Garry N. Drummond

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 Larry and another executive, Clyde Black, Drummond was indicted of bribing three Alabama legislators, by supplying them with prostitutes.^[4][7][8][9] The trial lasted three months, but it was dismissed by Judge Frank McFadden; the record is now 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, 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