H.R. No. 1980


R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Sai Gunturi of Plano represented his school, his city, and his state with great distinction as the winner of the 76th Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.; and WHEREAS, An eighth-grader at St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas, Mr. Gunturi has made four consecutive appearances in the national spelling bee, finishing 32nd in 2000, 16th in 2001, and 7th in 2002; and WHEREAS, Through 15 rounds of competition, he calmly, confidently, and correctly spelled such obscure words as "marmoraceous," "halogeton," and "dipnoous"; and WHEREAS, Demonstrating poise and focus, he outlasted 250 participants from all 50 states and seven countries, and ultimately sealed the victory by correctly spelling "pococurante," a word meaning indifferent or apathetic; and WHEREAS, Mr. Gunturi comes from a family of outstanding spellers; his sister, Nivedita, tied for eighth place in the 1997 national competition; and WHEREAS, An avid reader and a straight-A student, he placed first in the Hellenic history and Greek derivatives categories at the National Junior Classical League convention; in addition to following a rigorous academic regimen, he plays violin in his school's orchestra, studies Indian classical music, and enjoys bike riding, tennis, and video games; and WHEREAS, Mr. Gunturi holds future aspirations of becoming a sculptor or a genetic engineer, and the members of this chamber are decidedly NOT pococurante about his most recent achievement; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas Legislature hereby congratulate Sai Gunturi on winning the 2003 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and extend to him best wishes for continued success; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Mr. Gunturi as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Branch Craddick Geren Mercer Allen Giddings Merritt Alonzo Goodman Miller Bailey Goolsby Moreno of Harris Baxter Griggs Moreno of El Paso Berman Grusendorf Morrison Bohac Guillen Mowery Bonnen Gutierrez Naishtat Branch Haggerty Nixon Brown of Kaufman Hamilton Noriega Brown of Brazos Hamric Oliveira Burnam Hardcastle Olivo Callegari Harper-Brown Paxton Campbell Hartnett Pena Canales Heflin Phillips Capelo Hegar Pickett Casteel Hilderbran Pitts Castro Hill Puente Chavez Hochberg Quintanilla Chisum Hodge Raymond Christian Homer Reyna Coleman Hope Riddle Cook of Navarro Hopson Ritter Cook of Colorado Howard Rodriguez Corte Hughes Rose Crabb Hunter Seaman Crownover Hupp Smith of Tarrant Davis of Harris Isett Smith of Harris Davis of Dallas Jones of Lubbock Smithee Dawson Jones of Bexar Solis Delisi Jones of Dallas Solomons Denny Keel Stick Deshotel Keffer of Dallas Swinford Driver Keffer of Eastland Talton Dukes King Taylor Dunnam Kolkhorst Telford Dutton Krusee Thompson Edwards Kuempel Truitt Eiland Laney Turner Eissler Laubenberg Uresti Elkins Lewis Van Arsdale Ellis Luna Villarreal Escobar Mabry West Farabee Madden Wilson Farrar Marchant Wise Flores Martinez Fischer Wohlgemuth Flynn McCall Wolens Gallego McClendon Wong Garza McReynolds Woolley Gattis Menendez Zedler ______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1980 was adopted by the House on June 2, 2003, by a non-record vote. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House