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In December, the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) honored it’s 2024 All-State School Board Award recipients, which included Pike County School Board member Dr. Greg Price. 

The AASB began its annual All-State School Board Member recognition in 1992 to recognize up to five of Alabama’s most outstanding past or present school board members. The award is the highest honor the association presents to recognize “exemplary boardmanship.” The 2024 recipients of the award were celebrated during the association’s annual convention at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa at an award’s luncheon on Dec. 6. 

Price has been a member of the Pike County Board of Education for 22 years and has achieved master status in the AASB’s School Board Member Academy with more than 530 training hours. He’s also served as the AASB’s District 3 Director and volunteered on multiple committees, including the Budget and Finance Committee, Board Training Advisory Committee and Equity, Resolution and Bylaws Committees. 

“I’ve known Greg now for 27 years and to me, Greg is a very thoughtful, very analytical, very thorough guy,” Alabama State Representative Marcus Paramore said. “He’s never been a knee-jerk reaction guy. One of the programs I worked with him on was his ‘All Kids Program,’ which was a way of teaching students about the harms and ills of social media and of the pitfalls you can fall into with that.

“He did that on his own – and ran it through (Troy) University – and I know it’s education to a certain extent, but that goes far beyond your basic reading, writing and arithmetic.” 

Price is a technology expert and a leader in cybersecurity, serving as Troy University’s Chief Information Officer. Price has spent the past 27 years on the staff at Troy University. He’s also helped strengthen the AASB through his guidance and training sessions on emerging technology issues. He’s also developed and implemented various cybersecurity initiatives designed to safeguard educational institutions and protect students from online threats. 

Price said that growing up in Pike County, he simply wanted to give back to the community in some way.

“I grew up in Pike County and at an early age, I was able to witness the value of education, and as I got older I wanted to find an opportunity, or some way, to give back to the community and the school board was a wonderful outlet for that. 

“It can be tough being a school board member, there’s always challenges. That was something I was certainly aware of when I ran for the position the first time, but the joy of seeing the children have success and the faculty members achieve wonderful things in the classroom, that’s what keeps me moving forward.” 

Price has also served as the Director of the Alabama Computer Forensics Institute and in 2002 found the first regional digital forensics lab in the nation with the U.S. Dept. of Justice. He also developed the Cyberkids Awareness Program for the Alabama Attorney General’s Office and has authored five books on information technology. He’s also served as a member of multiple CyberSecurity task forces. 

Pike County Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Bazell was one of the individuals that nominated Price for the All-State honor.

“It’s important to have great school board members like Dr. Price,” Bazell emphasized. “They’re absolutely necessary to achieving the goals that we set forth. His 20-plus years of service to the school board is a major accomplishment and the fact that he has served the children of Pike County in an exemplary manner, as well. Personally, he’s been loyal to me, which I appreciate very much as the superintendent.” 

Fellow Pike County School Board member Dr. Clint Foster called Price a leader.

“It’s been great working with Greg,” he said. “He’s a great person, he’s solid, he never meets a stranger, that’s just who Greg is. He’s a good team player, he can work with anyone. Everybody wants to have a solid leader that listens and can give directions. He’s that fluid leader that any school system would benefit from being on (the school board).” 

While being a school board member can be a thankless job, Price was appreciative of the All-State honor.

“I appreciate the recognition,” Price continued. “It’s certainly humbling, especially because in this role there is no single person – or single act – that makes anyone successful. It’s a collaborative group of people who work together and I think we certainly have that at Pike County.”

When asked about his legacy, Price said he just hopes that the people of Pike County remember him for wanting to help the community.

“I would hope that people in the community – people in our Pike County community – think that I have contributed to the success of not only our children but the community, as well,” he said. 

The other school board members honored as a part of the 2024 All-State School Board were Gulf Shores School Board’s Kevin Corcoran, Lanett City Board of Education’s Gwen Harris-Brooks, Lauderdale County School Board’s Ronnie Owens and former Muscle Shoals City School Board member Dr. Celia Rudolph.