Every year, the Yellowhammer News Power & Influence: Top 50 list is an exercise in the present tense.

But there exists some Alabamians who are so reliably consequential over the long term, they eventually graduate beyond the annual ranking.

In a landmark year for Alabama politics, and the 15th anniversary of Yellowhammer News, we named six leaders with a one-time honor: The Legacy of Service Award.

Legacy, in this context – beyond power – means proof. That is the common denominator among this year’s honorees.

Each one used their God-given abilities to propel into domains they eventually used to change all others: In government, in the legislature, in law, in business, in education.

All our honorees have created permanent proof of the impact their work has left on Alabama and its people.

FULL CLASS OF 2026: Top 10 /  11-21 / 30-21 / 40-31 / 50-41 /  Who’s Next?

Each of the six were recognized at this year’s Power & Influence reception in Montgomery: Governor Kay Ivey, Jimmy Rane, Bob Geddie, Jere Beasley, Scott Phelps, and Jabo Waggoner.

The night featured remarks from Jimmy Rane, a toast to Governor Kay Ivey from Alabama Supreme Court Justice Will Sellers, whose friendship with the Governor stretches back further than most political careers in the building.

In tribute to this year’s Legacy of Service awardees, Yellowhammer News chronicled some of the foundational eras of these six men and women who have an outsized impact on Alabama: