1-1  By:  Stiles, Price (Senate Sponsor - Galloway)        H.C.R. No. 85
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House April 18, 1995;
    1-3  April 19, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on State
    1-4  Affairs; May 5, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote:
    1-5  Yeas 12, Nays 0; May 5, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                      HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-7        WHEREAS,  Ben Rogers contributed significantly to the
    1-8  citizens of this state as a business leader and philanthropist who
    1-9  demonstrated an exemplary concern for the well-being of others; and
   1-10        WHEREAS,  As a young man, he settled in Beaumont with his
   1-11  brothers and together they established Texas State Optical; and
   1-12        WHEREAS,  A man of many interests and talents, he also
   1-13  contributed his invaluable expertise to the banking industry and
   1-14  offered wise and thoughtful guidance as an organizer and director
   1-15  of numerous financial institutions in the Beaumont and Houston
   1-16  areas; in recognition of the vast contributions he made to the
   1-17  business community in our state, he was inducted into the
   1-18  prestigious Texas Business Hall of Fame; and
   1-19        WHEREAS,  Mr. Rogers continued to work for the betterment of
   1-20  the Southeast Texas community through his service as president of
   1-21  the Beaumont and Sabine Neches Chambers of Commerce, the Central
   1-22  City Development Corporation, the Beaumont Music Commission, United
   1-23  Appeals, and the Beaumont Optimist Club; in addition, this
   1-24  remarkable gentleman was the founder and president of the Joe Louis
   1-25  International Sports Foundation and, in 1976, helped to raise over
   1-26  half a million dollars for the organization to the benefit of boys'
   1-27  clubs throughout the country; and
   1-28        WHEREAS, As a result of his leadership, facilities have been
   1-29  provided in Beaumont for Boys Haven, the Minnie Rogers Juvenile
   1-30  Home, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, United Appeals, the YMCA, the
   1-31  new Art Museum of Southeast Texas, the Babe Zaharias Museum, and
   1-32  the Julie and Ben Rogers Cancer Institute; and
   1-33        WHEREAS,  This dedicated gentleman worked to foster
   1-34  productivity and independence for individuals with mental
   1-35  retardation, and to that end, on July 30, 1979, he donated a
   1-36  building and property to the Beaumont State Center;  the building,
   1-37  called the Hollywood Workcenter, is used to provide supportive
   1-38  employment training to individuals at the center; and
   1-39        WHEREAS,  Ben Rogers's remarkable contributions to the
   1-40  quality of life in Southeast Texas survive his death on December
   1-41  14, 1994, and will continue to have a profound effect on the
   1-42  members of his community, and it is fitting that the Hollywood
   1-43  Workcenter that he helped establish be named in his memory; now,
   1-44  therefore, be it
   1-45        RESOLVED,  That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas
   1-46  hereby direct that the present Hollywood Workcenter at the Beaumont
   1-47  State Center be named the Ben Rogers Employment Training Facility
   1-48  as a testament to Mr. Rogers's devotion and service to his
   1-49  community; and, be it further
   1-50        RESOLVED,  That the secretary of state forward an official
   1-51  copy of this resolution to the executive director of the General
   1-52  Services Commission.
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