Published on June 12, 2014 by Kara Kennedy  

This past spring, 21 members of the Birmingham business community joined forces under the umbrella of Samford University’s Brock School of Business to serve as an unofficial board of directors to provide counsel and advice on business-related matters and to serve as a networking and resource guide for members. In addition, group members have plans to interact with Brock School of Business students in a mentorship capacity beginning this fall.

The new group is a merger of two groups that had previously met independently of each other but with a similar mission and purpose. The group has a diverse membership ranging from firms with international reach to sole proprietorships with only the owner involved in the operations of the firm.

Currently the group meets monthly at the offices of Sirote and Permutt law firm but will transition to the new Brock School of Business building upon its completion in summer 2015.

“We want to give back to the business community and help the Brock School of Business develop the next generation of business leaders,” said member Jeff Cooke, president of Access Marketing.

A list of group members and their respective firms:


Susan Brouillette - Alacare Home Health

Chad Carson - Carson Management Consulting

Jeff Cooke - Access Marketing

Russell Cunningham - Red Mountain Law
 
Carol Dodgen - Dodgen Security

David Gentry - Sites that Sizzle

Mark Haas - Meeting Street Graphics

Laura Hinton - Bridgeworth Financial

Davies Hood - Induron Coatings

Mark Jackson - Moreson Conferencing

Sam Jackson - Air Ambulance Card

Jim Kennemer - Vision Research Corporation

Deborah Lechner - ErgoScience

Ronald Levitt - Sirote & Permutt

Mike McCown - PPM Consultants, Inc.
 
Brent Peinhardt - Vantage Associates
 
Marc Porter - Porter Capital Corporation

Martin Sher - AmSher Collection Services

Jacob Shevin - Standard Furniture

Max Stern - Rite Way Service

Marcy Williams - Chooch & Warbucks
 
About Samford's Brock School of Business: U.S. News & World Report ranks Samford 3rd among regional universities in the South, and the university is widely acknowledged as a leader in liberal arts and professional school education.  Samford University’s Brock School of Business has a long history of achievements in business education. The university has offered degrees in business and commerce since 1922. In 1965, the School of Business was established to offer both bachelors and masters degrees in business. It was formally named the Brock School in 2007 for Birmingham banker and Samford trustee Harry B. Brock Jr., reflecting his long career in business and his commitment to high quality business and entrepreneurship education. The Brock School of Business holds AACSB Accreditation, the benchmark of quality worldwide and the most widely sought after standard of excellence by U.S. business schools.  Learn more at www.samford.edu/business.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.