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Maurice Rollins Maurice Rollins was born and raised in Mont- gomery. He at- tended Brewbaker Elementary and Georgia Washing- ton Junior High and was a football standout at Jeffer- son Davis High School. After graduating, he lettered in foot- ball at Kemper Military College and Langston University. An Army Reservist from 1992-1998, Rollins graduated with honors from Kem- per Military Academy and has a bachelor’s degree in Resource Management as well as a master’s degrees in Business Administra- tion and Lean Six Sigma. Rollins currently works as a program manager for the DoD/Air Force. His pro- gram leads and trains team Air Force med- ical users and works with multiple Air Force and Joint agencies along with end users to improve existing systems, identify new re- quirements and modernize the entire port- folio of Air Force medical deployed systems. Before working with the Air Force, Rollins was a senior finance and data analyst for a health care system. His previous experience includes working as a healthcare consultant manager for Alabama Primary Health Care Association, where he was responsible for improving financial, operational and clini- cal polices for more than 130 community health centers in Alabama. Additionally, Rollins has worked as a senior-level project manager in PMC (paper machine clothing), aeronautics and aviation. He has also su- pervised engineering projects for Boeing, Pratt Whitney, Dowdy, Procter & Gamble and others, which resulted in an over $50 million cost savings around the world im- plementing Lean Six Sigma principles. In 2010 and 2014, Rollins was a Demo- cratic nominee for the Alabama House of Representatives. As an active member in the community, Rollins has served as the president of his neighborhood Home Owners Association, Board of Directors for the Montgomery Sunrise Rotary Club, board member for Leadership Montgomery, a Partner in Ed- ucation Mentor and the Youth Leader at New Home Baptist Church where he is an active member and deacon. The Junior League of Montgomery recognized Rollins’ service in 2012 by presenting himwith their Exemplary Commitment to Volunteerism Award. A member Omega Psi Phi, he also serves on the Fame Board for Booker T. Washington Magnet School. He is happily married to Georgia Rollins with two sons and two wonderful pets. Ron Simmons Ron Simmons is a native of Montgomery and is a 1983 graduate of Sidney Lanier High School. He is a graduate of Auburn University Mo n t g om e r y, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Mar- keting and Military Science. Simmons was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves from the Auburn Uni- versity Montgomery ROTC program in 1987. Simmons currently serves as the vice president of sales for the DestinationMont- gomery Convention and Visitor Bureau, part of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. He is also a recent graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Founda- tion Institute of Organizational Manage- ment at the University of Georgia. Previously Simmons served as the vice president of business development with the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce from 2014-2016. From 2010-2014, he served as the sports national sales manager for the chamber and CVB. Simmons and his wife, Annette, have been married 29 years, just celebrating their anniversary in July. They have two sons and one daughter, Ron II, Austin and Erin. Simmons is the founder of D.A.D.S (Dads and Daughters Saturday), and serves on various boards throughout the commu- nity, including the Montgomery City- County Public Library and the Greater Montgomery YMCA. He is also a member of the Economic Development Association of Alabama and is a Leadership Mont- gomery graduate, Class XXVIII. Simmons’ mother is a two-time cancer survivor and he has a friend who is a cancer survivor. He lost his godmother to breast cancer in 1992. So, the RMWP campaign is personal for him. “I’m excited to be raising awareness and funds for early detection and treatment for breast cancer,” he said. Steve Savarese Steve Savarese, who has been coach, teacher, athletic director and administrator in high school athletics for more than 42 years, be- came the execu- tive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association in 2007. He is currently serving on the NFHS Net- work Board of Directors as its chairman and was an original member of the NFHS Holdco Board. Savarese has been a presen- ter at numerous NFHS meetings, including the annual Summer Conference and the NFHS Legal and Finance meetings. “I am honored to be a part of Real Men Wear Pink program,” said Savarese. “We lost our mother as a result of breast cancer and this is very personal for me.” His leadership has put AHSAA champi- onship events on solid ground financially with his boldest moves being the rotation of the popular Super 7 state football cham- pionships between the University of Al- abama’s 100,000-seat Bryant-Denny Sta- dium and Auburn University’s 85,000-seat Jordan Hare Stadium and the AHSAA ex- pansion to its current seven-classification system. A man of strong faith and conviction, Savarese was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. He is an outspoken, nationally recognized leader on issues dealing with high school educational athletics. He is a member of two other halls of fame. Before becoming the AHSAA executive director, Savarese was one of the nation’s most successful high school football coaches and athletic directors. His football coaching record was 281-98 in 33 years — 26 in Alabama and seven in Kansas. His Daphne team won the 2001 Class 6A state championship. He also coached Douglass (Kan.) to a state title in 1978. He was a fi- nalist for NFL High School Coach of the Year Award and has received numerous coach-of-the-year honors. 36 AL/ Metro 360 www.almetro360.com