[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 54 (Friday, May 3, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E689-E690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO MR. ALFRED A. McKETHAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KAREN L. THURMAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 2, 2002

  Mrs. THURMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to pay tribute to Mr. 
Alfred Augustus McKethan, a devoted civic leader and philanthropist in 
Hernando County and the State of Florida, who passed away on April 1 at 
the wonderful age of 93.
  It is impossible to fully describe the extent of Mr. McKethan's reach 
during his lifetime. He touched so many lives, in such positive and 
lasting ways.
  His family roots were and continue to be solidly embedded in Hernando 
County--a place his family helped to settle starting in 1842 when 
Florida was just a territory and not a state. He was very proud to be a 
fourth generation Brooksville native and devoted his entire life to 
making the community in which he lived a better place.
  After attending the Virginia Military Institute for two years, Mr. 
McKethan graduated from the University of Florida and returned home to 
Brooksville to work at Hernando State Bank, fondly known in the 
community as HSB. The bank was founded in 1905 and, from early in its 
existence, was led first by his father, Will McKethan, and then by 
Alfred, and would flourish under this son's leadership. When Will 
McKethan became ill and could no longer be active in the bank, Alfred's 
mother, Alice Hale McKethan, known to all as ``Allee,'' became the 
first, and for many years, was the only female bank director in 
Florida. Mr. McKethan, and the other stockholders, sold the independent 
bank to Sun Banks Inc. in 1985 and retired as chairman in 1994.
  During his banking career, Mr. McKethan became a mover and shaker in 
the banking industry. In 1947, he became the youngest person to become 
president of the Florida Bankers Association. He was only 38 years old 
at the time and would thrive in the position. He is credited with 
helping to push through significant banking legislation that, according 
to the St. Petersburg Times, resulted in the ``modernization of the 
state's banking industry.''
  Dade City banker and longtime friend, Hjalma Johnson, described Mr. 
McKethan's banking career this way, ``He is the dean of banking. No one 
has had more influence over the course of the banking industry and its 
ability to deliver services to the ever-growing state of Florida than 
the chairman.'' (St. Petersburg Times)
  Jim Kimbrough, who married Mr. McKethan's daughter, and who would one 
day take over as head of SunTrust Bank/Nature Coast, said of his 
banking career and role as mentor: ``It's been a privilege to be at his 
side professionally.'' (St. Petersburg Times)
  But his interests and political involvements stretched far beyond 
that of the banking industry. According to Brooksville lawyer Joe 
Mason, McKethan's nephew, ``His influence is everywhere you look. 
Probably no one in the last half-century has had as much of an impact 
on the community as he has had.'' (St. Petersburg Times) Mr. Mason also 
pointed out Mr. McKethan's unique and very effective style of 
conducting business. ``Over the years, much important business was 
transacted at

[[Page E690]]

the ``Big House'' lunch table over a full platter of Minnie's fried 
chicken, and he had a huge lunch everyday,'' Mr. Mason said, referring 
to Mr. McKethan's home in Brooksville.
  Mr. McKethan was a citrus grower and made his mark in one of 
Florida's major industries by helping to found the Florida Citrus 
Commission and by serving as director of Florida Citrus Mutual. From 
1949 to 1954, he served as chairman of the State Road Board on which he 
had considerable influence over the development of communities 
throughout the state. According to the Hernando Times, some notable 
examples of the big road projects that took place with his urging 
include the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg, the expansion of 
State Road 50 from Orlando to the Gulf of Mexico through Hernando 
County and U.S. 98 from Lakeland to the southern border of Citrus 
County. Mr. Hjalma Johnson joked at his funeral--with a certain degree 
of seriousness--that Mr. McKethan had a particular threshold for 
approving road projects, ``They must be potentially beneficial to every 
Floridian--and they must either originate, terminate or go through 
Brooksville.'' (St. Petersburg Times) He served as the first chairman 
of the Southwest Florida Water Management District's governing board 
created to address chronic flooding problems in the region. At his 
funeral, Dale Twachtmann who was the first executive director of SWFWMD 
was quoted in the Hernando Times recalling the first days of the agency 
in Brooksville when its final location was still in question. ``But I 
and the staff never doubted for a minute that he would figure out a way 
to keep (SWFWMD) in Brooksville, and he did,'' Twachtmann said. Sonny 
Vergara, Executive Director of SWFWMD, described Mr. McKethan's 
foresight this way: ``He knew water would be a central concern for the 
future of Florida,'' Vergara said. ``He saw water management as a 
comprehensive view.'' (Hernando Today)
  He was also a man devoted to his church and to education.
  He headed up the committee that selected St. Petersburg as the site 
for Florida Presbyterian College, now known as Eckerd College and was a 
generous supporter of his alma mater, the University of Florida, which 
named its baseball stadium after him. He also established the first 
endowed chair at UF and several football scholarships. Florida Athletic 
Director Jeremy Foley told Hernando Today, ``This is a sad day for 
everyone that knew Mr. McKethan. The University of Florida has lost a 
great friend, the state of Florida has lost a great person. No one 
loved the Gators more than Mr. McKethan.''
  His tremendous generosity will certainly have a lasting influence 
throughout Hernando County and the state, but particularly in Hernando 
County. According to former State Rep. Chuck Smith of Brooksville, ``He 
was a person who above everything else believed Hernando County was the 
only place on earth.'' (Hernando Times) Through his efforts, he helped 
to bring about the Brooksville campus of Pasco-Hemando Community 
College, the Brooksville-Hernando County Airport, the West Hernando/
Staffordene T. Foggia Library, Alfred McKethan Park at Pine Island and 
the Alfred McKethan Civic Auditorium at the Hernando County 
Fairgrounds.
  Brooksville lawyer Bruce Snow told The Hernando Times, ``He was 
willing to share his wealth in ways that people weren't even aware 
of.'' Len Tria, a former Hernando County Commissioner, recalled a 
surprise commission meeting attended by Mr. McKethan after the County 
applied to his bank for a loan for a new library. He told the 
Commission that the bank would not secure the loan. Tria told The 
Hernando Times, ``My heart dropped. Then, he reaches into his inside 
coat pocket and said, ``However, I have a check here for $200,000 . . . 
We want you to build that library.''
  Reporter Lara Bradbum of Hernando Today describes the personality of 
this fine man known as ``Mr. Hernando County'' in vivid detail. She 
writes: ``It wasn't so much his stature; the fact that he owned more 
assets than most anyone in the county, or that his name is plastered on 
various parks, buildings and institutions. It was more in his demeanor 
and the personal way he connected with those around him. He was 
charming, dapper and undeniably cunning in business. He was the man who 
dined with presidents and governors, blue-collar workers and poor 
country preachers. Titles meant little, unless they were the means to 
an end. He was the quintessential Southern gentleman, was just as 
comfortable with the rich as the poor: always cordial, always 
interesting, always ready with a good yarn from the old days.''
  Mr. Mason agrees: ``Despite his exceptional business and financial 
successes, he was a very real person who was interested in the well 
being of everyone he came into contact with and was always eager to 
help whoever he could.''
  Because of his generous and kind spirit, Mr. McKethan's legacy will 
forever live on in the hearts and souls of his many admirers and 
through the residents of Hernando County far into the future who will 
continue to enjoy the many facilities that he made possible during his 
lifetime. He was, and will always be, loved and appreciated for all the 
good he represented and for the lives he changed for the better. 
Whenever we donate to the Boy Scouts of America or our local church, we 
should think of Mr. McKethan. Whenever we go out of our way to help a 
neighbor in need, we should remember Mr. McKethan. Whenever we mentor a 
young person or help an up-and-coming professional trying to make it in 
business, we should remember the great legacy of Alfred McKethan. He 
trained and mentored many leaders in his day and as Mr. Hjalma Johnson 
said with great emotion as he quoted Sir Isaac Newton at his funeral, 
``If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. 
All of us will see farther because we stood on the shoulders of this 
giant. Mr. Chairman, you will be well missed and never forgotten.'' 
(St. Petersburg Times)
  I would also like to submit for the record the below quotes showing 
the great love and respect that Alfred McKethan earned during his 
remarkable life. He certainly left a lasting impression in Hernando 
County and throughout the State of Florida that will remain for 
generations to come.

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