 | EHNEY A. CAMP, JR. |
The following biographical sketch was compiled at the time of induction into the Academy in 1976.
Ehney A. Camp, Jr., a life insurance company executive and a mortgage banking expert of national
reputation, was born in Maylene, Alabama, in 1907. Three years later he moved to Columbiana,
where he grew up and attended the public schools of Shelby County. In 1924 he entered the
University of Alabama. Four years later he graduated with a B.S. degree and an academic record
distinguished enough to have earned for him a Phi Beta Kappa key and a citation as the outstanding
male scholar of the class of 1928.
After graduation he moved to Birmingham and joined the investment banking house of Ward,
Sterne, and Company. After working a year for that firm and three years for the Bankers Mortgage
Bond Company, he joined the Liberty National Life Insurance Company of Birmingham and
remained in its employ for the rest of his career.
He advanced rapidly through the executive ranks at Liberty National. In 1935 he became the
treasurer of the company; in 1940, a member of its board of directors; and in 1943, its vice president
and treasurer. In 1960 he was named the firm's executive vice president and treasurer, and he held
that post until he retired in 1973, after 41 years of service to the company. At the time of his induction into the Academy, he was a member
of the board of directors and executive committee.
During his long career with Liberty National Life, Mr. Camp gained national recognition within the
mortgage banking and life insurance communities for his untiring dedication to the work of the
American Life Convention, the Life Insurance Association of America, and the Mortgage Bankers
Association of America. He also earned high praise for sitting on the numerous government
agencies, panels, and boards in his field of expertise. These included the Voluntary Credit Restraint
Committee convened by the Federal Reserve Board in 1951, and the advisory committees to three
federal housing commissions, President Eisenhower's Special Advisory Committee on Government
Housing Policies and Programs, and the Alabama Governor's Committee to Fight
Inflation.
Mr. Camp's devotion to civic and community work outside his area of professional expertise was equally strong. An active alumnus of the University of Alabama, he served since 1952 on
the University's board of trustees and took a leading role in the work of all major alumni
organizations. He was long a leader in the fight against tuberculosis in the Birmingham area
and served as the president of the Jefferson County Anti-Tuberculosis Society and as a member
of the boards of directors of the County Tuberculosis Sanitarium and the Campaign Against
Tuberculosis. He was also the president of the Birmingham Kiwanis Club and a member of its
scholarship committee, a member of the board of the Birmingham Boys Club, a co-director of the
Jefferson County Community Chest campaign, and a member of the Birmingham Committee of 100.
In addition he was a dedicated member of the First United Methodist Church of Birmingham, which
he served as the director of the Sunday School and as the chairman of the administrative
committee of the board of trustees.
Following his college days, Mr. Camp belonged to a number of social, fraternal, and honorary
societies. Among these are Omicron Delta Kappa, Beta Gamma Sigma, Alpha Kappa Psi, Jasons,
and Sigma Nu. He was also a member of the Mountain Brook Club, the Birmingham Country Club,
the Club, and the Relay House.
In 1933 he married the former Mildred Fletcher Tillman. They had three children and eight
grandchildren, all of whom live in Birmingham. Mr. Camp is now deceased.
Updated: March 13, 2007