By: Ogden S.C.R. No. 26 (In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2003; March 20, 2003, read first time and referred to Committee on Administration; April 2, 2003, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 2, 2003, sent to printer.)SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION WHEREAS, The city of Round Rock is following in the footsteps of countless Texas pioneers by planting daffodils, a perennial American favorite whose vivid blooms continue to beautify every corner of the state; and WHEREAS, In 1994, Allen Baca, a Round Rock resident and prominent member of its senior community, approached the town's Senior Citizens Foundation with the idea of initiating a springtime beautification project; his proposal won endorsement, and in 1994 and 1995 senior citizens planted numerous daffodil bulbs throughout the city, chiefly in such public areas as city rights-of-way, parks, and the grounds of schools and churches; and WHEREAS, The foundation expanded the program in 1996, when it began selling bulbs to the public as a fund-raiser for programs benefiting the community's older residents; each year, the foundation makes available approximately 30,000 bulbs for this purpose, and area citizens have taken this compelling cause to heart, extending the focus of the plantings to residential areas as well as public spaces; and WHEREAS, For the past eight years as well, the foundation has sponsored the highly popular Daffodil Festival; a family-oriented event held the first Saturday in March at the downtown Senior Citizens Center, the festival coincides with the blooming of the daffodils and celebrates the arrival of spring with food, games, entertainment, and arts and crafts booths; and WHEREAS, The hardy, colorful daffodil is a fitting emblem for the city of Round Rock, which traces its roots back to the mid-19th century and the community that grew up around Jacob Harrell's blacksmith shop on Brushy Creek; the settlers who stopped in Round Rock and at myriad other points in the Lone Star State were quick to beautify their surroundings with the durable daffodil, and the progeny of those plants still bloom around the sites of old homesteads and in the midst of innumerable country cemeteries; and WHEREAS, Through its commitment to its senior citizens and its ambition to further enhance the attractiveness of this historic community, the town of Round Rock has embraced the annual planting of masses of daffodils, and it is appropriate that the affinity between this fine Central Texas city and this flower beloved by Texans since colonial days be duly recognized; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby designate Round Rock as the official Daffodil Capital of Texas.* * * * *