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 1-2                          SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 454
 1-3           WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to honor
 1-4     Richard Powell of El Paso, president and chief executive officer
 1-5     of Big 8 Food Stores; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, In 1947, Richard's father, Edd Powell, and his wife
 1-7     moved to Ysleta; there they and two family members opened a store,
 1-8     the P&N; in 1950, Edd Powell and seven other independent grocers
 1-9     formed an advertising group, called Big 8; and
1-10           WHEREAS, Big 8 Food Stores rank second in sales in the
1-11     El Paso market today, thriving despite competition from larger
1-12     stores such as Wal-Mart and Furr's; and
1-13           WHEREAS, Born in El Paso in 1957, Richard Powell grew
1-14     up in the grocery business; he obtained a business degree from
1-15     Texas Tech in 1979 and went to work for the business full time;
1-16     and
1-17           WHEREAS, Bringing new information systems to handle expansion
1-18     of the Big 8 and updating the company's administrative structure,
1-19     Richard, with the help of some key personnel, saw the company
1-20     increase its business; and
1-21           WHEREAS, The foundation of a good store is what
1-22     Richard Powell calls excellent core operation, meaning having
 2-1     a clean store, ample products on the shelves, good quality
 2-2     perishables, and outstanding customer service, including sacking
 2-3     customers' groceries and having a carry-out service; and
 2-4           WHEREAS, Richard Powell wanted a different management style
 2-5     for the stores, and with his master's degree from the University
 2-6     of Santa Monica, he found one called servant leadership, which he
 2-7     then introduced in the stores; the method teaches managers to lead
 2-8     by serving the needs of all; all the employees have been trained
 2-9     in it, and it also involves community service; each month a
2-10     different team of employees goes out and feeds the homeless; and
2-11           WHEREAS, As a result, employees of Big 8 stores feel a
2-12     greater job satisfaction, because they feel good about themselves
2-13     and their work; now, therefore, be it
2-14           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
2-15     77th Legislature, hereby commend Richard Powell for the excellence
2-16     of his stores and wish him well in the future; and, be it further
2-17           RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for him
2-18     as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate.
2-19                                                               Shapleigh
2-20                                  ______________________________________
2-21                                          President of the Senate
2-22                                       I hereby certify that the above
2-23                                  Resolution was adopted by the Senate
2-24                                  on March 13, 2001.
2-25                                  ______________________________________
2-26                                          Secretary of the Senate
2-27                                  ______________________________________
2-28                                           Member, Texas Senate