Elbert Allen Drummond (a.k.a. E.A. Drummond or Larry Drummond) (August 3, 1943 – July 30, 2012) was an American heir, businessman and philanthropist from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. He served as the vice chairman of the Drummond Company, a large private coal corporation active in Alabama and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Early life

Elbert Allen Drummond was born on August 3, 1943, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

.Alabama Academy of Honor: Elbert A. Drummond
/ref>E.A. "LARRY" DRUMMOND
''The Birmingham News'', August 1, 2012Foundation Establishes Scholarship in Memory of UA Alumnus Larry Drummond
, ''UA News'', November 7, 2014 His father, Heman Edward Drummond, founded the Drummond Company, a coal-mining company active in Alabama and

, in 1935. He was educated at the Sipsey School and the Walker County High School in

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

, where he played on the football and baseball teams. He attended Walker College for two years. He then attended

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

, but transferred to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

, where he joined the

Beta Alpha Psi Beta Alpha Psi () is an international honor society for accounting, finance and information systems students attending universities accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business or the European Quality Improvement System ...

fraternity. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Commerce and Business Administration in 1965.Elbert Allen Drummond
''Bloomberg Business'' He went on to receive a master's degree in Accounting from UA in 1966 and a Juris Doctor in 1969 from the

University of Alabama School of Law The University of Alabama School of Law, (formerly known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the only public law school in the state. It is one of five law schools in the ...

. He joined the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

and the Alabama Bar Association.

Career

Drummond joined the family business, the Drummond Company. He later served as its vice chairman as well as the chairman of its executive committee.Drummond Co. vice chairman Elbert Allen 'Larry' Drummond dies
''Tuscaloosa News'', August 1, 2012 Under his leadership, he helped foster business ties with Japanese companies. During 1979-1980, Drummond, together with his brother, Garry, and company executive Clyde Black, was indicted for bribing three Alabama legislators, by means of supplying them with prostitutes.Anthony Effinger, Matthew Bristow
Alabama Billionaire Battles Murder Suits as Prices Ebb
''Bloomberg Business'', July 16, 2013Daniel Fisher
Alabama Coal Baron Uncovers Evidence Of Witness Payments In Attack On Lawyer
''Forbes'', June 6, 2014 The trial lasted three months, but it was dismissed by Judge Frank McFadden; the record is now sealed. Drummond served on the board of directors of the First Commercial Bank. Drummond was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame and the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2011.

Philanthropy and political activity

Drummond served on the board of directors of the Black Warrior Council of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

and

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

of Central Alabama’s Le Societe National. He served on the Boards of Visitors of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and the University of Alabama President’s Cabinet. Additionally, he served on the board of trustees of the Walker Area Community Foundation and the Alabama Conservation and Natural Resources Foundation. Drummond was a significant donor to the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

, the

National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the United States Republican Party, Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Repub ...

, and the Alabama Republican Party.JASPER, Alabama (AL) Political Contributions by Individuals

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He also donated to the campaigns of Republican politicians

Bill McCollum Ira William McCollum Jr. (born July 12, 1944) is an American lawyer and Republican Party politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 2001, representing Florida's 5th congressional district, which was ...

Richard Shelby Richard Craig Shelby (born May 6, 1934) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Alabama from 1987 to 2023. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 as a Democrat, Shelby switched to the Republican Party i ...

, Jennifer Dunn,

Terry Everett Robert Terry Everett (February 15, 1937 – March 12, 2024) was an American politician and a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama's 2nd congressional district. He served ...

Robert Aderholt Robert Brown Aderholt ( ; born July 22, 1965) is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative for since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes most of Tuscaloosa County north of the Blac ...

, Mike Rogers,

Katherine Harris Katherine Harris (born April 5, 1957) is an American politician from Florida. A Republican, she served in the Florida Senate from 1994 to 1998, as Secretary of State of Florida from 1999 to 2002, and as a member of the United States House of Re ...

, and

Johnny Isakson John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 until his resignation in 2019 following health concerns. A member of the Republi ...

, as well as to the 2004 re-election of President George W. Bush. He also donated US$51,750 to

Bob Riley Robert Renfroe Riley (born October 3, 1944) is an American retired politician and businessman who served as the 52nd governor of Alabama from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was the U.S. Hous ...

's gubernatorial campaign.Alabama Corrections land sale draws fire again in Hale County
, ''The Decatur Daily News'', April 17, 2007 Critics suggested this latter donation may explain why he was able to acquire land sold from the former Farquhar Cattle Ranch, even though Drummond denied any wrongdoing. He served on the board of directors of the American Family Business Institute. He testified before the

United States Senate Committee on Finance The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...

about the

estate tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pr ...

on November 14, 2007.Larry Drummond
Federal Estate Tax: Uncertainty in Planning Under the Current Law
American Business Defense Council, November 14, 2007

Personal life

He married Abbie Kiker, his high school sweetheart, at the age of nineteen. They had two sons, Scott A. Drummond and Patrick L. Drummond, and a daughter, Terri Drummond Lyon.

Death and legacy

He died on July 30, 2012, at the age of sixty-eight. His funeral took place at the First Baptist Church in Jasper, Alabama. He was buried at the Pisgah Baptist Church and Cemetery in Sipsey, Alabama. In 2012, a US$50,000 scholarship was named in his honor at his alma mater, the University of Alabama, as a result of a fundraising one-shot turkey hunt held by the Alabama Conservation and Natural Resources Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drummond, Elbert Allen 1943 births 2012 deaths People from Jasper, Alabama University of Alabama alumni University of Alabama School of Law alumni American businesspeople in the coal industry American corporate directors Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama Philanthropists from Alabama Drummond family (Alabama) Alabama lawyers Alabama Republicans