Gov. Kay Ivey has appointed three new members to the Alabama State Port Authority board and reappointed a fourth. All will begin their terms this month, and all will be recommended to the Alabama State Senate for confirmation during the next regular session in 2021.
Newly appointed are Tony Cochran, Patricia Sims and Carl Jamison, while Alvin Hope is being reappointed to the nine-member board.
“I’ve appointed individuals that have consistently demonstrated the necessary knowledge and leadership skills critical to economic expansion in Alabama,” said Ivey. “The success of our port is fundamental to Alabama businesses and jobs, and I’m confident these folks will contribute to the great work being done under John Driscoll and the board.”
Cochran is owner and managing partner of CK Business Solutions PC in Albertville. A CPA, he serves on the boards of the Albertville Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Alabama and the National Acoustic Neuroma Association, and he was recently appointed chair of the Alabama Small Business Commission. He will represent the northern area of the state.
Also representing the northern area is Sims, who is president of Drake State Community and Technical College in Huntsville. Active in education issues and organizations, she is on the board of trustees and the executive council for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. She also serves on the Burritt Memorial Committee and the University of Alabama College of Education Board of Advisors. She was named to the 2019 class of Women Who Shape the State of Alabama and listed as one of the Ten Most Dominant Leaders of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She serves on the boards of Alabama Forever Wild, Alabama United and the Women’s Economic Development Council Foundation.
Jamison, appointed to represent the central area, is shareholder and chair of the executive committee of JamisonMoneyFarmer PC in Tuscaloosa. In a career spanning more than 35 years, he has provided attest, tax and consulting services to firms engaged in manufacturing, construction, medical and real estate. He is past chair and a current executive committee member at the Business Council of Alabama and serves on the boards of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority and Progress PAC. He also serves on the governor’s study group on gaming policy.
Reappointed is Alvin Hope, an attorney and shareholder with Maynard Cooper Gale who has been on the board since 2015. His legal practice involves economic development and incentives, pubic financing, health care and labor and employment. He is on the board of the Alabama Center for Real Estate.
The Alabama State Port Authority owns and operates Alabama’s deep-water port at Mobile, one of the nation’s largest seaports handling more than 26 million tons of cargo annually.