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Alan McMurtry began his Primary Education in Natchitoches, Louisiana and moved to North Richland, Washington in 1953. He attended John Ball and Spaulding elementary, Chief Jo Jr. High and Col Hi where he graduated in 1961. Alan studied Architectural Engineering at Washington State University, Law at Vanderbilt Law School and he attained Bachelors and Masters Degrees with Honors from Northwestern State University (NSU) where he was Business Manager of the “Current Sauce” (student newspaper) and Potpourri (year book), the Founder and President of the NSU Young Republicans, and was a member of Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Honor Society and The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Alan is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity from Washington State University. He has been a lecturer at the NSU Business School’s “J. Walter Porter Forum”.
After graduating NSU, McMurtry went to Houston, Texas, where he was employed as a manager with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co., Certified Public Accountants, Vice President Finance and Administration and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Texas Medical Center and was tapped by Leon Jaworski to serve as interim CEO after the sudden death of the Medical Center’s President. Later Alan was Senior Vice President of Ben Franklin Federal Savings Association and a member of its Senior Asset Board. He was on the Board of Directors of Westbury National Bank and its Asset Review Committee and MBank Houston’s Board. In Houston, Alan was at different times a Rotarian and a Kiwanian. He was a member of the Houston Chamber of Commerce and its International Business Committee and he was listed in Marquis, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry. Alan was President and CEO of BOLA, Inc., owner of the Bourbon Orleans Hotel in the New Orleans French Quarter. In Texas he held insurance and securities licenses and was a Certified Public Accountant. He presently holds Real Estate Brokers Licenses in both Texas and Louisiana.
Alan has also served as a Scout Leader, School PTA President and Home Owner Association President. He has successfully argued and achieved favorable Revenue Rulings before the Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service in Washington, DC and achieved AAA bond ratings from presentations before Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s Rating Agencies on Wall Street. Alan was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the Houston Harris County Public/Private Initiatives Committee on Employment and Job Training and was recognized by the Texas Employment Commission for his distinguished contribution to that agency. Alan served as President of the Houston Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Foundation for Ileitis and Colitis and as a member of its National Board of Directors in New York.
Alan and wife Marilyn have five sons and seven grandchildren. They retired and moved from Houston to Natchitoches, Louisiana in 2005. Natchitoches is that quaint and perky town in the movie Steel Magnolias. Natchitoches is also recognized as the Bed & Breakfast Capital of Louisiana and home to the Cane River Creole National Historical Park at Oakland & Magnolia Plantations. The National Trust named the town one of the 2005 “Dozen Distinctive Destinations” for Historic Preservation. Natchitoches, the original French Colony in Louisiana retains its European flavor through its architecture, heritage and lifestyle. Alan is a commissioner for Natchtitoches’ National Historic Landmark District, the only one outside of the Vieux Carre in New Orleans.
At the heart of the National Historic Landmark District lies Front Street, a brick thoroughfare where wrought iron balconies, restaurants and shops face the beautiful Cane River Lake. The City of Natchitoches was established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis, making it the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory.
“Steel Magnolias” the movie is based on a true story. Filmed entirely in Natchitoches and released in 1989. This enduring movie for all ages is now a classic. Writer, Robert Harling, Jr., is a native and resident of Natchitoches. Alan and Marilyn own and reside in the home that was “Truvy’s” in “Steel Magnolias”.
The McMurtrys have been involved in several community affairs, including the Association for Preservation of Historic Natchitoches, Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society, the National Historic District Commission, NSU President’s Council, Pas un Bon Temps Dance Club, Caroline Dorman Nature Preserve Foundation, Creole Heritage Foundation and board member and Vice President of the Kiwanis Club of Natchitoches. He is a Charter Member and Treasurer of the Natchitoches Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Marilyn was recently named a Natchitoches Treasure, VP of the Association for Preservation of Historic Natchitoches and President of the Symphony Society and she serves on the Staff/Parish Relations Committee of First United Methodist Church where she and Alan are members.
Alan is a Texas Certified Master Gardener who enjoys gardening and Digital Photography.