H.R. No. 219

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The Ector County South Side Senior Citizens Center

is being renamed and dedicated in memory of the late Salvador M.

Guerrero of Odessa at a ceremony taking place on January 28, 2011,

which would have been Mr. Guerrero's 92nd birthday; and

WHEREAS, An important community institution that is integral

to the lives of many area residents, the senior center serves

breakfast and lunch in partnership with Meals on Wheels, offers

bingo, movies, and arts and crafts, and encourages health and

wellness through exercise classes and regular blood pressure

screenings; and

WHEREAS, Honoree Salvador Montoya Guerrero was born in 1919

in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico; his family fled their homeland

during the Mexican Revolution and eventually settled in San Angelo;

after attending San Angelo Junior College, Mr. Guerrero served in

the United States Army during World War II; he participated in the

Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day and earned numerous

decorations, including five Battle Stars and the Croix de Guerre,

ultimately attaining the rank of line corporal; and

WHEREAS, On returning to Texas, Mr. Guerrero continued his

education, worked as a dry cleaner and presser, and pursued careers

in broadcasting and politics; he conducted radio programs in

Spanish in the Permian Basin area and later cohosted the Mexico

Tejano television show, and he further distinguished himself as an

Ector County commissioner from 1971 to 1978; and

WHEREAS, Active in a variety of civic groups, Mr. Guerrero

helped to organize the Odessa Boys and Girls Clubs and the local

American GI Forum and its auxiliary and junior branches; in

addition, he served as a charter member of the Odessa Basin Lions

Club and as a Boy Scout troop master, and he participated in the

Odessa Mexican American Chamber of Commerce, the Masonic Lodge, and

the local American Legion and VFW posts; he was president of the

Political Association of Spanish Speaking Organizations in 1962 and

received the Mayor's Citizenship Award and Freedom Medal in 1978;

and

WHEREAS, Mr. Guerrero's civic contributions extended to the

community center that will now bear his name; he served as

supervisor of the original facility from 1958 to 1970 and played a

prominent role in renovation work that was completed in the 1980s; a

man of many talents, he also found time during his busy life to

teach naturalization classes in the Adult Basic Education program

at Odessa College, and he was inspired to write a memoir after

taking a course on Chicano literature at The University of Texas of

the Permian Basin; his book, Memorias: A West Texas Life, was

published in 1991; and

WHEREAS, In all of his endeavors, Mr. Guerrero enjoyed the

love and support of his wife, Maria Flores Guerrero, and his

children, Raul, Christina, Alfredo, Richard, Raquel, and Edwardo;

and

WHEREAS, Although the people of Odessa lost a committed civic

leader with the death of Sal Guerrero on December 8, 2009, the

senior center named in his honor will serve as a lasting reminder of

the many contributions made by this esteemed man to Ector County and

the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas

Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of the Salvador M.

Guerrero Senior Center in Odessa; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be

prepared for Mr. Guerrero's family as an expression of high regard

by the Texas House of Representatives.

Lewis

______________________________ Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 219 was adopted by the House on January 27, 2011, by a non-record vote.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House