Priceville Councilman Tommy Perry stands next to a U.S. Navy display in the Morgan County Veterans Memorial. | Clif Knight

Priceville’s Tommy Perry personifies public servant

Clif Knight 

Hartselle Enquirer

Elected officials don‘t often receive the credit they deserve when it comes to going the extra mile as a pubic servant.

Town Councilman/Mayor Pro Tem Tommy Perry is a good example. He was one of the volunteers that responded to the need for cleanup workers recently after an F-2 tornado left a 200-yard-wide path of destruction in Priceville. The following Monday he was working in the Morgan County Veterans Memorial on a project to make it more visitor friendly.

A retired chemical operator for BP Chemicals, Perry is serving in his 30th year on the town council, a two-year appointed term and seven consecutive four-year terms. In addition. he was captain of the emergency response team at BP and a member of the Priceville Volunteer Fire Department.

Perry serves as chairman of the council’s Community Relations Committee and is a member of the Police and Utilities Committees, Planning Commission, Priceville Community Recreation Association and Priceville Boys and Girls Club Committee. He is also the town’s liaison with Morgan County Patriotic Organizations for the Morgan County Veterans Memorial.

You can see the leadership and hands-on work of Perry anywhere you look in Priceville, Veterans Park, youth sports, town-wide special events, school improvements, etc.

“I’ve been accused of being a “yes” man,’” Perry said. “I’ll admit  to having a hard time  saying “no” to a request that’s in the best interest of Priceville and its residents.’”

The “labor of love” in Perry’s long tenure as a city official is the Veterans Memorial.

“I come from a patriotic family,” Perry pointed out. “ My father and an uncle served in the Navy during World War II and my brother Harry was in the Army during the Vietnam War. I served six year sin the U.S. Army reserves.”

“Morgan County’s veterans organizations came to us and asked if we would help them build a memorial to honor all veterans,” recalled Perry. “We agreed to take on the project, hired an engineering firm to draw the plans and started work about six months later.”

“A lot of the work early on was in-kind labor with District 1 Commissioner Jeff Clark and his crew playing a lead role in site preparation” he stated. City employees also played a vital role as did my brothers, Darrell and Harry Perry, and me.

The first piece of military equipment to be located in the memorial was an Army helicopter, which was previously on display at the  Alabama A&M University campus in Huntsville. Next came a P-34 Navy trainer, followed by a M-1 Army tank from Redstone Arsenal, a Navy anti-aircraft gun and two ship anchors.

Perry said he has three half-body mannequins in his home workshop, which will be placed inside the Navy jet soon. All three will be dressed in pilot outfits complete with helmets.  The town also purchased a 1945 Marine Corps jeep and is looking for a site in the memorial to display it.

Perry said he considers the work he has devoted to the memorial to be a small sacrifice when compared to what thousands of military families have gone through.

“I don’t see how people would not want to give back honor and respect to those who have made the supreme sacrifice in service to their country,” he  stated.

Perry and Mayor Melvin Duran have served together for seven and one-half terms and have a close relationship./ Both served on the Executive Committee of the Alabama League of Municipalities. Perry also serves on the APA Transportation Committee,

“I don’t think Priceville could ask for a more dedicated and hard-wrking mayor than Melvin,” Perry stated. He is a dedicated public servant and a godly man. He’s one of my best friends and I love him like a brother, and the same goes for my fellow council members.”

Perry and his wife Connie are 1967 and 1969 graduates of Priceville High School, respectively.  They have two adult daughters, Stacy Perry and Kelly Mortensen, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.