POWERGRAMS

PG_Jan_2019_final

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34 U.S., beginning in the Black Belt of Alabama, can be an economic driver for decades to come." Native Sons Perhaps more impressive than Eutaw's parade of beautiful homes is its history of prominent people in all realms of life from the town's beginning to the present. Only one of them is remembered in granite on the courthouse square. Matthew Leonard fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars. On Feb. 28, 1967, he was a platoon sergeant with Company B, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, Ist Infantry Division, near Suoi Da, South Vietnam, when his soldiers came under attack by a large force. Leonard's left hand was shattered by a sniper's bullet as he dragged a wounded soldier to safety. He refused medical treatment and moved from one position to another rallying his men against the camouflaged foe hurling hand grenades. An enemy machine gun began sweeping the perimeter where Leonard's men were pinned down, the Americans' machine gun inoperable. "Leonard rose to his feet, charged the enemy gun and destroyed the hostile crew despite being hit several times by enemy fire," the citation reads. "He moved to a tree, propped himself against it, and continued to engage the enemy until he had succumbed to his many wounds. His fighting spirit, heroic leadership and valiant acts inspired the remaining members of his platoon to hold back the enemy until assistance arrived." In 1968, Leonard's widow and family members received the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon Johnson in a ceremony at the Pentagon. Other notable Eutaw natives include: • Oliver Harlan Cross, who was a congressman from Texas from 1929 until 1937. • Edward de Graffenreid, who was a congressman from Alabama from 1949 until 1953. • William Earl "Bill" Lee, who was a consensus All- American for the 1934 Alabama Crimson Tide national champion football team. He went on to play professionally for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Green Bay Packers. He is one of only 10 players named to the National Football League 1930s All-Decade Team who has not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. • Robert Winston "Cob" Jarvis, who was the University of Mississippi's first two-time All-SEC basketball player. He didn't play pro basketball, instead opting for baseball and spending six seasons in the minor leagues. He was the Ole Miss basketball coach from 1969 to 1976. In 2010, he was named an SEC Basketball Legend. • Bo Scarbrough was the offensive MVP of the 2016 Peach Bowl when he ran for a University of Alabama bowl record 180 yards in a win over Washington. He gained 93 yards and scored two touchdowns in the national championship game before breaking his right leg. Scarbrough was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 and joined the Jacksonville Jaguars late last year. A street in Eutaw is named in his honor. • Deontay Leshun Wilder, who is widely known as a Tuscaloosa native but his family is from Wilder's Quarters near Eutaw. e 2008 Olympic bronze medalist has held the WBC heavyweight boxing title since 2015, when he became the first American world champion in nine years and ended the longest non-U.S. champ streak. He is known as "e Bronze Bomber" in a salute to Alabama native and champion boxer Joe Louis. Alabama Power Office Leah Pearson Banks runs the show for customers in Alabama Power's Eutaw Business Office, taking payments, answering phone calls, selling appliances and sometimes providing advice to the random man off the street. Banks has been with the company 13 years, beginning part-time in Eutaw after earning a degree at the University of West Alabama. She worked in Tuscaloosa for six years before returning to the Eutaw Office. Banks has been a member of the Alabama Power Service Organization her entire career. Banks and her husband, Harris, have no children: their black lab "is my child," she says laughing. He is a Eutaw native but she grew up in nearby Boligee, graduated from Demopolis High School and has grown to love her adopted town. She is a member of the Downtown Revitalization Committee. She and 14 friends recently organized a garden club, devoting after- work hours once a week to beautifying Eutaw. "We go around town and find little fixer-up projects," she says. Banks' uncle, Ernest Stephens Jr., retired from Alabama Power after working at Greene County and Gorgas steam plants. "I grew up knowing it was a great company," she says. Greensboro Office Manager Susie Harris also supervises the Eutaw and Uniontown offices. She grew up in Aliceville, graduated from Pickens Academy and then from Mississippi University for Women. Harris started as a Customer Service representative in the Aliceville Office in 1997, progressing through the years there and in the Reform Office. She transferred to the Tuscaloosa Office in 2010 to develop her supervisory skills and in December of that year became the business office manager for Greensboro and Uniontown, adding Eutaw in 2017. She is a 2016 graduate of the Leadership Development Program and an APSO member. Harris has a daughter, Kaleigh Pate. Banks Harris

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