Texas Bankers Hall of Fame to Honor 2026 Inductees
Texas Bankers Hall of Fame to Honor 2026 Inductees
The Texas Bankers Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the induction of the 2026 honorees at the 13th Annual Texas Bankers Hall of Fame Gala on April 23, 2026, on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Five iconic bankers, Mark K. Johnson, Michael G. O’Rourke, Rogers Pope, Jr., A. Ford Sasser, III and Marelyn B. Shedd will be recognized for their achievements and many contributions to their communities and the banking industry.
The Texas Bankers Hall of Fame, established by the Smith-Hutson Endowed Chair of Banking at SHSU, recognizes and honors the accomplishments of outstanding bankers who have made valuable contributions to the banking profession and pioneered the Texas banking industry.
Mark M. Johnson began his distinguished banking career in 1968 at Texas Commerce Bank in Houston. In 1975, he returned to his hometown of San Antonio to join National Bancshares Corporation of Texas, where he was president, chief operating officer and director. In 1994, he became president and director of Texas Bancshares, Inc., and also served as chairman, president and director of its wholly owned subsidiary, First National Bank of South Texas.
In 2001, Johnson joined Texas Capital Bank as president of the San Antonio Region. He was promoted to chairman of the region in 2009 and, in 2014, was named vice chairman and managing director, overseeing major statewide operations. His responsibilities included leadership of the Builder Finance Group—one of the bank’s largest divisions serving top national home builders—as well as oversight of all commercial real estate banking activities and regional leadership in Austin, Fort Worth and San Antonio. Johnson is a laureate of the San Antonio Business Hall of Fame
In June 2023, Johnson joined Bank of Texas (BOK Financial) as regional chairman. He currently oversees the bank’s Central Texas markets and remains actively involved in broader banking initiatives and community engagement.
Johnson has served as chairman of Juris Medicus, a leading national medical expert sourcing firm.
He is deeply committed to civic services and serves in leadership roles for the Remember the Alamo Foundation, the Alamo Trust, Inc. Board, San Antonio Zoological Society, CHRISTUS Children’s Foundation & Friends of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundation and Briscoe Western Art Museum.
His past board leadership includes roles with the Alamo Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, San Antonio Academy, YMCA, August Heart Foundation, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, Opera San Antonio and Downtown Rotary Club, Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
Johnson has served as chairman and director emeritus of the Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business Advisory Council and was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award. He is a former trustee of Southwest Research Institute and a past chairman of both the Texas Business Hall of Fame and San Antonio CAN! High School Advisory Board.
Johnson earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Finance and Banking from Texas Tech University, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and met his wife, Carolyn. Together, they have two children, Mark Jr. and Parker, and are proud grandparents to five grandchildren.
Michael G. O’Rourke is celebrating his 41st year at TIB (The Independent Bankers Bank), having joined the bank in June of 1984. He began his TIB career as chief lending officer, shortly after serving as vice president and section manager for First City Bank of Dallas for five years.
In 1999, O’Rourke was named president of TIB, N.A.’s investment arm, TIN Capital Markets (TIBCM). In 2000, he was named a director of TIB, N.A.
In June of 2004, O’Rourke was elevated to president and chief operating officer of the bank, taking over management of TIB, N.A.’s day-to-day functions. Just 18 months later, O’Rourke became only the third President and CEO of the organization. Under his leadership, TIB, N.A. has shown steady growth and exceptional stability through a variety of economic cycles. Today, TIB is the largest and most trusted bankers’ bank in the nation, serving over 1,400 community banks and nearly 300 shareholder banks in 48 states.
A graduate of Texas Tech University with a BBA in Finance, O’Rourke is a Dallas area native and avid golfer. He is married with three grown children and two grandchildren.
Rogers Pope, Jr. is chairman and chief executive officer of Texas Bank and Trust Company in Longview, Texas, having proudly served the bank for over three decades. Pope was previously employed in the financial institutions practice group of the Dallas law firm of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP.
A Longview High School graduate, Pope received his BBA from Baylor University and his Juris Doctor degree from Baylor Law School. Later, he graduated with distinction from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking and was named valedictorian of Class XLII. He is also a graduate of the American Bankers Association’s National Commercial Lending School and National Graduate Trust School.
Active in professional and industry associations, Pope serves as immediate past-chairman of TIB, N.A. He has previously served as chairman of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) and the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking Foundation, and served in leadership roles and/or committees for the Independent Community Bankers of America, the Texas Bankers Association, the Southwest Association of Bank Counsel, and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. Pope has received both the Chairman’s Award and the Excellence in Leadership Award from the IBAT and has been recognized on IBAT’s Wall of Heroes and Legends. Pope is also the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking.
Pope has been extensively involved in community affairs throughout his career and has served as chairman of the board to the Longview Chamber of Commerce and Longview Regional Medical Center and as president of the Greater Longview United Way and the Rotary Club of Longview. Pope has previously served as a board member to LeTourneau University, Buckner International and the CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Foundation. Currently, he serves on the board for Grace Community School and the East Texas Communities Foundation. Pope is a proud past recipient of the Longview Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Award and has also been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of Longview High School. Along with his father, Pope is a co-recipient of the East Texas Area Council - Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen Award.
A former executive board member of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Pope attends Grace Community Church in Tyler. Together, he and his wife, Kellie, are the proud parents of five children.
Ford Sasser, III was born in San Antonio, Texas and grew up with an agricultural background. He attended Texas A&M, where he received a bachelor’s in agricultural economics. While in school, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He then went to work for the Texas Department of Banking as a bank examiner. Later, he went to work at a bank in Beeville, Texas, where he met his wife of 43 years, Abbie, and had two daughters.
Sasser and Abbie moved the family to McAllen, Texas, in 1986. He invested in Rio Bank in 1999 and became the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the bank. Today, he serves as the CEO and vice chairman of the board.
Sasser has served as chairman of the Texas Bankers Association and sits on the advisory board of the Commercial Banking Program at Texas A&M. In addition, Sasser was appointed by the governor to serve as a public member on the board of directors of the State Bar of Texas. He has also served as a public member of the State Bar Grievance Committee. In McAllen, Ford served on the Board of Valley Baptist Hospital, Easter Seals, Hope Family Clinic, the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, Museum of South Texas History, City of McAllen Board of Adjustments and Appeals and City of McAllen Zoning Board, McAllen Country Club board and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In 2025, he was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame for his many years as a football official at the high school and college levels. Ford also wrote a book titled “Why Would Anyone Officiate Football?” which was published in 2013.
He is most proud of serving on the Board of Can Achieve Maximum Potential (C.A.M.P.) University, which he and his wife organized in 2007 for young adults with special needs. Sasser and his wife have a special needs daughter, and it is because of her that they found that there is little help for the parents of special needs adults after they leave the public school system in the Rio Grande Valley. Today, C.A.M.P. University provides a day habilitation program for over 60 campers.
Sasser is active in his church, Trinity Baptist in McAllen. Besides his church, his real love is spending time at the El Sueno Ranch. He loves the wildlife and raising cattle.
Marelyn Shedd currently serves as CEO for the Abilene Region of First Financial Bank. First Financial Bank is a $14.8 billion bank with 79 locations throughout the state of Texas with its headquarters in Abilene. Shedd has been with First Financial Bank for 34 years and began her career there as senior vice president - commercial lender, later becoming the bank's senior lender, followed by being appointed as president in 2012. She is a graduate of Baylor University with a BBA degree in Finance.
Shedd has served on numerous boards, including the Development Corporation of Abilene, Abilene Arts Alliance, Abilene Ballet Theatre, Community Foundation of Abilene (past Chair), Hendrick Medical Center Foundation (past Chair), Historic Paramount Theatre and United Way of Abilene. Shedd also currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Abilene Christian University.
Shedd has been honored with the Paul Harris Fellow award by the Rotary Club Foundation, the Woman of Outstanding Achievement award from the American Association of University Women and the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame award. She has been married to her husband, Glen for 40 years, and they have two grown daughters who are married and live in Dallas.