R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, The Honorable Billy John Edwards of Abilene is 1-2 retiring as judge of the 104th District Court in Taylor County, a 1-3 position he has held since being appointed by Governor William P. 1-4 Clements on June 1, 1981; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Judge Edwards obtained his juris doctor degree from 1-6 the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1972; admitted to 1-7 the Texas Bar that same year and admitted to practice in the 1-8 Federal Courts, Northern District of Texas, two years later, he was 1-9 assistant city attorney for the City of Abilene and assistant 1-10 district attorney for Taylor County and was in private practice 1-11 before being appointed to the bench; and 1-12 WHEREAS, Judge Edwards has meritoriously served his community 1-13 as judge of the 104th District Court, participating on the Juvenile 1-14 Board of Taylor County, the Domestic Relations Board, and the 1-15 Community Justice Council; he also has been a member of the Taylor 1-16 County Jail Planning Committee and is a member of the Taylor County 1-17 Computer Steering Committee; and 1-18 WHEREAS, Judge Edwards has given generously of his time and 1-19 expertise to various professional organizations; he served two 1-20 terms as director of the Abilene Bar Association and was president 1-21 of the Abilene Young Lawyers Association; Taylor County's local 1-22 administrative district judge since 1986, Judge Edwards was 1-23 president and vice president of the Texas Association of District 1-24 Judges; and 2-1 WHEREAS, Known for his calm demeanor, Judge Edwards has 2-2 upheld the standards of fairness and integrity in his court for two 2-3 decades, earning a deep respect from countless citizens and the 2-4 gratitude of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it 2-5 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas 2-6 Legislature hereby pay tribute to the Honorable Billy John Edwards 2-7 for his many years of noteworthy service as judge of the 104th 2-8 District Court and offer him best wishes for success and happiness 2-9 in all his future endeavors; and, be it further 2-10 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 2-11 prepared for Judge Edwards as an expression of high regard by the 2-12 Texas House of Representatives. Hunter Counts Keffer Junell Turner of Coleman Laney Goodman Merritt Alexander Goolsby Miller Allen Gray Moreno of Harris Averitt Green Moreno of El Paso Bailey Grusendorf Morrison Berman Gutierrez Mowery Bonnen Haggerty Naishtat Bosse Hamric Najera Brimer Hardcastle Nixon Brown of Kaufman Hartnett Noriega Brown of Brazos Hawley Oliveira Burnam Heflin Olivo Callegari Hilbert Pickett Capelo Hilderbran Pitts Carter Hill Puente Chavez Hinojosa Ramsay Chisum Hochberg Rangel Christian Hodge Raymond Clark Homer Reyna of Bexar Coleman Hope Reyna of Dallas Cook Hopson Ritter Corte Howard Sadler Counts Hunter Salinas Crabb Hupp Seaman Craddick Isett Shields Crownover Janek Smith Danburg Jones of Lubbock Smithee Davis of Harris Jones of Bexar Solis Davis of Dallas Jones of Dallas Solomons Delisi Junell Swinford Denny Keel Talton Deshotel Keffer Telford Driver King of Parker Thompson Dukes King of Uvalde Tillery Dunnam Kitchen Truitt Dutton Kolkhorst Turner of Coleman Edwards Krusee Turner of Harris Ehrhardt Kuempel Uher Eiland Lewis of Tarrant Uresti Elkins Lewis of Orange Villarreal Ellis Longoria Walker Farabee Luna West Farrar McCall Williams Flores McClendon Wilson Gallego McReynolds Wise Garcia Madden Wohlgemuth George Marchant Wolens Geren Martinez Fischer Woolley Giddings Maxey Yarbrough Glaze Menendez Zbranek _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1134 was adopted by the House on May 22, 2001, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House