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