Living in a place you love is a dream of many, but loving the place you live is a dream Fred Randall Hughey has achieved.
While Tallassee native Fred Randall Hughey loves being a resident of Tallassee, he has gone above and beyond to make Tallassee a place he wants to live. So much so, he has now received all of the awards presented by the Tallassee Chamber of Commerce after receiving the Lifetime Award.
Born and raised in the Tallassee area, Hughey has been involved in the community his entire life. From quarterback and captain of the Reeltown High School football team in high school to now serving as a city council member, Tallassee is ingrained in Hughey.
There was a period of time, however, where Hughey was not in Tallassee. He received a diploma from a technical school in Sarasota, Florida, where he received his radio engineers license. Although he moved away briefly, he brought his new credentials back home to Alabama. He worked in Montgomery, Union Springs and eventually came right back home to Tallassee where he built his own radio station, WACQ in Tallassee.
“We’ve been in business for 46 years now,” Hughey said. “Part of your obligation of being granted a license for a radio station is community service and that’s what we’ve tried to do. We’ve tried to be involved in the community.”
Through WACQ, Hughey has given back to the community in several ways. On the local level, WACQ has helped the community through fundraising, participating in local events, partnering with local organizations and more. As an involved long-time member of the Talisi Historical Society, Hughey feels a strong responsibility for preserving historical structures throughout Tallassee. So much so, he has helped raise nearly $200,000 to help pay off the debt on the West Side Mill properties.
Hughey has also been involved with restoring the National Guard Armory on Gilmer Avenue.
“The most recent thing we’ve done is we rebuilt the bell tower there,” Hughey said. “We just want to preserve everything down there because there is one building down there that is the second oldest stone structure in Alabama.”
Hughey also serves as the commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization.
His local involvement has extended to the chamber, his church and most recently, the City of Tallassee City Council. Representing Ward 7, Hughey is in his first term as a City of Tallassee councilmember.
“I wanted to serve in order to try to improve the quality of life,” Hughey said. “I’ve attended every city council meeting because I’ve reported on them for the last 46 years.”
While attending council meetings, Hughey felt like someone needed to step in for the betterment of Tallassee, so when he saw the opportunity, he took it.
“With the council we have and the mayor, we’ve done so many wonderful things,” Hughey said. “We’ve redone the sewage, redone the gas lines and we’re working on grants to upgrade the water filter plant. We’ve just been involved in so many positive things turning around in Tallassee.”
Now that Hughey has received the Lifetime Award, he has acquired every award given by the Tallassee Chamber of Commerce.
“My initial reaction was, ‘They must have run out of other people to give it to,’” Hughey said. “There’s so many other people that I know that are so deserving, but it’s a tremendous honor when you consider who else has been on that list. It’s just a great honor.”