Sweet Home Alabama

Thorne worked in various print shops in the Montgomery, Ala., area during the day and took classes at night, earning a degree in graphic arts. He was then hired to help move the in-plant for The Colonial BancGroup from Birmingham to the home office in Montgomery in 1988.

Thorne is now director of corporate purchasing/printing for Colonial, and oversees the in-house purchasing department, print shop and forms distribution center, which employs a staff of 14. The shop serves 240 branches in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Texas and Nevada.