Alabama's Jimmy Rane, Great Southern Wood honored as 'models of how to run a business'

Alabama’s Jimmy Rane has once again been recognized for his prowess as a business executive and integrity as a leader.

Last week, the Newcomen Society of Alabama honored Rane and his Abbeville-based Great Southern Wood Preserving Inc. at the society’s annual awards ceremony in Birmingham.

Founded in 1937, the Newcomen Society of Alabama was a chapter of the prestigious Newcomen Society of the United States, which celebrates free enterprise and is modeled after the Newcomen Society of England.

In a statement, society chairman Raymond Harbert said, “Jimmy Rane and Great Southern Wood are models of how to run a business successfully and with both longevity and people in mind.”

Founded in 1970, Great Southern Wood is now an international leader in lumber product manufacturing and distribution. Its footprint has expanded from the original Abbeville facility to 13 additional facilities across the country. The company, best known for its YellaWood brand pressure-treated pine, services 28 states and the District of Columbia.

“As the company prepares to celebrate half a century in business next year, it was the perfect time to celebrate its many achievements, as it has grown from a small-town Alabama business to one of the country’s most thriving lumber companies,” Harbert added. “We celebrate the accomplishments of both Great Southern Wood and its dynamic leader, Jimmy Rane, and wish the company another 50 years of success.”

Other recent honorees include the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and its president, Dr. Ray Watts, in 2018; Coca-Cola Bottling Co. UNITED chairman Claude Nielsen and president and CEO John Sherman in 2017; Stan Starnes, chairman and CEO of ProAssurance Corp., in 2016; Harbert, as chairman and CEO of Birmingham’s Harbert Management Corp., in 2015; and M. Miller Gorrie, chairman, and James Gorrie, president & CEO of Brasfield & Gorrie LLC, in 2014.

At the society’s 2019 annual ceremony, Rane delivered an address that will be published and distributed to members, libraries, colleges and universities.

“It is an honor to be recognized this year by the Newcomen Society of Alabama and to join the ranks of some of the strongest, most successful companies in the state who have also been honored,” Rane said.

“When the company was founded nearly 50 years ago, there was no way to tell how successful it would become. We owe our success to hard work, a great product and associates that feel more like family than coworkers, and I am very appreciative that the Newcomen Society of Alabama has chosen us this year to celebrate,” he concluded.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn