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Six of Atmore’s best were inducted into the Atmore Hall of Fame on April 27 during a celebration at The Club.

The Hall of Fame committee inducted Dr. Wil Baker, Robert Willard Faircloth Sr., Ann Gordon, Novy Hale, the Rev. Isaac Holt Jr. and Wayne Stacey.

“We are honoring those that have achieved in expertise and their achievements,” HOF Committee Member Billy Madison said. “We wouldn’t be able to have this without the Poarch Creek Indians and Ann Gordon.”

Mayor Jim Staff, in his welcome, said those who have gone off and done good things have been gracious to the town.

“We have a fantastic town, and folks who have gone off have been gracious and stood out,” Staff said. “We have a town to be proud of.”

Baker, a 1953 graduate of Escambia County High School, served as the associate dean of clinical resources for Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine in Dothan. He received his doctorate in research and psychology from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1973. He also served in the United States Marine Corps.

“Never in my life did I expect to be honored by my hometown,” Baker said. “I especially want to thank Becky Jordan. I have wonderful memories of Atmore.”

Baker grew up at 623 N. Main St., in Atmore, and he is the son of Houston Baker and Gladyse Freeman Baker.

Baker recalled a memory of when he was a sophomore in high school. He said he was with two classmates at a quartet singing, and the song, “Where He Leads Me, I Will Follow” was playing.

Baker said he heard an audible voice and turned to his two classmates, and asked whether or not they heard the voice.

“This voice was one I struggled with,” he said. “I graduated on a Friday, and the following Wednesday, I committed to Him and he lead me toward Howard College. There, I saw a sign that said, ‘I want you.’”

Baker said the voice he heard as a teenager opened many doors to who he is.

“That voice has spoken to me in different ways and avenues,” he said. “I’m grateful to God for that voice.”

Faircloth was born on June 6, 1930, in Wallace, and moved to Amore as a child. In 1968, he bought The Ponderosa, a teenage hangout, from Joe Linam.  He owned a chicken restaurant in the Winn-Dixie parking lot. In 1985, he and Rob Faircloth opened their first Church’s Chicken franchise. At one point in life, he was involved in 12 restaurants.

In 1993, Faircloth transitioned The Ponderosa to David’s Catfish.

“He was the most responsible person, you can always count on him and he can always get it done,”

Gordon is a broker and owner of Atmore Realty and Baldwin Realty Brokers. She is a volunteer in many other areas. She is a native of Atmore, and is the daughter of the late A.J. and Lucille Mitchell Peacock. She has been married to Don Gordon for 48 years, and they have one daughter, Dr. Amber Gordon (Brad Butler).

“I am honored and I am humbled; what more can I say?” Gordon said. “When I was first asked to do this, I kept saying ‘no’ as I was asked many times.

“Don and I agree one of the best things to happen to us was to come back home to Atmore,” she said. “I wanted to remind you that Ann sells Atmore because Ann loves Atmore.”

Hale was employed by the Alabama Department of Corrections at the Fountain Correctional Facility just outside Atmore. He started out as a field guard riding a horse and guarding prisoners as they worked in farm fields. He became a dog warden, training dogs to follow the scent of prisoners who escaped. Later in his career, he became deputy warden of Fountain, and later was warden of the Atmore prison.

“I would like to thank all the people who took part in this,” Hale’s son, Doug, said. “My daddy worked most of his life for the Alabama Department of Corrections. He built a reputation of being firm and fair, a father figure for lots of inmates black and white, and helped them to change their lives.”

Holt is an Atmore native, and he is a veteran of the United States Navy. While serving a tour of duty at the naval headquarters in Washington, D.C., he was licensed to preach in 1986 at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.

Later in life, he was awarded the 2010 Citizen of the Year award by the Mu Alpha Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

He is married to the former Ms. Jannie Singleton of Charleston, S.C.

“Out of many things I have been awarded, this is and always will be my highest tribute,” Holt said. “I want to thank Dr. Willie Grissett. He would pick us up and take us to church as we had no car. Nothing compares to being recognized from where you come from.”

Stacey is a retired lieutenant colonel, and graduated from Escambia County High School. He graduated from Auburn University in 1965 with a degree in business administration.

“I want to thank you for the honor, it’s very humbling to stand in front of my hometown people,” Stacey said. “The time growing up in Atmore was very special to me.”