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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Representatives of the William Leonard Davis |
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District of the Sam Houston Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, are |
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dedicating a building at El Rancho Cima Boy Scout Camp near Fischer |
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on May 30, 2009, in honor of the district's namesake; and |
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WHEREAS, W. L. Davis, an educator and civic leader, was born |
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in Halletsville on January 6, 1873; he attended grade school and |
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high school in La Grange, earned a bachelor's degree from Prairie |
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View Normal Institute in 1894, and received a master's degree from |
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the University of Kansas in 1940; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Davis served as an elementary school principal |
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in Schulenburg from 1900 to 1902 and as principal of Hempstead High |
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School from 1903 to 1914; after moving to Houston, he taught at |
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Emancipation Blackshear Elementary School and later, from 1920 to |
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1926, at Gregory Elementary School; he concluded his career in |
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education as the principal of Gregory Elementary from 1943 to 1944; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Deeply engaged in the community, Mr. Davis gave |
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generously of his time and talents to Antioch Baptist Church in |
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Houston and served as president of the Civic Betterment League of |
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Houston and Harris County and as a member of the Texas Interracial |
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Commission; and |
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WHEREAS, At a time when African American youth had little |
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access to scouting programs, Mr. Davis worked to achieve equality |
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of opportunity within the Boy Scouts; in 1944, as a result of his |
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efforts, the council created a district to serve African American |
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boys and young men; the new jurisdiction was named after Mr. Davis, |
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in tribute to his tireless determination to extend the reach of the |
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organization; and |
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WHEREAS, The same year that the Davis District was |
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established, Mr. Davis donated a building to enhance the facilities |
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at El Rancho Cima Boy Scout Camp; it is that building, given in |
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memory of his wife, Roselle E. Davis, that is now being dedicated; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, W. L. Davis played a crucial role in enabling |
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African American youth in the Houston area to enjoy the many |
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benefits of the Boy Scout movement, and it is indeed fitting that |
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his staunch devotion to scouting and to the welfare of his community |
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be memorialized; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of the William |
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Leonard Davis Building at El Rancho Cima Boy Scout Camp and extend |
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to all those associated with the W. L. Davis District sincere best |
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wishes for continued success in all their endeavors; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the W. L. Davis District as an expression of high |
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regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |