A Message from Mayor Stimpson - August 14
Aug 14th, 2020
Good evening,
It is 7 p.m. on Friday, August 14 and I am writing to give you an update from the City of Mobile.
As of tonight, the Mobile County Health Department reports a total of 10,989 COVID-19 positive patients, an increase of 89 patients from yesterday's report. There are a total of 231 patients that have died as a result of COVID-19. For a detailed look at today's data click here.
As the week draws to a close, tonight's newsletter is dedicated to revealing little-known information about one of Mobile's unsung heroes. Actually, most of you already know him, but you probably don't know what I'm about to reveal. It's none other than George Talbot who has served the City of Mobile as Executive Director of External Affairs and Communications for the last 7 years.
Knowing that this was George's last day as a city employee, I asked some of his Airbus friends to write letters of tribute to George reflecting on their friendship and relationship. The following are parts of their messages:
From Guy Hicks, Sr. VP Governmental Relations, Airbus Americas, Inc. --- In January 2005, I met a young and very engaging reporter from the Mobile Press Register. He had come to Washington, DC to attend an information day regarding EADS North America's search for a location to build a military tanker aircraft assembly and modification center in the U.S. His name was George Talbot. I won't belabor the story of tanker, and the decisions that followed it. But suffice to say, George, I hope every time you drive down Interstate 10 past the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley you will smile with the knowledge that every day hundreds of employees go to work building some of the most advanced products in the world. They support their families and the community, all of this in part because of your 15 years of championing their cause and that of Mobile. As a result, the Airbus production center in Mobile will forever have a bit of George Talbot's light shining over it!
From Allan McArtor, Retired Chairman, Airbus Americas, Inc. --- I remember when I was trying to "sneak" the senior Airbus executives into Mobile. The Airbus team and I did not want to alert the community nor the press. The mission was to host a lunch at David Cooper's home and to get the Airbus senior team comfortable with Mobile and Alabama. I told our guys that George Talbot would find out about the lunch and the visit, because George knew everything that was going on. And as any credible newsman would - George would have to report it! But we knew we could trust George to not blow the whistle until we gave a green light. So, we gave George a heads up on what was to happen. And George did just that. From then on, we all knew that George was a trusted and balanced reporter of the courtship between Airbus and Mobile. And I knew when George became Sandy's wingman, the Mayor had picked the best man for the job.
From Ralph Crosby, Member Airbus Board of Directors and Former Chairman/CEO EADS North America --- Over the last fifteen years, there has been one constant, constructive, enabling influence in the nascent to maturing relationship between Airbus and Mobile. This could be a multiple-choice question with possible answers being: Jack Edwards, Jo Bonner, Bob Riley, Jeff Sessions, Tom Enders, Allan McArtor, Ralph Crosby, Sandy Stimpson, Win Hallett, Sam Jones. The answer, of course is-none of the above. The single individual who most honestly and consistently has ensured timely information on the mutual benefits of the Mobile-Airbus partnership is, and always has been George Talbot. From Tanker One, to Tanker Two, to A320 to A220, George managed to be in a pivotal position to ensure the 'real facts' (not fake) were available to all of those who had a stake in the process. With thorough understanding of the complexities of an aircraft manufacturing program, absolute integrity, and penetrating analysis, George laid out the facts. And as the recipient of many of his inquiries, I can assure you all that satisfying George's standards of thoroughness and honesty wasn't always easy. That soft spoken, bulldog persistence never took a short cut. For Airbus and Mobile, you have played a central role-in which I hope you take justifiable professional pride. For me, I take great personal pleasure in our enduring friendship-which I know we will carry forward into your next endeavors.
As I write this tonight, I can't but help reflect upon these messages. You have three executives in the highest echelons of one of the largest companies in the world who have embraced a newspaper reporter from Mobile as a true friend. Why? It wasn't because of his power. No, it was because of who he is; his fairness, integrity, discernment and trustworthiness.
As George goes forward pursuing a new chapter in his life, I'll miss him and you'll miss him too. His wise counsel and selflessness have played an invaluable part of the Mayor's leadership team. Mobile is a better place to live because of him. As I go forward there is one thing of which I am certain and that is George will be on standby to help me, you and Mobile.