The 5 will be honored at the Business Alabama Awards in March

^{Excerpted from an article in Business Alabama.}

Receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award will be Lonnie Johnson, researcher, entrepreneur and inventor of the SuperSoaker water gun; Don Logan, former CEO of Southern Progress and chairman of Time Warner’s Media and Communications Group; James W. Rane, president and CEO of Great Southern Wood Holdings; and Frank and Pardis Stitt, co-owners of the Stitt Restaurant Group.

The five will be honored as part of the Business Alabama Awards. At the luncheon, awards will also be given for Large Company of the Year, Small Company of the Year, CEO of the Year, Startup of the Year, Project of the Year, Alabama Ex-Pat and Philanthropic Project of the Year. The inaugural Business Alabama Awards were given last year.

Here’s a look at this year’s Lifetime Achievement winners.

Lonnie Johnson

Johnson, a member of the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame, invented the SuperSoaker water gun, which has recorded sales of more than $1 billion. He holds more than 140 patents and has authored publications on spacecraft-powered systems. Born and raised in Mobile, Johnson received three degrees, including an honorary doctorate, from Tuskegee University. He is president and founder of Johnson Research & Development Co., a technology incubator with the mission to find solutions to the world’s sustainable energy and environmental challenges. Johnson also runs a STEM Activity Center that mentors grade-school students. Johnson, who is married and has four children, lives in Atlanta.

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