Whether it is losing weight and getting in shape to changing careers, annual New Years resolutions vary, and some are abandoned altogether shortly after the champagne goes flat and the celebratory balloons droop to the ground.

The closing of one year and the introduction of another often rouses new year’s resolutions and reflections of promises past.

AL.com asked several leaders from around the state about their resolutions from 2024 and plans for another round of vows in 2025.

Several mayors around the state are not only wishing for a more prosperous year for their cities and residents, they are also hoping to improve their personal health in 2025.

“In 2024 one of the resolutions I made and was able to do pretty well was to do a little bit more, what I call ‘wogging’ which is walking and jogging,” Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said with a laugh.

Battle said he hopes to lose 25 pounds in the new year as he continues his daily routine.

“I enjoy doing that, and I do it each morning,” he said. “I ride my bike to work and I ride my bike back home. It’s kind of like getting out for recess when you leave the job.”

In 2025, Huntsville residents can participate in the Mayor’s Bike Ride in May, nutrition classes, Fitness in the Park events including yoga, pilates and zumba as part of the Healthy Huntsville initiative led by Battle and the city’s Parks & Recreation Department.

“We try to do it as a community, because it just makes you feel better.”

Montgomery Steven Reed said he also wants to work out more in the new year. Reed said he currently works out three to four days a week, but he wants to increase his workouts to five days a week in 2025.

Along with creating a better workout routine, Reed said he wants to strike a balance between his mayoral workload and his home life.

“I want to find a better balance between my work and life, which is always a goal in this job, which can be all day, all night,” Reed said.

Gary Richarson, mayor of Midfield in west Jefferson County, also named fitness as a personal priority that he accomplished in 2024. Simple adjustments made a dramatic difference, he said.

‘I changed my diet and lifestyle and added more walking to my routine and cut out carbs, pasta, cakes and cookies,” he said. “Really, it didn’t take a whole lot of effort, just some willpower.”

Enhanced reading for pleasure along with extra family time also ranked high among resolutions.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin didn’t quite meet his personal goal of completing an extensive book list this year, but made it past the halfway mark.

“My 2024 resolution was to read 24 books in 2024. I didn’t complete the full list, but I did read more than a half dozen,” he said.

With the new year emerging, Woodfin still has his book list along with a few more nuanced goals.

“My resolution is to be a better leader, to continue listening to our residents, and to work in tandem with them to improve their quality of life,” he said. “And in 2025, I want to read 25 books.”

Birmingham Water Works Board Chair Tereshia Huffman early in 2024 made a few personal promises, including being the ‘cool’ aunt to her nieces and nephews by saying yes to their requests “no matter how big they may be or how silly they may make look,” she said with a laugh.

Did she keep the resolution?

“I say yes, but if you ask them, they’d probably unite and shout a big no,” she said.

Huffman said there’s at least one resolution that she emphatically declared a success. Huffman pledged to read at least three new books in 2024. She ended up reading six.

AL.com reporter Joseph Bryant contributed to this report.