WE ARE SCI

Unless you’re an employee at SCI, you might not know the name Jackie Edwards. But if you’ve visited the plant anytime over the last 18 years, you’d almost certainly remember him.

It’s no stretch to say that Jackie, who will mark 18 years with SCI this August, leaves an impression on anyone who passes through the guard station. Standing 6-foot-6, this former college basketball star nearly always wears a smile and offers an encouraging word for all.

“I try to keep a good attitude with people,” he says. “I was brought up with the idea that you treat people the way you want to be treated.”

That’s great advice for anyone. But for Jackie, who serves as a Senior Security Officer, those words are more than just an idea. They’re also part of his job.

“I realize not everybody is the same – there are going to be some cloudy days,” he says. “But I’m dealing with the public. I’m the first person they see. So I’ve got to keep myself at the utmost I can be.”

From Selma to Semi-Pro

Jackie’s story starts in his hometown of Selma, Alabama, where he stood out as a high school basketball player. With his talents on the hardwood, he earned a scholarship to play at Alabama A&M University.

At A&M, Jackie earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Arts Education and starred at forward for the Bulldogs from 1972-76. As a senior, he led A&M in scoring and rebounding, and ranked fourth nationally in rebounding.

From there, Jackie caught on with semi-pro basketball teams in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. As a member of the pro teams’ “Taxi Squads,” he played against NBA veterans like “Downtown” Freddie Brown, Jack Sikma, “Big” Bill Walton and Bob Love.

While he never “made it” as a professional, Jackie says he is thankful for the opportunities he had.

“There were three of us to a room, and I used to come back to the room complaining – ‘I’m not getting the right chance, think I can beat this guy out,’” Jackie remembers. “But one of the players sat me down and told me, ‘You’re blessed just to have an opportunity to come here, because the school you went to doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to be looked at. You’re here, just pick your head up and do the best you can do.’ I took his advice, and it kept me around for another year.”

Back to Huntsville

Jackie spent two years in both Seattle and Portland before returning to Huntsville. Back in the Rocket City, he joined a semi-pro team called the Marauders that traveled to different cities to play games.

After his playing days were finished, Jackie changed paths and entered law enforcement. He went through the academy at Jacksonville State University and worked three years for the Alabama A&M police department.

Next, Jackie returned to Selma and worked with the Dallas County Sheriff and Vaughan Regional Medical Center. In 2000, Jackie and his wife decided to move back to Huntsville. He joined SCI’s security team in August of that year and has been here ever since.

“I enjoy working with the people surrounding me here, and that’s what has kept me here,” Jackie says. “If I was working at a place where I didn’t enjoy the people, I wouldn’t have stayed.”