The Walker County Bama Club Chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association will hold its annual fall Kick-Off meeting and Membership Drive at Musgrove Country Club on Thursday evening, August 12. Special guest speaker will be Chris Stewart, the University of Alabama’s men’s basketball and baseball play-by-play announcer for the Crimson Tide Sports Network.

Stewart has been a broadcaster since 1988 and is approaching his 19th season as the University of Alabama’s men’s basketball play-by-play announcer for the Crimson Tide Sports Network.

In addition to his role as the voice of Crimson Tide Basketball, Stewart also serves as the broadcast host for CTSN’s radio coverage of Crimson Tide Football and as the television host of “The Nick Saban Show” and “The Nate Oats Show”.

Stewart is also the radio play-by-play announcer for Bama Baseball, having followed the Tide on the diamond since the 2000 season.

Prior to taking over the Alabama basketball play-by-play job, the Fairfield native also spent eight seasons as the radio announcer for Birmingham-Southern College. He described the action for two NAIA national championships won by the Panthers – the 1995 men’s basketball title, as well as the 2001 baseball championship.

A 1992 graduate of the University of Montevallo, Stewart was honored with the school’s 2009 Alumni Achievement Award.

On five occasions (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2016) he has also been named “Alabama Sportscaster of the Year” by the National Sports Media Association.

Chris is married to the former Christy Carmichael and has three children, Anne, Parker, & Hudson.

The primary goal of the Walker County Bama Club is to award scholarships to local students beginning their college career at the Capstone. Each spring the chapter hosts an annual golf tournament, Bama Scramble, to raise funds for these scholarships.

The chapter is currently working to endow a new scholarship to assist Bevill State students wishing to continue their education at the Capstone.

This year the chapter awarded over $50,000 in scholarships to local students. The 2021-22 scholarship recipients of Walker County Chapter are:

The Bobby Marlow Memorial Endowed Scholarship - Bailey C. Olive, Jonathan Curtis, & Riley Boissel

The Dr. Brenda Honeycutt Dearman Endowed Scholarship - Riley Boissel & Caleb Allums

The James L. Beech, Jr. Memorial Endowed Scholarship - Derek Meadows & Jenna Johnson

The Perry Mathews Memorial Endowed Scholarship - Brayden Cantrell

The Travis and Mae Hudson Endowed Scholarship - Mary Catherine Speer 

The James R., Martha R., and C. Kent Sides Endowed Scholarship - Amelia Poolos 

The Mary Jo Lankford Rollo Endowed Scholarship - Amelia Poolos 

The Larry Drummond Endowed Scholarship - Molly Nugent & Jon Lay

The Garry Neil Drummond Memorial Endowed Scholarship - Jonathan Sapp

The James Mason Berry Memorial Endowed Scholarship - Kylon Morman renewed for a second year

The Mary Ellen Stinson Rowland Memorial & Sue Ellen Rowland Summers Endowed Scholarship - Lucas Freeman renewed for a fourth year

The Dr. David Jack Rowland and Sue Ellen Rowland Summers Endowed Scholarship - Lynleigh Byram renewed for a 3rd year

Membership in the local chapter is available at three levels – Single, $25; Family, $50 and Scholarship Level, $100 or more. The chapter is comprised of both UA alumni and friends for the University. Everyone is invited to join.