Remember the voice? That unmistakable raspy voice of Sadie Bea Cross Bias? That voice now belongs to the Chairperson of the Jackson County Commission—The first woman to sit in that chair. Sadie won that election against two seasoned politicians without a run-off.
Sadie was working for Dr. Durwood Hodges when we graduated from SHS. After graduation she attended accounting school in Decatur. Her first job after business school was with a sub-contractor on Redstone Arsenal. She married and had a son in 1968 and a daughter in 1971. When her husband was transferred with his job, the family moved to Winchester, Kentucky and lived there nine years. While in Kentucky, Sadie worked for a company that did payroll for several other companies. She also worked for an electric company. After divorcing, Sadie moved back to the Huntsville area and went to work for Cheeseboro-Ponds. Later, she became office manager at the Lee plant in Stevenson. Up until the Lee plant closed, Sadie’s jobs were primarily in manufacturing, having to do with accounting–payroll, budgeting and production planning.
After Lee’s closing, Sadie became employed with the North Alabama Skills Center as a job developer. This led to a job with the Scottsboro City School System; and this job led to a job with the Launch Program, which is a program designed to assist out-of-school youth.
Sadie was still working for the Launch Program when she decided to run for Chairman of the Jackson County Commission. Although she was a newcomer to politics, she had confidence that she could win. Sadie says that she has never been, and is not now a POLITICIAN. However she has been thoroughly “initiated” into politics in the last two years. Sadie is almost halfway through her term of office, but she is already planning to run for reelection. She enjoys helping people and feels she has something to offer the people of Jackson County. Sadie is a strong, confident woman, and a devout Democrat.
Sadie’s son lives in Maysville, Alabama and her daughter lives in Scottsboro. She has four grandchildren. One granddaughter shares Sadie’s interest in horses and is taking English riding lessons. Another granddaughter received a softball scholarship to college.
Last January, Sadie had surgery to repair an aneurysm in her aorta. It was thought that she also needed a heart bypass, but investigation showed that a “bypass” had been created naturally. Although the surgery was frightening, Sadie says it was a good experience. She has known that she was a good person and she felt close to God, but this experience brought her much closer to Him. She feels she has really been blessed in her life.
Outside of her work, horses are Sadie’s passion. She always wanted a horse when she was growing up in Hollywood, but her family couldn’t afford one. She got her first horse, Big Dude, when she was in her twenties. She now has nine horses and boards three more for a friend. When asked if she still rides, she replied, “No, I just look at them and pet them.” She also helped to deliver a foal recently, which was very exciting for her. Between her work, horses, children and grandchildren, there is little time for any hobbies. However, Sadie is not ready to retire.
