Luke joined the Performance Services team in 2024. He has seen and done it all in his four decades as an educator. He’s been a teacher, coach, principal, and school superintendent and was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2020.
Mr. Hallmark began his career as head basketball coach at Southern Academy in 1982. He then coached basketball at Marion Military Institute. In 1985, he moved over to public schools as head basketball coach at Demopolis High School. His teams won five area championships and two regional championships. One of his former players was Theo Ratliff, a first-round draft selection of the Detroit Pistons.
In 1988, he became a baseball official in the Marengo County Umpires Association and called one state championship game. After he left coaching in 1997, he became a basketball official, working three regional tournaments. From 1997-2000, he served as principal at Greensboro West Elementary School. He was the longest-tenured superintendent in the state of Alabama when he retired in May 2024 after serving 24 years for the Marengo County Schools.
During his tenure as superintendent, the Marengo County Schools were always at the top academically for small rural and low economic school systems. Their test scores consistently proved that all students can learn. The school district was also very successful in athletics, winning seven state championships in football and two in baseball.
Luke has been an instrumental representative on professional and local groups and state boards, serving as the past chairman of the Teacher Retirement Systems of Alabama Board, the State’s PEEHIP Health Insurance Board, the Alabama High School Athletic Association Board, the School Superintendents of Alabama Mentoring Program, and the Presidential Advisory Council for Marion Military Institute.
Outside of work, Luke and his wife Sarah are active members of Trinity Episcopal Church and strong supporters of their son Parker, who is a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University and a 2019 Bryant-Jordan District 3 scholar-athlete winner. He will begin medical school in the fall of 2025. The entire family enjoys traveling and a wide variety of sporting events.
Education
- Marion Institute – Associate Degree
- Auburn University – Bachelor’s Degree
- University of Montevallo
- Livingston University
- Alabama State University
Honors/Involvement
- University of West Alabama Alumni Achievement Award, 2007
- University of Montevallo Outstanding Superintendent Award, 2008
- Superintendent of the Year Finalist, 2009 and 2022
- Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellow Award
- Americana Red Cross Hero Recipient
- Marengo County Children’s Policy member
- Marion Institute Presidential Advisory Council member
- Council of Leaders in Alabama Schools Outstanding Service Award, 2013
- Lifetime Achievement Award in Demopolis
- President of the Demopolis Rotary Club
