Realizing the Dream Awards

Throughout his adult life, Rev. Wendell Paris, Sr. has been involved in a leadership capacity in a variety of organizations and efforts that promote not only civil rights, but also economic development designed to sustain communities that are typically comprised of lower-income minorities.

Isabel Rubio serves as executive director of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!), a nonprofit organization that facilitates the social, civic and economic integration of Hispanic individuals and families through its educational, leadership-development programs. Greatly influenced by the struggle for civil rights in her native Mississippi, Rubio founded the coalition.

Tyler Merriweather, a Holt native, is a junior in elementary education and a staff member at the Boys & Girls Club of West Alabama Inc. […]

Ken Swindle, a resident of Tuscaloosa and 1974 graduate of the UA Law Enforcement Academy, served on the Tuscaloosa Police Department for 34 years and […]