Alabama Business Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Selected

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Five distinguished business leaders have been selected for induction into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame Oct. 13 at the Bryant Conference Center at The University of Alabama.

The five will be the 38th class of inductees.

Founded in 1973 by the Board of Visitors of The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, the Alabama Business Hall of Fame honors the names and accomplishments of some of the state’s most distinguished business leaders. More than 120 men and women have been honored.

To be eligible for selection, a person must have made a significant impact on the development of the state by promoting the free enterprise system and entrepreneurship; by demonstrating civic leadership, and by their philanthropy and humanitarianism toward their fellow citizens.

He or she must have been retired for three years or more or be at least 65 years of age or older. A continuing list of nominees is maintained, and each year new names are added for consideration. Nominations from anyone are welcomed.

The 2011 inductees are Elbert Allen “Larry” Drummond, 67, of Jasper, vice chairman and chairman of the executive management committee for the Drummond Co.; Ted M. Henry, 71, of Selma, chairman and chief executive officer of Henry Brick Co.; John J. McMahon Jr., 68, of Birmingham, chairman of Ligon Industries, LLC; Drayton Nabers Jr., 70, of Birmingham, former chief justice, Alabama Supreme Court, and chief executive officer of Protective Life Corp.; and Edward Lee Spencer Jr., 78, of Auburn, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of AuburnBank. Brief profiles of the new inductees follow:

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Elbert Allen “Larry” Drummond, 67, of Jasper, vice chairman and chairman of the executive management committee for the Drummond Co.

The Drummond Co. began in 1935, with the vision of H.E. Drummond, an entrepreneur who made the decision to enter the coal business in his native Sipsey, Ala.

Upon H.E. Drummond’s death in 1956, the business was carried on by his sons, who built upon their father’s vision for the company. By the early 1970s, Drummond entered the export coal market and quickly became an industry leader, with foreign sales offices opening shortly thereafter.

A decade later, Drummond Co. Inc. undertook a sizable capital expansion program to establish itself as the largest surface mining company in Alabama.This was quickly followed by the acquisition of Alabama By-Products Corp. Simultaneously, Drummond’s land-management activities led the company, through joint ventures, into real-estate development in Florida, California and Alabama.

Recognizing that there were significant opportunities in the low-cost, low-sulfur coal markets in Colombia, a decision was made in the late 1980s to expand offshore and secured extensive mining rights there. Larry Drummond has been instrumental in advancing all of these initiatives.

He is a member of the Alabama Academy of Honor, the President’s Cabinet at The University of Alabama, the Board of Visitors of the Culverhouse College of Commerce at The University of Alabama, the Boy Scouts of America and the United Way of Central Alabama’s La Societe Nationale.

He is a director of the Walker Area Community Foundation, the Alabama Conservation and National Resources Foundation and the American Family Business Institute.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in commerce and business administration from UA as well as a master’s in accounting, and a JD from the UA School of Law.

Ted M. Henry, 71, of Selma, chairman and chief executive officer of Henry Brick Co.

J.D. Henry founded the Henry Brick Co. in 1945. For more than 65 years, family-owned Henry Brick has defined the brick-maker’s art.

During Henry’s career, Henry Brick Co. moved from manufacturing 26 million brick in 1961, the year he officially began work, to its peak year of production in 2006 when the company made 116 million brick.

He also is past chairman of the board of Peoples BancTrust Co. Inc. of Selma, where he served as a director for 40 years.

He served for three years as chairman of the Brick Institute of America, the national organization for brick manufacturers. He also has served two terms as a director of the National Association of Manufacturers, where he also served as the state’s small-manufacturer representative.

His civic affiliations include serving as chairman of the board of the Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce, the Sturdivant Museum Association and the Selma-Dallas County Historical Society.

He is on the boards of Leadership Alabama and the Business Council of Alabama, serving also as a member of its executive committee, as well as a district chairman.

Henry is a member of the World Presidents’ Organizations and served the Alabama Historical Commission as chairman for a term during his 13-year membership in that organization. He served for eight years as a trustee of Rhodes College. He serves on the President’s Council at The University of Alabama and as an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Selma.

Henry and his family, through Henry Brick Co., established the Rose Garden Pavilion on the grounds of the historic Sturdivant Hall antebellum home in Selma. This re-established the historical nature of the Civil War era property of the home.

John J. McMahon Jr., 68, of Birmingham, chairman of Ligon Industries, LLC.

McMahon earned an undergraduate degree from Birmingham-Southern College in 1965 and a law degree from The University of Alabama School of Law in 1968.

McMahon has been involved in direct equity investing for more than 35 years.  His career includes participation in more than three dozen acquisitions of publicly- and privately-held companies.

McMahon is chairman of Ligon Industries, LLC, and he is a director of Cooper/T. Smith Corporation, National Bank of Commerce, Protective Life Corporation, ProAssurance Corp., and the UAB Health System.

He is a member of the Board of Trustees of 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 also a member of the Birmingham-Southern College Board of Trustees.

Drayton Nabers Jr., 70, of Birmingham, former chief justice, Alabama Supreme Court, and chief executive officer of Protective Life Corp.

Nabers, a 1962 graduate of Princeton University and a 1965 graduate of Yale School of Law, is a shareholder in the law firm of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, PC. He served as chief justice, Alabama Supreme Court, from June 2005 until January 2007.

He is a director of Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. and ProAssurance Corp., and he served as state finance director from 2003 until 2004.

His service with Protective Life includes chief executive officer, 1992-2001; president and chief operating officer, 1982-1992; and president of Protective Life Insurance Co. from 1982-1996, and chairman, 1996-2001.

He was with the law firm of Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas, and O’Neal, as an associate, 1967-1971, and as partner, 1971-78, and clerked with Justice Hugo Black, United States Supreme Court, 1965-66.

His civic affiliations include the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, membership in the Alabama Academy of Honor and the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame, chairman of Leadership Birmingham from 1992 until 2002 and chairman of United Way of Central Alabama in 1996 and 1991.

Edward Lee Spencer Jr., 78, of Auburn,  former chairman, president and chief executive officer of AuburnBank

Spencer graduated from Auburn University’s Alabama Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1952, and he received a Fulbright Scholarship and studied in England for a year.

Spencer worked at Spencer Lumber Co. when he returned home from studying in England.

In addition to the lumber business, he expanded his interest in construction and established Lee Electrical Supply, Spencer Heating and Air and Auburn Millowork, and he began developing real estate.

In 1975, Spencer joined AuburnBank’s board of directors. In 1985, he was named chairman of the board, and five years later, he became the bank’s president and chief operating officer. He expanded the bank with branches in Opelika, Phenix City, Hurtsboro and Notasulga and mortgage offices in Valley, Phenix City and Mountain Brook.

Spencer moved the bank from $25 million in total assets to more than $668 million at the end of 2007.

The year after he presided over AuburnBank, U.S. Banker magazine named AuburnBank among the nation’s top 200 community banks, the only bank in Alabama to receive this recognition for outstanding financial performance.

Spencer was chairman of East Alabama Medical Center and served on the East Alabama Health Care authority for a number of years.

He also served on the Auburn Industrial Development Board and is a past president of the Auburn Chamber of Commerce.

He served four years as a regular officer in the U.S. Air Force.

For more information and a list of inductees, go to http://www.cba.ua.edu/alumni/hof