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TOM ALLRED NEVER SLOWS DOWN Tom Allred, network programmer for Jacksonville State University's Department of Academic Computer Services, is a jack of all trades. Mr. Allred taught psychology at JSU, worked as a psychologist for Calhoun-Cleburne Mental Health Center, served as the social services director for the Anniston Housing Authority, wrote environmental impact statements for Fort McClellan and works weekends as a copy editor for The Anniston Star. Mr. Allred describes himself as an Army brat who has traveled all over the world but calls Jacksonville and the surrounding area home. "My dad was stationed all over. I have lived in Germany, Oklahoma, Mississippi and all over the world. We moved to Piedmont after my dad retired in 1966," says Mr. Allred, who graduated from JSU in 1975 with a major in psychology minor in biology. After graduating he went to work in the Calhoun-Cleburne Mental Health Center, where he met his wife, Amy. Mr. Allred began teaching psychology as an adjunct instructor in 1983 and continued until 1998, when he began working in Computer Services. "I mainly work in the computer labs redoing the systems at the beginning and end of each semester, loading updates, imaging and things like that. I worked (to disinfect computers from) the Blaster virus that hit computers worldwide. Computer Services had to physically go to each computer at JSU, which includes over 2,200 PC's, and work on them to remove the virus if it was there. I don't have a degree in computers but I have been working on them since about 1979, so I have lots of experience." Mr. Allred also expresses a great interest in his family and their connection to the Civil War. He is a lifetime member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Sons of the American Revolution. He is also a lifetime member of the Military Order of Stars and Bars, an organization for those individuals who have a family member that served as a military officer during the Civil War. "I enjoy learning about the Civil War and Southern heritage but I am mainly interested in how my family played a part in it. My family has been around this area for almost a hundred and fifty years. My mother's family and my father's family both had members that served in Company E of the 30th Alabama Infantry Regiment together during the Civil War. “There are three companies that I am particularly interested in: Company E, Company B and the 5th Alabama Battalion. Company B was from the Jacksonville area, Company E was from the Piedmont area, then known as Cross Plains, and the 5th Alabama Battalion was from the White Plains area. I want to know about my family's heritage." Mr. Allred traces his Scottish and Celtic heritage back to the highlands of Scotland and is a kilt wearing member of Clan Gregor and a member of Clan Henderson. He is also a Master Mason in the Free and Accepted Order of Masons. |
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