By Puente                                              H.R. No. 554

         75R8682 JTR-D                           

                                 R E S O L U T I O N

 1-1           WHEREAS, January 1997 marked the centennial of the Southern

 1-2     Steel Company in San Antonio, and this auspicious occasion is

 1-3     indeed worthy of special praise and recognition; and

 1-4           WHEREAS, Founded in 1897 by David F. Youngblood, Southern

 1-5     Steel is the nation's oldest business dedicated solely to the

 1-6     manufacture and installation of detention equipment, and the

 1-7     company's sterling reputation is evident from the fact that its

 1-8     products are in use in every state in the union; integral to the

 1-9     construction of legendary penitentiaries Alcatraz and Rikers

1-10     Island, the firm's products have housed such infamous occupants as

1-11     John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Al Capone; and

1-12           WHEREAS, One of San Antonio's most noteworthy corporate

1-13     citizens, Southern Steel is a familiar and welcome presence on the

1-14     city's south side; since its founding a century ago, the firm has

1-15     occupied the same location on South Presa, and this continuity

1-16     within the community is reflected in the number of the company's

1-17     workers whose parents and grandparents were employed there before

1-18     them; and

1-19           WHEREAS, The relationship between Southern Steel and its more

1-20     than 200 valued employees remains a mutually beneficial one, and

1-21     these highly trained craftspeople are the backbone of the company's

1-22     remarkable success; and

1-23           WHEREAS, Even as the staff and management of Southern Steel

1-24     can take pride and satisfaction in a century of remarkable

 2-1     accomplishment, they look forward to embracing the challenges and

 2-2     opportunities of their next century of operation; now, therefore,

 2-3     be it

 2-4           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas

 2-5     Legislature hereby congratulate all those associated with Southern

 2-6     Steel on the 100th anniversary of the firm's founding and extend to

 2-7     them sincere best wishes for continued success in the years to

 2-8     come; and, be it further

 2-9           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be

2-10     prepared for Southern Steel as an expression of high regard by the

2-11     Texas House of Representatives.