As CEO of Insight Global, Bert Bean leads a team of more than 4,000 employees in 66 offices in the United States and Canada. He’s grown that Fortune 500 company’s revenue to $4 billion since taking over as CEO in 2018.

The 17-year veteran of the recruiting business was too busy climbing the corporate ladder to make it to his 10th or 20th high school reunion at Andalusia High School.

But he he told a sold-out crowd at the 2023 Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet Thursday that a watershed moment in his career came last year when he was told that a hometown company had contracted with his company for recruiting. 

“A year ago, I was on a call with the guy who runs our Huntsville office and he said, “Hey, you know CDG? They’re up in Huntsville now and they called us out of the blue with some business to work on.”

Bean said CDG previously had worked with his company’s competitor, but decided to give Insight Global a shot because he was from Andalusia.


“I think all most people want is to know that they have done well by the people who raised them. When the chips are down, ‘Can I go home?’ 

“I got tears in my eyes when I got that call,” Bean recalled. “That was validation. I was so proud of the chance to support CDG and my hometown.”

Bean talked about the importance of values in the workplace before turning to lessons he learned in Andalusia. 

“This town built me,” he said. “I had amazing experiences here. We moved here when I was 4, and moved away when I was 21 or so.

“First, I learned compassionate forgiveness from my favorite high school teacher, Mrs. Maria Smith,” he said. 

Smith had assigned the class to do group projects. Each group was to write a report on a country, and prepare a dish from the country. He and two friends printed the first thing they saw about their assigned country, Chile, and signed their names. Then they served a can of Hormel chili as their dish.

“Mrs. Smith was cool,” he said. “She gave us an ‘F.’ But she let us do it again so we wouldn’t fail Spanish. That was compassionate forgiveness.”

He said he learned humility in fourth grade from Lela Horry.

“Her son was playing at Alabama. He wasn’t rich yet, and he was at home, so he came to class and asked his mother for money,” he said, adding that his teacher unceremoniously dressed her son down and told him no. 

“I learned that no matter what, you’re never too big for your mom to correct you,” he said. 

“I learned something as simple as kindness from watching Melinda Maynor,” he said. 

Not long after the Bean family moved to town, his mom’s van broke down.

“She managed to limp this thing to the garage, and they told her it would take three weeks to repair,” he said. “We walked home to Prestwood Bridge Road, and every day, my mother walked us to school.

“Mrs. Melinda Maynor saw us and insisted that my mother take one of her cars, and use it as much as she needed it. That was kindness.”

From one of his first bosses, Jan King, he learned to be on time. 

“I was a lifeguard at the city pool, and I was not always on time. Thank you, Jan.”

And he said he learned the value of hard work when he got a summer job working with Dr. Toby Atkinson at the animal clinic.

“I thought maybe I wanted to be a vet and I wanted to learn about it,” he said. “Dr. Atkinson made me work hard. I got to work at 6 a.m. and it seemed like I left at 6 p.m., cleaning out stalls, and bathing dogs.

“I have so much respect for veterinarians,” he said. “I learned I can work hard. I talk about (Dr. Atkinson) all the time, about the value of hard work, and what we call grit.”

He said he learned to have pride in your craft and a standard of excellence by watching Meryane Murphy and the Andalusia Ballet.

“Mrs. Murphy taught my sister ballet,” he said. “We went to see her in  ‘Nutcracker’ and ‘Messiah.’ As I kid, I was more into sports than ballet, but I could see the professionalism and the standard of excellence, whether you’re performing in New York City or the Dixon Center in Andalusia.”

Bean also said he and his mother, Betsy Bean, arrived for the event early and enjoyed driving around Andalusia for the first time in a number of years.

“It looks so vibrant,” he said.

Bean also talked about the process he used when he took over as CEO of Insight Global to develop the company’s values, and to teach those values across the company. He also shared stories of how the resulting value statement helped the company to thrive during the pandemic, when many companies were not hiring.

 

Registration opens Wednesday and continues through Feb. 15 for the City of Andalusia’s baseball and softball leagues.

Baseball is open to players ages 4 through 15. For baseball, the age cut-off date is May 1, 2023.

Softball is open to players ages 4 through 12. For softball, the age cut-off date is January 1, 2023.

Tryouts for both sports will be Friday, Feb. 17. Tryouts are not required for ages 6 and under, and the 13-15 baseball players will try out after the school season ends.

For both sports, the registration fee is $35 for one child; $55 for two children; and $75 for three or more children. Scholarships are available for those with financial need.

You can register during business hours at Johnson Park, or online at the following links:

Baseball 6U

Baseball 8U

Baseball 10U

Baseball 12U

Baseball 13-15

Softball 6U

Softball 8U

Softball 10U

Softball 12U

 

QR codes for easy registration can also be found on the city’s social media pages.

For additional information, please call Johnson Park at 222-2714.

Mayor Earl Johnson on Tuesday recognized Municipal Judge Mike Jones Jr. with a resolution as he prepares to step down from the office as he takes on a new role in Montgomery.

Friends, family members and court officials were on hand for the presentation and the reception that followed.

Jones, who was appointed municipal judge in 2008, is stepping down to take on a new job as an assistant attorney general for the Alabama Secretary of State.

Mayor Johnson said that during his time on the bench, Jones has reorganized and streamlined the municipal court, and that during his time in the House of Representatives, he drew upon his experience in family law and as a municipal judge to sponsor and influence legislation that improved the lives of families affected by the incarceration of a family member.

Included in that work was legislation allowing those who had lost driving privileges for legal reasons to have a limited license allowing them to drive themselves to and from work, empowering them to provide for their families, rebuild their lives, and move out of the court system.

Jones thanked the “great professional staff” of the municipal court, including the prosecutors and defense attorneys, court referral officer and the probation officers,

 

He said many things he observed and learned as a municipal court judge, he took back to Montgomery and used to improve legislation.

 

Jones has practiced law in Andalusia since 1994 specializing in family law. He served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2010 until 2022, and was chairman of the powerful Rules Committee in the last quadrennium.

Registration opens Wed., Feb. 1, for Miracle League of Covington County baseball.

Miracle League operates on the premise that “Every child deserves a chance to play baseball.” The program is free and open to all ages. Players cannot be disallowed from participation because of degree of disability if approved by the parent or guardian.

Miracle League also is looking for “Angels in the Outfield” to assist players; coaches; and team moms.

You can register during business hours at Johnson Park, or online at cityofandalusia.com. QR codes for easy registration can be found on the city’s social media pages.

For additional information, please call Grayson Lumpkin at 222-2714 or Jill Ainsworth at 334-208-3645.

Earlier this month, the City of Andalusia was honored to host 65 University of Alabama students as part of the Blackburn Institute’s annual rural Alabama tour. The students had visited Lowndes, Butler and Conecuh counties before arriving in Andalusia.

They were at PowerSouth on Wed., Dec. 14, for a session with CEO Gary Smith, followed by a meal in the board room.

They spent Wednesday night at the Best Western in Opp. (Even though planning began in August, there were not enough rooms to accommodate the students in one hotel in Andalusia that evening).

On Thursday morning, they met with officials from CCB Community Bank and Southern Independent Bank for a session on community banking.

Next up was a stop at Andalusia High School, where Mayor Earl Johnson, Dr. Charles Eldridge, Dr. Daniel Shakespeare, and Coach Trent Taylor spoke about community involvement.

Mayor Johnson told the students, “You have to invest in your community if you want others to invest.” He talked about the need to improve school facilities, and how the City, School System, and the Public Education Building Authority board, chaired by Dr. Eldridge, worked together to update the auditorium and stadium.

Dr. Eldridge talked about raising private money to support the effort, and the importance of getting “buy-in” from all parties before undertaking such a project.

Dr. Shakespeare talked about the school system’s recent successes, including winning a state football championship, and making an “A” on the school system report card.

Coach Taylor provided a tour of the indoor practice facility and the stadium.

The afternoon session began with a presentation from City Administrator John Thompson on downtown redevelopment, and Amendment 725, which allows municipalities in Covington County to invest in the community. The students then did a walking tour of downtown to look at some of the projects mentioned in the program.

Other presenters were Daniel Wells, COO of CDG, Inc.; Andy Gibson, owner of Draftstone Properties; Lee and Debbie Williams, owners of Bluebird Coffee; and Kim and Kyle Baumgartner, owners of The B.

The afternoon ended with an hour of fun and photographs in Candyland before the students met in Andalusia City Hall for a wrap-up of their trip.

Mayor Johnson said it was refreshing to hear the comments students made about Andalusia.

“Our goal all along has been to make Andalusia a place where young people want to live, work, and raise their families,” he said. “When these very bright young people said, ‘This is a cool place, I’d like to live here,’ it was like an affirmation for us that some very hard work is paying off.”

Callen Woodard, a recent UA graduate and current law student who is also a Blackburn fellow, joined the group for most of its time in Andalusia, and a number of other local UA students and former UA students who were home for the holidays also joined parts of the activities. They included Darius Davis, Colin Marcum, Lindsay Dobyne and Rosemary Basss.