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Photo by Jon Anderson
Brian Crawford is the recipient of the 2025 Freedom Award from the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce and Hoover Veterans Committee. He was presented the award at the chamber luncheon at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover City Administrator Ken Grimes, left shakes the hand of Brian Crawford, the winner of the 2025 Freedom Award from the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce and Hoover Veterans Committee, at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Brian Crawford, third from left, is the recipient of the 2025 Freedom Award from the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce and Hoover Veterans Committee. Here, he is pictured with, from left, chamber President and CEO Nan Baldwin, his wife Helen Crawford and Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato at the chamber luncheon at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Brian Crawford, fourth from left, is the recipient of the 2025 Freedom Award from the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce and Hoover Veterans Committee. Here, he is pictured with representatives from the Hoover Veterans Committee at the chamber luncheon at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Pocopanni, chairman of the Hoover Veterans Committee, at right, presents the 2025 Hoover Freedom Award to Brian Crawford at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
The Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce and Hoover Veterans Committee on Thursday presented Riverchase resident Brian Crawford with the 2025 Freedom Award.
The award is given annually to a community role model who supports local, state or federal government, promotes the ideals of freedom and supports the U.S. military. It was presented Thursday at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce’s July luncheon at the Hoover Country Club.
Crawford, now 76, spent six years in the U.S. Navy Reserves from 1968 to 1974, including more than two years of active duty. He was stationed in the Philippines from 1969 to 1971 and worked as a parachute rigger.
While he had exemplary service in the military, Crawford also has been an active supporter of veterans. He is a co-founder of the Central Alabama Veterans Collaborative, which since 2019 has coordinated getting financial and professional help and other services to veterans and active duty personnel in the National Guard and Reserves.
That could mean finding resources to help veterans pay their rent or mortgage payment, get auto repairs, get counseling or medical assistance, or get connected to Veterans Administration benefits. One veteran recently had a tornado hit his house and needed help paying a $5,000 deductible for his insurance company.
Crawford and fellow co-founder retired Army Maj. Gen. David Burford are unsung heroes who are always working in the background to meet people’s needs, said retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Pocopanni, chairman of the Hoover Veterans Committee.
“These guys are unbelievable,” Pocopanni said.
Crawford is one of those guys who, after taking off his military uniform, continued to serve the community, Pocopanni said. He was the general campaign chairman for the Montgomery Area United Way in 1994 and charter president of the Montgomery Area Community Development Corp. He also has been an active volunteer and leader in many civic and community organizations over the years and has especially been a man of service to veterans, Pocopanni said.
“He’s a doer. He makes things happen,” Pocopanni said. “Through his efforts, veterans and their families — he’s probably touched thousands of their lives in a life-changing way. … He’s a patriot. He’s always giving his all to our veterans. No job is too small. No job is too large. He will get it done.”
After leaving active duty in the military, Crawford obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a graduate degree in banking from the School of Banking of the South. He spent 35 years in the banking and credit union industries, including 21 years with AmSouth Bank, before retiring in 2010.
He and his wife, Helen, have been married 50 years and have two children and four grandchildren.
Crawford said it’s a tremendous honor to receive the Freedom Award and that he could think of other people who deserved it more than himself. He thanked the city of Hoover, Veterans Committee and Hoover chamber officials for always showing support for veterans in many ways.
The Central Alabama Veterans Collaborative could not do what it is does without the more than 200 partners it has in veterans groups, government agencies and other organizations, Crawford said.
“We’re a networking organization. That’s all we have to offer — resources,” he said. “We know a lot of people that know a lot of stuff. Yours truly doesn’t know much except the contact button on my telephone and my Excel roster.”
Crawford said as he ages, he has begun to appreciate his service to the country more than he did when he wore the uniform, and he encouraged others to show appreciation for veterans as well. Many of them have struggles — from drug dependency to unemployment, post-traumatic stress disorder or disabilities — that have a rippling domino effect, he said.
He encouraged those at the chamber luncheon to give a simple thank you to veterans for their service because they do appreciate it, he said.
Former winners of the Hoover Freedom Award include Art Headley, Bob Mosca, Bill Natter, John O’Malley, A. C. Roper, Robert Lott, Albert Awtrey, Hollis Hayes, Trey Bass, Jack Natter, Dan Mikos, Damon Holditch, Michael Thorin, Mark Davis, Ron Bradstreet, Allen Pate, Bob Cahoon, Ginger Branson, Jim Langley, Peyton Ligon, Roy Brook and last year’s winner, Chris Moulton.
