‘We're humbled, for sure’: 4 with Mountain Brook ties inducted into Birmingham Business Hall of Fame
After Thomas Jernigan Jr. had rattled off all the companies his father had founded and built up, it begged an obvious question.
When did Jernigan Sr. sleep?
“He didn’t [sleep] much,” Jernigan Jr. said.
Jernigan Jr. would find his father in bed at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., back firm against the headboard, with two or three pencils and two or three yellow notepads, working. He would pat his son on the head and tell him to go back to bed.
“I would catch him working in the middle of the night all the time,” Jernigan Jr. said.
That work ethic is just one reason that Jernigan Sr. and three more men with Mountain Brook connections — David Wood, John Wood and Claude Nielsen — were inducted into the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame by the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham on Aug. 25.
Jernigan Sr. created Plantation Patterns, a manufacturer of wrought-iron casual furniture, and in 1969 he started United Chair Co. In 1973, he developed the concept of neighborhood convenience stores, founding and building several dozen Quick Marts. He founded Winston Furniture Co. in 1976. Marathon Equipment Co., another of his business creations, became one of the country's leading manufacturers of commercial and industrial compaction equipment, with facilities in Alabama, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.
“That’s what he was famous for,” Jernigan Jr. said. “He was famous for his prowess in manufacturing.”
Jernigan Sr. was one of the founding directors of the Central Bank and Trust Co. (now Compass Bank) and a director of Superior Bank. He was a supporter of higher education, creating endowments at Birmingham-Southern College, Samford University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama. He also funded scholarships and medical research.
“He was a philanthropist from the word ‘Go,’” Jernigan Jr. said. “He was a committed philanthropist in every sense of the word.”
Jernigan, a lover of the Bahamas and boating, died of leukemia on Jan. 4, 2008. He was survived by his wife, Donna, four children and five grandchildren.
The Wood brothers, David and John, assumed the leadership of Wood Fruitticher at ages 32 and 30, respectively, after the death of their father. At the time, the company made around $10 million in annual sales. They grew the company over the next 38 years to $400 million in annual sales.
“We’re all flattered,” David Wood said of the induction. “We’re humbled, for sure.”
The Wood brothers are under-the-radar people, not too public. They hope to be known by their customers, which is a likely reason for their induction. They spent their lives at Wood Fruitticher, a family business founded in 1913. They were there during summers and on holidays. They loaded and drove trucks.
The brothers deferred credit for the honor.
“Candidly, we had some delightful people with us,” David Wood said. “It was the whole crew.”
The Wood brothers raised their families in Mountain Brook and now live in Birmingham. David is a graduate of Lead Birmingham and in the current class of Leadership Alabama. He has served the Birmingham Airport Authority, Boy Scouts of America and Food Bank of Central Alabama. Since retirement, he has flown 96 flights for the Veterans Airlift Command organization, which flies wounded veterans to and from hospitals around the country for treatments they need.
“I want to get 100,” he said. “It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life, by far.”
John Wood retired from Wood Fruitticher in 2017. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham and has served in leadership positions in the Presbyterian Church of America. When he is not advising the fourth generation of ownership at Wood Fruitticher, he can be found spending time with the fifth generation, which consists of 19 grandchildren.
“He’s the soul of that place, by far,” David said of John. “We worked real hard to have a really pleasant workplace.”
Nielsen, an Evergreen native, earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Sewanee: The University of the South in 1973 and his master’s from the University of Virginia in 1975. He joined Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. in 1979 and held a variety of operational and managerial positions until 1991, when he was appointed CEO. He assumed the additional role of chairman in 2003. In 2016, he retired as CEO while continuing to serve as chairman.
Nielsen served as chairman of the American Beverage Association and The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. He also served on the board of governors of The Coca-Cola Bottlers' Association. He is a member of the Birmingham Rotary Club and has served on the executive committee of the Birmingham Business Alliance.
Nielsen was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2016. In addition, he and his wife, Kate, were recognized by the Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts of America in 2017 with the “Heart of an Eagle” award for their community service, and they were named Outstanding Civic Leaders by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2021.