H.R. No. 19

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, A Texas business legend who parlayed a delicious dessert cake into the sweet taste of success, L. William McNutt, Jr., of Corsicana passed away on September 1, 2006, at the age of 81; and

WHEREAS, Understanding the potential popularity of the fruitcake created by the Collin Street Bakery, Bill McNutt developed an innovative system of selling and delivering the cakes to consumers, thereby revolutionizing the mail-order marketing business, making that North Texas bakery into a world-famous brand, and bringing greater renown to his hometown of Corsicana; and

WHEREAS, Bill McNutt was born on June 16, 1925, the only child of Lee William McNutt and Anna Mae Rutherford McNutt; a graduate of Corsicana High School, he spent his college years in Nashville, Tennessee, first attending Montgomery Bell Academy and later Vanderbilt University and was a member of the football team at each school; he earned his degree from Vanderbilt in 1949, after returning from his World War II service in the U.S. Army; and

WHEREAS, Beginning his business career in Nashville, he worked at the Dr Pepper Bottling Company owned by his father and uncle, eventually taking over ownership of the business; he met Josephine Williams Pritchett while in Tennessee, and the two were married in 1954; four years later, his uncle asked him to get involved with a bakery the family had acquired back in Corsicana, and in 1958, Bill McNutt returned to Texas; and

WHEREAS, The Collin Street Bakery had been established in 1896 and was well known for the DeLuxe Fruitcake created by its founder, German immigrant August Weidmann; to bring the cakes to more customers, Mr. McNutt concentrated on expanding the company's mail-order business; after assuming the presidency of the bakery in 1967, this insightful entrepreneur pioneered the use of computerized mailing lists, customer databases, and efficient methods of shipping; his innovations turned the business into one of the largest food-by-mail companies in the world, and the DeLuxe Fruitcake became a beloved Christmas treat all around the globe; moreover, the bakery's business practices soon became standard procedure at other mail-order companies, thereby earning Mr. McNutt the nickname of "the godfather of direct marketing"; and

WHEREAS, In his desire for efficiency and quality, Mr. McNutt founded several businesses to supply and service the bakery, including Data Dallas, the Navarro Pecan Shelling Company, and the Finca Corsicana pineapple farm in Costa Rica; other companies and institutions called on his expertise, and he served as director for First Republic Bank of Corsicana, Main Bank, Cross Creek Aviation Corporation, and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee; in 1985, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to a three-year term on the U.S. State Department Board for International Food and Agriculture Development; his many achievements were saluted with his induction into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2002, and the bakery has received numerous honors, including the E Award for excellence in exporting from the U.S. Department of Commerce; and

WHEREAS, A business leader who was never all-business, Bill McNutt found time to indulge his many other interests, which included football, fine food, politics, close friendships with luminaries such as George H. W. Bush, Lamar Hunt, and Paul "Bear" Bryant, and serving as co-owner of the Dallas Tornado professional soccer team for 13 years; both his leisure activities and professional accomplishments were invested with his passion for living, and the enthusiasm that Bill McNutt brought to all of his endeavors will long be remembered by all who knew him; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of L. William McNutt, Jr., and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife of 52 years, Josephine Pritchett McNutt; to his children, Lee William McNutt III and his wife, Susana, Robert Pritchett McNutt, Katherine Ann McNutt, and Melanie Jeanne McNutt; to his grandchildren, Lee William McNutt IV and Thomas Max Nygaard McNutt; and to his other relatives and many friends; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of L. William McNutt, Jr.

Cook of Navarro

______________________________ Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 19 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on March 1, 2007.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House