By:  Kubiak                                              H.R. No. 6
       72S40029 JLZ-D
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, Faithfully chronicling the life and times of the
    1-2  Benchley community as a correspondent for the Hearne Democrat since
    1-3  1971, Sam Rice has kept alive a notable family, community, and
    1-4  Democrat tradition that now has spanned more than a century; and
    1-5        WHEREAS, With a journalist's keen eye for detail, a true
    1-6  Texan's concern for his friends and neighbors, and his own
    1-7  unflappable optimism and infectious enthusiasm for life, this
    1-8  lifelong resident of this Robertson County community is aptly
    1-9  suited to his calling and has proven to be a worthy heir to his
   1-10  notable predecessors; and
   1-11        WHEREAS, Mr. Rice's love for the small Texas town he calls
   1-12  home and his interest in recording the neverending ebb and flow of
   1-13  life in the community are deeply rooted in his family's past; a
   1-14  descendent of some of the community's earliest settlers, he lives
   1-15  today in the house built by his great-grandparents, James and Effie
   1-16  McNair Henry, in the 1830s; and
   1-17        WHEREAS, By the late 19th century, the family already was
   1-18  well-established in the community, when Mr. Rice's grandfather,
   1-19  Hugh Roderick Henry, began a family journalistic tradition that has
   1-20  remained unbroken to this day; and
   1-21        WHEREAS, From 1889, when the Hearne Democrat began
   1-22  publication, until 1898, when he passed away, Mr. Henry carefully
   1-23  recorded the human drama to be found in the cycles of life and
   1-24  death, births and marriages, and triumphs and tribulations that
    2-1  formed the social history of the community; and
    2-2        WHEREAS, Following Mr. Henry's death, Mr. Rice's mother,
    2-3  Jimmie Henry Rice, took over as the Democrat's Benchley
    2-4  correspondent, and over a period of 73 years her lively reports
    2-5  kept neighbors informed and helped maintain and strengthen the
    2-6  feeling of kinship that bound Robertson County residents together
    2-7  as a community; and
    2-8        WHEREAS, When his mother died in 1971, Sam Rice took up the
    2-9  banner of news correspondent for the Hearne newspaper, bringing to
   2-10  his job an upbeat perspective and a wealth of experiences dealing
   2-11  with celebrities and ordinary citizens alike, whom he has met
   2-12  during his happy and event-filled lifetime; and
   2-13        WHEREAS, An enthusiastic participant as well as a keen
   2-14  observer of the social scene, Mr. Rice is actively involved in
   2-15  every aspect of community life, including the often lively arena of
   2-16  local politics; unabashedly proclaiming his political loyalties,
   2-17  Mr. Rice currently serves as Democratic Party chairman for
   2-18  Robertson County Precinct 11; and
   2-19        WHEREAS, Partisan politics aside, Sam Rice is known by
   2-20  friends and neighbors as a deeply caring and open-minded
   2-21  individual, and his abiding affection for the community of Central
   2-22  Texans who reside in Benchley and Robertson County, together with
   2-23  the service he has provided them, have earned him widespread
   2-24  respect and admiration; and
   2-25        WHEREAS, In January 1992, Mr. Rice received well-deserved
   2-26  public recognition when Hearne Democrat publisher Chap Harriman
   2-27  presented him with an engraved platter commemorating the 103 years
    3-1  of service rendered to  the community by him and his family; and
    3-2        WHEREAS, Mr. Rice's careful depiction of daily life as it
    3-3  transpires has not only captured the present for his many readers
    3-4  to enjoy but has also provided a valuable register of the past for
    3-5  future generations to appreciate, and his contributions to this
    3-6  Central Texas legacy are indeed worthy of special praise and
    3-7  recognition; now, therefore, be it
    3-8        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 72nd Texas
    3-9  Legislature, 4th Called Session, hereby honor Sam Rice on his
   3-10  exemplary spirit of involvement in his community and his noteworthy
   3-11  record of service to the community as the Hearne Democrat's
   3-12  Benchley correspondent since 1971; and, be it further
   3-13        RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
   3-14  prepared for Mr. Rice as an expression of high regard from the
   3-15  Texas House of Representatives.