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From their Garland, Texas, home, Sandra and Gary Finney say the many years they’ve spent supporting their Alma Mater have been good ones. Amid the memories, Gary remembers something. Reminiscing that his sister and two brothers all went to school here because their mom and dad made sure each knew it was what was expected of them, Gary exclaims, “We gotta say something about my Mama and Daddy!” So, to Leroy and Hazel Finney of Honey Grove, Texas: Thanks … your expectations sure paid off for A&M-Commerce.

For this outgoing president
and the A&M-Commerce Alumni Association,
it’s always been a matter
of time running out.

First it was a friend telling Gary (BS '79) eight years after his graduation from here that time had run out on his sitting on the Alumni sidelines.
“He knew I had been involved in student government and was a charter member of the Golden Leos,” Gary admits “He said it was time for me to offer my skills back to the University and the Association.”
For his first few years on the board, he felt he belonged to “just another organization,” Gary says.
But in his travels as a human resources manager, time after time Gary would meet Commerce graduates. “I’d walk away thinking how this school has really made a difference for a lot of people, and I started to think about what it meant to represent this University,” he remembers. “I thought ‘Hey, this isn’t just any school, this is my school, and I became passionate about it.”
Passion and school pride are two things Gary has had ample opportunity to practice in the last four years, which is how long he has served as Association president.

And now time has again run out for him, as term limits are forcing Gary to give up his position. When his term expires in January, the Association will be losing one of its most inspiring speakers, says the Association’s executive director, Kayla Price.
“Each president has brought his own style to the presidency,” she says. “Anyone who ever heard Gary speak remembered it. He also really worked on inclusiveness, and he had a special drive to get the word to Alumni about their Association.”
All those campus appearances became a significant commitment for Gary, who had to drive from his Garland home each time. Even vacation days were fair game when it came to making Association meetings and retreats.
His wife, Sandra, might have minded more if she herself were not an Alumna (BS ’79).
“It was tough sometimes, especially in the middle of the week when he got back so late,” she admits with a smile. “But I was proud that he was willing to put so much back into the University.”
Here Gary points out that in the last four years Sandra, who is a senior implementation manager for Southwestern Bell, has herself spent a significant amount of time on campus.
“On more than one occasion, she got up at 6 a.m. to go to Commerce and sit through four graduations to hear me speak.” Gary hopes that stepping down from the presidency will leave him with more time to give to a couple of other causes he considers worthy.
Gary is a human resources manager for McKesson Corporation, a national healthcare services company, and he also served as an executive with the National Association for African Americans in Human Resources. That association is hoping to forge an important partnership with the Dallas Urban League, something Gary says he “really wants to get up and running.”
At the same time, he can’t seem to get A&M-Commerce off his mind. “There still are a couple of things I’d like to do — I’d like to get more people on campus, and we need to find ways for the University to take better advantage of Alumni expertise.”
As the clock on his presidency winds down, Gary suggests it would be a good time for some other sidelined Alumni to bring their particular expertise to the playing field. “If you’re not connected to this University, you’re missing out on something special,” he says.