| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Anita Blair has dedicated half a century to making a |
|
|
positive difference in the Lone Star State and beyond, and she is |
|
|
truly an inspiration to her fellow El Paso residents; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A native of Oklahoma City, Ms. Blair was born in 1916 |
|
|
and moved with her family to the Sun City, her adopted hometown, in |
|
|
1924; after graduating from Austin High School, she worked as a |
|
|
secretary for the Works Progress Administration; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The course of Ms. Blair's life was forever changed |
|
|
on January 26, 1936, when she was blinded in an automobile accident; |
|
|
determined to regain her independence, she attended Seeing Eye, |
|
|
Inc., in Morristown, New Jersey, where she was first introduced to |
|
|
Fawn, a German shepherd that enabled her to sustain her mobility and |
|
|
move forward with confidence and a renewed hope for a promising |
|
|
future; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In the following years, Ms. Blair earned a |
|
|
bachelor's degree from Texas College of Mines & Metallurgy and a |
|
|
master's degree from Texas Woman's College; the first person in El |
|
|
Paso to use a guide dog, she became widely known as an expert on the |
|
|
subject, and assisted a number of states in establishing guide dog |
|
|
schools; she also shared her story with traffic safety schools and |
|
|
city government groups across the country; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Ms. Blair accomplished another remarkable feat in |
|
|
1953 when she won election to the Texas Legislature; she |
|
|
cosponsored a bill that allowed women to serve on Texas juries and |
|
|
worked to improve the lives of disadvantaged individuals, the |
|
|
educational system, and guide dog access in facilities throughout |
|
|
the state; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Historians believe that Ms. Blair remains the only |
|
|
totally blind woman in the United States to ever win election to a |
|
|
legislative office; following her service in the Texas House, she |
|
|
continued to advance the rights of the disenfranchised as an active |
|
|
participant in local and national politics, and today she remains a |
|
|
valued resource for the El Paso City Council, the County |
|
|
Commissioners Board, and local school boards; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Anita Blair's life has not been defined by tragic |
|
|
circumstance; rather, she has conquered every challenge she has |
|
|
faced with unflinching optimism, steadfast courage, disciplined |
|
|
determination, and the certain knowledge that her efforts could |
|
|
provide a better future for others; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby commend Anita Blair for her decades of service |
|
|
to her fellow Texans and extend to her sincere best wishes for the |
|
|
future; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Ms. Blair as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
|
House of Representatives. |