Giving back is natural to Alabama Power retiree Sharon Murrill, whose volunteerism is ‘turnaround’ in life

To residents of Mulherin Custodial Home in Mobile, Sharon Murill is family.

Murrill feels the same: Mulherin residents are “chosen” family – not by genetic ties, but through a long relationship forged by caring.

The Mulherin nonprofit provides ongoing residential care to people with developmental disabilities in a loving, home-like environment.

Murrill helped Mulherin in myriad ways throughout her Alabama Power career. She has served hundreds of cupcakes at birthday parties, thrown “epic” Halloween shindigs, helped buy scores of Christmas gifts and assisted in procuring a wheelchair-accessible swing for residents.

For Murrill’s retirement after nearly 37 years of dedicated service, Alabama Power Manager Erin Delaporte arranged a breakfast meeting June 5 at the Mobile Division Office. Delaport invited Mulherin Activity and Development Coordinator Jamie Yerby and other Mulherin guests, all of whom honored Murrill.

“I had to shed a few tears when they came in,” said Murrill, who retired as Community Relations manager for Mobile Division. “It was the sweetest thing.

“It was great. It was so much fun, and I was so surprised,” she said. Mulherin residents made a video to honor Murrill.

‘No. 1 volunteer’

Yerby calls Murrill “my No. 1 volunteer.”

Any time Yerby needs assistance, Murrill makes herself available. For years, she has helped with Mulherin’s fundraiser at Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile. Murrill led efforts to obtain an air conditioner for Mulherin’s kitchen and worked with the Alabama Power Foundation to obtain the specially designed wheelchair swing.

Yerby, who has served Mulherin since 2013, said, “I know for a fact that I can call Sharon today and tell her, ‘Hey, we need this – do you know anybody,’ and she would somehow get whatever we needed.

“Supplies or whatever, during COVID, she was the first person I reached out to when we had our first cases. … It was so hard for us to get supplies, like everybody else, and I said, ‘If you know anybody who has extra gloves, bleach or antiviral spray or anything.’ When we went to the store, we could only get two of something even though we had 27 residents. So, it was a struggle for us,” Yerby said.

“I sent her that email and not even an hour later, she was parked outside with literally a carload of supplies for us.”

That servant leader mindset earned Murrill the Alabama Power Service Organization‘s (APSO) 2024 Patsy Topazi Award for distinguished volunteerism.

“I’ve been very blessed,” Murrill said. “Had it not been for Alabama Power, I would have never connected with these organizations. When I first hired on with the company, I didn’t volunteer anywhere.”

She experienced a “turnaround” in life when she began volunteering with APSO. “It’s funny when you try something like that, you realize what your passions are.”

Beloved among Mulherin residents

The one thing Murrill won’t retire from is helping Mulherin residents.

“I will continue to help with the birthday parties at Mulherin Home, no doubt about that,” she said. “Those organizations that I’ve really got a close bond with, you just can’t stop doing that. They call me by name. … I can’t break those ties. I’ve got too much love and compassion for those folks.”

Many residents don’t have family members who visit regularly. When a Mulherin resident was hospitalized recently, Murrill popped in with a bright bouquet to cheer the woman up.

“So, it means so much to them,” Murrill said. “Whenever you walk in, they are happy to see you. And when you think about everything that’s going on in the world, if you can make that kind of a difference in a person’s life, why in the world would you not do it?”

Others are the center of Murrill’s retirement

Murrill and her husband, Chuck, an avid golfer, look forward to upcoming trips to Ireland and Maui. They plan more time with their three grandchildren, daughter Kelly and her husband, Ross.

“I’m not going away from the volunteer world,” Murrill said, with a huge smile.

She will join the Mobile Chapter of Energizers, the company’s service arm for retirees, after completing her duties as chairman of the board for the city of Semmes Chamber of Commerce and president of the Southwest Mobile County Chamber.

Murrill started as a customer service representative in the Thomasville office and worked in other business offices, eventually becoming a dispatcher. After her daughter Kelly entered high school, Murrill earned her degree at the University of South Alabama at night. She moved to an administrative assistant job and later became office supervisor, progressing to business office manager at two locations. As Community Relations manager, Murrill covered Semmes, west Mobile and south Mobile County.

Her giving back continues July 27, when Murrill and the Southwest Mobile County Chamber host Kids’ Day. With Mobile APSO members, they will give backpacks filled with school supplies to children in Tillmans Corner, an area with many homeless. In summer 2023, they handed out nearly 1,700 backpacks. This year, Murrill said, they will have food prepared so that all the children have a meal.

“So, literally, if it were not for this event, kids would not have the bookbags they need to start school,” she said.

It is part of Murrill’s innate desire to want to help others. “I truly have a passion for helping those who are less fortunate. … And I truly feel like we are here to bless and give back to others.

“There is something that we can do to add a little bit of laughter, life and maybe even a smile or a hug to those that may not get that on a regular basis,” she said.

That is an enduring legacy of love Murrill will continue at Mulherin Home.

“The residents love Sharon,” Yerby said. “They see her coming, and they don’t just associate her with the birthday parties and cake and ice cream. They see her so regularly that they all know her. She’s like part of the whole family.”