H.R. No. 176
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The State of Texas Anniversary Remembrance (STAR)
Day bill (Senate Bill 1656) was passed by the 76th Texas Legislature
and signed into law by Governor George W. Bush on June 18, 1999, and
stated that all Texas public schools and other organizations shall
celebrate the birthday of the State of Texas on the 19th of February
each year with appropriate and patriotic programs to inspire a
greater appreciation for the history of our state; and
WHEREAS, THE GREAT TEXAS BLOOD DONOR ROUNDUP CAMPAIGN was
organized and established by the State of Texas Anniversary
Remembrance (STAR) Day Foundation on February 19, 2001, as an
appropriate and patriotic annual statewide program with a MISSION
to educate, inspire, and motivate students to become our future
blood donors to help alleviate the growing Texas blood supply
shortage in partnership with all Texas public schools by sponsoring
SCHOOL ROUNDUP events hosted by school board presidents at the
1,754 Texas public schools serving seventh and eighth grade
students, where students, as a public service after-school
activity, invite their parents, brothers and sisters of age (17
years of age or older), grandparents and relatives, school
employees, community friends, and high school students of age to
donate blood to help alleviate the growing Texas blood supply
shortage as their personal STAR DAY birthday present for our state
each year; and
WHEREAS, The Galveston County Dickinson Independent School
District Board of Trustees President Alvin Alton Pool hosted the
first SCHOOL ROUNDUP event in Texas at R. D. McAdams Junior High
School in partnership with volunteer students, parents, school
employees, and friends of the school district on Saturday, March 2,
2002, in their school cafeteria from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. to ROUNDUP
adults and Dickinson High School students of age to donate blood to
help alleviate the growing Texas blood supply shortage as their
school STAR DAY birthday present for our state; and
WHEREAS, The State of Texas Anniversary Remembrance (STAR)
Day Foundation is inviting all Texas public school board presidents
in the 1,055 Texas public school districts to host an annual SCHOOL
ROUNDUP event at each of the 1,754 Texas public schools serving
seventh and eighth grade students to provide an opportunity for the
nearly 600,000 students in the seventh and eighth grades of Texas
public schools to volunteer and donate their time in an
after-school setting as their annual student STAR DAY birthday
present for our state to help ROUNDUP their parents, brothers and
sisters of age (17 years or older), grandparents and relatives,
school employees, and community friends to donate blood to help
alleviate the growing Texas blood supply shortage at a school
ROUNDUP event by signing a STUDENT ROUNDUP PLEDGE letter approved
by parents in which the volunteer students pledge to read four books
and complete eight hours of public service work in an after-school
setting as their annual student STAR DAY birthday present for our
state to challenge and motivate an adult to donate a pint of blood
to help alleviate the growing Texas blood supply shortage; and
WHEREAS, On September 26, 2002, Governor Rick Perry issued
Executive Order RP-19 in which the governor noted that donating
blood provides a lifesaving service to patients with cancer, burns,
transplants, and other surgeries and encouraged each state agency
in Texas to allow its employees to take one hour of compensatory or
vacation time to donate blood to address this current shortage; and
WHEREAS, On May 29, 2003, Governor Rick Perry signed House
Bill 89, which was authored by Representative Ruth Jones McClendon,
establishing a TEXAS EMPLOYEE DONOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE (TEDLOA)
POLICY for certain employees of Texas agencies providing paid leave
of absence to donate blood, bone marrow, and organs; and
WHEREAS, On May 22, 2003, Representative Bob Hunter,
Representative Elizabeth Jones (an author of House Bill 89), and
Senator Kyle Janek, M.D., hosted the inaugural GREAT TEXAS BLOOD
DONOR ROUNDUP AT THE STATE CAPITOL event, which was coordinated by
Mr. Tim Flynn, State Capitol Nurse, and sponsored by the State of
Texas Anniversary Remembrance (STAR) Day Foundation to answer the
call of Governor Perry in the spirit of his Executive Order RP-19
and in support of House Bill 89 to provide an opportunity for all
elected individuals, State Capitol legislative office employees,
and employees of State Capitol agencies to donate blood to help
alleviate the growing Texas blood supply shortage as their annual
personal STAR DAY birthday presents for our state; and
WHEREAS, On July 3, 2003, Manny C. Morales, owner of a State
Farm Insurance Agency in El Paso, Texas, joined THE GREAT TEXAS
BLOOD DONOR ROUNDUP CAMPAIGN by adopting the TEXAS EMPLOYEE DONOR
LEAVE OF ABSENCE (TEDLOA) POLICY for his employees to answer the
call of Governor Rick Perry in the spirit of his Executive Order
RP-19 and in support of House Bill 89; he has also agreed to donate
one book to an area partnering school hosting a SCHOOL ROUNDUP event
in the name of the employee and the agency for each pint of blood
donated by an employee at an official ROUNDUP event; and
WHEREAS, On September 8, 2003, Loving County Judge Donald C.
Creager and the Loving County Commissioners joined THE GREAT TEXAS
BLOOD DONOR ROUNDUP CAMPAIGN by approving the first TEXAS EMPLOYEE
DONOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE (TEDLOA) POLICY for county employees by
adopting a Loving County Commissioners Court Resolution to answer
the call of Governor Rick Perry in the spirit of his Executive Order
RP-19 and in support of House Bill 89; and
WHEREAS, On September 8, 2003, the City of Wink Mayor Betty
Lou Dodd and the City of Wink Alderpersons in Winkler County joined
THE GREAT TEXAS BLOOD DONOR ROUNDUP CAMPAIGN by approving the first
TEXAS EMPLOYEE DONOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE (TEDLOA) POLICY for
incorporated city employees by adopting a City of Wink Resolution
to answer the call of Governor Rick Perry in the spirit of his
Executive Order RP-19 and in support of House Bill 89; and
WHEREAS, The State of Texas Anniversary Remembrance (STAR)
Day Foundation shall commemorate the birthday of the Great State of
Texas each year on the 19th day of February by inviting all 254
Texas counties, the 1,203 incorporated Texas cities, and the many
tens of thousands of Texas corporations and small businesses to
adopt a TEXAS EMPLOYEE DONOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE (TEDLOA) POLICY for
their respective employees to encourage, motivate, and mobilize
their employees to donate blood to help alleviate the growing Texas
blood supply shortage to answer the call of Governor Rick Perry in
the spirit of his Executive Order RP-19 and in support of House Bill
89 and to invite their employees to visit seventh and eighth grade
schools hosting SCHOOL ROUNDUP events to donate blood; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th
Legislature of the State of Texas, 3rd Called Session, hereby
recognize February 2004 as THE GREAT TEXAS BLOOD DONOR ROUNDUP
MONTH.
Hunter
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 176 was adopted by the House on
October 8, 2003, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House