ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- G. Michael Allegri Jr. knew from a young age what he wanted to do for a career.

“I can remember when he was really young, maybe 6 or 7 and we were riding somewhere in the car,” said his father G. Michael Allegri Sr. “He said, ‘pop, I want to go into the beer business,’ and I’ve had trouble with him ever since.”

It may seem strange to some people, but going into the beer business always seemed natural for the younger Allegri, the son of Michael and Anna Allegri of Loxley. It was something his father and grandfather, A.G. Allegri Jr., did for more than 47 years.

“Bottom line, I just wanted to work with my dad,” Allegri Jr. said.

Allegri Sr. and his father pretty much backed into the beer business themselves, the elder Allegri said.

“Like so many beer distributors back then in the South, we started out in the produce business,” he said. “Distributing beer was something we decided to get into in the off-season and it eventually became our regular business. It’s not something we really planned on full-time. It just kind of happened.”

The two elder Allegris opened Mobile Beverage Company across the Bay, eventually expanding to Baldwin County, setting up shop in Loxley where the business would remain until 1982, when they consolidated the operation and moved it back to Mobile.

When he became old enough, Allegri Jr. joined the family business, working every summer packing and stacking from the delivery truck, working his way up.

“Aside from a few summers working produce, the only paychecks I’ve ever gotten have come from the beer industry,” he said. “We would follow the same routine every summer. Dad and granddad would call me in and try and talk me out of going into the beer business. They knew what was coming and I didn’t.”

For six years, from the age of 16 to the age of 22, Allegri Jr. worked with in the family business.

“(Dad and I) didn’t exactly work together,” he said. “Dad worked in an air conditioned environment, and I didn’t.”

In 1987, Allegri Jr. was a student at Auburn University when he was called in to the office one last time, but this time was different.

“They called me in to tell me that they were selling the business,” he said. “It was devastating. It was like having a death in the family.”

The younger Allegri continued to follow his father’s path, eventually getting on with Crawford Beverage Company in Loxley, which would become Budweiser Distributing Company.

Allegri Sr. became involved in the political world, serving as a County Commissioner from 1989 to 1996, then he served seven years with the Baldwin County Legislative office, serving as a liaison for the county’s two State Senators and five State Representatives.

“I like politics and like being able to help people,” Allegri Sr. said. “I always thought it was a good way to use what you know to serve the community.”

It was a path Allegri Jr. would again follow. Now a resident of Silverhill, the younger Allegri was appointed to serve on the Silverhill Town Council serving from 2005 to 2008. After losing the election in 2008, he decided to serve again in 2012, running unopposed to fill the seat of longtime Council member Steve Brooks.

For a change, Allegri Sr. would follow in his son’s footsteps, appointed to serve on the Loxley Town Council in 2011, running unopposed in the election of 2012.

“What (my father) taught me from a young age is that in this life giving back is much more important that getting monetary rewards,” Allegri Jr. said. “Public service is all about giving to the community. It’s about helping people. That’s the greatest reward.”

Yet another parallel between father and son has developed over the last several years, working with the Chamber of Commerce.

“When we had our business we belonged to every Chamber in Baldwin County,” Allegri Sr. said. “Central Baldwin was always special because this was our community and the Central Baldwin Chamber was our Chamber.”

While he was not a founding member of the Chamber, Allegri Sr. said he has been involved with the organization in one capacity or another throughout its entire existence.

“I haven’t always been active, but I’ve always been involved,” he said.

While he was on the County Commission, Allegri and fellow Commission member Wendy Allen were also instrumental in working with local Chamber directors to start the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance.

“While there has always been local chambers serving the communities, there was never a Chamber for all of Baldwin County,” he said. “We thought it was important to have a county-wide advocate for business and while it’s not called a chamber, the Economic Development Alliance serves that purpose and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

So, when Allegri Jr. was asked to be a part of the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, he jumped at the chance.

“I’ve always been told when you’re asked to help out, you can’t refuse the offer,” he said.

And now, more than 25 years later, Allegri Jr. is getting the opportunity to do something he’s always wanted to do. He’s getting the opportunity to work with his father.

On Thursday, Jan. 17, Allegri Jr. accepted the ceremonial gavel as Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce 2013 Board president. His father will also serve on the Board, representing the Town of Loxley.

“I can talk to him about so many things,” Allegri Jr. said. “I can vent my frustrations about the beer business. I can talk to him about being a father. And now we can talk together about being with the Chamber. It’s truly a blessing.”

Allegri Jr.’s family has recently expanded. In addition to two children of his own, Evan, 17, and Sydney, 15, Allegri recently married Melissa, who has a 10-year-old son, Andrew, who is 10.

“It is my sincere hope that one day I will be going to a Chamber function here and it will be my kids up there as the business leaders in the community,” Allegri Jr. said. “This is one legacy I certainly want to pass on to the next generation.”

It’s a legacy Allegri Sr. can be proud of.

“I’m proud of him. I’m proud of both of my boys,” Allegri Sr. said. His younger son, Anthony, is a consultant with IBM working out of Atlanta. “They’ve worked really hard and we’ve been very blessed.”