Charles McCrary, former president, chairman and CEO of Alabama Power, has been named to the Alabama Business Hall of Fame for 2018. The honor is bestowed by the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business. Inductees will be officially honored in a special ceremony Nov. 15 at the Hyatt-Regency Birmingham.

McCrary joins six other business professionals to be inducted this year. He also served as vice president for Birmingham-based Southern Nuclear, president of Southern Company Generation, chief production officer of Southern Company and president of Southern Power.

McCrary serves on the boards of Regions Financial Corporation, the Auburn University Board of Trustees and the board of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. He’s also served as chairman of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn along with a law degree from Birmingham School of Law.

Other honorees include:

• Patricia “Sister Schubert” Barnes

Barnes founded her bread company in her home kitchen using her grandmother’s yeast-roll recipe and transformed the business into a national brand that produces more than 9 million rolls per day with distribution in each state in the country as well as abroad. Barnes sits on numerous boards, including those of the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame and the Dean’s Board for the College of Human Sciences at Auburn University. She attended Troy University, Auburn University and the University of Alabama.

• Jeffrey Bayer

Bayer is president and CEO of Bayer Properties LLC, which specializes in developing, leasing, managing and marketing mixed-use real estate properties nationwide.
Bayer is on the board of directors for Leadership Alabama, is a board member for Leadership Birmingham, and a trustee for the International Council of Shopping Centers. He’s also on the University of Alabama President’s Cabinet, the University of Alabama Culverhouse Board of Visitors and the University of Alabama at Birmingham President’s Cabinet Executive Committee.
Bayer attended the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business.

• Don James

Under James’ leadership in executive-level roles, including chairman and CEO from 1992 until his retirement from the company in 2015, Vulcan Materials Co. grew to be one of the largest public corporations in Alabama. He is a business and civic leader, serving on the boards of Wells Fargo and Southern Co. He has served on the boards of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Manufacturers Association, Birmingham Southern College, and the United Way of Central Alabama. He has also served as chairman of the Birmingham Museum of Art. James is a graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Virginia School of Law.

• Randy Owen

For more than 49 years, Owen has been the front man and lead vocalist of the legendary group, Alabama. They are the most successful and honored band in country music history, with more than 80 million records sold. Alabama has received more than 250 industry awards and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Owen was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and received the Ellis Island Award for his charity work with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Owen is a graduate of Jacksonville State University.

• James T. Pursell

Pursell’s business career started when he joined Parker Fertilizer in 1959. In 1964, he became president of the company and began to redirect it toward development and marketing of specialty fertilizer products. In 1997, he relocated the company headquarters to his family farm, and established Pursell Farms in Fayetteville, which has since transitioned into one of Alabama’s premier resorts, spanning 3,500 acres. Pursell attended Auburn University and supports a large number of initiatives at Auburn, including the Center for Organizational Cultures in the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, endowed chairs and programs for student athletes. He was chairman of the Alabama Ethics Commission.

• John L. Rhoads

Rhoads was well-known as a partner at accounting firm Ernst & Ernst for applying his brilliance and technical skills in helping Alabama entrepreneurs launch businesses. Rhoads was a longtime executive committee member of the Jefferson County chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association, serving as its vice president and treasurer for more than 20 years. He was council chairman of the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants. Rhoads was an ardent supporter of education, either by his service to UAB as an adjunct faculty member or through scholarship and program support, kept ongoing by his widow, Ann. He graduated from the University of Alabama. Rhoads died in 2001.