Sonny Craig honored with Chamber’s Citizen of the Year award at Annual Meeting

On Wednesday, Sonny Craig of Decatur was presented the 2022 Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce Miss Athelyne C. Banks Citizen of the Year award for his contributions and volunteerism to the community. The award, presented each year at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting, is named after the longtime Decatur educator Miss Athelyne C. Banks and honors those whose life reflects the dedication, service and faithfulness to Decatur modeled in the example of Banks.
 
A Decatur native, Craig graduated from Decatur High School and received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Alabama. He then attended the Graduate School of Banking at LSU.
 
“Sonny has been a consummate volunteer in our community for 50 plus years. In retirement, he continues to volunteer, presently serving on the Alabama Center for the Arts Foundation, present board member, past president and founding member of the River Clay Arts Festival Board and chairs the Investment Committee of St. John’s Episcopal Church,” said Trudy Grisham, a past winner of the award and who nominated Craig. “Athelyne C. Banks served on the Hospital Foundation Board with Sonny for 12 plus years. She would be proud to see him receive this honor bearing her name.”
 
In his professional life, Craig is a former banker. In 1970, Craig joined Central Bank. In 1975, he was senior vice president and north Alabama marketing director for AmSouth Bank. Craig joined Morgan Keegan in 1984 and in 1989, he became senior vice president investment advisor with Robinson Humphrey which is now Morgan Stanley. In 2019, he joined Wells Fargo Advisors as an associate senior advisor.
 
Sonny’s selfless service to our community should inspire us all to do just a little more. His many years of involvement in so many efforts to make Decatur the community of choice, even in his retirement, is appreciated and it’s a great example of what volunteer leadership looks like,” said Crystal Brown, president and CEO of the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber.
 
In his community life, Craig has a long history of service to committees and organizations in Decatur. He is a former chairman of the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce. He recently retired from serving on the Morgan County Economic Development Association Board for the past 15 years.  He’s a 2006 graduate of Leadership Alabama and currently serves on its Regional Council. He is a former vestry member and one of the founding members of the River City Run.
 
Among his many awards and recognitions, Craig was the recipient of the Ira Lay Award from the United Way and the 2008 Recipient of the John Caddell Award from Decatur Morgan Hospital.
Banks – for whom the award is named – devoted 42 years of her life to education, serving 29 of them with Decatur City Schools. She was a public-school teacher, the first woman principal at Carver Elementary School and a public school administrator. The award honors a member of our community whose life reflects the dedication, service and faithfulness to Decatur modeled in the example of Miss Banks. Chamber members submitted nominations for the award, and applications were judged by a committee of past recipients.
 
About the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce: Founded in 1931 by the late Barrett C. Shelton, the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit organization promoting business and commerce for the Decatur-Morgan County area through volunteer leadership in economic, political and social development. For more information on any Chamber initiative, contact the Chamber at (256) 353-5312 or visit www.dcc.org.