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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, An innovative and enterprising young Texan, |
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13-year-old Joel Williams, Jr., of Troy, has designed a clever new |
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invention and started his own company to market it; and |
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WHEREAS, When he was nine years old, Mr. Williams noticed |
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that his one-year-old sister, Jatara, kept putting her shoes on the |
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wrong feet; and |
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WHEREAS, Young Mr. Williams was uniquely qualified to address |
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this problem; members of his family had been track and field |
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champions over the years, and his father, Joel Williams, Sr., who |
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had competed in his youth, is now a research and development |
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engineer for Wilsonart International in Temple; and |
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WHEREAS, Watching his sister's difficulty with left and |
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right, it occurred to Joel Williams that if her shoes could talk, |
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they could tell her which was which, and so he came up with the idea |
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for two small electronic buttons that attach to a child's shoes; |
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when pressed, each button says either "This is your left shoe" or |
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"This is your right shoe" in English or Spanish; and |
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WHEREAS, Working with his father, Mr. Williams designed a |
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prototype and found a manufacturer in China; the device, called the |
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SmartButton, comes in several colors and can be purchased online; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, At the 2005 convention of the World Shoe Association |
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in Las Vegas, Joel's father received interest in the device from |
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such companies as Nike, LA Footwear, Nickelodeon, and Disney; Joel |
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Williams, Jr., with the help of his parents, who oversee the |
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day-to-day running of the company while the young inventor and |
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entrepreneur attends school, grossed more than $10,000 last year, |
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which will be invested in his college fund; and |
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WHEREAS, This intelligent, energetic, and ambitious young |
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man is an exemplar of Texas entrepreneurship at its most |
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innovative, and it is fitting that his drive and talent be |
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recognized; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Joel Williams, Jr., on the |
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invention and marketing of the SmartButton and extend to him |
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sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Williams as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |