Brenda Scott

For all the ills that accompany Facebook, it does keep us connected with our friends. And, it warmed my heart when former Mobile CVB CEO Brenda Scott Savage turned 80 earlier this year...and did a photo shoot to commemorate the occasion (what a cool idea).

Fast forward to last week's announcement that Carnival Cruises would begin sailing from Mobile year round in 2027. The connection? It was Brenda who tirelessly led the charge to get cruise lines to consider Mobile back in the late '90s.

At one time in history, Mobile was the second largest shipbuilding port in America...so they had the "docks." They just needed to be retrofitted for cruise ships. I remember her telling me that a cruise ship requiring emergency repairs and had docked in Mobile. As she looked to the bay and saw that magnificent ship against the evening sky, she thought, "why not?"

She worked that thought from DC to corporate board rooms for years...and it finally came true in 2001. And, Mobile was voted best port in America in 2007.

As with so many very cool ideas, it starts with a single person's passion. Billy Payne with the Atlanta Olympics. George Nelson with Madison's Monona Terrace.

And Mobile as a cruise port...with Brenda Scott.

You so rock...