Induction Year: 2003

Frank Bromberg, Jr.

  • October 5th, 2021

Frank H. Bromberg Jr.’s great-grandfather Frederick Bromberg, a Prussian immigrant, set sail from Germany in 1832. He was bound for the New World, and four years later he would Bromberg and Company in Mobile.

The name “Bromberg” would become synonymous with fine jewelry and become one of the oldest and most successful businesses in Alabama’s history, as well as the largest supplier of fine crystal, china, and sterling flatware in the Southeast. Bromberg’s ranks 45th on a list of the 102 oldest U.S. companies and is the second oldest retailer in the nation. Bromberg’s is even older than Birmingham, the city the company now calls home.

Born in Birmingham on November 15, 1931, the only child of Frank Bromberg, Sr. and Annie Maud Wilkinson, Frank Hardy Bromberg, Jr. was destined to one day head Bromberg and Co. But before he could take his place as head of the jewelling giant, Bromberg would have to make his own place in the family business by proving his worth to his father’s generation.

As a child, Bromberg spent many winters in Florida with his grandparents because of his health. The climate of the area was better for his breathing problem, a minor aliment Bromberg would outgrow by his mid-teens.

After graduating summa cum laude from the Capstone in the College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1954, Bromberg and his wife Leila Clayton Bromberg, moved to Bew York so that he could enter the master’s program in retailing at New York University. It was there that the couple’s first child, one of four children, was born.

Upon completion of NYU’s master’s program, Bromberg returned home to Birmingham, ready to work and get his career going. But less than a month later he was back in New York. Duty called, and Bromberg was shipped overseas so he could run the Post Exchange at Dreux Air Force Base in post-WWII recovering France. His family went with him. Two years later, they were back in Birmingham, this time to stay.

Finally back home, Bromberg began his ascent up the Bromberg and Co. chain. He began in sales in 1957 and took on the role of assistant treasurer a year later. It was also during this period that Bromberg and Co. was facing financial problems, in that it wasn’t making enough money for all three Bromberg families to make a good living. Bromberg pushed the family to open branch stores, the first in Mountain Brook in 1959. There are now five stores in the Birmingham area and Montgomery.

In 1960, Bromberg became the company’s vice-president, a position he occupied for nearly 25 years. In 1984, Bromberg became president of the company.

He has also served as president of several professional organizations, such as the Jewelers of America, the American Gem Society, the Retail Jewelers Research Group, and the Alabama Jewelers Association, and has served as director of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee.

A major reason for the longevity and success of Bromberg and Co. are the rules within the family that govern how and when a family member may enter the family business and rules that provide for how the business should be run. If a person wants into the family’s business, he/she must have a college degree, and each of the three Bromberg families is allowed only three spots to fill when the next generation comes of age.

This system, Bromberg believes, encourages hard work and prepares upcoming generations to manage the family business.

Frank Bromberg, Jr. was instrumental in the family business’s bold move to branch out and open more stores in the late 1950s. His foresight has proven invaluable to the company.

With as much as Bromberg has on his plate, he still finds time to remain involved with several civic and community organizations. He served as president of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham from 1969-70, during which time the Birmingham club was chosen as the outstanding large club in the world by Kiwanis International.

Bromberg is also past president of the Sales and Marketing Executives of Birmingham, and like the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham during the years of his presidency, Sales and Marketing Executives International chose the Birmingham club as the outstanding club of any size worldwide, 1966-67.

Bromberg was elected vice-president of the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce in 1974, an organization he has been a member of since he stepped back onto American soil from France in 1957.

Bromberg’s ties to The University of Alabama are many. Three generations of Brombergs have graduated from the school, and his wife’s great-grandfather served as president from 1886-1889. Bromberg is and has served as a member of countless university organizations.

Among the more notable, Bromberg has served as president of the National Alumni Organization, 1975-76, chairman of the President’s Cabinet, 1973-75, chairman and founder of the Culverhouse Executives Society, 1976-present, a member of the Culverhouse Board of Visitors, and a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, 1983-2000.

Bromberg’s ability to anticipate the financial benefits of adding more stores is part o the reason his family’s business is around today. Bromberg’s has remained in the family for over 167 years, and it appears that is the way it will remain.

Garry Drummond, Sr.

  • October 5th, 2021

In 1943, Heman Drummond obtained a bank loan of $300 to buy new equipment for his Walker County coal mine. He secured the loan with three mules, one of which was named “Tobe.” “Tobe” still lives, but he lives today in the form of a dragline with a boom longer than a football field and a bucket that holds 115 cubic yards of material.

That parallels the story of Drummond Company, Inc.

If you look at a map of the nation’s coal reserves, you will see a large coalfield that extends from northern Pennsylvania down through Kentucky and Tennessee into northwest Alabama, down into the Jasper area. That’s where Heman Drummond founded the H.E. Drummond Coal Company in 1935, in an area between Empire and Sumiton. Garry Neil Drummond, Sr., one of five sons, is now chairman and chief executive officer of Drummond Company, Inc., which in almost 68 years of operation has become one of the leading coal-producing companies in the nation.

Drummond Company employs more than 3,300 people around the world and has annual revenues of more than $800 million, placing the company in the top 500 of the Forbes list of largest private companies.

The company’s holdings include large coal mines in Alabama, Wyoming, and Columbia, South America; a worldwide coal sales organization, ABC Coke, the largest merchant foundry coke producer in the United States, and a real estate division with major community developments in Alabama, Florida, and California. The company headquarters is located in Jasper, with some executive and staff offices in Birmingham.

Garry Neil Drummond has been actively involved in the company since his graduation from The University of Alabama in 1961, where he earned a civil engineering degree He and his brothers have built the company into a major economic force. The 1960s were a period of growth for the Drummond Company, which leased new reserves, developed new mines, and acquired larger and most efficient equipment. By the late 1960s, the company had coal sales approaching $8 million.

Coal industry observers say the company’s big break came in 1969 and 1970 when Garry Neil Drummond, who had then been with the company eight years, negotiated a contract with, Ataka & Company of Tokyo, a Japanese company, to deliver $100 million in coal over the next 10 years. The Japanese company needed metallurgical quality coal that was found in the eastern half of the Warrior Basin, Drummond Company’s backyard. That was the firm’s first export sale, but it opened the way for what became a major part of the business, and Drummond, after becoming CEO in 1973, has negotiated many more ventures with the Japanese steel industry.

The company expanded rapidly during the 1970s to meet the Japanese demand and to compete for additional business worldwide. A major step in the growth of the company has been the merger of Alabama By-Products Corporation, which was incorporated in 1920. The ABC coke plant at Tarrant is the largest single producer of foundry coke in the United States. Drummond Company acquired majority control of ABC’s voting stock in 1977, and eight years later completed the acquisition of all ABC stock through a tender offer. By the end of 1985, ABC was merged with Drummond and continues to operate as a division of Drummond while maintaining its nationally recognized name.

It was also in 1985 that Drummond ventured into real estate development with Oakbridge, a $500 million residential, commercial, professional office, and business park community in Lakeland, Florida. Rancho La Quinta is located in La Quinta, California, near Palm Springs. The project, a 700-acre golf-oriented residential development, was acquired in 1992. Development activities restarted in 1993 and include residential communities and a country club with two 18-hole courses. Liberty Park is a 3,300-acre mixed-use development in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. Development started in 1991 and includes residential communities, corporate offices, retail space, and Old Overton Golf Course, ranked by Golf Digest in 1994 as “America’s Best New Private Course.”

Garry Neil Drummond has been the chief executive officer of Drummond Company, Inc. since 1973. The four other brothers also have been involved continuously in company operations. E. A. “Larry” Drummond is president of the company, Segal E. Drummond is executive vice-president and assistant to the chief executive officer, Donald D. Drummond is president of the Drummond Coal Division, and John H. Drummond is vice-president management.

Among his many honors, Garry Neil Drummond was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science from The University of Alabama and was the UA College of Engineering Distinguished Lecturer for 1987-8 and outstanding Fellow in 1987. He received the Keith-Woodman Award in 19 87 and was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.

He served on the University of Alabama Board of Trustees from 1983 through 2001. during which time he served three years a President Pro Tempore. He and the Alabama Coal Industry established the Garry Neil Drummond Endowment at The University of Alabama in 1985.

He is actively involved in state, national and international organizations within the coal industry and has served on the board of numerous local and state organizations dedicated to charitable causes and economic development. He serves on the board of the National Mining Association, Business Council of Alabama, SouthTrust Corporation, the Center for Energy and Economic Development, and is a past chairman of the board of Economic Partnership of Alabama. He is a member of the Birmingham Rotary Club and was elected to the Alabama Academy of Honor in 1989. He al o has been active in the Boy Scouts of America and in several conservation organizations including Ducks Unlimited.

Drummond is the father of four sons and one daughter. He lives in the Birmingham area with his wife, the former Peggy Snoddy. Ir. Drummond’s father was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 1990.

Leroy McAbee, Sr.

  • October 5th, 2021

Leroy McAbee, a native of Henagar, Alabama, is the oldest son of Homer Roy and Sarah Mae McAbee.

He attended school in Sylvania, where he graduated in 1949. After graduation, he served with the Army Combat Engineers in Korea from 1950 to 1952. After his discharge, he worked on various construction projects across the country,  and eventually enrolled at The University of Alabama.

A year later he founded McAbee and Company, which began as a small mechanical contractor and engineering company. The company was incorporated in 1972 as McAbee Construction, Inc. Under McAbee’s leadership and with a team of dedicated employees, it has become one of the largest heavy industrial contractors in the Southeast. The company works in all types of manufacturing facilities performing piping, mechanical work, equipment erection, steel erection, concrete work, and other related jobs. McAbee’s firm has done construction work in all Southeastern states, various Midwestern states, and in New York and Washington. Industrial customers include those in power generation, chemical processes, pulp and paper, automotive, and many other manufacturing industries. Many clients are from the Fortune 500.

McAbee’s Fabrication Division, also located in Tuscaloosa, was formed as a small shop to service the construction division. It has grown into one of the largest fabrication shops in the Southeast, with more than 120,000 square feet of space, and has shipped its fabrication work into 35 states and 17 foreign countries. McAbee is certified by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. Each organization closely scrutinizes companies authorized to fabricate and install pressure piping and pressure vessels and to repair boilers both in the field and in the shop.

Some of the company’s work involves both construction and fabrication and one project was most interesting. In 1966, when the United States and Russian governments had a joint project converting Intercontinental Ballistic Missile fuels into useful component chemicals, McAbee was called onto build three to his sister Doris, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1962. modular units, each of which could process 3,000 metric tons of ICBM fuel annually. An additional challenge was that the units had to be shipped to Siberia by rail through undersized tunnels. McAbee and his engineers and fabricators got busy in Tuscaloosa, built the units, disassembled them, shipped them to Utah for testing, brought them back to Tuscaloosa, and shipped them to Russia. McAbee personnel later supervised the erection in Siberia.

During the mid-70s and 80s, the company was heavily involved in the installation of turbine generators in power plants. McAbee himself designed, engineered, and built a one-of-a-kind oil flushing system for the new turbines, a creation that saved enormous man-hours.

McAbee has been instrumental in promoting good working relationships between labor and management. He has represented both sides during labor negotiations to obtain better training programs, better employee benefits, quality workmanship from the craftsmen and to initiate other programs that promote a good union/management relationship. In addition, he helped organize and served as president of the Tuscaloosa Joint Apprentice Committee of the Plumbers and Steamfitters, an organization for training young people to become journeymen in the welding, pipefitting, heating, and air conditioning industry. McAbee formed his company based on these principles:

Safety is first.

Quality of work is second.

A fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay is third. Those principles were recognized in 1983 when McAbee Construction’s high standard of employment practices was awarded a certificate from the National Society of Professional Engineers.

McAbee acknowledges that his success and the guiding force in his life is his wife, Ruth. He has been married to the former Babe Ruth Barger, secretary/treasurer of the organization, for nearly 40 years. The couple lives in Tuscaloosa and has a son, two daughters, and six grandchildren. He also credits his brother Harold, superintendents, craftsmen, managers, engineers, and administrative personnel for his company’s success.

McAbee works closely with many organizations to promote West Alabama and bring industry and new business to the area. He was a member of the Select Committee to Study Public Education in Tuscaloosa charged with considering all aspects of public education in Tuscaloosa City and County School Systems and making recommendations for improvements.

He currently serves on the University of Alabama’s President’s Cabinet; the UA Capstone Engineering Society; the Board of Visitors of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration; the UA Alumni Association; is a National Council Representative, Black Warrior Council, Boy Scouts of America; Board of Directors, Park and Recreation Authority; Board of Directors, United Way of Tuscaloosa County; Board of Directors, DCH Foundation; National Society of Professional Engineers; Alabama Society of Professional Engineers; Advisory Board, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company; and Valley Head Chapter, Alabama Masonic Lodge.

He established the McAbee Foundation for the purpose of sponsoring scholarships for qualified students to attend the University of Alabama Engineering School.

He recently served as Chairman of the Public Library Oversight Committee which was created to develop a plan for facility improvement, repair, and expansion that would upgrade the current library to meet the same level as other libraries of its size and service responsibility. The committee findings were presented to the library funding agencies which resulted in the modernization program now in progress.

He was recognized as “Volunteer of the Year” in 1981 by the Park and Recreation Authority and was honored with the “Patron of the Arts” award in 1984 for his strong support of the Tuscaloosa Arts Council.

In 1986, he was named “Citizen of the Year” in Tuscaloosa.

He was selected as a “Distinguished Engineering Fellow” by UA College of Engineering in 1988, an honor bestowed upon individuals for the recognition they have brought to the University through their accomplishments and support. In February of 2003, he was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame for significant contributions to the advancement of engineering and technology and inspiring others to pursue challenging careers in all engineering fields.

In January of 1989, he was given the “Silver Beaver” award for his volunteer support to the Boy Scouts of America which is the highest volunteer honor awarded by this organization, and in 1992, the Black Warrior Council of the Boy Scouts of America named its new headquarters the Leroy McAbee Scout Service Center in his honor.

In May of 1991, he was presented the “Liberty Bell Award” by the Tuscaloosa County Bar Association for his promotion of a better understanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and a better appreciation of the Rules of Law.

In July of 1998, the Park and Recreation Authority recognized his service to the local community by naming the recreation center located at the Veteran’s Hospital the Leroy McAbee Sr. Activity Center.

He was honored by the Alexis de Tocqueville Society for his contributions to the United, Way in January 2001.

In April of 2002, he was one of seven honorees inducted into the Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame.

Roy J. Nichols

  • October 5th, 2021

From rockets to research to roses, Roy Nichols will have a lasting impact on Huntsville, the state, and the nation.

In 1976, along with Chris Horgen, Nichols founded Nichols Research, which became one of the nation’s most prominent research and development organizations specializing in sensor, missile, and information systems. Under their leadership, Nichols Research grew to 40 locations throughout the United States with more than 3,000 employees and revenues of more than $400 million. Before its merger in 1999 with Computer Sciences Corporation, an information technology company based in California, Nichols Research was ranked as one of the top 100 research, development, technology, and engineering companies, and received recognition in Forbes, Fortune, and Business Week as one of the best small companies in the country.

Not content to sit by after the CSC merger, Nichols founded and now serves as chairman of the board of Torch Concepts. Torch Concepts uses the advanced pattern-recognition technology developed for the U.S. Department of Defense to automatically find, retrieve, organize and deliver content relevant to each user’s individual needs.

Torch Concepts last fall began establishing a defense engineering subsidiary named Torch Technologies, Inc. Torch Technologies will provide engineering services and Torch products for the defense and intelligence markets. Torch’s technology is being successfully used in counter-terrorism and missile defense applications.

Nichols was born in Chicago, moved with his family to Pennsylvania, and later to Detroit where he graduated from high school. He entered the University of Michigan, where, in 1961 he received his bachelor of science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. He later earned a master of science degree, also in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, and was a star member of the university’s Infrared Physics Championship Team. In 1969, he moved with his wife and three daughters to California to join McDonnell Douglas, where he headed the discrimination and data processing department.

His work with McDonnell Douglas moved him to Huntsville in 1973 as chief engineer, where he met another engineer, Chris Horgen. The two became fast friends and co-workers, and on September 20, 1976, they formed Nichols Research Corporation, with Nichols as president.

Ten years later, in 1986, the company had grown from a staff of two to more than 500 employees with eight technical offices. When the company was merged with CSC, it had nearly 30 locations, with more than 2,000 employees, five subsidiaries, and two affiliates.

Nichols has more than 35 years of experience in defense technologies, including systems engineering, optical and radar sensors, discrimination and countermeasures, and advanced simulation. He served as an advisor to the Army, the Air Force, the Department of Defense, Congress and served for six years on the Army Science Board. The company has been recognized by the military for exceptional service to the nation and was recognized for technical services and systems analysis for defense systems, ranging from the Patriot and Hawk systems to developmental concepts.

Nichols has been recognized for his professional excellence in a variety of ways. In 1988, he was named Manager of the Year by the Huntsville Chapter of the National Management Association, and in 1993 was named Outstanding Professional by the Rotary, which also presented him the Vocational Excellence Award. He received the Community Service Award in 1998 from the National Space Club, the same year he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County. In 2000, he was named Professional of the Year by the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers. In 2002, he received the Medaris Award from the National Industrial Defense Association, and in 2003, he received the Pineapple Award from the Huntsville Hospitality Association.

He also has served on a number of boards and civic and professional organizations. He is a member of the Adtran board and serves as chairman of the Audit Committee. He is a founder, board member, and staunch supporter of the Alabama Policy Institute, which promotes legislation consistent with Christian principles. He is chairman of the Executive Committee and Visions and Plans Committee of the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission and serves on the board of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation.

He has been particularly active with the Huntsville Botanical Gardens, where he has been a board member since 198 He played a key role in site acquisition, master plan development, leadership, and fundraising. He conceived and developed the biospheric thrust of the Gardens. He provided the initial loan for the Galaxy of Lights, now the Gardens’ major fund-raiser, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors.

Nichols and his wife, Sue, have three daughters and five grandchildren.

Pettus Randall, III

  • October 5th, 2021

The cornerstone of Randall Publishing is a recognition program for scholars, Who’s  Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. But the publishing company founded in 1934 by H. Pettus Randall, Jr., is now one of the nation’s largest privately held trade magazine publishing enterprises, with more than 35 magazines, directories, periodicals, and Web sites and more than 500 employees. In 2000, Folio, the leading magazine for the publishing industry, ranked Randall Publishing as the sixth fastest-growing and the 22nd largest publishing company in the nation. Much of that growth came during the 27 years that Pettus H. Randall, III, who died of pancreatic cancer on September 7, 2002, was at the helm.

As the country struggled to pull itself out of the Great Depression, Henry Pettus Randall, Jr. was excelling in his undergraduate studies at The University of Alabama, attracting the attention of numerous honor societies. However, initiation fees and membership dues prevented him from joining the organizations that courted him. He vowed to never again let financial restrictions stand in the way of students being honored for academic achievement.

Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges is the product of his resolve. Along with Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges, which was added in 1969, the Who’s Who books have become one of the most prestigious award programs in academia and are now in place at more than 2,000 universities, colleges, and junior colleges in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Following the visionary tradition of Henry Pettus Randall, Jr., Pettus Randall III took the Who’s Who program to the next level by founding the Award Company of America. The Award Company of America distributes the centerpieces of any awards program: plaques, trophies, ribbons, specialized cards, and other promotional and ad specialty items. The division prospered, with gross revenue exceeding more than $4 million by1984. After the death of his father in 197 6, Pettus assumed control of the company and merged Randall Publishing Company and the Award Company of America.

The company entered the magazine publishing world. Randall strategically chose magazines covering industries at the heart of our economy: trucking, construction, and industrial.

In 1986, Randall acquired Overdrive magazine, the oldest and most respected magazine for independent truckers. Based on its success with Overdrive, Randall expanded its presence within the trucking industry, adding Truckers News, the industry-leading news and lifestyle publication; CCJ, which offers business solutions for fleet owners and managers, and eTrucker.com, the most comprehensive source for trucking information and services on the Internet. Today, Randall’s Trucking Media Group also produces nationally broadcast radio programs, numerous seminars, and other special events, as well as a major trade show, the Great American Trucking Show.

In 1987, Randall decided to take on the construction industry. The company created and introduced TOP BID, now known as the “bible” of off-highway and equipment auctions.

That was followed by the launch of Equipment World magazine, the leading construction-equipment publication in both circulation and influence. Published monthly, Equipment World serves the business and fleet management needs of more than 87,000 contractors throughout North America. The Construction Media Group also conducts targeted research on equipment trends, forecasts, and reader opinions and produces equipment world.com, a Web site featuring news, service, equipment information, and business tools for contractors, dealers, and manufacturers worldwide.

In 1999, Randall turned its publishing skills to another highly active part of the nation’s economy: the industrial world. The Industrial Media Group was born through the acquisition of Modem Woodworking, a leading magazine for woodworking technicians. The same year, Randall bought Pumps & Systems magazine; its trade show, PumpUsers Expo; and its website, pump-zone.com, all concentrating on users and manufacturers of industrial pumps.

Remaining true to its commitment to provide its customers world-class service and world-class products, Randall developed Northbrook Publishing in 1996. Located in New Berlin, Wis., Northbrook specializes in the creation and production of corporate magazines. It serves several Fortune 500 companies, many of which advertise in Randall’s publications.

Caterpillar, Sherwin-Williams, Peterbilt, and Ken worth are just a few of the companies that take advantage of Northbrook’s publishing expertise. Equipment Data Associates, acquired in 1998, is the premier national supplier of UCC-based marketing services. EDA provides semimonthly leads, mailing lists, market-share statistics, and equipment-population estimates to the construction equipment, machine tool, farm equipment, lift truck, on-highway truck/trailer, printing, and woodworking industries. EDA works closely with Randall’s research group, providing circulation feed and supplying customers with the latest buying trends in their target audience and/or for their specific product.

Pettus Randall III earned his bachelor’s degree in history and English in 1997 and his J.D. degree from the UA School of Law in 1971. He also attended the New York University Graduate School of Business. Randall and his widow, Dr. Cathy Randall, have long been involved in support of education. Cathy Randall has served as director of the Computer-Based Honors Program at UA and also directed the University Honors Program. She now serves as chairman of the company. Daughter Jaynie is a graduate of Princeton University and the Harvard Graduate School of Business who attends Yale Law School; Kate is a Vanderbilt graduate who earned a master’s degree as a Rotary International Scholar at the University of Cambridge, England; and Pettus IV is the student body president at Princeton.

Randall was a member of dozens of civic. fraternal and religious organizations, including the Tuscaloosa Jaycees, Kiwanis Club of Greater Tuscaloosa, the American Legion, Alumni Association, board of directors of the Tuscaloosa Association of Retarded Children.

Greater Tuscaloosa Chamber of Commerce. Tuscaloosa Arts and Humanities Council, Christian Businessmen’s Club, Tuscaloosa Mental Health Association, the Elks, Masons and Shrine, and the Boys Club of Tuscaloosa.

He was an active member of Christ Episcopal Church.

He served as a delegate to the Democratic Convention in 1968 and was a member of the Alabama Democratic Executive Committee.

Staying true to its mission, goals, and beliefs, Randall Publishing Co. continues to grow in both profits and product offerings. The same entrepreneurial spirit that led one man to found Randall Publishing Co. continues to drive the company today.

X