By:  Cain                                              S.R. No. 293

 1-1     By:  Cain                                              S.R. No. 293

 1-2                              SENATE RESOLUTION

 1-3           WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to pay

 1-4     tribute to Juan D. Nichols on the occasion of his retirement after

 1-5     35 years of exceptional service to the East Texas cooperatives; and

 1-6           WHEREAS, A major figure in the rural electrification program

 1-7     in Texas, Mr. Nichols has dedicated his professional career to the

 1-8     success of electric cooperatives in East Texas; and

 1-9           WHEREAS, His superior leadership qualities, knowledge of the

1-10     electric utility industry, and his reputation as a man of character

1-11     and integrity have made possible many of the accomplishments of the

1-12     cooperatives he so faithfully served; and

1-13           WHEREAS, The first president of Tex-La Electric Cooperative

1-14     of Texas, Incorporated, which he helped organize, Mr. Nichols has

1-15     also served as an officer of Northeast Texas Electric Cooperative,

1-16     Incorporated; he helped found East Texas Electric Cooperative,

1-17     Incorporated, and is presently serving as its president; and

1-18           WHEREAS, In 1962 Mr. Nichols began working at Wood County

1-19     Electric Cooperative, Incorporated, when it was a small distribution

1-20     cooperative serving about 8,600 retail customers; in only six years

1-21     he became manager and served as General Manager of Wood County from

1-22     1968 to 1997; and

1-23           WHEREAS, With a degree in agribusiness, Mr. Nichols

 2-1     possessed the background necessary to understand the electric

 2-2     needs of the largely rural economy of the county; during his

 2-3     tenure, the cooperative's customers expanded to over 24,000;

 2-4     and

 2-5           WHEREAS, Committed to the cooperative form of business,

 2-6     Juan saw the need to build a system of quality equipment,

 2-7     vehicles, and tools for his employees to work with and took

 2-8     innovative steps to ensure good service at the lowest possible

 2-9     costs to its members; the retail residential rate in Wood County

2-10     has not been increased since 1986; and

2-11           WHEREAS, His commitment to the communities served by

2-12     Wood County is reflected in his exceptional contributions

2-13     throughout his exemplary career; now, therefore, be it

2-14           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,

2-15     75th Legislature, hereby express its gratitude to Juan D. Nichols

2-16     for his magnificent achievements throughout the past 35 years and

2-17     extend best wishes to him for a most rewarding and enjoyable

2-18     retirement; and, be it further

2-19           RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for

2-20     Mr. Nichols as an expression of the high regard of the Texas Senate.

2-21                                  ______________________________________

2-22                                          President of the Senate

2-23                                       I hereby certify that the above

2-24                                  Resolution was adopted by the Senate

2-25                                  on March 6, 1997.

2-26                                  ______________________________________

2-27                                          Secretary of the Senate

2-28                                  ______________________________________

2-29                                           Member, Texas Senate