Protective Life’s Deborah Long Receives BCA Political Courage Award

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 21 -- The Business Council of Alabama issued the following news release:

Protective Life Corp.'s Deborah Long on Wednesday was awarded the Business Council of Alabama's Robert W. "Bubba" Lee Political Courage Award during the BCA's annual Chairman's Dinner here.

Long joined Protective Life Corp. in 1992 and serves as executive vice president, chief legal officer, and secretary.

The Bubba Lee Political Courage Award is given annually to someone who is willing to take a position that's right, no matter the cost. BCA Chairman Emeritus Lee presented the award to Long. On stage during the presentation was BCA Chairman Perry Hand.

"She has shown through her support that she cares about the Alabama business community and she values the role we play and the jobs we create," Hand said. "She has been a distinguished member of the Alabama and Birmingham business communities for nearly three decades."

Long said it is "such a pleasure" to work with the BCA. "A united business community can accomplish worthwhile goals," she said.

Long has served as chair of the BCA's Judicial and Legal Reform Committee, on the Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, the Federal Affairs Committee, and on ProgressPAC's board of directors,

Long has been active in legal issues affecting the business and legal community and the insurance industry, serving in various capacities in the BCA, American Council of Life Insurers, the Birmingham Bar Association, the Alabama Bar Association, the Alabama Life and Disability Insurance Guaranty Association (director and previously president), the Texas Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association (previously director and vice chair), and the National Organization of Life and Health Guaranty Associations (director and previously chair).

She has served on the Board of Governors of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel, a century-old international bar association for life insurance lawyers, and the Alabama Association of Life Insurance Companies, and has served as its president. Long also serves on the boards of the Alabama Women's Commission and served as chair, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, A+ Education Partnership, and is a member of The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation.

Protective Life Corp.'s principal subsidiaries include Protective Life Insurance Co. and West Coast Life Insurance Co.

Prior to joining Protective Life, Long was a member of the Maynard, Cooper & Gale law firm in Birmingham, where she practiced in the areas of insurance, banking and finance, business acquisitions and mergers, and general corporate law

Long is a 1975 graduate of Auburn University and a 1980 graduate of the University of Alabama Law School, where she was editor in chief of the Alabama Law Review and a member of Order of the Coif. She clerked for the late U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Frank M. Johnson.

She has served on the boards of various Birmingham charitable organizations, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham, the YWCA of Birmingham, Oasis Women's Counseling Center, Birmingham Museum of Art, and Partners in Neighborhood Growth, Inc.

"It is her commitment to excellence that has made her such a valuable asset to Alabama's business community, and there are few individuals more dedicated to our corporate community, the rule of law, and the political arena than Debbie Long," Hand said.

Alabama's foremost voice for business, the BCA is a non-partisan statewide business association representing the interests and concerns of nearly 1 million working Alabamians through its member companies and its partnership with the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama. The BCA is Alabama's exclusive affiliate to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.