TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti (AP) — With all eyes on the ocean during the final day of the Paris Olympics surfing competition in Tahiti on Monday afternoon, a surprise guest made an appearance: a whale.
A safe distance from athletes Tatiana Weston-Webb from Brazil and Brisa Hennessy of Costa Rica— who were competing in a semifinal match— the whale breached and gave spectators and photographers the Olympic moment of a lifetime.
It’s not uncommon for wild animals such as birds, seals and even sharks to appear while surfing around the world.
In Tahiti, where the 2024 Olympics surfing competition was held almost 10,000 miles way from the host city of Paris, whales gather around the islands during mating, birthing and migration season.
Tahiti also has several maritime protected zones. In April, Pacific Indigenous leaders— including some from Tahiti— signed a treaty recognizing whales as “legal persons,” although such a declaration is not reflected in the laws of participating nations.
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
A whale, left, breaches as Brisa Hennessy, of Costa Rica, center right, and Tatiana Weston-Webb, of Brazil, compete during the semifinal round of the surfing competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A whale breaches during the semifinal round of the surfing competition between Brisa Hennessy, of Costa Rica, and Tatiana Weston-Webb, of Brazil, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 4, 2025--
The SW Graduate School of Banking at SMU Cox (SWGSB), a nationally renowned source for banking executive education, has announced the SW Graduate School of Banking’s highest honors for 2025. H. Gary Blankenship, chairman, CEO and chief lending officer of Bank of the West, will be honored with the Distinguished Service Award on May 29, 2025, and Ron Butler, chairman and CEO of First Financial Bank Abilene Region, executive vice president and CAO of First Financial Bankshares, Inc., and a graduate of SWGSB Class XXXVII, will be honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award on June 5, 2025.
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“We’re proud to announce these award recipients who have contributed immense time and talent to the betterment of their communities, their banking institutions, and SWGSB,” said William T. Chittenden, Ph.D., president and CEO of SWGSB. “They represent the best of SWGSB, and we are honored to present them with these awards.”
H. Gary Blankenship
Distinguished Service Award
Born in Lockney, Texas in 1940, Gary Blankenship began his banking career as a National Bank Examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency stationed in Denver, Boulder, and Grand Junction, Colorado. He has been chairman and CEO of Greater Southwest Bancshares, Inc., and Bank of the West since chartering the bank in 1986. Bank of the West has grown to include nine locations in Texas in Flower Mound, Grapevine, Horseshoe Bay, Irving, Lewisville, Marble Falls, Ponder, and Vernon. Blankenship embodies the bank’s motto of, “It’s personal with Bank of the West.” He was previously president and CEO of two other local banks and served several years in the corporate structure of other large Texas banking organizations as an officer and director.
A leader in the industry and his community, he has served on the Texas Department of Banking Commissioner’s Council, as a trustee on the Independent Bankers Association of Texas Insurance Bond Trust, and as a director of National Bancshares of Texas, Inc. He previously served on the board and as vice chairman of Adfitech, a mortgage technology and consulting company. Blankenship is a director of The Independent Bankers Bank (TIB), a $2.9 billion-asset bank that serves as a national community correspondent bankers bank.
Blankenship received the prestigious Chairman’s Award for the Independent Bankers Association of Texas. In 2013, he and his wife, Cynthia, were named recipients of the prestigious D. E. Box Citizens of the Year Award for Grapevine, Texas. He was named one of the top 500 Most Powerful Business Leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth for 2016 and 2017.
Blankenship is an active community servant and is a member of the boards of directors of the Irving Chamber of Commerce, Irving Symphony, and Dallas Summer Musicals. He has a master’s of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Dallas.
Blankenship graduated from West Texas State University, now known as West Texas A&M, with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting in 1969 and received a master’s of Business Administration from the University of Dallas in 1982. He has completed various other courses in commercial lending, bank accounting, and one year of law school.
Married to Cynthia Blankenship, a banker and cofounder of the Bank of the West, they have three daughters, three granddaughters, and one grandson. Their daughters are also involved in the bank and/or mortgage company.
Ron Butler
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Ron Butler is the chairman and CEO of First Financial Bank Abilene Region in Abilene, Texas, a $14 billion bank with 79 branches located throughout Texas. Butler is also executive vice president and CAO of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. He has been with First Financial for 31 years and previously was CEO of First Financial Bank in Eastland and Stephenville.
Butler has been active in the community serving on numerous boards and is the former board chair of the Abilene Industrial Foundation and Abilene Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Excellence in Banking program at the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University. Butler served a six-year term on the Brazos River Authority board of directors, appointed by Governor Rick Perry.
He has served numerous terms as a director of the Texas Bankers Association and is currently serving as its vice chair. He was inducted into the Texas Bankers Hall of Fame in 2023. Butler has a bachelor’s of Business Administration degree from Texas Tech University and a master’s of Business Administration degree from Tarleton State University. He is a graduate of SWGSB Class XXXVII. Butler was named a Distinguished Alumni by Texas Tech University in 2024.
Married to Lorilei Butler, and they have two grown children, a son and a daughter who are also graduates of the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University.
To learn more about SWGSB’s nationally renowned program that propels careers, visit www.swgsb.org/summer2025.
ABOUT THE SW GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BANKING AT SMU COX
Since 1957, the SW Graduate School of Banking at SMU Cox (SWGSB) has educated and empowered bankers in all positions, other financial services professionals and affiliates, regulators, bank directors, and aspiring bank directors with knowledge and relationships that strengthen careers, organizations, and communities. SWGSB is a nationally recognized leader in banking and commercial lending education, bank management training, and bank director training programs. Learn more at swgsb.org or call 214.768.2991 for more information.
SW Graduate School of Banking 2025 Distinguished Service Award Honoree H. Gary Blankenship, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer/Chief Lending Officer, Bank of the West and 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award Honoree Ron Butler, Chairman and CEO of First Financial Bank Abilene Region/Executive Vice President and CAO of First Financial Bankshares, Inc.
