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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Frank B. Patterson III is retiring as emergency |
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management coordinator for the City of Waco and McLennan County in |
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March 2019, drawing to a close nearly two decades of outstanding |
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service to the region; and |
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WHEREAS, Since joining the Waco-McLennan County Office of |
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Emergency Management in July 1999, Mr. Patterson has led the city |
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and county through six presidential-declared and three |
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state-declared disasters, including wildfires, tornadoes, and |
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floods; in the aftermath of the fertilizer plant explosion in West |
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in 2013, he served more than six months as incident commander, |
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helping guide the community through its long-term recovery, and he |
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has been invited to speak at nearly 100 emergency management and |
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first responder conferences about the lessons learned in West; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Patterson has also developed the initial |
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standard operating procedures for the City of Waco's CBRNE |
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(chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive) |
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response team, modernized the emergency communications systems, |
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helped design the new Emergency Operations Center, and overseen the |
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launch of the Fire Corps program and the Community Emergency |
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Response Team; he has served five terms as president of the McLennan |
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County Fire Protection Association and 15 years as chair of the |
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Emergency Preparedness Advisory Committee for the Heart of Texas |
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Council of Governments; and |
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WHEREAS, A graduate of Lamar University, Mr. Patterson began |
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his career in 1985, and before taking over emergency management in |
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Waco, he worked as a firefighter in Pharr and Edinburg, as a safety |
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and health supervisor in Beaumont and Houston, and as fire training |
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instructor at Lamar University; in 1997, he was the founding |
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coordinator of the Fire Protection Technology Program at McLennan |
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Community College, and he is leaving his current position to take up |
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the newly created position of emergency manager at MCC; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of nearly three and a half decades, |
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this veteran first responder has become a nationally recognized |
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leader in emergency response and management, and he may indeed |
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reflect with pride on his career so far as he takes on the |
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challenges and opportunities of his new position; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Frank Patterson on his retirement |
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from the Waco-McLennan County Office of Emergency Management and |
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extend to him sincere best wishes for continued success in his |
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important work; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Patterson as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |