1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 571 1-3 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas joins the 1-4 Texas Department of Transportation in bidding farewell to 1-5 Tom Ellis, who is resigning from his position as District 1-6 Engineer of the Paris District, effective April 9, 1999; a 1-7 fine person and a consummate professional, Tom will be missed 1-8 by his colleagues at the Texas Department of Transportation; 1-9 and 1-10 WHEREAS, In 1983, Tom earned his bachelor's degree in civil 1-11 engineering from Texas A&M University; there, he worked for the 1-12 Texas Transportation Institute as a research assistant; he 1-13 interned with the Del Rio District during his undergraduate summers; 1-14 and 1-15 WHEREAS, Tom joined the Texas Department of Transportation's 1-16 San Antonio District as a full-time employee in 1984; stationed 1-17 first in the Kerrville area, he worked his way up from engineering 1-18 assistant to assistant area engineer; after exhibiting much skill 1-19 in both these positions, Tom was transferred to the Special Design 1-20 Section in the same district; in this capacity, he served as design 1-21 engineer for the Interstate 10/I-410 five-level interchange and 1-22 downtown "Y" projects in San Antonio; his successful tenure in 1-23 San Antonio earned him the position of district design engineer 1-24 of Brownwood; and 2-1 WHEREAS, Tom's ensuing position, Director of Transportation 2-2 Planning and Development, was in the newly created Laredo District; 2-3 he helped coordinate the incorporation of nine counties from the 2-4 Pharr, San Antonio, and San Angelo districts into the new district 2-5 and was responsible for all its design, planning, and right-of-way 2-6 functions; and 2-7 WHEREAS, Tom's final position with the Texas Department of 2-8 Transportation was as Paris District Engineer; he served in 2-9 this capacity with the same exemplary performance and dedicated 2-10 service demonstrated in his prior work with the Texas Department 2-11 of Transportation; and 2-12 WHEREAS, Tom balances professional duties with responsibilities 2-13 to his loving family; he and his wife, Dorothy, have three 2-14 children, Southern, Hunter, and Macy, and he has been a Little 2-15 League coach since 1993; a man of sound moral principle, Tom is 2-16 a member of the First Baptist Church of Paris; and 2-17 WHEREAS, A native Texan, originally from Eagle Pass, Tom has 2-18 dedicated his professional career to serving this great state; 2-19 his contributions to designing, building, and maintaining the Texas 2-20 infrastructure have benefitted countless Texans; now, therefore, 2-21 be it 2-22 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 2-23 76th Legislature, hereby commend its loyal public servant, 2-24 Tom Ellis, on his 16 years of service; indeed, Tom's skillful 2-25 professionalism has served Texas well; the Senate also wishes 2-26 him success in his private-sector endeavors; and, be it further 3-1 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared as an 3-2 expression of high regard from the Texas Senate. 3-3 Cain, Bernsen 3-4 ______________________________________ 3-5 President of the Senate 3-6 I hereby certify that the above 3-7 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 3-8 on April 7, 1999. 3-9 ______________________________________ 3-10 Secretary of the Senate 3-11 ______________________________________ 3-12 Member, Texas Senate 3-13 ______________________________________ 3-14 Member, Texas Senate