Gene D. Adams, chairman of Seymour-based Baylor Bancshares and its subsidiary, First Bank & Trust, retired in June after serving 65 years in community banking. He started his career in 1954 at Farmers & Merchants Bank in Abilene (now First Financial Bank), where he was the bank’s first internal auditor. Along the way, he worked at Chelmont State Bank in El Paso, Lamesa National Bank in Lamesa and First National Bank in Plainview before joining First Bank & Trust in Seymour as president in 1965.
In 1979, Adams chartered Baylor Bancshares Inc. and served as its chairman, president and CEO. Under his tenure, the company acquired banks in Matador, Whitney, Memphis, Turkey, White Deer and Princeton. Baylor Bancshares and First Bank & Trust were acquired by Lubbock-based Peoples Bancorp in April 2021.
During his distinguished career, Adams was a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas (1974–79) and served on the advisory board for the Comptroller of the Currency (1976–81). In 1993, he served on an international committee in Moscow that was invited by Russian bankers to help convert Russian banks to a free-enterprise operation. Adams is the first of three generations of his family—including his son and two grandsons—to work in the banking industry.
Adams earned his BBA degree in 1954 and a master’s degree in economics in 1962, both from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. He has been a loyal alumnus of the university, supporting its academic and athletic pursuits. During his undergraduate studies, he played on the university’s tennis team, which won the NAIA national championship with Adams on the team in 1953. He is a member of the Hardin-Simmons University Cowboy Athletic Hall of Fame and has received many alumni awards, including the institution’s distinguished Keeter Service Award. Adams has served on the Hardin-Simmons University board of regents for 18 years, including five years as chairman. In addition, he served on the board of the Baptist Church Loan Corp. for 12 years, including four years as chairman.
