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By Mia Watkins | For the Birmingham Times
Dan Williams isn’t an award guy. He views his latest accolades as president and CEO of the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau as more of a win for the city.
“It’s never about me; it’s always about we — this organization and this community,” he said. “Although the awards and who I received them from is huge to me, it’s also about the recognition of this community and this organization.”
Williams won the 2026 APEX Award for Distinguished Service from Black Meetings & Tourism Magazine and, most recently, the Howard F. Mills Award from the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals. While he said he’s honored by the recognition for his almost 30 years in the tourism industry, Williams said the awards also indicate a change in the perception of Birmingham.
“I think we’re a city that’s hungry to tell a new story,” he said. “What happened here in the Civil Rights era changed the world. It continues to change the world, but there’s so much to tell about this community with the innovation and the great things that are happening here. I just feel like it’s a city that is ready to be more bold and tell a different story about all the great things that are here.”
Williams notes that many people’s perception of the city is stuck in 1963. While Birmingham’s role in the Civil Rights Movement is indisputable, Williams said that the city is much more than its past. He said that residents should be proud of what they’ve built since.
“I love this community,” he said. “This community is my home. I’m proud to be a part of this Birmingham community, and I want people in this community to be just as proud. We can be bold here, and it’s OK to be bold here. It’s OK to poke our chests out here and be proud of what we have here.”
Radical Collaboration
Williams said that the bureau’s biggest directive is teaching the Birmingham area the value of tourism and how it helps the community as a whole. He said the bureau is practicing radical collaboration with business owners, city government and other stakeholders.
“That’s extremely important because once we realize that bringing people here and having people spend their money here in our community helps out with everything else: pavement of roads, bringing down property taxes and creating a vibrant community, fills up the restaurants and hotels and provides jobs,” he said. “We’re about radical collaboration because we know that’s the only way that we’re going to take this community on a different trajectory.”
He said that radical collaboration wasn’t always the bureau’s approach.
“It’s getting out there, meeting people and just truly understanding what their needs are and what they need from our organization,” he said. “We didn’t do that before. We’re really aligning with the vision of the city, the county and the corporate community. We’re going to make you collaborate because that’s what happens in cities that are successful. From top to bottom, everyone is collaborating and has one centralized goal in mind.”
One of those examples of collaboration is the bureau’s role in this year’s Magic City Classic. This year, it’s taking a more active role in the region’s biggest economic sports driver.
“This year, we’re making sure that we have a true presence. We’re going to be a part of the tailgate scene, and we’re in the parade,” he said. “We’ve just got to make sure that we’re upfront and present and working with the schools’ presidents and the people that put on the game. We want to make sure that we have an exceptional experience for those who come in for it.”
According to Williams, Birmingham has all the ingredients to be the next big city in the Southeast.
“Atlanta and Nashville are phenomenal communities, but they’re saturated,” he said. “I want people to be talking about Birmingham as that next city that they’ve got to get to. That should be us.”
He said that Birmingham itself is a hidden gem.
“We’re like the best-kept secret, and we don’t need to be a secret anymore,” Williams said. “That’s one of the reasons I’m here: to help tell a different story. We don’t need to be a best-kept secret anymore. We need to go ahead and tout the great things that are happening here.”
To learn more about the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau, visit inbirmingham.com.
