86R31845 SME-D

By: Toth H.R. No. 1581

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Marjorie Ferrone, cofounder and chief operations officer of Drone Parks Worldwide in Houston, was named the 2018 Woman to Watch in Entertainment & Education by WomenAndDrones.com; and

WHEREAS, Each year, the site bestows Women to Watch designations on only 10 women around the world who have made innovative strides in the field of unmanned aircraft systems; Ms. Ferrone is the first Houstonian and second Texan to garner this notable honor; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Ferrone served as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a degree from the University of Pennsylvania; in 2016, she and Nick Madincea established Drone Parks Worldwide, an indoor drone center and entertainment company that focuses on increasing the accessibility of drone technology; the enterprise works in close partnership with the Lone Star Flight Museum to create an educational, experimental, and hands-on environment in which members of the general public can learn to fly first-person-view drone aircraft; in addition, Ms. Ferrone and Mr. Madincea have led an Industry-Academia workshop at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on micro drone racing and course design and have presented a TEDx Talk at Texas A&M University; and

WHEREAS, Through the skill and determination she brings to all her efforts, Marjorie Ferrone has earned the esteem of her peers and made contributions to the UAS industry that will resonate far into the future; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas Legislature hereby congratulate Marjorie Ferrone on being named the 2018 Woman to Watch in Entertainment & Education by WomenAndDrones.com and extend to her sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Ms. Ferrone as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.