Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame


Started in 2002 by the Alabama Road Builders Association Board of Directors, the Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame honors, preserves, and perpetuates the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of individuals and companies/institutions that have brought and continue to bring significant recognition to the State of Alabama in the field of transportation construction.

The Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame is governed by a ten-member board of directors made up of past Alabama Road Builders Association presidents from each decade that ARBA has existed. This board determines the criteria for selecting inductees, the eligibility of candidates and a selection process for induction to the Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame. All candidates must meet criteria established by the board for each category. Currently, there are two categories: Individuals and Companies/Institutions.

Nominations for induction into the Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame are made by open call to the ARBA membership. The Hall of Fame board of directors, which is representative of most geographic areas in Alabama, then designates those nominees who are to be inducted in a given year. Nominees who are not selected are held in an active file for consideration for three succeeding years. This file will contain biographical and other data on many outstanding individuals or corporations/institutions.

The transportation construction industry is delighted about the creation of an Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame. Individually and collectively, our industry makes significant contributions to the advancement of engineering and technology, leading to an enhanced economic, cultural, and political future for the state and nation. Those honored will serve as symbols inspiring others to pursue rewarding and challenging careers in all transportation construction fields.

* denotes member is deceased.

  Class of 2011
Shirley Banks
Thomas J. Batey
James L. Carden
Robert M. Cumbee
John W. Overton
Hosea O. Weaver*

East Alabama Paving Company
Class of 2010
James E. Folsom, Sr.*
John Haraway*
James H. Kelley, Jr.
John L. Murphree*
Class of 2009
A.E. “Pee Wee” Burgess*
Paul E. Chism
Robert R. Dunn*
John Malcolm McInnis, Sr.*
Billy S. Wilson
Class of 2008
David B. Abramson
S. Edward Hodges*
Michael B. McCartney
G. Mack Roberts
I.J. (Jud) Scott. Sr.*
C.P. (Pat) Wilson, Sr.*

Vulcan Materials Company
Class of 2007
Roger Bass
Ralph E. Compagno
S. A. Graham *
William A. Hughes, Sr.
Samuel Barrow Murphree, Sr. *
William E. Page
Class of 2006
Dave Bennett*
Edwin M. Dixon*
Robert Edwin Grills*
John M. Harbert, III*
Charles E. Watts, Sr.*
James G. Whitaker, Jr.*
Joe D. Wilkerson
Class of 2005
William T. Abramson*
Ray D. Bass*
Flynn R. DuBose, Sr.*
Thomas F. Hobart*
William F. Land
G.W. Norrell*
Hall W. Thompson*
Norman J. Walton, Sr*
Class of 2004
Wynton Malcolm “Red” Blount*
S T Bunn, Sr.*
H.C. “Hack” Jordan*
Fuller Asberry Kimbrell
Michael H. McCartney*
Harold Mosley Newell*
James Whitfield Waitzman
Class of 2003
James Cecil Ashburn
William Houston Blount*
William Ransom Johnson Dunn, Jr.*
Quin Edmondson Flowers*
J. P. McKee*
Clyde O. Mitchell*
John P. Moss*
Edwin N. Rodgers*
M. R. Thomason*
Nimrod William Ezekial Long
Henry Grady Norrell*
Samuel M. Torrence

Criteria for selection into the Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame

1. The candidate's accomplishments, in the field of transportation construction, must have
brought fame and honor to the industry in the state of Alabama.

2. The candidate must be 60 years of age OR have been retired for five years.

3. Company Owners

4. Company Employees

5. Alabama Department of Transportation Officials

6. Major Industry Supporters

Approval Process for Individual and Company Honorees

  • All nominated candidates remain eligible for induction for three years from the date of nomination. (non-selected applications from 2002 will be eligible for consideration through December 2005)
  • The cutoff date for nominations from the membership will be September 30 for the initial year; December 31 each following year.
  • All nominations to be considered for induction must be submitted to the chairman of the Hall of Fame board, and must include a summary of each candidate’s accomplishments.
  • The slate of honorees shall be selected by the ten-member Hall of Fame board of directors.

Honorees are selected based on a scoring system.

Each board member will be presented with a list of the names for consideration for the coming year. They will then rate individual applications on a scale ranging from one, two, three, etc. (1,2,3), with one being the highest score.

Upon completion of the scoring system by all board members, the applicants with the most number-one votes will be offered for admission in the honoring class for the current year.

The board of directors will decide upon the number of recipients for each annual ceremony. All non-selected applications will be kept in an active file for consideration for three successive years.


Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame Board of Directors Membership

ARBA Hall of Fame Nominating Committee

5 Member Committee

  • One member from each decade, the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s with the exception of the 1950s.
  • A Chairman will also be appointed to represent the nominating committee to the full board.
  • The current ARBA president will serve on the Nominating Committee.
  • It is the responsibility of the nominating committee to renew membership of the Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame Board of Directors.

ARBA Hall of Fame Board of Directors

10 Member Board

The responsibility of the ARBA Hall of Fame Board is to determine each class of Hall of Fame inductees.

  • Past President of the Alabama Road Builders Association.
  • Past/Active Member of the Alabama Road Builders Association.
  • Terms of original board will be staggered. Board seats expire December 31.
  • As potential board members from past decades are no longer living, that board slot will be moved to the following decade of past presidents.
  • If a past president is unable to serve, that seat may be filled, with approval of the board, to another past president willing to accept the term.
  • The current ARBA president will serve on the board of directors. (In the year 2005, as more past presidents become eligible, the 2000 seat(s) will revert to being selected by the Nominating Committee.)
  • Three at-large board seats were added to the board in 2006.


Want to nominate someone for the Hall of Fame? Download our application and send it in!