By Ramsay H.R. No. 157 75R4857 JHS-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, Juan D. Nichols has devoted his life to serving the 1-2 residents of East Texas, and his dedication to his fellow citizens 1-3 is indeed worthy of special legislative recognition; and 1-4 WHEREAS, A native Texan, Mr. Nichols was born in the Wood 1-5 County town of Coke in 1931; after graduating from Winnsboro High 1-6 School, he attended East Texas State University, where he earned a 1-7 bachelor's degree in agribusiness; and 1-8 WHEREAS, Mr. Nichols is a veteran of the United States Navy 1-9 and has been employed by Wood County Electric Cooperative, Inc., 1-10 since 1962; he was appointed general manager in 1968, and during 1-11 his tenure, this visionary individual has helped to transform the 1-12 cooperative from a relatively small venture to a company that today 1-13 ranks as an industry leader, serving more than 24,000 residents; 1-14 and 1-15 WHEREAS, By recognizing the needs of the cooperative's 1-16 members, Mr. Nichols has continued to upgrade and improve services 1-17 while still supplying competitively priced power; his leadership 1-18 efforts with other area distribution cooperatives have helped 1-19 create organizations such as Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, 1-20 Inc., which Mr. Nichols served as president until his recent 1-21 retirement; and 1-22 WHEREAS, This esteemed gentleman was also instrumental in the 1-23 formation of East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc., which oversees 1-24 10 regional cooperatives and has capably served as an officer for 2-1 Northeast Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc.; efforts such as these 2-2 have greatly benefited the residents of East Texas and demonstrate 2-3 Mr. Nichols' commitment to providing quality electrical service to 2-4 his fellow citizens; and 2-5 WHEREAS, This dedicated individual contributes to his 2-6 community in many other ways; he has served as director of the 2-7 Carroll Green Civic Center, president of the board of trustees of 2-8 the Quitman Independent School District, chairman of the 2-9 administrative board, Sunday school teacher at First United 2-10 Methodist Church, and member of the board of directors of the 2-11 Quitman Public Library; in addition, he is a member of the Flora 2-12 Masonic Lodge and the Quitman Rotary Club, and he has helped 2-13 promote the economic growth of his community as chairman of the 2-14 board of the First National Bank of Quitman and as director of the 2-15 East Texas Economic Development Council and the Quitman Chamber of 2-16 Commerce; and 2-17 WHEREAS, In all his endeavors, Mr. Nichols has been aided by 2-18 his wife, Jerry, and his son and daughters, whose love and support 2-19 have allowed him to devote his considerable energies to creating a 2-20 better future for his family, friends, and neighbors; now, 2-21 therefore, be it 2-22 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas 2-23 Legislature hereby honor Juan D. Nichols for his outstanding 2-24 community service and extend to him sincere best wishes for 2-25 continued success and happiness in the years to come; and, be it 2-26 further 2-27 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-1 prepared for Mr. Nichols as an expression of high regard by the 3-2 Texas House of Representatives.