This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.
H.R. No. 1006
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, A leader in education, civil rights, and civic
service, Bertha Elizabeth Sadler Means has contributed greatly to
the Austin community since her arrival in the Capital City in 1939;
and
WHEREAS, A former president of the local chapter of Jack and
Jill of America, Incorporated, Mrs. Means helped to found this
vital organization in June 1953; in keeping with the mission of its
parent organization, the Austin chapter dedicates its resources to
providing constructive educational, cultural, civic, recreational,
social, and service programs for children as well as to raising
community awareness for children's needs and concerns; and
WHEREAS, Her outstanding work with Jack and Jill represents
only one of this esteemed Texan's innumerable civic involvements
and professional accomplishments; after graduating with a degree in
English and education from Huston-Tillotson College, Mrs. Means
taught at Austin area schools for a number of years; in 1955, she
earned a master's degree in educational psychology at The
University of Texas at Austin and later held several positions with
the Austin Independent School District in the areas of elementary
and secondary education; she also distinguished herself as a
director of Head Start and the first coordinator for reading
instruction in the city's junior and senior high schools; today,
Mrs. Means is a successful businesswoman, serving as chief
executive officer of the family-owned Austin Cab Company; and
WHEREAS, Despite the demands of her professional career, Mrs.
Means has always found time to give back to the community; she has
been associated with the International Hospitality Council of
Austin since its founding in 1959; a former vice president of the
American Association of University Women, she was also a founding
member of St. James' Episcopal Church in 1941 and has been an active
congregant ever since; moreover, she has served as area chair of the
United Fund of Austin and Travis County; and
WHEREAS, In the 1950s and 1960s, Mrs. Means was deeply
involved in civil rights issues and made it her mission to break
down the racial barriers that existed in Austin at the time; in
addition to her service as vice president of the Austin Branch of
the NAACP and chair of its Voter Registration Projects, she helped
create the Mothers Action Council in response to her children and
others being turned away at a local skating rink because of their
color; as chair of the council's Direct Action Committee, Mrs.
Means organized peaceful demonstrations at businesses that had a
history of segregation, and those sit-ins and stand-ins resulted in
the integration of area public facilities and eventually led to the
creation of the Human Relations Department of the City of Austin;
and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Means also had a direct role in the integration
of athletics at The University of Texas at Austin; when her son,
James H. Means, Jr., was denied participation in athletics at UT
because of segregation, she called attention to the matter with a
member of the board of regents; a subsequent investigation led to
the integration of the school's athletics program, and her son,
James, became the first African American to letter at UT and the
first to participate in the Southwest Conference; moreover, she
played a leading role in the integration of St. Stephen's Episcopal
School and her daughter, Patricia, was the first African American
to graduate from that prestigious Austin school in 1966; and
WHEREAS, From 1963 to 1974, she was an Austin City Council
appointee to the Parks and Recreation Board; in that capacity, she
worked toward the improvement of parks in East Austin and her
initiative led to the construction of Givens Recreation Center; and
WHEREAS, Over the years, Mrs. Means has been the deserving
recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Joe W. Neal
Award presented by the International Hospitality Council of Austin
in 2004 for outstanding leadership in international relations and
the YWCA Woman of the Year award in 2004 for community service; she
has also received a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree from
Huston-Tillotson College and was inducted into her alma mater's
first Annual Hall of Honors; and
WHEREAS, Throughout her life, Bertha Means has given freely
of her time and talents to benefit others, and her actions have
truly had a profound impact on the lives of countless Texans; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature hereby commend Bertha Elizabeth Sadler Means for her
outstanding work with the Austin chapter of Jack and Jill of
America, Incorporated, and honor her for her lifelong contributions
to the city of Austin and the State of Texas; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mrs. Means as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.
Dukes
Craddick Geren Menendez
Allen of Harris Giddings Merritt
Allen of Dallas Gonzales Miller
Alonzo Gonzalez Toureilles Moreno of Harris
Anchia Goodman Moreno of El Paso
Anderson Goolsby Morrison
Bailey Griggs Mowery
Baxter Grusendorf Naishtat
Berman Guillen Nixon
Blake Haggerty Noriega
Bohac Hamilton Oliveira
Bonnen Hamric Olivo
Branch Hardcastle Orr
Brown of Kaufman Harper-Brown Otto
Brown of Brazos Hartnett Paxton
Burnam Hegar Pena
Callegari Herrero Phillips
Campbell Hilderbran Pickett
Casteel Hill Pitts
Castro Hochberg Puente
Chavez Hodge Quintanilla
Chisum Homer Raymond
Coleman Hope Reyna
Cook of Navarro Hopson Riddle
Cook of Colorado Howard Ritter
Corte Hughes Rodriguez
Crabb Hunter Rose
Crownover Hupp Seaman
Davis of Harris Isett Smith of Tarrant
Davis of Dallas Jackson Smith of Harris
Dawson Jones of Lubbock Smithee
Delisi Jones of Dallas Solis
Denny Keel Solomons
Deshotel Keffer of Dallas Strama
Driver Keffer of Eastland Straus
Dukes King of Parker Swinford
Dunnam King of Zavala Talton
Dutton Kolkhorst Taylor
Edwards Krusee Thompson
Eiland Kuempel Truitt
Eissler Laney Turner
Elkins Laubenberg Uresti
Escobar Leibowitz Van Arsdale
Farabee Luna Veasey
Farrar Madden Villarreal
Flores Martinez Vo
Flynn Martinez Fischer West
Frost McCall Wong
Gallego McClendon Woolley
Gattis McReynolds Zedler
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1006 was adopted by the House on April
29, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House