Ernest G. Williams

• October 6th, 2021

When Ernest Going Williams was selected to receive The University of Alabama’s Distinguished Alumni Award, The Tuscaloosa News, in a congratulatory editorial, said Williams “joins the ranks of UA legends… ”

Indeed, his service to the University, to his community, and to humanity, in general, is legendary.

Paper company executive, University treasurer and trustee, banker, and all-around outstanding citizen, Williams’ roots go deep into the soil of the Southeast. His ancestors journeyed to Alabama from North Carolina in 1817 and played prominent roles in the development of the territory. His great-grandfather, Nicholas Gaines Augustus, was a Mississippi planter and attended The University of Alabama in the 1840s. His father was an owner of Consolidated Lumber Company, which had sawmills throughout Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. and Mary Sanford Williams. He was named for his step-grandfather, Alfred Ernest Going, Jr. The family moved to Tuscaloosa when Ernest was five.

Williams was born in Macon, Mississippi, on September 24, 1915, the son of Augustus Gaines

Ernest Williams attended Tuscaloosa schools and graduated in 1938 from The University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science degree in commerce and business administration. As a student, he was a member of the Excelsior and Philomathic literary societies, the Cotillion Club, Quadrangle, Jasons, and Omicron Delta Kappa. One of his greatest interests was the Kappa Alpha Fraternity, the members of which bestowed on him the title of “Boss,” which has stayed with him as he served on the National Executive Council of Kappa Alpha Order.

In 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the beginning of World War II, he sought and was accepted into the Navy’s officer training program at Notre Dame and Northwestern University and was commissioned as an ensign. He served as communications and deck officer aboard the U.S.S. Kaskaskia, a fleet oiler and as a communications officer aboard the U.S.S. Severn in the South Pacific. After three years of active duty, he was released at the end of the war and returned to Tuscaloosa and a position as assistant treasurer at the University. He soon was elected treasurer and established a reputation for fairness and openness, as well as for shrewdness in financial matters. During his tenure, he negotiated several loans that were used to build student dormitories and fraternity and sorority houses. He also promoted a plan that allowed faculty members to obtain housing loans at a 5 percent fixed-rate, with no closing costs and no prepayment penalty. Many young faculty members can thank Ernest Williams for helping them finance their first home.

The 1950s proved to be eventful times for Ernest Williams. In 1951 he married Cecil Butler of Jacksonville, Florida, who he met while she was visiting her sister in Tuscaloosa. He was becoming active in the community, as president of the University Club, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the Exchange Club. But all was not roses.

As Williams was working one afternoon in 1956, an unruly crowd gathered in front of the education building next door to Williams’ office to protest the attendance of Autherine Lucy, the first black student admitted to UA. Another UA official approached Williams for help in getting Miss Lucy out of the building unharmed. He left his office and went upstairs in the education building where Miss Lucy waited. Williams surveyed the situation for several minutes until the mob’s attention was diverted, then escorted Miss Lucy downstairs to a waiting police car, which rushed her away unharmed. So, what did Williams do? He went back to work. “I had a long line of students waiting to get their fees deferred,” he told the news media later.

Later that year, Williams left the University and joined First National Bank of Tuscaloosa as a vice president and member of the board. But the University recognized the importance of having Williams close at hand and in August 1956, he was elected to the Board of Trustees and became the school’s third local trustee.

In 1958 Williams resigned his position at the bank and became vice president for finance and treasurer at Gulf States Paper and a member of its board of directors.

In 1977, Williams left the Gulf States and organized Affiliated Paper Companies, where he became chairman and chief executive officer. The Tuscaloosa company-owned paper houses in Texas, North and South Carolina, and Florida as well as Anniston and Huntsville in Alabama. It also was affiliated with 85 additional companies. Under his leadership for 17 years, the corporation grew to 264 affiliated companies with total sales of more than $2.2 billion in 1994, the year Williams retired at age 78.

Williams’ tenure as a trustee of The University of Alabama spanned 30 years, 26 of which were on the executive committee. His service ended in 1986 at age 70.

A highlight of his service to the University came in 1957 when he chaired a selection committee to search for a new football coach.

Paul W. Bryant was high on the list and Williams, along with Dr. Frank Rose, Fred Sington, and Marc Ray Clement persuaded Bryant to return to the Capstone.

Williams has been honored as Tuscaloosa’s Outstanding Citizen in 1973; by the University’s Board of Trustees with a dinner and resolution of appreciation on his retirement; as the recipient of an honorary LL.D. degree from the University in 1987; and by induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 1987.

He is an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa, and a past chairman of the Tuscaloosa County American Red Cross and past president of Associated Industries of Alabama, Chamber of Commerce of Greater Tuscaloosa, DCH Foundation, Exchange Club, JayCees, United Way, the University Club, and YMCA. He also is a member of the Newcomen Society of North America and is listed in Who’s Who in America.

Throughout his career, his wife, Cecil, has been at his side. The couple has made significant gifts to The University of Alabama, including the Cecil B. and Ernest G. Williams Faculty Enhancement Fund. They have three children, Ernest Sanford, Turner Butler, and Elizabeth Cecil (CeCe), and nine grandchildren.

In February of 1999, the University presented Williams the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, which recognizes excellence of character and service to humanity. The tribute said:

“Ernest Williams is without peer in the annals of The University of Alabama. Some individuals can earn distinction as outstanding students; others, as alumni, achieve greatness in professional careers. Then there are those who serve their alma mater as trustees and benefactors. Ernest Williams has scaled the pinnacle of every category in a lifetime of service to the Capstone that spans more than half a century.”

E. Stanley Robbins

• October 6th, 2021

Stanley Robbins was born August 19, 1908, in the rough-and-tumble town of Flomaton on the Alabama Florida border, the son of Edward Stanley Robbins and Julia Carolyn Castleberry Robbins.

In the 93 years since, he has become one of the state’s most successful inventors, manufacturers, and businessmen, and built National Floor Products into one of the largest employers in the Shoals area of North Alabama.

The story of E. Stanley Robbins is a true American success story. At age three he was stricken with polio that left his left leg paralyzed. But thanks to the efforts of his mother and six months of crude but effective electric shock treatment, he managed to overcome the illness and begin to walk. He attended school in Castleberry and Evergreen, AL before moving to Mobile, where he graduated from high school. While living in Evergreen, he lost his father in a sawmill accident, which left his mother to raise Robbins and his three siblings, a tough job for a widow in those days.

When Robbins was 10, his family moved back to Castleberry, where his mother began operating a boarding house, and he and a brother went to work summers in a nearby woodworking veneer plant. The boys made seven cents an hour and worked six days a week, 12 hours a day. The family eventually relocated to Mobile, where Robbins painted houses and worked in a grocery store, eventually earning enough money to buy a Model-T Ford, which he planned to drive to Dayton, Ohio, where he had a job waiting.

He and a friend left Mobile in June 1925, camping along the way, and arrived in Dayton a week later. His first job in Ohio was painting a house, but he soon went to work in a plant that manufactured materials used for repairing tires. Robbins put his ingenuity to work and found a number of ways to modernize the plant. He was rewarded in short order by being put in charge of the plant.

Meanwhile, he had started a small tire and inner tube business in St. Louis, which he visited on a regular basis. During his visits to St. Louis, he made friends with a fellow Alabamian, who told him about a bankrupt rubber manufacturing plant in the middle of a cotton field in Tuscumbia, Alabama. That piqued his interest and he went to bid on the plant. He persuaded the bankruptcy judge to let him buy the plant for a penny on the dollar. So in 1930, he returned to Alabama, settling this time in the northern part of the state. He bought the facility and using the knowledge obtained in Dayton, built an inner tube and tire repair facility that eventually employed more than 1,200 people. The plant was destroyed by fire in 1939, but Robbins had it rebuilt in time to supply tubes and retread rubber to the military during World War II.

The new plant, finished in 1940, was at the time the most modern facility of its kind in the world. During the war, the plant was converted from producing natural crude rubber to producing synthetic rubber and became the leading producer of synthetic rubber during the war. Robbins is responsible for the research and development of synthetic rubber that is still used today to make inner tubes.

After the war, Robbins turned his attention to another product, vinyl. He built one of the world’s most modern vinyl plants, Robbins Flooring, a new company. He also designed the equipment that produced the first solid vinyl flooring. He is acknowledged as a pioneer in the industry. He was instrumental in developing high-quality vinyl, solid vinyl flooring, and was the first manufacturer to produce a pure vinyl flooring.

During World War II, Robbins sold Robbins Tire and Rubber plant but remained with the company to run the operation. He left in 1956, and, in 1957, turned all of his efforts toward bringing National Floor Products online. He converted some cattle barns located on Shoal Creek into a 35-employee plant. He later moved the company to the Florence/Lauderdale Industrial Park, where his company was the first to buy property and break ground. There he developed and designed the equipment for one of the most modern resilient flooring plants in the world, which at one time employed more than 500 people. In 1994, NAFCO was sold to the Canadian firm, Domco Industries, and today is a subsidiary of Domco Tarkett, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of resilient flooring.

In 1989, at age 81, Robbins founded a new company, Robbins Industries, located in the Florence/Lauderdale Industrial Park. The company has numerous patents for kitchenware designs and includes the subsidiary, KitchenArt, which designs and markets innovative kitchenware.

As might be expected for an inventor and manufacturer of Robbins’ stature, he holds a number of patents in design and manufacturing. He has designed and developed equipment used to manufacture both rubber and vinyl. He has a patent on precision sizing the tile, processing patents on wall base and he invented the first vacuum-back tile that needs no adhesive for installation.

For the last 72 years, Edward Stanley Robbins has given generously of his time and money for the betterment of the Shoals area. In1974, he was recognized for his efforts by being named Muscle Shoals Citizen of the Year, the area’s highest recognition.

He is a former director and member of the Florence Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Alabama Chamber of Commerce, and the United States Chamber of Commerce. He is one of the original members of the Florence /Lauderdale Industrial Development Committee and has served on the board of directors of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Association. He also was an active supporter of the Associated Industries of Alabama.

Robbins has devoted countless hours to many community projects. He has served on the Salvation Army Board and is a strong and active supporter of the Boy Scouts of America. He is a past member of the Rotary Club of Florence and the Kiwanis Club of Tuscumbia.

He helped organize and served on the board of directors of Sheffield Federal Savings and Loan Association. He also served on the board of State National Bank (now Compass Bank) and on the board of First Federal Savings and Loan Association in Florence. He also served as a member and chairman of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Board, Birmingham Branch.

Robbins has also been a strong supporter of young people and education. He supported the Junior Achievement Program and served on the board of the Quad-Cities Junior Achievement and has been a board member of the Riverhill School. He is the primary benefactor of the YMCA of the Shoals, on whose board he served. The Florence branch of the YMCA is named the E. Stanley Robbins Branch.

He has been a lifelong boating enthusiast and is a founder and former board member of the Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club, and a member of the Guntersville Yacht Club.

He also was one of the moving forces behind the renovation of Tuscumbia’s Spring Park, which included the installation of a waterfall and a fountain.

As might be expected of an inventor, manufacturer, and sailor, Robbins has constructed a unique home on an island at the mouth of Shoal Creek, where he lives with his second wife, the former Martha Rose Wilson of Tuscumbia. The house is equipped with many of his innovations and engineering designs.

Robbins has six children: Edward Stanley, Harvey Frank, John Conrad, Rodney Wilson, Martha Ruth Pillow, and Katrina Robbins Nix.

Robert S. Weil

• October 6th, 2021

Cotton is a small shrub that dates back nearly 7,000 years and was one of the earliest crops grown by European settlers, having been planted at the Jamestown Colony in 1607.

Weil Brothers-Cotton, the international cotton merchandising firm located in Montgomery, does not date back quite that far, but the company has been the king of the cotton industry for a long time. And Robert Schoenhof Weil, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, has been a member of the firm’s top echelon for much of that time.

Born November 29, 1919, to parents Rossie Schoenhof and Adolph I. Weil, Sr., in Montgomery, Weil was the youngest of his parent’s four children. Robert Weil has risen through the ranks of his family-owned cotton firm to become one of the industry’s leading spokesmen, and he also is a noted philanthropist recognized by leading service groups for his continuous work and service.

His graduation in 1936 from Culver Military Academy was the beginning of an impressive education dossier. He entered Dartmouth College, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in 1940. Upon his graduation from Dartmouth College, Weil applied and was accepted to Harvard Business School where he received his M.B.A. in 1942.

After receiving his M.B.A., Weil fulfilled a commitment to his country as a second lieu­tenant, serving four years in World War II. During his time in the Army, he attended Command and General Staff School in 1945.

Following his discharge from the Army in 1946 he returned to his hometown of Montgomery to join Weil Brothers, a leading international raw cotton merchandising firm, which had been founded by his grandfather in 1878.

Continuing the family tradition, Weil and his older brother, Adolph “Bucks” I. Weil, Jr., became directors and officers of the company. At the start of their career with the company, Robert and his brother served as their father’s and uncle’s assistants and deputies while becoming increasingly involved in top-level decisions. Following their father’s death in 1968, Bucks became chairman and Robert president of Weil Brothers – Cotton, Inc. With the cotton industry valued at $4.5 billion, the brothers formed a holding company in 1980, Weil Enterprises and Investments, Ltd.

During this time, the brothers assumed corresponding roles with Bucks serving as president and Robert becoming chairman of the holding company. In addition to expanding their grandfather’s business around the world, Bucks and Robert were partners in Weil Hermanos, Inc., the Weil Selling Agency, and controlled the Swiss-based Unicosa. Robert has also served the company as co-chairman of the Board and chairman of the Executive Committee.

Weil also has been active in the cotton industry in several capacities. His first role in the industry came as the president of the American Cotton Shippers Association from 1963-64. He then went on to serve as director from 1962- 65 and 1973-74. He was also on the Board of Managers for the New York Cotton Exchange, director of the Atlantic Cotton Association, and a National Cotton Council delegate in 1963. Weil was also director of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange, the 1977-78 associate director for the Liverpool Cotton Association, 1978 delegate for the International Federation of Cotton and Allied Textile Industries. Weil continued his involvement with the cotton industry on a national level when he was named a 1963 delegate of the International Cotton Advisory Committee and the White House Conference on Export Trade Expansion.

Weil said the reason he is so involved in the cotton industry was that “you have to be active in everything and participate in what goes on in the business.”

Following his return to Montgomery in 1946, Weil became an active participant in civic and arts organizations. He became a member of the Jaycees and was named Montgomery Jaycees Outstanding Young Man of the Year in 1948. By the 1980s, Weil was more than just a participant in civic organizations; he was their initiator and chairman. Among the organizations, he has chaired is the Men of Montgomery industrial arm, and he organized and chaired the Montgomery Long Range Planning Council. In addition, he initiated a movement to include women and African Americans in the organization, which then became known as the Committee of 100. Weil was also a board member of the Alabama State Chamber of Commerce.

As a lifelong resident of Montgomery, Weil has been committed to making his community better by chairing organizations that benefit multiple groups of people. Among the groups Weil has supported is One Montgomery, a voluntary biracial organization dedicated to improving race relations in the community. He also participated in Leadership Montgomery and subsequently became a trustee of Leadership Alabama, all of which are dedicated to developing a cohesive leadership fabric in the Alabama community at large. Weil was also state chairman of Radio Free Europe, a key U.S. effort to break the East European Communist bloc.

Weil’s interest in charitable causes began in Montgomery as early as 1950 when he served as vice president of the Community Chest. Since then, he has been a board member of the local American Cancer Society and the Salvation Army He has also been active with United Way in various capacities and has played a vital role in its annual solicitations. Weil also was an original member of the Montgomery Area Community Foundation Board and was the Montgomery chairman for the United Negro College Fund. He also served on the board of the Eye Foundation Hospital of Birmingham and chaired the advisory board of St. Margaret’s Hospital in Montgomery.

His background gave him an appreciation for quality education, and he has been actively involved in educational institutions for much of his life. He has served as co-founder, president, board member, and board member emeritus of the Montgomery Academy Through his chairmanship of the Montgomery Long Range Planning Committee, he organized Blue Ribbon Committee on Public Education. The committee completed a special study of the Montgomery Public School system, which made several far-reaching recommendations to the County Board of Education. His activates were acknowledged with his election to the Alabama Academy of Honor.

Weil has also been devoted to Dartmouth, serving on the College Alumni Council, as area enrollment director, and working on the Annual Fund. He has served as trustee and trustee emeritus for more than 25 years for Wheaton College, his wife’s alma mater. And he has received the President’s Medal for his 20 years of service to Huntington College in Montgomery.

Weil has long been a lover of the arts and classical music. His wife, Virginia Loeb Weil, majored in art in college and is the former pres­ident of the Montgomery Museum. Weil, along with his brother Bucks, has enjoyed collecting fine art for many years. More than just collecting art, however, Weil fulfilled his wife’s dream of relocating the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts to a new and larger location with advanced facilities. He also was a member of the committee that launched Art Inc., a traveling exhibition of American corporate arc coast-to-coast and through South America. He also served as the first chairman of the Montgomery Business Committee for the Arts and is currently on the Board of Overseers of the Hood Museum of Dartmouth College.

As a young boy, Weil loved to listen to classical music with his mother, and that love is reflected today in his dedication to the Board of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and his service to the Overseers of the Board of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Weil has been active in the reform Jewish faith as a leader in congregational affairs at Temple Beth Or, where he served as a board member and president for two terms in the 1960s. He and his wife have three children, Virginia “Vicki” Weil, Rosalind W. Markstein, and Robert S. Weil II.

Robert Weil has had a long and successful career with Weil Brothers – Cotton Inc., but he also has left an indelible mark on his community and the arts.

Lee J. Styslinger, Jr.

• October 5th, 2021

When Lee Joseph Styslinger, Jr. left The University of Alabama at age 19 to take over the management of his father’s truck equipment company, no one could have predicted he would tum the company into a worldwide leader in its industry.

Styslinger was born in Birmingham in 1933 to Lee J. Styslinger, Sr., and Margaret McFarland Styslinger, where his father had moved at age 33 because it resembled his hometown of Pittsburgh. There, at the start of the Depression, Lee Styslinger, Sr. founded Alabama Truck Equipment Co. with 20 employees in a building that had originally been a furniture manufacturing plant. The company manufactured flatbed trailers for Fruehauf and customized trucks for industrial use, making a name for itself as one of the first to use non-rusting aluminum truck parts and hanging on through the Depression and the years of World War II when both men

Lee Styslinger Jr. always intended to follow in his father’s footsteps. He attended St. Paul’s elementary school and graduated from St. Bernard Preparatory School in Cullman. He then attended The University of Alabama with plans to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering. Instead, his father’s death in 1952 left him responsible for the management of Alabama Truck Equipment Co. sooner than he had anticipated and steel was in short supply.

When he took over as general manager of the company, it employed 12 people, and its sales were approximately $100,000 a year. The business was owned by his mother and operated as a proprietorship. The company manufactured utility bodies for Alabama Power Co., a line of bottler bodies for CocaCola and Buffalo Rock, a line of dairy bodies, dump bodies, bakery bodies for McGough Bakeries, van bodies for Baggett, and Jack Cole Motor Freight, and a special type bod a business needed.

Styslinger, at only 19, wanted to appear grown-up as possible so one of the first things did as manager was buy a hat and wire-rimmed glasses. Four years later, he was named president of the company. Styslinger convinced his family to form a corporation and allow him to buy 51 percent of the stock. The company was incorporated for $ 6,000, not including the land, which still belonged to Styslinger’s mother, and the name changed to Altec, Inc.

Styslinger, who had been studying accounting in night school at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, decided the company could no longer afford to be in the manufacturing business. When the company incorporated, it switched to distributing equipment made by other manufacturers. Altec also decided to narrow its focus to products for the utility industry.

By 196 3, Altec’s sales volume had increased 35 times over 1952 figures, and the company had more than 100 associates. With more money to work with, Styslinger returned again to manufacturing. Styslinger formed Altec Manufacturing Co., a separate entity, to manufacture the bodies that were part of the total utility equipment package. Altec, Inc. continued as a distributor of digger derricks and aerial platforms. By 1967, Altec had increased its sales 50 times over those of 1952 and had 175 employees.

From the mid-‘ 60s through the early 70s, Altec began to stretch its wings. A Northern Division was established in Indianapolis to provide sales and assembly services to the booming Indiana and Illinois markets, and a service center was opened in Atlanta. Despite an energy crisis, by 1973 sales were at $20 million, and Altec employed 400 associates.

In that year, Altec made the risky decision to go into competition with its own suppliers and constructed a factory in St. Joseph, Mo., where the company began designing its own products. The decision was a good one. By 1979 the company’s Midwest Division was a full-scale manufacturer of digger derricks and aerial platforms for electric and telephone utilities.

Today, Altec Inc. is the holding company for Altec Industries, Altec Worldwide, Global Rental, Altec Capital Services, NUECO, Altec Hiline, and Altec Ventures. Altec has more than 2,300 associates working in sales, service, and manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. The company’s total revenue is just south of a billion dollars. Altec sells and services equipment in more than 87 countries around the world and offers an extensive product line for the electric utility, telecommunication, tree care, and other related industries.

Altec has continued its growth under the Styslinger family’s leadership. Styslinger has three sons with his wife of 42 years, the former Catherine Smith, and all three, Lee Joseph III, Jon Cecil, and Mark Joseph are employed by Altec. Lee J. Styslinger III is now president and CEO of Altec, and Jon and Mark are both senior vice presidents. Lee III and Mark are located in Birmingham, and Jon is in Kansas City, Missouri

Lee Styslinger, Jr. has proven his commitment not only to his business but also to doing his civic duty. He has held positions n the Board of Trustees for Highlands Day School and the Birmingham Symphony Association and has served on the Board of Directors of such organizations as the American National Red Cross, Children Harbor, Junior Achievement of Greater Birmingham, and St. Vincent’s Hospital. He is a past member of the Birmingham Music Club, the Birmingham Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and the Metropolitan Development Board. Since 1998 he has served as finance chairman for the Birmingham Museum of Art. Styslinger and his, wife attend St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.

Styslinger is also active in the business community. He currently serves on the board of directors for Advanced Labelworx, Inc., Electronic Healthcare Systems, Jemison Investment Company, Inc., and MeadWestvaco Corporation. In the past, he has served on the boards of a number of companies including Complete Health, Health Services Foundation, Regions Financial Corporation, Saunders System, and Southern Research Institute. He has served on the Board of Governors and Executive Board of both the United States and Birmingham Area chambers of commerce. He is a past member of the National Alliance of Businessmen, the Equipment Manufacturers Institute, and the National Association of Manufacturers. Styslinger has been named to the Alabama Academy of Honor and was an honoree for Re-Entry Ministries’ Builders of Birmingham.

Styslinger attributes most of the success of his company to the Altec associates and to his father. Altec’s philosophy about its associates is “Work should be to an adult what play is to a child – enjoyable.”

In a speech he gave to the Rotary Club of Birmingham on Altec’s 60^th anniversary, Styslinger said of his father, “My hope is that I am able to inspire in others at least a fraction of the strength he left for me.” Styslinger’s hope has already become fact; he has passed a legacy of strength on to his sons and a strong, growing corporation on to the world.

C. Caldwell Marks

• October 4th, 2021

Overlooking Birmingham is a statue of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and forge. As a young boy, Charles Caldwell Marks used to climb through a trap door between Vulcan’s feet, stand by the top of the statue’s head, and gaze down upon the city, a city on which he has had a tremendous impact.

When he was nominated for the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame, he was described as an accomplished businessman as well as a “dedicated servant leader who has worked hard to move this community and this state forward.”

Marks was born on top of Red Mountain to Charles Pollard Marks and Isabel Caldwell on June 1, 1921, and as a young man enjoyed hunting and fishing, and traveling with his parents. Most of his early education came at Birmingham University School.

He attended the University of the South and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1942 with a bachelor’s degree in physics. He was also a member of Blue Key. After leaving Sewanee, Marks went to graduate studies at Cornell University, Harvard University, and The University of Alabama.

After graduation, he joined U.S. Steel but cut that short to join the Navy as World War II heated up. He enlisted as an officer candidate, then became a midshipman and served as a lieutenant aboard ship in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, part of it spent in escort duty protecting civilian freighters. Marks’ duties as an engineering officer proved to be valuable in civilian life. In 1945, Marks married his first wife, Jeanne Vigeant, and moved into a duplex in Mountain Brook, and began raising a family.

After World War II, on April 1, 1946, Marks and his friend Bill Spencer bought the Owen Richards Company, a small mill supply firm in Birmingham, beginning a long and illustrious business career. They sold off most of the firm’s inventory of other products and decided to focus on ball and roller bearings, gears, and mechanical power transmissions. Marks and Spencer changed the name to Motion Industries and took the company public in 1972. He served as president of Motion Industries until his retirement in 1983. In 2004, Motion Industries had sales exceeding $2.5 billion.

Marks’ next major project was helping in the formation of BE&K,  a Birmingham-based, top construction company, specializing in high technology engineering, construction, environmental and maintenance services for the process industries. It was a natural fit because Motion Industries and BE&K had many of the same clients.

While he has been very successful in the business world, Marks has also been very involved in civic life. He has served on many boards and in numerous leadership positions, including a stint as co-chairman of the United Way and another serving on the Board of Directors of the Birmingham Museum of Art and president of Children’s Hospital.

He was the managing director of the Alabama Education Study Commission, a founding director of the Executive Service Corporation of Alabama, and has also served on the Board of Governors of the Indian Springs School, Highlands Day School, and Brooke Hill School.

The 1987 recipient of a distinguished alumnus award, Marks has also been a trustee and chair of the board of regents at his alma mater, the University of the South. He is also a past vice president of its alumni association. Some of the other organizations Marks has been involved in include serving as the president of the Children’s Aid Society, chairman of the Birmingham Committee for JOO, president of the Workshop for the Blind, director and vice-president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, and chair of the federal reserve Birmingham branch. He was one of five selected to meet with President Kennedy in Washington during the civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham.

Marks has also been awarded two honorary degrees. He was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law by his alma mater in 1989, as well as an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1990.

In the fall of 1998, Marks was selected by the Kiwanis Club and inducted along with five other men to the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame. At present, Marks serves as director emeritus for several companies, including Genuine Parts Company, BE&K Inc., UAB Research Foundation, and The Children’s Hospital.

Marks is now married to Alice Scott Marks. He and his late wife, Jeanne V. Marks, had three children, Margaret M. Porter, Randolph C. Marks, and Charles Marks.

Harvey Frank Robbins

• October 4th, 2021

Many years ago, Harvey Robbins shared a chocolate milkshake with his high school sweetheart, Joyce Ann McKinney, at the Palace Ice Cream Shop in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Many years later, Mr. Robbins, now a successful and prosperous businessman, turned his sights to renovating the ice cream shop where he and Joyce Ann had shared that famous chocolate milkshake “in a metal container with enough to pour into two glasses.” That was only one step in Mr. Robbins’ revitalization of his hometown.

Harvey Frank Robbins was born in Dayton, Ohio on November 22, 1932, the middle son of three boys born to Stanley and Elise Skinner Robbins. His early years were typical small town, where he attended and graduated from Deshler High School in Tuscumbia. He also attended the University of Florida and the University of North Alabama. A gifted athlete, Mr. Robbins excelled in football, basketball, track, and surprisingly, rodeo events – calf roping, bull riding, team roping, saddlebronc, and bareback events. This began a life-long love of “all things Western.” In 1952, Mr. Robbins married his high school sweetheart, Joyce Ann. Their love of the West is evidenced by their lovely Southwestern-inspired home overlooking Lake Wilson in the Shoals. Their love of the West has been passed down to their three children, Harvey Frank II, Angie, and Beverly, and now on to their six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

In 1957, Mr. Robbins’s father founded National Floor Products Company, Inc. (NAFCO) where Mr. Robbins was part owner. Over the next several decades under Mr. Robbin’s leadership, NAFCO grew to a world leader in high-end residential flooring. In 1994, NAFCO was sold to Domco Industries of Montreal.

In 1960, Mr. Robbins founded Applied Plastics, Inc. which continues to operate today as an innovator in custom industrial coatings for manufacturing machinery in a broad range of industries. Following the sale of NAFCO, Mr. Harvey turned his talents to property development and community support, focusing on the beauty and history of his hometown, Tuscumbia. In the late 1990s, he formed Robbins Property Development and embarked on the largest revitalization and development effort in his hometown’s history. His first endeavor was a makeover of the town’s traditional center, Spring Park, by designing and building a 48-foot-high waterfall; a bronze statue memorializing a Chickasaw princess; a replica train running on 4,000 feet of track; and a choreographed fountain, music, and light show modeled after the dancing waters at Opryland. He also stocked the creek with rainbow trout to lure fishermen. Mr. Robbins then turned his sights to renovating the Palace Ice Cream Shop. Today, the Palace Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop has sold well over 25,000 milkshakes.

In 1995, Mr. Robbins opened Doublehead Resort and Lodge, a 1,000-acre development on the shores of Lake Wilson which quickly became a destination resort attracting national attention. Included among other accomplishments were providing the land to enable the construction of the Retirement System of Alabama’s longest Robert Trent Jones Golf Course and a four-star hotel; renovating more than 100,000 square feet of vacant downtown buildings and turning them into vibrant restaurants, offices, and retail shops, as well as the development of new access roads and Tuscumbia’s first hotel. He has been featured on the “NBC Today Show”, in Southern Living, Inc, Business Alabama, and American Way magazines because of his extraordinary accomplishments.

Mr. Robbins served as chairman of the board for Valley Federal Bank and he took the company from a mutual company to a publicly-traded company which was later sold to Union Planters Bank of Memphis. He is a former board member of Central Bank (now Compass Bank) and the Salvation Anny and currently serves on the boards of First Metro Bank, Helen Keller Hospital, and the University of North Alabama.

John Michael Jenkins, IV

• October 4th, 2021

To some, the word “green” indicates a lack of knowledge or experience. Although Mike Jenkins is certainly green, with more than 40 years in the brick industry he is anything but inexperienced. As the fourth generation at the helm of Jenkins Brick Co., he helped revolutionize the brick-making process in 1998, becoming one of the industry’s first manufacturers to use landfill gas rather than natural gas for firing the kilns. Jenkins Brick is the largest user of earth-friendly methane gas in the brick industry, and the company also harvests stormwater from the roofs of its manufacturing plants for use during production.

As worker-friendly as he is environmentally conscious, Jenkins treats his employees in an exemplary manner. From corporate executives to workers stacking brick, everyone is an “associate,” and each associate receives the same benefits. Everyone at Jenkins Brick is on a first-name basis, and Jenkins ensures equal treatment of all associates.

Jenkins has not always been an experienced and resourceful leader in the brick industry, however. In 1960, the 18-year-old graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama. Jenkins attended Washington and Lee University in Virginia and graduated in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and four years of ROTC training. He was then commissioned by the U.S. Army and served two years of active duty in Korea as an infantry officer. Jenkins received his parachutist badge as well as the Expert Infantryman Badge, and he was the only officer below the rank of major to receive the Army Commendation Medal during the 13-month tour.

After an honorable discharge in November 1966, Jenkins began his career with Jenkins Brick Co., a business founded in the late 1800s by his great-grandfather. Jenkins learned every aspect of the family trade, beginning in sales and working his way up to plant manager. He also continued his education, earning a master’s degree in ceramic engineering from Clemson University in 1969. In 1974, Jenkins advanced to the position of chief executive officer of the company, which at that time had three distribution locations in Alabama and Florida. Today, Jenkins Brick operates in nearly 30 locations throughout the Southeast, manufacturing and distributing its own brick as well as brick and building materials manufactured by others.

Jenkins Brick Co. has plants in Coosada, Montgomery, and St. Clair County in Alabama, which together produce more than 326 million bricks annually. In 1998, the plant in Montgomery was converted to run on landfill gas, and it now produces 110 million bricks each year while saving energy and benefitting the environment. The Coosada plant, originally built in 1959, began to produce high-end specialty brick in 2004 and makes 80 million bricks annually.

In 2006, Jenkins Brick built the St. Clair County facility, placing it just six miles from the local landfill so the kilns could be fueled with the methane gas produced by the waste.

The company’s current use of landfill methane reduces greenhouse gases each year in an amount equal to planting 14,700 acres of forest, removing the emission of 13,700 vehicles, or preventing the use of 166,000 barrels of oil.

Throughout the years, Jenkins Brick CO. has been recognized numerous times for outstanding business and environmental practices. The United States Environmental Protective Agency awarded Jenkins Brick with the 2006 Project of the Year, honoring the company’s earth-friendly plant in St. Clair County. Jenkins Brick was selected as one of 11 businesses worldwide to participate in a Harvard University study called “The Project on Global Working Families.” The green-minded Jenkins Brick is also a two-time recipient of the Alabama Wildlife Federation Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award for Air Conservationist of the Year, receiving the honor in 1999 and again in 2007. Jenkins Brick also received the Alabama Technology Council and Business Council of Alabama award for Medium Manufacturer of the Year in 2007. The same year, the Montgomery Area Business Committee for the Arts, a national nonprofit organization uniting business and the arts, recognized the company’s involvement in the arts in Montgomery with the 2007 Business in the Arts Award. Then in 2008, Jenkins Brick received MAX Credit Union’s EcoMax Green Leadership Award and was also named among Inc. Magazine’s Top 5,000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America.

Jenkins, like his company, has amassed several awards for business leadership and community service. In 1999, Jenkins’ alma mater, Washington and Lee University, selected him as one of 250 leading alumni in honor of the school’s 250^th anniversary. Jenkins’ high school, Sidney Lanier, honored him with the title of Outstanding Alumnus. Jenkins received the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award from the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and the Community Leadership Association awarded him its Distinguished Leadership Award. In 2008, the Montgomery Chapter of the American Institute of Architects recognized Jenkins’ outstanding contributions to the architectural profession, awarding him the Mike Barrett Memorial Award. Most recently, Jenkins receive the highest honor in his industry, the Brick Institute of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jenkins has not only served as the leader of his company for decades but he has also been involved in numerous civic and service organizations, generously giving his time and leadership to the community. In the past, Jenkins acted as director and vice chairman of both the Montgomery Area United Way and the Montgomery Red Cross, and he directed the United Way’s 1999 capital campaign. He also served as a trustee for both the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind Foundation and the Nature Conservancy of Alabama. As a co-founder and an original steering committee member, Jenkins contributed to the formation of Leadership Montgomery and is co-founder, past chairman, and current director of Leadership Alabama, organizations that foster relationships that bridge social and ethnic boundaries. He is a past director of Jackson Hospital, the National Episcopal Church Foundation, and the Montgomery Area YMCA.

Over the years, Jenkins has been involved in several educational causes throughout the state and the country. He was a director of the alumni board at Washington and Lee and served on the board of governors for the Alabama Association of Private Colleges and Universities. He served as president and board chairman of Montgomery Academy, and he served as a director of the Montgomery City-Council Public Library.

In business, Jenkins has served as chairman of the Rebel Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization and director of the Society of International Business Fellows. He is a former chairman of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, a former director and vice chairman of the Alabama Association of Business and Industry, and a director of the Business Council of Alabama.

Currently, Jenkins continues to lead in numerous organizations. He serves as a director of the Alabama Archives and History Foundation and is a trustee of the Alabama Archives Museums. Jenkins also serves as director and vice-chairman of the Brick Industry Association and director of the Business Council of Alabama. In education, he is a director of the Alabama State University Foundation and a trustee of Huntingdon College. Jenkins also holds memberships in the Chief Executive Organization, the Society of International Business Fellows, and the World President’s Organization.

In 2007, the position of president of Jenkins Brick was filled by someone Jenkins wholeheartedly trusts: his son, Mike Jenkins V. The senior Jenkins said he did not want his son to feel forced into the family business. “I was very conscious to neither discourage nor encourage him to choose this path,” he said. But the younger Jenkins chose the brickmaking profession and worked his way through the ranks of the company. Jenkins said, “Seeing my soon now as an integral part of the company is one of the great pleasures of life.”

Jenkins and his wife, Kent, have four children and 11 grandchildren. He lives in Montgomery where he continues to serve as CEO and chairman of Jenkins Brick Co.

Thomas E. Jernigan

• October 4th, 2021

The life of Thomas E. Jernigan was the proverbial American Dream. From humble beginnings in rural Alabama, Jernigan grew to become successful in every endeavor he attempted.

Born in Atmore, Alabama, in 1923, Jernigan later moved to Frisco City in Monroe County. He grew up on a farm with his brothers, Ferrell and Carl, and his sister, Loretta. After graduating from high school, Jernigan joined the United States Air Force and served two years during World War II. When he returned from military service, he attended The University of Alabama.

After completing his studies, Jernigan settled in Mountain Brook, Alabama, where he raised his family and emerged as a business leader within the community and around the Southeast.

Jernigan began his entrepreneurial endeavors by developing a line of children’s playground equipment. In 1965, he founded Plantation Pattern Co., a manufacturer of wrought iron casual furniture, which still is operating today.

Four years later, Jernigan founded United Chair Co., an office furniture manufacturer. United Chair exists today as a member of the Groupe Lacasse family of brands.

Showing no signs of slowing, in 1970, Jernigan founded Marathon Realty Co. to build and develop commercial properties. The company primarily did business in the Birmingham market in Alabama and the Fort Lauderdale and Tampa markets in Florida.

In 1971, he decided to test his skills with an additional challenge. He founded Marathon Equipment Co., a maker of commercial and industrial trash compaction equipment. During the time Jernigan was at the helm of Marathon Equipment, the company was recognized as the largest commercial trash compaction manufacturer in the world and a key supplier to some of the largest waste removal companies, such as Waste Management and BFI. Like most of Jernigan’s companies, Marathon Equipment received many awards and commendations from its suppliers.

From its original plant in Vernon, Alabama, Marathon added a new plant in Yerington, Nevada, in December 1985 and another plant in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, in 1989. The company began settling its products overseas, meeting waste management needs in Australia, Mexico, Central American, and the Middle East.

In 1972, Jernigan became CEO of Delwood Furniture, a corporation that consisted of six individual manufacturing companies specializing in home and office furniture.

Not one to rest on the laurels of his mounting business successes, Jernigan put another idea into action in 1973. He developed the concept of neighborhood convenience stores in Alabama, an idea that caught on incredibly well. Jernigan founded and built a chain of Quick Marts throughout the state.

Jernigan started yet another successful business venture in 1976 when he founded Winston Furniture Co. in Haleyville, Alabama. Winston still is a leading manufacturer of aluminum outdoor casual furniture.

The company began making basic wrought iron furniture but soon added simple aluminum furniture with vinyl straps. Winston broadened and modified the materials it used, becoming the first company to develop cushioned fabrics for outdoor use. These new fabrics contained special mildew-resistant fibers and ultraviolet light stabilizers that helped the furniture withstand the elements.

In 1982, a revolution in the casual furniture industry, with Winston at the forefront of this trend. Winston introduced sling furniture, a type of furnishing in which panels of special fabric are pulled taut through the furniture frame, resulting in sleek, comfortable, low-maintenance furniture. The Winston Furniture line includes both cushion and sling furniture in varying styles, finishes, and fabrics.

In addition to his other business ventures, Jernigan was active in the banking industry. He was an original director of the Central Bank and Trust Co., which eventually became Compass Bank. Jernigan’s longtime friend and business colleague, Harry B. Brock, president, and CEO of Compass Bank said Jernigan was instrumental in changing the state’s banking industry. He was a key player and investor in the formation of the Central and State National Corp., a move that sparked the formation of the bank-holding companies in Alabama.

In 1992, Jernigan became interested in the apparel industry. Consistent with his progressive thinking, he was able to marry this new business to a philanthropic course. Marathon Apparel was born under his hand and over a 15-year period donated more than $5 million to a variety of wildlife and conservation organizations, such as Ducks Unlimited, the Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, the National Turkey Foundation, Quail Unlimited, and others.

Marathon Corp. has enjoyed several years of success, and it has consistently given back to the community. In 2001, Marathon donated $1 million to the relief centers in New York City following the attack on the World Trade Center. In 1005, Marathon donated clothing and food to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and has helped flood and tornado victims across the country.

Through the Thomas E. Jernigan Foundation, a program was started in Birmingham to help churches provide holiday relief for people in need.

Throughout his life and his many successful business endeavors, Jernigan always remembered people in need. He donated generously to the United Way, the Salvation Army, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, Children’s Hospital, the Big Oak Ranch, Junior Achievement, Juvenile Diabetes, Habitat for Humanity, Cornerstone Schools, and many other organizations. His grant stated the first and only camp for children with cancer in the Southeast. This was done in cooperation with Campfire USA of Central Alabama and Children’s Hospital. He also funded medical research at local hospitals. In 1995, the Association of Fundraising Professionals presented Jernigan with the William M. and Virginia B. Spencer Award for Outstanding Philanthropist. The United Way of Central Alabama honored Jernigan in 2007, awarding him membership in the Alexis de Tocqueville Society in recognition of his generous gifts.

During his long and busy career, Jernigan also gave much of his time and money to education. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for Birmingham Southern College, and in honor of his years of service, the school awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws. He also served on the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation board of directors and the Advisory Board at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He established endowments at Birmingham Southern, Samford University, and The University of Alabama, both the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham campuses. These endowments created scholarships that still provide deserving college and nursing students with the opportunities to pursue higher education.

Jernigan also held memberships at country clubs throughout Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina. He enjoyed socializing with colleagues and friends in his spare time and was involved in the Birmingham Rotary Club, the Young Presidents Organization, and the ROMEOS (Retired Old Men Eating Out).

Jernigan passed away in January 2008 after battling leukemia. He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Donna Conyers Jernigan, and his four children, Thomas E. Jernigan, Jr., Lisa Jernigan Bruhn, Mary Conyers Jernigan, and Jonathan Winston Jernigan.

Jernigan remained chairman and chief executive officer of Marathon Corp. until his death.

Frank Falkenburg, a longtime business partner and friend, summed up Jernigan’s life and character: “HE was as tough and sweet a man as I have ever known. He could be the most rugged person you might meet, and then he’d write a check for some little town in Mississippi that he read about in the newspaper trying to get over Hurricane Katrina.”

Dr. Neal Berte, president emeritus, Birmingham Southern College, said of Jernigan: “By any standard, the Birmingham community and beyond have benefitted greatly from the quiet but generous philanthropy of one of our most successful businessmen, Thomas E. Jernigan is one of Birmingham’s most successful entrepreneurs and businessmen, and his legacy of leadership will live on in the future, including those who are fortunate enough to receive a Thomas E. Jernigan Honor Scholarship.”

John J. McMahon, Jr.

• October 4th, 2021

John J. McMahon, Jr. of Birmingham, has been the chairman of two companies in his career, both of which received global recognition for their performances.

McMahon, the son of John J. McMahon and Alma Gardner Bilbro McMahon, is a native of Birmingham. He earned an undergraduate degree from Birmingham-Southern College in 1965 and a law degree from The University of Alabama School of Law in 1968.

For 25 years McMahon worked for McWane, Inc. where he was president and chairman of the board. McWane operates 25 manufacturing plants, including 13 iron foundries, and produces iron pipes, valves, and fittings used to move water across North America. The company also produces other products such as propane tanks, fire hydrants, and fire suppression systems.

During his career at McWane, McMahon held numerous positions and was responsible for negotiating more than 25 acquisitions ranging from publicly held companies to small privately held companies. Under McMahon’s leadership, McWane played a significant role in the creation of the McWane Center Science Museum in Birmingham.

In 1999, McMahon founded Ligon Industries, LLC, a privately held manufacturing company with subsidiaries that produce a wide range of industrial products such as hydraulic cylinders, aluminum castings, and aluminum components for water and wastewater treatment facilities.

McMahon was a key figure in the creation of the Birmingham Airport Authority and served as chairman of the committee that supervised the renovation of the airport terminal, which led to an increase in air transportation service.

McMahon also was a pivotal figure in the establishment of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System and served as the organization’s first chairman of the board of directors.

His civic and business activities are far-ranging. He is a director of the National Bank of Commerce, Protective Life Insurance Company, ProAssurance, and Cooper/T. Smith Corporation.

He currently serves as a trustee of Birmingham-Southern College, the Hugh Kaul Foundation, and the Board of Trustees for The University of Alabama where he served three terms as president pro tempore and has chaired numerous standing committees including athletics, compensation, executive, finance, and investments. He is the Sixth Congressional District representative on the UA System Board.

Past activities include serving as director of the Alabama National Bancorporation, Birmingham Police Foundation, Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital, John H. Harland Company, and Opera Birmingham. He served as chairman of the United Way of Birmingham’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society. He is a member of the Alabama Academy of Honor and Rotary Club of Birmingham.

He and his wife Betty Thurman McMahon have three sons, John J. McMahon III, Joel W. McMahon, and David A. McMahon.

William Michael Warren

• September 28th, 2021

William Michael (Mike) Warren, Jr. is a longtime resident of Birmingham, Alabama, but is originally from Texas. He attended high school in Auburn, Alabama, and graduated from Auburn University with honors in 1968. Three years later, he received his Juris Doctorate degree from Duke University

Warren served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force for one year, then for the next 12 years worked for Bradley, Arant, Rose & White in Birmingham, Alabama. He left in 1983 to Join Alabama Gas Corporation where he became president a year later. He became a director of Energen Corporation, the parent company, in 1986, rose through the ranks to chief executive officer and chairman. Warren led the company through a 10-year streak of expansions, transforming it from a simple utility provider to a pioneer in nontraditional natural gas extraction. Under Warren’s leadership, the energy company was one of the first to work with the state on researching and extracting coalbed methane in Alabama’s Black Warrior Basin. During his tenure, Energen’s stock outperformed the S&P 500 Index by a factor of 7 to 1.

In 2007, Warren retired from Energen and became president and CEO of Children’s of Alabama, a position that he currently holds. Warren had served on the Children’s of Alabama board for more than 20 years, serving two years as chair. While at Children’s, Warren led the hospital through a $400 million expansion of the hospital and physically connecting it to the University of Alabama at Birmingham medical facilities. He continues to be responsible for one of the organization’s most important charges-raising between $8-10 million yearly to supplement the medical costs of Alabama’s sickest children. Children’s of Alabama is currently one of the largest pediatric facilities in the United States. Warren’s other professional affiliations include past chairman of the American Gas Association, past chairman of the American Gas Foundation, past chairman of the Southern Gas Association, and past executive committee member of the Gas Technology Institute. He also has served as a board member for Protective Life Corporation, Royal Cup Coffee, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc.

As for civic involvement, Warren has a long list of accomplishments under his belt. He has served as the chairman of United Way of Central Alabama, Children’s Hospital, Leadership Alabama, Leadership Birmingham, Metropolitan Development Board, Business Council of Alabama, Campaign for Alabama, Forward Alabama, Alabama Symphony Association, and the United Negro College Fund Campaign. He also served as a board member for Economic Development Partnership, Health Services Foundation Board, National Conference for Community and Justice, and president of the Birmingham Area Heart Association. He also has been involved in education, serving on the Mountain Brook School Board, Birmingham-Southern College Board of Trustees, and the UAB President’s Council.

Warren is the recipient of a plethora of prestigious awards and honors. He received most recently the Auburn Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, the Vulcan Gamechanger Award, and the Alabama Appleseed Brewer/Torbert Award. He was named the American Heart Association Heart Ball Honoree and CEO of the Year by Birmingham News. Mike Warren was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2004. He also received the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice and was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree by Birmingham-Southern College.

He is married to his high school sweetheart, Anne McLeod Warren, a University of Alabama alumna, M.S. Social Work 1983. They have a son, Bill, two daughters, Laura and Amy, and 10 grandchildren.