Adrian and Margaret Harmon are long time business leaders in Warrensburg and West Central Missouri. Adrian Harmon was born on the family farm near Warrensburg and married the girl who lived only a mile from him. After his father’s death, it was his job to operate the 340 acre farm until after WWII when he and his brother got a franchise and opened a car and machinery dealership in Odessa. By 1953, he had purchased Citizen’s Bank of Warrensburg and started his banking career—a career that has fueled his many philanthropic efforts.
The Harmons have the school of business named after them at Central Missouri State University, where they are big supporters—in fact, they made a $2 million dollar lead gift for that building, the largest in the university’s history. Their name is on the back of the trolley at Powell Gardens near Lone Jack as the sole contributors so that people can more easily make that journey around the beautiful gardens. They built a new swimming pool at Bartle Scout Reservation for the Boy Scouts. Adrian was one of the organizers for the first Johnson County, Missouri United Way and was chair of a very early county Red Cross Drive.
Their business contributions have been as numerous and the Harmons have been active promoters to bring additional business to Warrensburg. Personal honors like Outstanding Young Man of the Year for the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Distinguished Service Award from CMSU seem to go with the territory. This is a couple who has made helping others and helping their community grow and prosper part of their everyday lives.
As Jerry Franklin, broker and developer of commercial properties in three states, notes, "Adrian and Margaret Harmon’s contribution of time, talent and resources, over many years, has not only made a positive difference in the community of Warrensburg but has touched the lives of countless individuals. They are a prime example to follow of giving back to the community."
Married for 58 years, Bud and Sally Cray have lived in Atchison for 55 of those for a simple reason: "We really love the community." And perhaps because of that love, the Crays have been both benefactor and leader, investor and promoter.
Their interest really started with Bud’s dad, Cloud L. Cray who invested in Midwest Solvents, now MGP Ingredients. He gave the plant to the local hospital. The family bought the plant back which created a lifetime endowment for the hospital and is typical of one way the Crays help the area. For instance, they decided the town needed a movie theater so they sold "shares" and built the theater. Eventually, someone bought it and it’s now a regular enterprise. They did the same with a miniature golf course, which now Benedictine College’s students run as a learning lab. They invested in a motel because the city didn’t have one. They created a restaurant because downtown needed one. They helped turn an old Santa Fe traffic station into the Atchison Chamber of Commerce. They are working now in developing the Missouri River waterfront in Atchison and have ambitious plans for a veterans’ memorial, amphitheater, and substantial walkway, among other features. As Dan Carey, President of Benedictine College, says, "The Crays do more than simply give away money. They invest in projects that enrich the community."
All these plans and projects are typical of this family. There are actually three foundations; brother Dick runs the original Cray Foundation in Kansas City. There is a medical research foundation which created the Cray Diabetic clinic at KU Medical Center which was then expanded to a location in Atchison. They’re involved with the historical society there, too, which fits in with Bud Cray’s commitment to his town and area because he believes tourism is a key. He says, "We believe in spending locally to see progress in the growth of a small community. Without effort, commitment, and philanthropy, small towns die."
The Cray family works diligently to see that doesn’t happen, in a hundred different ways.