Red Diamond Head Leading the National Tea Association

Red Diamond Coffee and Tea President and CEO Bill Bowron has been elected to serve as chairman of the Tea Association of the United States for the 2022-2024 term.

Bowron, of Mountain Brook, previously served the association twice as chairman (1999-2000 and 2014–2017), according to a statement from Red Diamond. He has served as a board member for a total of 18 years and was twice editor of the association’s Recommendations for the Preparation of Iced and Hot Tea, jointly issued by the association and the National Restaurant Association.

“I am honored to be asked once again to help lead our industry in these challenging times,” Bowron said in the statement. “Next to water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, and I look forward to being a part of the industry’s growth in the coming years.”

Red Diamond was founded in 1906, and Bowron is a member of the founding family’s fourth generation. His father, William A. Bowron Sr., also served the Tea Association as a board member.

Bowron is a University of Virginia graduate and holds a graduate degree in banking from the Stonier School of Banking. He has worked at Red Diamond since 1991 and has been president since 1992, CEO since 2006 and chairman of the board since 2008.

By Anne Ruisi

Big Mama, a greater sulphur-crested cockatoo who’s an animal ambassador of sorts, may rule the roost at the Birmingham Zoo, but she’s ready to welcome the animals in two new exhibits making their debut just in time for spring break.

De Brazza’s monkeys will be featured in the Barbara Ingalls Shook Foundation Primate Trek and Eastern black rhinoceroses in the new Daniel Foundation Alabama Rhino Habitat, both open to the public for the first time on March 25, said Chris Pfefferkorn, the zoo’s president and CEO.

“We want people to know they are welcome to come out and enjoy their zoo,” Pfefferkorn said. “We’d love for them to come out and see everything.”

While it’s hard to say how many people will be at the zoo during spring break, 4,000-plus visitors a day is a good turnout, Pfefferkorn said. How busy it is depends on a couple of factors, such as the weather and whether visitors choose to go to other venues.

“We hope they’ll choose us and come out and enjoy the sunshine,” he added.

That the zoo is excited about the opening of the two new exhibits is an understatement.

The Daniel Foundation Alabama Rhino Habitat is now home to two Eastern black rhinoceroses, Moyo, a male who is almost 6, and Kesi, a 6-year-old female.

“Moyo means ‘heart’ in Swahili, and he has certainly stolen ours,” said Annie Kaspar, zoo manager of Trails of Africa. “He really enjoys his training sessions and interacting with his keepers. He also loves wallowing in the mud in his habitat and eating all kinds of vegetation, especially browsing on larger branches full of leaves.”

Kesi, Kaspar added, “loves splashing in the water, eating willow branches and spending time being brushed by her keepers.”

The pair, who are almost old enough for breeding, are part of a species reaching the critical endangered state, Pfefferkorn said. There are only 5,500 Eastern black rhinos in the wild, and