80R7723 JGH-D

By: Callegari H.R. No. 567

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Prominent land development consultant and civic leader James Box has given selflessly of his time and energy to the city of Houston over many years; and

WHEREAS, Born in Houston on February 1, 1931, James "Jim" Box is the great-great-grandson of John Neely Bryan, an early developer of Van Buren, Arkansas, and the founder of Dallas; known for his generosity, Bryan provided free town lots to encourage settlement and donated the land for the Dallas County Courthouse; Jim Box has carried on this family tradition with his generous gifts of knowledge, time, and money to his community; and

WHEREAS, Jim Box's career began when he worked as a division chief coordinating development for the City of Houston's Department of Planning and Development; in 1976 he became senior vice president at the Mischer Corporation, and since 1993 he has been an independent consultant, drawing on his broad experience and extensive contacts in the development field; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Box has long been a leader in his profession; affiliated with the Houston Real Estate Council and the Houston Contractors Association, he also chaired the Community Developers Council for 18 years; he served almost 30 years on the board of directors for the Greater Houston Builders Association; as the GHBA's president in 2003, he was instrumental in that organization's donation of $50,000 each to the Texas Children's Cancer Center and the Alzheimer's Association from the sale of two benefit houses; and

WHEREAS, He has also been active in flood and subsidence issues in Houston, as chairman of the board of the Harris/Galveston Coastal Subsidence District and as a member and past chairman of the Harris County Flood Control Task Force; he has served on the Water Supply and Flood Control Committee and the Environmental Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership, and he was appointed by the governor in 2002 to the Texas Water Advisory Committee; and

WHEREAS, An active member of Holy Cross Church, he served in the high school ministry for 17 years before moving to Epiphany Lutheran Church, where he participated in numerous ways, including the camping program; he has contributed much time and expertise to Houston Community College, which has established a scholarship in his name to honor his years of service in behalf of the college and the community; and

WHEREAS, Among the many awards he has received over the years have been the Harris B. Lieberman Distinguished Service Award and six Presidential Citations, additionally, he has been named Developer of the Year by the Greater Houston Builders Association three times; and

WHEREAS, Throughout this long and illustrious career Mr. Box has enjoyed the love and support of his devoted wife Ellen, a librarian for the Spring Branch ISD for over 20 years and the owner of her own landscape service for many years; he also enjoys the devotion of his son, Doug Box; his daughters, Kandice Gremillion and Allyson Koether; his grandchildren, David, Derrick, Daniel, Hannah, and Phillip; and his great-grandson, Kayo; and

WHEREAS, The tireless devotion and the lifetime of expertise James Box has put at the disposal of his native city truly mark him as an exemplary Houstonian; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas Legislature hereby commend James Box for his outstanding service to his community and extend to him best wishes for the future; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be prepared for Mr. Box as a token of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.