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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, William G. Otton retired from his position as |
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director of the Art Museum of South Texas in March 2007, after 14 |
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years of service to the Corpus Christi arts community and nearly |
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three decades in arts administration; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Honolulu, Bill Otton served as an associate |
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professor of art at Corpus Christi State University from 1974 until |
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1980, when he began his career in arts administration as the |
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director of the Laguna Art Museum in California; in 1988, he began a |
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two-year tenure as president of the Art Institute of Southern |
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California in Laguna Beach, and from 1990 to 1993 he served as |
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president of the Wichita Center for the Arts in Kansas; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Otton returned to Corpus Christi in 1993 to take |
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over as director of the Art Museum of South Texas; over the course |
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of the next 14 years, he was instrumental in the growth of this |
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dynamic institution, expanding the museum's collection from 700 art |
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works to some 2,000 and helping to increase its endowment from |
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$45,000 to $750,000; and |
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WHEREAS, In addition, Mr. Otton led a 10-year effort to |
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expand the museum's facilities, initiating a $10 million capital |
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campaign that resulted in the opening in October 2006 of a |
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28,000-square-foot addition designed by Mexican architect Ricardo |
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Legorreta; and |
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WHEREAS, A fine painter in his own right, Bill Otton has been |
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a champion for the arts in Corpus Christi, and he has contributed |
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greatly to the cultural vitality of the region; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate William G. Otton on his retirement |
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as director of the Art Museum of South Texas and extend to him best |
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wishes for 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. Otton as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |