Club President Claire McCarron recently awarded General Fund grants to Playhouse in the Park, Mobile Museum of Art, and Dumas Wesley’s Sybil Smith Village. Each year the Rotary Club of Mobile takes applications for small grants to aid organizations with equipment or capital needs. Successful applicants focus on programs that serve the club’s priority areas of children and/or health care. The 2020-2021 grant recipients will upgrade theater equipment, create a special children’s exhibit at the museum, and enhance wireless technology in the living quarters.
The General Fund Grant is budgeted annually. The application is on the website in the “Featured Club Projects” tab. Applications are due in the autumn.
Apr. 22, 21–Jimmy Shumock / Chair, University of South Alabama Board of Trustees
James H. “Jimmy” Shumock
Chair pro tempore
State at Large
Business Administration
Appointed 2010
James H. Shumock earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of South Alabama in 1980. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Prior to stepping down from a leadership role at Thompson Holdings Inc., a Mobile firm that includes Thompson Engineering, Watermark Design Group and Thompson Consulting Services, Shumock was the board chairman and chief executive officer. Shumock is currently a member of Thompson’s board and is leading the owner advisor team for the Alabama Department of Transportation’s procurement of the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project, as a public-private partnership.
Shumock’s career began in public accounting and he joined Thompson in 1983. His tenure there spanned more than three decades, during which he filled various roles and was instrumental in developing the company’s transportation services business throughout the Southeast. Shumock’s leadership in transportation included his service on the Alabama Commission on Infrastructure and his participation in a study of the financing of innovative mega projects in several European countries for the Federal Highway Administration.
Shumock served six years on the USA National Alumni Association Board, received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the USA National Alumni Association and is the president of the Jaguar Athletic Fund, a Mitchell College of Business fellow and serves on the USA Foundation Board.
Shumock has served the Mobile community with his participation on the Mobile Area Sports Commission, Coastal Conservation Association, Mobile Preschool for the Sensory Impaired, Mobile Baykeepers, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, Mobile Jaycees, the Greater Gulf States Fair, and he is a past president of the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. Shumock is also a graduate of Leadership Mobile.
Shumock and his wife, Debbie, live in Daphne. They have one daughter, Amanda, who lives in Alpharetta, Ga.
Apr. 15, 21–Sheriff Sam Cochran / Mobile County Sheriff
Sheriff Sam Cochran
Sam Cochran is a native Mobilian who graduated from the McGill Institute and went on to attend the University of South Alabama where he holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in criminal justice and public administration. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
He began his law enforcement career with the Mobile Police Department as a police cadet where he spent 31 years working his way through the ranks, serving the last 10 years as Chief of Police.
In 2006, Sam Cochran was elected Sheriff of Mobile County and re-elected in 2010, 2014, and 2018.
Sheriff Cochran serves the community on numerous agency boards, including the Penelope House, the Drug Education Council, and the Alabama Safety Institute. He was appointed by the Governor in 2015 to serve as a Commissioner on the Alabama Police Officers Standards and Training Commission. He has also served on the board of the Boy Scouts of America and the Child Advocacy Center.
Sheriff Cochran and his wife Sabrina have four children and four grandchildren.
Apr. 8, 21–Mike Lee / President & CEO, Page and Jones, Inc. "Update on the Latest Activity on the Waterfront"
Apr. 1, 21–Owen Bailey / CEO & Senior Associate VP, USA Health
Owen Bailey serves as chief executive officer and senior associate vice president of USA Health. His leadership responsibilities include the University’s two hospitals, USA Physicians Group and the Mitchell Cancer Institute.
A fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives, Bailey currently chairs the board of directors for the Alabama Hospital Association. He also serves on several other boards including the Business Council of Alabama and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mobile. He has also served on the boards of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and the University of Mobile. In addition, he has chaired the Southwest Council for the Alabama Hospital Association, Mobile Area Education Foundation and the Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council.
His previous healthcare roles include administrator of USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital, president and chief executive officer of Thomas Hospital in Fairhope, and an executive vice president for Infirmary Health System.
Bailey has received numerous awards, including the Up and Comer Award from Modern Healthcare magazine and the Young Healthcare Executive of the Year and the Regent’s Award from the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health administration from Auburn University and a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Bailey is an active member of the First Baptist Church of Fairhope. He and his wife, Genie, have four children.