By Lewis of Tarrant H.R. No. 310 77R6818 GMW-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, The retirement of Rainey J. Crawford of Kansas City, 1-2 Missouri, on March 31, 2001, from the Ford Motor Company brings to 1-3 a close the noteworthy career of a distinguished gentleman; and 1-4 WHEREAS, Born and raised near St. Louis in Venice, Illinois, 1-5 Mr. Crawford earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education 1-6 from Southern Illinois University and a master of business 1-7 administration in advanced management from Michigan State 1-8 University; and 1-9 WHEREAS, Before joining Ford Motor Company, he played three 1-10 years of professional baseball with the Kansas City Athletics and 1-11 the St. Louis Cardinals, spent a year with the St. Louis Human 1-12 Resources Development Corporation as a counselor and community 1-13 developer, and taught in the St. Louis public school system; 1-14 furthermore, he served 11 years as a first lieutenant with the 1-15 United States Army Reserve; and 1-16 WHEREAS, This esteemed gentleman began his impressive tenure 1-17 with Ford Motor Company in 1966 at the St. Louis Assembly Plant in 1-18 labor relations; he advanced steadily through the company, holding 1-19 many noteworthy positions at several plants, and in 1982 he became 1-20 the employee relations manager at the St. Louis plant; since 1994 1-21 he has been the director of governmental affairs, and in this 1-22 capacity he has adroitly directed Ford Motor Company's state and 1-23 local affairs in a 13-state region in the central U.S.; and 1-24 WHEREAS, Mr. Crawford's myriad accomplishments while with the 2-1 company include success in such areas as hiring, training, contract 2-2 negotiations, safety, organizational development, and salary 2-3 administration; in addition, he has been integral to the creation 2-4 of numerous quality-of-work-life projects, and he coordinated the 2-5 company's affirmative action process for its entire North American 2-6 personnel and organizational staff; and 2-7 WHEREAS, Also active in his community, Mr. Crawford has 2-8 donated his time and talents to a host of worthwhile organizations, 2-9 including the Missouri and Arkansas chambers of commerce, the 2-10 Associated Industries of Missouri, the Urban League of Metropolitan 2-11 St. Louis, the Salvation Army, the YMCA, the St. Louis Business 2-12 Health Coalition, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, 2-13 and the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance Advisory Board; in 2-14 addition, he has been involved with the National Black Caucus of 2-15 State Legislators, the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus 2-16 Foundation, the Missouri Governor's Goals 2000 Task Force, the 2-17 Governor's Advisory Board on Jobs for Missouri's Future, and the 2-18 Missouri Investment Trust Board; and 2-19 WHEREAS, Rainey Crawford is undoubtedly a man of immense 2-20 ability and integrity, and for his many years of dedication to the 2-21 Ford Motor Company and his community, state, and nation, he is most 2-22 deserving of special recognition at this time; now, therefore, be 2-23 it 2-24 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas 2-25 Legislature hereby congratulate Rainey J. Crawford on the occasion 2-26 of his retirement and extend to him best wishes for continued 2-27 happiness; and, be it further 3-1 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-2 prepared for Mr. Crawford as an expression of high regard by the 3-3 Texas House of Representatives.