Mr. Francis served on the Board of Regents for Texas Tech University System (2003 - 2019) and was Chairman; and past-Chairman of the El Paso Chamber Foundation. He served on the Executive Committee for the Texas Hospital Trustees, the board of Western Refining, Inc. (NYSE:WNR) and the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.  Mr. Francis served as president of Area 5 (Rocky Mountain States) Boy Scouts of America, the Young Presidents Organization, the Yucca Council Boy Scouts of America, the Sunturians, and Crime Stoppers of El Paso.  Mr. Francis has been active with the Business Advisory Council at the El Paso Community College, the Rotary Club of El Paso, the Better Business Bureau, and the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce. 

In 1996, Mr. Francis was honored as a “Silver Beaver” by the Boy Scouts of America and, in 2001, received the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.  In 2005, he was named “Outstanding Ex” by Coronado High School and “Distinguished Alumni” by the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University in 2008. In 2007, Rick and his wife, Ginger, were named El Paso’s “Philanthropists of the Year” by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  In 2009, he was named “El Pasoan of the Year” by El Paso Inc., in 2010 inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame, and in 2020, inducted into the El Paso County Hall of Honor by the El Paso County Historical Society.

He is a graduate of Texas Tech University (BBA Finance), the Texas Tech School of Banking, and the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking conducted at Southern Methodist University. Mr. Francis has been a Director of WestStar Bank since 1996.