in the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce and a graduate and former board member of Leadership Vestavia Hills. He is also an active member of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church. Joe and his wife Bonnie have lived in Vestavia Hills since 1982. 

Ashley Thompson

Executive Director of Vestavia Hills City School Foundation

Ashley serves as the executive director of the Vestavia Hills City School Foundation. The nonprofit organization maintains an education endowment that provides grants and enables schools to have access to funds that go beyond the local, state and federal resources.

Tracy Thornton

Group Fitness Coordinator at the Shades Valley YMCA 

Tracy is a group fitness coordinator at the Shades Valley YMCA. Her hobbies and passions include fitness, spreading awareness of Down Syndrome, supporting The Bell Center and Mercedes Marathon, and raising money for brain tumor research.

Kristin Tunnell 

President Elect of the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation

Kristin is president elect of the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation, education vice chair for the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Vestavia Hills Beautification Board. She graduated from Vestavia Hills High School and Furman University.

Brandi Vickers

Community Volunteer

Brandi has three children who attend Vestavia City Schools. She leads several committees and helps to raise money for local schools. She  volunteers fro PALS of the Library in the Forest, where she is heading the auction committee for Casino  Night.

Jack Williams

District 47 State Representative

Jack served as president of the National Republican County Officials and was a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention. He helped to found the Southern Republican Exchange, a conservative think tank dealing with state and local issues. 

Visit vestaviavoice.com/award to vote. Voting ends on March 8.