TROY News Center

March 6, 2012

TROY economic development center works with Opp

OPP – Troy University's Center for International Business and Economic Development is part of a community effort in Opp that will pave the way for future economic growth and set a standard for small cities when it comes to strategic planning.

The Center is partnering with the City of Opp, PowerSouth, Covington Electric Cooperative, the Covington County Economic Development Commission, and the Janus Institute to develop the city's first 10-year strategic plan in an effort spearheaded by local business people.

The membership of the Opp Economic Development Committee consists of business people and no elected officials – although the committee's chair, Southern Independent Bank senior vice president Brett Ballard, city officials have been supportive of its efforts.

"We want it to be a committee that will stand the test of time regardless of changes in elected officials," Ballard said. "With that said, Mayor H.D. Edgar has been involved with this since the very beginning and has been instrumental in us putting it together."

Mayor for nearly two terms, Edgar said the prospects of a long-range strategy was exciting and focusing the community on growth.

"We have had some success (in the past), but it's really been a flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants situation," he said, indicating that more than seven years after a community-wide meeting drew only 100 people, the city managed to see some success in new job creation and retention.

"This group stepped up and wanted to take part in building a future for the city of Opp. I'm excited and I welcome the help," he said.

The committee's long-term goal is simple: to ensure a future for Opp, and provide a place where children and grandchildren will have opportunity.

"Skip (Spurlin) and I have told people we have five very selfish reasons for starting this process: our five kids," Ballard said. "I think growing up with my grandparents (in Opp) meant as much to me as my parents – my two granddaddies are who shaped me in how to deal with my customers, with the public, with my family. I want my children's children to have that same opportunity."

Spurlin, the committee's co-chair, is a commercial and industrial accounts executive with PowerSouth Energy who has deeps roots in Opp and is working with the committee to develop the strategic plan and bringing partners such as TROY into the process to assist in the planning process.

"We listened to what this committee of community leaders – from government to the private sector – said and we're concentrating on retail and industrial development," said Wiley Blankenship, the Center's director. "We are at a starting point to develop their overall plan and we will help target and fine tune the committee's goals."

Blankenship said the process will set Opp squarely in the center of Gov. Robert Bentley's "Accelerate Alabama" economic development initiative and others say that the city of about 6,500 residents will likely emerge as the trailblazing local government.

"They're taking a proactive approach to control their own future," said Tucson Roberts, president and chief executive officer of the Covington County Economic Development Commission.

"The town knows where they want to go and the best road for them to get there. That helps everyone around them and I think they will set the example for small cities in doing this," he said. "This effort is led by a lot of people and it's an example of a city really coming together."

Roberts' group will assist the PowerSouth-led consortium in supplying data, writing and other support of the strategic planning process.

"We recognized the importance of bringing in regional partners to develop a comprehensive economic development plan for the City of Opp. The Center's expertise and research capabilities will be a tremendous asset as we move forward," said Taylor Williams, economic and community development representative for PowerSouth in Alabama.

TROY's Center will focus on retail and commercial development areas of the planning process, while the Janus Institute, based in Atlanta, will work on industrial development planning.

"Our problem has been that we knew what we wanted to become as a city, but we didn't know how to get there," Edgar said. "The desire has been there but we've needed some structure. Wiley Blankenship and the other folks are providing that for us. It's a great thing for city of Opp.

"It's wonderful that we have a university willing to help us and it's unique that TROY is reaching out to small communities," he said. "It's exciting the University is willing to help these smaller communities get started improving the quality of life for the folks who live in them, and that's what this is really about: improving the quality of life."

While the specific steps in the roadmap will come at the end of the strategic planning process, Ballard said the end result is ending the downward spiral begun by the loss of textiles.

"We got very comfortable with cotton and, for 50 or 60 years, we didn't have to do anything. Then (the textile industry) left and we started going down. Maybe we're plateaued right now – we stopped the downward trend – but we have to get going upward. We have to get jobs back in Opp," he said.

March 5, 2012

Author Bobbie Ann Mason to receive Hall-Waters Prize from Troy University

MONTGOMERY—Influential Southern novelist Bobbie Ann Mason has been named the latest recipient of the Hall-Waters Prize presented by Troy University.

Mason will be honored by TROY during events at the Montgomery and Troy campuses March 28-29.

The Hall-Waters Prize is endowed by TROY alumnus Dr. Wade Hall, an author, former member of the faculty at the University of Florida and professor emeritus of English at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. Dr. Hall, a native of Bullock County, endowed the prize as a memorial to his parents, Wade Hall Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth Waters Hall. The award is presented regularly to individuals who have made significant contributions to Southern heritage and culture in history, literature or the arts. Past recipients include Shirley Ann Grau, Rick Bragg, Sena Jeter Naslund and U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

On Wednesday, March 28, Mason will read from her latest novel, "The Girl in the Blue Beret," at the Montgomery Campus inside the Gold Room in Whitley Hall from 7 to 9 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the Alabama Writers' Forum. Books will be available for signing.

On Thursday, March 29, Mason will be honored on the Troy Campus at a luncheon sponsored by the TROY English departments. At 4 p.m. a special taping of the Alabama Public Television program Bookmark will be held in the Hawkins-Adams-Long Hall of Honor, followed by a Q&A session with the author. This event is free and open to the public, although seating is limited to the first 120 people.

Mason is the author of five novels, five short-story collections, a memoir, and a biography of Elvis Presley for Penguin Publishing's popular "Lives" series. Her 1980 New Yorker debut, "Shiloh" (1980) remains one of the most anthologized short stories in contemporary American literature, and her 1985 novel, "In Country," dealing with the aftereffects of the Vietnam War, is considered a classic.

Both the novel "Feather Crowns" (1993) and the story collection "Zigzagging Down a Wild Trail" (2002) won the Southern Book Critics Circle Award. Her memoir/family history, "Clear Springs" (1999), was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Mason is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the winner of the PEN/Hemingway Prize, and the Arts and Letters Award for Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among other honors.

In preparation for the awarding of the Hall-Waters Prize, a screening of the film version of "In Country" will be held at the Troy Campus on Tuesday, March 20, at 7 p.m. in Patterson Hall, room 107. This 1989 film stars Bruce Willis as Vietnam veteran Emmett Smith and Emily Lloyd as his niece Samantha Hughes.

For questions about any of the upcoming events, contact Dr. Kirk Curnutt, chair of the Montgomery Campus Department of English, at (334) 241-9701 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

March 5, 2012

TROY Tornado expert available for interview

Dr. Daniel Sutter, a member of the faculty at the Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University is available for news media interview on the aftermath of the tornadoes that struck the Midwest and the Southeast this past weekend.

Dr. Sutter is the co-author with Kevin M. Simmons of "Deadly Season: Analysis of the 2011 Tornado Outbreaks" to be published this month by the American Meteorological Society. Sutter and Simmons are authors of "Economic and Societal Impacts of Tornadoes."

In the course of their study the authors identify patterns and anomalies and reconsider previous assertions about the effectiveness of the Doppler radar and storm warning systems. Their conclusions, as well their assessment of early recovery efforts, are aimed at helping community leaders and policymakers keep vulnerable populations safer in the future.

Dr. Sutter may be reached at his office at 334-670-5771 or by cell phone at 334-465-5587.

March 2, 2012

TROY Library continues Civil War series

TROY – Troy University Library continues its Civil War series Monday, March. 5 commemorating the 150th anniversary of the war.

"Let's Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War" is a five-part reading and discussion series, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and local sponsors and developed by the American Library Association. Dr. David Carlson, assistant professor of history at TROY, will lead discussions and moderate each session. The first session was Jan. 23.

Monday's session, "Making Sense of Shiloh," will include discussion of selections from the anthology "America's War: Talking About the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries."

According to Social Science Librarian John Phil McLaney, Jr., who's helping coordinate the series, the specific readings will include selections written by Ambrose Bierce, Ulysses Grant, Shelby Foote, Bobbie Ann Mason and Confederate General Braxton Bragg's May 3, 1862 speech to the Army of the Mississippi.

Each of the remaining discussion events, which are free and open to the public, will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Hawkins-Adams-Long Hall of Honor on April 2 and April 30. The discussions will center around books "March" by Geraldine Brooks, "Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam" by James McPherson and "America's War: Talking About the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversary," an anthology of historical fiction, speeches, diaries, memoirs, biographies and short stories edited by national project scholar Edward L. Ayers and co-published by NEH and ALA.

McLaney said those books are available for checkout at the Troy University Library, Troy Public Library and Tupper Lightfoot Memorial Library in Brundidge, and for purchase at Barnes and Noble Bookstore on the Troy Campus.

Local support for the series is provided by the following organizations: Troy University, Troy Public Library, Tupper Lightfoot Memorial Library, Troy Civil War Forum, Elizabeth B. Bashinsky Chapter No. 236, United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), Chaplain Stephen A. Pilley Chapter No. 302, Military Order of the Stars & Bars, Pike County Historical & Genealogical Society, Iota Mu Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, Conecuh River Depot Military Museum, Barbour County Genealogical & Local History Society, Private Augustus Braddy Camp 385, Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), Pike County Chamber of Commerce, Troy Broadcasting Corporation (WTBF), On the Bookshelf, and Pioneer Museum of Alabama.

Dr. Carlson earned a doctorate in history at Emory University and is the co-author of "Plain Folk in a Rich Man's War: Class Dissent in Confederate Georgia," written with David and Teresa Williams.

A website has been developed for registration and other information for the series. To learn more, visit http://troy.libguides.com/letstalkcivilwar on the world wide web, or email McLaney at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

March 26, 2012

TROY geomatics students earn top national spot

TROY – A team of three Troy University geomatics students became the first to win a national prize in back-to-back years at the 11th Annual NSPS Student Competition.

Hosted by the National Society of Professional Surveyors, this year's competition among eight universities with baccalaureate degree programs in surveying, surveying engineering technology or surveying engineering, was centered on a four-month project about "Surveying Applications in Geographic Information Systems."

The team had to prepare a 30-page paper, a map and give a 25-minute presentation at the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon conference, held earlier this month. Their project was titled "Alabama Public Land Survey Data Management and Retrieval System." The final product of the project is a Web-based GIS application that can be used for managing and searching public land corners and survey control points. The functionality of the application allows users to view, analyze, manipulate and evaluate survey data. It was created as a prototype system for the surveyors in the state of Alabama to adopt it as a basis for corner record management and will ultimately include it as a part of their regular work activities, said Dr. Jim Rinehart, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

"I congratulate this team of champions," he said. "Clearly, Troy University has emerged as the nation's premier degree program in surveying and geomatics sciences."

The TROY team consisted of Michael Johnson, a senior from Cleveland, Justin Murray, a senior from Wicksburg; and Joshua Butts, a senior from Luverne – all geomatics majors with business minors. Serving as primary faculty advisor is Dr. Xutong Niu, an assistant professor of surveying and geomatics sciences. Co-advisors are surveying and geomatics sciences faculty members Dr. Steve Ramroop, associate professor, and Dr. David Griffin, an assistant professor.

The University's Surveying and Geomatics Sciences Program achieved specialized accreditation by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in 2011.

Teams were judged on procedure as well as content using a scoring system that awarded a total of 400 points. The Troy University team earned 359 points for the both project itself and their ability to communicate their approach.