Wally Terry wins top citizen honors [The Decatur Daily, Ala.]

Mar. 26--Decatur is a city with enormous potential, Citizen of the Year Wally Terry said Thursday, and we will reach that potential if we rely not on Montgomery or Washington, but on each other.

"Responsibility jointly lies with we the people. We can all do better, and we need to if we are to reach our potential," Terry, 58, said after accepting the Athylene C. Banks Citizen of the Year Award at the 79th annual meeting of the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.

"We will find the answers in our differences when we develop the trust and discipline to listen. However, we need to hold each other accountable to a more civil discourse. We must stop blaming others and get on with the business of community building."

In her letter nominating Terry, Sheila Davis was effusive.

"To call Wally a dedicated community leader is like calling Bear Bryant just a football coach," she said. "His passion and willingness to give to this community never slows down."

Terry's resume makes clear few community improvements have taken place in the last two decades without his involvement. He is a past director of the United Way of Morgan County, Greater Decatur Community Foundation, North Alabama Better Business Bureau, Decatur-Morgan County Homebuilders and Decatur Educational Building Authority.

He is past president of Decatur-Morgan County Convention & Visitors Bureau. He is past chairman of the chamber board of directors, the regional committee on Base Realignment and Closure and Decatur-Morgan County Transportation Committee.

Terry served as secretary of the Decatur Planning Commission. He is a board member of Carnegie Visual Arts Center and Decatur School Foundation. He is secretary of the Decatur General Hospital Foundation and finance director of First United Methodist Church.

Terry was city president of RBC Bank -- which acquired First American Bank in 2007 -- until June. In a downsizing that sparked community protest, the bank laid off Terry and other top First American management.

Rather than slowing him down, the layoff spurred Terry to take on more community projects.

In recent months, Terry has focused his responsibilities as chairman of Partnership for Progress, which is raising money to support redevelopment of Downtown Decatur.

He also is a member of Friends of Delano Park, a project that he held out as an example of what citizens can do when they show initiative and work together.

"Just below the surface is a town ready to bust forward," Terry said of Decatur. "The desire is here and with effective leadership and execution from within this room we will surprise ourselves as to how great a community is waiting on us."He said financial concerns are not a valid reason to stall community progress.

"I cannot remember a time over the past 30 years where money was not used as an excuse to paralyze a vision," he told the crowd at the Burningtree Country Club. "Many times the real issue is a lack of a commitment to a vision, the failure to prioritize and the lack of experience to execute. We are living in times that challenge us to be better. The time is right if we have the will to succeed."

Decatur's goal should be more than just recruiting industries, he said.

"We need to be open to new partners and realize that economic development is more than industrial growth. It is also about providing a sense of place where our children will want to live, where companies with innovation will invest and live and tourists will spend their monies."

Pettiness and divisiveness have no place in building a community, Terry said.

"Decatur's best days lie ahead. I ask that we honor Ms. Banks tonight and in coming months by praying for people of passion, vision, wisdom and, most important, leaders with a servant's heart to renew their commitment to a better Decatur."

See Also:

Decatur Chamber of Commerce meeting

To see more of The Decatur Daily, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.decaturdaily.com

Copyright (c) 2010, The Decatur Daily, Ala.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.