Induction Year: 1999

Alfred J. Saliba

  • October 11th, 2021

Alfred Saliba’s favorite quote in large measure describes the life he has led. The quote is from Leo C. Rosten, the Polish-born American humorist-sociologist:

I cannot believe that the pur­pose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter; to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.

No wonder, then, that Alfred Saliba, businessman, builder, and former Mayor of Dothan, has spent his life being useful, responsible, hon­orable and compassionate, making sure that he stands for something, that his actions mat­ter, that he has made a difference to those around him and to his community.

Born February 22, 1930, to Joseph Elias Saliba and Marie Violet Accawie in Dothan, Alabama, Alfred Joseph Saliba comes from roots that reach deep into Dothan history. Lebanese immigrant Elias Thomas Saliba began a one-mule trade business while visiting friends in nearby Ozark. Hotel owner and Dothan Mayor Buck Baker struck up a friendship with the young man and loaned him a building rent-free. After building his own wholesale grocery and tobacco business, Saliba sent for his younger brothers, Mike, Mose, and Abe, and set them up in business, selling groceries and running restaurants. The family patriarch returned home to Lebanon to visit, and while detained by World War I, he was elected mayor of his hometown. He was assassinated and the family returned to Dothan, where decades later his grandson would be elected mayor.

As a youth growing up in the Wiregrass, Alfred Saliba demonstrated quiet intelligence, high ethic caliber, and fair-minded commitment to justice, and a sincere understanding of people that combine to create fine leaders.

His organizational skills and inspirational leadership became apparent while in grade school. They were raised to the level of fine art at Dothan High School and became legendary at The University of Alabama, where he earned a degree in civil engineering/construction. His willingness to work hard and his ability to improvise were tested when he was misinformed about qualifying dates and missed placing his name on the ballot for the presidency of the College of Engineering at UA. He immediately sent hand­written notes to every engineering student, including the other candidate, explaining the error, assuring them of his desire for the position, and seeking their support. He won as a write-in.

In 1953, Alfred Saliba entered the U.S. Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant, having been a member of the Arnold Air Society, the Pershing Rifles Honor Guard, and both a Distinguished Military Student and Distinguished Military Graduate at the University. He was released as a First Lieutenant after service in Japan and Korea and earning the UN Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal. He achieved the rank of Captain in the Air Force Retired Reserve.

Alfred Saliba is renowned for his tendency toward careful thought, consideration, discussion, and contemplation. No quick decisions. Except when it comes to matters of the heart.

When he returned home after his duty in Asia, he planned a visit to his younger sister at the University. It was April 1955, the annual A-Day event, and sister Norma scrambled to find her brother a date. Most people already had plans, so she begged her roommate, Henrietta Carpenter, to go out with Alfred as a favor. He proposed the next month and the couple was married on August 20, with sister Norma as a bridesmaid. The union produced three children, Annamarie Saliba Martin, Alfred Joseph Saliba Jr., and James Mark Saliba.

In 1955, Alfred Saliba set about earning a living in Dothan. He established his own home building, land development, and residential/commercial real estate firm. His professional standards and personal integrity provided a solid foundation for the business and, as founder and president, his hard work ensured the success of the Alfred Saliba Corporation. In addition, he is a shareholder or on the board of directors of Houston Properties, Inc., Wasco Properties, Southeastern Apparel, SMK (Ethan Allen, Dothan, and Birmingham), SMW (The Playground), Dothan Inn, Inc., PENTA, Inc., and Regions Bank-Dothan.

Saliba has been instrumental in boosting the growing business community and economy of the Wiregrass area. He was a founding partner in Aladan which quickly became the largest U.S. manufacturer of latex products and Columbia Yeast Company which became the largest American producer of yeast. He also helped engender Behavioral Health Systems, one of the Southeast’s leading providers of corporate mental health management care.

As diverse and impressive as his business career is, his community and civic service may eclipse it. He has been president of the JayCees, Rotary Club of Dothan, Dothan Chamber of Commerce, and the Hawk-Houston Boys Club. He has been active in the Republican Party, serving as Chairman of the Houston County Republican Executive Committee and as a member of the State Executive Committee. Through service as an elder at Evergreen Presbyterian Church, he helped establish the area’s first senior citizen hot lunch and day program and the city’s first church-sponsored kindergarten/daycare.

He has served on the board of directors of the Salvation Army, Wiregrass United Way, Wiregrass Habitat for Humanity, Community Foundation of Southeast Alabama, and the Industrial Development Board.

His community service has brought him numerous honors: JayCee Boss of the Year, Builder of the Year, NASW Public Citizen of the Year, the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, the Arthritis Humanitarian Award, and the Troy State University Dothan Community Service Award. He was tapped for Leadership Alabama, and former Gov. Fob James proclaimed November 21, 1997, as” Alfred Saliba Day.”

Given his record of business success and public service and his personal connection to Dothan’s history, it seemed natural that Alfred Joseph Saliba should follow the example of his grandfather, Elias Thomas Saliba, who had been elected mayor of his hometown long ago in Lebanon. At the urging of several friends, and without a shred of experience as a political candidate, Alfred Saliba ran for mayor of Dothan and won.

Through two, four-year terms he used the wisdom of a lifetime of business acumen to bring foresight, managerial expertise, diplomacy, and fiscal responsibility to the office.

He developed a long-range plan for revitalizing the infrastructure of a growing Dothan and initiated a comprehensive plan for funding needed capital improvements. For three consecutive years of his second term, Dothan was selected by Money magazine as the best place in Alabama to live, ranking as high as 39th in the nation for quality of life.

In 1993, Mayor Saliba formed a task force to assess community needs, seeking an alternative to welfare for Dothan’s struggling families. The task force reported gaps in community services, lack of adult education in living/working skills, and fragmented delivery of services, which often resulted in multigenerational dependence on welfare. Emboldened by Saliba’s vision, the task forces brought together health and service organizations to co-exist and cooperate in one central location.

The result, which bears the name Alfred J. Saliba Family Services Center, was a prototype in the state. Its complement of agencies and innovative programs has aided and uplifted hundreds of impoverished families and has been declared a model for welfare to work, inspiring 15 other Southern cities to follow suit.

Newspapers are not usually given to applauding politicians. Yet The Dothan Eagle, in an editorial praising the oratorical prowess of Mayor Saliba, said: “We still remember the brief talk he gave before a group of veterans in the Civic Center on Memorial Day morning. Anybody in that audience who did not feel chills along his spine or who left not feeling proud to be an American was listening to another drummer.”

In an article in that same newspaper, Mayor Saliba, writing in a guest column, referred to his grandfather. ” … His vision and love for this small corner of the New World inspire me even today.” And, in a life of achievement, service, leadership, and compassion, Alfred Saliba shares his own vision and love for Dothan, inspiring present and future generations.

Young J. Boozer, Jr.

  • October 11th, 2021

Keen business inclinations, dedication to his work, and commitment to Alabama’s philanthropic community permeate all aspects of Young Jacob Boozer, Jr.’s life. Born July 9, 1912, to Young Jacob and Gipsy Hall Boozer, Young Boozer, the eldest of four children, began at the early age of five to accept family responsibility upon his father’s death. A native of Noma, Florida, he developed business ideologies at an early age and cultivated them at The University of Alabama where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1936.

His affiliations and activities while at The University of Alabama proved to be an indi­cator of what he would eventually contribute to the Alabama business and philanthropic communities.

Young Boozer’s interests spanned academic, athletic, and social organizations. He played for the Crimson Tide football and baseball teams from 1934-1936. He served as president of the Junior Class in the Commerce School and the University Cotillion Club. He was secretary-treasurer of the “A” Club and a member of Jasons, an honor fraternity, and Sigma Nu, a social fraternity.

Following graduation from the University, Young Boozer entered the banking industry in Dothan, Alabama, working for First National Bank of Dothan. From 1939 to 1943 he was employed by the State of Alabama Department of Insurance as an insurance examiner. During this time he married his late wife, Phyllis Chamberlain. They had three children: Jo Ann Boozer Ray, Ellen Boozer Daly, and Young J. Boozer, III.

After serving in the U.S. Navy from 1943- 1945, Boozer was discharged as Lieutenant, Senior Grade. He then returned to his position with the Department of Insurance. The return was a short one. Boozer then entered another phase of his career.

Over the next twelve years, Boozer was involved in numerous business developments and associations. He served as the secretary-treasurer and general manager of Dixie Sporting Goods, a partner in the Evans Motion Picture Company and Hayes, Gilchrist ChrisCraft Sales and was state director of the Savings Bond Division. It was during this phase of his career that Boozer established lifelong relationships with bankers and insurance executives statewide.

In 1959, Boozer returned to Tuscaloosa, as president and treasurer of Cotton States Life Insurance Company where he worked until 1973. Under his leadership, the company became an integral component of the Tuscaloosa business community.

In 1974, Cotton States Life Insurance Company was acquired by Federated Guaranty, which would become known as ALFA Insurance. Boozer again aligned himself with top management and served as the senior vice president and a director of the ALFA Corporation. Boozer retired from the board in 1999 after 25 years of service, during which ALFA grew from $16 million in assets to $1.247 billion.

Just a few years after beginning his career with ALFA, Boozer joined another business venture, which would prove to be very successful. In 1981, Boozer, along with business associates formed Colonial BancGroup. The business started with one location and has grown to more than 250 locations and $10.7 billion in total assets. Boozer served on the board of directors from 1981-1998, and his contribution to the development of the company is very evident.

“Young Boozer has been a friend of my family for all of my life. His business acumen and practical skills were greatly valued by my father in his relationship with Young at Farm Bureau (ALFA), and it was natural when we started Colonial BancGroup for Young to be a founding director. From our beginnings at $165 million and one bank, to today’s Colonial at $10.7billion, Young’s influence, advice, and counsel have been invaluable,” said Bobby Lowder, Chairman, and CEO of Colonial Banc­Group.

Only his philanthropic work and service to The University of Alabama rival Boozer’s business accomplishments.

Boozer’s commitment to The University of Alabama is evidenced by the positions he has held and the awards and recognition he has received for his service. In 1989, he was the Paul W. Bryant Alumni-Athlete Award recipient. He is the co-chairman of the Paul W Bryant Museum Committee and a member of the President’s Cabinet for the University.

Boozer’s past business affiliations have enriched the University through scholarship endowments. He is the honoree of a $100,000 endowed fellowship fund established at the University by Colonial BancGroup.

As a member of the University’s Capital Campaign Steering Committee and the Committee for the Paul W. Bryant/Alumni Continuing Education Center, Boozer uses his experience as a business and industry leader to guide and advise these groups.

Boozer is also active in The University of Alabama National Alumni Association and has contributed time and financial resources to numerous College of Commerce and Business Administration organizations. He was the chairman of the Board of Visitors for C&BA and is co-chairman of the Commerce Executives Society.

Boozer’s influence, while statewide in scope, is concentrated in the Tuscaloosa area. He has served as the director or president of numer­ous Tuscaloosa businesses: First Alabama Bank, Southland Bank Corporation, Tuscaloosa Enterprises, Old Union Life Insurance Company, Tuscaloosa Hotel Company, Southland Insurance and Penn Media, Inc.

Coupled with Boozer’s service to the community is his dedication to philanthropic efforts, which makes him not only one of Alabama’s greatest businessmen but one of its greatest citizens.

His work spans a diversified group of organizations. He has served as the director for the National Kidney Foundation of Alabama, Alabama Chapter of the American Cancer Society, and the Alabama 4-H Club. He was the chairman of the Druid City Hospital Medical Clinic Board. Other organizations in which he has held the position of the director include the Alabama Heart Association, Alabama Chapter of the Leukemia Society of America, Inc., American Red Cross, and Salvation Army.

His athletic excellence has been recognized by having been named in 1961 a Sports Illustrated Silver Anniversary All-American, and by his induction into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 1993.

From athletics to philanthropic efforts to service to The University of Alabama, Young Boozer has made a name for himself throughout the state. His willingness to give so freely of himself has won him not only awards and recognition but also the attention and respect of those who are inspired by his selfless dedication.

His son, Young J. Boozer, III, describes his father as a person who is attentive to a higher responsibility, honor, and integrity: “Young Boozer is a successful businessman, but more importantly, he is one of integrity and honor. While others may have been driven by absolute self-interest, he acted with the best of intentions and accomplished much without thought of personal gain or reward. It can be said that he built his net worth more in reputation than in dollars. Nevertheless, both have grown to be substantial.”

James L. Hinton, Sr.

  • October 11th, 2021

Chances are if you are a native Alabamian or have spent much time in the Southeast, you’ve had the opportunity to enjoy some of Jimmy Hinton’s work, probably in the form of a Zeigler hotdog, maybe at a football game, or roasted over a wood fire at the end of a bird hunt or on the bank of one of the state’s many lakes.

Hinton is the owner and chairman of the board of R. L. Zeigler Company, Inc., of Tuscaloosa. Under Hinton’s leadership and business philosophy, Zeigler has become one of the South’s leading processors of meat products, and its motto “Seasoned to Please” is a familiar saying in most Southern homes.

But Jimmy Hinton is much more than a hot­dog maker. An entrepreneurial spirit, unwavering support for University of Alabama athletics, and a passion for wildlife conservation have been key elements in the life and career of James Lucian Hinton.

Hinton was born in Tuscaloosa on April 8, 1923, to George and Mary Alice Hinton. He attended The University of Alabama in the 1940s before serving in the United States Army during World War II. In 1958, he married Jean Jolly, a union that produced three children: James Lucian Hinton, Jr., Mary Katherine Hinton Gibson, Elizabeth Hinton Pruett, and eight grandchildren.

R.L. Zeigler was founded by Rebel Louis Zeigler and tradition has been a matter of quality and commitment ever since. When Rebel Zeigler bought his first grocery store in the early 1920s in Bessemer, Alabama, people came from all over to buy his homemade fresh pork sausage. When his pork sausage operation outgrew the store in 1927, he incorporated and opened his first packing plant in Bessemer, enabling him to increase the production of his prize-winning sausage. Mr. Zeigler introduced the first vacuum-packed lunchmeat in Alabama, an innovation that paved the road to meat packaging principles used today.

Zeigler remains the largest independent meatpacker in the Southeastern United States, producing the No. 1 selling wiener in the state of Alabama, along with a vast array of top-selling meat items. In over 70 years, Zeigler has built a strong business that takes pride in servicing its customers with the same commitment to excellence exhibited by its founder. Mr. Zeigler died in 1964 in Birmingham and three years later the successful business was purchased by Jimmy Hinton and two other Tuscaloosa businessmen of note, Mr. Frank Moody and Paul “Bear” Bryant. Over the years Hinton bought out his partners. Today Ziegler employs more than 400 people and has offices in Tuscaloosa, Selma, and Mobile.

Hinton’s business and professional relationships extend throughout the state. He is widely known for his diverse business interests. His business philosophy is often called entrepreneurial, and it is this philosophy that has made him one of Alabama’s finest businessmen.

“Jimmy has been one of Alabama’s most successful entrepreneurs and has done so in a wide range of businesses and industries, spanning fifty years,” Paul W. Bryant Jr. writes.

Other industries in which Hinton has thrived include farming and lumber. Hinton is the founder and owner of Tusco Wood Products Company of Tuscaloosa. Under Hinton’s direction, the company manufactures quality hardwood pallets for industry and pine boxes for national defense. The company, founded in the early 1960s, employs more than 150 people.

The company became nationally known during the Vietnam War as the largest manufacturer of ammunition boxes in the United States. Ammo box production trailed off until the Gulf War broke out and Tusco was asked by the Department of the Army to resume making the wooden ammunition boxes.

In addition to the processed meat and lumber industries, Hinton made has an impact on the West Alabama real estate industry as well. He was a co-developer of McFarland Mall, Tuscaloosa’s first shopping mall.

Throughout his career and across industries, Hinton has spurred business developments, guided successful businesses, and fostered business relationships and affiliations statewide. Bryant credits Hinton as being an integral part of the economic development of west Alabama.

Hinton has served on the boards of numerous Alabama companies including AmSouth and Fayco, Inc.

As further testament to his business initiative and planning, Hinton was a founding partner of Southern United Life Insurance Company of Montgomery and Olympia Mills of Tuscaloosa.

Like many successful businessmen, Jimmy Hinton has donated both time and financial resources to charitable causes without thought or expectation of recognition. Thomas W. Moore, president of Pritchett-Moore, Inc. describes Hinton’s contributions: “His support of and contributions to civic and charitable organizations, particularly The University of Alabama and Stillman College of Tuscaloosa, have been significant.” Hinton has served on The University of Alabama’s President’s Cabinet since its inception. He also was a founder of Tuscaloosa Academy and is a member of the school’s board of directors.

Both Bryant and Moore describe him as a low-profile individual. “He has been a major financial supporter of the University’s athletics programs … in many cases that have not been apparent to those not directly involved,” Bryant writes.

Along with his business success, Hinton has done much to preserve and protect the state’s natural resources and has become known as a preeminent wildlife conservationist. He spends a considerable amount of his time working on wildlife conservation and game management. He has served for 10 years as the Chairman of the State of Alabama Conservation Advisory Board. In 1998, Hinton received the highest honor for a conservationist; the Alabama Wildlife Federation recognized him as the 1998 Conservationist of the Year.

A lifelong passion has been training and owning bird dogs, and three of his dogs have won national championships four times. As part of his conservation efforts, he owns land in Dallas County, Alabama. His land, Sedgefield Plantation, is the site each year of state and national bird dog field trials. As a result of years of dedicated work, Hinton was inducted into the Field Trial Hall of Fame in 1975.

Hinton has used Sedgefield Plantation to give Alabama hunters with disabilities a unique opportunity. He opened Sedgefield Plantation to the Disabled Sportsmen of Alabama. Deer hunters in this group now have a wonderful place to hunt, all thanks to the generosity of Hinton.

Numerous Alabama industries, conservation groups, and University of Alabama programs have reached a higher caliber of excellence due in large part to the entrepreneurial and generous spirit of James Hinton.

William R. Ireland

  • October 11th, 2021

William R. Ireland has been described as “one of the best friends the environment of Alabama has ever had.” That friendship can easily be expanded to include education, volunteerism, philanthropy, athletics, and business, for he has been a true and valued friend to all.

Born December 3, 1923, to parents Katharine Lenora Reynolds and Charles Byron Ireland in Gadsden, Alabama, Ireland would embark on a 39-year career in his family’s business, Vulcan Materials, which has become the nation’s leading supplier of construction aggregate and a leading manufacturer of chemicals. And he also would leave an indelible mark on the history of environmental protection in the state of Alabama.

Ireland is a true Son of the South. He received his education in the public schools of Birmingham and was graduated from the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He then began his college career at Auburn University and later transferred to Marion Military Institute. After his second year at Marion, he entered the U.S. Navy and served from 1943 until 1946.

When he returned home from the navy, Ireland joined the family business. The predecessor of Vulcan Materials, Birmingham Slag Company, had been purchased by the Ireland family in 1916. Birmingham Slag produced aggregate for making concrete, for highway and railroad beds, and much of the aggregate came from waste produced by the Birmingham mills of U.S. Steel’s Tennessee Coal and Iron and Republic Steel.

During his career with Vulcan, Ireland was president of two Vulcan subsidiaries, executive vice president of the Midwest division, manager of community relations, and for 29 years a member of the company’s board of directors.

The success of the Ireland family and Vulcan Materials was featured in the Feb. 14, 1959, issue of Business Week under the headline, “Invasion From the Deep South.” The article detailed the expansion of Vulcan Materials from the piney hills of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida into the North and the Midwest.

Through the Ireland family’s leadership, Vulcan Materials has always been an outstanding corporate citizen deeply committed to the needs of the Birmingham community and those of Alabama as a whole.

Active in the business, civic, and cultural affairs of Birmingham, Ireland has been known for its generosity to worthy causes. He has served as chairman of the C.B. Ireland Foundation, as a board member of the Birmingham Area Council of Boy Scouts of America; chairman and board member of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham; board member and President of the Lurleen B. Wallace Memorial Foundation; board member of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Supporters; board member of the American Cancer Society – Alabama Division; board member, president and chairman of the board of the American Cancer Society-Jefferson County; board member of the Baylor School; president and board member of the Alabama Wildlife Federation; board member of the Alabama Sheriff’s Boys and Girls Ranches; chairman of the Community Chest, Builders Division, and Alexis de Tocqueville Society of United Way – Jefferson County; chairman of special gifts, Alabama Heart Association; member of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Statewide Steering Committee; and co-chairman of the UAB Capital Campaign Metro Region Steering Committee.

Ireland has received the Distinguished American Award from the National Football League and Hall of Fame – Alabama Division, and the 1981 Citizen of the Year Award from the Alabama Broadcasters Association.

Marion Military Institute, where he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, has always been close to Ireland’s heart and he has labored mightily to help the school. His efforts were recognized in 1991 when the Institute named its athletic center in his honor. In 1942, Ireland was the center on MMI’s football team when it played The University of Alabama freshmen. MMI lost 33-6, but Ireland scored MMl’s only touchdown on a 65-yard pass interception.

In 1948, Ireland married Fay Belt of Birmingham, who has shared his love of the outdoors and his dedication to education. The Irelands have five children and thirteen grandchildren.

The Irelands have given graciously of their time and resources to many educational institutions. Auburn University has established the William R. and Fay Ireland Distinguished Scholarship in the College of Sciences and Mathematics, and the Ireland Fisheries Laboratory at Auburn bears his name. The family also has given generously to Baylor and Birmingham-Southern, including the establishment of the Baylor-Ireland Scholarship for a graduating senior at Baylor who wishes to continue at Birmingham-Southern.

Ireland has been an active outdoorsman his entire life – hunter, fisherman, and guardian of the environment. His retirement from Vulcan Materials in 1982 gave him more time to devote to the state’s wildlife resources.

In 1992-93 he served with distinction as President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation and served on the organization’s board of directors and its executive committee for many years. The organization’s headquarters building in Montgomery is named in his honor.

He is a life member of The Gulf Coast Conservation Association, The Nature Conservancy, the National Audubon Society, and the National Wild Turkey Federation.

He is a Benefactor Member of Ducks Unlimited (Canada, United States, and Mexico) and serves on the organization’s board of directors as an honorary member. He also serves on the boards of directors for the Alabama Wildlife Endowment, the Cahaba River Society advisory committee, and the Alabama Wildlife Rescue Service. All of these organizations frequently turned to Bill Ireland for advice and support, particularly in their fledgling years. Never were they refused. His activities currently include serving as Alabama chairman of the Southern Environmental Law Center’s capital campaign.

Continuing his love of the outdoors and its denizens, he has developed fish and wildlife showplace on “Wild Acres,” his farm in Shelby County, and he is active in the renovation of “Five Star,” the plantation in Coosa County that was formerly the site of The University of Alabama conference facility.

But perhaps his defining moment in the service of the environment was his leadership role in the development and successful approval of the state’s Forever Wild Constitutional Amendment.

For the first time in the history of Alabama, a state-funded program was established to acquire land throughout the state to be used for conservation and recreation purposes.

Over the next twenty years, the Forever Wild program will provide up to $350 million for land acquisition and stewardship, a huge step toward ensuring that future Alabamians will be able to enjoy the outdoor life.

Ireland’s gracious manner, his honest approach, his enthusiasm, and his obvious love for the Alabama outdoors allowed him to weld into an effective coalition a diverse committee of hunters, environmentalists, fishermen, state agency representatives and representatives from the forest industry and the corporate world, who together forged an acceptable piece of legislation.

And after the Legislation was approved, he took on the job of raising money to finance the voter education effort necessary to ensure voter approval of the bill. The result? An overwhelming 84 percent of the voters approved the legislation, the highest approval rate for a land acquisition bill in the nation.

Author Washington Irving, in The Angler, wrote that ” There is certainly something in angling … that tends to produce a gentleness of spirit, and a pure serenity of mind.”

Friends of Bill Ireland describe him as a “gentleman,” and a “gentle sportsman.” And certainly, the wildlife with which Alabama is so abundantly blessed would agree.

So, the next time you see a young doe grazing at twilight, or if you are lucky enough to experience the heart-stopping “whrrrrrrrrr!” of a covey of quail bursting from a fence corner or to hear the far off honking of a flight of Canada geese on an October night, say a thank you to Bill Ireland.

William J. Rushton, III

  • October 11th, 2021

Billy Rushton has been a part of Protective Life Insurance Company for nearly 62 years, since 1937. That’s when his father, Colonel William J. Rushton, was elected president of the company.

William J. (Billy) Rushton, III, was born April 23, 1929, in Birmingham, Alabama, the son of Colonel William J. Rushton and Elizabeth Perry Rushton.

“I inherited from them a good name, a desire to do my best, a sense of obligation to serve my community, and above-average opportunity to render that service,” Rushton says.

Rushton, who retired as Chief Executive Officer in 1992 and as Chairman of the Board in 1999, has made exemplary use of his “inheritance.”

In his 45 years as an employee of Protective Life Insurance Company, Rushton’s integrity, and uncompromising insistence on quality in all with which he is associated have set standards by which an entire company and its people measure themselves.

“Protective Life has his mark,” says Drayton Nabers, Jr., current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Protective Life Insurance. “In his generation of leadership, Billy gave the company its mission and values … its quality. Quality is written all over the company, its assets, its balance sheet, its service … and especially its people. This quality is a living thing, and he is its heart and soul.”

Rushton acknowledges that he was born a fortunate person, with the proverbial “silver spoon” close at hand. And he is the third Rushton to be inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame. His father, William J. Rushton, and his grandfather, J. Frank Rushton, have been previously honored, in 1980 and 1975 respectively. But make no mistake, Billy Rushton has paid his dues and earned his keep.

As a youth, he attended Birmingham University School, which became Altamont School, before heading off to Exeter and eventually Princeton. He is an Eagle Scout, Scouting’s highest honor. At University School he received the Citizenship Trophy for best all-around student and was awarded the Scholarship Cup for having the highest scholastic average in the school. At Phillips-Exeter Academy, where he graduated in 1947, he was a member of the varsity swimming team and varsity crew.

The next stop was Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1951.

But before he could begin his insurance career, there was a matter in Korea where Rushton served as an Artillery Forward Observer and later as a Battery Commander, rising to the rank of Captain. His service in Korea earned him the Bronze Star for meritorious service in combat.

Upon returning home from the battlefield, Rushton joined Prudential Insurance Company as an actuarial trainee, then joined the actuarial department at Protective Life. Four years later he resigned as an officer and became an insurance salesman. And in his third year, he led Protective Life’s sales force in sales and qualified for the Million Dollar Round table.

By 1963 he had worked his way up to Vice President and Director of Individual Sales, a post he held until 1968. In 1969 he was elected President and Chief Executive Officer, a role he accepted as nothing less than a personal responsibility for the future of the company.

His vision for Protective Life was to see it grow to national prominence. He assembled a highly motivated management team and set “stretch” goals. His leadership style is that of a servant, although a determined one.

Since 1969 when Protective Life was licensed in only 14 Southeastern states with revenues of $57 million, the company grew steadily through sales and acquisitions to the point that by 1992, when Rushton stepped down as chief executive officer, it was represented in all 50 states with revenues exceeding $500 million and assets of more than $3 billion.

During his 22 years at the helm, Protective Life shareholders benefited greatly. Net income per share grew at a compound rate of 13.7 percent per year and the dividend per share at a rate of 12 percent per year, ranking the company in the top 20 percent of the life insurance industry.

Rushton has always been known for having an open office. He has instilled, through example, a sense of fairness throughout the company, insisting that profit never be pursued at the cost of honor or truth or at the expense of others.

He has willingly assumed the responsibility of good citizenship and contributed his time, energy, and resources to charitable and civic endeavors. He has served as a trustee at Birmingham-Southern College and as chairman of the board of trustees; director of the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce; a trustee at Children’s Hospital; as chairman of the Family and Child Services Capital Campaign in 1990; a member of the Advisory Committee, Meyer Foundation; as a board member and chairman of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham; President of the Rotary Club of Birmingham; a director at Southern Research; chairman of the Business Partnership for Alabama School Reform; and trustee of The Newcomen Society of the United States and chairman of the Alabama Chapter.

His United Way activities are legendary. He is a member of the National Mega Gifts Committee of United Way and has been a director at United Way since 1974, serving as Chairman of the United Way campaign in 1978 and as President of United Way in 1986. In 1978, the United Way Board of Directors had decided the goal for the campaign would be a 5 percent increase over the previous year. But to better meet the community needs, the Board of Directors, at Rushton’s urging, raised the target to an 11 percent increase. The campaign went on to exceed the 11 percent target and produce the largest percentage of increase in giving in Birmingham’s United Way history.

His list of honors is equally long. He is a member of the Alabama Academy of Honor, and he is a Distinguished Eagle Scout, an honor reserved for Eagle Scouts who distinguish themselves in later life. He has received the “Good Neighbor Award” from the National Conference of Christians and Jews as well as the organization’s Brotherhood Award and is an Honorary Life Member of United Way.

Rushton’s wife, La Vona, of Oklahoma City, has been an able and willing companion since 1955. They have three sons, William J. Rushton IV, Deakins Ford Rushton, and Tunstall Perry Rushton, three daughters-in-law, and seven grandchildren.

Mrs. Rushton, an accomplished pianist, and “fabulous” grandmother has served as chair of the Symphony Ball, the Museum Ball, and the Birmingham Festival of Arts. The couple spends a month in Paris each year, and Billy says, “I work very hard at golf, and though I am not very good at it I am still optimistic.”

Rushton uses an old Irish proverb to describe his feelings about his own charitable giving:

“I have drunk from wells I never dug and been warmed by fires I never built.”

True perhaps, but Billy Rushton has provided spiritual drink for many and fueled the fires of giving throughout his distinguished lifetime.

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