| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The Echota Cherokee of Texas benefit greatly from |
|
|
the leadership of Chief Stuart Parsons Sr. and his fellow officers, |
|
|
Vice Chief Wynnfred Batey and Secretary Andrew Parsons Jr.; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Echota Cherokee are descended from survivors of |
|
|
the infamous "Trail of Tears," the forced relocation of the |
|
|
Cherokee from their ancestral lands in the Southeastern United |
|
|
States to territories west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s; |
|
|
today, about 60 people make up the Echota Cherokee of Texas, one of |
|
|
several Echota groups in the nation; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Stuart Parsons Sr. played a leading role in the |
|
|
establishment of the Echota Cherokee Clan in Texas; a member of the |
|
|
Batey family through his mother, Evelyn Batey Parsons, he was |
|
|
appointed as the clan's first chief by Chief Charlotte Hallmark of |
|
|
the Echota Cherokee of Alabama in 2012, and he has been reelected by |
|
|
the Texas clan's members in the years since; he has also represented |
|
|
the Echota Cherokee of Alabama at the National Congress of American |
|
|
Indians, and he is the owner of a commercial roofing business in |
|
|
Waco; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Wynnfred Batey is also part of the Batey family |
|
|
lineage, and he has served alongside Chief Parsons as vice chief |
|
|
since 2012; Andrew Parsons Jr. is likewise a member of the Batey |
|
|
family, and he has held the office of secretary since January 2017; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Under the able guidance of these three dedicated |
|
|
leaders, the Echota Cherokee of Texas honor their proud history and |
|
|
their strong ties of kinship while looking forward to the |
|
|
challenges and opportunities of the future; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby commend Chief Stuart Parsons Sr., Vice Chief |
|
|
Wynnfred Batey, and Secretary Andrew Parsons Jr. for their service |
|
|
to the Echota Cherokee of Texas and extend to them sincere best |
|
|
wishes for continued success in their work; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Chief Parsons, Vice Chief Batey, and Secretary Parsons |
|
|
as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of |
|
|
Representatives. |