At the May 6 commission meeting, Larry Payne recalled spending many years traveling with H.M. Freeman as the two sang together as members of the Gadsden Ambassadors.
But more significantly, Payne remembered his long-time friend as an ambassador for Christ in all that he did.
Freeman died on May 2 at the age of 84. His participation in the Gadsden Ambassadors was only one of many accomplishments in Freeman’s life. He owned H.M. Freeman Motors in Gadsden and he serves as president of the Alabama Automobile Dealers Association, earning state and national awards as a Quality Dealer.
He was a member of the Gideons International, chaplain for the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, a member of the board of directors for The Bridge, served on the state Church of God Chaplain’s Ministries and the state Church of God Pastor’s Advisory Council.
Freeman was awarding the 2013 Eagle Award by the Boys Scouts. He also served on a number of building committees for the Salvation Army, the Boaz Church of God and many other organizations.
Bob Moman was another long time friend of Freeman’s, and another member of the Gadsden Ambassadors. For a number of years the group traveled nationally and internationally performing.
“I sang next to him for 28 years as part of the Gadsden Ambassadors. We’ve been all over the U.S. and Canada singing, and he was the same wherever he was,” Moman recalled. “He was a very humble man, yet very outgoing. A very unselfish person. You couldn’t be around him long without knowing he was a Christian,” Moman said.
“He grew up a poor, country boy with only an eighth grade education, but he became a very successful man. He was a lot of fun to be around.”