2016 Morgan County Leadership Hall of Fame Inductees

2016 was the inaugural class of the MCSF Leadership Hall of Fame. The event, which also served to raise money for Morgan County schools, was held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Decatur Riverfront on March 10, 2016.

HONORABLE ALBERT P. BREWER

Former governor of Alabama and Morgan County native for whom Brewer High School is named. He represented Morgan County through three (3) terms as a state representative from 1954 to 1966. At the age of 34, Brewer became the youngest in Alabama history to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was elected Lt. Governor in 1966 and became Governor upon the death of Lurleen B. Wallace in 1968. As governor through 1970 during the time immediately following the end of segregation, Brewer provided much-needed, positive leadership to Alabama in the difficult task of integration and healing in the community. Governor Brewer later became a law professor at Samford’s Cumberland School of Law where he still serves today

MR. JOHN R. COOK, SR.

Founder of Cook’s Pest Control and Cook’s Natural Science Museum. He was a graduate of Riverside High School (Decatur), a Navy Veteran of WWII, and received a degree in architecture from Georgia Tech University. Upon the death of his father in 1950, Mr. Cook gave up his dream of an architecture career to return to Decatur and honor the termite guarantees established by the family business. Under his leadership, Cook’s Pest Control grew from one full-time employee and a handful of accounts to one of the nation’s largest pest control companies with 1,200 full-time employees. These accomplishments were achieved while maintaining a philosophy of providing quality service and a good work place through honesty, courtesy, respect, and customer satisfaction. Mr. Cook is being inducted posthumously.

DR. MARTINE BATES SHARP

Former Morgan County Schools principal and former Mayor of Priceville. Dr. Sharp was one of two women to simultaneously begin as the first women principals in Morgan County. She remains the only female mayor to serve within Morgan County. Dr. Sharp married at 17 and planned to be a house wife, but was soon called into the teaching profession. She pursued her Bachelor’s degree at Athens State while raising two sons and later earned two Master’s degrees, her Ed. S, and Doctorate in education. Dr. Sharp’s teaching career began as an English teacher at Priceville, with stops at Brewer and Hartselle before becoming the first principal of Danville-Neel Elementary School. While Priceville’s Mayor, she led the town’s endeavors to obtain funding and approval for their first sewer system and the effort to annex the area around the I-65 interchange.

DR. TRAVIS TAYLOR

A Brewer High School graduate who has earned two (2) PhDs and three (3) Master’s degrees – all in the field of science and engineering. Dr. Taylor has worked for the Department of Defense, NASA, and the Intelligence Community for over two decades and is a registered professional engineer in Alabama. He has authored or co-authored over 16 science fiction novels, two textbooks, over two dozen scientific papers, and holds more than a handful of patents. He has represented his profession and community through numerous television appearances and his own shows, including National Geographic Channel’s hit series Rocket City Rednecks and The Weather Channel’s Three Scientists Walk into a Bar. Dr. Taylor has brought positive attention to Morgan County and North Alabama through the promotion of science and technology.

If you would like to nominate someone for the Morgan County Leadership Hall of Fame, you may do so by completing the nomination form and submitting it to a member of the Hall of Fame Committee listed on the form.

The Morgan County Schools Foundations is a 501c3 non-profit organization that operates solely from the generous donations from individuals and businesses who share our desire to make our schools and students the best that they can be.

P. O. Box 5344, Decatur, AL 35601

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