Faith and works : the business, politics, and philanthropy of Alabama's Jimmy Faulkner : a biography / by Elvin Stanton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stanton, Elvin.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Faulkner, James Herman 1916-.

Faulkner, James Herman.

Alabama. Legislature. Senate--Biography.

Alabama.

Alabama. Legislature. Senate.

Biography.

Alabama--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

Baldwin County (Ala.)--Business and politics.

Baldwin County (Ala.).

Alabama--Imprints.

Physical Description:

280 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Montgomery, Ala. : NewSouth Books, [2002]

Summary:

Jimmy Faulkner has had four amazing careers: as a newspaperman, military pilot, businessman, and politician. The Alabama native has excelled at each. Faulkner ran twice for governor and lost by close margins in both races, in 1954 to "Big Jim" Folsom and in 1958 when he ran third in the primary behind John Patterson and George Wallace. He later served in Wallace's campaign, and has been active in the Alabama Democratic Party for more than a half century. But his giving personality is better suited for the charitable activities that have come to define his life.

Author Elvin Stanton traces Faulkner's personal and public life through seven decades of notable Alabama service. Beginning with his modest upbringing on a red-dirt farm, proceeding through his early days as the owner-publisher of a small daily newspaper, Faulkner is revealed in Faith and Works as a man dedicated to the public good. At age 24, he served as mayor of Bay Minette, which has been his home since the 1930s. He went on to the Alabama State Senate, and after he left elective politics has continued to work behind the scenes for industrial and economic development.

But perhaps his biggest passion has been education: Faulkner has spent a lifetime trying to improve Alabama's educational system, and now has two colleges named in his honor. The story of Jimmy Faulkner is one of courage, inspiration, and faith. He is an eternal optimist, an octogenarian with twice the determination and energy of many who are decades his junior. Faulkner never meets a stranger, and has been a friend and confidant of presidents, governors, members of congress, and state legislators in many states. He is known for treating everyone he meets, governor or janitor, with the same dignity and respect.

Contents:

1 Red Clay Roots 23

2 Youth and Education 33

3 A Career Begins 47

4 A Porch Swing Romance 53

5 A Dark Cloud Gathers 57

6 "Angels Unawares" 61

7 Treasures of the Heart 69

8 Duty, Honor, Country 81

9 Family Matters 93

10 Dearest Friends 115

11 The World of Politics 129

12 Making a Living 159

13 Volkert & Associates 169

14 Education 179

15 A Centennial Man 193

16 Gleaning "Handfuls on Purpose" 203

Addendum: Building Bay Minette and Baldwin County 217.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

1588380920 :

OCLC:

49685191