H.R. No. 707 R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, Proving that one man's courage and determination can 1-2 make a positive difference in the community, Odis B. Briggs, 1-3 manager of the Washington Manor Apartments complex in Beaumont, has 1-4 achieved spectacular success in turning around the cycle of 1-5 poverty, crime, and drug abuse and has made his corner of the 1-6 neighborhood a quieter and safer place in which to live; and 1-7 WHEREAS, A longtime resident of the Washington Manor 1-8 Apartments, Mr. Briggs had been a witness to the neighborhood's 1-9 seemingly inexorable decline into debt, disrepair, and disarray and 1-10 at the same time had seen the tenants fall victim to a climate of 1-11 fear and despair; and 1-12 WHEREAS, Almost single-handedly and with single-mindedness of 1-13 purpose, Mr. Briggs set about to save the complex and restore not 1-14 only the peace and quiet that many of the residents longed for, but 1-15 also the sense of community pride and self-esteem that had been 1-16 impaired by years of neglect; devoting himself to this cause, he 1-17 worked tirelessly as president of the residents' association to 1-18 persuade the apartments' owners as well as his fellow residents to 1-19 join him in his crusade; and 1-20 WHEREAS, His diligent efforts and his absolute conviction 1-21 that, when joined in common cause, the neighborhood's residents 1-22 could succeed in reclaiming the complex convinced the owners to 1-23 appoint him as apartment manager and to support him in his 1-24 endeavors; assuming overall responsibility for the complex, he 2-1 began his crusade in earnest on July 29, 1986, when he took over as 2-2 manager; and 2-3 WHEREAS, One of the most formidable obstacles he had to face 2-4 in the beginning was the $150,000 debt that had accumulated and the 2-5 consequent inability to borrow sorely needed funds to begin 2-6 renovation work and other essential projects; no more daunted by 2-7 the complex's financial condition than he was by its physical 2-8 condition, Mr. Briggs cleared the debt within 90 days and made the 2-9 apartments eligible for federal grants under Housing and Urban 2-10 Development programs; and 2-11 WHEREAS, With this money, Mr. Briggs was able not only to 2-12 arrest the further deterioration of the physical property but to 2-13 begin improvements and additions to the complex that have further 2-14 enhanced the quality of life for apartment residents, young and old 2-15 alike; among the many projects already begun or planned for the 2-16 near future are the reconstruction of the children's playground, 2-17 the reinforcement and refurbishing of wheelchair ramps, and the 2-18 installation of special telephone equipment for the apartments' 2-19 deaf and hearing impaired residents; and 2-20 WHEREAS, Impressive though these achievements might be, 2-21 Mr. Briggs has made an even greater and perhaps more important 2-22 contribution to the quality of life in the Washington Manor 2-23 Apartments by instilling in the apartments' residents a sense of 2-24 pride in their community and encouraging them by his own example to 2-25 become more involved in achieving and maintaining a clean, quiet, 2-26 safe, drug-free, and crime-free environment that benefits one and 2-27 all; and 3-1 WHEREAS, Inspired both by his leadership and by the success 3-2 they had experienced working together as a community, Washington 3-3 Manor Apartments residents went even further and in 1992 chartered 3-4 a residents council through which they have embarked on an 3-5 ambitious program aimed at providing educational, health care, 3-6 medical, and social services for everyone in the community; and 3-7 WHEREAS, Indeed, they have made their community a model for 3-8 neighborhoods everywhere, and Mr. Briggs's singular contributions, 3-9 which both provided the impetus and made their success possible, 3-10 have earned him the highest praise and recognition; now, therefore, 3-11 be it 3-12 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas 3-13 Legislature hereby commend Odis Briggs on his outstanding 3-14 achievements as apartment manager of the Washington Manor 3-15 Apartments in Beaumont and for his exemplary efforts in making his 3-16 community a better place in which to live; and, be it further 3-17 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-18 prepared for Mr. Briggs as an expression of high esteem by the 3-19 Texas House of Representatives. 3-20 prepared for Mr. Briggs as an expression of high esteem by the 3-21 Texas House of Representatives. 3-22 Price 3-23 H.R. No. 707 3-24 Laney Giddings Munoz 3-25 Alexander Glaze Naishtat 3-26 Allen Goodman Nieto 3-27 Alonzo Goolsby Oakley 4-1 Alvarado Granoff Ogden 4-2 Averitt Gray Oliveira 4-3 Bailey Greenberg Park 4-4 Berlanga Grusendorf Parra 4-5 Black Gutierrez Patterson 4-6 Blackwood Haggerty Pitts 4-7 Bomer Hamric Place 4-8 Bosse Harris Price 4-9 Brady Hartnett Puente 4-10 Brimer Heflin Rabuck 4-11 Cain Hernandez Ramsay 4-12 Campbell Hightower Rangel 4-13 Carona Hilbert Raymond 4-14 Carter Hilderbran Rodriguez 4-15 Chisum Hill Romo 4-16 Clemons Hirschi Rudd 4-17 Coleman Hochberg Sadler 4-18 Combs Holzheauser Saunders 4-19 Conley Horn Schechter 4-20 Cook Hudson Seidlits 4-21 Corte Hunter of Taylor Shields 4-22 Counts Hunter of Nueces Siebert 4-23 Crabb Jackson A. Smith of Harris 4-24 Craddick James D. Smith of Harris 4-25 Cuellar of Webb Johnson Smithee 4-26 Cuellar of Hidalgo Jones of Lubbock Solis 4-27 Culberson Jones of Dallas Stiles 5-1 Danburg Junell Swinford 5-2 Davila Kamel Tallas 5-3 Davis Krusee Talton 5-4 De La Garza Kubiak Telford 5-5 Dear Kuempel Thompson of Tarrant 5-6 Delco Lewis Thompson of Harris 5-7 Delisi Linebarger Turner of Coleman 5-8 Denton Longoria Turner of Harris 5-9 Driver Luna Uher 5-10 Duncan McCall Van de Putte 5-11 Dutton McCoulskey Vowell 5-12 Earley McDonald West 5-13 Eckels Madden Williamson 5-14 Edwards Marchant Willis 5-15 Erickson Martin Wilson 5-16 Finnell Maxey Wolens 5-17 Flores Moffat Yarbrough 5-18 Gallego Moreno Yost 5-19 Gallegos Mowery Zbranek 5-20 H.R. No. 707 5-21 _______________________________ 5-22 Speaker of the House 5-23 I certify that H.R. No. 707 was adopted by the House on May 5-24 13, 1993, by a non-record vote. 5-25 _______________________________ 5-26 Chief Clerk of the House