S.C.R. No. 14 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The retirement of the Honorable Ernestine 1-2 Glossbrenner brings to a close a remarkable career spanning 16 1-3 years in the Texas House of Representatives; and 1-4 WHEREAS, First elected to serve the residents of District 44 1-5 in 1976, the popular legislator was reelected for seven consecutive 1-6 terms; and 1-7 WHEREAS, A former schoolteacher, Miss Glossbrenner championed 1-8 educational issues and was acknowledged as one of the state's top 1-9 experts on education; and 1-10 WHEREAS, She ably chaired the House Public Education 1-11 Committee in 1989 and 1991, leading efforts to approve revised 1-12 school funding proposals; and 1-13 WHEREAS, Known and respected as a tough legislator, 1-14 Representative Glossbrenner fought for Texas schoolchildren, 1-15 underprivileged citizens, and South Texas; and 1-16 WHEREAS, Having firsthand knowledge of unethical voting 1-17 practices in her district, she worked diligently to pass as her 1-18 first major bill legislation that guaranteed Texans a secret 1-19 ballot; and 1-20 WHEREAS, The esteemed legislator is the recipient of numerous 1-21 awards and honors from various organizations whose members 1-22 appreciate her dedication and contributions to the citizens of 1-23 Texas; she was recognized for her commitment to improve the lives 2-1 of Texas women by Governor Ann Richards and over 50 women's groups; 2-2 in 1991 she received the "Friend of Education" award from the Texas 2-3 State Teachers Association; and 2-4 WHEREAS, The University of Texas Department of Education 2-5 presented Miss Glossbrenner with the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2-6 1990 and Common Cause of Texas honored her with their Public 2-7 Service Award; and 2-8 WHEREAS, The first native Texan in her family, Ernestine 2-9 Glossbrenner grew up in the small oil field community of Carlisle 2-10 where her father worked in the oil fields; the daughter of an oil 2-11 gauger became one of the most powerful and respected legislators in 2-12 the state; and 2-13 WHEREAS, After receiving her degree in chemistry from The 2-14 University of Texas in 1954, the young graduate accepted a teaching 2-15 position in Alice and remained there in the public schools for 22 2-16 years; and 2-17 WHEREAS, A participant in Summer Science Institutes sponsored 2-18 by the National Science Foundation, Representative Glossbrenner 2-19 received her master's degree from Texas A&I University in 2-20 Kingsville in 1971; and 2-21 WHEREAS, Realizing that Texas' educational problems could 2-22 only be solved at the state level, she decided to run for the state 2-23 legislature; her first campaign in 1974 ended in defeat but in 1976 2-24 she won by 136 votes; and 2-25 WHEREAS, Known for closing the legislative sessions with a 3-1 song, Representative Glossbrenner has served her state well; she 3-2 represented her constituents with integrity, commitment, and 3-3 dignity laced with a sense of humor; now, therefore, be it 3-4 RESOLVED, That the 73rd Legislature of the State of Texas 3-5 hereby express its deep gratitude to Ernestine Glossbrenner for her 3-6 exceptional contributions to the State of Texas and extend best 3-7 wishes to her for a most rewarding retirement; and, be it further 3-8 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to her 3-9 as an expression of the high regard of the Texas Legislature.