Four insurance industry veterans were honored this year, including one posthumously, with induction into the Robert E. Musto Tennessee Insurance Hall of Fame at Middle Tennessee State University.

The Class of 2015 inductees included the late Scott Clayton of Nashville, Tennessee; Eugene “Gene” Frazer Jr. of Knoxville, Tennessee; and David Meador and Ken Pinkston, both of Nashville.

The induction ceremony was held July 28 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Murfreesboro. The Insurance Hall of Fame has inducted 62 since its inception, according to Dr. Kenneth Hollman, holder of the Martin Chair of Insurance at MTSU.

Four new members were inducted into the Musto Tennessee Insurance Hall of Fame at MTSU for 2015. Pictured, from left, are John Major, emcee; inductees Gene Frazer; inductee Ken Pinkston; Dollye Clayton and Beth Scott Clayton Amos, wife and daughter of posthumous inductee Scott Clayton; and inductee David Meador. The induction ceremony took place July 28, 2015, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Murfreesboro. (MTSU photo)

Spurred by a sincere belief in helping others, Scott Clayton entered the life insurance business and gradually expanded his services to include disability insurance, long-term care insurance, equities, business succession planning, executive benefits and his favorite — estate planning — for over 51 years.

Scott Clayton

Clayton worked with Connecticut Mutual and Mass Mutual for over 60 years, winning numerous awards, including 50 years a qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table.

He was active in professional organizations and championed the causes and interests of agents throughout his career. Among his community involvement, he was president and a board member of Nashville Chapter of the American Red Cross and a board member of the Nashville Rescue Mission.

Accepting on Clayton’s behalf were his widow Dollye Clayton and daughter Beth Scott Clayton Amos.

Eugene “Gene” Frazer Jr. of Knoxville, Tennessee, retired from the Shafer Insurance Agency in Knoxville, where he served for 34 years.

Eugene “Gene” Frazer Jr.

To start his career, Frazer went to work with Travelers Insurance Company as a casualty underwriter in Nashville in 1960 before being transferred to Knoxville and joining Shafer Insurance Agency as marketing manager. He was named vice president a few years later and retired from the agency in May 2001.

A U.S. Army veteran and Vanderbilt University graduate, Frazer was known among his colleagues as a student of insurance. He was active in leadership roles within professional insurance associations on both the local and state level.

Among his civic involvement, Frazer served as a board member of both the Free Medical Clinic of America and the Board of Wesley House Community Center. He has been active in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Knoxville beginning in the mid 1970’s and also served on an allocation committee for the United Way of Greater Knoxville.

Blinded since college following an automobile accident, David Meador currently makes his living as a motivational speaker after retiring from the insurance industry in 2002.

David Meador

After earning his bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University and a master’s from Loyola of Chicago, Meador went on to become a 20-year career sales representative with Northwestern Mutual in Nashville, where he set the agency record for consecutive weeks of production — bringing in new business every week for 11 straight years.

He was a member of both the National Association of Life Underwriters and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors for a decade.

Upon his retirement, Meador moved to public speaking at civic clubs and corporate conventions. He was also very active in the United States Blind Golf Association, winning the national championship in 1976, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and receiving the Ben Hogan Award at the 2013 Masters Tournament.

An alumnus of Martin Methodist College, MTSU (B.S. ’64) and Vanderbilt, Ken Pinkston began his career in the insurance industry in 1964 with Traveler’s Insurance Company in Nashville.

Ken Pinkston

He then joined what would become the Willis Group, filling various roles including president of the company’s research and sales development division and chairman and CEO of Willis operations in North America and vice chair of global operations.

Pinkston supported professional organizations throughout his career, at one point serving as a member of the board of directors of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers in Washington, D.C.

Among his civic involvement, Pinkston is a past member of the board of directors of PENCIL, a nonprofit dedicated to improving public education in the Nashville area and served in a tutoring program for elementary school students. He is a past board member of the Middle Tennessee Council of the Boy Scouts of America and currently serves as a board member of Community Care Fellowship, an organization focusing on the homeless.

MTSU offers an insurance concentration through the Department of Economics and Finance within the Jennings A. Jones College of Business. For more information about the department, go to www.mtsu.edu/econfin.

— Jimmy Hart (jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu)