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LAUREL - Long time Lau- rel supporter Rick Adkins died Saturday.
He was 82.
Long before he became one of Nebraska’s most respected com munity bankers, Richard E. "Rick" Adkins, Jr. was just a young man learning the ropes at a small-town bank in Geneva. It was 1971, and banking was still done face-to-face across a counter, with a handshake often sealing the deal more firmly than a signature.
For Adkins, those early years at Geneva State Bank became the foundation for a career devoted to serving rural communities — places where he believed strong banks and strong people were inseparable. That belief would guide him for more than five decades in the banking industry.
After two years in Geneva, Adkins moved north to Laurel, joining what was then Security National Bank as a loan o$cer.
It didn’t take very long for the Osmond native to become a trust ed name across Cedar County. Whether a farmer needed to restructure a loan after a tough harvest or a young couple was ready to take on their first mortgage, Adkins quickly earned a reputation for listening first and deciding second - a quality that would define the rest of his professional life.
In 1980, at a time when the agricultural economy was heading into some of the most challenging years rural America had ever seen, Adkins was elected President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Security Bank. It was a daunting role for any banker, but he stepped into it with the combination of steadiness and empathy that people would come to expect from him.
Under his leadership, Security Bank weathered the storms of the 1980s farm crisis and emerged stronger, expanding its reach and investing in new communities across northeast Nebraska. Branches in places like Osmond, Hartington, Allen, and Coleridge grew under his watch, reflect- ing his belief that rural banking wasn't just about financial transactions - it was about keeping small towns strong and vital.
That hometown philosophy led to statewide recognition. In 1999, Adkins was elected President of the Nebraska Bankers Association. From that position, he helped guide banks across the state through shifting regula tions, technological change, and the evolving role of rural financial institutions. On a national level, he served on several key American Bankers Association committees, lending a Nebraska voice to discussions on agriculture, community banking, and government relations.
But the work that mattered most to Adkins rarely made head lines. It happened in the quiet corners of community life — the places where he always felt most at home.
He served on the Laurel Cham ber of Commerce, the Cedar County Fair Board, the County Extension Service, and the 4-H Council.
He volunteered at his church and supported youth activities. He took the same steady approach to community service that he did to banking: listen, help where you can, and never forget who you're doing the work for.
Outside the bank, Adkins found another lifelong passion - American Quarter Horses.
He spent years exhibiting and promoting the breed, eventually serving as a National Director of the American Quarter Horse As sociation, representing Nebraska.
He also served as president of the Nebraska Quarter Horse Associa tion, continuing the same kind of relationship-driven leadership he was known for in banking.
Adkins and his wife, Joan, raised four children in Laurel, all graduates of Laurel–Concord High School. Their family story is interwoven with the community - a reflection of the deep bond he cultivated not just as a banker, but as a neighbor.
Today, Adkins is recognized not only for his long tenure at Security Bank, but for his decades of dedication to rural Nebraska. His legacy is measured not just in bank growth or committee titles, but in the trust of the people he served - thousands of small-town customers who knew that when they walked into the bank, they'd be greeted by someone who understood their lives.
In an era of consolidations, mergers, and online transactions, Adkins remained a reminder of what community banking was always meant to be - personal, local, and grounded in the land and the people who work it. A complete obituary can be found inside this week's issue of the Cedar County News.
