[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 123 (Thursday, September 13, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1507-E1508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO ALABAMA BUSINESSMAN, LARRY DRUMMOND

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 13, 2012

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Elbert Allen 
``Larry'' Drummond, Vice Chairman of Drummond Company, Inc., who passed 
away on July 30, 2012, at the age 68. Larry Drummond was a leader among 
the Alabama business community and a devotee to preserving Alabama's 
abundance of natural resources.
  Larry Drummond was born August 3, 1943, in Birmingham. His early life 
was spent with

[[Page E1508]]

his family in the Walker County town of Sipsey. His father had been a 
coal miner for Debardeleben Coal Company and had decided in 1935 to 
start his own mine, the beginning of what is now Drummond Company, Inc.
  He attended Walker County High School in Jasper where he was co-
captain and named to the all-county football team. He also played 
baseball at Walker and was selected for the East-West All-Star Game in 
Birmingham.
  He earned a bachelor's degree in Commerce and Business Administration 
from the University of Alabama in 1965. He also earned a master's 
degree in accounting the following year before entering the University 
of Alabama School of Law, where he was awarded the Juris Doctor degree 
in 1969. During breaks in college, Larry worked in various areas of 
Drummond Coal operations--preparing a site for mining, drilling at a 
new mine, cleaning coal for loading, and work at other operations.
  Returning home with his law degree in hand, he rejoined his family's 
company. Over the years, he was heavily involved with domestic and 
international coal sales. Along with his brothers, Larry was 
instrumental in fostering business relationships with Japan that 
continue today. He later assumed additional complex responsibilities as 
Vice Chairman of the corporation and Chairman of its Executive 
Committee.
  Larry was active in a variety of civic and educational organizations 
in Walker County and Alabama. He was a member of the Alabama and the 
American Bar Associations. At the University of Alabama, he was a 
member of the President's Cabinet and of the Board of Visitors of the 
Culverhouse School of Commerce. The Culverhouse School recognized him 
in 2003 with a Career Achievement Award.
  He served on the boards of the Walker Area Community Foundation and 
the Alabama Conservation and Natural Resources Foundation. He also 
served as a board member for the Alabama Conservation and Natural 
Resources Foundation and the American Family Business Institute. He was 
a member of United Way of Central Alabama's Le Societe National. In 
2011 Larry was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor and into the 
Alabama Business Hall of Fame.
  Larry also possessed an abiding love for the outdoors and enjoyed 
working closely with the Boy Scouts of America. He was a director of 
the Black Warrior Council of the Boy Scouts, which presented him with 
the Silver Beaver Award.
  His leadership of one of Alabama's top energy companies and his 
stewardship of our environmental resources will be sorely missed.
  On behalf of the people of Alabama, I would like to extend my 
heartfelt condolences to his wife, Abbie; brothers, Garry and John; 
daughter, Terri; sons, Scott and Patrick; five grandchildren, extended 
family and many friends. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

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