Category: Past Speakers

Captain Tom Daniel U.S. Navy (Retired) served 31 years on active duty highlighted by serving as Commanding Officer USS SAMUEL ELIOT MORISON (FFG-13), Commanding Officer NROTC Florida State and Florida A & M Universities and Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations. Captain Daniel also completed a combat deployment as Executive Officer USS McINERNEY (FFG-8) during Desert Storm/Desert Shield in the Persian Gulf and discovered and destroyed 9 free floating Iraqi contact mines. U.S. Naval Proceedings Magazine published Captain Daniel’s “DON”T ASK ME BUT….” Article “ JROTC is an investment in the future” in the November 2021 issue.  Since retirement in 2007 Captain Daniel has served as the Senior Naval Science Instructor at WP Davidson High School in Mobile Al with 8^th graders cross enrolled from Admiral Denton Magnet School. One of the highlights of WP Davidson’s NJROTC program was General Colin Powell presenting a donation to WP Davidson High NJROTC via the Hargrove Foundation in 2019.

 

Daryl Taylor
Daryl Taylor is the Vice President and General Manager for
Airbus’ Commercial Aircraft Manufacturing in Mobile, Alabama.
Daryl transitioned into this position in November 2018 with Airbus’
addition of the A220 Final Assembly in Mobile. In this role, Daryl is
now responsible for the U.S. manufacturing operations for the
A320 and A220 families of aircraft.
Daryl joined Airbus in 2015 to lead the ramp-up of the new A320
U.S. manufacturing operations and site management, responsible
for ensuring the assembly and delivery of on-time, on-quality and
on-cost aircraft to the North American market. Daryl has led the
team in Mobile to a successful delivery of 100+ aircraft in its first
three years of operation.
Previously, Daryl was Vice President and General Manager at GKN Aerospace, from 2013 to
2015. At GKN, he was responsible for two machining and subassembly facilities: Precision
Machining, Inc. in Wellington, Kansas and Bandy Aerospace, Inc. in Burbank, California.
From 2010 to 2013, Daryl was General Manager of the Q400 Program at Bombardier
Aerospace in Toronto, Canada; and from 1997 to 2009 he held various roles at Hawker
Beechcraft Corporation in Wichita, Kansas, including Director of Operations H4000, Director
of Assembly Operations Hawker 900 & 750, and Director of Six Sigma & Performance
Excellence.
He was a Certified Engineering Apprentice at Airbus in the UK from 1989 until 1994. He
graduated from North East Wales Institute with a Higher National Diploma in Aeronautical
Engineering, Southwestern College in with a B.S. in Manufacturing Technology.
Daryl lives in Fairhope, AL with his wife and three children

Andrew Elliott
Director/Counsellor of the Northern Ireland Bureau Washington, DC
Andrew was appointed to his US Diplomatic Post in November 2019.
He joined the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 1988 and the Senior Civil Service in 2000.
His previous diplomatic post was as Head of the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive
in Brussels from 2015 until November 2019, where a major priority related to the
particular challenge of Brexit for the region of Northern Ireland.
From 2010 he was responsible for a programme of major reform to the delivery of EU
Common Agricultural Policy grants and subsidies to farmers in the Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland. As a result of this work, the
exposure of the Department to financial correction by the European Commission was
significantly reduced.
From 2005 until 2010, he was responsible for directing the development of population
health policy in Northern Ireland, including the introduction of legislation to ban
smoking in enclosed public spaces and the preparations for pandemic influenza.
From 2000 to 2004 he was Secretary to the Parades Commission with responsibility for
providing senior advice to the Commission on the discharge of its duties and powers in
relation to issues concerning human rights and the promotion of mediation and peacebuilding.
Andrew is married with two children.

Ricardo A. Woods is a trial lawyer and shareholder in Burr & Forman, LLP’s Mobile office. He is a creative problem solver who provides his clients with innovative and cost effective solutions and strategies. Ricardo has first-chair jury trial experience, as well as extensive pre-trial litigation experience. He has successfully defended matters, which included allegations of wrongful death, paralysis, severe bodily injuries, and toxic torts.
Ricardo currently serves as the Chair of DRI’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He also serves as the City Attorney for Mobile.

Doug Otto recently retired from the Corps of Engineers’ Mobile District,
where he served as the Chief of the Engineering Division. A licensed
Professional Engineer, he was responsible for all engineering services for the
District’s Civil Works and Military programs. In addition to his engineering
career, he also served in the Air Force Reserve for over thirty years, retiring
as a Colonel in 2015. As a Command Pilot with over 4,000 military flight
hours, he is a veteran of Operation Just Cause, Operation Desert Shield, and
over 150 hurricane eyewall penetrations while serving as the Commander of
the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron “Hurricane Hunters”. He earned
a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech, a
Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree from Auburn University, and is a
graduate of the USAF War College. As a spouse of a working wife, his
current career goals are to ensure the meals are made, the laundry folded,
and the kids get where they need to be . .

About Governor Ivey
Official Portrait
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Growing up in the small town of Camden in Wilcox County, Alabama, and working on her father’s farm taught Kay Ivey to value hard work and living within one’s means. Her parents instilled values of faith, family, and community.
After graduating from Auburn University in 1967, Kay worked as a high school teacher and a bank officer. She served as Reading Clerk of the Alabama House of Representatives under Speaker Joseph C. McCorquodale and was Assistant Director of the Alabama Development Office, where she worked to spur job creation and economic development across the state.
In 2002, Kay became the first Republican elected State Treasurer since Reconstruction and she was re-elected in 2006. As Treasurer, Kay was committed to making the office more open, transparent, and efficient. Kay was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2010, becoming the first Republican woman to hold the office in Alabama’s history.
She again made history on November 4, 2014, by becoming the first Republican Lieutenant Governor re-elected to the office. The Lieutenant Governor’s primary Constitutional duty is to preside over legislative proceedings of the upper house as President of the Senate.
Kay has been honored to receive numerous awards for her service to the State of Alabama, including the 2015 ALFA Service to Agriculture Award, Newmax’s 50 Most Influential Female Republicans in the country and, most recently, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 2016 Public Service Award; 2017 Citizen of the Year, by River Region Living Magazine. In September 2019, the Alabama-Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America distinguished Governor Ivey as a Golden Eagle for her ‘scout like service’ and being a trailblazer for women.
On April 10, 2017, Kay was sworn in as the 54th Governor of the State of Alabama in the Old Senate Chamber in the Alabama State Capitol by Acting Chief Justice Lyn Stuart. Following a successful nineteen months in office, the people of Alabama made history again in November 2018 by electing Governor Ivey to a full term. She is the first Lt. Governor of Alabama elected to a full term after taking over as governor due to a vacancy in the governor’s office.
On January 14, 2019, Governor Ivey was officially sworn in for her full term by Associate Justice Will Sellers. Kay will continue to bring conservative leadership with effective results to make this generation more productive and the next generation more prosperous.
She is a member of the First Baptist Church of Montgomery, the Montgomery Rotary Club, and the Board of Directors of the Montgomery YMCA. Kay is also the first Girls State alumnus to be elected to an Alabama Constitutional Office.

TONY SHEFFIELD
President, Canfor Southern Pine
Tony Sheffield was appointed President of Canfor Southern Pine (CSP) in January 2021. His responsibilities involve leading the company’s operations in the US South, continuing to build upon the company’s exceptional reputation as a preferred supplier of quality wood products, and focusing on HR and recruitment.
Previously, Tony held the role of Vice President of Southern Yellow Pine Sales and Marketing for CSP, overseeing sales across North America and overseas. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the wood and lumber industry in a variety of roles, including finance, wood procurement, operations and sales.
Tony graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Alabama Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Tony has been a member of several professional boards, including the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturing Association and the Southern Forest Products Association, and has been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Biography of Scott Bannon
Scott Bannon is the Director for the Alabama Marine Resources Division (MRD) of the Alabama
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The mission of the Marine Resources
Division is to manage the State’s marine fishery resources through research, enforcement, and
education for the maximum benefit of the resources and the citizens of Alabama. The Division
consists of enforcement, fisheries, and administrative sections.
Scott has been with the Marine Resources Division for 24 years has been the Director since 2017.
He began his career as a municipal police officer before becoming a Conservation Enforcement
Officer. He has held the positions of officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain and Chief of
Enforcement. In 2006, he was selected as the Alabama Wildlife Federation Officer of the Year for
actions taken during Hurricane Katrina, 2014 recipient of the Order of the Purple Heart Award for
bravery for actions taken in historic flooding in Baldwin County and is the 2020 Fisheries
Conservationist of the Year.
Scott is retired from the US Coast Guard after having 30 years in active and reserve capacities. He
achieved the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer (E9). He has served as a boarding officer, boat
coxswain, Underway Officer of the Deck and Conning Officer (ship driver), navigator and
Command Master Chief. He has been stationed in Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Connecticut and
Alabama serving on three patrol boats, 2 small boat stations, Naval Academy Prep School, Port
Security Unit and Sector Mobile. Additionally, he has deployed to operations in Cuba, South
America, Mexico, Haiti and other Caribbean Islands.
Scott was born in Louisville, KY and resides in Mobile, AL. He is a graduate of Columbia
Southern University and is active member of First Baptist Church Tillman’s Corner where he
teaches College Life Group, coaches soccer and basketball and participates in the drama ministry.
He is married to Pamela and has 2 children, Brandon a Special Tactics Captain in the US Air Force
and Bailey, a sale representative for Thompson Caterpillar, and has 3 grandchildren

TERRANCE SMITH, DIRECTOR
M.A. Instructional Design and Development, University of South Alabama
B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, University of South Alabama
A native of Prichard, Alabama, graduate of C.F. Vigor, and a University of South Alabama Alumnus; Terrance has a deep-rooted connection to Mobile County and the surrounding areas. He continuously pours himself into fostering community growth by mentoring local youth, serving as a board member to several organizations, and building relationships with city leaders to help blur the line between city officials and the residents that they serve.
As the director of the Mayor’s Innovation Team, he leads a team of professionals who are responsible for developing strategies to uniquely solve problems within the City and its communities. This is often achieved by creating a connection with those affected and gaining a deeper understanding of the impact of issues on both external and internal stakeholders.
A few of his professional accolades include Mobile Bay Magazine’s 40 under 40, Leadership Mobile Class of 2014, and al.com’s Young Rebel of the Year Award. Most importantly he is a husband, friend, and an active community member. He lives by the motto “Make Mistakes, Make Improvements, Never Make Excuses”.
Terrance was named in the top 5 of the ELGL’s Traeger Awards in honor of those making the greatest impact in local government all across the nation.