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  H.C.R. No. 23
 
 
 
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, A Texas star has forever dimmed with the passing of
  the Honorable Ann Richards, 45th governor of Texas, on September
  13, 2006, at the age of 73; and
         WHEREAS, Governor Richards once explained a profound lesson
  she had learned early in life: "that people liked you better if you
  made them laugh"; it was a truth that Ann Richards never ignored,
  and her engaging wit and charismatic presence, accompanied by a
  razor-sharp intellect, made her into a groundbreaking politician;
  just the second female chief executive in the state's history and
  the first since the 1930s, Governor Richards achieved prominence on
  both the state and national levels as a role model and outspoken
  advocate for women and other underrepresented groups seeking a
  voice in government affairs; and
         WHEREAS, Born Dorothy Ann Willis on September 1, 1933, she
  was the daughter of Cecil and Ona Willis and grew up in the Waco
  area, first in the town of Lakeview and later in Waco itself; her
  abilities as a public speaker and her interest in politics emerged
  during her years at Waco High School; she became state debate
  champion during her senior year and took part in Girl's State, a
  mock-government assembly of Texas female students, at which she was
  elected lieutenant governor; and
         WHEREAS, Governor Richards married while a student at Baylor
  University, where she earned her degree on a debate scholarship;
  together with her husband, she raised four children and lived in a
  succession of cities over the following two decades, including
  Washington, D.C., Dallas, and Austin, and she went on to earn a
  teaching certificate and to work as a middle-school educator; she
  was also active in Democratic party politics, helping found the
  North Dallas Democratic Women and assisting in several
  gubernatorial and senate campaigns; her first intensive
  involvement in government affairs occurred in the early 1970s, when
  she helped direct the campaign that elected Sarah Weddington to the
  Texas House of Representatives, and she later served as Ms.
  Weddington's administrative assistant; and
         WHEREAS, Opting to become a candidate herself, Ann Richards
  was elected to the Travis County Commissioners Court in 1976,
  becoming its first female member, and she was reelected four years
  later; in 1982, she sought election as state treasurer and became
  the first woman to win a statewide office in Texas in 50 years;
  during her two terms as treasurer, she oversaw the modernization of
  the department's technological processes, increased state revenue,
  and proved that a woman could excel in the highest levels of state
  government; and
         WHEREAS, Already a well-known figure in Texas, she stepped
  into the national spotlight by delivering a rousing keynote address
  at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta; building on
  this momentum, she entered the Texas governor's race in 1990, and
  after a hard-fought campaign, she became the state's chief
  executive, proclaiming her inauguration as "the first day of the
  new Texas"; and
         WHEREAS, In the four years she spent in the Governor's
  Mansion, Ann Richards undertook a wide range of important
  initiatives, including changes to school financing, government
  oversight, insurance regulation, prison construction, and criminal
  sentencing; moreover, in making appointments to state boards and
  commissions, she chose a large number of talented women and
  minorities, following through on her campaign promise to make Texas
  government more representative of the state's population; and
         WHEREAS, Her tenure as governor came to an end in 1995, but
  she remained an important and beloved figure in Texas and
  throughout the country, and her jokes and insights were on full
  display during her many speaking engagements; in her professional
  endeavors, she became a senior advisor to a Washington law firm and
  worked for Public Strategies, Inc., a public relations and
  marketing firm; a devoted civic activist, she was involved with
  charitable institutions such as the Save the Children Federation
  and helped develop the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders,
  a public school that will open in Austin in 2007 and provide
  leadership training for young women, including many from
  economically disadvantaged families; and
         WHEREAS, Commenting on the legacy she would leave behind,
  Governor Richards once stated that "I'd like them to remember me by
  saying, 'She opened government to everyone'"; that noble principle
  will certainly be among the hallmarks of this remarkable Texan, as
  will her efforts to improve the lives of the state's residents; with
  her endearing humor and magnetic personality, she carried forth
  these ideals, and her career will stand as an enduring example of
  inspired public service that had an enormous influence on the State
  of Texas and far beyond the borders of the Lone Star State; now,
  therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas
  hereby pay special tribute to the life of Ann Richards and that
  deepest condolences be paid to the members of her family: to her
  four children, Cecile, Daniel, Clark, and Ellen, and their spouses,
  to her eight grandchildren, and to the many people across the nation
  she made extremely proud to call Texas home; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
  prepared for the members of her family and that when the Texas House
  of Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory
  of Governor Ann Richards.
 
 
Gallego Dunnam
 
Naishtat Coleman
 
Thompson Allen
 
Anchia Bolton
 
Burnam Castro
 
Chisum Cohen
 
Dukes Escobar
 
Farabee Farias
 
Farrar Frost
 
Giddings Gonzales
 
Goolsby Hernandez
 
Herrero Hochberg
 
Homer Hopson
 
King of Zavala Kuempel
 
Leibowitz Lucio III
 
Mallory Caraway Martinez Fischer
 
McCall McClendon
 
Olivo Ortiz, Jr.
 
Patrick Pierson
 
Rodriguez Rose
 
Villarreal
 
 
Craddick Gattis Miles
 
Allen Geren Miller
 
Alonzo Giddings Moreno
 
Anchia Gonzales Morrison
 
Anderson Gonzalez Toureilles Mowery
 
Aycock Goolsby Murphy
 
Bailey Guillen Naishtat
 
Berman Haggerty Noriega
 
Bohac Hamilton O'Day
 
Bolton Hancock Oliveira
 
Bonnen Hardcastle Olivo
 
Branch Harless Orr
 
Brown of Kaufman Harper-Brown Ortiz, Jr.
 
Brown of Brazos Hartnett Otto
 
Burnam Heflin Parker
 
Callegari Hernandez Patrick
 
Castro Herrero Paxton
 
Chavez Hilderbran Pena
 
Chisum Hill Phillips
 
Christian Hochberg Pickett
 
Cohen Hodge Pierson
 
Coleman Homer Pitts
 
Cook of Navarro Hopson Puente
 
Cook of Colorado Howard of Fort Bend Quintanilla
 
Corte Howard of Travis Raymond
 
Crabb Hughes Riddle
 
Creighton Isett Ritter
 
Crownover Jackson Rodriguez
 
Darby Jones Rose
 
Davis of Harris Keffer Smith of Tarrant
 
Davis of Dallas King of Parker Smith of Harris
 
Delisi King of Taylor Smithee
 
Deshotel King of Zavala Solomons
 
Driver Kolkhorst Strama
 
Dukes Krusee Straus
 
Dunnam Kuempel Swinford
 
Dutton Latham Talton
 
Eiland Laubenberg Taylor
 
Eissler Leibowitz Thompson
 
Elkins Lucio III Truitt
 
England Macias Turner
 
Escobar Madden Van Arsdale
 
Farabee Mallory Caraway Vaught
 
Farias Martinez Veasey
 
Farrar Martinez Fischer Villarreal
 
Flores McCall Vo
 
Flynn McClendon West
 
Frost McReynolds Woolley
 
Gallego Menendez Zedler
 
Garcia Merritt Zerwas
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.C.R. No. 23 was unanimously adopted by a
  rising vote of the House on April 2, 2007.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.C.R. No. 23 was unanimously adopted by a
  rising vote of the Senate on May 17, 2007.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor