Mignon C. Smith

Carrying on a family tradition that goes back more than a century, Mignon Comer Smith has worked for the betterment of Alabama and Alabamians throughout her life, in journalism, politics and higher education. Her great-grandfather, Alabama Gov. Braxton Bragg Comer, doubled the state’s support for public education while in office. He founded Avondale Mills which, under the leadership of Mignon Smith’s father, J. Craig Smith, was one of the first in the country to offer profit-sharing, educational opportunities for mill workers and their children, and even recreational facilities to its employees.

Upon graduating from The University of Alabama in 1965, he launched his on-air career as a reporter and anchor for WSFATV in Montgomery. He served as press secretary for Alabama Governor Albert Brewer from 1968 to 1970, followed by a fiveyear stint as an anchor for WBT, the No. 1 station in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1975 Inman left WBT to become director of university relations for The University of Alabama, returning to WBT again in 1979. Over the next 17 years, he not only would be Charlotte’s most recognized anchor, he would also spend five years as a Sunday columnist for The Charlotte Observer.

Sen. Richard Shelby says Smith is proud of her family and follows in their illustrious footsteps: she is “pleasant, diligent, honest . . . she comes from a distinguished Alabama family. She’s had a lot, and she’s given a lot.” He adds that she knows how to work hard but has “a great sense of humor.”

Smith has lived for many years in Washington, D.C., where she worked as Washington correspondent for the Alabama Radio Network for more than 30 years. A member of the Congressional Radio & TV Galleries, National Press Club, and a White House news correspondent, in February 2007 she was honored by the Alabama Broadcasters’ Association with the award of Lifetime Membership.

“Mignon was committed to bringing news from Washington to the state and, for more than a quarter of a century, that commitment never wavered,” said Carol Bennett, a Washington, D.C., reporter for the Alabama Radio Network who worked with Mignon for 20 years.

Smith recently established the J. Craig and Page T. Smith Scholarship Foundation, an endowment charged with choosing worthy high school graduates for full college scholarships. Unlike most scholarships, these do not require straight A’s or top test scores but rather reward students who have worked hard for their family and community, perhaps while overcoming economic or familial hardships. Most scholarship recipients are the first in their families to attend college and would not otherwise have been able to seek higher education. “She wanted everybody, everybody to have a chance,” notes television executive Everett Holle. “She believes people can succeed.”

Smith has also sought to honor her father with the establishment of the J. Craig Smith Endowment Chair for Integrity in Business at UA. Distressed by recent corruption scandals in the business community, she hopes that her father’s values of integrity, honesty, and fair play will be supported by both the endowed chair and the Initiative for Ethics and Social Responsibility, a campus-wide initiative at The University to support and enhance citizenship among students. The Initiative includes the development of a “justice-based anthropological documentary filmmaking/journalism class,” as well as service-learning opportunities, lectures and curricular programming.