Alfred Watkins retired as director of bands at Lassiter High School in Marietta, Georgia, where he spent thirty-one of his thirty-seven years in the profession. He is currently musical director and conductor of the Cobb Wind Symphony. He is a graduate of Florida A&M University (FAMU) and received an honorary doctorate from the VanderCook College of Music. Concert bands under Watkins’s leadership have performed at thirty-two invitational concert band events, and he has conducted All-State High School Bands in thirty-four states. His concert bands have performed at the Midwest Clinic, Music for All National Festival, and at the Georgia Music Educators Association conventions. Watkins is a member of the American Bandmasters Association, the FAMU Gallery of Distinguished Alumni, and has been named to the Hall of Fame for the Bands of America, Conn Selmer, and the Minority Band Directors National Association. The $1.5 million band building at Lassiter High School bears his name.