77 TH LAUREL WREATH LAUREATE
C leophus Thomas, Jr. attended the University of Alabama where he was elected President of the Student Gov- ernment Association and received the Sullivan Award for being the outstanding senior man. He graduated with honors in 1977. He received the George C. Marshall Scholarship to Oxford University, Oxford, England, and was awarded a B.A. degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1980. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1982 and served as law clerk to U.S. District Judge J. Foy Guin from 1982-83. He served as the Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at the University of Alabama Law School for the Spring Term of 1996. Thomas’ past service includes membership on the boards of AmSouth Bancorporation and AmSouth Bank Board; Protective Industrial Investment Company (which offered a variable annuity/mutual fund product of Protective Life which was managed by Goldman and Sachs Asset Management); the Birmingham Museum of Art; Alabama Humani- ties Foundation; Alabama School of Fine Arts; a Trustee of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. He is past chairman of the board of The Donoho School and past president of the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation. He was direc- tor and treasurer of the Southern Regional Council. He served as Superintendent of Sunday School of the First Mission- ary Baptist Church of Anniston, Alabama. He was a member of the Anniston Rotary Club and in 1987 was initiated into the Beta Kappa Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. Brother Thomas received the Distinguished Service Award from Tuskegee University where he delivered the com- mencement address in August, 2002. He is Trustee Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama Sys- tem on which he served for 19 years. Thomas is a 1974 initiate of the Epsilon Epsilon Chapter. He is a member of the Anniston-Piedmont (AL) Alumni Chapter. A Life Member of the Fraternity Thomas has served as the General Counsel for many years. He also holds the Guy L. Grant and Elder Watson Diggs Award.
He is married to the former Carla Ann Newbern, M.D.
"...Many know the familiar story in First Samuel, where Samuel is searching for a great man and is shown the children of Jesse. Underwhelmed, he asked Jesse, 'are these all your children?' Featured as I am, I can understand if observers asked, 'Is this all? Aren't there others better still?' I am the first to say, 'Yes, there are.' There are greater men now, working in the field as David was. I appear before you not with a sense of entitlement, but with a sense of gratitude. Thank you."
THE JOURNAL ♦ SUMMER 2021 | 35
VIRTUAL 85 TH GRAND CHAPTER MEETING
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