By Erik Harris, sports editor
MOODY — Katie Boyd Britt has a lot on her mind these days, but found some time to speak on Thursday at the Moody Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
The first female president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama, Britt has been mentioned as a possible U.S. Senate candidate in 2022. The Enterprise native and University of Alabama graduate could be the ideal fit to replace Richard Shelby, who announced his retirement on Monday after more than four decades in Washington.
She spent years working for Shelby in Washington, eventually becoming his chief of staff.
During an appearance in Dothan on Wednesday, Britt said her family is praying about the decision to run for Shelby’s seat. She is married to former University of Alabama and New England Patriot offensive lineman Wesley Britt.
She shared their story on Thursday.
“We were best friends for seven years before we ever dated,” Katie said, remembering back to their days in Tuscaloosa. “After we got married, we moved to New England… my crowning achievement there was being a member of the Patriots wives club.”
Much bigger things were ahead.
After moving back to Alabama, Britt earned a law degree and later practiced in Birmingham and Montgomery before stepping back into the political ring with Shelby.
“As Shelby’s chief of staff, I was able to have a front row seat to the challenges and successes of our state,” she continued. “What I will take away from that is I don’t think we do a good enough job telling our story. I think we have incredible people and I think we’re doing incredible things… but we don’t talk enough to each other, much less tell our story to the outside world.”
The daughter of two small-business owners, Britt says, for now, her sole focus is on the Business Council of Alabama.
“I believe the small-business climate is the most important for our state,” said Britt. “That’s a personal passion of mine and something I wanted to bring to BCA.”
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 99.4% of Alabama businesses are deemed small business.
“If we’re not looking out for small businesses, than we’re not looking out for our state,” she continued.
Britt also touched on some of the projects BCA has focused on during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the “Keep Alabama Open” initiative, which communicates the importance of keeping businesses open with safety at the forefront.
“We see the negative health affects of shutting down businesses, whether it is from increased suicide or increased abuse — you saw the numbers go down in child abuse, but that is not because it is not occurring, it is because those kids were not in school for it to be reported,” said Britt.
“We have to be vigilant about getting back to work and getting the kids back to school — making sure we’re safely and responsibly doing it,” she continued.
The Moody Area Chamber of Commerce also heard from Moody High School ambassador Olivia Beard on Thursday. Beard, a member of the Blue Devils’ cheerleading squad and girls soccer team, thanked the city’s fire department for recently allowing her and her classmates the opportunity to tour their facility.
The chamber will hold its next luncheon on March 11 at city hall.