Brian Jones: “I rise to honor two of Alabama's great citizens. The State misses greatly the late Senator Howell Heflin, who was a…”

“I rise to honor two of Alabama's great citizens. The State misses greatly the late Senator Howell Heflin, who was a Member of this body for 18 years, and my friend and campaign manager, Giles Perkins, who was a lawyer in Birmingham, AL. These two men spent their lives working to improve our great State, and both shaped the future of Alabama in his own way. Following these remarks, we are going to be honoring both of these men in a reception to be held in my office. I last spoke on the floor of my friend and former campaign manager, Giles Perkins, following his death last December. Giles was an accomplished attorney, community leader, brilliant political adviser, and strategist. Although a native of Texas, he moved to Alabama following his marriage to his true love, Hillery Head, and he quickly came to understand how Alabama's complicated and sometimes dark history shaped our State. He had the vision of a brighter future if all Alabamians could have just simply worked together to create one Alabama for everyone. Whether in politics, his legal practice, or with regard to his remarkable community projects--most notably Railroad Park, which helped to transform the city of Birmingham--for anyone who crossed paths with Giles, one saw in him his passion for making Alabama and the entire South better places for us all. Giles' last political effort was my 2017 Senate campaign. As campaign chair, he was nothing short of extraordinary.…”