RED BAY | Jason Harrison has spent much of his professional life deliberately staying out of the spotlight.
After more than a quarter-century in the personal security business – including 21 years protecting country music superstar Toby Keith – Harrison is accustomed to standing in the shadows while someone else receives the attention.
This Homecoming, however, his hometown is putting the spotlight on him. Harrison, a Red Bay High School graduate and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, has been selected to serve as this year’s Red Bay Homecoming Grand Marshal.
“It’s an honor I don’t feel deserving of,” Harrison said. “I’m not big on being put in the spotlight. One of the best parts of my job is being in the shadows and off to the side, sometimes seen but not heard.”
Still, he said the opportunity to return home for the celebration means a great deal.
“I am truly thankful,” Harrison said. “I always enjoy looking for a reason to come home, and I’m very thankful and appreciative of this opportunity.”
Born and raised in Red Bay, Harrison is the son of Doug and Ernestine Harrison and has two siblings, Robin and Jaime.
Just weeks after graduating from Red Bay High School, Harrison left home for Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. He described the 13-week experience as a time when he discovered “who I really was and what I was capable of.”
Harrison spent time in the Marine Corps and traveled before receiving a medical discharge following a knee injury suffered during training.
After returning to civilian life, he worked various jobs while pursuing a college education. He attended Northwest-Shoals Community College at the Phil Campbell campus before enrolling at the University of North Alabama, where he studied sports medicine. After a year at UNA, Harrison transferred to Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville and continued his studies.
It was in Nashville, however, that his career took an unexpected turn.
Harrison began working security for music artists and soon realized he had found his calling. He eventually became security director for the Country Music Foundation and Country Music Hall of Fame and also worked with Curry and Associates, providing personal security for some of the most recognizable names in country music. Among those Harrison worked with were Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, The Judds, Crystal Gayle and Charlie Daniels.
His Red Bay roots even played a role in what became the longest professional relationship of his career.
While working at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Harrison met Toby Keith. When Keith asked where he was from, Harrison told him he probably would not know the place. Harrison was wrong.
“Jacks Drive-In! Best damn sweet tea I’ve ever had!” Harrison recalled Keith responding when he told him he was from Red Bay.
Harrison learned Keith had visited the area years earlier while writing music with Mac McAnally, long before either man became widely known.
“Being from Red Bay, Alabama, I’d say was what got me in with Toby,” Harrison said.
As Keith’s career grew, the two continued encountering each other at Nashville events.
“Every time we would meet out in Nashville at award shows, he’d always ask, ‘How you doing, Red Bay?’” Harrison said.
Keith’s growing fame and highly public support of American troops also brought increased security concerns. Eventually, Keith asked Harrison to come work for him personally. He accepted the job and remained part of Keith’s security operation for 21 years, continuing until the singer’s death in February 2024.
Today, Harrison works for a Nashville-based company providing security for some of country music’s biggest artists. He has now spent approximately 26 years in personal protection and estate security.
Retirement from the security business, however, may not be too far away.
“I probably will retire from it soon and look for a new adventure,” he said.
Despite a career that has taken him around the world, Harrison said the place he once couldn’t wait to leave has become the place he can’t wait to return to.
He spends as much of his downtime as possible at his place on Little Bear, which his sons dubbed “Eagles Landing.”
“Growing up, I couldn’t wait for an opportunity to get out of Red Bay, and now I can’t get back fast enough,” Harrison said.
He enjoys spending quiet evenings there with his wife, April, watching the sunset from the back porch or dock. Mornings might find him at the dock with a cup of coffee watching the sunrise.
Harrison and his wife have three sons – Cade, Elliott and Gabriel, collectively known in the family as “the Knuckleheads” – and two bonus sons, Adam and Blake Bowen. The family also includes daughters-in-law Andrea, Kayla and Sierra and granddaughter Daisy May.
Harrison remembers Homecoming during his school years as one of the highlights of the year, filled with parades, festivals, fundraisers and other activities. After he made the varsity football team, Homecoming included another tradition.
“I remember the team always had the day at the country club watching movies and eating,” he said.
Much has changed since Harrison’s days at Red Bay High School, but he said the character of the community remains familiar. He especially appreciates running into childhood friends and the way people continue to look out for one another.
“I love that hometown feel when I come back,” Harrison said. “I love how everyone still asks how you’re doing, and in time of need someone is always asking, ‘Do you need anything? What can I do to help?’”
His career has allowed him to travel extensively, both across the country and around the world. Those experiences, he said, have only increased his appreciation for where he came from.
“I’ve lived and traveled all over the world, and I do mean all over,” Harrison said. “It would be easier to tell you where I haven’t been versus where I have been.”
Along the way, he has frequently been asked where he is from – with Texas apparently being a common guess. Harrison said he always enjoys explaining Red Bay to people, including clarifying that, despite its name, it isn’t anywhere near the coast. More importantly, decades away from his hometown have given him a different perspective on the community that helped shape him.
“I’ve learned it’s nice being from Red Bay,” Harrison said, “and sometimes it takes leaving to understand what you have – or had – here.”
