The Auburn Band Endowed Scholarship was established in 2009 and exists to provide financial support for the University’s Band Programs. According to the Director of Bands at Auburn University, a large number of students in the Auburn Band are natives of Jefferson and Shelby County. Dr. Rick Good, Director of Bands at Auburn, who has a vision for the music department at Auburn, said that the support of alumni is vital and the GBAC is the only Alumni Club that currently provides financial support to the band.

The Christina Nicole Heichelbech Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established in 2010. Christina was born in Brandon, Florida, the daughter of Darrell and Carol Heichelbech. Christina was a Junior at Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, where she was named a Jefferson County Superintendent’s Super Scholar. She had earned an ACT score of 30 and a full tuition scholarship to Auburn University with full plans to attend Auburn after her high school graduation. She volunteered for her local Veterinarian (Dr. Charles Hart, former President of the GBAC in 2013) and was to attend the Auburn University College of Veterinarian Medicine after her undergrad studies at Auburn. Christina was a sweet, friendly spirit and a bright light to those who had the honor of knowing her with her short time on earth. She touched many lives, before the tornadoes struck her family’s home and Christina’s life was tragically ended early from that early morning storm. Her love of Auburn and caring for animals at Dr. Hart’s clinic was cut short, but her legacy lives in this endowed scholarship.

The Edd Wadley Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established in 2008. It is named for our dear Auburn friend Edd Wadley who died in July of 2008 at the age of 57 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Edd graduated from Auburn University in 1974. He joined the Jefferson County Auburn Club in 1990 and was elected to the Board in 1995. He became an officer of the Club in 1998 and served as President of the Club in 2002. He continued to be active as a member of the GBAC Advisory Board until his death. Edd was passionate about supporting Auburn and providing scholarship opportunities for deserving local students to have the Auburn experience. Edd loved Auburn was a valued member of the GBAC.

The Howard Elliot Memorial Scholarship Endowment was established in 2006 as the last official act of the Shelby County Auburn Club. It is named for Howard Elliot, a 1950 graduate of Auburn University. Howard began working with the Shelby County Club in 2000. He was elected to the Board of the Greater Birmingham Club in 2008 and subsequently served as a member of the Advisory Board of the GBAC. Known affectionately by many as “Papa,” Howard Elliot was the recipient of the 2009 GBAC President’s Award. Howard left behind many memories for the GBAC and his funeral service was a true tribute to his love of Auburn, even down to the Aubie Tiger Tale on the hearse that he planned. He was truly a special person and is missed by the Club.

The Jim Scogin Memorial Endowed Scholarship is named for James “Jim” Hillman Scogin, Jr., who was the father of Laurie Scogin, a former Board Officer, former GBAC President, and now current member of the National Alumni Board. Although Jim did not attend Auburn, he was fortunate to marry an Auburn graduate and became a devoted Auburn Fan and Supporter of Auburn University. He joined the Shelby County Auburn Club in 1990 and became actively involved in the Club. He was elected Vice President of the Club in 1996 and held that position until his untimely death in 1998. Following his death, his parents gave a full scholarship in his name through the Shelby County Auburn Club.

The Jimmy Brown Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established in 2004. Mr. James M. “Jimmy” Brown, Jr., was a 1946 graduate of Auburn University. He was President of the Jefferson County Auburn Club in 1954 and served as President of the Auburn Alumni Association Board from 1969 through 1971. He remained active in the local club until his death in 2004.

Coach George A. Atkins was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1932. He began playing football at Shades Cahaba High School and spent his senior year at Shades Valley High School. He earned a walk-on football scholarship in the fall of 1949 from the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University. The freshmen team that year was especially strong, and often defeated the varsity in practice. Coach Earl Brown was relieved of his coaching duties in 1950 after the varsity failed to win a game. Atkins then played under the leadership of Coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan and participated in the rebuilding of the Auburn football program. Following the football season of 1954, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions, earned a first team offensive guard position, and played one year in the NFL. In late summer of 1955, Coach Jordan offered him a coaching position at Auburn, a life time dream for him. He had a reputation for being a demanding coach, but also a caring one. Three times he rode an ambulance carrying one his injured players from a stadium locker room to a hospital and sat up all night with one of them until the player’s parents could be contacted and arrive at the hospital. Atkins served on the Auburn football staff until 1972, when he accepted a job in Birmingham. Although he left the Auburn staff, he remained close to his former players, who enjoyed sharing stories about his coaching career. When the major Auburn Generations capital fund raising campaign began in Birmingham, he was asked to help, and for the rest of his career he raised money for Auburn University. He was most proud of his work raising funds or the construction of the Draughon Library, a challenge because the library had no organized alumni as departments, schools and colleges did. He retired from Auburn in 1995.

​He married Leah Marie Rawls in 1954, and they had four children, Tim, Brian (who also earned an Auburn football scholarship), Laura Leigh, and Jack. They shared thirteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. George died in January 2015.

​Leah Marie Rawls was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1935. She fell in love with Auburn in January 1943, when she visited her cousin, a student at API, and slept on her study desk. She entered Auburn in 1953, and married her high school sweetheart, George, the next year. Leah continued her Auburn education, eventually earning three Auburn degrees. She taught history at Auburn as a graduate student and an instructor, and when her family moved to Birmingham, she taught at UAB for one term, and twelve years at Samford University. She served on the Auburn Alumni Board for one term and was the founding director of the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities at Pebble Hill in 1985. When Auburn’s female athletes requested an overall award for best student athlete to match the male Walter Gilbert Award, which had been presented for decades, the Faculty Athletic Committee requested that her name be used for the award because of her career in water skiing tournaments. She won numerous national, world, and international titles. In 1976, she was the first woman inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. She has continued her love for Alabama history by writing numerous articles and books, some of them about Auburn University.

Meredith LeAnn Maddox was a teacher, mentor and coach to the many students she touched in her short life here on earth. Meredith was born August 26, 1977 and passed away on March 31, 2015.

​Meredith attended and graduated from Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated from Samford University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry. While at Samford, she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority and the Samford University Track Team. In 2006, she received her Master of Science in Biology Education from the University of Alabama. Even though Meredith did not graduate from Auburn, her strong support and love for Auburn was evident in the many events and activities she attended with her parents, Pam ’74 and Elon Maddox ’73.

Meredith always had a desire to help others and that carried through when she had a tragic automobile accident in May 2000 that left her paralyzed below her arms with no motor or sensory skills. Meredith fought her way back from a long rehab, finished her education, and put into practice the teaching and coaching she so desired to deliver. Confined to a wheelchair was no issue for Meredith, as she once again engaged in sports and actually pushed several 10K races in her wheelchair to become a competitive athlete.

Additionally, she participated in the Paralympic trials in Atlanta in her racing chair and she also competed in the field events of javelin and discus. Meredith became more and more determined while participating in athletics as a paraplegic and she decided to teach and coach. She became a Track and Field Coach for Hoover High School where she worked for eleven years, teaching techniques she knew very well, just unable to demonstrate the skills from her wheelchair, but very much able to handle the challenge of teaching and coaching field events for Hoover. Her success was evident in the number of athletes she helped put on the podium at State Track Meets and the Sectional Meets leading up to State Track and Field Meets. She coached athletes that currently hold state records that continue to remain number one in 2015.

​Meredith will live through this endowed scholarship and the concept of helping students would be exactly what she desired as one of the most significant parts of her life. Even though her years on this earth ended abruptly, this scholarship will allow her to support academically gifted students who want to excel at Auburn University for a long time.

​Meredith’s parents, Pam and Elon Maddox, are grateful and appreciative of The GBAC’s support of this scholarship. Meredith had one brother, Elon W. Maddox, III and his wife Jacqueline (Jackie) Maddox and her nephew, Elon W. Maddox, IV.

The Phil Neel Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established in 2013. Although football players and coaches have changed throughout the years, Charles Phillip “Phil” Neel created something that is uniquely Auburn and something that all Auburn Fans over multiple generations can relate to forever. In Auburn circles, Phil is the man who created Aubie. Aubie is the Tiger Mascot that has delighted fans for years at Auburn Events. Mr. Neel first drew the character when working as an artist at the Birmingham Post-Herald in the 1950s. Mr. Neel worked as a Sports Artist at the Birmingham Post-Herald for 33 years and at the Birmingham News for one year, but he also did freelance work for schools all over the Southeast. Neel’s contributions to the local Greater Birmingham Auburn Club were evident as he annually provided the creative backdrops for the group at the Senior Watch Banquet. He had all of the player’s names individually superimposed and many times surrounding Aubie. All of his work for the Club was donated because of his love for Auburn and the special bond he had with the GBAC. Thanks to Phil, Aubie has become the most recognized and beloved mascot in college sports. Phil Neel’s death in 2012 will be always remembered through this scholarship in his name.