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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Keith Keller of the Allen Keller Company has made |
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invaluable contributions to the Lone Star State during his many |
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years in highway construction; and |
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WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan follows in the footsteps of his |
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father, Allen Keller, who began his career as a field clerk with |
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William Thornton in 1932 and went on to start two highway |
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construction businesses; he established the first in 1946 in |
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partnership with former Associated General Contractors president |
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Doc Killian, and he founded the second, the Allen Keller Company, in |
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Fredericksburg in 1953; and |
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WHEREAS, Keith Keller joined his father's business after |
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earning an engineering degree from The University of Texas at |
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Austin in 1964, and he became the company's president on April 1, |
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1977; under his leadership, the Allen Keller Company received |
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recognition for its drill-and-shoot and limestone-crushing |
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techniques and was given responsibility for several of the most |
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dramatic road cuts on I-10 between Austin and El Paso; and |
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WHEREAS, When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive |
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Order 11246, prohibiting employment discrimination in federally |
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funded construction contracts, Keith Keller and his |
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brother-in-law, James Kemp, helped coordinate efforts between the |
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Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Department of |
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Transportation, and construction companies in the hiring and |
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training of minority Texans; this initiative resulted in more than |
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10,000 individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds finding gainful |
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employment in the industry; and |
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WHEREAS, Respected and admired by his peers, Mr. Keller was |
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elected president of the Associated General Contractors of Texas in |
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1986, an office his father had held a quarter-century earlier; in |
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this role, Keith Keller worked tirelessly to foster a rapport |
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between the AGC of Texas and the members of the Texas Legislature, |
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and the association's board of directors awarded him lifetime |
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membership following his retirement in 2015; he has also served on |
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the board of directors of the Security State Bank and Trust for more |
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than three decades; and |
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WHEREAS, In all of his endeavors, Mr. Keller enjoys the love |
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and support of his wife, the former Marjorie Ann Alberthal, whom he |
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married on June 8, 1963, at Holy Ghost Lutheran Church in |
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Fredericksburg; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the past five decades, this consummate |
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professional has excelled in the highway construction industry, and |
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he can reflect with great pride on his outstanding record of |
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achievement; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor Keith Keller for his many years of service |
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to the highway construction industry and extend to him sincere best |
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wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Keller as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |
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Miller of Comal |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 2376 was adopted by the House on May |
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1, 2015, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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