SPECIAL TO THE REPORTER

Batey M. Gresham Jr., one of Gresham, Smith and Partners&8217; founding partners, recently received the 2006 Auburn Alumni Association&8217;s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award is the highest honor given by the association and was established in 2001 to recognize extraordinary accomplishments by members of the Auburn family. Gresham is a 1957 graduate.

Gresham, Smith and Partners is responsible for many local projects including the Alabama Power Company Headquarters, The Mercedes-Benz Visitor Center and Wachovia Bank Wildwood Campus.

Gresham was personally involved in the design of Auburn&8217;s Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.

Begun in Nashville, the firm opened its second office in Birmingham in 1979, which has become one of Alabama&8217;s largest architecture and engineering firms.

Six years ago, Gresham and his wife, Ann, established the first endowed professorship in the 90-year history of the Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction