Southern-Spring 2015

48 / 64

46 / ’southern
CLASSNOTES
Timeless monument—A bronze sculpture, “A
Celebration of Reading,” created by Birmingham artist Branko
Medenica ’72, was unveiled last April by the Monroeville/Monroe
County (Ala.) Chamber of Commerce on its courthouse square in
front of a crowd of about 250. The project was the brainchild of
Alabama Tourism Director Lee Sentell, who said he has personally
witnessed the large number of people who travel to Monroeville,
seeking the state’s literary capital. The Monroeville committee
selected Medenica after a rigorous selection process. “The
challenge with the project was to capture that special quality of
timelessness that’s so prevalent when studying To Kill a Mockingbird
and other literary works, which transcend language and cultural
barriers,” said Medenica, whose sculpture was six years in the
making. Pictured (standing, l to r) are Edith Mason Howington
’72 of Cartersville, Ga., J. Milton Coxwell Jr. ’71 of Monroeville,
Hon. SamuelWelch Jr. ’72 of Montgomery, John Barnett III ’74 of
Monroeville, Stephen Clarkson ’71 of Birmingham, Stan Hamilton
’72 of Birmingham, Medenica, and Rebecca Lewis Barnett ’75 of
Monroeville; (seated, l to r) are CharlotteWarner Clarkson ’70 of
Birmingham and DebbieWood Medenica ’75, Branko’s wife.
included office, multifamily, retail,
and mixed-use projects.
A book by Dr. Daniel Potts, M.D.,
and his wife, EllenWoodward
Potts, A Pocket Guide for the
Alzheimer’s Caregiver, was
named to ’s list of Best
Alzheimer’s Books of 2014. The
Potts, who reside in Tuscaloosa,
continue to write a monthly blog
about Alzheimer’s disease for
Their daughter,
Julia, is a first-year student at BSC.
’89
Rev. Dr. Leigh Meekins received
a Ph.D. in education from Capella
University in June and joined the
United Methodist Publishing House
in Nashville as editor for older
elementary in October.
’91
PaulWright Jr.,
development
director at
the Mountain
Association for
Community
Economic
Development
(MACED), gave
a presentation
at the Achieving Energy Savings
Workshop and Luncheon this
past fall in Middlesboro, Ky.
Wright, who earned an MBA from
Eastern College, directs MACED’s
enterprise support and capital
programs and serves on the
management team. He resides
in Berea, Ky., with his wife and
four children and enjoys hiking,
mountain biking, and family.
’92
Grover Robinson IV of Pensacola,
Fla., was re-elected to the
Escambia County Commission
seat in November. Robinson,
a Republican, beat out his
Democratic challenger to hold his
District 4 seat for a third term with
71 percent of the vote.
’93
Mississippi State Associate Head
Baseball Coach ButchThompson
Thomas
N. Barnes
Center for
Enlisted
Education
at Maxwell
Air Force
Base; he
retired in
March.
’87
ShannonWayne Key is now
a senior account manager at
Illumina Inc. in San Diego. Illumina
develops and manufactures
instruments and reagents for
genetic analysis and is ranked No.
1 by the MIT Technology Review
on its 2014 list of the “smartest”
businesses in the world.
Burton
McDonald
was
recently
tapped as
BB&T’s
new
regional
president for Alabama. He will
oversee all banking activities for
BB&T’s 94 branches throughout
the state and the panhandle.
McDonald, who has more than
27 years of banking experience,
has been with BB&T since 2007.
Prior to joining BB&T, he held
various management positions at
several other Birmingham financial
institutions, including executive
vice president of Regions Morgan
Keegan Private Banking.
Robert Ingram Jr. of Tuscaloosa
was recently named one of the top
10 public accounting professionals
by the National Academy of Public
Accounting Professionals.
’88
NAI Chase Commercial of
Birmingham has named Donny
Grundhoefer as its new COO.
He’s worked for nearly three
decades in commercial real estate.
He was formerly at Daniel Corp.
for 19 years, where he worked on
a variety of large portfolios that
DavidWilson is the new
Gainesville, Fla., market president
for Heritage Bank of the South, a
bank chain that recently merged
with Ocala-based Alarion Bank.
’82
Forensic pathologist Dr. James
Wilkerson IV
of Windsor,
Colo., who
has conducted
hundreds of
death scene
investigations
and thousands
of autopsies,
assumed
new duties as coroner for Larimer
County in January. He received his
medical degree from the University
of Alabama while on a U.S. Army
scholarship, culminating with a
prestigious Forensic Pathology
Fellowship at the Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology in D.C. His
professional memberships include
the National Association of Medical
Examiners.
’86
Col. Jefferson Dunn was recently
appointed Alabama Department of
Corrections Commissioner by Gov.
Robert Bentley. Dunn formerly
served as commander of the