By: Carter H.R. No. 442 73R7069 PFG-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, GTE Telephone Operations currently serves nearly 17 1-2 million access lines domestically, in addition to lines in Canada 1-3 and Latin America and, in 1989, moved its national headquarters to 1-4 Texas, becoming a valued member of our state's economy; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Two outstanding men, John Francis O'Connell and 1-6 Sigurd Lauritz Odegard, are recognized as the founders of this 1-7 outstanding company and as the innovators of enduring management 1-8 practices that remain an integral part of today's 1-9 telecommunications industry; and 1-10 WHEREAS, Natives of Wisconsin, both men graduated in the 1-11 early 1900s from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where each 1-12 compiled noteworthy achievements; Mr. Odegard was student body 1-13 president and active in literary organizations while Mr. O'Connell 1-14 established a national scholastic track record for the 880-yard 1-15 event that stood for a remarkable 11 years; and 1-16 WHEREAS, After college, both men joined the Wisconsin 1-17 Railroad Commission, where they learned the fundamentals of 1-18 telephony and formed a lasting friendship that would lead to a 1-19 highly successful business partnership; and 1-20 WHEREAS, Envisioning a unified communications system that 1-21 would bring telephone service to rural areas, the two men began to 1-22 acquire small telephone companies, starting with the purchase in 1-23 1918 of the struggling Richland Center Telephone Company that 1-24 served as the cornerstone for the evolution of GTE; confident that 2-1 their enterprise would be a success, Mr. O'Connell offered the 2-2 equity in his Madison home as venture capital for the Richland 2-3 Center purchase; and 2-4 WHEREAS, Under the aggressive and innovative leadership of 2-5 Mr. O'Connell and Mr. Odegard, the enterprise went on to acquire 2-6 companies in Wisconsin, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and California, 2-7 becoming the Commonwealth Telephone Company, and eventually 2-8 Associated Telephone Utilities--a telephone operations network with 2-9 subsidiaries in 25 states; and 2-10 WHEREAS, As their business grew, Mr. O'Connell and 2-11 Mr. Odegard lent their individual strengths to regional expansion 2-12 efforts; Mr. O'Connell served as president of both Commonwealth 2-13 Telephone Company and the Associated Telephone Utilities Central 2-14 Group from 1928 until his retirement in 1945 and as vice-president 2-15 and a director of the Associated Utilities National Corporation; 2-16 and 2-17 WHEREAS, Throughout the same period, Mr. Odegard was engaged 2-18 in expanding operations in the West and was elected president of 2-19 Associated Telephone Company, Ltd., in California in 1929 while 2-20 also serving as president of Associated Telephone Utilities Western 2-21 Group; at the time of his death in 1934, he was the executive 2-22 vice-president and senior telephone operations executive of 2-23 Associated Telephone Utilities; and 2-24 WHEREAS, During the Great Depression, Mr. Odegard travelled 2-25 extensively to sustain business and it was during one of his 2-26 frequent sojourns that he contracted pneumonia and died while still 2-27 in his forties; in 1983, Mr. Odegard, along with Mr. O'Connell, who 3-1 died in 1945, received posthumous induction into the Wisconsin 3-2 State Telephone Association Hall of Fame; and 3-3 WHEREAS, Mr. O'Connell continued to provide steady and 3-4 inspirational leadership after Mr. Odegard's death and his motto 3-5 "All We Have To Sell Is Service" became a corporate beacon by which 3-6 the company successfully navigated the turbulent seas of the Great 3-7 Depression, eventually emerging as today's GTE Telephone 3-8 Operations; and 3-9 WHEREAS, A president of the United States Independent 3-10 Telephone Association, Mr. O'Connell shared his considerable 3-11 communications expertise with the federal government during World 3-12 War II; in the midst of his accomplished career, Mr. O'Connell, 3-13 like Mr. Odegard, passed away while still in his forties; and 3-14 WHEREAS, In addition to their substantial contributions to 3-15 the field of telecommunications, both men were devoted to their 3-16 wives and children and were pillars of their communities; 3-17 Mr. O'Connell was active in numerous civic organizations and 3-18 Mr. Odegard established a college scholarship and was active in his 3-19 church; and 3-20 WHEREAS, The hard work, skill, and imagination of these two 3-21 communications pioneers laid the foundation for GTE Telephone 3-22 Operations and helped to shape America in the twentieth century 3-23 through the establishment of the modern telephone system we enjoy 3-24 today; their accomplishments in this regard indeed merit the 3-25 lasting recognition that their induction into the Independent 3-26 Telephone Pioneer Association Hall of Fame would bestow; now, 3-27 therefore, be it 4-1 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas 4-2 Legislature hereby endorse the nomination of Sigurd Lauritz Odegard 4-3 and John Francis O'Connell for inclusion in the Independent 4-4 Telephone Pioneer Association Hall of Fame; and, be it further 4-5 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 4-6 forwarded to the Independent Telephone Pioneer Association Hall of 4-7 Fame as a formal expression of sentiment by the Texas House of 4-8 Representatives.