Alfred Augustus McKethan (October 14, 1908 – April 1, 2002) was a prominent American

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

grower, businessman and political appointee who was a native and resident of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Early life and education

McKethan was born in

Brooksville, Florida Brooksville is a city in and the county seat of Hernando County, Florida, Hernando County, Florida, in the United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had a population of 7,719, up from 7,264 at the 2000 census. Brooksville is ...

, October 14, 1908. He was a fifth-generation Floridian. After graduating from Hernando High School in 1926, McKethan attended the

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

in Lexington, Virginia for two years, and completed his education at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a member of

Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1869. Since its founding, Sigma Nu has chartered more than 279 chapters across the United States and Ca ...

Fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

( Epsilon Zeta Chapter). He graduated with honors from Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1931.

Banking and business career

McKethan was the former president and chairman of Hernando State Bank, which became Sun Bank and Trust Company, and, in turn,

SunTrust Bank SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was h ...

.Jeffrey S. Solochek & Craig Basse,
Civic leader Alfred A. McKethan dies: The Brooksville native, philanthropist and Gator booster was a power in banking, road planning and citrus
" ''St. Petersburg Times'', April 2, 2002. Retrieved July 26, 2009. He started work at Hernando State Bank after graduating from the University of Florida in 1931. His first job was that of an assistant cashier, and he later became head cashier, vice president, and then the bank's president in 1940. At the age of 38, McKethan became the youngest president of the Florida Bankers Association. He served as president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Sun Bank and Trust Company until 1994, at which time he retired. Together with his brother, John W. McKethan, he established the Brooksville Rock Company, which later became known as the Florida Mining and Materials Corporation. McKethan was also a citrus grower, serving as the director and then chairman of the Brooksville Citrus Growers Association for forty years, and as Director of the Florida Citrus Exchange for fifteen years. McKethan served as the president of

Florida Citrus Mutual Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) is the industry trade group representing the citrus industry in the U.S. state of Florida. The group was established in 1948 and claims a membership of 3000 growers. It is led by a 21-member board of directors, elec ...

Political appointments

Florida Governor The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Florida and is the commander-in-chief of the Florida National Guard and Florida State Gu ...

Fuller Warren Fuller Warren (October 3, 1905September 23, 1973) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of Florida. Early life and education Born in Blountstown, Florida, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesvil ...

appointed McKethan to be the chairman of the State Road Board; he served from 1949 to 1953. McKethan was responsible, in part, for the construction of the

Sunshine Skyway Bridge The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, officially referred to as the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, is a pair of long beam bridges with a central tall cable-stayed bridge. It spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect Pinellas County (St. Petersburg, Florid ...

across Tampa Bay, as well as for the initial planning of the

Florida Turnpike Florida's Turnpike, designated as unsigned State Road 91 (SR 91), is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). Spanning approximately along a northwest–southeast axis, the ...

. He also served as the first chairman of the

Southwest Florida Water Management District The Southwest Florida Water Management District (or SWFWMD, pronounced as "swiftmud" based on the word acronym) is one of five regional agencies directed by Florida state law to protect and preserve water resources. Established in 1961, the agen ...

Philanthropy and retirement

In 1988, Alfred McKethan donated the equivalent of $800,000 to his alma mater, the University of Florida, for the construction of a new baseball stadium known as the

Alfred A. McKethan Stadium Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field was the college baseball stadium of the University of Florida, serving as the home field for the Florida Gators baseball team until being replaced by Condron Ballpark in 2020. McKethan Stadium was locate ...

at Perry Field. Later that year, he was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as an "honorary

letter winner In sports or activities in the United States, a letterman is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity team. Overview The term comes from the practice of awarding each such part ...

. McKethan Stadium was demolished in 2020, but the playing surface at its replacement was dedicated "Alfred A. McKethan Field" in his honor. McKethan wrote a history of

Hernando County Hernando County () is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 194,515. Its county seat is Brooksville, and its largest community is Spring Hill. Hernando County is in ...

, Florida, entitled ''Hernando County: Our Story'', in 1989. The Hernando County Park on Pine Island, Alfred McKethan Park, was named for him.Hernando County, Parks & Recreation
Alfred McKethan / Pine Island Park
. Retrieved August 15, 2009. McKethan died in 2002; he was 93 years old.

References

Bibliography

*McKethan, Alfred A., ''Hernando County: Our Story'', Brooksville, Florida (1989).

External links

Citrus Mutual
– Official website of Citrus Mutual.
Florida Department of Transportation
– Official website of Florida Department of Transportation.
GatorZone.com
– Official website of the Florida Gators.
University of Florida
– Official website of the University of Florida. {{DEFAULTSORT:McKethan, Alfred A. 1908 births 2002 deaths Businesspeople from Florida American citrus farmers Farmers from Florida Florida Gators baseball People from Brooksville, Florida University of Florida alumni Writers from Florida 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Florida politicians