The 2021 Alabama Business Hall of Fame Class

The Board of Visitors at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce launched the Alabama Business Hall of Fame (ABHOF) in 1973 to recognize and preserve the incredible entrepreneurial accomplishments of professionals from the state. The inaugural class of 1974 featured Mildred Warner, Gulf States Paper; Frank Samford Sr., Liberty National Life Insurance; Benjamin Russell, Russell Manufacturing Company; Edward Roberts, Waterman Steamship Corporation; Thomas Martin, Russell Manufacturing Company; and Braxton Comer, Avondale Mills. There are now more than 230 inductees, seven of whom were inducted at a black-tie ceremony at Haven on October 7, 2021.

Bob Baron was one of the seven inductees at the 2021 event. The University of Tennessee alumnus founded Baron Weather in 1990 and currently serves as CEO of the weather forecasting and warning systems enterprise. He was selected by the National Weather Service in 2007 to equip its 171 radar installations with dual-polarity capabilities. His company also offered its patented warning system technology free of charge to the state of Alabama in 2011 following an outbreak of tornadoes.

Cecil Batchelor, a two-time Citizen of the Year in Russellville, is best known for his role as chairman of CBS Banc-Corp. Through more than five decades as chairman of the board for CB&S Bank, Batchelor helped grow its assets under management from $5 million to more than $2 billion. He passed away 2 months prior to his induction. His children, Greg Batchelor and Rebecca Reeves, accepted the honor on his behalf.

The other five 2021 inductees into the ABHOF were Dr. Marcus Bendickson, Dynetics, Inc.; Jay Grinney, HealthSouth Corporation; serial entrepreneur Dr. Lonnie Johnson; entrepreneur and attorney Joe Ritch; and Stan Starnes, ProAssurance Corporation.

Dr. Bendickson guided Dynetics, an IT and engineering services provider to commercial and government clients, to become the second-largest employee-owned business in the state. He has also served on the boards of directors for the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce, HudsonAlpha Foundation, and BB&T Greater Huntsville Advisory Board. Grinney, meanwhile, formerly served as director, CEO, and president at HealthSouth Corporation, which has since been rebranded as Encompass Health. He oversaw unprecedented growth during his time with the company.

Dr. Johnson is an innovator who developed advanced technologies for aerospace and defense clients, in addition to the Super Soaker water gun. Ritch has been involved with business ventures such as Cybex Corp, Boneal Aerospace, and Perkins Technical Services, Inc. He is also the first Alabamian to serve as chairman of the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Finally, Starnes was the CEO at ProAssurance Corporation from 2007 to 2019 and currently serves as president pro tempore of The University of Alabama System Board. The accomplished attorney graduated from The University of Alabama at 20 years old and launched a law firm with his father in 1975. He authored the Alabama Medical Liability Act and was named among the “Best Lawyers in America” for more than 20 consecutive years.

Prospective ABHOF inductees are first proposed by the 24-member nominating committee. The 14-member Board of Directors then serves as the selection committee to induct worthy candidates. Those up for nomination must either be retired for at least 3 years, deceased, or over 65 years old if they’re still working.

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The History of The Country Club of Birmingham

Alabama is home to several renowned golf courses and country clubs, the oldest of which is The Country Club of Birmingham. The online publication Top 100 Golf Courses lists its West Course as the third best in the state behind The Ledges Country Club and Shoal Creek. Founded in 1898, The Country Club of Birmingham was located in Lakeview until the mid-1920s, when it moved to its current location at Mountain Brook.

Legendary course architect Donald Ross was tasked with developing the club’s East and West Courses at its Mountain Brook location. The West Course opened in 1925 and underwent substantial upgrades during the late 1950s and mid-1980s. Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and Pete Dye, who, along with Ross, are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, completed the architectural upgrades. Dye led regrassing efforts and irrigation and water efficiency improvements in the late 2000s and contends that the West Course is the only course in the world to which this trio of acclaimed architects have contributed.

Today, the West Course is a par-71 with five sets of tees, the longest of which is the green tees that play a total of 7,226 yards. The shortest distance is from the 5,286-yard red tees. The par-5 No. 4 and No. 10 holes are considered the most difficult on the course, while the 431-yard, par-4 No. 18 can also be challenging.

The West Course has hosted many United States Golf Association (USGA) qualifiers, in addition to prominent tournaments such as the 2016 Men’s State Team Championship and 2013 US Mid-Amateur Championship. Michael McCoy won the latter in 2013 with the third-largest margin of victory since the tournament adopted a 36-hole format in 2001. The West Course will also host the 2022 US Amateur Four-Ball from May 14-18.

The East Course, opened a year after the West in 1926, has a more benign look than its counterpart, but is just as challenging. The par-70 course is relatively unchanged from Ross’ original design. Slight alterations have been made to facilitate an expansion of the practice range and improve playability. The course plays at 6,644 yards from the blue tees and 4,756 yards from the red tees.

Although it is one of the more distinguished clubs in the Southern United States, The Country Club of Birmingham struggled to survive during the Great Depression. Club president Owen G. Gresham played a large role in its survival during this time, as he organized many successful fundraising events, including a Gay Nineties Ball in celebration of its 32nd anniversary and the “Hard Times” Party. The following decade, University of Virginia junior Dixon Brooke became the first member of the club to win the NCAA Championship.

Another highlight in the club’s history was when past president Elbert Jemison, Jr. met with US President Gerald Ford and golfer Arnold Palmer at the White House during the 1970s to discuss plans for the creation of the USGA Associates Program. The program now has nearly 700,000 members, and Jemison is a two-time recipient of the Grainer Award for his service to the USGA.

The Country Club of Birmingham celebrated its centennial in 1998 by creating a permanent trophy room that displays the awards won by its members in golf, tennis, swimming, and diving.

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