6 July 2005

John Adams elected rector of Longwood Board of Visitors

Governor appoints John W. Daniel II of Richmond and Tom DeWitt as new members; Barry Case of Midlothian re-appointed

 FARMVILLE—John B. Adams Jr., the chairman and chief executive officer of The Martin Agency in Richmond, has been elected rector of the Longwood University Board of Visitors.

Adams was elected June 15, replacing Barry J. Case of Midlothian, who completed his two-year term as rector and was elected vice rector. Case subsequently was re-appointed to the Board by Governor Mark Warner. Adams was appointed to the Board in July 2003 by Governor Warner.

More recently, on July 1, Governor Warner announced the appointment of two new members to the Longwood Board of Visitors: John W. Daniel II of Richmond, an attorney with Troutman Sanders and former Virginia secretary of natural resources, and Tom DeWitt of Fairfax Station, a Longwood alumnus who is president and CEO of SNVC, a Fairfax-based information technology firm.

Longwood’s new rector, John Adams, joined The Martin Agency in 1973, became president in 1992, and has been chairman and CEO since 1995. Under his leadership it has become one of America’s most honored advertising agencies, the largest marketing firm south of New York City, and the first agency to be named “Agency of the Year” five times by Adweek magazine. He was inducted May 19 into the Greater Richmond Business Hall of Fame, and he is a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. He has twice been Executive-in-Residence in Longwood’s College of Business & Economics and was the speaker for Longwood’s commencement in December 1996. A graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, Adams was born in Lynchburg, Va., and grew up in Charleston, W.Va.

His wife, Delores “Bunny” Howell Adams, is a Longwood alumna and recently completed three terms as a board member of the Longwood University Foundation, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Adams served as Major Gifts co-chairs on the steering committee of a turning point: The Campaign for Longwood, the university’s first comprehensive campaign, which ended successfully in June 2003 after raising $33.5 million.

Daniel was Virginia secretary of natural resources from 1986-1990, Virginia deputy secretary of commerce and resources in 1986, and Virginia assistant attorney general from 1982-1986. DeWitt in 1998 co-founded SNVC, which last October was selected to Inc. 500 magazine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing private businesses in the United States. Daniel replaces Helen E. Phillips of Stanardsville, and DeWitt replaces J. David Adams of Richmond, whose terms expired June 30.

During the recent Board meeting, Dr. Helen P. Warriner-Burke of Amelia was elected secretary of the Board, and Ricky L. Otey of Richmond was elected member-at-large of the Board’s Executive Committee. Both are Longwood alumni. Dr. Warriner-Burke is the retired supervisor of foreign languages for the Virginia Department of Education, and Mr. Otey is Wachovia Bank’s retail bank director for eastern Virginia, based in Norfolk.