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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Amarillo National Bank is celebrating its 125th |
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anniversary on March 18, 2017, providing a fitting opportunity to |
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recognize this venerable family-owned financial institution; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1892, just five years after Amarillo was founded, |
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a small bank opened on Polk Street; one of the institution's first |
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vice presidents was B. T. Ware, a cattleman and early business |
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leader in the town; he owned the bank from 1900 to 1906, when he sold |
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his shares and purchased another financial institution in nearby |
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Channing; three years later, he repurchased the Amarillo bank and |
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merged it with the one in Channing, and for the next 28 years, he |
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served as president of Amarillo National Bank; the business played |
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an instrumental role in the oil and gas industry in the Panhandle, |
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helped local families make it through the Great Depression, and |
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supported area farmers during the Dust Bowl; and |
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WHEREAS, Following Mr. Ware's death in 1937, his son Charles |
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became ANB's president, assisted by his brothers, Richard and |
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Arthur; together they led the institution through World War II and |
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the growth spurred by the opening of the Amarillo Air Force Base; in |
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1950, ANB opened the first drive-up bank in the State of Texas, and |
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two decades later, Tol Ware, B. T.'s grandson, became ANB's |
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president, overseeing the construction of a 16-story headquarters |
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in downtown Amarillo and establishing the first automatic teller |
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machine in the state in 1978; and |
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WHEREAS, Tol Ware's son, Richard, took over in 1982, and, |
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alongside his brother Bill, shepherded the bank through the |
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financial crises of the 1980s, the introduction of online banking |
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in the 1990s, and the recession of 2008; today, Richard Ware serves |
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as chair and president, and his sons, William and Pat, serve as |
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executive vice presidents; Bill Ware's son, W. Tol Ware, is also a |
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member of the leadership team, and the three men represent the fifth |
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generation of the Ware family to manage the institution; and |
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WHEREAS, Thought to be the largest 100-percent family-owned |
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bank in the nation, Amarillo National Bank has served its community |
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with unwavering dedication for a century and a quarter, and the Ware |
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family and their staff may indeed take great pride in the bank's |
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impressive history; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 125th anniversary of Amarillo |
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National Bank and extend to the Ware family, their employees, and |
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their customers sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Amarillo National Bank as an expression of high regard |
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by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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Price |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 812 was adopted by the House on March |
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23, 2017, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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