1-1 ****** NEED TWO-PAGE HEADER ****** 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