Tom Adams ‘67 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) says that joining Sigma Nu was a way for him to find a smaller group of close friends within the vastness of UNC. “Coming from a small high school in Alabama with a graduating class of only 32, I arrived at the University of North Carolina a bit nervous without any social network,” he says. “Through the swimming team, I met members of Sigma Nu including Eminent Commander Thompson Mann ‘64, who went on to win a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics. With the swimming team and Sigma Nu, I found niches within a big university. As I look back on college, I appreciate the importance of smaller groups with which to identify and build relationships.”
He remembers the spring tradition of hauling the Wurlitzer juke box from the party room in the basement to the front porch and says that some of his fondest memories are of “lazy spring days after the end of swimming season, listening to beach music from the gaudy juke box.”
Adams says that as graduation approached that he, like most of his fraternity brothers, was more focused on ending a great semester than on the war and military draft that loomed ahead. "Fortunately, my parents were panic stricken and with letters and phone calls pushed me to take responsibility seriously,” he says. “Application to Navy OCS resulted in a couple of years as Supply Officer aboard an LST up and down the coast and rivers in Vietnam. I got to see Southeast Asia and look back on it as an opportunity for personal development.”
In the years since then, Adams has worked in his family business that dates back to the 1880s in Birmingham, Alabama. “The business has changed a lot over the years, and now encompasses an insurance company and two software-as-a-service businesses, all focused on the used car industry,” he explains. “Running a narrow niche business has been both challenging and fun. The highlight of a more than 40-year career was a 1994 trip to Columbia to recover 18 expensive cars bought with phony checks at one of our insured auto auctions. With only my business cards for credibility, plus much luck and a month of hard work, I got all of the cars back.”
Since retiring in 2015 and enjoying watching the next generation carry on our family businesses, Adams has spent leisure time golfing, skiing, and biking as well as traveling extensively with his wife of 48 years.
“Due to the pandemic, we have spent the past year sheltering in place with our Golden Retrievers but look forward to resuming traveling. We are excited about spending time with our 12-year-old twin granddaughters, whom we haven’t seen since Thanksgiving 2019, and seeing more of the world. At age 75, I recognize that life from 75 to 85 will likely be much more fun than 85 to 95, and we plan to make the most of experiences.”
