To say 2020 was a year we won’t soon forget would be an understatement. Our friends, families and communities faced unprecedented challenges and hardships. Through it all, the Protective family came together and stayed connected, all with a focus on serving our customers, each other and our communities.
Join us in looking back at some of the moments that brought us hope and joy in 2020.
Protective Stadium
We watched Protective Stadium take shape from the beginnings of the bowl to the placement of the final beam — and thanked the hardworking crew with a delicious meal in between.
Birmingham Promise
Our second Birmingham Promise apprentice joined the team, rotating between four departments over his 16-week apprenticeship. We loved having you at Protective, De’Anfernee!
Days of Understanding
As part of our commitment to the CEO Action Pledge, we celebrated Days of Understanding and learned more about the unique individuals that make up our Protective team.
The World Games 2022
The World Games announced that the opening and closing ceremonies will be held at Protective Stadium in 2022.
Pillars of the Community
We were honored to be presented with a plaque on the Pillars of the Community display at Children’s Hospital of Alabama. Protective President and CEO Rich Bielen shared a few words about Protective's long standing relationship with Children's: “At Protective, serving people is deeply embedded in our corporate DNA, and we are honored to be a small part of the amazing work that Children’s does each and every day.”
COVID-19 relief efforts
Protective made a $1 million commitment to support immediate and longer-term COVID-19 relief efforts. The Protective Life Foundation worked with a range of nonprofit organizations to meet critical needs, including food security, education, childcare, economic recovery and more, including commitments to the Birmingham Strong Fund, the University of Alabama at Birmingham COVID-19 research and treatment development and organizations supporting childcare for essential workers such as YMCA of Greater Birmingham and the Rapid Operating and Relief for Women Fund. In addition, Protective employees contributed to food banks in the company’s major operating locations and Protective matched donations up to $100,000. Together, our contributions provided for more than 800,000 meals for those in need.
Making face masks
Several Protective employees made face masks to donate to family, friends, colleagues and health care workers. Thank you for giving back to your communities, Carrie, Rita, Lily, Elizabeth and Kellie!
New coworkers
We welcomed some new furry, feathered and feline coworkers.
Staying healthy
Our team got creative and celebrated women’s and men’s health months from a distance with team members leading and participating in virtual workouts, cooking demonstrations and mental health sessions.
Virtual internship
Nineteen interns joined the team for our first virtual summer internship program. The 2020 intern class worked remotely while gaining real work experience over six weeks in areas such as market planning, operations, human resources, risk management, valuation, accounting, innovation and more.
Action for social justice
Protective President and CEO Rich Bielen cosigned an op-ed with Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and other local business leaders focused on moving from conversation to action in the movement for social and racial justice.
Supporting education
The Protective Life Foundation supported education initiatives delivering vital experiences to participants despite challenges presented by COVID-19. The Foundation was able to help support Breakthrough Birmingham, a summer program led by professional educators and run by college students where highly motivated, traditionally underrepresented students can prepare for post-secondary success, and emerging leaders are inspired to become the next generation of educators and advocates. The Foundation also provided a grant to the College Choice Foundation's Bateman Scholars Program that allowed the program to purchase new laptops for students who did not have access to one at home, making it possible for them to complete college applications and online classwork.
Staying connected
We found ways to stay connected with organizations and university partners helping to ensure representation such as the Organization of Latino Actuaries and Morgan State University, the only HBCU with a Society of Actuaries recognized actuarial program.
Welcoming Revolos
We reached an agreement to acquire the Revolos family of companies. (We announced the closing of the acquisition on Jan. 4, 2021.)
Expanding our virtual workforce
We expanded our virtual workforce, as we refocused our physical location footprint on three core sites. Employees who regularly work in six Protective offices will join our full-time virtual workforce, which is expected to represent over 40% of the company’s overall workforce.
Growth opportunities in Kentucky
Aligned with our strategic growth plans, we announced the relocation of our core site in Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky. This relocation will foster expansion opportunities, while continuing to attract promising talent. The move underscores our commitment to do what is best for employees and customers, and we look forward to continued growth, community impact and partnership in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region.
We hope you enjoyed looking back at some of the brighter moments of 2020 with us. We are excited to look ahead and remain committed to supporting our Protective family, including our customers, our partners and the communities we serve in 2021 and beyond.
