House approves $85 million for prison improvements
Alabama lawmakers have approved an $85 million increase for the state’s prison system as they try to comply with a federal court order to improve mental health care for inmates. The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved $30 million for the Department of Corrections before September and a $55 million boost in next year’s general fund budget. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled last year that mental health care in Alabama’s prisons was “horrendously inadequate” and ordered the state to improve conditions. The budget also includes an additional $1 million for the Department of Youth Services to create alternative treatment programs for troubled youth. In addition, it adds $14 million for state employees’ pay raises and a one-time bonus for retirees. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Women of Influence: Major General Sheryl Gordon
One of the top ranking women in the state, Major General Sheryl Gordon, has been serving Alabama for over 30 years and counting. Her hard work and unrelenting dedication to the Alabama National Guard have paid off in a big way; she remains not only the first female General in the organization, but also the first and only female to reach the Adjutant General rank in the organization’s history. Gordon was born and raised in Selma and graduated from Selma High School. She obtained her bachelors degree from Birmingham Southern College in 1979, and received her first assignment as a Second Lieutenant with the Alabama National Guard in Montgomery in 1981. She was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1984, and quickly rose to Captain the following year. She obtained her second Bachelors degree, this one in education, from Auburn University at Montgomery in 1987. She went on to work at Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City for two decades; teaching chemistry for 10 years, and after receiving her Master’s of Education from Auburn University at Montgomery, she served as the school’s vice principal for another 10 years. Gordon continued to rise through the ranks, and obtained numerous awards and certificates along the way, including: Meritorious Service Medal (with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters) Army Commendation Medal Army Achievement Medal (with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster) Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (with 1 Silver Oak Leaf Cluster and 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters) National Defense Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Armed Forces Reserve Medal (with Silver Hourglass Device) Army Service Ribbon Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon (with Numeral 2) Alabama Veteran Service Meal (with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster) Alabama Special Service Ribbon Alabama Faithful Service Ribbon (with Silver and Bronze Saint Andrews Cross) Alabama Basic Training Ribbon Weapons of Mass Destruction Course, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, completed in 2000 Chemical Senior Leader Qualification, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri completed in 2000 United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania completed in 2003 Gordon attained the rank of Major General in 2011 and in July of 2017 Gov. Kay Ivey named Gordon the 42nd Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard, and thus a member of her Cabinet. “General Sheryl Gordon is a trailblazer and visionary leader,” Ivey said upon appointing Gordon. “She has had a distinguished military career spanning 33 years. I look forward to serving alongside her as she leads our National Guard troops in Alabama.” As adjutant general, she advises Ivey on military affairs and is the commander of the Alabama Army and Air National Guard. The organization currently employs over than 12,000 citizen Soldiers and Airmen. The biggest challenge the Guard faces today: readiness. “Readiness is personnel, training and equipment,” she told The Montgomery Advertiser. “Most people think that training is the focus of readiness, but from my perspective, personnel is the focus because if you don’t have the personnel, then your training plan can be great and wonderful, but if I don’t have anyone to train, it doesn’t make any difference.” “My goal is to make sure that the soldiers and the airman of the Alabama National Guard are prepared for the wartime mission and the peace time mission,” she said. “Readiness is at the forefront of everything that we do, all the training that we do, and readiness takes many different forms.” When the Montgomery Advertiser asked Gordon what she would say to young women entering the National Guard she said; “Keep your personal life personal; don’t date anyone in the unit; don’t discuss what you do on Friday night when you arrive to drill; always behave in a professional manner; and most importantly, to understand you can’t be ‘one of the guys’, because you’re not.” “And, guys can resent you for wanting to be one of the guys, because I’ve heard that. For trying to hang out with the guys. A female officer is somewhat isolated, because there aren’t that many peers that you have, so you have to be pretty confident in yourself and your abilities.” For her unrelenting devotion to the state of Alabama and her incredible accomplishments – Major General Sheryl Gordon, is undeniably a woman of influence.
‘Rosa Parks Day’ approved by Senate committee, moves to full Senate
On Tuesday, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved a bill which designates December 1 as “Rosa Parks Day” in Alabama. The bill, SB365, sponsored by Mobile-Democrat State Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, moves to the ful Senate. Montgomery Police arrested Parks on Dec. 1, 1955 when she refused to give her seat to a white bus passenger. Parks’ arrest set the Montgomery Bus Boycott into motion, a boycott which is now seen as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. Parks received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal during her lifetime. She died in 2005, at the age of 92. Rosa Parks Day is already celebrated on December 1 in Ohio and Oregon while California and Missouri celebrate the holiday on her birthday, February 4th. However, the bill does not make the day a state holiday but gives counties and cities the option of declaring Dec. 1 a local holiday. Huntsville-Democrat Rep. Laura Hall, who filed a similar bill in the House last month, stated that in order to avoid debates over cost, they are not pushing to make the day a full state holiday. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, Alabama officially recognizes 15 legal holidays, though six of them share a date with another one. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. Lee‘s birthday are observed on the same day in January. Presidents Day in the state marks the births of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Columbus Day, Fraternal Day, and American Indian Heritage Day are all celebrated on the same day in October.
Lockheed Martin receives $80 Million contract for missile defense targets
The Missile Defense Agency on Thursday awarded Lockheed Martin an $80.6 million contract to build and test modified ballistic re-entry vehicles and separation modules for missile defense tests that will be designed and produced in Huntsville, Ala. The company will be producing unarmed re-entry vehicles for target missile tests through 2022. The contract also includes opportunity for additional vehicles and mission support. “The re-entry vehicle is essentially the bullseye for an interceptor missile, and it is also one of the most complex parts of the target, in today’s environment, it’s incredibly important to test against threat-representative targets that look like enemy missiles, and we are proud to continue to provide that capability to the Missile Defense Agency,” said vice president of Missile Defense Programs at Lockheed Martin Space, Sarah Reeves. Huntsville native companies will be included on the project including: Dynetics, Inc. will provide the aeroshell structures, and Battelle will provide the hit detection system. “Instead of carrying warheads, modified ballistic re-entry vehicles carry sensors to measure the accuracy and effectiveness of the target, interceptor and missile defense system. Testing against a capable, threat-representative re-entry vehicle helps ensure the ballistic missile defense system is ready to detect and destroy enemy missiles,” Lockheed Martin said in a news release. Lockheed Martin is a long-standing defense company, whose Huntsville location will be celebrating 55 years of work within the Yellowhammer State in May. The company expanded it’s presence within the state last year with the opening of their new training facility in Troy, Ala. in September. The Huntsville facility is expected to employ over 240 people by 2020.
Birmingham company makes Fortune’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ list
Fortune’s 2018 100 “Best Companies to Work For” list includes one Yellowhammer State company — Baker Donelson headquartered in Birmingham, Ala. Now in its 20th year, the prestigious list recognizes companies with exceptional workplace cultures. Fortune surveyed millions of employees measuring six components — values, innovation, financial growth, leadership effectiveness, maximizing human potential, and trust — to curate the annual list. “A great workplace “is one where employees trust the people they work with, have pride in the work they do, and enjoy the people they work with,” Great Place to Work CEO Michael Bush and vice president Sarah Lewis-Kulin wrote in Fortune. As one of the 60 largest law firms in the U.S., Baker Donelson employs 1,484 U.S. employees across 22 offices. In naming Baker Donelson to the list, Fortune highlighted employees’ trust in the firm’s management and the transparency of the firm’s leadership. The firm has made the list for nine consecutive years, ranking the highest at no. 30 in 2015. “Our Firm’s strategy is built on the belief that having the best people is essential to delivering the best client service,” Baker Donelson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ben C. Adams said. “We’re very proud that for nine years Fortune has recognized Baker Donelson’s culture of transparency, inclusiveness and respect for the contributions that every member of the Firm makes in serving our clients.” Here are the top 10 companies on the list: Salesforce (San Francisco): Information technology Wegmans Food Markets (Rochester, N.Y.): Retail Ultimate Software (Weston, Fla.): Information technology The Boston Consulting Group (Boston): Professional services Edward Jones (St. Louis, Mo.): Financial services and insurance Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants (San Francisco): Hospitality Workday (Pleasanton, Calif.): Information technology Genentech (San Francisco, Calif.): Biotechnology and pharmaceutical Hyatt Hotels (Chicago): Hospitality Kimley-Horn (Raleigh, N.C.): Professional services
Alabama to receive over $2.3 million in grants to preserve civil rights history
On Monday, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the National Parks Service announced $12.6 million in grants to fund 51 projects in 24 states across the nation. The grants have been provided to preserve sites and highlight stories connected to the Civil Rights movement, and events leading up to it. Alabama itself will be receiving over $2.3 million in grants for projects within the state, including the repair and preservation of the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Ala., and the restoration and rehabilitation of the Perry County Jailhouse. in Marion, Ala. “An integral part of the Interior and National Park Service mission is to help preserve and tell America’s story,” said Ryan Zinke, U.S. Secretary of the Interior. “These grants will benefit places across the nation that help tell an essential piece of that story through the African American struggle for civil rights and equality.” “Through the work and engagement of public and private partners, these grants will preserve a defining part of our nation’s diverse history,” Dan Smith, Deputy Director of the National Park Service said. “By working with local communities to preserve these historic places and stories, we will help tell a more complete narrative of the African American experience in the pursuit of civil rights.” A full list of grants designated for Alabama and the projects they will be funding is as follows: Alabama The Restoration of Mount Zion A.M.E. Zion Church Memorial Annex Mount Zion Center Foundation, Inc. $500,000 Alabama Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Perry County Jailhouse Perry County Commission $500,000 Alabama Preservation, Repair and Restoration of the Historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church: Phase III Sixteenth Street Baptist Church $500,000 Alabama Moore Building Master Plan and Phase I Rehabilitation Alabama Historical Commission $365,720 Alabama Second Phase Continuation in the Preservation of Brown Chapel AME Historic Brown Chapel AME Church Preservation Society, Inc. $300,000 Alabama 21st Century Preservation & the Next Generation of Global Activism: Archives Preservation and Digitization Project Birmingham Civil Rights Institute $44,918 Alabama Civil Rights Struggle in the Shoals University of North Alabama $45,364 Alabama Freedom Rides Museum 60th Anniversary Commemoration Exhibit Plans Alabama Historical Commission $50,000 Alabama Montgomery Alabama Civil Rights Survey/Planning/Research/Documentation City of Montgomery $50,000
