Alabama Business Hall of Fame to Induct Five New Members

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Five of the state’s leading business and civic leaders will be inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame on Thursday, Oct. 6 at the Bryant Conference Center on The University of Alabama campus.

This year marks the 32nd anniversary of the Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Board of Visitors of UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. The five inductees exemplify hard work and determination as well as a commitment to excellence and the entrepreneurial spirit. More than 110 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/)

The black-tie event will feature dinner and a keynote address by a person of national prominence, followed by the induction ceremony. Last year’s speaker was Don Logan, chairman of Time Warner’s Media and Communication Group. Other past speakers include author and lecturer William F. Buckley, U.S. Sen. John Tower, U.S. Sen. John Glenn, Senator and former Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole, former Vice President Dan Quayle, John Sununu, chief of staff for former president George Bush, Leo Mullin, former chairman and CEO of Delta Air Lines, and Samuel DiPiazza Jr., global chief executive officer for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Hall of Fame inductees for 2005 are:

• Col. William Tandy Barrett of Tuscaloosa (deceased), military hero and one of the founders of Northington Laundry;
• James Stanley Mackin of Birmingham, retired chief executive officer of Regions Financial Corp.;
• Charles Caldwell Marks of Birmingham, co-founder of Motion Industries and instrumental in the founding of BE&K, a Birmingham-based, top construction company;
• Mark C. Smith of Huntsville, co-founder of ADTRAN and Universal Data Systems (UDS);
• John Alexander Williamson (deceased) of Birmingham, founder and chairman of Key-Royal Automotive, CARS Inc., an early pioneer in the integration of computers and technology in the automotive business, and several other businesses.

John Cooper, 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,” Cooper 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.”

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Biographical information on the inductees:

Col. William Tandy Barrett was born in Russellville, Ala., in 1901 and moved to Tuscaloosa in 1915. During his high school years he was an all around athlete and as a senior, he was captain of the football team. He graduated from Tuscaloosa High School in 1919 and entered The University of Alabama to study business management. Colonel Barrett enlisted in the Alabama National Guard in 1923 at the age of 23. He received his commission in 1924 while training as a cadet in The University of Alabama ROTC program and advanced to the grade of captain by 1929, when he assumed command of Company D. He commanded the company for over 11 years, including its call to active duty in 1940. He was then assigned to the staff of the 3rd Battalion, 167th Infantry, in 1941; was selected as part of the cadre for the formation of the 84th Infantry Division in 1942; and then became commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 333rd Infantry Regiment. He was involved in the unit’s training and led it into action in Normandy and into the German heartland, where his battalion engaged the enemy from October 1944 to January 1945 including the Battle of the Bulge. Upon his return to Tuscaloosa, he rejoined the Alabama National Guard as executive officer of the 16th Infantry regiment. In 1950 he was promoted to colonel and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve where he was assigned to the command and general staff college program from which he retired in 1960. In 1965, Colonel Barrett was presented the Gold Medal of Merit by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In 1983, Colonel Barrett was presented the Alabama Distinguished Service Medal, the highest honor the State Military Department awards.

Before World War II, Barrett worked for Perry Creamery. In 1946, upon his return to Tuscaloosa, he and his good friend Ernest “Rainy” Collins converted the Northington General Hospital laundry into a commercial operation.

The business grew into West Alabama’s largest laundry with eight outlets in Tuscaloosa and Northport. He was dedicated to his profession and served as a board member of the American Institute of Laundering, president of the Alabama Institute of Laundry and Dry Cleaning and vice president of the Southern Laundry Association. He was a director of the Tuscaloosa Chamber of Commerce and president for two terms. He received the rare honor of being named the chamber’s Member of the Year for two consecutive years, 1977 and 1978. Colonel Barrett was chairman of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority from 1974 to 1978 and also served as president of the Industrial Development Board of the city of Tuscaloosa. He was a member of the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority Board. He was past president of the Tuscaloosa Exchange Club, director emeritus of City National Bank of Tuscaloosa, and director of Central Bank of Tuscaloosa. He was a Mason, a Shriner and a member of First Presbyterian Church. Barrett also served on the boards of various clubs and philanthropic organizations.

In addition to his civic activities, Colonel Barrett was an avid sportsman and served as secretary/treasurer of the Dollarhide Hunting and Fishing Club for 40 years. Col. Barrett, who was married to the former Mattie Winn Nicholson of Centreville, passed away in 1992 at age 91.

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James Stanley Mackin, retired chief executive officer of Regions Financial Corp., was born to Louis and Aileen Tanner Mackin on July 30, 1932 in Birmingham, Ala., and grew up on the city’s Southside. He graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management and also graduated from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and the Commercial Lending School at the University of Oklahoma.

After his graduation from Auburn in 1954, Mackin served in the United States Navy on active duty from 1954-1958, before he returned to Birmingham to enter the construction and real estate business. He served in the Naval Reserve from 1950 until 1961 and retired as a commander in the United States Naval Reserve.

In 1966, Mackin took a job in the Commercial Loan Department with Birmingham’s Exchange Security Bank.

By 1971 he was serving as the head of his division in what had become First Alabama Bank.

He served in numerous and varying roles within the company. He served as a vice president, senior vice president, executive vice president, senior executive vice president and continued to head the Commercial Loan Division until 1983.

In 1983 he was elected president and chief executive officer of Regions Bank/Birmingham. He was elected chairman and CEO of the bank as well as Central Region President of Regions Financial Corp. in 1986. He held that office until January of 1990.

At that point, Mackin was named president and chief operating officer of the corporation. He received yet another promotion in August of the same year when he was elected chairman and chief executive officer of Regions Financial Corp. Mackin’s leadership and vision led Regions’ growth not only in assets, but also made the company a major presence in the South.

In 1998 Mackin stepped down as CEO, but remained chairman of the board, and he served in that capacity until his retirement in May 2001.

Mackin is a 1998 inductee into the Alabama Academy of Honor, created by the state legislature in 1965 to honor living distinguished citizens of the state. That same year, he was honored as a “Builder of Birmingham” by Re-Entry Ministries.

Aside from his heavy involvement in the banking world, Mackin has also invested heavily in his community through civic involvement. He has served as a board member for the SETON Health Corp., Alabama Public Television Foundation, Birmingham Operaworks, and the John Carroll Foundation. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, Operation New Birmingham and Leadership Birmingham Class of 1984, as well as Auburn University’s Business School Board.

Mackin has served as the president of the Better Business Bureau for North Central Alabama as well as on the board of directors for both the Boys’ Club and the Jefferson County Boy Scouts.

During his tenure he was involved in numerous professional organizations as a member of the American Bankers Association, the Alabama Bankers Association, the American Institute of Banking, International Financial Bankers, the Association of Bank Holding Cos. and the Reserve City Bankers. He also was on the Bankers Roundtable Board and a member of Robert Morris Associates. He is a 1991 recipient of the Auburn College of Business’ “Distinguished Alumnus of the Year” award, the highest alumnus honor given by the college.

In 1996, the J. Stanley Mackin Eminent Scholar Chair in the College of Business was established in his name by the board of directors of Regions Bank.

He is married to the former Mary Jo Williams and the couple has three children, James S. Mackin Jr., Leah McKinney and Brian W. Mackin, as well as nine grandchildren.

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Charles Caldwell Marks was born in Birmingham to Charles Pollard Marks and Isabel Caldwell on June 1, 1921.

He attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1942 with a bachelor’s degree in physics. He was also a member of Blue Key. After leaving Sewanee, Marks went to graduate studies at Cornell University, Harvard University and The University of Alabama.

After graduation, he joined U.S. Steel, but cut that short to join the Navy as World War II heated up. He enlisted as an officer candidate, then became a midshipman and served as a lieutenant aboard ship in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, part of it spent in escort duty protecting civilian freighters. In 1945, Marks married his first wife, Jeanne Vigeant.

After World War II, on April 1, 1946, Marks and his friend Bill Spencer bought the Owen Richards Co., a small mill supply firm in Birmingham. They sold most of the firm’s inventory of other products and decided to focus on ball and roller bearings, gears and mechanical power transmissions.

Marks and Spencer changed the name to Motion Industries and took the company public in 1972. He served as president of Motion Industries until his retirement in 1983. In 2004, Motion Industries had sales exceeding $2.5 billion.

Marks’ next major project was helping in the formation of BE&K, a Birmingham-based, top construction company, specializing in high technology engineering, construction, environmental and maintenance services for the process industries. It was a natural fit because Motion Industries and BE & K had many of the same clients.

While he has been very successful in the business world, Marks has also been very involved in civic life. He has served on many boards and in numerous leadership positions, including co-chairman of the United Way and on the board of directors of the Birmingham Museum of Art and president of Children’s Hospital.

He was the managing director of the Alabama Education Study Commission, a founding director of the Executive Service Corp. of Alabama, and has also served on the board of governors of the Indian Springs School, Highlands Day School and Brooke Hill School.

The 1987 recipient of a distinguished alumnus award, Marks has also been a trustee and chair of the board of regents at his alma mater, the University of the South. He is also a past vice president of their alumni association.

Some of the other organizations Marks has been involved in include serving as the president of the Children’s Aid Society, chairman of the Birmingham Committee for 100, president of the Workshop for the Blind, director and vice-president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and chair of the federal reserve Birmingham branch. He was one of five selected to meet with President Kennedy in Washington, D.C., during the civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham.

Marks has also been awarded two honorary degrees. He was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law by his alma mater in 1989, as well as an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1990.

In the fall of 1998, Marks was selected by the Kiwanis Club and inducted along with five other men to the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame.

At present, Marks serves as director emeritus for several companies, including Genuine Parts Co., BE&K Inc., UAB Research Foundation and The Children’s Hospital.

Marks is now married to Alice Scott Marks. He and his late wife, Jeanne V. Marks, had three children, Margaret M. Porter, Randolph C. Marks and Charles Marks.

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Mark C. Smith was born in Birmingham in 1940 and graduated in 1958 from Birmingham’s Woodlawn High School. Both of his parents were teachers. During high school Smith became a ham radio buff and developed an interest in science. 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 1969 he left SCI to co-found Universal Data Systems – 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 UDS-Motorola Division. In 1985, 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 1,600 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.

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 modern 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, Ga. They have a daughter, Cynthia Smith McKernan of Houston, and a son, Clay, of Dallas, and seven grandchildren.

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John Alexander Williamson, by his own admission, was a risk taker, a characteristic which, as he wrote in his book, “would stand me in good stead in the Pacific.”

Williamson was born in Brighton and moved to Birmingham at age 2. He attended Hemphill School skipping several grades, and starting at Ensley High School a year and a half younger than his classmates. He graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 1939 with a degree in mathematics and a minor in English.

He began his professional career selling Chevrolets for Drennen Motor Co., but World War II was brewing and Williamson joined the Navy, eating extra heavily in order to gain the needed weight to be accepted. He was a Navy veteran of both World War II and the Korean conflict and was decorated for bravery and leadership. Mr. Williamson commanded a subchaser in the Caribbean and a destroyer escort in the Pacific during World War II. As executive officer of the Destroyer Escort, USS England, he directed his ship in attacks that sank six Japanese submarines in 12 days. His ship was credited with materially impacting the course of the Pacific campaign, and he received the Presidential Unit Citation.

Williamson also held the Legion of Merit for Combat and the Silver Star Medal for Combat in the Pacific Area. While serving as an instructor in the Anti-Submarine Warfare and Seamanship in the Subchaser Training Center in Miami, he developed a man overboard recovery procedure that was later named the “Williamson Turn,” which is still used in the U.S. Navy, as well as in other navies and the merchants marine, and is credited with saving countless lives at sea.

After his military service, Williamson returned to Birmingham and worked as a car salesman with Don Drennen and later as a district manager with General Motors. Williamson became prominent in American automotive affairs through his consulting and training activities, which developed into a life long mission of developing businesses based on finding and filling customers’ needs with high levels of professionalism and integrity. These activities led to the creation of several allied business firms, including his career-long core consulting firm, John Williamson & Associates, later known as Williamson, Merrill, Taylor, & Darling and then Vantage Associates. He was founder and chairman of Key-Royal Automotive, whose mission was to increase professionalism in the automobile business and to increase success of automobile retailers. Key-Royal sought to attract bright young people into the retail automobile field, teach them the business, and help them to become independent dealers. Key-Royal grew to over 25 retail dealerships throughout the United States and operated a training arm that worked with automobile manufacturers and dealers around the world. Williamson was also a founder of Birmingham-based CARS Inc., which was an early pioneer in the integration of computers and technology in the automotive business. CARS eventually became publicly-traded DYATRON which later merged into SunGard Data Systems, a specialty company in the operations of computers and computing systems with products utilized in the automobile, banking, personnel, brokerage and mortgage banking industries. John Williamson founded each of these firms and served each as perpetual advocate, board member and, from time-to-time, chairman.

John Williamson received the National Freedom Foundation Award for his open address to Congress, “After 200 Years, A Citizen Speaks to Congress,” published July 4, 1976.

In 1999 he was presented the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest medal that can be bestowed on a civilian. Williamson is well known in the Defense Department establishment and has lectured military students on numerous occasions, including at the War College. He served on the boards of numerous defense-related organizations. Williamson also was extremely active in religious and civic affairs, serving on and often chairing the boards of numerous organizations. It was once said that he was such a prolific and determined fundraiser for charity that people would hide behind a tree when they saw him coming down the street. In addition to his business career, he tirelessly sought to help others, both directly and through charitable and civic endeavors, devoting particular attention to the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Boy Scouts, IMPACT Family Counseling, Re-Entry and KAIROS prison ministries and the Rotary Club.