1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1136 1-3 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes great pride 1-4 in recognizing Ray Villareal and his son, Gus Villareal, for 1-5 their outstanding work with poor children and adults in El Paso 1-6 and Juarez; and 1-7 WHEREAS, The former owner of Footfit Shoe Store in El Paso, 1-8 Mr. Villareal sold his shop in 1998 and moved to San Antonio to 1-9 be nearer his family; he left a legacy of thousands of children 1-10 who could walk and run after he worked with them and supplied 1-11 them with shoes, orthopedic equipment, or artificial limbs; and 1-12 WHEREAS, Ray Villareal began his work with children with 1-13 special needs in 1967; every Sunday until he sold his store, 1-14 Mr. Villareal drove to Juarez to the central fire station to 1-15 bring shoes and orthopedic devices to those who needed them; 1-16 Ray donated all the equipment, and he felt that it was all 1-17 worthwhile because sometimes a child or adult would walk for 1-18 the first time; and 1-19 WHEREAS, Ray and Gus Villareal are certified orthotists and 1-20 pedorthists, with Gus specializing in making artificial limbs 1-21 and braces; Ray is proud that he and Gus are some of the few 1-22 Mexican Americans in the orthopedic footwear field and are 1-23 members of the Prescription Footwear Association; and 2-1 WHEREAS, The winner of many honors and awards for his work, 2-2 Ray Villareal was awarded the Italian-American National Hall 2-3 of Fame's coveted Humanitarian Award in 1981 for his charitable 2-4 contributions to the poor; and 2-5 WHEREAS, In 1984, Ray Villareal was honored as recipient 2-6 of the Volunteer Action Award, a prize given to him by 2-7 President Ronald Reagan at the White House; Mr. Villareal received 2-8 the award for his longtime efforts on behalf of the poor children 2-9 in El Paso and Juarez; and 2-10 WHEREAS, Other significant honors given to Ray Villareal 2-11 have included the City of El Paso's Conquistador Award, the 2-12 Sertoma Mankind Award, the El Paso Police Humanitarian Award, 2-13 and the LULAC Humanitarian Award; and 2-14 WHEREAS, The achievements of Ray Villareal, his son, Gus, 2-15 and the rest of the family have benefitted over 100,000 children 2-16 through the years; they are truly worthy of legislative recognition; 2-17 now, therefore, be it 2-18 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 2-19 77th Legislature, hereby commend and applaud Ray Villareal and 2-20 Gus Villareal for their outstanding contributions to the lives 2-21 of thousands of children and adults; and, be it further 2-22 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for 2-23 them as an expression of highest regard from the Texas Senate. 2-24 Shapleigh 2-25 ______________________________________ 2-26 President of the Senate 2-27 I hereby certify that the above 3-1 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 3-2 on May 22, 2001. 3-3 ______________________________________ 3-4 Secretary of the Senate 3-5 ______________________________________ 3-6 Member, Texas Senate