Alabama Business Hall of Fame at UA to Induct Four

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Four of the state’s leading business and civic leaders will be inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame Thursday, Oct.14 at the Bryant Conference Center on The University of Alabama campus.

This year marks the 37th anniversary of the Hall of Fame, sponsored by the board of visitors of UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration.

The four inductees exemplify hard work and determination as well as a commitment to excellence and the entrepreneurial spirit. More than 120 prominent business leaders have been inducted into the business hall of fame, and their likenesses are embossed on plaques that line the walls of the Hall of Fame Room in Bidgood Hall on the University campus. (http://v2.cba.ua.edu/giving/hall_of_fame/)

Hall of Fame inductees for 2010 are:

• The late David Richardson Dunlap of Mobile, co-founder, president, CEO and chairman of Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co.
• Fred Hahn Jr. of Tuscaloosa, chairman, Industrial Warehouse Services
• D. Paul Jones Jr. of Birmingham, chairman and CEO, Compass Bancshares
• Sidney L. McDonald of Union Grove, founder, DeltaCom Long Distance Services

James McManus, chairman and CEO of Energen Corp. and chairman of the Culverhouse College of Commerce board of visitors, said this year’s inductees are representative of the diversity and entrepreneurial spirit that mark the state’s business community.

“These are unique individuals,” McManus said, “and each displayed confidence in their ability to succeed, and each had a vision and a strong sense of civic responsibility. The state and the nation are better because of their contributions.”

DAVID R. RICHARDSON “D.R” DUNLAP –  D.R. Dunlap’s contribution to business in Alabama spanned two world wars, a depression and changing times. His many accomplishments include the construction of 700 new ships and the repair or conversion of 24,000 vessels during his time with Alabama Dry Docks and Shipbuilding Co.

He began his career as a cashier and an original stockholder of the Merchants National Bank (now Regions Financial Corp.). He served as a director for many years. Later, Dunlap was secretary and treasurer of Alabama Iron Works. He then served as its president and general manager.

In 1916, Dunlap joined his cousin, George H. Dunlap, and combined the holdings of Alabama Iron Works and Mobile Marine Ways to purchase Ollinger and Bruce Dry Dock Co., which, in1917, became Alabama Dry Docks and Shipbuilding Co.

Dunlap, who died in 1968,  served as the first president and director of the company and served for two decades as chairman of the corporation, which was purchased by Atlantic Marine seven decades later.

Dunlap’s other directorships include the Merchants National Bank, Waterman Steamship Corp., Mobile Towing and Wrecking Co., and Alabama Power Co.

PHILIP FREDERICK “FRED” HAHN SR.– Fred Hahn, 80, has created, expanded and sold multiple companies throughout the Southeast, and he credits his success to the efforts of his family.

Hahn attended Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss., and he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration in 1952. He spent his first 10 years out of college working in sales and public relations with the Illinois Central Railroad. Hahn then moved to Tuscaloosa in 1963 and started a small trucking company named Service Express Inc.

In 1968, Hahn formed Tuscaloosa Warehouse Inc., and in the early 70s, he formed Indec, a waste handling company which was sold to Waste Management Inc., in 1979.

After selling Indec, Hahn teamed up with his sons, Philip and Gregory, to start Seapac Inc., in Mobile. Seapac packages, stores and distributes overseas chemical shipments. Philip Hahn developed and manages the packaging plants, and Gregg Hahn developed and manages the paper converting plants. Throughout the 1990s, Seapac opened divisions throughout the Southeast. By 2007, they sold all of the Seapac divisions except in Mobile.

With his sons operating and expanding Seapac, Hahn has focused his efforts on Tuscaloosa Warehouse and IWS Trucking Co.

Hahn has been involved in many community activities during his time in Tuscaloosa. He is a deacon at First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa and helps with many of the projects there. In addition to his work with the church, Hahn is on the board of trustees at Mississippi College, a member of the DCH Foundation Board, and the Hospice of West Alabama Board.

D. PAUL JONES JR.–Jones is a graduate of The University of Alabama, and he has been instrumental in the growth of Compass Bancshares Inc.

In 1967, Jones joined the predecessor to the Balch and Binghamlaw firm and practiced there for 10 years. While with Balch and Bingham, he served as the principle legal counsel to Compass Bancshares Inc. for a number of years. He joined Compass in 1978 as its senior vice president, general counsel and a member of its board of directors.

In 1991, Jones became chairman and chief executive officer of Compass Bancshares Inc., the bank holding company. At that time, only 10 percent of its $4.96 billion in assets were outside Alabama.  When Jones retired in March of 2008, the bank had grown to $47 billion in assets, had 622 offices in seven states, employed more than 12,000 employees, and ranked as the 26^th largest bank in the United States based on deposits. When Compass was purchased by the Spanish bank BBVA in September 2007, approximately two-thirds of its assets were outside Alabama.

Jones, 68,  also served as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta from 1993 to 2000, after being appointed by the board to fill an unexpired term. He was subsequently elected by banks in the sixth district to two additional three-year terms. During his tenure, he served variously as chair of the personnel committee and as a member of the audit committee.

In addition to his professional contributions, Jones has been an active supporter of education, particularlyThe University of Alabama System, where he has served as a member of the President’s Council at both the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa campuses. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. Two endowed chairs, established jointlyby Jones and his late wife, together with resources from Compass, have been funded at the business school and the law school.

SIDNEY MCDONALD – Sidney McDonald, 72, brought citizens of Alabama and the Southeast the latest technologies in telecommunications.

McDonald graduated from the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration at The University of Alabama in 1961, and he assumed the presidency of Brindlee Mountain Telephone Co.  BTMC was a family-owned rural telephone company and was the first rural telephone company in the country to offer its customers an alternative to AT&T’s long-distance service.  BMTC was sold to CEA Capital Associates of New York in July 2000.

McDonald created Deltacom with Huntsville businessman Olin King, which offered an alternative to AT&T throughout the Southeast. Deltacom is the largest Alabama-owned telecommunication company operating in Alabama and northwest Florida.

The company implemented ground-breaking technologies that allowed Deltacom to enter into markets far ahead of its competitors. It was acquired by ITC in the late 1990s and subsequently taken public by the acquirer.

Shortly after, McDonald was asked to join the board of directors of Intergraph Corp. McDonald, with two other outside board members, forced the resignation of the founder and several other top level managers after Intergraph’s stock had dropped below $5 per share. He became chairman of the board and led the search for a new CEO. After several years as its chairman and under the new CEO, the company was sold for approximately $40 per share.

McDonald was co-owner of a Huntsville-based group that purchased Pentastar Corp. from Chrysler in 1995, which designed and built complex testing systems for the U.S. Department of Defense. After the purchase and re-negotiation of the union contract, the company became profitable and was sold 18 months later.

McDonald was also co-owner of a group that purchased a controlling interest in a small defense contractor in Huntsville. The company’s revenue increased dramatically and was sold in 2008 to AAR, a publicly-traded company providing products and services to aviation and defense industries.

Editors note: sketches of the inductees can be can be downloaded at
http://bit.ly/cx1s6Y