COMMUNITY
River Region Retailers Recognized
The Alabama Retail Association recognized 17 retail businesses with operations in 23 Alabama cities as Alabama Retailers of the Year or Centennial Retailers. Together, these businesses employ 791 people at 51 locations in Alabama. More than 70 nominations were submitted for the 2019 Retailer of the Year awards. The presentations were made in Birmingham during the 2019 Retail Day luncheon last fall, and several Montgomery retailers were honored, including Capitol’s Rosemont Gardens, awarded as an Alabama Centennial Retailer. Mike and Lee Vinson, co-owners of Adams Drugs, were presented with a Gold Award.
Governor Recognizes TROY University
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey recently praised TROY University for its leadership role in international education. Ivey’s commendation recognized the University’s international efforts, including the nearly 800 international students who study on the TROY Campus, the University’s international teaching sites and partnerships, study abroad opportunities, the Confucius Institute and campus organizations such as the International Student Cultural Organization.
“I commend TROY University for bringing people from all nations and cultures together to forge mutual understanding and appreciation,” Ivey said in the commendation. “TROY University, as Alabama’s International University, is to be commended for assuming a major leadership role in international education.”
ACHIEVEMENTS
Gilpin Givhan Named a 2020 “Best Law Firm”
Gilpin Givhan received top rankings in the U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® 2020 “Best Law Firms” list, and three attorneys have been included in the 2020 Best Lawyers in America list. The annual publication named Gilpin Givhan as a Metropolitan Tier 1 firm, the highest ranking a law firm can receive, in the practice area of Health Care Law. The firm received a Metropolitan Tier 2 ranking in the practice areas of Litigation-Tax and Tax Law. Three Gilpin Givhan attorneys representing four areas of law were named by their peers to the Best Lawyers in America 2020 list. Robert E. L. Gilpin: Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Tax Law; Robert M. Ritchey: Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law; and John Ward Weiss: Health Care Law.
Alabama Power Recognized for Commitment to Skilled Trades
Alabama Power will be the focus of a national campaign promoting Apprenticeship Readiness Programs (ARPs). North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) recently announced it has selected Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite as spokesperson for its upcoming national public relations campaign to promote workforce development through ARPs in local communities.
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Alabama Power to change more lives in the state of Alabama. We know the power of investing in local workers, and we appreciate Alabama Power’s commitment to do this with us,” said Sean McGarvey, NABTU President.
Sponsored by NABTU, ARPs give students hands-on training and educational services that introduce union crafts and the construction industry before they select a specific career trade. More than 150 of these programs nationwide develop plumbers, electricians, ironworkers and other skilled professionals, supporting economic growth and providing contract workers for companies including Alabama Power.
“I’m honored to join forces with NABTU leadership and the millions of skilled tradespeople,” Crosswhite said. “Investing in our local communities through educational resources like the Apprenticeship Readiness Program helps develop the highly skilled workforce we need.”
Felicia A. Long Selected Among America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators
Hill Hill Carter shareholder Felicia A. Long was selected to America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators for 2019. Selection to America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators is by invitation only and is reserved to identify most exceptional Civil Defense Litigators throughout the nation. Long’s practice focuses on the defense of complex civil litigation matters, with particular concentration in insurance defense.
2020 Benchmark Litigation Recognizes 52 Bradley Attorneys
Fifty-two Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP partners are listed in the 2020 edition of Benchmark Litigation as “Local Litigation Stars” or “Future Stars,” including four attorneys who are listed as “National Practice Area Stars.” In addition, Bradley is ranked nationally for Product Liability and is “highly recommended” as a litigation firm in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and “recommended” in North Carolina. Charles Stewart in the firm’s Montgomery office was named a “Local Litigation Star.”
Welch Hornsby Honored
Welch Hornsby has been named to the 2019 CNBC FA 100 List, which recognizes the country’s top financial advisory firms as leaders and innovators in the industry. The firm was ranked No. 45 on the list and credits the recognition with its team’s dedication.
Beasley Allen Selected to Elite Trial Lawyer List
The National Law Journal has recognized Beasley Allen as an Elite Trial Lawyer award winner for its work representing Travaris D. Smith against Ford Motor Company. The award recognizes lawyers and law firms that have demonstrated repeated success in cutting-edge work on behalf of plaintiffs from January 2018 through April 2019. The winners were selected from more than 300 submissions across more than 20 categories. Additionally, four other Beasley Allen trial teams were recognized as finalists.
TROY Ranked a Top 20 “Best For Vets” School
TROY University has been ranked in the top 20 universities in the country as being “Best for Vets” by the Military Times news organization and is the only university in Alabama to be named to the list that includes 134 four-year universities or colleges.
In their 10th year, the rankings are based on the results of Military Times’ annual survey – the most comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military student services and rates of academic achievement – as well as a detailed review of public data collected by federal agencies. About 500 colleges took part in this year’s survey.
Bradley’s Montgomery Attorneys Named Super Lawyers or Rising Stars
Three Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP attorneys in the firm’s Montgomery office have been named 2019 Mid-South Super Lawyers or Rising Stars. Partner Charles Stewart (Business Litigation) was named a Super Lawyer. Partner Rudy Hill (IP Litigation) and associate Sarah Sutton Osborne (Civil Litigation: Defense) were named Rising Stars. Across all the firm’s offices in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, 151 Bradley attorneys were named Mid-South Super Lawyers or Rising Stars.
Sasser, Sefton & Brown, P.C. Lawyers Named Super Lawyers or Rising Stars
Three Sasser, Sefton & Brown, P.C. attorneys have honored by Thomson Reuters as Mid-South Super Lawyers or Rising Stars: Bowdy J. Brown, Creditor/Debtor Rights; Patrick L. W. Sefton, Banking Law; and William R. Cunningham, Rising Stars, Real Estate.
Only the top 5 percent of lawyers in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee are named Mid-South Super Lawyers. No more than 2.5 percent of lawyers in these states are selected as Rising Stars, who must be 40 years old or younger or have been in practice for 10 or fewer years.
Beasley Allen Attorneys Receive Super Lawyers & Rising Stars Recognition
Twenty-four Beasley Allen lawyers received recognition by Super Lawyers rating service for 2019 for the Mid-South Region. Sixteen lawyers were named to the 2019 Super Lawyers list including the firm’s Principal and Founder, Jere L. Beasley, as well as Principals J. Greg Allen, Michael J. Crow, J. Cole Portis, Daniel W. “Dee” Miles III, Andy D. Birchfield Jr., Rhon E. Jones, Benjamin E. Baker Jr., David B. Byrne III, Kendall C. Dunson, R. Graham Esdale, Benjamin L. Locklar, Ted G. Meadows, P. Leigh O’Dell, W. Roger Smith III and Frank Woodson.
In addition, eight Beasley Allen attorneys were included on the Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list, which recognizes the top up-and-coming attorneys. Beasley Allen’s Rising Stars are Alison Douillard Hawthorne, Jon Ryan Kral, Stephanie S. Monplaisir, Leslie Pescia, Jennifer Day Fulk and Tiffany Roberts Birley, and for the first time, Ryan Beattie and Warner Hornsby.
Bradley’s Montgomery Practice Areas Receive Top Rankings The 2020 edition of the U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” has awarded nine Tier 1 metropolitan rankings for Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s practice areas in Montgomery. In addition, Bradley was named the nation’s “Law Firm of the Year” for Construction Law, and the firm was ranked in Tier 1 nationally for its Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation - Construction and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Action - Defendants practices. In total, Bradley earned Tier 1 metropolitan rankings across 70 practice areas and in all 10 of its offices.
The firm received Tier 1 metropolitan rankings for Montgomery in the following practice areas: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law – Management, Litigation – Insurance, Litigation - Labor & Employment, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, Public Finance Law and Tax Law.
AWARDS & HONORS
TROY University Chancellor Receives Global Leadership Award
Global Ties Alabama recognized TROY University Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins Jr. for his continued commitment to internationalization. Dr. Hawkins was one of two recipients of the organization’s Global Leadership Award, sharing the spotlight with his longtime friend former Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange. Jacquelyn Shipe, Global Ties Alabama’s Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Drew Reynolds, chair of the group’s Board of Directors, presented the award during the organization’s annual meeting and diplomacy luncheon at the Capital City Club in Montgomery.
“We are so thankful Dr. Hawkins is the Chancellor of TROY University,” Shipe said. “He has been a catalyst for the evolution of TROY as an international institution. When you think of TROY, you think of the diversity and large number of students they have from so many different nations, and that is admirable.”
Dr. Hawkins said the award was further recognition of the work TROY University is doing as Alabama’s International University. “The award presented today is not an award for Jack Hawkins; it is an award for TROY University and what we have become as Alabama’s International University. It is another endorsement that people are recognizing that TROY is an international institution, and we are growing in our role in the global village,” he said.
Horace Horn Honored with 2019 Power of Service Award
Yellowhammer Multimedia gave the 2019 Power of Service Award to Horace Horn of PowerSouth Energy Cooperative at its annual Power of Service event in October. Horn currently serves as Vice President For External Affairs at PowerSouth. Yellowhammer is honoring Horn in recognition of his years of exemplary service to the state of Alabama.
“Horace Horn has an incredible record of economic development success stories, and he has been a champion for rural Alabama throughout his entire career,” said Tim Howe, Owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia. “We are thrilled at the opportunity to recognize Horace for the work he has done to improve our communities across the state.” This is the fifth year that Yellowhammer has presented the Power of Service Award.
Four Star Freightliner Employees Honored
Two sales managers at Four Star Freightliner, Inc. have been named “Elite Trip Winners” in the Freightliner Leland James Sales Program. This is his seventh consecutive win for Truman Ingram, Four Star Freightliner Utility & Municipal Account Manager. And for the first time, Sales Manager Jay Morrison was also named an “Elite Trip Winner.”
The Leland James Sales Achievement Program, named after the founder of Freightliner, recognizes the best sales representatives and managers in the Freightliner Dealer Network. The awards are based on the number of units sold. Morrison and Ingram are two of only 32 Elite “Trip” Winners in North America who were recognized for their sales excellence, customer service and industry leadership. Morrison, who works primarily out of the Dothan location, is Four Star Freightliner's Western Star Brand Manager. He also sells new and used trucks. Ingram has been with Four Star Freightliner for more than 10 years and works from the Montgomery location.
