A life lived for others

Horace Frances devoted his life

Accomplishments of an Exceptional Man: Bozy Adams walked around the Earth

What does it take to walk around the world? All it took for Bozy Adams was the resolve to just do it! He made the decision fifteen and a half years ago one spring day as he completed his tenth lap around the Garrison High School track. When asked what led him to begin such a daunting task, he remarked, "Since I walk around that track every day anyway, I thought it would be fun to set some ridiculous goal like Walking Around The World." On Monday, February 25, 2013, Bozy completed the last lap of his 25,000-mile goal before a cheering crowd of friends and relatives. That long-ago spring day when he decided to "just do it" was 1997 which calculates to a total of fifteen and a half years and 100,000 laps. Bozy finished that last lap at age seventy-eight. Yes, Bozy Adams is an exceptional man. He has the resolve, endurance, energy, strength, perseverance and focus to Walk around the World on his high school track in his little East Texas town, Garrison, Texas. These same character traits and endurance qualities have influences every other aspect of his life including his career, his church attendance, his community work, and his relationships with family and friends. When asked to name one accomplishment that he was most proud of, he quickly answered that he was very proud of his volunteerism at Garrison Nursing Home for which he was awarded Volunteer of the Year. "I sing there with several different area church groups four times each week," he said, "and since I know most of the home's residents, it is a joy to see their faces light up when we visit with them and sing their favorite hymns." Volunteerism takes a big chunk of Bozy's time with sixteen visits per month to the Garrison Nurshing Home; his weekly church activities, which he never misses; his Lions Club activities for which he has received Life Membership and Citizen of the Year Awards; his 49-year membership on the Attoyac Bayou Watershed Authority; and his forty-year service as district director on the Soil and Water Conservation Board. Bozy's membership and dedication on the two previously mentioned boards resulted in the completion of beautiful Lake Naconiche and Park located between Garrison and Nacogdoches. In explanation as to why he is so involved in volunteer work, he explained that he likes people and enjoys the interaction and association in many areas of his East Texas life and culture. At age twenty-six Bozy was elected to the Board of Decons of Garrison First Baptist Church. He had always been faithful about Sunday school and church attendance and during his school years had amassed nine straight years without missing Sunday services. When members of his high school graduating class planned a Sunday morning departure for their senior class trip to Hot Springs Arkansas, Bozy announced that he wouldn't be able to go because he couldn't miss church. When he wouldn't waver his committment to church attendance, the class delayed their departure for Arkansas to Monday morning. Everyone including Bozy boarded the bus on Monday morning bound for Hot Springs. Bozy served his church in many ways and one such way was teacher of a young men's Sunday school class. With Bozy's backgrond in science education, the class spent a lot of time discussed the magnificence and beauty of God's world and the grace and goodness of Jesus Christ. After class one Sunday, a young man asked, "Mr. Adams you've told us all about Heaven and Jesus and God, but you never tell us anything about the Devil and exactly where he lives." Bozy thought for a few seconds and said, "Well, I really don't think about the Devil very much, but now that you mention it, I think I saw him somewhere around Timpson the other day." Bozy is the youngest son in a family of twelve siblings. He explained that perseverance and endurance may have been a necessary character trait for survival in a family the size of his. "We had a dairy and milked twice a day. It was my job to get up at 4:30 AM seven days a week to milk the cows, dress for school and not miss the bus. If I missed the bus then I had to ran two and a half miles to school where in addition to going to class I played football and ran track. Of course, I ran track at school and usually ran as many as forty-eight laps, possibly totaling twelve or more miles every day including summers. Running became second-nature to me since I was always in a hurry to get to school and then in a hurry to get back home to milk in the evening." "I think probably I developed a love for exercise and running as a result of that strict milking schedule I had to follow all those years. Exercise and running were things that I was pretty good at and became noted for in the small-town of Garrison. My friends once challenged me with a run from Timpson to Garrison. They drove me to Timpson and I ran the six and a half miles back to Garrison in forty-two minutes. Well, in a small town in the 1950's, that was an big event with many of the town's folk waiting there for me on my return. Another time I was challenged to run from Garrison to the Nacogdoches "Y," a distance of about fourteen miles. I met that challenge with good results and established myself as a serious, recreational runner which my classmates still remember to this today." After high school, Bozy remained at home with the chores of the farm and the demands of the dairy business. He arranged his schedule so that he could arise an hour earlier at 3:30 AM. He then had time to finish his chores and make it to Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches where he pursued a science degree with four majors: Earth Science, Botany, Zoology, and Vocational Agriculture. "I loved science and nature and some how managed to complete my academic studies with 236 college hours and then, what did I do? I stayed in Garrison and began a 26-year career running my own insurance and real estate business. At the end of that career, I spent several years teaching earth and life science to Garrison Junior High School students. After I left teaching I continued tending the farm that I had many years earlier bought from my dad. I am still in the cattle business and divide my time with the farm, volunteering and walking around the world." Bozy Adams has lived all of his seventy-eight years in Garrison, Texas, not more than five miles from the place of his birth. He married Mary Moore, a girl with Garrison roots, and together they produced daughter Amy who followed her legacy by attending Garrison Schools and then completing her education at Stephen F. Austin University. Both Mary and Amy chose teaching careers from which Mary is now a retired home ecomonics teacher and Amy is moving from a classroom teaching assignment to that of public school counselor. Bozy and Mary have been married Forty-six years and have found that those character traits of resolve, endurance, energy, strength, perseverance and focus have served them well. After making that final lap completing his 25,000-mile Walk Around The World, one of the reporters assigned to cover the event ask the question: Mr. Adams, now that you have accomplished your Walk Around The World, what are you going to do for an encore? Bozy never hesitated and with a look of stern determination and fierce focus he said, "I plan to break my fifteen year record by completing my second trip around the world in just twelve years."

..........by Emily Adams What does it take to walk around the world? All it took for Bozy Adams was the resolve to just do it! He made the decision fifteen and one half years ago one spring day as he completed his tenth lap around the Garrison High School track. When asked what led him to begin such a daunting task, he remarked, "Since I walk around that track every day anyway, I thought it would be fun to set some ridiculous goal like Walking Around The World." On Monday, February 25, 2013, Bozy completed the last lap of his 25,000 mile goal before a cheering crowd of friends and relatives. That long ago spring day that he decided to "just do it" was 1997 which calculates to a total of fifteen and one half years and 100,000 laps. Bozy spent fifteen and one half years on his around-the-world walk and finished his last lap at age seventy-eight. Yes, Bozy Adams is an exceptional man. He has the resolve, endurance, energy, strength, perseverance and focus to Walk around the World on his high school track in the little east Texas town, Garrison, Texas. These same character traits and endurance qualities have influences every other aspect of his life including his career, his church attendance, his community work , and his relationships with his family and friends. When asked to name one accomplishments that he was most proud of, he quickly answered that he was very proud of his volunteerism at Garrison Nursing Home for which he was awarded Volunteer of the Year. "I sing with several different area church groups four times each week," he said, "and since I know most of the home's residents, it is a joy to see their faces light up when we visit with them and sing their favorite hymns." Volunteerism takes a big chunk of Bozy's time with sixteen visits per month to the Garrison Nurshing Home; his weekly church activities, which he never misses; his Lions Club activities for which he has received a Life Membership and a Citizens of the Year Award; his 49-year membership on the Attoyac Bayou Watershed Authority and his 40-year service as district director on the Soil and Water Conservation Board. His membership and perseverance on the two previously mentioned boards precipitated the completion of beautiful Lake Naconiche and Park located between Garrison and Nacogdoches. In explanation about why he is so involved, he explained that he likes people and enjoys the interaction and association in many areas of his East Texas life and culture. At age twenty-six Bozy was elected to the Board of Decons of Garrison First Baptist Church. He had always been faithfut about Sunday school and church attendance, and during his school years had accumulated nine straight years without missing Sunday services. When members of his high school graduating class planned a Sunday morning departure for their senior trip to Hot Springs Arkansas, Bozy announced that he wouldn't be able to go because he couldn't miss church. He wouldn't waver from his committment to church attendance, so the class delayed to their departure for Arkansas to Monday morning. At one point in Bozy's church life he committed to teaching a young boy's Sunday school class. With Bozy's backgrond in science education, the class spent a lot of time discussed the magnificence and beauty of God's world and the grace and goodness of Jesus Christ. After class one Sunday, one student asked, "Mr. Adams you have told us all about heaven and Jesus and God, but you never tell us anything about the Devil and where he lives exactly." Bozy is the youngest son in a family of twelve siblings. He explained that perseverance and endurance may have been a necessary character trait for survive in a family the size of his. "We had a

From Sunday school series

This post is for my Sunday school lesson elaboration. As soon as I have time I will get back to this post. Thanks, Emily