Posted on March 3, 2004 at 9:10 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — William F. Edmonds of Birmingham has been named the recipient of the third annual Alys Robinson Stephens Patron of the Arts Award.

Alys Stephens Center Executive Director Caron Thornton will present the award to Edmonds April 4 during the center’s annual Starlight Gala featuring guest artist Willie Nelson. The honor is given to a person who has made a significant contribution to the arts in Birmingham and specifically to the Alys Stephens Center. This annual tradition honors the spirit of the center’s namesake and inaugural patron, Alys Robinson Stephens, a strong and caring woman known for her love and devotion to the arts, Thornton said.

Edmonds and his wife, Joan, are Birmingham natives, long active in Birmingham business and civic affairs and longtime supporters of the Alys Stephens Center and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

William Edmonds is a founder and former president, CEO and chairman of BE&K Inc. He is a member of the Alys Stephens Center’s Advisory board, is chairman of the ASC Leave a Legacy Campaign and was an honorary chairman of the recently completed Campaign for UAB. He chaired the UAB President’s Council and the capital campaign for the UAB School of Engineering and is on the school’s Engineering Advisory Council. He also is a member of the UAB Research Foundation Board and serves on the finance and endowment committees of the United Way of North Central Alabama.

Edmonds is a trustee of Southern Research Institute and a former president and chairman of the Alabama Symphonic Association. He is a member of the North Alabama District of the Boy Scouts of America board and is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Birmingham.