R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, On April 18 and 19, 1997, a team of students from 1-2 Taylor High School in the Katy Independent School District competed 1-3 in the U.S. Academic Decathlon in St. George, Utah; and 1-4 WHEREAS, That team came back to Texas as the record-setting 1-5 National Academic Decathlon Champions; the group earned more points 1-6 than any other team had scored in the previous 16 years of state 1-7 and national Academic Decathlon competition; and 1-8 WHEREAS, The success of the team was augmented by some 40 1-9 individual medal-winning performances; every member of the team won 1-10 at least two personal gold, silver, or bronze medals; and some 1-11 members won scholarships worth $1,000 to $3,000; and 1-12 WHEREAS, The rigorous requirements of this competition 1-13 demanded all members of the team to have a broad knowledge in all 1-14 subject fields--each team member was required to take comprehensive 1-15 written tests in economics, fine arts, language and literature, 1-16 mathematics, science, and social studies, besides having to perform 1-17 interviews, essays, and extemporaneous speaking--and team members 1-18 had to rely on each other for success in a team question-and-answer 1-19 relay; and 1-20 WHEREAS, The success of this group of young men says not only 1-21 great things about their abilities as individuals but as a unit; 1-22 and the unit could not have reached such impressive heights of 1-23 achievement without the steady hand of coaches Susan Shellum and 1-24 Cynthia Sweatnam, who guided the team to a record-setting victory 2-1 in state competition in Arlington just weeks before resetting that 2-2 record in national competition; and 2-3 WHEREAS, The winning coaches and team members--Eric Madrazo, 2-4 Chris Banse, Shaumo Sadhukhan, Steven Chang, Anjan Choudhury, 2-5 Saamir Hassan, Scott Schneider, Michael Lebold, and Simon 2-6 Peron--have been welcomed back home in Katy and in the Capitol in 2-7 Austin by enthusiastic crowds of friends, family, well-wishers, 2-8 supporters, and statewide elected officials; now, therefore, be it 2-9 RESOLVED, That the Texas House of Representatives of the 75th 2-10 Legislature congratulate the National Academic Decathlon Champion 2-11 team from Katy Taylor High School and pay tribute to its 2-12 record-setting accomplishment; and, be it further 2-13 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 2-14 prepared for the members of this team and for Katy Taylor High 2-15 School as a token of esteem from the members of the house of 2-16 representatives. Culberson Heflin 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 _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 868 was adopted by the House on May 9, 1997, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House