Celebrate regional innovators, support economic development and attend the "Party of the Year" at the 2017 imerge Innovation Awards.
Picture it: the rooftop of the elegant new Elyton Hotel in downtown Birmingham on a steamy summer evening.
It was the perfect setting for SummitMedia Senior Vice President Chuck Faush to jump on top of a table before the assembled crowd and announce the “Party of the Year.” The event is scheduled for August 23 and will toast the EDPA’s 2017 imerge Innovation Awards winners. This year’s celebration — sponsored by the EDPA, Alabama Launchpad and SummitMedia — will feature Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas L. Friedman and will be held at the historic Alabama Theatre.
“Imerge, the name itself, is to inspire us all to make our spaces a little bit better. Innovate, inspire and imagine — those are the three things that we want to do, saluting the best and brightest of our state, those in innovation and tech who are making our state a better place,” Faush said.
“What I’m hopeful of is that we reach a community that doesn’t think they are included,” he said.
If you want to celebrate Alabama’s flourishing creative community, thriving entrepreneurial efforts and diverse thought leadership, you don’t want to miss it. Imerge will honor Quality Filters, ZeroRPM and Diatherix for their respective contributions to our area. HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology’s co-founder, Jim Hudson, will receive the Lifetime Achievement in Innovation award.
In a press release accompanying the announcement, EDPA President Steve Spencer said “The EDPA Innovation Awards showcases the most innovative companies in our state. The winners, and for that matter all of the nominees, are leaders in their spaces, driving forward Alabama’s innovation economy.”
Note: This is not going to be a “rubber chicken” dinner. Attendees will enjoy Friedman’s keynote at 4 p.m., a networking reception at 5 p.m., and the Oscars-style awards ceremony at 6 p.m. But that’s not all: “Celebrate Imagination” kicks off at 7 p.m. “with delicious food, live music and entertainment after parties.”
“It will be the ultimate in networking and connectivity. You’ll have an Oscars-style awards, performances and speeches from those who are winning. You’ll also have a look inside what we’re doing in our state right now. Following that, yes, we’ll party,” Faush promised.
To review the agenda and purchase tickets, visit alabamalaunchpad.com/imerge.
