May 23, 2013
Gov. Bob Riley pledged in his inaugural address Monday to create a "Spirit of Alabama" medal. Riley said that he and succeeding governors will present the medal to outstanding Alabamians each year.
The first recipients are no secret.
Riley said they will include civil rights leader Johnnie Carr of Montgomery, Vietnam War hero Hal Moore of Auburn, and the country band Alabama. Riley says he will also present one to the family of Johnny Michael Spann of Winfield. Spann was the first American killed in the war on terrorism.
Carr, Moore, members of Alabama, and Spann's father, Johnny Spann, shared Riley's inaugural platform.
