Tom Harmon attended Boys State in 1964 and established himself as a strong leader at a young age. He accomplished the rare feat of being elected president pro-tem of the Boys State Senate while serving as a member of the minority party. With that kind of success at Boys State it was clear, success in business was not too far behind. Tom, his brother Lynn and his father Adrian were successful bankers in Kansas City and Warrensburg. Tom is the former president of Jackson County State Bank and Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, MO. The family also owned the Bank of Warrensburg. Their business thrived for many years, until they eventually sold the business to Mercantile Bancshares. His contributions to the Boys State program are many. In 1998, at Tom’s urging, the Harmon Family agreed to fund a challenge grant to assist The American Legion Missouri Boys State Trust. The grant would add $250,000 to the Trust Fund based on the Trust raising an additional $500,000 in pledges and donations. The overall goal would increase the Trust Fund to $1,000,000 by 2003. The Trust Fund is critical to the financial stability of Missouri Boys State. With the help of the entire Harmon Family, the Trust Fund is well on its way to secure the financial future of Missouri Boys State. Tom’s contributions aren’t solely financial. He currently serves as a lifetime member of The American Legion Boys State of Missouri Executive Committee. He has served as assistant treasurer of The American Legion Missouri Boys State Trust Fund and as treasurer of Missouri Boys State. During his eight years as quartermaster of Missouri Boys State he began the modernization of the position and put many of the current procurement systems in place. Following Tom’s tenure as quartermaster the position became the Dean of Operations. It was Tom’s leadership that made it possible to increase the involvement of the quartermaster into a policy-making role for Boys State and allow for the transition to the newly named Dean of Operations position. Few people have given as much time, effort and resources to The American Legion Boys State of Missouri as Tom Harmon.
