HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 1-1           WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature is proud to honor former

 1-2     Senator Bill Sims for the many significant contributions he has

 1-3     made to the agriculture and livestock industries in our state and

 1-4     congratulate him on his most recent honor as the recipient of the

 1-5     Texas A&M Distinguished Texan in Agriculture Award; and

 1-6           WHEREAS, This prestigious accolade, which is sponsored by the

 1-7     Agriculture Program at Texas A&M University, recognizes an

 1-8     individual's outstanding leadership, contributions, and

 1-9     achievements in behalf of the state's agribusiness industry; and

1-10           WHEREAS, A native of Paint Rock, Senator Sims has earned

1-11     distinction as a statesman, civic leader, businessman, farmer, and

1-12     rancher, and his noteworthy achievements have left an indelible

1-13     mark on both the agriculture industry and the people of Texas; and

1-14           WHEREAS, He represented his fellow citizens with integrity

1-15     and honor as a member of the Texas Senate from 1983 to 1996 and was

1-16     selected by his colleagues as the senate's president pro tempore in

1-17     1992; he drew on his extensive experience in the field of

1-18     agriculture to benefit our state as chair of the Senate Natural

1-19     Resources Committee, and he sought solutions to other important

1-20     matters as a member of several other committees, including finance,

1-21     criminal justice, education, and economic development; and

1-22           WHEREAS, This eminent gentleman was also involved with many

1-23     committees of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the

1-24     Southern Legislative Conference, and the American Legislative

 2-1     Exchange Council, where his abundant knowledge and experience

 2-2     benefited the entire nation; and

 2-3           WHEREAS, In addition to Senator Sims's outstanding work in

 2-4     these areas, he is also highly regarded for his long and rewarding

 2-5     career in agriculture; a former county extension agent, he served

 2-6     for nearly 30 years as the executive secretary of both the Texas

 2-7     Sheep & Goat Raisers' Association and the Texas Wool & Mohair

 2-8     Warehouse Association; the former managing editor of The Ranch

 2-9     Magazine, he has been a rancher and farmer in Concho County for

2-10     many  years; and

2-11           WHEREAS, Senator Sims has further worked for the betterment

2-12     of his state and community as director of the High Plains Research

2-13     Foundation and as an esteemed member of several boards and

2-14     organizations, including the Free Market Foundation Advisory Board,

2-15     the Texas International Livestock Exposition Advisory Board, and

2-16     the Texas Energy Council; and

2-17           WHEREAS, His remarkable contributions have earned him

2-18     well-deserved acclaim and numerous prestigious accolades during his

2-19     lifetime; in the past year alone, he was honored with the Texas

2-20     Farm Bureau's Distinguished Service Award and the Central Texas

2-21     Council of Governments' Appreciation Award, and he was also named

2-22     Man of the Year by the Texas County  Agricultural Agents

2-23     Association and Citizen of the Year by the San Angelo Chamber of

2-24     Commerce; and

2-25           WHEREAS, In all his endeavors, he has enjoyed the love and

2-26     support of his devoted wife, Sue Sims, and the couple's children,

2-27     Billy Lowe Sims and Sue Ann Sims Setzler; and

 3-1           WHEREAS, For more than 40 years, Senator Sims has dedicated

 3-2     himself to enhancing the agriculture and livestock industries in

 3-3     our state, and he is most deserving of special praise and

 3-4     recognition on the occasion of his most recent honor; now,

 3-5     therefore, be it

 3-6           RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas

 3-7     hereby commend the Honorable Bill Sims for the many significant

 3-8     contributions he has made to the agribusiness industry in Texas and

 3-9     congratulate him on his receipt of the Texas A&M Distinguished

3-10     Texan in Agriculture Award; and, be it further

3-11           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be

3-12     prepared for Senator Sims as an expression of high regard by the

3-13     Texas House of Representatives and Senate.

                                                                      Junell

         Laney                   Gutierrez                Oliveira

         Alexander               Haggerty                 Olivo

         Allen                   Hamric                   Palmer

         Alvarado                Hartnett                 Patterson

         Averitt                 Hawley                   Pickett

         Bailey                  Heflin                   Pitts

         Berlanga                Hernandez                Place

         Bonnen                  Hightower                Price

         Bosse                   Hilbert                  Puente

         Brimer                  Hilderbran               Rabuck

         Burnam                  Hill                     Ramsay

         Carter                  Hinojosa                 Rangel

         Chavez                  Hirschi                  Raymond

         Chisum                  Hochberg                 Reyna of Bexar

         Christian               Hodge                    Reyna of Dallas

         Clark                   Holzheauser              Rhodes

         Coleman                 Horn                     Rodriguez

         Cook                    Howard                   Roman

         Corte                   Hunter                   Sadler

         Counts                  Hupp                     Seaman

         Crabb                   Isett                    Serna

         Craddick                Jackson                  Shields

         Cuellar                 Janek                    Siebert

         Culberson               Jones of Lubbock         Smith

         Danburg                 Jones of Dallas          Smithee

         Davila                  Junell                   Solis

         Davis                   Kamel                    Solomons

         Delisi                  Keel                     Staples

         Denny                   Keffer                   Stiles

         Driver                  King                     Swinford

         Dukes                   Krusee                   Talton

         Dunnam                  Kubiak                   Telford

         Dutton                  Kuempel                  Thompson

         Edwards                 Lewis of Tarrant         Tillery

         Ehrhardt                Lewis of Orange          Torres

         Eiland                  Longoria                 Turner of Coleman

         Elkins                  Luna                     Turner of Harris

         Farrar                  McCall                   Uher

         Finnell                 McClendon                Van de Putte

         Flores                  McReynolds               Walker

         Gallego                 Madden                   West

         Galloway                Marchant                 Williams

         Garcia                  Maxey                    Williamson

         Giddings                Merritt                  Wilson

         Glaze                   Moffat                   Wise

         Goodman                 Moreno                   Wohlgemuth

         Goolsby                 Mowery                   Wolens

         Gray                    Naishtat                 Woolley

         Greenberg               Nixon                    Yarbrough

         Grusendorf              Oakley                   Zbranek

         _______________________________     _______________________________

             President of the Senate              Speaker of the House

               I certify that H.C.R. No. 123 was adopted by the House on

         April 10, 1997, by a non-record vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Chief Clerk of the House

               I certify that H.C.R. No. 123 was adopted by the Senate on

         April 10, 1997, by a viva-voce vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Secretary of the Senate

         APPROVED:  _____________________

                            Date

                    _____________________

                          Governor