Gene Adams Inducted into Hardin-Simmons University Hall of Leaders

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Gene Adams Inducted to HSU Hall of Leaders

ABILENE, TX (06/08/2012)(readMedia)-- Seymour banker Gene Darrell Adams was recently inducted into the Hardin-Simmons University 2012 Hall of Leaders. Adams was one of five chosen for the honor this year, and only one of two still living.

The Hall of Leaders was established at the Abilene, Texas, Baptist affiliated private college in 2001. The Hall of Leaders provides permanent recognition for university leaders who have distinguished records of achievement.

Adams says humbly, "I am greatly elated to be inducted into the Hall of Leaders at Hardin-Simmons University. To be associated with the previously inducted individuals is a great honor. Eugene Holman, a graduate of HSU in 1916 was also from Monahans; he became the President and CEO of Standard Oil Co. Possible the largest oil company in the world at that time.  HSU has had many former students who have made contributions to the growth and wealth of our country.  Yes I feel inadequate, but very honored and grateful."

Adams joins just over 70 others who have been inducted previously, chosen from those who have served the university since it was established in 1891. The Hall of Leaders is located on the HSU campus in the Skiles Building.

Adams was born in Brownwood, Texas, on August 6, 1933, to W.F. and Odessa Adams. He later moved with his family to Eastland, where he started elementary school. His father a local grocery merchant and his mother a teacher, the family settled in Monahans, Texas, in 1943.

Adams completed high school in Monahans in 1950, and then attended Odessa Junior College for a year before coming to Hardin-Simmons University. At HSU, he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1954, with a double minor in economics and religious education.

While an undergraduate student at HSU, Gene was a member of Cowboys for Christ, was the 1954 Senior Class Favorite, senior class treasurer, and was selected to Who's Who in American Colleges. He was a member of the 1953 NAIA National Champion Tennis team, and was ranked number five in the nation individually.

Gene met his late wife, the former Irma Howington, at HSU and they were married while both were seniors in January 1954. Irma graduated in August 1954 with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Also in January 1954, Adams was employed by Farmers and Merchants National Bank in Abilene (now First Financial Bankshares). In November 1954, newly wed and newly graduated, Adams entered the U.S. Army during the Korean War. His son Darrell was born in 1956 shortly before his discharge from the Army. Adams then returned to Abilene and was rehired by Farmers and Merchants National Bank, and entered HSU graduate school, working nights to eventually complete his Master of Arts degree in economics with a minor in history in 1962.

Adams is currently chairman of the board of First National Bank Seymour, and serves as president and founding chairman of the board of Baylor Bancshares Inc, which he established in 1979. Baylor Bancshares includes Texas banks in Seymour, Whitney, Memphis, and Princeton, with four branch banks and nine locations.

During his career, Adams has been recognized as "an outstanding West Texas banker and businessman." He has served on the boards of the Baptist Church Loan Corporation and the Texas Baptist Financial Services Corp., the Federal Reserve Bank-Dallas, and as advisor to the comptroller of the currency in Washington, D.C.

In 1993, Adams served on an International Committee in Moscow that was invited by the Russian Bankers Association to help convert Russian banks to a free enterprise system operation.

Adams holds a commercial multi-engine pilot's license and has clocked 5,000 hours with 30 years' experience. He is a retired volunteer member of the Confederate Air Force, which performs air shows re-enacting the attack on Pearl Harbor. In the show, he was a member of the crew that flew the SB2C, a restored World War II Navy Hell Diver, now located in Houston, the only surviving plane of its type.

As an HSU alumnus, Gene has continued to be involved with Hardin-Simmons, serving two nine-year terms and was chair for five years of the HSU Board of Trustees. He is also a former member of the Board of Development, and the Alumni Association Board. He is a lifetime member of the Presidents Club and serves as an alumni volunteer. Adams served as chair of the Search Committee that brought Dr. Lanny Hall to the HSU campus in 1991.

Adams received the Keeter Alumni Service Award in 1991, and in 2003, was inducted into the HSU Athletics Hall of Fame. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from HSU in 2008.

Adams is a member of the First Baptist Church of Seymour where he has served as a deacon and chairman of the deacon body. Gene lost his wife, Irma, of 57 years in April 2011. Their two children blessed them with five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

About Hardin-Simmons University:

HSU has an enrollment of approximately 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students from 28 states and 20 countries.

HSU sits on 220 acres and has a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Eighty percent of HSU's faculty members hold the highest available degree in their fields.

Tuition rates for full-time students do not increase while they are enrolled in consecutive fall and spring semesters and make continuous, satisfactory progress toward a degree. (The tuition freeze does not apply to some programs.)

• Ranked in the Top Tier of U.S. News and World Report's Best Universities in the Western Region

• Cited by The Princeton Review as a Best in the West University

• Recognized by Colleges of Distinction for teaching, learning, and service

• Named to the 2011 Honor Roll by The Chronicle of Higher Education as a Great College to Work For

• Named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

Through seven schools and colleges, HSU offers seven undergraduate degree programs encompassing more than 70 major fields of study. Eighteen graduate programs are offered, including doctoral programs in physical therapy, ministry, functional manual therapy, and education.

Special programs include Honors, International Studies, and Leadership Studies.

Hardin-Simmons University, founded in 1891, is a private Christian institution, affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Texas Baptists) since 1941.