1-1                                     1                                  
 1-2                          SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 509
 1-3           WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is proud to commend
 1-4     David Alton Hudgins for his superb work in establishing a veterans
 1-5     memorial in Ellis County; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, David grew up in Gilmer, Texas, where he played high
 1-7     school football; he attended Tyler Junior College before enrolling
 1-8     in the Houston Fire Department Academy in 1968; he is currently a
 1-9     Certified Master Firefighter by the Texas Fire Commissioner; and
1-10           WHEREAS, After working as a firefighter in several Texas
1-11     towns and owning his own restaurant, David moved to Waxahachie
1-12     in 1986, where he accepted the position of Fire Chief; and
1-13           WHEREAS, David is well known by his fellow citizens as an
1-14     exemplary and civic-minded gentleman; he has donated his time and
1-15     energies to the Keep Waxahachie Beautiful Committee, the First
1-16     Methodist Church, and Historic Waxahachie, Incorporated; and
1-17           WHEREAS, In the late 1980s, David and his associate
1-18     Perry Giles began plans to build a veterans memorial in
1-19     Ellis County; after much planning and fundraising, David and
1-20     Perry secured the appropriate financing and location for their
1-21     monument; and
1-22           WHEREAS, David, who handled fundraising and publicity for
1-23     the project, raised over $100,000 for the monument, in addition
 2-1     to securing thousands of dollars worth of donated materials and
 2-2     labor from craftsmen and artists; over the course of three years,
 2-3     David and his partner closely supervised the monument's
 2-4     construction, which was finished November 11, 2000; and
 2-5           WHEREAS, The Ellis County Veterans Memorial now stands on
 2-6     the grounds of Waxahachie's newly constructed Civic Center; this
 2-7     enduring symbol of the profound respect the citizens of Ellis
 2-8     County hold for those men and women who fought and died for the
 2-9     United States is worthy of the respect and admiration of all
2-10     Texans; now, therefore, be it
2-11           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
2-12     77th Legislature, hereby recognize the noble work of
2-13     David Alton Hudgins in initiating and overseeing the
2-14     construction of the Ellis County Veterans Memorial; and,
2-15     be it further
2-16           RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for
2-17     David Hudgins as an expression of high esteem from the
2-18     Texas Senate.
2-19                                                                    Cain
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 20, 2001.
2-25                                  ______________________________________
2-26                                          Secretary of the Senate
2-27                                  ______________________________________
2-28                                           Member, Texas Senate