June 24, 1995

Brooklyn-based writer Phil Campbell organized a Phil Campbell Convention in Phil Campbell attended by 22 Phil Campbells and one Phyllis Campbell. Located in Franklin County, the town of Phil Campbell received its name from founder Mel Allen, who promised to name the town after a railroad construction superintendent if he constructed a train depot and side track in the area. After a 2011 tornado killed 28 residents and destroyed much of the town, Brooklyn Phil Campbell reorganized the convention as a relief effort documented by the 2015 documentary “I’m With Phil.” The town’s City Hall, rebuilt with help from the relief effort, maintains a file of all the Phil Campbells who visit the town.

‘I’m With Phil’: Movie tells Alabama town’s extraordinary story from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Several of the Phil Campbells from across the country and world who helped clean up the Alabama town of that name participate in a parade. (Contributed)

A Phil Campbell City Limit sign displays the scars of April 27, 2011. (Contributed)

Writer Phil Campbell, 2006. Campbell organized the Phil Campbell Convention in 1995 and 2011. (Nyoscar, Wikipedia)

Damage from an EF-5 tornado that struck the town of Phil Campbell during the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak. (NWS Huntsville, Wikipedia)

The Phil Campbells in Phil Campbell. (file)

Men named Phil Campbell from across the country and the world help clean up the Alabama town of Phil Campbell following the devastating tornadoes of April 27, 2011, which practically wiped it out. (Contributed)

Wisconsin Phil enjoys a celebration after the cleanup of the town of Phil Campbell, Alabama. (Contributed)

Mountain View Baptist Church in Phil Campbell, Alabama, after the April 27, 2011 tornadoes devastated the town. (Contributed)

The Alabama town of Phil Campbell after the April 27, 2011 tornadoes practically swept it away. (Contributed)

Birmingham Phil and Glasgow Phil pause for a photo during the 2011 cleanup of Phil Campbell, Alabama. (Contributed)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.