Homecoming begins October 9 on the Forty Acres, and we begin the celebration by recognizing alumni who've been nominated for special honors.

A bank and holding company founder, Gene Adams; an author, guest speaker and columnist, Rebecca (Barlow) Jordan; and the Chief Reporter in the Office of Official Reporters of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC, Joe Strickland are the Hardin-Simmons University Distinguished Alumni honorees for 2007. The trio will be honored at the HSU Alumni Awards Banquet, October 9, at 6:30 p.m., in the Abilene Civic Center.

This award, given since 1970, is presented to alumni whose personal and professional accomplishments exemplify the ideals and aims of the University, and thus bring honor to HSU.

Gene Adams
BBA 1954/MA 1962

Gene Adams currently serves as president and founding chairman of the board of Baylor Bancshares Inc., a multi-bank holding company which he has built to four banks and four branch banks with nine locations. He established the company in 1979 after beginning his career in 1954 at Farmers and Merchants National Bank, Abilene (currently First Financial Bank, Abilene). Gene has now served as president of banks in Abilene, El Paso, Lamesa, Plainview, and Seymour.
During his career he has been recognized as "an outstanding West Texas banker and businessman." He is currently serving as chairman and vice chairman of the boards of four banks. In 1993, he traveled to Moscow while serving on an International Committee invited by the Russian Bankers Association to help convert Russian banks to free enterprise system operation. He has also served on the boards of the Baptist Church Loan Corp. and the Federal Reserve Bank, and was an advisor to the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency.

While a student at HSU, Gene was involved in tennis and played on the 1953 national championship team. He was the 1953 Senior Class Favorite and Senior Class treasurer.
He has continued his involvement with Hardin-Simmons, serving two nine-year terms and twice as chair of the Board of Trustees. He is also a former member of the Board of Development and the Alumni Association Board.
He received the Keeter Alumni Service Award in 1991 and in 2003 was inducted into the HSU Athletics Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Irma, have two adult children and are members of First Baptist Church of Seymour.

Rebecca (Barlow) Jordan
Ex 1966

Rebecca Jordan has a passion "to help others find their own deep connection with a loving, faithful God." She has accomplished her goal by sharing personal reflections of her own profound connectedness with God. Since leaving Hardin-Simmons in 1966, Rebecca has authored/co-authored 10 inspirational books, is a frequent guest speaker, and has been a newspaper columnist.

While she continues to write, Rebecca also teaches a Bible study class at Highland Terrace Baptist Church where her husband, Larry '67, is Executive Pastor. She and Larry lead marriage enrichment retreats and co-authored Marriage Toners, Weekly Exercises to Strengthen Your Relationship. Rebecca has also taught at writers' conferences, has been a church deaf interpreter, and has worked with women's ministry and discipleship.

Her newest book is 40 Days in God's Blessing: a Devotional Encounter, the second in a new 40-day devotional series. She also authored the bestselling Daily in Your Presence and Daily in Your Image, as well as At Home in My Heart: Preparing a Place for His Presence.

Rebecca co-authored with four friends the Courage for the Chicken Hearted and Eggstra Courage for the Chicken Hearted series which has sold over 150,000 copies, has been translated in Korean, and published as a hardback collector edition for Guideposts.
Rebecca and Larry live in Greenville, TX, and have two married daughters and four grandchildren.

Joe Strickland
BM 1976

How does one get from the small farming community of Rotan, Texas, to the U.S. Capitol? Joe Strickland can explain that journey. His starting point was at Hardin- Simmons University.

Joe's career has been a mixture of music, travel, and reporting. Raised by a minister whose mission was to build new churches, Joe and his family moved from church to church and home to home throughout his childhood. While at HSU majoring in music, Joe traveled internationally with the Concert Choir and other HSU singing groups. By the time he graduated from HSU, the love of travel was deeply embedded in his spirit.
In 1978, he and a partner opened Epic Travel, Inc. in Plano, Texas. For the next 10 years, he co-owned and managed this successful retail agency and arts and entertainment tour operation, traveling all over the world.

In 1988 he sold the travel business and began training for his next career--in court reporting. Excelling at his new chosen profession, Joe moved, in only 10 short years, from working as a live on-air closed captionist for a local ABC affiliate in El Paso to become the Chief Reporter in the Office of Official Reporters of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC. Along the way, he served as a freelance court reporter in Washington, DC, as an official reporter, then as the Deputy Chief Reporter for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Joe recently moved from the suburbs of northern Virginia to the vibrant U Street Corridor in the District of Columbia.