ROTARY - KAY IVEY

Growing up in the small town of Camden in Wilcox County, Alabama, and working on her father’s farm, Kay Ivey was taught the value of hard work and living within one’s means. Her

parents instilled the Alabama values of faith, family and community.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1967, Kay worked as a high school teacher and a bank officer. She served as Reading Clerk of the Alabama House of Representatives under Speaker Joseph C. McCorquodale and was Assistant Director of the Alabama Development Office, where she worked to spur job creation and economic development across the state.

In 2002, Kay became the first Republican elected State Treasurer since Reconstruction, and she was re-elected in 2006. As Treasurer, Kay was committed to making the office more open, transparent, and efficient. Kay was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2010, becoming the first Republican woman to hold the office in Alabama’s history.

She again made history on November 4, 2014, by becoming the first Republican Lieutenant Governor re-elected to the office. Governor Ivey has been honored to receive numerous awards for her service to the state of Alabama, including the 2015 ALFA Service to Agriculture Award; Newsmax’s 50 Most Influential Female Republicans in the country; the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 2016 Public Service Award; and 2017 Citizen of the Year, by River Region Living Magazine. In September 2019, the Alabama-Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America distinguished Governor Ivey as a Golden Eagle for her ‘scout like service’ and being a trailblazer for women. In 2021, Governor Ivey was awarded the prestigious Army Aviation Order of St. Michael Knight Award. The American Village also presented the governor their highest honor, the Cornerstone of Liberty Award. Most recently, Governor Ivey was presented the inaugural Cognia STEM Champion Award and the Alabama

Automotive Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame Award.

On April 10, 2017, Governor Ivey was sworn in as the 54th Governor of the state of Alabama in the Old Senate Chamber in the Alabama State Capitol by Acting Chief Justice Lyn Stuart. Following a successful nineteen months in office, the people of Alabama made history again in November 2018 by electing Governor Ivey to a full term. She is the first Lieutenant Governor of Alabama elected to a full term after taking over as governor due to a vacancy in the Governor’s Office.

On January 14, 2019, Governor Ivey was officially sworn in for her full term by Associate Justice Will Sellers. Governor Ivey’s first term brought conservative leadership with effective results to make this generation more productive and the next generation more prosperous.

Governor Ivey was reelected to a second full term November 2022 in a landslide voting outcome, and she was sworn in January 16, 2023. Noting education, economic development, roads and bridges, broadband expansion, public safety and government reform as the top priorities of her second administration, Governor Ivey vowed to keep Alabama working, ensuring the state’s best days are yet to come.

SPEAKER KAY IVEY

Our Rotary speaker on September 22 was Gov. Kay Ivey, who has been a member of our Club since 1990. She has served as Alabama governor since April 2017 and will be the longest-serving governor in history when she completes her second term in January 2027. (Pictured L to R: President Elect Henry Davis, Program Chair William Bloom, Governor Kay Ivey and President Kimberly Baker.)

Gov. Ivey said she was shocked by the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk. She hates political violence and said it saddens her to see Americans attacked. She said our own Rotary 4-Way Test should be the rule for everyone in society. Gov. Ivey noted that last year, she joined the National Governors Association's Disagree Better initiative. It is designed to show a healthy way for voters and elected leaders to debate political issues. One of the honorary chairs of the initiative is the governor of Utah, the same state where Kirk was killed.

Gov. Ivey said President Trump is keeping his campaign promises to close borders and to fight crime. In Alabama, she said the new Metro Area Crime Suppression unit (MACS) is getting results in Montgomery, while the new Back the Blue law will provide protections for law enforcement. A state ban is now in place for so-called Glock switches, which allow guns to function as machine guns.

As for education, Gov. Ivey says the new Focus Act, which prevents students from using phones and other electronic devices during the school day, is common sense legislation. She started her Back to School tour two weeks ago and is happy to report that reading and math scores are up. Alabama now ranks 34th in reading and 32nd in math, up from being at or near the bottom several years ago.

Economically, the Department of Labor will become the Alabama Department of Workforce on October 1, with former State Sen. Greg Reed as its first

secretary. The change reflects the mission to make Alabama's workforce better prepared for the future. Gov. Ivey said the current unemployment rate is 2.9%, which is the lowest in the South and one of the lowest in the country. The relocation of Space Command from Colorado to Huntsville is a big achievement. She said overall economic development since 2017 has been $55 billion, with 93,000 new jobs.

Gov. Ivey said that as we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, she is proud of Alabama and our citizens, but she said. "let's not waste a moment," in trying to improve our state and our nation.

Governor and Rotarian Kay Ivey spoke to her home Cub in Montgomery Alabama. She started her words by emphasizing our 4 Way Test and encouraging all of us to avoid divisiveness and to seek common ground.

Kay is the longest serving Governor in Alabama history. She addressed issues of crime, our improving education (especially in K-12, with a record $ 9.9 Billion education budget), and the expanding work force development with unemployment under 4%. The new U.S. Space Command development in Huntsville is flying high, while Meta recently announced a 1.5 billion dollar expansion of its Data Center in Montgomery.

The Montgomery Rotary Club celebrates the fact that it has a total of six members who are either Alabama active and retired Constitutionally elected officers (including Governor Ivey) represented in its Club. Others include: Eric Mackey (Superintendent of Education), Rick Pate (Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries), Young Boozer (Treasurer) Will Sellers (Supreme Court Justice), Tom Parker (former Chief Justice of Supreme Court) and John McMillan( former CAI). This achievement reflects not only the great reputation that Rotary has, but it also sets an international record for the highest number of constitutional officers who are also Rotarians in one of the 33,000 clubs around the world.