By Culberson                                           H.R. No. 868

         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.

         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.

                                 R E S O L U T I O N

 1-1           WHEREAS, On April 18th and 19th, 1997, a team of students

 1-2     from Taylor High School in the Katy Independent School District

 1-3     competed 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 dollars; and,

1-12           WHEREAS, When taken into account that the rigorous

1-13     requirements of this competition demanded all members of the team

1-14     to have a broad knowledge in all subject fields -- each team member

1-15     was required to take comprehensive written tests in economics, fine

1-16     arts, language and literature, mathematics, science, and social

1-17     studies, besides having to perform interviews, essays, and

1-18     extemporaneous speaking -- and that team members had to rely on

1-19     each other for success in a team question-and-answer 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;

 2-1     and, that the unit could not have reached such impressive heights

 2-2     of achievement without the steady hand of coaches Susan Shellum and

 2-3     Cynthia Sweatnam, who guided the team to a record-setting victory

 2-4     in state competition in Arlington just weeks before resetting that

 2-5     record in national competition; and,

 2-6           WHEREAS, The winning coaches and team members -- Eric

 2-7     Madrazo, Chris Banse, Shaumo Sadhukhan, Steven Chang, Anjan

 2-8     Choudhury, Saamir Hassan, Scott Schneider, Michael Lebold and Simon

 2-9     Peron -- have been welcomed back home in Katy and in the Capitol in

2-10     Austin by enthusiastic crowds of friends, family, well-wishers,

2-11     supporters, and statewide elected officials; now, therefore be it

2-12           RESOLVED, That the Texas House of Representatives of the 75th

2-13     Legislature congratulate the National Academic Decathlon Champion

2-14     team from Katy Taylor High School and pay tribute to its record

2-15     setting accomplishment; and, be it further

2-16           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be

2-17     prepared for the members of this team and for Katy Taylor High

2-18     School as a token of esteem from the members of the House of

2-19     Representatives.