Tribute to Former U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill

On March 28, 2005, former U.S. Representative Tom Bevill passed away. Mr. Bevill served as a Senior Advisor at Dawson & Associates, and his colleagues paid tribute to their coworker and friend:

“I had the distinct honor of viewing the work of Chairman Bevill from many different perspectives.

Growing up in Alabama, I got to see his legislative skills from the standpoint of a constituent. Later, working on the Hill, I saw his power and skill as a staff member of a fellow Alabama congressman.

Later, as administrator of one of the major House committees that authorized programs for which Mr. Bevill's subcommittee appropriated funds, I saw his tremendous leadership, legislative craftsmanship, vision and grace under pressure.

As an agency official testifying frequently before the Appropriation Subcommittee he then chaired, I felt firsthand his benevolence, his high standards, and, yes, at times his criticism, but always there was a firm foundation of integrity, intelligence, and effective hard work.”

--Robert K. Dawson, President and founder

“Tom Bevill was a remarkable human and superb Congressman. As one of the Cardinal in the House of Representatives, he successfully ran a subcommittee of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Yet Tom was always most pleasant, polite, and never exhibited in the slightest the power he wielded.

He was as effective a Congressman as I've ever seen at working across the aisles. He closely worked with John Myers, the senior Republican member for years. After they switched roles when the House majority moved to the Republican side, he exhibited the most remarkable dual leadership I have seen in either the House or the Senate.”

--Lt. General Elvin “Vald” Heiberg III, Senior Advisor

“Tom Bevill was the epitome of a gentleman. Whether in the role of a powerful Cardinal of the Appropriations Committee, as a colleague at Dawson & Associates or as a friend, Tom Bevill was always the same person with the same gentle manner and way of speech. I had the pleasure of knowing and working with him when I was a staff person on a House Committee, a senior attorney in the Executive Branch and as a colleague in this firm; and in each of those capacities, I noted that he maintained the same genial behavior at all times whether the situation was stressful or social. It just didn't matter. Tom Bevill was always the same Tom Bevill. He was always willing to give assistance when you had a need and never officious or abusive when dealing with the agency people whose programs he exercised legislative oversight. Although he enjoyed being called "Mr. Chairman", he never used that title or position to put himself above or beyond his friends or his constituents. He was in my terms a "mensch" -- a person of integrity and honor.

-- Lester Edelman, Senior Counsel/Senior Advocate