2020 AWARDS & RECOGNITION
DISTINGUISHED BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
This award honors a local Chamber member business that has demonstrated exceptional business practices and has contributed to the well-being of the community . This award aims to honor a business within the community that has demonstrated leadership and continuous service to the city and county through the promotion of business , civic engagement , community promotion , and economic development .
It all started in 1891 when J . H . Dunklin ll , bought out the hardware department of a general mercantile business where he had been working and set up shop across the street near Greenville ’ s courthouse square . He added furniture to the mix , then he moved the business back across the street to the building where his hardware career started and that ’ s where Greenville Hardware remains – at 515 E . Commerce St .
The small town general store , originally known as J . H . Dunklin & Co . Inc ., offered everything from hardware to furniture , undertaking , plumbing , roofing and farm implement and supply departments .
While the second James H . Dunklin founded the store , his two sons , James III and Rush helped run the establishment . James III was in charge of outside contracting and undertaking . Rush was the store ’ s manager and buyer .
When James III and Rush died in the 1960s , the hardware store was sold and someone other than the Dunklins operated the hardware store and the funeral home portion of the business .
In 1963 the funeral home portion
of the business was moved to its current location across from Magnolia Cemetery - now known as Dunklin & Daniels Funeral Home .
James “ Jim ” H . Dunklin IV grew up in Greenville , Alabama – just like his father , grandfather , great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather , all also named James H . Dunklin .
The fifth-generation Jim Dunklin , who earned his bachelor ’ s degree from the University of Alabama and a Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University bought back the hardware store in 1993 .
Jim has been an off-site owner since 2003 when he went back into banking as a primary profession , now serving as regional president of First Citizens Bank .
Jim goes by the hardware store every day , either in the morning or evening . He says he takes all the bills home and write the checks , but the store ’ s general manager , Joe Rhodes , who has worked there for 38 years , takes care of everything else .
Greenville Hardware employs 3 full time and 4 part time staff . The establishment is a member of the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce
and Proudly supports Safe Harbor , Boy Scouts , and the Greenville Police Department , as well as numerous community events and projects .
While Jim considers himself an “ off site ” owner , he is actively involved in leadership roles within the community , currently serving on the boards of :
The Healthcare Authority of the City of Greenville , the City of Greenville Industrial Development , the Greenville YMCA , Butler County Commission for Economic Development , the W . O . Parmer Scholarship Board , and the State of Alabama Small Business Commission
Today , Greenville Hardware goes by the motto , “ If we don ’ t have , you don ’ t need it !” The store ’ s biggest sellers are plumbing and electrical goods , but it continues to sell the obvious and hard-to-find hardware items , plus some industrial supplies .
2020 marked the 129th anniversary of the hardware store and not much has changed . You walk inside and it really is like walking back in time . Much of the floor is original . The store has swept through time without missing a beat , surviving two world wars and everything else in between .
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