COMMUNITY
Mayor Strange Honored
The Alabama Library Association (ALLA) recently announced that Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange won its 2019 Public Servant Award. Building on the mayor’s momentum, the Montgomery City Council and
Montgomery County Commission received ALLA’s Humanitarian Award.
“This award is a testament to our entire community’s commitment to making our library branches beacons of hope, learning and discovery for everyone in our city,” Mayor Strange said. “Thank you to the Montgomery City Council, County Commission, library board and dedicated staff – including Jaunita Owes and Karen Preuss – for supporting our vision to build a brighter future in the Capital of Dreams.”
Montgomery City-County Public Library Director Jaunita Owes nominated Mayor Strange for the award due to his leadership in transforming Montgomery’s downtown library. Last fall, Mayor Strange stood with members of the Montgomery City Council, Montgomery County Commission and private donors in funding a $3-million upgrade to Montgomery’s Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library. Now dubbed Montgomery’s “Library of the Future,” the downtown library tripled its quantity of computers, unveiled a new research room, upgraded furniture and installed new infrastructure – including digital whiteboards and interactive youth activities – among other additions.
Jimmy Hitchcock Award Winners Announced
The YMCA of Greater Montgomery announced that Daniel Levon “Trey” Lindsey III and Isabelle Cochran are recipients of the 2019 Jimmy Hitchcock Award. A total of 39 high school seniors were nominated at an awards banquet held at Frazer United Methodist Church. Glen Coffee was the featured speaker. Coffee is a former University of Alabama running back and played one season in the NFL before returning to work with Alabama football under Coach Nick Saban in 2017.
Daniel Levon “Trey” Lindsey III is a senior at The Montgomery Academy whose primary sports are football and basketball. He also plays baseball. In addition to his rigorous sports schedule, he is taking many AP and honors classes and has a 3.9 GPA. He regularly attends First United Methodist Church. He will attend Auburn University in the fall and will try out as a football walk-on.
Isabelle Cochran is a senior at Montgomery Catholic High School and is a state champion track runner. She is a member at Holy Spirit Church, where she leads Vacation Bible School. She has over $350,000 in scholarship offers and has a 4.34 GPA. She plans to attend Auburn University and major in Mechanical Engineering.
The Jimmy Hitchcock Committee honors young athletes for Christian leadership. Students are nominated by their coaches and administrators for setting a Christian example of moral fitness in their athletic development.
Kelly Suero Receives Troy University’s Ingalls Award
Dr. Kelly Suero, Assistant Professor of Spanish, is the recipient of Troy University’s 2019 Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching. Suero received the award during the university’s annual Honors Convocation held recently in the Claudia Crosby Theater on the Troy Campus.
The Ingalls Award is given annually to the teacher on the Troy Campus who has “most diligently, effectively and cheerfully conducted his or her classes during the current academic year.” Students nominate faculty members for the award, and a committee of students and faculty advisors selects the recipient. The award consists of a statue of Socrates, a plaque and a check for $1,000.
“The Ingalls Award is given annually to the Troy University teacher who has been identified by students to be diligent, effective and cheerful in conducting his/her classes during the academic year,” said Dr. Lance Tatum, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. “This year’s recipient, Dr. Kelly Suero, demonstrates each of these qualities and we are pleased to honor her with this award.”
Three Honored with Sullivan Awards
Troy University has honored two students and a member of the university’s staff with the 2019 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards. Brennan Garriques, a senior social science major from Canton, Georgia; Olivia Walleser, a senior business administration major with a concentration in global business management from Sheboygan, Wisconsin; and Sandra Thomas, lecturer in the Department of Risk Management
and Data Analytics, received the Sullivan Awards during a luncheon in their honor on the Troy Campus. The recipients were also honored during the University’s annual Honors Convocation on April 25.
The Sullivan Award, which is presented at select colleges and universities throughout the United States, recognizes recipients for their excellence of character, humanitarian service and spiritual qualities. The award has been presented annually to a male student, a female student and one non-student at TROY since 1981. Students, faculty and staff nominate candidates for the award.
“We believe this is one of the highest awards given by our university,” said Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor. “We feel it is appropriate that we present the Sullivan Awards at Troy University because one of the planks of our mission is to continue to develop students into leaders with well-defined values. We think these values are more important today than at any time in our history.”
Local Black Law Students Association Is National Chapter of the Year
Faulkner University‘s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law announced their Ernestine S. Sapp Chapter of Black Law Students Association (BLSA) was named as the National BLSA Medium Chapter of the Year.
The BLSA at JSL was established to address the community and political concerns surrounding minority law students. BLSA is committed to the achievement of all law students and has developed a blueprint for law school success through an open academic enrichment program. In addition, members strive to create professional alliances between BLSA, faculty, other student organizations, and members of
the legal communities in Alabama.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Lowder New Homes Recognized
Lowder New Homes has been recognized as a Foundation Builder in the 2018 Annual Builder Achievement Awards Program from 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty (2-10 HBW). This program recognizes builders with a long-standing tradition of providing exceptional customer service and protection to their homebuyers, and is reserved for builders who have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to improving the housing industry. Jimmy Rutland, President of Lowder New Homes, said, “We are honored to receive such a prestigious recognition by 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty, a giant in the home warranty industry. The recognition reflects the confidence in quality construction and materials in our new homes that allows us to offer a 10-year structural warranty through 2-10 HBW as a part of the Lowder Home Warranty on all new sales of Lowder new homes.”
Barry Dean Elected to Alabama Community College Conference Hall of Fame
Barry Dean, current President/Executive Director of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association, was recently elected to the Alabama Community College Conference Hall of Fame for meritorious service.
Dean’s love of the Alabama Community College system of athletics began when he walked on to play baseball at Chattahoochee Valley Community College (CVCC) in the fall of 1983. The pinnacle of his playing career was when Dean was voted all-state tournament designated hitter at the 1986 state tournament.
Dean has coached a total of 17 years: two on the high school level, nine on the community college level, and six on the four-year college level. He began his coaching career at Troy University in 1990 as a graduate assistant, where he earned his master’s degree in health and physical education and his K-12 teacher certification. During the summers of 1994 and 1995, he managed the Hornell Dodgers of the NCAA-Sanctioned Upstate New York Collegiate Summer league.
As Executive Director of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association, Dean has greatly enjoyed his time serving the community college players and coaches by hosting the Community College Fall Classic from 2005-2017.
“Barry has raised the awareness of baseball in Alabama. By being involved with our teams, he is able to get our student-athletes exposure and notoriety. Barry is about the student-athletes, and that clearly shows,” said Dean Myrick, the ACCC Commissioner.
Bradley Attorneys Achieve High Rankings
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announced that 34 attorneys in the firm’s Birmingham office, two attorneys in the firm’s Huntsville office, and eight firm practice areas have been highly ranked in Alabama in the 2019 edition of Chambers USA, the prestigious, independent legal industry referral guide. Across all the firm’s offices, 94 attorneys and 27 practice areas at Bradley have been highly ranked.
Merrill Lynch Advisor Earns CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Designation
Merrill Lynch recently announced that Teresa Bechard of Merrill Lynch’s Montgomery office has earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board), and are allowed to use the CFP® certification mark as an educational credential.
“The CFP® designation is a reflection of Teresa’s deep knowledge of the industry, as well as her dedication to working effectively with clients to help them reach their financial goals,” said David Oberman, managing director. “This recognition is well-deserved and a testament to Teresa’s commitment to bringing personalized wealth management solutions to her clients.”
Victoria Belton Earns Travel Marketing Professional (TMP) Designation
Victoria Belton, Account Executive for Stamp Idea Group, recently graduated from a three-year program through Southeast Tourism Society (STS)’s Marketing College and in the process joined an elite group of only 1,154 tourism professionals in the Southeast. Belton, a graduate of The University of Alabama with a major in marketing and a minor in advertising, is now certified as a Travel Marketing Professional (TMP).
“Attending marketing college has impacted me both professionally and personally,” said Belton. “Professionally, each year I bring back many of the things I learned either in class or through networking with my tourism clients at Stamp. Personally, when I travel now, I make a point to consult the city’s DMO about their hidden gems and can’t-miss experiences. I’ve learned to not only appreciate the services they offer, but their role in shaping the visitor experience.”
The Travel Marketing Professional program focuses on various aspects of tourism marketing, including how to become a DMO (Destination Marketing Organization), how tourism is an economic driver in the community and strategic marketing techniques for the tourism industry. A DMO (or CVB, Convention and Visitors Bureau) is an organization within a city or municipality dedicated to attracting visitors, meetings and conventions to their destination in order to increase the overall economic impact of their city.
Nim Frazer Elected to SIOR Board
Nim Frazer, SIOR, Owner/Manager at Industrial Partners in Montgomery, was recently elected to serve on the The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) Global Board of Directors. Since earning his SIOR designation in 1997, Frazer has served in many leadership roles and is honored to serve on the Global Board of Directors. SIOR is the leading professional commercial and industrial real estate association. With more than 3,200 members in more than 686 cities in 36 countries, SIOR represents today’s most knowledgeable, experienced, and successful commercial real estate brokerage specialists.
AWARDS & HONORS
MAX CIO Scott Lindley Honored
Scott Lindley, CIO of MAX, was selected as a finalist for the Alabama CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards. The ORBIE Awards honor chief information officers who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership.
As a finalist, this recognizes the leadership and guidance that Lindley has displayed during his eight years with MAX. Under his leadership, Lindley has developed a high performance team that is dedicated to providing MAX customers with cutting-edge technology, implementing customer self-service delivery channels that have allowed MAX to become an industry leader in digital banking. Lindley has also helped make Cyber Security top of mind for all associates through awareness training and creating a culture of reinforcement, vigilance, and learning.
His industry leadership includes serving as the Treasurer for the Alabama Chapter of the Credit Union Executives Society (CUES) for five years; EAT South Board of Directors for four years and Class Day Chairman volunteer for Leadership Montgomery. Outside of MAX, Scott is actively involved in community events and encourages his team members to participate and serve the community.
Nine Bradley Attorneys Named to Who’s Who Legal
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announce that nine of the firm’s partners have been named by Who’s Who Legal as among the world’s leading product liability defense practitioners. The Bradley attorneys listed in the Who’s Who Legal: Product Liability Defence 2019 are Lindsey C. Boney IV, W. Wayne Drinkwater, James W. Gewin, William F. Goodman III, Tripp Haston, Lela Hollabaugh, Kim Bessiere Martin, Charles A. “Chuck” Stewart and R. Thomas Warburton.
“We congratulate our outstanding product liability defense attorneys who have been singled out by Who’s Who Legal as among the top practitioners in the world,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters. “We are very proud of our successes in this important practice area for our clients.
Monica Stephens Wins Vergil Parks McKinley Award
Monica Stephens, information technology assistant in the Sorrell College of Business, has won Troy University’s Vergil Parks McKinley Award. Stephens, who has been a member of the TROY staff since 2002, received the award from Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor, during a ceremony at the Troy Campus. She was nominated by Sven Aelterman, IT director for Sorrell College.
The McKinley Award is the highest honor that Troy University gives to a non-faculty staff member. It is presented quarterly to an employee who has demonstrated outstanding attitude, innovation and work ethic. The award was established by the late John McKinley, former Texaco CEO, in honor of his father, Vergil Parks McKinley, who was a Troy University professor during the early 20th century and was key to the development of the University’s athletic program. Winners of this award receive an engraved clock and a $1,000 stipend.
Bradley Wins Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Year Honor
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announced that it has received the 2018 Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Year ($50 - $100 million) Award from M&A Advisor for the firm’s role in the Chapter 11 case of Vanguard Healthcare and its 17 subsidiaries.
Bradley was the debtor’s counsel in the case, which was among the winners of M&A Advisor’s 13th Annual Turnaround Awards. Bradley partners William L. Norton III and James Blake Bailey served as lead bankruptcy attorneys, firm partner Michael D. Brent served as lead corporate counsel, and Bradley partner Ty E. Howard served as lead litigation counsel in the case.
JMR+H Architecture Partner Awarded
Kevin Baughn, a partner at JMR+H Architecture, PC, was awarded the 2018 Alice Reynolds Public Servant Award for his volunteer work over the course of the past year. Baughn has provided design and technical consultation for several facility improvement projects for the Family Sunshine Center and Exodus Community.
SS&L Honored by AIA
Seay, Seay and Litchfield Architects was honored by the Alabama Council of the American Institute of Architects this past February for the Kress on Dexter building renovation. Wes Osmer, principal of the firm, and Davis Campbell, project manager, accepted an Honorable Mention for the project at the 2019 AIA Excellence in Design awards gala.
All efforts were made to preserve the original historic context of the façade, as well as the delicately ornate interior plaster detailing. A new second-floor retail mezzanine inserted into the double-height main hall and two-story residential addition seek to further activate
the property as well as maximize the project’s economic feasibility. Adjacent properties on each end of the building were incorporated into the footprint, permitting egress paths that avoid disturbing the fabric of the original Kress.
