Children’s of Alabama honored more than 700 of its nearly 5,000 employees at its annual Employee Service Awards banquet on Thursday Nov. 1.

Deborah Ritch of Pell City was among those who were honored. She celebrated her 40th anniversary with Children’s.

CEO/President Mike Warren recognized employees celebrating their 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30-, 35-, 40-, 45-, and 50-year anniversaries for their commitment, loyalty and years of dedicated service to the state’s only freestanding pediatric medical facility. 

This year’s event, entitled Around the World, was held at the Sheraton Birmingham and hosted by Janice Rogers and Jeh Jeh Pruitt of WBRC FOX6 News. Shaun Pezant and Top Secret provided musical entertainment. 

Since 1911, Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children, offering inpatient and outpatient services throughout central Alabama.

Ranked among the best pediatric medical centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s provided care for youngsters from every county in Alabama, 45 other states and six foreign countries last year, representing more than 677,000 outpatient visits and more than 15,000 inpatient admissions. With more than 2 million square feet, Children’s is the third largest pediatric medical facility in the U.S. More information is available at childrensal.org.