Category: Past Speakers

JIM NAGY – REESE’S SENIOR BOWL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jim Nagy took over as executive director of the Senior Bowl in June 2018 after spending 18 years in the National Football League. In his time in the NFL, Nagy worked as an area scout in the West, Midwest, and Southeast regions, as well as in a national scouting capacity for four years with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was a part of six Super Bowl teams and four Lombardi Trophy winning clubs (Green Bay Packers XXXI, New England Patriots XXXVIII and XXXIX and Seattle Seahawks XLVIII). Prior to his time in the NFL, Nagy worked for a sports agency in New York City representing NFL players and had various jobs in the media, including a consultant role on the NFL Today pregame show on CBS and writing his own football column in The Sporting News magazine. He graduated from the University of Michigan and his family has resided in Mobile, Ala., since 2007.

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 and Masters 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 to 4-year terms in 2010, 2014 , and most recently in 2018. Sheriff Cochran serves or has served the community on numerous agency boards, including the Penelope House, Drug Education Council, Boy Scouts of America, the Child Advocacy Center and Alabama Safety Institute, Inc. In 2015, Sheriff Cochran was appointed by the Governor to serve as a Commissioner on the Alabama Police Officers Standards and Training Commission. Sheriff Cochran and his wife Sabrina have four children and three grandchildren.

Lawrence L. Battiste, IV is a long-time native of Mobile, Alabama. He is a graduate of B.C. Rain High School, class of 1981. Upon graduating from high school, he joined the United States Navy where he served five (5) years.
He has an Associate of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Bishop State Community College, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management of Human Resources, and a Master Degree in Justice Administration from Faulkner University. He is also a graduate of the F B I National Academy.
Once he returned to Mobile after his military career, he began his career in law enforcement. He worked for the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office as a narcotic’s investigator assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force (DEA). He was later assigned to the Child Advocacy Center as an investigator and took on the responsibility as the department head of the Major Crimes Unit. He was then promoted to the rank of Lieutenant where he served as a member and commander of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office Special Weapons and Tactics Team, better known as SWAT.
On October 27, 2005, Lawrence L. Battiste, IV ended his career with Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and began a career as the Chief of Police for the City of Prichard, “The City of Champions.” Chief Battiste was a faithful servant to the city of Prichard for four (4) years until his resignation on December 14, 2009. Chief Battiste became the Chief Probation Officer for the Juvenile Court of Mobile County until his appointment as Assistant Chief of Police for the Mobile Police Department on May 29, 2015. On April 15, 2017, Lawrence L. Battiste, IV was appointed as the Chief of Police for the City of Mobile Police Department. Chief Battiste is married and the father of three (3) children. He is a member of the Revelation Missionary Baptist Church, where the Reverend David Frazier Sr. is the pastor. Chief Battiste serves on the Deacons Board.

Mark Sealy
Fire Chief
Chief Mark Sealy has served with the Mobile Fire Department for over 26 years. He began his career as a Firemedic and has progressed steadily through the ranks of the fire department. He has experience in all aspects of fire service including Driver on both suppression and medic units, Captain on both engine and ladder companies, and as a District Chief in both operations and in training. He was promoted to the position of Fire Chief for the City of Mobile on May 14, 2017.
Sealy’s specialty training includes hazmat, urban search and rescue (USAR), as well as being a SCBA specialist (smoke diver), nationally registered paramedic, and fire instructor. He is well respected among firefighters for his professionalism and his ability to motivate others.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Chief Sealy began his professional career as a United States Marine, where he served as Sergeant of a Reconnaissance Unit, earning consistent commendations for devotion to duty. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Science from Columbia Southern University. He is presently enrolled in the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy.

Biographical Sketch
Eliska Morgan
Executive Director
Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council
In this week’s presentation, Eliska Morgan will provide an exciting update on the status of Coastal Restoration funding in South Alabama. Eliska was appointed to serve as Alabama’s Coastal Restoration Coordinator in 2013, where she is assigned to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. In this role, she also serves as Executive Director of the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council and is leading the project review, selection, and award process for the Restore Act trust fund, established in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
A native of Mobile, Eliska began her career in 1982 as an intern for Congressman Jack Edwards. After three years in Washington, Eliska moved home to Mobile and joined the district staff for newly-elected Congressman Sonny Callahan as a caseworker. She was promoted to and served as District Director from 1997 to 2002, and then served as campaign manager for Jo Bonner. Following Congressman Bonner’s election, Eliska worked with his transition team and then served as Deputy Chief of Staff and District Director until July, 2013.
Eliska is currently a member of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program’s Executive Committee, Finance Committee and Business Resources Committee. In addition, she serves on the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation Board of Trustees; the Board of the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science Foundation; the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee; the Alabama Water Resources Commission; and the Coastal Resources Advisory Committee.
A graduate of the University of South Alabama with a B.S. degree in marketing, Eliska and her husband, Scott, have three children, William, 25, Taylor, 23, and Michael, 11. The Morgan’s make their home in Mobile, Alabama.

Raine Bedsole
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Title: Inspiration for the New Federal Courthouse Art
In this week’s program, New Orleans-based artist, Raine Bedsole, will discuss public art in the context of the artworks created for the newly constructed Mobile Federal Courthouse. Stemming from her childhood in Mobile, nautical imagery and nature inspires her work, and her new sculpture, “Justitia”, named after the Roman goddess of law and order expresses the maritime nature of Mobile.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Raine Bedsole is the daughter of Rotarians Ann Bedsole Holmes and the late Palmer Bedsole. She spent much of her childhood in coastal south Alabama and at her family’s farm on the Alabama River. These early experiences inspired a lifelong interest in nature’s forms and textures and continue to influence themes in her art. She received a Bachelor of Fine Art from Auburn University and a Masters of Fine Art from the San Francisco Art Institute, and moved to New Orleans twenty-eight years ago. Recent recognition includes feature footage of her work in the final two Twilight movies and grants for public art from the Joan Mitchell Foundation and the Jefferson Parish Public Art Initiative. Raine’s work is included in the collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art and the South Carolina Museum of Art, as well as many other public and private collections both nationally and internationally. She is represented by Callan Contemporary in New Orleans.

Rotary Club of Mobile
Program for November 29, 2018: Tom McGehee: “A Forgotten Statesman: John McDuffie, Jr.”
John McDuffie, Jr. (1883-1950) was a Monroe County native who served as a state legislator, congressman, and ultimately federal judge. Upon his election to congress in 1919 McDuffie was never defeated in a public election despite constant attacks by the owner of the Mobile Register, Frederick Ingate Thompson. He served as Minority Whip from 1929 until 1931 and was an outspoken critic of the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1935 he resigned his congressional seat to accept the federal judgeship in Mobile where he would serve until his untimely death in 1950.
Tom McGehee has served as the Museum Director for Bellingrath Gardens and Home since January of 1994 and has been a member of the Rotary Club of Mobile since 2000. He has researched both Mobile and Monroe County history for three decades and is a great nephew of John McDuffie, Jr. He is married to Monroeville native Ceil Smith McGehee and has one daughter, Megan, who currently resides in Athens, Greece.