Category: Past Speakers

Rusty Murdaugh
President and CFO
Rusty Murdaugh is president and CFO of Austal USA. He leads an
organization of nearly 3,200 shipbuilding professionals headquartered
in Mobile, Alabama, with operations in Washington, D.C., San Diego
and Singapore and is responsible for all aspects of Austal USA’s ship
manufacturing, service and support operations worldwide.
Murdaugh brings over 33 years of strong financial and business
management experience from within the defense contracting industry.
Before joining Austal, he served as vice president of finance for a
business segment of Esterline Corporation. Prior to Esterline, he was
with Avnet, Inc., where he held the positions of group financial officer followed by vice president of financial
planning and analysis. Earlier in his career, Murdaugh held financial
and business management positions with United Technologies (formerly Goodrich) and Honeywell.
Murdaugh holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and management from Saint Leo University and a master’s
degree in government contracting from the Florida Institute of Technology. His vast global finance and
management experience includes operations, government contracting, and strategic planning. He has a
proven record of leadership in complex business environments with strong financial performance.
Murdaugh is a Six Sigma green belt and a certified Lean Practitioner Trainer. He is a member of the Propeller
Club of the United States: Port of Mobile.
About Austal USA
Austal USA is an advanced shipbuilder headquartered in Mobile, Ala. with service centers in San Diego and
Singapore. The company’s modern ship manufacturing facility is designed to maximize efficiency through
the use of moving assembly lines for module construction and adherence to lean manufacturing principles.
Austal USA joined the U.S. defense market in 2004 and quickly rose to become the fifth largest shipbuilder
in the U.S. Today, Austal USA supports both steel and aluminum ship construction as well as services and
support worldwide. The company is under contract with the U.S. Navy to build the small surface combatant
Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship, the auxiliary ship Expeditionary Fast Transport, and the Towing,
Salvage and Rescue ships. Earning safety excellence awards the last six consecutive years, Austal USA
continues to be one of the safest shipyards in America.

Abe L. Harper Jr.
Harper Technologies, LLC
Abe Harper is the President and CEO of Harper Technologies, LLC – a “Concierge Culture” IT
Service Provider based in Mobile, AL. Harper Technologies specializes in Managed IT,
Infrastructure Services, and Data Services. As a business in a fast-paced industry, Harper
Technologies, employs the latest industry tools, knowledge, and methodologies to solve
clients’ problems. Every procedure and tool are consistently evaluated to ensure that they
embody the company slogan, “Today’s Company, Tomorrow’s Technology”
Abe, a native of Daphne, AL, is an alumnus of the Alabama School of Math and Science. He also
attended Florida A&M University and the University of South Alabama where he met his wife
Audra. They have been married for just over 15 years, and have two princesses (Natalie and
Erin),one prince (Abe Harper III) , and one puppy (AJ Harper).
Aside from being an entrepreneur, husband, and a father, Abe has a specific passion for the
local and regional community. His desire is to help create better future opportunities for the
generations to follow. Abe is very active in the regional community serving in several
organizations, including the following:
Merchants and Marine Bank – Board of Directors
Alabama Innovation Corporation –Corporation Member
Prichard Preparatory School – Chairman, Board of Directors
CityHope Church – Elder
Alabama Small Business Development Center Network – Advisory Director
Aside from work and community activities, Abe also has a few hobbies and tries to indulge
when things are quiet. He loves travelling and is also private pilot. Additionally, he enjoys
fishing, photography, and saltwater aquariums.

Courtney McBride is from Brewton and has recently joined the PFC team as the public speaking coordinator.  She visits churches, venues, and civic groups speaking about this life giving ministry.  But the main goal is to point lost souls to the cross and grow the kingdom.  She has also been sharing the life altering message of Jesus to churches, ladies groups and youth groups for the last several years.

She is the principal at Flomaton Elem and has been in education for 23 years. She has been married and  has three boys.

President Jo Bonner

Jo Bonner is the fourth president of the University of South Alabama.

Previously, he served as chief of staff to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey. He joined the Ivey Administration in December 2018, as the governor’s senior advisor. Before joining the governor’s office, he served as Vice Chancellor for Economic Development at The University of Alabama System from 2013 to 2018. During his final year at UAS, he was an executive on loan, serving as Interim Executive Director of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority.

For more than a decade, he represented Alabama’s First District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to the 108th Congress in November 2002 and was reelected to five additional terms. As a student at The University of Alabama, he worked on Capitol Hill as an intern for Congressman Jack Edwards. After graduation, he returned to Washington as press secretary and later chief of staff to Congressman Sonny Callahan.

In Congress, he earned a reputation as a respected and influential voice of reason in both Alabama and Washington. He was a member of the House Appropriations Committee, where he served on three key subcommittees, as well as the House Ethics Committee. Widely respected on both sides of the aisle, he was selected by House Speaker John Boehner to serve as chairman of Ethics during the 112th Congress. His crowning Congressional accomplishment came in 2012 when Airbus announced plans to build their first U.S. Final Assembly Line in Mobile. Over the years, Congressman Bonner developed friendships and strategic partnerships with the top corporate leaders at Airbus, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies. The Airbus project has resulted in more than $1 billion being invested in Alabama, creating thousands of new jobs in the aerospace industry and putting Mobile on track to become the fourth largest commercial aviation city in the world.

President Bonner has received numerous awards and honors, including a 2020 induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor; the Academy is the state’s premiere recognition of 100 living Alabamians for their outstanding accomplishments and service. In 2016, the Business Council of Alabama (BCA) created the inaugural “Congressman Jo Bonner Spirit of Leadership Award” and honored Bonner as its first recipient. In 2013, he received the Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest honor the U.S. Navy bestows on a civilian. He also received the 2012 “Governor Bob Riley Building a Better Alabama Award” by the BCA.

Bonner earned a B.A. degree in Journalism from The University of Alabama in 1982. He is married to the former Janée Lambert, of Mobile, and they are the parents of a daughter, Lee, and a son, Robins.

Born in Mobile, Garrett is a graduate of UMS Preparatory School where he was a 2014 athletic hall of fame inductee. Garrett earned a bachelors degree from the University of Georgia where he was a pole-vaulter on the varsity track team. Upon graduation Garrett went on to complete his Master’s Degree in Fitness Management (M.S.S) at United States Sports Academy. During his studies at the Academy, Garrett interned at the Siegfried health center at St. Johns Medical facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Cooper Institute in Dallas Texas.

 

After personal training for eight years in different facilities in Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama, Garrett opened Personal Edge Fitness, Inc. in 2000. With the most qualified staff in the southeast, Personal Edge offers s personal training in all facets of fitness and sport including weight loss, rehabilitation, senior training, balance, and athletic development.  Garrett can be heard weekly as the Host of the “Personal Edge Fitness” podcast, dispelling myths about health, fitness and wellness.

 

In 2010 Garrett re-entered the competitive athletic field in Sprint Triathlon. In August of that year Garrett, qualified for TEAM USA and his first World Championships in Beijing, China. In Beijing Garrett finished 15th in the world and was the top American finisher in his division. Since 2011 he has competed for Team USA in 8 world championships in Sprint Triathlon, Aquabike and Aquathlon. Garrett has just qualified for his ninth time to represent TEAM USA, in November, at the Aquabike world championships in Abu Dhabi, UAE .

 

He is married to Stephanie Jane Eads from Jasper, Alabama. They are both very active with Save-a-Stray and their K-9 foster and adoption programs. They are the proud parents of five dogs and provide a temporary home to many fosters.

 

I listen to people, especially strangers, and tell their stories to give them a voice. Stories are the human connections that help us find common ground. They break down the invisible walls that keep us from knowing each other and help us see life from a different point of view. I grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi and am in love with Mobile, Alabama. The Delta and the Birthplace of Mardi Gras are my favorite places for pictures and stories, but I do this everywhere I go for my blog Our Southern Souls (that also became a book). The dream of writing began with The Southern Rambler and now I write investigative stories for Lagniappe and report for Alabama Public Radio. My series about domestic violence, “From Hell to Hope” won first place in feature writing in 2019 from the Alabama Press Association and my series about sex trafficking, “Sexual Slavery in South Alabama” won the 2020 William H. Johnson Print Journalism Award given by the Medical Association for the State of Alabama and the second place in feature writing for the Green Eyeshade Awards that recognizes excellence in journalism in the southeast. I started the Facebook groups “Faces of Mobile” and “A Day in the Life of Mobile” to show the beauty in the daily life and small moments of a city that is finally reaching it’s potential. People and their stories are where I find inspiration and hope that makes sense in a crazy world.