Hundreds of high school students in Walker County will soon have access to a state-of-the-art facility offering high-quality career and technical education, equipping them with credentials and skills aligned with Alabama’s workforce needs.
The Heman Drummond Center of Innovation (HDCI), a 125,000-square-foot facility currently in development in Walker County, will be ready to welcome students for the start of the 2026-2027 school year in August.
The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has made a $500,000 challenge grant from its Proactive funds to seed the endowment for the $80 million project.
“Economic opportunity for all is a key strategic priority for our community foundation,” said Gus Heard-Hughes, Senior Vice President of Programs at the Community Foundation. “Data shows that having a robust, prepared workforce is key to increasing regional economic growth and generating job opportunities. The Heman Drummond Center of Innovation is strategically focused on workforce training in ways that play to our region’s strengths and sectors with strong growth potential. This will benefit both Walker County and our whole region.”
The Walker Area Community Foundation (WACF) has led strategic planning and fundraising efforts and currently owns the center. Once complete, the center will be transferred to the Walker County School system for ownership and operation. Programs will be free for 10th through 12th graders in both Walker County and Jasper City schools, with plans to expand to other students in the area.
“There are so many pitfalls for an adolescent to get to graduation,” said Paul Kennedy, president of the Walker Area Community Foundation. “Unfortunately, some leave at 16 because they have to go to work for their family. We want them to have better than a $15 an hour job. If we can put them in an internship or an apprenticeship that’s paid, they can start earning some money without dropping out of school, and when they graduate, they’re going to have a high school diploma, certifications, and qualifications to go to work at high-paying jobs.”
Walker County identified the need to equip high school students with career and technical education years ago and has been doing just that. Currently, 750 students are enrolled in the award-winning technical education program at the Walker County Center of Technology, a center built in the 1970s. Despite limited resources, the instructors, all with industry experience, have helped 97.8% of enrolled students graduate and 92% of those graduates are placed in jobs. The program also offers dual enrollment opportunities at Bevil State Community College, meaning some students graduate with a high school diploma and a credential or certification.
Programs offered at the Walker County Center of Technology include health sciences, automotive and diesel mechanics, pre-engineering, graphic design, broadcasting and podcasting, welding, construction, cosmetology, culinary arts and more.
At the new Heman Drummond Center of Innovation, the number of students served will be doubled (over the next three years) and new programs will be added, including robotics, advanced manufacturing, cyber technology and security, biotechnology, logistics, carpentry, masonry, plumbing, and more.
“They’re going to graduate empowered,” Kennedy said of the students. “And that’s what it’s all about.”
Kennedy also believes the Heman Drummond Center of Innovation will help empower the region.
“It’s going to help us with economic development,” he said. “When we’re recruiting industry to come here, and we show them we have the capacity to train anybody for anything they need, they’re going to be much more likely to pick our community.”
The center is named for Heman Drummond, an innovative miner, well driller, farmer, and barber who founded the H.E. Drummond Coal Company in Drummond Hollow, Alabama, in 1935 at the age of 30. Despite financial struggles during the Great Depression and World War II, he went on to build his company into one of Alabama’s largest businesses.
Because of the endowment that will support the project, the Heman Drummond Center of Innovation will have staying power and the resources to build a legacy.
“Endowments provide resources to support strategic efforts over the long haul,” Heard-Hughes explained. “This is critical to ensuring that the work remains strong, focused, and adaptable over time. Especially with big projects that involve a large front-end investment, an endowment is insurance that the investment will pay off not just today but in the future.”
Support from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has helped the Walker Area Community Foundation with its fundraising efforts for the project.
“I am eternally grateful just for the demonstration of moral support and financial support from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham,” Kennedy said, adding that he views the Community Foundation as a “big brother” to his younger organization.
This partnership demonstrates that community foundations don’t compete; they collaborate for the good of the region.
“We are stronger as a region when we work together, and that is reflected in the close and strategic relationship between Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham and Walker Area Community Foundation over the years,” Heard-Hughes said. “We look for opportunities to partner on larger projects where we can have a greater impact by coming together. These include efforts to establish school-based health clinics to provide primary care and mental health services to students and staff; expand parks, trails, and river access for recreation; and expand economic opportunity through a project like the Heman Drummond Center of Innovation.”