By Smith H.R. No. 282 77R6594 JKB-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, The Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant, held annually in 1-2 Fort Worth, has long provided its participants with the opportunity 1-3 to gain poise, confidence, and life skills that will benefit them 1-4 throughout their lives, and this esteemed organization is most 1-5 deserving of special recognition; and 1-6 WHEREAS, The Miss Texas Pageant was founded in 1936, and has 1-7 since drawn contestants from across the state to Tarrant County to 1-8 compete for the coveted title of Miss Texas; once named, the winner 1-9 joins women from throughout the nation in the Miss America Pageant; 1-10 and 1-11 WHEREAS, Miss Texas travels throughout the state during her 1-12 year-long reign to speak at schools and to other groups, addressing 1-13 community issues and matters that are relevant to young Texans and 1-14 women; and 1-15 WHEREAS, Through tremendous hard work and cooperation in 1-16 their communities, hundreds of volunteers organize the preliminary 1-17 competitions, secure scholarship awards, and support such 1-18 worthwhile endeavors as the "Texas Cares for Children" program, 1-19 which focuses on self-esteem and drug awareness in public schools; 1-20 and 1-21 WHEREAS, Among the many cities that actively support the Miss 1-22 Texas Scholarship Pageant is the Hurst-Euless-Bedford (HEB) 1-23 community, whose numerous volunteers, organizers, sponsors, and 1-24 participants give generously of their time and many talents on 2-1 behalf of this time-honored event; and 2-2 WHEREAS, Recent years have seen much success for HEB's local 2-3 pageant, as both the current Miss Texas, Tara Watson, and the 1999 2-4 Miss Texas, Yanci Yarbrough, were representatives of this North 2-5 Texas community; these two exceptional women have spoken at more 2-6 than 500 schools, addressing 300,000 students on a host of 2-7 important issues facing today's youth; and 2-8 WHEREAS, The Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant and the many 2-9 individuals who support this long-standing organization have made 2-10 significant contributions toward the betterment of the state and it 2-11 is a privilege to honor their noteworthy efforts at this time; 2-12 now, therefore, be it 2-13 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas 2-14 Legislature hereby commend all those associated with the Miss Texas 2-15 Scholarship Pageant and extend sincere best wishes for the 2-16 pageant's continued success in years to come.