Garry N. Drummond

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Garry N. Drummond
Born
Garry Neil Drummond

(1938-06-08)June 8, 1938
Sipsey, Alabama
DiedJuly 13, 2016(2016-07-13) (aged 78)
Birmingham, Alabama
Resting placeSipsey, Alabama
Alma materUniversity of Alabama
Occupation
  • Heir
  • businessman
Known forThe Drummond Company
Children5
Parent(s)Heman Edward Drummond
Elza Eliza Stewart
RelativesElbert Allen Drummond (brother)

Garry Neil Drummond Sr. (June 8, 1938 – July 13, 2016) was an American heir, business executive, and philanthropist from Alabama. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of the Drummond Company, a private coal company active in Alabama and Colombia.

Early life[]

Garry Neil Drummond Sr. was born in 1938 at Sipsey, Alabama.[2][3] His father, Heman Edward Drummond, was the founder of the Drummond Company, a coal company, in 1935.[4][5] Drummond started working in his father's coal mines at the age of fifteen.[4]

He graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.[1][3]

Business career[]

Drummond Company[]

In 1961, Drummond joined the family business, the Drummond Company, a coal company active in Alabama.[3][6] He later served as its Chief Operating Officer.[3] He has served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 1973.[1][3][4] The company is active in coal-mining in Alabama and Colombia.[4]

In 1979-1980, with his brother, Elbert Allen "Larry" Drummond, and another executive, Clyde Black; he was indicted for bribing three Alabama legislators by supplying them with prostitutes.[4][7][8][9] The three-month trial was dismissed by Judge Frank McFadden, and the record was sealed.[4][7]

In the 1980s, Drummond began looking for coal in Colombia, even though the country was at war.[4] He established their first coal mine in 1995.[4] Shortly after, the FARC bombed the railway track which carried coal from the Drummond mine to their port off the Caribbean Sea.[4]

In 2013, Drummond planned to establish a new coal mine off the bank of the Black Warrior River near Birmingham.[4]

Corporate directorships[]

Drummond served on the Board of Directors of SouthTrust from 2001 to its merger with Wachovia in 2004.[3] He also served as the Director of the Alabama Coal Association.[3] Additionally, he was appointed to the National Coal Council by United States Secretary of Energy Donald P. Hodel in 1984, under the presidency of Ronald Reagan.[10] Later, he served as the Chairman of the Governor's Commission on Affordable Health Care.[3]

Drummond served on the Boards of Directors of the National Mining Association as well as the Economic Development Partnership for Alabama.[6] He has been a member of the Alabama Academy of Honor since 1989, the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame since 1997, and the Alabama Business Hall of Fame since 2003.[6]

Drummond taught Engineering part-time at Walker College.[11]

Invention[]

Alongside Eugene Honeycutt and Harold Gene Anderson, Drummond invented a specific method for "open pit bench mining", which has been patented since February 5, 2013.[12]

Philanthropy and political activity[]

Drummond served on the Executive Board of Directors of the Boy Scouts of America.[3] He also served on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, the University of Alabama.[4]

Drummond made donations to Republican politicians such as Richard Shelby, Terry Everett, Robert Aderholt, Butch Otter, Mike Rogers, Jo Bonner, as well as to the 2004 re-election of President George W. Bush.[13] He also donated to Coalpac, a political action committee for the National Mining Association.[13] He also donated US$50,000 to Bob Riley's 2002 gubernatorial campaign.[14]

Personal life and death[]

Drummond was married and had five children.[1] As of 2015, Forbes listed Drummond as the wealthiest individual in Alabama, with an estimated wealth of US$980 million.[1] He died in Birmingham on July 13, 2016 at the age of 78 due to complications from cancer.[15]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Forbes: Garry Drummond
  2. ^ "Congressional Record, Volume 149 Issue 154 (Wednesday, October 29, 2003)".
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Garry N. Drummond Sr., Bloomberg Business
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Anthony Effinger, Matthew Bristow, Alabama Billionaire Battles Murder Suits as Prices Ebb, Bloomberg Business, July 16, 2013
  5. ^ Connor Sheets, Who are the richest Alabamians now that billionaire Marguerite Harbert has passed?, The Birmingham News, March 23, 2015
  6. ^ a b c Drummond Company: Leadership Team
  7. ^ a b Daniel Fisher, Alabama Coal Baron Uncovers Evidence Of Witness Payments In Attack On Lawyer, Forbes, June 6, 2014
  8. ^ "Jurors questioned in racketeering trial". The Index-Journal (Greenwood, South Carolina). May 8, 1980. p. 25. Retrieved July 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  9. ^ "Probe of Coal Crime Continues". The Index-Journal (Greenwood, South Carolina). July 9, 1980. p. 17. Retrieved July 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. ^ "23-member National Coal Council named". The Indiana Gazette. October 26, 1984. p. 3. Retrieved July 11, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  11. ^ Ronnie Blair, The Drummonds: close-knit, self-made men, Lakeland Ledger, May 12, 1985
  12. ^ Justia Patents: Patents by Inventor Garry N. Drummond
  13. ^ a b JASPER, Alabama (AL) Political Contributions by Individuals, City-Data
  14. ^ Alabama Corrections land sale draws fire again in Hale County, The Decatur Daily News, April 17, 2007
  15. ^ "Garry Neil Drummond, coal company CEO, has died". The Tuscaloosa News. July 13, 2016. Archived from the original on July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
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