Today@Sam Article
Texas Bankers Hall of Fame to Honor 2025 Inductees
Jan. 13, 2025
SHSU Media Contact: Mikah Boyd
The Texas Bankers Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the induction of the 2025 honorees at the 12th Annual Texas Bankers Hall of Fame Gala on May 1, 2025, on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Five iconic bankers, Sam H. Burris, Jr., Charles G. Cooper, Harvey P. Hartenstine, Robert W. “Bobby” Hoxworth and William A. Nesbitt, will be recognized for their achievements and many contributions to their communities and the banking industry.
The Texas Bankers Hall of Fame, established by the Smith-Hutson Endowed Chair of Banking at SHSU, recognizes and honors the accomplishments of outstanding bankers who have made valuable contributions to the banking profession and pioneered the Texas banking industry.
Sam H. Burris, Jr. was born and raised in Alice, Texas to parents Sam Houston Burris, an attorney and World War II Veteran, and his wife Dorothy Rutledge Burris, an educator who taught high school English. Sam has one brother, Barrett H. Burris, who lives in Magnolia, Texas.
Graduating from Alice High School in 1972, he attended the University of Texas at Austin (UT), where he met fellow student, Judy Johnson. Burris and Johnson married in 1976, one year after he graduated with a BBA of Finance. He and Judy have four daughters and seven grandchildren.
Burris worked for four banks over his career, beginning with Alice National Bank, followed by Brush Country Bank, First Security Bank and First National Bank of Huntsville. After 30 years with First National Bank of Huntsville, Burris retired as chairman of the board in 2022. This year the bank is celebrating 135 years as a locally owned community bank with five branches.
Burris served in many capacities with numerous community organizations such as the Methodist Retirement Communities (MRC), MRC Creekside, Huntsville Memorial Hospital, SHSU Smith-Hutson Endowed Chair of Banking Advisory Board, SHSU President’s Circle, Second Step Counseling Center and the Government Relations Committee of the Texas Bankers Association.
His hobbies include spending time with family, hunting, fishing and golfing.
Charles G. Cooper was appointed Texas Banking Commissioner by the Texas Finance Commission on Dec. 1, 2008. His career in the banking industry spans over 50 years and includes senior level positions in both the public and private sectors.
As Texas Banking Commissioner, Cooper’s responsibilities include the chartering, regulation, supervision and examination of 214 Texas state-chartered banks (as of Sept. 30, 2024) with aggregate assets of approximately $452.5 billion. The department also supervises trust companies, foreign bank agencies and branches, prepaid funeral licensees, money service businesses and perpetual care cemeteries.
Cooper has served in various positions with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). He was elected chairman in 2016 and currently serves as chairman emeritus. He served two terms as the state banking representative on the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) from 2018-2022. In May 2023, Cooper was appointed Chairman of the State Liaison Committee (SLC) and was re-elected to serve another term the following year. This position serves as a voting member of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). He also serves as the state representative on the Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee (FBIIC) and is heavily involved in promoting cybersecurity efforts in the financial sector.
Cooper began his career in banking in 1970 with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the Dallas Region. In his 12 years within the public sector, he served in various capacities, including examiner, review examiner and field office supervisor of the Houston Northeast Field Office. He made the transition to the private sector in 1982, and for the last 26 years, Cooper served as a banking executive, board member, educator and professional consultant to the industry. His financial services experience includes executive level positions associated with lending, credit administration, asset/liability management and general bank operations.
A native Texan, Cooper holds a BBA in Finance and Economics from Baylor University and is also a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU. He also received an advanced peace officer certification. Cooper has been on the board of the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate since 1990. He is married and has two daughters and one granddaughter.
Harvey P. Hartenstine has been an integral part of Broadway Bank’s growth since 1992, currently holding the positions of president and chief banking executive. He has been on the Broadway Bank Board of Directors since 2019 and participates in key committees such as the Directors Loan Review Committee, Directors Trust Committee, Directors Asset Liability Committee and Senior Officer’s Loan Committee. His influence extends to various strategic and regulatory committees within the bank.
Hartenstine plays a crucial role in providing leadership across all markets for commercial banking, wealth management and private banking. He is instrumental in steering the current geographic expansion into new Texas markets and has held numerous leadership roles, including president of Broadway Bank Austin Region and group executive vice president – division manager of private bank.
With over 44 years of experience in the banking and financial industry, Hartenstine possesses a graduate banking degree from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Master of Business Administration in International Finance from Our Lady of the Lake University and a Bachelor of Science from Texas State University.
In addition to his executive career, Hartenstine also holds board membership positions with several organizations, including the Christus Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation, Mission Road Ministries, President’s Council of Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas and CP Legacy Assets. He recently served as co-chair of the 2024 Mission Road Ministries Annual Gala, the organization’s largest annual fundraiser where over $1 million was raised, is a member of Texas Business Leadership Council and the United Way’s Tocqueville Society. Hartenstine is also a 2025 San Antonio Business Hall of Fame inductee.
Previously, Hartenstine served as chairman on the Texas Bankers Association Services Company (TBASCO) board and the TBA, Zach Theatre Trustees and Crosspoint, Inc. Board of Directors. He was a member of the advisory board for the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, chaired the annual KLRN San Antonio Wine Festival and the Mission Road Ministries 2003 annual gala, served as San Antonio Fiesta Commissioner and was a member of the founding board of directors for the San Antonio Business Development Fund. Hartenstine also completed Leadership San Antonio (LSA) - class of 2000.
Hartenstine strongly believes in giving back to his community. In January 2024, this dedication was recognized when he received the esteemed Richard Goldsmith Volunteer Leadership Award from Crosspoint, Inc. To continue his commitment to supporting education and future professionals, he served as adjunct professor and has personally established the Hartenstine Endowment at Texas State University for MBA and accounting majors.
Robert W. “Bobby” Hoxworth has lived in Texas all of his life and moved to Killeen in 1978. He is the president and chief executive officer of First National Bank Texas, a position he has held since 2008. Hoxworth joined the bank in 1981 as a vocational office education student worker in the mail room, and has held numerous positions within the bank during his 43-year career.
Hoxworth earned an Associate of Applied Science degree from Central Texas College and a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Hoxworth received his Master of Business Administration degree from Baylor University in 2001.
Hoxworth is a former two-term councilmember for the City of Harker Heights (2003-2009), and in his capacity as a councilmember for Harker Heights, served as mayor pro-tempore and as the city’s appointee to the Board of Directors of the Central Texas Council of Governments (CTCOG). Hoxworth is a former chairman of the Texas Bankers Association, the oldest and largest state banking association in the nation.
He has also served the Central Texas community as chairman of the Board of the Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce, president of the Killeen-Heights Rotary Club, president of the Killeen ISD Education Foundation, chairman of the Texas A&M University Central Texas Foundation, chairman of the Better Business Bureau of the Heart of Texas, president of the Central Texas Fort Hood Chapter of the Association of the United States Army, and as treasurer of the Killeen Economic Development Corporation and the Fort Hood Regional Economic Development Foundation. Hoxworth has been recognized as a distinguished alumnus of the Killeen Independent School District (2013), the Central Texas College Foundation (2022) and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Alumni Association (2024) He was named a III Corp Good Neighbor in 2022.
Hoxworth currently serves on the Board of the Heart of Texas Defense Alliance. He is also a member of the President’s Regional Advisory Council for Texas A&M University Central Texas, a Life Member of the Central Texas Fort Hood Chapter of the Association of the United States Army and a member of the Killeen-Heights Rotary Club.
Hoxworth has been married to his wife Pat for 40 years, they made their home in Belton with their dachshund, Darbey and cat, Momma.
William A. Nesbitt graduated from Gatesville High School in 1963 and was selected among 40 other high school graduates to receive a full-ride scholarship to attend Baylor University by The Citizens National Bank of Waco. The scholarship’s only criteria was to tell the bank president that he wanted to be banker at the end of each semester and maintain a 3.0 or better GPA. Nesbitt was also able to work part-time during the summers and during the school year beginning his senior year. The bank continued the scholarship through the Baylor School of Law. That generous scholarship was the inspiration of Walter G. Lacy, Jr., one of the inaugural inductees of the Texas Bankers Hall of Fame, and, coupled with the part-time job at Citizens National Bank of Texas, proved to be the turning point in Nesbitt’s life.
Nesbitt worked at Citizens National Bank of Texas through a merger with RepublicBank Dallas in 1986. He left Republic in February 1987 and joined a group that was purchasing a small independent bank, Central National Bank of Woodway-Hewitt.
Central National Bank of Woodway-Hewitt is owned by eight families who consider themselves partners more than shareholders. Today, it is still governed by a shareholders’ agreement signed by seven of the eight families. For 37 years, the bank has enjoyed excellent profitability while balancing dividends with capital retention.
Nesbitt has three sons and shares a daughter and two sons with his wife, Dwana. The six of them and their spouses have blessed Nesbitt and his wife with 12 grandchildren, with their lucky 13 on the way. One of his sons, Joe Nesbitt, is the CEO of the Central National Bank of Woodway-Hewitt.
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