Hometown pride, worthy of highlighting, is our June feature. Adam Hecox, he bleeds red and white and is proud of it. Although he possesses great hometown pride, he’s quite a humble man.
Hecox, 35, is a native of Mansfield. He and his wife, Megan have three children: Lita, Raine, and Alex.
The artistic Tiger fan has spent many hours volunteering his time. From coaching to painting murals, Hecox has left his mark. “I wasn’t a great athlete by far and I didn’t do any sports other than football and track. Myself along with my friends, Billy Warren and Jonathan Irvin, were brothers on and off the field. We gave our everything to be Tiger football players. The years I did suit up in that red and white uniform, created a kind of life long tattoo inside of me. I take pride in being a Mansfield Tiger no matter how good or bad things get.”
He credits his family and coach for modeling these traits. His parents raised him to work hard and to take pride in a job well-done. “My mom taught me humility and kindness. My dad taught me the difference in good pride and arrogance. Dad would always tell me ‘you may not have much, but if you take care of what you do have, you’ll always have enough.”
He took what his parents taught him and coupled that with the teachings of then football Coach John Mackey. “Before Coach Mackey was a superstar track coach, he was a great football coach and mentor for many young men, including myself. He had no problem being hard on us because, even though we didn’t know it at the time, he knew being disciplined in life would make us men with solid morals and work ethics in the real world. He taught me a lot about being selfless and putting my team and others first. Between my parents and Coach Mackey, they made me into a Mansfield Tiger 4Life.”
Hecox has quietly given back to his beloved school and town. He was the talent behind the mural on the car wash, located beside the Dollar General Store. He recalled, as a senior in high school, being commissioned to do the job. “I had painted a tiger head on the wall of the car wash. When I went back to finish it after school, some concerned citizens called the cops because they thought I was putting graffiti on the wall.”
More recently, Hecox completed a mural on the football locker room at the new high school. “Since then things have exploded opportunity wise. I think I’ve completed four projects so far and still have four confirmed projects to do this summer. I love it too! Megan and the kids are a huge help and they support what I try to do. I couldn’t do any of this without Team Hecox behind me!“
He has left far more of a mark on the lives of area youth. He has worked with kids in little league football, basketball, Boy Scouts and Sunday School. He has now begun working with youth outside the Mansfield area, assisting with the West Central Football League. “I’ve worked with kids my whole life, and I’ve noticed that they go the way their environment leads them. Working with kids is the one thing I absolutely love… Small towns just seem to be left out in my opinion, and their kids/schools are the ones who suffer. If my tiny amount of contributions in working with kids can help build the future for great young men and women, then that in itself is worth the world.”
Seeing the future of school pride continue is important to Hecox. He says it’s important to him for his children and their friends to be able to tell people where they are from with pride. “I see towns our size and smaller with school spirit oozing out of every business and household. We were once like that, but it seemingly diminished over time. I stepped up because I had the time, due to my work schedule. If a little paint here and there brings an ounce of Tiger Pride back, then that’s great.”
Hecox plans to continue nursing that pride with his family by his side. His spouse, according to him, is his “tag team partner” and that he wouldn’t be who he is or able to do what he does without her. Although he prefers to work in the shadows, and quietly volunteer, we are proud to feature Hecox in this month’s Hometown Highlight.
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