Destiny Hosmer
Staff Writer
Governor Robert Bentley has appointed a new member to Troy University’s board of trustees and renewed appointment for two other members.
Troy alumnus and Andalusia mayor Earl Johnson is the new addition to the group.
Troy alumnus and Mobile attorney Forest Latta and Alabama state senator and president pro-tempore of the board of trustees Gerald Dial have been reappointed to the board.
All three have been designated a 12-year term.
“I am honored by my appointment to Troy University’s board of trustees,” Johnson said. “I will make every effort to justify Governor Bentley’s confidence in me.”
Johnson is a 1970 Troy graduate in economics and business administration.
He later attended the Cumberland School of Law and Samford University.
In 1974, he completed his Doctor of Jurisprudence and was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in November of that year.
Since that time, Johnson has practiced law in Andalusia and is currently in his third term as mayor.
In the past, he served as assistant district attorney for Covington County, and he is a founding director of First National Bank of Andalusia.
Johnson is currently a member of the American Bar Association, the Covington County Bar Association, the Andalusia Rotary Club and the Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce.
Additionally, he serves on the boards of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Covington County Economic Development Commission.
Johnson has been involved in many areas of Troy, including his membership in the Troy University Foundation board of directors and his service as general counsel to the Troy University National Alumni Association board of directors.
He was also the founding president of the Troy Shield Society and is currently co-chairman of the Troy University Planned Giving Council.
Johnson was also involved in raising funds necessary for Troy’s entry into the NCAA Division I.
“We have three generations of the Johnson family who hold Troy diplomas spanning almost a century in time,” he said. “Troy has meant much to me and my family, and I hope I am able to use my position as trustee to repay Troy for all it has done for the Johnsons as well as thousands of other families from around the country and the entire globe.”
Dial, who has been serving as a Troy trustee since 1991, will also be continuing in his current position.
A former teacher and coach at Lineville High School, Dial was also a member of the Alabama National Guard for 36 years.
Dial is serving his tenth term in the Alabama Legislature representing District 13. He was also a member of the Alabama House of Representatives prior to being elected to the Senate.
“It is a great honor to continue working with the Troy University board of trustees as we seek to help Troy expand its service to students in Alabama and around the world,” Dial said in a press release.
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Continuing his position on the Troy board of trustees will be 1980 Troy graduate Latta.
Latta was first appointed to the Troy University’s board of trustees in 2005.
In 1983, he completed his Doctor of Jurisprudence at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law.
Latta is currently serving as chair of the Appellate Practice Section and has served by appointment on the Alabama Supreme Court’s Standing Committee for Appellate Rules for more than 20 years.
Latta also serves on the board of directors of the Nature Conservancy, the board of advisors of Cumberland School of Law, the Baptist Foundation of Alabama’s board of trustees and the board of directors of the American Camellia Society.
Additionally, he is a volunteer lawyer in the Mobile Bar Association’s pro bono program and the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Representation Project.
