Photo Gallery | Troy University to honor Alumni of the Year on Saturday
TROY -- Troy University will honor four alumni at homecoming on Saturday with Alumni of the Year honors.
John Howard “Doc” Anderson of Troy, Dr. J. Robert “Bob” Boothe, Jr. of Dothan, James C. Gardner of Greenville and Tim Shirley of Dothan were selected by the Troy University Alumni Association Board of Directors based on outstanding professional accomplishments, civic achievements and loyalty and service to the University.
The four will be honored during halftime ceremonies at Saturday’s homecoming game against Arkansas State. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. In addition, the recipients will be honored at an invitation-only dinner Friday night and a breakfast reception on Saturday.
“Doc” Anderson, a virtual fixture of Trojan athletics, completed his master’s degree in physical education from TROY in 1968 and served as head track coach and athletic trainer for 12 years before spending a decade at Louisiana State University as head athletic trainer. In 1989, Anderson returned to Troy University as a faculty member, and, in 2003, was honored with the Ingall’s Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching, TROY’s most prestigious faculty award.
A hall of fame inductee of the Alabama Athletic Trainers Association and the Southeast Athletic Trainers Association, Anderson has served on the medical staffs of the United States Olympic Team and the United States Pan-American Games Team.
He has been honored by the National Athletic Trainers Association with the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award, the Athletic Trainers Service Award and the 25 Year Award.
President and CEO of Dr. J. Robert Boothe, Jr. and Associates, Boothe heads a governmental relations firm that specializes in legislative consulting and lobbying. His lifetime of service to the state and his community has earned him a commendation by the Alabama Legislature. In addition, he served 21 years in the Alabama National Guard, where he was selected Honor Soldier at the NCO School of Standards.
Elected Goshen High School Alumnus of the Year in 2005, Dr. Boothe graduated from Troy University in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and completed a graduate degree in administration in 1978. A second-generation TROY graduate, he was involved in choir, the University Play Makers and “The Tropolitan” as a student. In 2009, the plaza in front of Bibb Graves Hall was named in his honor. His daughter is a third generation TROY graduation and his grandson aspires to be a fourth generation graduate.
James C. “Jimmy” Gardner is a 1975 TROY graduate, earning an undergraduate degree in math, and owns Jimmy Gardner State Farm Insurance. He has been a State Farm agent for more than 30 years. In addition, he coached high school football for 42 years, earning him recognition in the Fort Dale Academy Athletic Hall of Fame and the Alabama Independent Schools Association Sports Hall of Fame.
A past president of the Troy University Alumni Association, he was a co-founder of the Butler County Troy Alumni Chapter in 1999. Gardner is a Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association, a member of Trojan Warriors and the Troy University Shield Society. He has two sons and a daughter. In 2000, his wife, Wanda, was named Alumna of the Year.
Tim Shirley, a 1981 TROY graduate with a degree in computer science, is second generation owner of Home Oil Company, Inc. in Cowarts, Ala., having worked in the business since he was 8 years old. He founded the Home Oil Charity Golf Classic 24 years ago, raising more than $1 million for the American Heart Association and the Wiregrass United Way. Shirley has served on the Alabama Oilmen’s Association Board of Directors for 14 years, including terms as treasurer and president. In 1997, the Association named him Alabama’s Oilman of the Year.
Shirley is a member of the Ashford Lions Club, where he was honored as Lion of the Year in 1990, a past-president of the Dothan Southern League, past president of the Ashford Merchants Association, a lifelong member of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Dothan Rotary Club. An active member of the Wiregrass Alumni Chapter, Shirley was named the chapter’s Alumnus of the Year in 2009. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Dothan and have two sons, Dustin, a recent TROY graduate and Ryan, a senior at TROY.
For additional information about TROY’s Homecoming activities, contact the Alumni Affairs Office at 334-670-3318.
Information Source: Troy University
