Abilene-based banking executive Scott Dueser was presented the ‘2023 Distinguished Banking Service Award' at the 50th Annual Bankers Agricultural Credit Conference in Lubbock. The longtime Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer with First Financial Bank received the honor on Friday (Nov. 17) during an awards presentation at the International Cultural Center on the Texas Tech campus.

The distinguished service award is given by the agricultural credit conference to recognize individuals in the banking industry who have made significant contributions to society and whose accomplishments and careers have brought distinctive credit to the financial profession, said Phillip Johnson, chair of Tech's Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics and director of the university's Thornton Agricultural Finance Institute.

Dueser has been with First Financial for more than four decades, starting as a management trainee in 1976 with First National Bank of Abilene (now First Financial Bank). He served as President and CEO of First Financial Bank Abilene (1991-2001) and was named President and CEO of First Financial Bankshares (2001). He became Chairman of the Board in 2008. 

His bachelor of business administration degrees in finance and accounting are from Texas Tech. His banking career began in 1971, as a bookkeeper for First National Bank in Breckenridge while attending college. He also worked as a teller at Plains National Bank in Lubbock, while still in school. Following graduation, Dueser became an assistant bank examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas. 

“This is a landmark year for the Banker's Conference,” added Darren Hudson, Davis College Interim associate Dean for Research and the Larry Combest Endowed Chair for Agricultural Competitiveness. “This program has been held at Texas Tech for 50 years and represents an important engagement with rural and agricultural banks that form the backbone of our regional agricultural productivity.” 

The Annual Bankers Agricultural Credit Conference is sponsored by the Texas Bankers Association, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, Thornton Agricultural Finance Institute, International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness, Excellence in Banking Program – Rawls College, Texas Tech, and Ag Resource Management.

CONTACT: Phillip Johnson, chair and director of the Thornton Agricultural Finance Institute, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-0474 or phil.johnson@ttu.edu

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