People In The News 2020: Birmingham's Newsmakers

BIRMINGHAM, AL — As 2020 comes to a close, attention shifts to those people who have made the year one of the most newsworthy and memorable years in recent history.

As the coronavirus pandemic dominated headlines for most of the year, racial strife nationwide and political discourse also took up a fair share of the news cycle nationally and locally. From politicians to physicians to educators, a bevy of local people helped make 2020 the memorable year it was.

Here are 10 people who shaped the news cycle in the Birmingham area during the year:

Buddy Anderson: Vestavia Hills High School football coach Buddy Anderson announced that the 2020 season would be his last. Anderson is Vestavia Hills City Schools' longest continuously-serving employee, with 48 years of service, and led the Rebels to 31 playoff appearances, winning state championships in 1980 and 1998.

Chip Brantley and Andy Grace: Brantley and Grace, Birmingham residents who hosted the NPR podcast "White Lies," were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for their work on the popular crime podcast that solved a 50-year-old murder mystery in Selma.

Foster Dudley: Dudley, a fourth grade student at Prince of Peace Catholic School, was given a key to the city of Hoover after he returned a envelope he found at a Target store in Hoover containing $900 cash to its owner. This is only the second time Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato has given a key to the city.

Paighton Houston: Houston, a Trussville resident, went missing Dec, 23, 2o19, and her disappearance had the entire state searching for her, and searching for answers. Houston's body was discovered in a shallow grave in Hueytown. Her death was ultimately ruled an accidental drug overdose, but the circumstances surrounding her death are still unclear.

Andy Kennedy: UAB's proud basketball history already included Andy Kennedy as a legendary player for the Blazers. Upon the dismissal of head coach Robert Ehsan after the season, UAB hired Kennedy as its seventh head coach in program history.

Kathy Murphy: Murphy had served as superintendent for Hoover City Schools since 2015, and was a finalist to lead the Alabama State Department of Education last year. She announced in 2020 that she would be leaving the Hoover system to take over as president at Gadsden State Community College in 2021.

Bucky McMillan: Perhaps no high school basketball coach in Alabama history achieved more in as little time as Mountain Brook High School coach Bucky McMillan. McMillan coached the Spartans for 12 seasons, winning 333 games and leading the team to five state championships. He was named head coach at Samford University over the summer this year, with longtime assistant Tyler Davis taking over for him at MBHS.

Mark Sullivan: Sullivan was named interim superintendent for Birmingham City Schools after Lisa Herring left the system in April to take a job in Atlanta. Sullivan was then named permanent superintendent for Alabama's largest school system in September.

Dr. Mark Wilson: Wilson, Jefferson County's health director, played the role of both hero and villain, depending on one's stance on coronavirus restrictions. Wilson made headlines weekly, if not daily, as the COVID-19 cases in the county spread faster than in any other county in the state.