Location: Huntsville AL

Walter Batson, Jr.

  • September 29th, 2022

A recognized leader in growing smaller businesses into profitable companies, Walter P. Batson, Jr. currently serves as the CEO and Chairman of Interfuze Corporation, a company that he co-founded in 2016. Since then, he has led Interfuze in its acquisition of two other companies and continues to grow the company to this day.

Batson was born on July 31, 1944, in Birmingham, and attended The University of Alabama, first graduating in 1966 with a bachelors in statistics. After a few years in the workforce at the U.S. Army Missile Command, or MICOM, in Huntsville, he returned to the Capstone to earn both a bachelor’s in accounting and a Master of Arts in operations research in 1970. He continued to work at MICOM until 1979, managing large studies related to weapons effectiveness.

In 1979, he joined John M. Cockerham and Associates, Inc., in Huntsville as vice president, overseeing operations of the government services contractor. Batson wrote the first five major proposals that yielded contracts to grow the firm from six employees to almost 200.

On the heels of this work, in 1986, he was brought on as executive vice president of Hilton Systems, Inc. in Huntsville. There, Batson designed and implemented a new business strategy that included hiring, operations, and the development of a corporate culture. Under his direction, Hilton Systems grew from a small, unprofitable company with one customer to a nationwide organization boasting over $20 million a year in sales.

He then went on to co-found Camber Corporation in 1990 and serve as the CEO and chairman. A diversified organization that was selected by Inc. Magazine as one of the country’s fastest growing companies in 1995 and 1996, Camber grew from a startup of three employees at its beginning to a company producing almost $500 million in annual revenue under Batson’s leadership. While at the helm, Batson negotiated several acquisitions, including a flight simulator business and an air traffic control products business. He also developed an arm of the organization that deployed the flight simulator technology in an entertainment context — Camber Entertainment became an industry leader in less than three years and was eventually spun-off.

In 1998, Batson spearheaded the formation of an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, which allowed employees to become employee-owners. During its history, Camber built flight and entertainment ride simulators and biological detectors, developed training systems for state, local, and federal governments, and created information systems, engineering support services, acquisition management support and program management support to clients including the U.S. Military and NASA.

Active in service, leadership, and philanthropy, Batson has chaired or served on the board of directors for organizations including Biztech, Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, ARC of Madison County, and numerous civic organizations like the March of Dimes. He also coached girls softball for 12 years.

Batson married his wife, Margaret, in 1972, and they have four daughters and one son: Mary Margaret Johnson, Bobby Batson, Dianne Jacobs, Brooke Browning, and Wendy Henshaw. Avid supporters of The University of Alabama, the couple are 2017 inductees of the Bryant Society, and Batson is a member of the Culverhouse College of Business Board of Visitors and UA’s President’s Cabinet. They are also active in the First Methodist Church of Huntsville.

William S. Propst, Sr.

  • September 29th, 2022

William “Bill” Self Propst, Sr. was born February 15, 1937, in Walkers Chapel, AL. His father Paul Propst was a Methodist minister, and his mother, Margaret a secretary to the President at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. From an early age, Propst was encouraged by his mother and grandmother to work hard and take risks, and as a teenager he started his own business fabricating and installing steel beams and ironwork.

At 21, Propst decided to follow in his brother Michael’s footsteps and go to pharmacy school. He entered Howard University – now known as Samford University – in 1958, going to school during the day and working full-time at night. After graduation, Propst briefly worked for Walgreens pharmacy. By 1963, he opened his own pharmacy in Huntsville, followed by four more locations shortly thereafter. With his business rapidly expanding, so was his competition. A then-small chain named Kmart opened a store in Florence, AL, selling health and beauty aids below Propst’s cost. Since Kmart at the time didn’t have pharmacies in their stores, he quickly began working to convince Kmart management to open pharmacies within Kmart stores across the country. After some initial resistance, Kmart agreed, and Propst moved his family to Detroit to become president of Kmart pharmacies opening over 1,800 pharmacies during his time there. While at Kmart, Propst started a generic drug division for Kmart called Qualitest Pharmaceuticals to help control the cost, insurance, and consistency of drugs for his pharmacies. In 1986 Propst retired from Kmart, bought a minority interest in Qualitest, and moved the business and his family back to Huntsville, later purchasing the remaining stake in Qualitest in 1989.

To be successful long-term in the generic drug business, Propst knew he would have to manufacture them to compete. In 1990, he purchased a solid dose pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Charlotte, NC, named it Vintage Pharmaceuticals, and soon thereafter expanded further opening state-of-the-art liquid and solid dose manufacturing facilities as well as an automated distribution center in his hometown of Huntsville. The enterprise composed over 1 million square feet of manufacturing, warehouse, and office space.

From 1986 to 2007, Propst grew Qualitest/ Vintage to one of the largest generic drug companies in the country, producing billions of doses from over 160 drug products, and employed close to 800 employees. He sold his business to private equity firm Apax Partners in October 2007 for close to a billion dollars.

After the sale of Qualitest/Vintage, Propst founded Propst Properties, a real estate company with offices in Huntsville and Birmingham. He also turned his attention to philanthropy, establishing the Paul Propst Center for Precision Medicine — in honor of his father — at Hudson Alpha Institute in Huntsville, funding the construction of the Eloise McDonald Propst Welcome Center at Huntsville Botanical Gardens, as well as starting the Propst Foundation. He also gave generously to organizations such as Samford University, Randolph School, and the Von Braun Center.

He passed away in 2019 and is survived by his wife, Eloise McDonald Propst, and four children: William Self Propst, Jr., Emily Propst Reiney, Charles Vincent Propst, and Michael Jay Propst, as well as nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

M. Louis Salmon

  • October 25th, 2021

Maurice Louis Salmon was a prominent attorney born in Mobile, Alabama. He attended The University of Alabama School of Commerce and Business before entering the U.S. Army in 1943 and serving in the European Theater of Operations. After completing his military service, he enrolled in The University of Alabama School of Law where he earned his LL.B. Following his admission to the bar, he moved to Mobile where he joined the firm of Smith, Dukes, and Buckalew as an accountant. Two years later, he moved to Huntsville and began practicing law with Watts and Salmon. His legal career in Huntsville spanned 43 years. He served on the boards of several organizations and made several notable contributions to civic and fraternal groups, including the Huntsville Rotary Club. He was active in the Republican Party and ran as the Republican candidate for State Attorney General in 1958. He served his alma mater as a member and president of the Law School Foundation, as president of the Law School Alumni Association, and was a member of the President’s Cabinet. He was instrumental in establishing the University of Alabama in Huntsville Foundation. UAH in 1988 conferred upon him the honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Olin B. King

  • October 6th, 2021

Olin Berry King, founder, and chairman of SCI Systems, Inc. of Huntsville, has already decided on his epitaph: “You always knew where he stood.” Where King and his company stand, for starters, is at the top of the contract electronics manufacturing business.

SCI Systems, Inc., with 6,000 employees in Huntsville, is the city’s largest private employer and the state’s largest company. The company also has 37 plants in 17 countries and has 31,500 employees worldwide. The company had sales of more than $8 billion for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2000.

King started his business in 1961 in the basement of his south Huntsville home. He and two partners pooled their money – $21,000 – and formed Space Craft, Inc., and set out to design and build satellites. The company quickly became a major subcontractor, building components and instrumentation for NASA’s Saturn V rocket, the vehicle that launched man to the moon.

In the Vietnam War era, SCI made subsystems for military aircraft, then applied that experience to commercial aircraft. In 1976 SCI began making computer terminals for IBM. The big break came in 1981 when SCI began to make personal computers for IBM. Company sales rocketed from $46 million to $500 million by 1985.

SCI, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is today an $8 billion company that builds electronic products for companies such as Hewlett-Packard Co., and Nostel, as well as several hundred companies involved in the telecommunications, computer, medical, and defense industries.

King built SCI based on the principles of competitive cost, quality, reliability, and responsiveness. And with the daily advances in high tech, many people think the best days are yet ahead for SCI, called by Forbes magazine the “Kmart of the electronic industry.”

King is the son of George Olin King, a Methodist minister, and Elizabeth Berry King. He was born March 17, 1934, in Sandersville, Ga., in the state’s peanut growing region, but he and his family moved with his father’s ministry.

He eventually enrolled at North Georgia College in Dahlonega to study physics and mathematics, graduating at 19. Following his graduation, he spent two years of active duty; during the Korean War, he was a Signal Corps officer. He also took additional courses in engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University. He worked briefly as a design engineer at RCA, then moved to a position with the Army’s ballistic missile program, arriving in Huntsville in 1957. He spent the years between 1957 and 1961 helping build satellites and missiles with Werner von Braun. And then, at age 26, he went from engineer to entrepreneur, teaming with two partners to start Space Craft, Inc.

A key reason for SCI’s astounding success has been its flexibility. One of the firm’s first projects was a satellite for Johns Hopkins University. But the attention of the public and the government soon turned from satellites to scientific manned space programs and King and company began building electronic systems for the Saturn V rocket and other NASA and military missile projects.

When the space projects began to fade, King put the company to work building cockpit controls and other electronic systems for military aircraft.

In the mid-1970s, several large companies such as Hewlett Packard and IBM began looking for answers to the highly competitive challenge of manufacturing electronic products. One answer was to contract with firms such as SCI to build the external equipment the companies designed. The company turned heads across the world when IBM chose it as the primary manufacturer for its original personal computer. The electronic products manufacturing business has mushroomed in the past two decades and shows no indication of slowing.

To meet the growing demand for electronic components and products, King and SCI embarked on an expanded growth program. It has more than six million square feet of manufacturing space in 17 countries across Europe, the North Americas, and Asia and has other facilities under construction.

In 1968, King married his wife, Shelbie, with whom he has raised four children – Elizabeth Smith, George King, Rosemary Lee, and Jay Hoyle, three of whom live in Huntsville. The couple also has six grandchildren who all live in Huntsville.

As you would expect, King has spent a lot of time in the air, traveling to all parts of the globe. Still, he has managed to include in his busy schedule a variety of other business activities, including directorships at Regions Financial Corporation and Regions Bank of Huntsville. He has held directorships with Interfinancial, Abbott Medical Electronics Company, Baker Automation Systems, Deltacom, and Adelantos de Tecnologia, S.A. de C.V. He is a partner in Valley Telephone Services, Inc. and has been active in real estate development in the Huntsville/Madison County area.

He is a member of the Board of Trustees, The University of Alabama System, and member of the University of Alabama in Huntsville Foundation.

He is a founding trustee of the Alabama Heritage Trust Fund, a founding director of the Alabama Supercomputer Network Authority, has been a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Economic Recovery, and a member of the Council of Twenty-One of the Alabama Commission on High Education, and has served as a director of the Alabama Research Institute.

His civic activities include serving as a founding member and past chairman of the Research Park Board of the City of Huntsville, director of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, the Huntsville Museum of Art, and the Huntsville Symphony, and a founding director of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation.

He was selected Alabama’s Chief Executive Officer of the Year by The Birmingham News in 1998 and won the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, in 1994. In 1984 he was named the National Management Association’s Executive of the Year, and in 1997, he was named by Electronic Buyers News, a leading trade journal, as one of “25 industry executives who made a difference,” which called him “the father of the contract electronic manufacturing services industry.”

His hobbies include collecting antiques for his Greek Revival style antebellum home located in Huntsville’s Twickenham Historic District, and he and his wife enjoy entertaining.

King has remained loyal to the city of Huntsville and the red soil and cotton fields that surround it. “I would say that Huntsville has proved fertile soil in which to grow business as well as cotton,” he said.

Despite the changes and the volatility of the electronic boom and the ups and downs of high-tech stocks, Olin King has remained a constant at SCI, focusing on increasing sales, holding down costs, pleasing shareholders, maintaining quality, and being responsive to customer needs.

King recently stepped down as chief executive officer and board chairman in a low-key, matter-of-fact manner that has been a hallmark of his management style. At that time, he was interviewed by The Huntsville Times and was asked, “When you started SCI 38 years ago in your basement, did you ever envision it becoming an $8 billion company ranked No. 245 on the Fortune 500?”

“Yes,” King replied. “I just didn’t think it would take this long.”

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.

William L. Halsey

  • October 5th, 2021

Forbes business magazine recently reported Huntsville, Alabama, as the eighth leading location for business and careers. The responsibility for some of that lofty ranking can be attributed to W. L. “Will” Halsey Jr., chairman and treasurer of W. L. Halsey Grocery Company, Inc., of Huntsville, who has been in the grocery business most of his life and has watched as both his family business and the city of Huntsville has grown and prospered.

Halsey was born and raised in Huntsville, the son of William L. and Elizabeth Lowery Halsey. When he was 14, he won an essay contest that awarded him a scholarship to Gulf Coast Military Academy for three years, after which he attended The University of Alabama. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, he finished his education and entered the Army three weeks after graduation, serving in the Engineer Amphibian Command until his discharge in 1946 at the rank of major.

Meanwhile, back at home, Huntsville was a sleepy little Southern town of about 14,000, surrounded by red dirt and cotton fields. The W.L. Halsey Grocery Company, started in 1879 by brothers William Leroy Halsey and Charles Henry Halsey, was now being run by Halsey’s father, William, and uncle, Charles. But a seed had been planted while Halsey was in the Army and Halsey had his eye on the institutional food business. In 1950 the company embarked on a path of expanding and modernizing as an institutional food service, serving hospitals, schools, nursing homes, restaurants, hotels and motels, clubs, camps, and airlines. Then, in 1955, Halsey became president and treasurer of the firm.

The transition to an institutional food service was not easy. The company was located in downtown Huntsville in a crowded, two-story building with 7,000 square feet on each floor. But the decision to change direction came at the time Huntsville was undergoing a revitalization and

an urban renewal program that required the removal of the railroad tracks that served the Halsey company and other companies in the area. With that in mind, Halsey located a 10-acre site in Madison 10 miles west and began building a 60,000-square foot warehouse and frozen food facility. In 1972, the warehouse was finished and Halsey Grocery Company moved to Madison. In 2000, this facility was expanded to 130,000 square feet which included a meat processing plant and a produce department. The Huntsville downtown building was converted to “Halsey Cash and Carry” and operates today as a branch of the Madison facility. Today, Halsey Grocery Company is bigger than ever. It serves more than 1,800 customers in five states with a full line of items.

Halsey has been very active in a number of national and local industry associations, serving as president of the Institutional Food Distributors of America, president of the Alabama Wholesale Grocer’s Association, and as a member of the board of governors of the National American Wholesale Grocers Association. He is a past vice president of the Continental Organization of Distributor Enterprises as well as the United States Wholesale Grocers Association.

Halsey Grocery Company was one of the five founders of the Continental Organization of Distributor Enterprises, a foodservice distributor marketing organization known today as EMCO. Members of the organization combined their annual volume, which allowed them to negotiate better prices and reduce costs.

He is a past director of First Alabama Bank, Huntsville, and First Alabama Bancshares, a former director of SCI Systems, Inc., and the University of Alabama at Huntsville. As Halsey Grocery Company grew over the years, so did Huntsville, home of NASA’s George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and Redstone Arsenal, the Army’s Missile Research Complex.

Through all the growth, Halsey has been a driving force in bringing new businesses and capital to the area. He was president of the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce in 1955 and chairman of the Huntsville Army Advisory Committee from 1967 to 1992. He also served on a committee set up by Werner von Braun, who pioneered the U.S. manned space flight program.

That led to the formation of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Halsey was part of the group that helped raise the money to start UAH. In May 1982, Halsey received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the university.

His civic work has earned him a number of honors, including his selection as Outstanding Young Man of the Year in Huntsville in 1955, and being chosen to receive the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal from the Redstone Arsenal on three separate occasions. He received the Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Award in 1989, the same year he received the American Defense Preparedness Association Distinguished Service Award. In 1990, he received the Susan B. Greene Distinguished Service Award from the North Alabama District Dietetic Association.

He is a past president of the Huntsville-Madison County Industrial Development Association, as well as the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce. He has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club and the Huntsville Golf and Country Club. He is past chairman of the Huntsville city school board and served as vice-chairman of the Huntsville Industrial Development Board and as a trustee of the Huntsville Hospital Board. He is a member of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center Advisory Committee.

He has been active in fundraising efforts on behalf of the American Red Cross, the YMCA, and the Boy Scouts of America, and chaired the fund-raising drive for Girl Scouts of America, and was a committee chairman for the Community Chest. He also was a key figure in the integration of the Huntsville schools and the water fountains and restrooms of the Madison County Courthouse, as well as in convincing nightclub owners in the city to serve black soldiers.

He is married to the former Miriam Barnes Brennan. He and his first wife, the late Jewel Fernandez, have three daughters, Cecilia, Laura, and Elizabeth. He also has two stepdaughters, Patricia Bidwell and Susan Rivis.

Mark C. Smith

  • October 4th, 2021

Mark Smith vividly recalls the day he shook the hand of Dr. Wernher Von Braun, the German scientist who served as director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the chief architect of the effort that propelled Americans to the moon.

Smith had just graduated in 1958 from Birmingham’s Woodlawn High School, and both of his parents were teachers. During high school, Smith became a ham radio buff and developed an interest in science. Upon winning first place in a science fair at Woodlawn, Smith’s prize was a handshake from Dr. Von Braun. The young high school graduate saw this as a grand opportunity and boldly asked Dr. Von Braun for a summer job. Smith went on to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology and over the next three summers, he worked at NASA in Huntsville and Cape Canaveral.

During the summer preceding his last year of college, he was employed with SCI Systems, Inc., and upon earning an electrical engineering degree from Georgia Tech in 1962 he began full-time employment with SCI as an engineering manager. In I 969 his entrepreneurial spirit took hold and he left SCI to co-found Universal Data Systems (UDS) – out of his home garage and with $30,000 in savings. UDS, the first data communications company in Alabama, was quite successful, and in 1979 with annual revenues of about $20 million was sold to Motorola. At that time, Smith became president of the DDS-Motorola Division. In 1985, the proven visionary was ready to take on yet another challenge; he left UDS and co-founded ADTRAN, Inc. As CEO and chairman, Smith led the start-up company of seven employees to become a publicly traded company in 1994, the same year ADTRAN announced a $50 million expansion of its facility. Today, with more than 1600 employees and annual revenues approaching $500 million, the company is a worldwide leader in providing high-speed network access products to the telecommunications equipment industry.

During 2000, Smith took time off for treatment of throat cancer, and in 200 l returned to his activities as CEO and chairman, although he admits to slowing down some.

Smith has been honored with numerous awards including an Honorary Doctor of Science in 1986 from The University of Alabama in Huntsville. In 1995, he was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame and was also named “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the High Technology/Electronics category-Southeastern Division. He was the 1995 recipient of Georgia Tech’s Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. In 1998 the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce presented him with the Distinguished Service Award. In 2000 he was selected CEO of the Year by Birmingham News, and a 2003 Forbes Magazine featured Smith and ranked Huntsville as one of the

“Best Places” to do business. He was recognized by the Alabama Information Technology Association and awarded its “2004 Lifetime Achievement Award.” Through his many civic, philanthropic, and business involvements Smith has helped establish Huntsville’s modem identity and he continues to be actively involved today. In fact, he was just named “Person of the Decade – 1990 – 2000” in Huntsville, for his “positive thinking and fearlessness.”

Smith is the son of Gerald A. and Verna Smith. He is married to the former Linda Jones of Greenville, Georgia. They have a daughter, Cynthia Smith McKeman of Houston, and a son, Clay, of Dallas, and seven grandchildren. He enjoys fishing and boating, especially aboard the boat, “High Tide II,” which he pilots up the Tennessee River every two years to watch the Alabama-Tennessee game.

Raymond B. Jones

  • October 4th, 2021

Ray Jones’ life’s work has grown straight up from the soil, with roots deep in the land where he was raised.

Raymond B. Jones, Sr. was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 23, 1935, to engineer Carl T. Jones and his wife Betty. Carl had been forced to leave his home in Huntsville, Alabama because of the depression and found work in Tennessee.  In 1939, he moved his family back to Madison County to attempt to revitalize the struggling family engineering business and to farm and raise cattle. He moved his wife, Betty, his son Ray and young daughter Betsy onto a worn-out 2,800-acre farm that he had purchased with his brother Ed as a backup in case their engineering business failed.

It was in 1939 that 4-year-old Ray would first see the farm that he would tend all of his life.  As a young man growing up on the farm, Jones tilled the land and herded cattle from before the sunlight shone on the valley until after it had gone away, and each day it bloomed in him a passion for the earth and its bounty.

Interest in agriculture and cattle-raising saw Jones off to Auburn University to study animal science.  To make money for tuition, he hatched and raised pheasants to sell to restaurants.  After Jones earned his degree and completed his military obligation he returned to Jones Valley in 1957 to manage the farming operations.  Over the next decade, the farm flourished.  The farm tripled the population of cattle and expanded its acreage with the acquisition of two other farms in Jackson and Marshall Counties.

During this time the farming, real estate, and engineering enterprises had come a long way, but Ray had stayed close to his roots.  In one of the most pivotal moments of his life, Jones became president of the family’s engineering firm with the untimely death of his father in 1967.  This necessitated his having to run the farms in three counties as well as the consulting engineering business.  Founded in 1886 by Jones’s grandfather, G. W. Jones & Sons Consulting Engineers still performs engineering design on a multitude of municipal projects.  Roadway, water, wastewater, and airport design, as well as land surveying services, are offered by the firm.  Huntsville’s International Airport was designed by the firm and is named for Ray’s father – Carl T. Jones.  Following the death of his father, Jones continued to run and expand the farming, real estate, and engineering businesses for the next thirty-five years.  Jones continues to be the CEO of G. W. Jones & Sons Consulting Engineers and G. W. Jones and Sons Farms.

In addition to the engineering and farming businesses, Jones has been involved in many other enterprises.  He is president of the North Alabama Mineral Development Company, president and CEO of R. B. Jones and Associates,  president of Valley Bend at Jones Farm shopping center and is involved in other real estate endeavors ranging from apartment complexes to subdivision developments.

Still, though, Jones’ roots and heart tell him he’s first a farmer, second a businessman. Over the years he has served as president of both the Madison County Cattleman’s Association and the Alabama Cattleman’s Association. A Huntsville Times article entitled “Foremost a Farmer,” describes Jones as a farmer – humble, wise, and unpretentious. “He knows about the uncertainty of tilling the land and he has respect and even reverence for the unpredictable whims of nature. Once a man has that knowledge he can never forget his tiny tentative place in the vast natural universe.”

Jones has received many awards for his business and civic leadership as well as his success and influence in the field of agriculture.   He received the “Distinguished Service Award” from the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce in 2002.  He has served on the board of trustees of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee for the last 23 years.  In 1999, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.  He is currently serving as Chairman of the University of Alabama Huntsville Foundation.    Perhaps the most prestigious recognition in agriculture was when he became the first and still the only Alabamian to be awarded the “Sunbelt Farmer of the Year” in 1996.  He was surprised when he won, but no one else was.  The chairman of the award’s judging team said Jones “demonstrated all that is good about American agriculture.  He has built an outstanding beef cattle operation, relying on the heritage of his forbearers, who were pioneers in this area of Alabama.”

Today the legacy of the G. W. Jones & Sons family is being shared by Ray Jones and his wife Libby with their children.  Daughter Lisa and her husband Mark Yokley are both registered engineers.  Mark is the current president of the firm.  Daughter May and her husband Mike Patterson are involved in the firm.  May is a realtor; Mike is a CPA and Chief Financial Officer for the firm.  Son Raymond B. Jones, Jr. and wife Kristy are active in the firm.  Raymond is a realtor and runs the cattle operations.  Kristy is a licensed insurer.  The 121-year-old firm that started with his grandfather continues through Jones and his children.

Jones related this quote in an interview for a newspaper article some years ago.  “We are, all of us, the recipients of the courage, hard work, and vision that has come down to us from our forefathers.  Our duty is to build on that heritage while invoking the blessings of our heavenly Father and always giving thanks to Him for the privilege of living in this great land that we call America.”

James R. Hudson, Jr.

  • October 4th, 2021

Mr. Hudson is founder, president, and chief executive officer of Research Genetics, Inc. He is also the founder of the Hudson-Alpha Institute.

Mr. Hudson grew up in Huntsville and graduated from Huntsville High in 1960.  Prior to beginning his professional career, Hudson served as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1967 to 1970.  During his tour of duty in Vietnam, Hudson flew many missions over North Vietnam.  Hudson’s actions during one of these missions resulted in him being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the highest honor awarded to a military aviator.

He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from The University of Alabama as well as a master’s degree in biology from UAH.

Mr. Hudson’s business acumen was nurtured by his father.  The senior Hudson, together with sons, Jim and Gary, operated Hudson Metals which was an aluminum and gray iron foundry in Huntsville.  Jim helped elevated Hudson Metals to the most productive small foundry in the Southeast before it was sold in 1982.

Having sold Hudson Metal in 1987 and, while earning a master’s degree in biology at UAH, Mr. Hudson founded Research Genetics with an initial investment of $25,000.  While conducting research that required a piece of synthetic DNA, Hudson was appalled when he learned it would take up to four weeks to receive his order.  It took only four hours to produce DNA but his order was in line behind many others that were to be produced by a single machine.  “In that instant, I knew exactly what my business model would be.  I was going to have enough machines that I was going to ship tomorrow everything ordered today.”

Launching from that initial business model, Research Genetics became a biotech business icon.  Through thoughtful balance and key relationships with leading academic researchers, Hudson grew the world’s leader in genetic linkage products.  Research Genetics was a chief partner in the Human Genome Project, the international effort coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, to identify the sequence of the DNA found inside human cells.

Mr. Hudson served as chief executive of Research Genetics until 2000 when he sold the company to Invitrogen in a deal valued at more than $130 million.

“Having the capital (from Research Genetics) opened a lot of doors to help biotech gain a foothold in Huntsville,” he noted.  Mr. Hudson has advised and incubated six successful biotech companies.  He is co-founder and served as the first president of the Biotechnology Association of Alabama.

In addition to his business career, Mr. Hudson has initiated a number of projects to revitalize Huntsville’s downtown area and make it enticing to young professionals.  His vision and passion toward ensuring its vibrancy have resulted in new arts venues, restaurants, and a greatly enhanced after-hours scene.

Today, Mr. Hudson is the founder and president of the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology, a non-profit research institute that emphasizes high-throughput research tools and thrives on collaboration and cooperation of researchers in academia, industry, and government.  This not-for-profit institute uses biotechnology to improve human health, stimulate economic development, and inspire the next generation of scientists.  In a very real sense, the institute continues the work Mr. Hudson started at Research Genetics. The mission at Research Genetics was to find the latest cutting-edge tools that would accelerate research and make the findings of that research available to the rest of the world in an expedient and cost-effective manner.

With a $50 million commitment from the state, Mr. Hudson spear-headed a campaign to raise $80 million in private donations that together will create 900 direct new jobs.  Mr. Hudson’s initiative is positioning Alabama to become a worldwide leader in biotech research and one of the premier places in the nation for these high-paying jobs that can’t be exported overseas.  Governor Bob Riley has predicted that within ten years employment at the Cummings Research Park Biotech Campus (of which Hudson-Alpha Institute is the cornerstone) at close to 1,600 with a combined annual payroll of more than $83 million.

The Hudson-Alpha Institute’s new four-story, 270,000 square-foot facility, which opened in November of 2007, will initially provide accommodation for nine for-profit biotech companies, as well as institute researchers and administration.  The facility contains state-of-the-art laboratories for biotechnology research and development in the areas of genetics and personalized medicine.

Governor Bob Riley described Jim Hudson best at the announcement ceremony for the Hudson-Alpha Institute, when he said, “There’s always a driving force, one person….who has the perseverance to take a vision and turn it into a reality. You’re blessed, ladies and gentlemen, to have a person like that in your midst today.  I want to thank Jim Hudson for never backing down.”

Peter Loftis Lowe

  • September 28th, 2021

Peter Loftis Lowe is president of G.W. Jones and Sons Real Estate Investment Company, Inc. in Huntsville, Ala., and has made his mark in business through a series of entrepreneurial ventures that have stretched across the Southeast.

He was born in Pensacola, Fla., the son of Edgar Leonard and Nadis Loftis Lowe. He graduated from Shades Valley High School in Birmingham and received his bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration from The University of Alabama in 1960. Mr. Lowe has been involved in more than 50 limited liability corporations across the state, ranging from retail stores, shopping centers, aerospace companies, hotels, restaurants, and wine storage facilities. He formerly owned a shopping center in south Alabama and auto supply stores in Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana. He received the Member, Appraisal Institute (MAI) designation of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers in 1969. He is a member of the National Association of Realtors and is also an Accredited Rural Appraiser, and is a member of the Building Owners and Managers Association.

His experience and background are primarily in the area of commercial real estate. He is responsible for the development and management of all real estate operations of his firm and other partnerships and corporations in which he has ownership.

He is currently busy helping develop a Huntsville subdivision called Lendon, a high-end neighborhood with boutique shopping, outdoor cafes, a clubhouse that doubles as a bed and breakfast for out-of-town guests, and narrow streets to encourage walking.

Mr. Lowe was a member of the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama for 17 years. He also served on the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System Board. He currently serves on The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration Board of Visitors, UAB Valley Foundation, and UAH Foundation Board of Directors.

He is a member and past president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, member and past president of Volunteers of America, past board member of the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, past member of the board of directors for the Huntsville Land Trust, and served on the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Advisory Committee.

He is very active in the community, serving on numerous boards and committees. He is active with the Huntsville Museum of Art, where his Elizabeth serves on the board of directors and they recently co-chaired the capital campaign for the museum’s multi-million dollar expansion ” Masterpiece in the Making” which raised $12 million to improve the museum’s existing facilities and provided an endowment for the museum’s long-term financial stability. Mr. Lowe was instrumental 1n the creation and funding for the HudsonAlpa Biotechnical Institute and currently serves on their Foundation Board. He is also a member of the board of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

He and his wife received the 2008 Arthritis Foundation Humanitarian Award given annually to the person or persons in the Huntsville community who displays exemplary community leadership. This past March he was named to the North Alabama Business Hall of Fame sponsored by Junior Achievement. The Lowes are distinguished community advocates and civic volunteers who have given countless hours to numerous community and state-wide organizations and boards.

He and his wife have three children: Peter L. Lowe Jr., an attorney; Carl T. Jones Lowe, a building contractor, and Sara Lowe Ahearn, all of Huntsville. They have five grandchildren (a sixth is due in late September.)

His hobbies include golf, art collecting, sporting events, and travel.

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