Dr. Charles M. Burgess Jr. is a lifelong resident of Opp. He is the son of Dr. Charles Burgess Sr. and wife Jean and attended Opp City Schools. His love for Opp brought him back home after graduating from Dental School in 1977, when he took over his father’s dental practice. He served the community through dentistry for the next 40 years before retiring in 2017 and leaving the third-generation business to his son, Dr. Walter H Burgess. During his tenure Dr. Burgess provided dental service for the Opp Headstart Program and also served on the board of trustees of the Alabama Dental Association and as president of the Third District (Southeast Alabama) Dental Society. Dr. Burgess was instrumental in founding and served as president of the In Office Aid Group, which filled in for southeast Alabama dentists in times of need. He visited several local city and county schools with a slide presentation teaching the dangers of poor oral health and smokeless tobacco.
Dr. Burgess and his wife Renee are active members of Opp’s First Baptist Church where he has served as a deacon and taught Sunday School for 44 years. During this time, he has served as Chairman of the Deacons, Finance Committee, Missions Committee, and Nominating Committee. For many years he served as the boys’ 9th grade Sunday School Teacher in the Youth Department when he took young men on an annual deer hunting retreat at his family’s farm in Crenshaw County. He now teaches an Adult Mens Sunday School Class. Dr. Burgess served on two medical/dental mission trips, to Ecuador in 2003 and another to Guatemala in 2009.
Dr. Burgess has also actively served in the Opp Rotary Club for 44 years, including two terms as President. He continues serving today by assisting with the Club’s softball tournament and is responsible for mapping out the course of the Rattlesnake Rodeo 5K each year. He is an active member of the Board of Directors for Opp’s Chamber of Commerce, serving for 15 years as the head of the Transportation Committee, and continues to be instrumental representing South Alabama seeking improvements for U. S. Hwy 331. He is a member of the Covington County Chapter of the University of Alabama Alumni Association and served as Secretary in 1980. He served for several years on the committee for the Vernon L St. John Scholarship and the Allen and Marlene Miller Scholarship. Dr Burgess served as Chairman of the Opp Babe Ruth Basketball League for many years, and he served as an assistant coach of the Cardinals and the Cubs little league teams. He served as Head Coach and All-Star Head Coach for boys’ rec league basketball, and as a leader of the Opp Boy Scouts.
Dr. Burgess has served as a member of the South Alabama Regional Airport’s Board of Directors since 2011 and continues to serve in this role today. He was also a founding member of the Opp City Schools Foundation and served on the foundation for several years. He also volunteered his time with WOPP and called the varsity baseball games over the radio for several seasons. He is a Bobcat Booster and member of the Opp Bobcat Gold Club. Dr. Burgess is a 1969 graduate of Opp High School and salutatorian of his class. He is also a 1972 graduate of the University of Alabama and a 1977 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Dentistry. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023.
