Blue Devil Banker

.Image by Terrell ManascoThe 1960s gave birth to several major events: Beatlemania. The War in Viet Nam. Woodstock. Civil rights protests. And the banking career of a Cordova High student named Rita Joan Hopkins. “I helped in the office getting deposits ready, and we would take them to the bank. That kind of started my interest in banking,” Rita says.It’s a Wednesday afternoon and Rita is on her way home from her shift at the Bank of Walker County. Sitting across the table at the Jasper Mall food court, wearing a turquoise V-neck blouse, Rita’s eyes smile behind her tinted red frame glasses as she recalls her life story in an unassuming, almost reluctant manner. “I was born in Birmingham, but I started my life in Sipsey,” she says, her voice barely audible above the din of noise.When Rita was in first grade, her family moved to Cordova. Struggling to make ends meet, her mother worked as a nurse for Dr. Weaver to support Rita and her four brothers Larry, Jimmy, Eddie, and Rodney. “With the help of God and my loving grandparents, Otto and Annie Allred, we made it through some rough times,” Rita says.Despite the hardships, Rita has fond memories of those years. “Cordova is a very close-knit town,” she says. “I loved going to a small school. You knew just about everyone. One thing I loved about growing up in Cordova compared to now is that we could walk to town or school or park without fear of someone trying to pick us up or harm us. We even stayed at the tennis courts late playing tennis, rode our bikes, or walked to or from school or to town. Today they have way too much electronics to entertain children.”In addition to helping out in the school office, Rita played trombone in the Blue Devil band, became a majorette, and held the position of drum major for two years. “The greatest thing for me was the band,” she says. “The band director, Mr. John Armstrong, was a teacher that you wanted to do a good job for. He worked hard and in return you wanted to also. The band was something I highly enjoyed growing up and was so proud to be a part of. We were very close, like family. We loved being a part of something that you could really take pride in. It really gave your life real meaning. We loved going to competition and working hard to be recognized as an unbelievable band. We got to go places we would normally not have gotten to go.”One of those places was Birmingham’s Legion Field, where the band played at halftime of a 1970 Buffalo Bills-New York Jets benefit exhibition game. The Jets’ quarterback was a former Crimson Tide player by the name of Joe Namath, who had played for Bear Bryant. “That was a big thing,” Rita says.It was around that time that Rita met Donnie Burns, ironically a product of Cordova’s rival school, Dora High. They began dating and were married on Oct. 9, 1971, not long after Rita graduated. They have a son, Heath, now the Blue Devils’ head basketball coach, and a daughter, Kristyn Miles.Rita officially began her banking career in 1970 at Cordova Citizens Bank. In 1975 she came to work for Compass Bank and worked in management. “I love banking,” she says. “I love working with people.”With thirty-two years of service at Compass Bank, Rita retired in June 2008, but says she might still be there if she had waited a little longer. “In September or October that year was when the big crash happened. Had I waited, I never would have retired, I’m sure of it,” she says. “But I felt like the Lord had told me it was time to go.”For almost two years, Rita focused on spending time with her grandson. “Then it was like, ‘Well, God, what do You want me to do now?’ and this job came open,” she says.For five and a half years, Rita has worked in the teller line at the Bank of Walker County. Five days a week she arrives at work at 7:30 a.m, just because she wants to. “I’m an early bird. I like to be prompt. I’ve always been that way,” she says.Her work ethic is a testament to the tireless dedication of her mother Clercie, now ninety-one years old. “She instilled in all of us that you have to work hard,” Rita says.”One thing she always said was, ‘If you do right, you’ll come out right.’”Now married forty-five years, Rita and Donnie occasionally take vacations to Panama City or Gulf Shores, and spend time with their three grandchildren: Molly Kate, ten; Bradyn, seven; and Bralynn, eleven months. Rita is also very active with her church, Sumiton Church of God. “I love my church, and my choir.”Of all the things she’s achieved in her life, there is one thing she considers to be of utmost importance.“My greatest accomplishment was accepting the Lord, and having Him in my life. You know you’re not alone with Him. I would hope people would not see me, but see the Lord in me.”Rita loves her work, but to her, it’s not about numbers. It’s about people. “I love being around people, and I love helping them,” she says. “I’ve always felt like I wanted to do my job as unto the Lord because I know He would never do a shabby job.”And you can take that to the bank. 78