Author Description

Dr. Gary Speers served as the fifth and final principal of Brownwood Elementary School. He has served as assistant principal of Collins Intermediate School and Scottsboro Junior High School, as well as at risk coordinator and attendance officer for Scottsboro City schools. Dr. Speers also has served as city councilman for the city of Scottsboro and is currently a board member on the Scottsboro Board of Education. Speers was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended Birmingham City Public Schools and graduated from Woodlawn High School. He earned an athletic scholarship to Alabama A&M University, where he played football and earned his bachelor's degree. He married the late Kimball McQueen of Scottsboro, and they have three daughters-Kristin, Rebecca, and Stephanie. Currently, they have eight grandkids. In addition to his bachelor's degree, he holds the following degrees: bachelor of theology from Birmingham Baptist Bible College, master's degree in school counseling from Alabama A&M University, AA certification administration education from University of Alabama, and educational specialist degree (EdS) and a doctor of education specializing in education administration from the University of Alabama. Speers has worked in the nuclear power industry throughout the United States as a 3.1 ANSI–qualified senior radiation protection technician. He has worked in the Birmingham public school system and served with the school systems' at-risk dropout prevention program. He and his family moved to Scottsboro in 1993, and he was subsequently hired as a magistrate and the first African American juvenile probation officer for Jackson County Juvenile Court. In Scottsboro, he founded New Harvest Ministries for a short term and was later called to pastor Saint Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church for over ten years. He continues to remain actively involved in community affairs and events, working with such