Thomasville woman is 'social media whirlwind'

THOMASVILLE – Deborah Rankins is a social media whirlwind.

At the moment, she directs a library named for an Alabama legend, hosts a radio talk show, publishes a magazine, is a member of a speaker's bureau and in her "free time" dabbles in other positive pursuits.

One look at her voluminous academic and professional resumes is enough to reach for a Magic Marker to underline all the stops she's made since leaving the tiny Clarke County timber town of Fulton.

Her background includes colleges and jobs in California, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and, of course, Alabama, where she's happy to be back home.

At the age of 53, she's been catching her second wind the past seven years at Alabama Southern Community College where, among other things, she supervises the school's Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum Library.

For weeks she worked to prepare a package of documents supporting the nomination of Windham for admission to the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame at Judson College.

She's up early most mornings, especially when preparing the latest edition of "The Rankins Files," a bi-monthly magazine launched earlier this year. Her fingers are crossed in hopes it will succeed.

On Tuesdays from 6-7 p.m., she's behind the microphone at a radio station in nearby Jackson where she continues her "Rankins Files" endeavors as a broadcaster.

One of her recent guests was former star athlete Bo Jackson who is perhaps more familiar to fans today for his television commercials.

Ask Deborah how she finds time to do so many things, she'll flash that big smile of hers and say it just takes dedication, concentration and perseverance.

One of her missions in life is preaching non-violence and two assassinated disciples of that principle — Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi — have provided the inspiration she uses daily.

Rankins tries her best to adhere to one of Gandhi's familiar quotes: "Be the change you want to see in the world."

She does it by teaching, speaking, writing and serving as an example to others who might come in contact with her.

One of many personal highlights has been her creation of storytelling clubs in 12 counties. They are named in Windham's honor and memory, of course.

An infectious sense of humor has gotten her through trying times, and she's never forgotten a phone call from Windham years ago. The subject was a prolonged drought in Alabama.

"Kathryn told me she was going outside right after we stopped talking and do a rain dance to see if that would help," said Rankins. "I can't watch that movie with Gene Kelly dancing in the rain without thinking of her."

The 12th of 14 children, she learned early from her parents to read, do her homework and prepare herself in a state that, at the time, opposed public school integration.

She got her bachelor's degree in English from Auburn Montgomery, followed by a master's degree from the University of West Alabama. If she has time, she might pursue a doctorate.

Her radio stint was suggested by James "Big Daddy" Lawler, a well-known broadcaster and character in Alabama's Black Belt region.

"He told me 'Deborah, you can talk, and radio is perfect for you,' " she recalled. "He had me on his own show and we've become good friends."

Lawler said Monday that he's been impressed with Rankins for years because of her knowledge of the Black Belt.

"Deborah is one of the very few people I've worked with who actually knows this area and what's going on," he said. "She doesn't look back, either. She's always looking ahead."

One of Rankins' favorite segments on her radio program is "The Making of Champions," and she couldn't have picked a better one than Jackson who provided all she could have hoped for when he agreed to be a guest.

"We discussed important traits in life," she said. "Bo and I talked for an hour and could have gone on a lot longer because he's passionate about helping people."

She said she's not paid for her radio program, but does use it as a platform to promote her "good news" magazine, a new venture that's published in another state,

Although her activities would indicate she loves the limelight, Rankins says nothing could be further from the truth "because I prefer to work in the background."

"I don't think I'm qualified for the big time," she said. "My place is in my small hometown where I can make a real difference."

She may not be an engineer, but she quickly learned how to run a radio control board and also handles technical duties when she's not answering the phone.

"I even have my own bumper music," she said, followed by that unmistakable laugh of hers.