Morgan County lost a great man on February 25, 2026, a few months shy of his 100th birthday! Alex MacDonald was literally a pioneer of our emergency communication systems here in Morgan County which is why we chose years ago to name our new 911 Center after Alex and David Michael. Anyone who met Alex eventually became an admirer. His understanding of radios, frequencies, communications equipment and commitment to Morgan County was unmatched. If he didn't get your attention with his technical knowledge, you had to notice his active volunteering with the South Morgan fire department well in to his 90s. For a period, he held primary roles in the company, but if you know the people who live in South Morgan/ Greenwood area you understand that many possess the highest level of commitment to their community.

Alex was a WW II Navy Veteran who served his country in the South Pacific on board the USS Monterey. That should never go unmentioned. We'd guess he was a communications specialist during his time there. Early on, the county commissioners may not have been all that thrilled with Alex's 56-page technical reports on the needs of emergency communication in the county, but after years of proving himself time after time he became the "go to" guy in all things to do with radios, towers and technical questions. One of the challenges during emergencies was that the radios of many departments and neighboring states could not communicate with each other. Alex, seeing a solution, built an emergency response Interoperability trailer that could be used to connect those transmissions during disasters and major events.

He was invaluable to the county's effort to start a true emergency dispatch, served on many of the volunteer boards advising the county 911 and on emergency services communication infrastructure. Most recently, he had been a part of the HAM radio community which is now a viable back up system in Morgan County in times of disaster.

~ Joel Tuttle, Morgan County Commission