| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Demonstrating a thirst for knowledge and an |
|
|
unflagging determination to succeed, Geronimo Rodriguez, Jr., went |
|
|
from picking fruit as a migrant farm worker to helping select |
|
|
President Clinton's cabinet as a member of the White House staff; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Growing up, this Hidalgo County native spent eight |
|
|
months a year traveling from the Rio Grande Valley to the |
|
|
Northwestern United States, harvesting seasonal crops with his |
|
|
parents; he became the first person in his family to earn a high |
|
|
school diploma, graduating near the top of his class, and received a |
|
|
College Assistance Migrant Program scholarship to St. Edward's |
|
|
University in Austin, where he achieved another first in his family |
|
|
in 1990 when he graduated from college; following his instincts for |
|
|
law and politics, he took a job with the Texas Attorney General, and |
|
|
in 1991 became the state field director for Bill Clinton's first |
|
|
presidential campaign; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A few years later, after earning a law degree from |
|
|
The University of Texas, he was asked to be the deputy statewide |
|
|
director for Arizona during President Clinton's reelection |
|
|
campaign; in that capacity, he was instrumental in the state |
|
|
electing a Democrat for the first time in more than 50 years; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, His reputation for excellence earned him a job in |
|
|
the nation's capital as chief of staff for the Office of |
|
|
Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department |
|
|
of Labor; in addition, he served as acting associate director in the |
|
|
White House Office of Presidential Personnel, where he had the |
|
|
opportunity to recommend one-third of President Clinton's |
|
|
senior-level appointments, and Mr. Rodriguez further distinguished |
|
|
himself as counsel to the solicitor at the U.S. Department of Labor |
|
|
from 1999 to 2001; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, He then returned to Texas and joined the firm of |
|
|
Leonard Frost Levin Van Court & Marsh in Austin; remaining active in |
|
|
politics, he was the state director and Colorado base vote director |
|
|
for the Democratic presidential ticket in 2004; he currently serves |
|
|
as the vice president of diversity and community outreach with |
|
|
Seton Family of Hospitals; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Rodriguez was named a 2007 Austin Under Forty |
|
|
winner in recognition of his professional achievements as well as |
|
|
his contributions to his community, which include his service on |
|
|
the boards of the Austin Public Library Foundation and the Austin |
|
|
Young Lawyers Association; he has further distinguished himself as |
|
|
a member of the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, as the |
|
|
chair of the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin Foundation, and as a |
|
|
member of the Austin public television station's Hispanic Network |
|
|
of Advisors; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, With enthusiasm and sincere dedication, Geronimo |
|
|
Rodriguez, Jr., has made many important contributions in behalf of |
|
|
his fellow citizens, especially helping to advance the role of |
|
|
Hispanics in the fields of politics and law, and his passionate |
|
|
involvement will undoubtedly continue to benefit Texans for years |
|
|
to come; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby commend Geronimo Rodriguez, Jr., for his |
|
|
exemplary public engagement and extend to him sincere best wishes |
|
|
for continued success and happiness; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Mr. Rodriguez as an expression of high regard by the |
|
|
Texas House of Representatives. |