Leaving a legacy: Five leaders inducted into Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame

Jasmine Hollie, The Tuscaloosa News
·5 min read

The five new members of the Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame exemplify a spirit of leadership that is vital to the community, said Jim Page, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.

"The Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame ... is as important today, as maybe it's ever been. Because as a community, as community leaders, we need to remind our fellow citizens of the importance of civic engagement (and) positive social discourse. We especially need to leave that legacy for our communities, young people," Page said.

Each year, the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama honors civic leaders and trailblazers who have made an impact on the quality, livability and economic progress of the Tuscaloosa community. The Civic Hall of Fame began 22 years ago on the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Chamber of Commerce.

The objective of the award is to honor exceptional people who have made significant, long-term contributions to the overall development of Tuscaloosa County.

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This year's Civic Hall of Fame inductees are former University of Alabama law professor Camille Wright Cook, former insurance agency president Travis Gary Fitts, UA Vice President of Community Affairs Samory T. Pruitt, former Tuscaloosa City Council president George "Sammy" Watson, and former paper company executive, banker and UA treasurer Ernest G. Williams.

Here's a deeper look at the 2022 honorees, who were inducted in a ceremony Thursday at the Tuscaloosa River Market:

  • Camille Wright Cook, who died on Feb. 20, 2018, is credited for being a leader in legal education and community service. She was the first woman to become a tenured professor at the University of Alabama School of Law and the first woman to receive an endowed professorship at UA. Cook was instrumental in the adoption of a mandatory continuing legal education requirement for Alabama attorneys.

Cook's plaque was accepted on her behalf by her son, Sydney Cook.

  • Travis Gary Fitts, who died on May 28, 2022, was the fourth-generation owner and retired president of Fitts Agency Inc., a Tuscaloosa insurance agency that traces its beginning back to 1875. Fitts is credited for turning Fitts Agency Inc. into one of the largest independent insurance agencies in West Alabama.

Fitts' award was accepted by his son, David Fitts.

  • Samory T. Pruitt, has served as the vice president for community affairs at the University of Alabama since 2004. Pruitt is actively involved in the West Alabama area and holds leadership positions in several organizations. In 2008, he was appointed by the governor of Alabama to serve as education chair for the West Alabama Regional Action Commission. In 2002, UA presented him with the Award for Outstanding Commitment to Public Service.

"I'm humbled and grateful to be included in such an outstanding class of civic leaders, grateful for just the opportunities that I've had to try to make a difference in the lives of folks in this community, in this place that we can all call home," Pruitt said.

Pruitt said he credits W.J. Maye, his former P.E. coach, for giving him confidence and molding him into the man he is today. Maye taught Pruitt at Jackson Elementary School in Birmingham.

  • George "Sammy" Watson, who recently retired after 26 years as director of community relations for DCH Health System. Elected three times to the Tuscaloosa City Council and serving as council president from 1993 to 1995, he was a part of Tuscaloosa’s first City Council, which took office in 1985. Before 1985, Tuscaloosa had a mayor/commissioner form of government.

Watson said he was honored to be recognized alongside other great leaders in the community.

"You think about all the people who have been honored in years past and for me, I feel so small compared to some of those giant men and women, because they were truly giants in our community. And I'm proud to be honored, but in some ways, I feel that it's not as deserving as perhaps it should be. But I nevertheless, appreciate the honor," Watson said.

"I think anytime someone succeeds in whatever it is they're doing, serving others, that we ought to step back and try to copy and not just honor those type of folks, but to try to do what they're doing in the community," he said.

  • Ernest G. Williams, who died on June 11, 2001, served 30 years as a trustee at the University of Alabama, with 26 of those years were spent on the executive committee. Williams is credited for taking part in persuading Paul W. "Bear" Bryant to return to UA as a football coach in 1957. Williams was selected to receive UA's Distinguished Alumni Award, The Tuscaloosa News, in a congratulatory editorial, said Williams "joins the ranks of UA legends."

Turner Williams, Ernest Williams' son, accepted the award on his father's behalf and said he believed the recognition was well-deserved.

Turner Williams, his son, accepted the plaque on behalf of his late father.

"He was a pretty humble fella, so he would be saying that he didn't deserve it at all. But we are we're honored and grateful to the Tuscaloosa County and the commission that they saw fit to honor him in this way. It's a big deal for our family," Turner Williams said.

"He just cast a big shadow. We all just try to live up to what he told us to do and how to do it, and we try to honor him that way," he said.

Plaques honoring the 2022 inductees of the Civic Hall of Fame will be added to a permanent display at Government Plaza in downtown Tuscaloosa.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame inducts five into 2022 class