By Swinford                                            H.R. No. 798
         77R13229 JKB-D                           
                                 R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, On February 20, 2001, with more than 23 years of
 1-2     outstanding service to the Lone Star State, Benny Mathis announced
 1-3     his retirement as executive director of the Texas Structural Pest
 1-4     Control Board; and
 1-5           WHEREAS, Since joining the board as an investigator in 1978,
 1-6     and subsequently being promoted to executive director in 1991,
 1-7     Mr. Mathis has worked to implement  regulations, policies, and
 1-8     practices for the pest control industry and integrate pest
 1-9     management throughout the state; and
1-10           WHEREAS, As president and longtime board member of the
1-11     Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials, this
1-12     esteemed Texan has been an emissary to Mexico and to other states
1-13     throughout the United States in his development of the Model
1-14     Technician Training Standards and the Model IPM plan; and
1-15           WHEREAS, He was instrumental in having the Texas Structural
1-16     Pest Control Board designated as the state agency that  oversees
1-17     the federal project known as the "US and Mexico Pesticide
1-18     Information Exchange," a program that ensures cooperation between
1-19     the Mexican and U.S. border states on issues concerning pesticide
1-20     safety, scientific and technological information, and pesticide
1-21     registration, use, and removal; and
1-22           WHEREAS, Mr. Mathis has committed himself to facilitating the
1-23     flow of information among all those potentially affected by pest
1-24     control practices, including environmentalists, real estate agents,
 2-1     building inspectors, contractors, consumers, businesspersons, and
 2-2     industry members; and
 2-3           WHEREAS, For more than two decades, this esteemed individual
 2-4     has acted with integrity and foresight in promoting the profession
 2-5     of structural pest control in Texas, and his many contributions to
 2-6     this state and the pest control industry will not soon be
 2-7     forgotten; now, therefore, be it
 2-8           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas
 2-9     Legislature hereby congratulate Benny Mathis on the occasion of his
2-10     retirement from the Texas Structural Pest Control Board and extend
2-11     to him sincere best wishes for happiness and success in all of his
2-12     future endeavors; and, be it further
2-13           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
2-14     prepared for Mr. Mathis as an expression of high regard by the
2-15     Texas House of Representatives.