By: Stiles H.R. No. 109
73R3132 BNL-D
R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, Norman Townsend has distinguished himself as an
1-2 exemplary agent with the Beaumont office of the Federal Bureau of
1-3 Investigation, and his colleagues there have accorded him a great
1-4 honor in naming him the 1992 Jefferson County 100 Club Federal Law
1-5 Enforcement Officer of the Year; and
1-6 WHEREAS, This award was particularly memorable for
1-7 Mr. Townsend because it represents outstanding achievement in a job
1-8 that he dreamed of having from the age of five, when his father
1-9 took him to see the movie "The FBI Stories" starring Jimmy Stewart;
1-10 and
1-11 WHEREAS, A native of Iowa, this esteemed gentleman grew up on
1-12 his father's farm, but long days of baling hay and mending fences
1-13 made him realize that he did not want a life in agriculture; after
1-14 high school, he pursued his college education at a university in
1-15 Missouri, where he earned a degree in political science; and
1-16 WHEREAS, He then achieved his dream of working for the FBI,
1-17 but his first positions were not the glamorous roles he had
1-18 envisioned; he started out as a fingerprint examiner at the
1-19 Washington, D.C., office and then transferred to the Oklahoma City
1-20 office, where he worked as an accounting technician while earning a
1-21 second degree in accounting; and
1-22 WHEREAS, Mr. Townsend continued to work toward his goal of
1-23 becoming an agent, but the notoriously difficult FBI entrance exams
1-24 proved to be an obstacle; because he did not qualify as a candidate
2-1 the first time he took the tests, he decided to enter law
2-2 enforcement by a different route and became a special agent with
2-3 the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, a crime fighting
2-4 organization similar to the Texas Rangers; and
2-5 WHEREAS, As a member of this elite investigative force, this
2-6 determined individual gained invaluable experience in the criminal
2-7 justice field, and this, combined with his diligent studying,
2-8 enabled him to pass the rigorous FBI tests; he achieved his
2-9 lifelong ambition of becoming an FBI agent and immediately went to
2-10 work fighting crime from the bureau's Beaumont office; and
2-11 WHEREAS, Mr. Townsend's knowledge of accounting proved
2-12 extremely beneficial in investigating failed banks and savings and
2-13 loans suspected of fraud; he secured indictments against several
2-14 East Texas financial executives, thus mitigating local damage from
2-15 the nationwide savings and loan collapse; and
2-16 WHEREAS, In the past year, this valiant law enforcement
2-17 official has spearheaded "Operation Predator," a program aimed at
2-18 getting dangerous street gangs and other violent offenders off the
2-19 street; Mr. Townsend and his colleagues assigned to this task force
2-20 were instrumental in securing a federal prison sentence for a
2-21 10-member gang of youths who were responsible for a series of
2-22 robberies in Orange; and
2-23 WHEREAS, In achieving his lifelong goal of becoming an FBI
2-24 agent, Norman Townsend has succeeded in making his community and
2-25 his state safer places in which to live; his selfless commitment to
2-26 fighting crime has won him the respect and admiration of his peers,
2-27 and he is indeed worthy of special legislative recognition; now,
3-1 therefore, be it
3-2 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas
3-3 Legislature hereby commend Norman Townsend on his selection as the
3-4 1992 Jefferson County 100 Club Federal Law Enforcement Officer of
3-5 the Year and extend warmest best wishes for many more years of
3-6 continued success; and, be it further
3-7 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
3-8 prepared for Mr. Townsend as an expression of high regard by the
3-9 Texas House of Representatives.