H.C. Zachry is chairman of Zachry Associates, an Abilene/Dallas advertising, research and fund raising company; CEO of Zachry Publications, a state-wide magazine/directory publishing and conference management company; partner in Caswell, Zachry, Grizzard of Dallas, an endowment development company; and owner of Zachry Studio/Gallery. Zachry founded Mail Advertising Corporation and Paper Tiger Printing of Abilene, as well. A community advocate, his civic involvement includes one or more terms as president, chairman and/or trustee of 27 public organizations. Zachry was instrumental in organizing the Development Corporation of Abilene and served as its first president, after helping Abilene to become the first city in Texas to utilize sales tax for economic development. He initiated the conversion of the city’s railroad right of way into a six-mile greenscape through Abilene. He developed the concept for and coordinated the establishment of Frontier Texas!, a 12 million dollar historical entertainment and regional visitor center. Zachry has been honored as Abilene's Outstanding Citizen, Outstanding Businessperson; Abilene’s Distinguished Citizen and has received its Hero of Tourism award as well as the Volunteer Service Award. He was made an Honorary Member of the Texas Society of Architects for contributions to the built environment in Texas. A former rodeo contestant, he has been inducted into the Texas Tech University Rodeo Hall of Fame. He was also recently inducted into the Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame. In addition to business activities, Zachry is an artist, with his images in collections nationwide. The diversity of interests in his business and public service activities carries over into his subject matter. He paints scenes from across the U.S. and Europe – picking subjects which seem to have an emotional punch. In addition to scenes, Zachry creates paintings he loosely describes as character studies. His original paintings can be seen at his gallery, a part of Abilene Frame & Art, as well as on his website www.zachryart.com .